ar ” Sco triseenel nee : a anyoed pee i* fee poate ors 4 ‘e's fs er er 4 ad e on = —) 7 : - f EY a. aed 3 "as “et 2 7 ¥ sare ¢ aon 7s iw = 7 wy, 1 § Ate ee . nan a = S.A ee ee eS THE ZOOLOGIST: A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. THIRD SERIES—VOL. VI. EDITED BY ye TPA RT Dey RRS aes: MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO. \1 SH Tr 2 Leer pn % 9> Seas) > MS) a Ye, «Ot = LLONDON : JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1882. LONDON : PRINTED BY WEST, NEWMAN AND CO., HATTON GARDEN, E.C. PREFACE. Wir the present number another annual volume is brought to a close—the sixth of the New Series. On looking over the list of contributors for the year, the Editor cannot but congratulate himself upon the support which he has received, no less than upon- the number and quality of the con- tributions which have-appeared. For these his best thanks are due to the writers. While looking with satisfaction on the past, he is encouraged to look also with hope to the future, in the expectation of receiving no fewer favours in 1883 than it has been his good fortune to receive in 1882. But one word is ringing in his ears—Progress! There is room for improvement, there is reason for advance, and it is believed that some advance may be made in a new direction which will be agreeable to the readers of ‘ Tue Zooxnoetst.’ Commencing with the number for January, 1883, it is proposed to enlarge the scope of the ‘“‘ Occasional Notes” by substituting the heading ‘‘ Notes and Queries,” in order to enable readers who may not have any facts to communicate, to ask questions, if they are so minded, which will be printed with the replies, either in the same or a succeeding number, as the nature of the questions may permit. é The adoption of this plan will lead to another innovation. It has been a special feature in ‘Tue Zoonocist,’ from its very commence- ment, that no anonymous communications have been printed, and it is still the Editor’s opinion that all statements of facts should be attested by genuine signatures. In this lies the value of the con- tributions. But in regard to ‘‘ Queries” the case is different, and the Editor has good reason to know that many persons whose only desire is to obtain reliable information, have a reluctance to append their names to questions which may perhaps appear simple to more experienced naturalists than themselves. It will therefore be competent to correspondents sending ‘‘ Queries”’ to adopt, if they please, some pseudonym or initials ; but in such cases they should always communicate their real names and addresses iv PREFACE. privately to the Editor, who will not make the same known without their consent. It is hoped that in this way much information of general interest may be elicited during the year. The Editor would also be glad to receive for insertion, under the same heading, any items of news which are likely to be of interest to naturalists ; such, for instance, as reports of successful collecting tours both at home and abroad, with brief summary of the results; the building or endowment of new museums; the announcement of com- pleted or forthcoming works on Zoology; the dates of projected field meetings of local Natural History Societies, and so forth. Such topics, it is believed, would be especially acceptable to country readers, who, from the fact of their inability to attend the conversaziones of the Scientific Societies in London are precluded from hearing the zoological news which is verbally circulated at such meetings. There is yet another novelty for the New Year. Hitherto this journal has dealt almost exclusively with ‘the zoology of the present.”’ Now ‘‘the zoology of the past” has many charms, and to all reflecting minds the two subjects, although in a sense distinct, are intimately connected; an accurate knowledge of the past helping us to a better understanding of the present. The ‘archeology of zoology,” as it may be termed, is a subject which may well be cultivated, and the Editor would be glad to see, under the heading ‘‘ Archeologia,” the discussion of such items as discoveries of fossil remains; early notices of British animals; titles and editions of scarce and local Faunas, or overlooked works containing zoological notes of value; discoveries of authorship of original statements hitherto quoted without a reference ; etymologies; and folk-lore relating to animals. All these subjects have a value of their own, and would, if discussed, give a greater fulness and variety to the pages of ‘Tar Zooroaist,’ which, it is believed, many would be glad to see. Any suggestion on this head from correspondents will be welcome, and shall receive full consideration. With regard to the projected General Index to ‘ Tue Zoonoarst,’ its utility seems to be universally admitted, but at present the number of copies subscribed for does not justify its preparation. At least 200 copies at £1 should be ordered in advance before the work can be commenced; and the Editor would therefore urge upon all working naturalists, for their own sake, the extreme desirability of forwarding to Messrs. West, Newman & Co., as soon as possible, an expression of their willingness to take copies, —_— CONTENTS. ALPHABETICAL LIST Ancove, W. T. — Breeding of the Short-eared Owl in Suffolk, 232 APrING IE: Gs), Chiffchaff in Oxfordshire in winter, 114; Honey Buzzards in Buck- inghamshire, 116; Peregrine in Northamptonshire, 117 ApLin, OLIVER V. Supposed occurrence of the Hairy Woodpecker in Oxfordshire, 69 ; Leach’s Petrel in Oxfordshire, Curious capture of a Pochard, 74, 75; The Badger in Oxfordshire, 146; Dipper nesting in North Oxfordshire, 150; Firecrest in Oxfordshire, 234; Variety of the Mole, 351; Early arrival of the Jack Snipe, 433 ARMISTEAD, J. J. Ornithological notes from the Sol- way Firth, 304 Ayres, THOMAS Effects of a snow-storm on animal life in the Transvaal, 71 BackHovsE, J., Jun. — White’s Thrush in Yorkshire, 74; Common Buzzard in the Lake District, Snipe perching, 352; Curious nesting-place of a Great Tit, 353; Pintail breeding in Westmoreland, 853 Baker, J.C. Buffon’s Skua and Little Auk in Co. Waterford, 22 Barrineton, Ricnarp M., M.A. On the breeding habits of the Long- tailed Field ee 121 Birp, Rey. M. C. H Marten a in Norfolk, 146 Brapy, Wm. E Great Grey Shrike near Barnsley, 148 Brook, M. W. The chirp of the Cricket, 154 OF CONTRIBUTORS. Brown, J. A. H., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S. The past and present distribution of some of the rarer animals of Scotland, 1, 41; Unusual abun- dance of Dog-fish on the coasts of Scotland, 354; Remarks on the Grouse disease, 401 Butter, Major E. A., Major H. W. FEILDEN, and Capt. S. G. Rerp Ornithological notes from Natal, 165, 204, 243, 297, 335, 423, 460 CAMBRIDGE, Rev. O. P., M.A., F.L.S. The ‘‘churring” of the Nuthatch, 149; Notes of the Nuthatch and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 230 CAMPBELL, J. M. Habits of the Storm Petrel in cap- tivity, 20; Fork-tailed Petrel, 21 CANDLER, C. Birds and telegraph-wires, 116 CARRINGTON, JOHN T., F.L.S., and E. Lovett Notes and observations on British Stalk-eyed Crustacea, 9, 98, 178, 228, 258, 386 Caton, Hon. J. D. Effects of reversion to the wild state in our domestic animals, 124 CHAMBERs, C. Spotted Crake on the Island of Fetlar, Shetland, 21 CuaseE, R. W. Waxwing near Birmingham, 117 Curisty, RopeRT MILLER Badger in Essex, 303; Short-eared Owl breeding in Cambridgeshire, 309; Kestrel breeding on the eround, 352 CLARK, SEXTUS VERNON Osprey near Worthing, 463 CLARKE, WILLIAM EAGLE Ornithological notes from York- shire, 171; The Torpedo on the Yorkshire coast, 193 vi CONTENTS. Curermont, Rt. Hon. Lord, F.Z.S. Change of colour in the Irish Hare, 107 Cocks, A. Henrace, M.A., F.Z.S. The Beaver in Scandinavia, 15; On the breeding of the Otter, 201; Notes of a naturalist on the west coast of Spitzbergen, 321, 378, 404 Corsin, G. B. Fork-tailed Petrel near Ringwood, 151; White Stoats, 186; Variety of Mole, 187; Hooded Crows in Hampshire, 190 CoRDEAUX, JOHN Ornithological notes from North Lincolnshire during the autumn of 1881, 84; Red-breasted Snipe in North-east Lincolnshire, 392 CornisH, THOMAS Spinous Shark at Penzance, 22; Badgers in West Cornwall, 66; The Dorse, or Golden Cod, in Cornwall, 74; Floating Crab at Penzance, 118; Eider Duck at Scilly, 189; Kite in Cornwall, 190; Rare fishes on the Cornish coast, 192; White-winged Black Tern at Scilly, 235; Holibut at Penzance, 236; On a Leech found in Cornwall, 269; Totanus solitarius at Scilly, 432 CrowTHER, Henry Chelifer Degeerii, C. Koch, a spe- cies new to Britain, 465 CULLINGFORD, J. Glossy Ibis in Lincolnshire, 22; Great Grey Shrike at Durham, 115; Osprey and Honey Buz- zards in Lincolnshire, 116; Little Gull and Black Tern in Lincoln- shire, 117 Dar.ine, J. J. FFouLiIoTr Cormorants breeding on an inland lake, 67 Day, Francis, F.L.S., F.Z.S. Digestive organs of the Pilchard, 24; Do Salmon spawn in the sea ? 153; Blindness in the Cod- fish, 191; The Severn Salmon— whence it comes and where it goes, 221; On the food of sea- fishes, 235; On the food of the Herring, 268 Dover, Capt. W. Kinsry Wild animals paid for by Church- wardens of Crosthwaite, Cum- berland, 108 Duncan, Prof. Martin, F.R.S. Morphology of the Temnopleu- ridx, 25 D’Ursan, W.S. M., F.L.S. Great Grey Shrike in Devon, 148 Ewart, J. C., M.D. Nostrils of the Cormorant, 68 Epwarp, THomas The Dorse, or Golden Cod, on the Banffshire coast, 23 Fernpen, Major H. W., Major HE. A. Burier, and Capt. 8. G. Rep Ornithological notes from Natal, 165, 204, 248, 297, 385, 423, 468 FLemynG, Rev. Wm. W., M.A. The breeding haunts of the Gan- net in Ireland, 110; Nesting of the Long-tailed Titmouse, 236; Nesting of the Woodcock, 391 Forp, RoGrer Variety of the Mole, 263 Fow er, Rev. W. W., M.A., F.L.S. Osprey and Buzzard in Lincoln- shire, 22; Pine Marten and Pole- cat in Lincolnshire, 230 FreEkE, Percy E., F.Z.8. Uncommon Bat near Dublin, 16; European birds observed in North America, 21; Crossbills in Co. Kildare, 116 GATCOMBE, JOHN Ornithological notes from Devon and Cornwall, 62, 456; Thresher Shark off the coast of Devon, 434; Large Swordfish off Ply- mouth, 434 Gippins, Epwarp J. Notes from the Northumbrian loughs, 308; Unusual site for a Chaffinch’s nest, Teal and Marsh Harrier nesting in Glamorgan- shire, 310 Gurney, J. H., Jun., F.Z.S. Little Crake in Ireland, 151; Cole Tit nesting on a window-sill, Norfolk Plover in confinement, 234; Ornithological notes from East Norfolk, 294 HAprFigeLD, Capt. Henry Uncommon birds in the Isle of Wight, 231; Snipe perching, 392 Haver, L. W. Shore Lark near London, 118 Hartine, J. E., F.L.S., F.Z.8. The Black-fish in the Colne, 152; Memoir of the late Charles Dar- win, 193; Remains of the Great CONTENTS. Auk, 235; Memoir of the late Prof. Balfour, 355; Memoir of the late Prof. Leith Adams, 356 ; Grants in aid of Zoological Science, 394 Hewett, W. Teal and Redshank breeding in Yorkshire, 232; Firecrest in Yorkshire, 268 Hourcurnson, A. 8. Red-necked Phalarope and Little Gull on the Lincolnshire coast, 73; Kentish Plover on the Lin- colnshire coast, 74 Kermope, Puruip M. C. Phycis blennoides off the Manx coast, 353 Kerry, F. Colour of the legs in Lesser Black- backed Gull, 70; Migration of birds at Harwich, 116 Knicuts, J. H. H. Uncommon birds in the Orwell, 151 Lanetron, HERBERT Merlin striking at cage-bird, 310 _ Laver, Henry, M.R.C.S., F.L.S. The Black-fish in the Colne, 75; Bottle-nosed Dolphin in the Colne, 147, 351 Litrorp, Right Hon. Lord, F.L.S. Ornithological notes from North- amptonshire, 16, 392 Lovett, E., & Joun T. CARRINGTON, F.L.S. Notes and observations on British Stalk-eyed Crustacea, 9, 98, 178, 228, 258, 386 Macautay, THOMAS Osprey in Leicestershire, 464 Macrurerson, Hucu A. Ornithological notes in France and Switzerland, 56; Imitative powers of the Hawfinch, 189; Rough notes in Skye and Higg, 418; The Smooth Snake at Bournemouth, 434; Natterjack at Aldeburgh, 465 Marriott, C. A. Variety of Lesser Black-backed Gull, 70 Martuew, Rev. M. A., M.A., F.L.S. Variety of the Common Snipe, 149; A visit to Ramsey Island, Pem- | brokeshire, 263; Marsh War- bler’s nest near Taunton, 265; Curlew Sandpiper in Cornwall, 266; Two Kestrels laying in the same nest, 267 Mawson, GEORGE Marten in Cumberland, 108 MirrorpD, Ropert H., F.Z.8. Abnormal eggs of Hooded Crow, 69; Dipper breeding in Middle- sex, 109 Mors, A. G., F.L.S. Baillon’s Crake in Co. Waterford, 113; Albino Grouse in Mayo, 147; Spinous Shark on the coast of Dublin, 484 Morres, Rey. A. P., M.A. The Peregrines of Salisbury Cathe- dral,18; Wild Cat in Assynt, 145 Netson, T. H. Small birds carried by Cranes in thei migrations, 73; Ornitho- logical notes from Redear, 90; Marten in Durham, 304; Curious site for a Flycatcher’s nest, 309 Nevitu, Lady Dorotuy Choughs breeding in domestica- tion, 4381 NicHo.uts, H. Pomatorhine Skua in Sussex, 463 Parkin, THomas, M.A., F.Z.S. Rare birds in Sussex, 114; Curious capture of a Great Black-backed Gull, 233 Patterson, R. Lioyp Leponia Petrel in Co. Antrim, Puinurpes, E. CAMBRIDGE The birds of Breconshire, 45, 182, 213, 287; Great Grey Shrike in Breconshire, 148; Falconry in Wales, 151; Gadwall in Radnor- shire, 463 Pixs, T. M. A be to Loch Swen, Argyllshire, Rasus, A. On the hybernation of the Dor- mouse, 161 Rag, J.. M.D. Small birds carried by Cranes in their migrations, 72 Reeves, R. E. Habits of the Woodcock as ob- served in Ireland, 307 Rerp, Capt. 8. G., and Majors E. A. Butter and H. W. FremLpen Ornithological notes from Natal, 165, 204, 243, 297, 335, 423, 460 Ripvwey, H. N., B.A., F.L.S. The Gadwall in Radnorshire, 431; ce Smooth Snake in Surrey, 33 Viil Rorzuck, Wm. DENISON The Whiskered Bat in Yorkshire, 147; The Lesser Horse-shoe Bat in York, 186 Ropg, G. T. Newts in the Tadpole state in winter, 152 Ross, Georce A. Sr. Crorx Adders swallowing their young, 394 Savin, Capt. F. H. Falconry in Wales, 117 SrEBoum, Henry, F.L.S., F.Z.8. Rusty Grackle and Pallas’s Grey Shrike in Wales, 109 SERVICE, ROBERT* Variety of the Wheatear, 352 Sm, GEORGE Rare Star-fishes on the coast of Aberdeen, 24 SINEL, J. Black Rat in the Channel Islands, 67; Manx Shearwater in Jersey, 234; Ornithological notes from Jersey, 266; Rose-coloured Pas- tor in Jersey, 432; Fire-crested Regulus in Jersey, 443 Smirn, Cec, F.Z.8. . Iceland Gull and Great Grey Shrike in Somerset, 71; Buffon’s Skuain the Channel Islands,188; Marsh Harrier in Herm, 267; Manx Shearwater in Somerset, 433; Black-winged or Japanned Peafowl, 462 SouTHWELL, Tuomas, F.Z.5. Occurrence of the Grey Seal off the Norfolk coast, 187; Otters taken in a bow-net, 391 STANSELL, F. Marsh Warbler near Taunton, 306 SrepHens, DarELL, F.L.S., F.G.S. Landrail in Dorsetshire in winter, 117 Srrvenson, Henry, F.L.S., F.Z.S. On the occurrence of Sabine’s Gull, for the first time, in Nor- folk, 111; Tengmalm’s Owl in Norfolk, 115; Ornithological notes from Lowestoft, Suffolk, 332, 429; Ornithological notes from Norfolk for 1880, 366 Srrapiine, ARTHUR, C.M.Z.S. The desquamation and digestion of Serpents, from a new point of view, 50; Snake poison as a pepsine, 118; Snakes venomous CONTENTS. and non-venomous, 140; The incubation of Serpents, 345; On the treatment of Snakes in cap- tivity, 448 Tomson, A. Common Crane in Lincolnshire, 463; Greater Shearwater in Lincolnshire, 464 Tomauin, H. F. Ring Ouzel in Northamptonshire, 432 Tuck, Rev. Jutran, M.A. Notes from Hunstanton, Norfolk, 893 UssHeEr, Ricwarp J. Notes on Irish Red Deer, 81; Nesting of the Long-tailed Tit- mouse, 233; Call of the Long- eared Owl, 265; Woodcock’s mode of carrying its young, 306; South African Eagle Owl in Treland, 460 Warren, Robert Ornithological notes from Mayo and Sligo, 129; On an inland breeding haunt of Larus canus, 241; Turtle Dove in Co. Sligo, 267; Dog-fish on the coasts of Sligo and Mayo, 269 WEIR, J. JENNER, F.L.S., F.Z.S. Kentish Plover in Sussex, 305 Wuarton, C. Byerave, F.Z.8. Nesting of the Long-tailed Tit- mouse, 187, 234; On the note of the Nuthatch, 189; Eggs of Se Cuckoo in Buntings’ nests, 265 Wuarton, Henry T., M.A., F.Z.S. The etymology of ‘‘ Wigeon,” 110; The meaning of English bird- names, 441 WHITAKER, J., F'.Z.S. Notes on birds in Nottingham- shire, 148; Abnormally coloured birds in Nottinghamshire, 150; A melanism of the Redwing, 151; Curious nesting-place of the Common Wren, 264; Snipe perching, 267; Wildfowl breed- ing at Rainworth, Notts, 309; Common Buzzard in Notting- hamshire, 310; Alpine Chough in Oxfordshire, 431 Witurams, A. Ornithological notes from Dublin, 17; Variety of the Irish Hare, 66; Varieties of the Red Grouse and Partridge, 117 CONTENTS. 1X Wits & Son Ornithological notes from Ireland, 74 WILLMORE, JOHN A. Storm Petrel inland, 115 YounG, J. The ‘“churring” of the Nuthatch, 113; Reed Warbler and Night- ingale in S. Wales, 310; Martins breeding in Bayswater, 433 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SUBJECTS. © Accentor modularis, 48 Accipiter rufiventris, 169 Acrocephalus arundinaceus, 245 a beeticatus, 246 Actitis hypoleucus, 425 Adams, Prof. Leith, memoir of the late, 356 Alzmon semitorquata, 302 Adders swallowing their young, 394 _ Aigialitis marginatus, 341 5 tricollaris, 341 Alauda arborea, 132 5, arvensis, 132 Alcedo ispida, 185 » semitorquata, 206 Ampelis garrulus, 132 Amblyospiza albifrons, 256 Amydrus morio, 256 Anas acuta, 288 » boschas, 287 » clypeata, 288 », penelope, 288 3, Sparsa, 427 xanthorhyncha, 427 Anastomus lamelligerus, 423 Andropadus importunus, 209 Animal life, effects of a snow-storm on, in the Transvaal, 71 Animals, rarer, of Scotland, past and present distribution of some of the, 1, 41; wild, paid for by Church- wardens of Crosthwaite, Cumber- land, 108; domestic, effects of reversion to the wild state in, 124 Anomoura, 259 Anser bernicla, 287 », brachyrhynchus, 413 » ferus, 287 Anthreptes collaris, 247 Anthus arboreus, 50 » Butleri, 336 mi Calter, do0 » pratensis, 50 » pyrrhonotus, 336 Apalis thoracicus, 245 Aquila pennata, 460 Ardea cinerea, 216, 343 » comata, 217 » goliath, 343 », melanocephala, 343 »» purpurea, 217, 344 Ardeola bubulcus, 344 Ardetta pusilla, 344 Asio capensis, 205 Atelecyclus septemdentatus, 185 Auk, Great, remains of the, 2385 », Little, in Co. Waterford, 22; in Spitzbergen, 415 Avocet, 338, 368, 425 Aythia capensis, 428 Badger, 1, 41; in Oxfordshire, 146; in Essex, 303 Badgers in West Cornwall, 66 Balearica chrysopelargus, 342 Balfour, Prof., memoir of the late, 355 Barbet, Black-collared, 208 Bat, uncommon, near Dublin, 16 ,, Lesser Horse-shoe, in York- shire, 186 ,, Whiskered, in Yorkshire, 147 Bear, Polar, 405 Beaver in Scandinavia, 15 Bee-eater, 370 Beef-eater, Red-billed, 255 Beluga catodon, 406 Bernicla brenta, 412 Birds, European, observed in North America, 21; of Breconshire, 45, 132, 218, 287; small, carried by Cranes in their migrations, 72, 73 ; rare, in Sussex, 114; and telegraph- wires, 116; migration of at Har- wich, 116; in Nottinghamshire, notes on, 148; abnormally coloured in Nottinghamshire, 150; uncom- mon, in the Orwell, 151; uncom- mon, in the Isle of Wight, 231 Bird-names, English, the meaning of, 441 Bittern, 217, 344 5 Little, South African, 344 b x CONTENTS. Blackcap, 49 Black-fish in the Colne, 75, 152 Booxs, Noricrs or New :— ‘ Allgemeine Zoologie oder Grund- gesetze des thierischen Baus und Lebens,’ von H. Alexander Pa- ‘ genstecher, 3d ‘ Angler, the Compleat, or the Con- templative Man’s Recreation ; being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing, not unworthy the pe- rusal of most Anglers,’ London, 1653 (facsimile), 357 ‘Angling Literature in England, and Descriptions of Fishing by the Ancients; with a notice of sume books on other piscatorial subjects,’ by O. Lambert, 80 ‘Animal Life, Notes and Jottings from,’ by the late Frank Buck- land, M.A., 316 ‘Birds, North American, the Coues’ Check List of,’ 2nd edit., revised to date and entirely rewritten | under direction of the Author, with a Dictionary of the Etymo- logy, Orthography, and Orthoépy of the Scientific Names, the Con- cordance of previous Lists, and a Catalogue of his Ornithological Publications,’ 395 ‘Birds observed during twenty years’ shooting and collecting in the British Islands, Rough Notes on the,’ by E. T. Booth, 157 ‘Birds of South Africa, the,’ by E. L. Layard; new edition by R. B. Sharpe, 277 ‘Cameos from the Silver-land; or, the Experiences of a Young Naturalist in the Argentine Re- public,’ by Ernest Wm. White, F.Z.5., 37, 434 ‘Matabele Land and the Victoria Fall; a Naturalist’s Wanderings in the Interior of South Africa,’ from the Letters and Journals of the late Frank Oates, F.R.G.S., edited by C.J. Oates, B.A., 313 * Micrographic Dictionary, the; a Guide to the Examination and | Investigation of the Structure and Nature of Microscopic Ob- jects,’ by J. W. Griffith, M.D., and Arthur Henfrey, F.R.S.; 4th edition, edited by J. W. Griffith, the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A., and 'T. R. Jones, F.R.S., 319 | ‘ Studies in Nidderdale,’ by Joseph Lucas, F.G.S., F.M.S., 437 ‘Vogel der Zoologischen Garten, die,’ von Dr. A. Reichenow, 279 ‘ Wanderings in Africa, a Hunter’s; being a Narrative of Nine Years spent amongst the Game of the far interior of South Africa,’ by Frederick Courteney Selous, 78 Botaurus stellaris, 217, 344 Bradypterus brachypterus, 245 5 gracilirostris, 245 Brambling, 133 Breeding of Cormorants on an inland lake, 67; of the Dipper in Mid- dlesex, 109; haunts of the Gannet in Ireland, 110; habits of the Long- tailed Field Mouse, 121; of the Otter, 201; of the Short-eared Owl in Suffolk, 232; of the Teal and Redshank in Yorkshire, 232 ; haunt, inland, of Larus canus, 241; of wildfowl at Rainworth, Notts, 309; of Short-eared Owl in Cam- bridgeshire, 809; of Kestrel on the ground, 352; of Pintail in West- moreland, 353; of Choughs in domestication, 431; of Martins in Bayswater, 433 Bubo capensis, 204 s, maculosus, 204, 460 Bulbul, Black-eyebrowed, 209 ve Sombre, 209 » Yellow-breasted, 209 Bullfinch, 134 Bunting, Cape, 302 »» Common, 133 <9 Golden-breasted, 302 is Reed, 133 - Rock, 302 ns Snow, 835, 370, 407 ay Yellow, 133 Buntings’ nests, eggs of Cuckoo in, 265 Buphaga erythrorhyncha, 255 Bustard, Kori, 339 Buteo jackal, 169 Buzzard in Lincolnshire, 22 7, Common, in Nottingham- shire, 310; in the Lake District, 352 = Honey, in Lincolnshire, 116; in Buckinghamshire, 116; in Breconshire, 293 ; at Wangford, 334 = Jackal, 169 Cage-bird, Merlin striking at, 310 Call of the Long-eared Owl, 265 Canary, Cape, 301 CONTENTS. Caprimulgus europeus, 136, 205 Carcinus mznas, 12 Cat, Marten, in Norfolk, 146 », Wild, in Assynt, 145 Centrolophus pompilus in the Colne, | 75, 152 Centropus natalensis, 208 Cepphus grylle (with fig. of bill), 414 » mandti(with fig. of bill),414 | Cerchneis rupicola, 170 ty rupicoloides, 171 Certhia familiaris, 132 Certhilauda rufula, 302 Ceryle maxima, 206 », rudis, 206 Chaffinch, 133 Chaffinch’s nest, unusual site for, 310 Charadrius asiaticus, 341, 460 pluvialis, 213 Chat, "Buff. Seakell 211 », Galton’s, 211 Chelifer Degeerii, C. Koch, a species new to Britain, 465 Chenalopex egyptiacus, 427 Chera progne, 298 Chiffchaff, 49; in Oxfordshire in winter, 114 : Chlorocichla flaviventris, 209 Chough, 47 +c Alpine, in Oxfordshire, 431 Choughs breeding in domestication, 431 Chrysococcyx smaragdineus, 207 *‘Churring”’ of the Nuthatch, 113, 149 Ciconia alba, 423 Cinnyris afer, 246 » amethystinus, 247 3» Chalybeus, 247 » gutturalis, 247 », olivaceus, 247 verreauxii, 247 Circus macrurus, 460 » pygargus, 168 5, ranivorus, 168 Cisticola aberrans, 244 » chiniana, 244 » cisticola, 244 3 curvirostris, 244 » natalensis, 243 », tinniens, 244 Clangula glaucion, 290 Coccothraustes chloris, 134 vulgaris, 134 Coceystes glandarius, 207 . jacobinus, 207 Cod, 417 », Golden, on the Banffshire coast, 23; in Cornwall, 75 xi | Codfish, blindness in the, 191 Colius striatus, 207 | Columba senas, 137 ae bie, UB, » palumbus, 137 a pheonota, 337 Coly, Cape, 207 | Colymbus arcticus, 290 é: glacialis, 290 3 septentrionalis, 290, 417 Coot, 220 5, Crested, 426 Cormorant, nostrils of the, 68; in Breconshire, 291; near Yarmouth, 370, 3872 a Cape, 429 Cormorants breeding in an inland lake, 67 Corvultur albicollis, 254 Corvus corax, 45 5, cornix, 46, 293 5, corone, 46 », frugilegus, 46 ,, monedula, 47 scapulatus, 254 Corystes Cassivelaunus, 229 Corythornis cyanostigma, 206 Cossypha caffra, 210 Coturnix communis, 338 - vulgaris, 139 Cotyle cincta, 250 » tuligula, 250 » paludicola, 251 Courser, Burchell’s, 340 » Bronze-winged, 341 = Senegal, 341 Crab, Floating, at Penzance, 118 Crake, Baillon’s, in Co. Waterford, 113; in Natal, 426 » Com; 219 », little, in Ireland, 151; Norfolk, 374 isis sotted, 219; on the Island of Fetlar, Shetland, 21 Crane, Common, 216; in Lincoln- shire, 463 ,, Crowned, 342 » Stanley, 342 », Wattled, 342 Cranes, small birds carried by, in their migrations, 72, 73 Crateropus 3 jardinii, 209 Creeper, Tree, 132 Crex porzana, 219 », pratensis, 219 Cricket, chirp of the, 154 Crisp, Dr., death of, 466 Crithagra ‘eanicollis, 301 in xi CONTENTS. Crithagra scotops, 301 Crossbill, 134 Crossbills in Co. Kildare, 116 Crow, 46 », Hooded, 46; abnormal eggs of, 69; in Breconshire, 293; in summer, 372 s» White-bellied, 255 Crows, Grey, 367 », Hooded, in Hampshire, 190 Crustacea, British Stalk-eyed, notes and observations on, 9, 98, 178, 228, 258, 386 Cryptolopha ruficapilla, 249 Cuckoo, 135; eggs of in Bunting’s nests, 265 bs Black and White, 207 a Emerald, 207 ee Great Spotted, 207 +5 Lark-heeled, 208 » Red-chested, 207 Cuculus canorus, 135 », solitarius, 207 Curlew, 216, 424 Cursorius burchellii, 340 3 chaleopterus, 341 - senegalensis, 341 Cygnus musicus, 287 Cypselus apus, 136, 205 » caffer, 206 » melba, 206 Darwin, Charles, LL.D., F.R.S. (the late), memoir of, 193 Deer, Red, Irish, notes on, 81 Dendropicus fulviscapus, 208 * menstruus, 208 Desquamation and digestion of Ser- pents, 50 Dilophus carunculatus, 256 Dipper breeding in Middlesex, 109; nesting in North Oxfordshire, 150 Diver, Black-throated, 290 » Great Northern, 290 » Red-throated, 290, 334, 417 Dogfish on the coasts of Sligo and Mayo, 269; unusual abundance of on the coasts of Scotland, 354 Dolphin, Bottle-nosed, in the Colne, | 147, 351 Dormouze, hybernation of the, 161 Dorse on the Banffshire coast, 23; in Cornwall, 75 Dotterel, 213 Dove, Cape Turtle, 338 » Hybrid, 369 » Senegal Turtle, 338 », Turtle, in Co. Sligo, 267 Dove, White-breasted Wood, 338 Dromia vulgaris, 259 Drymeca affinis, 243 s hypoxantha, 243 Dryodromas fulvicapillus, 246 Duck, Black, 427 » Hider, at Scilly, 189; in Spitz- bergen, 413 », Long-tailed, 416, 430 >» Tufted, 289, 369 » Wild, 287 Ducks and Divers, 375 Eagle, Booted, 460 Ebalia Cranchii, 183 », tuberosa, 184 » tumificata, 183 Eggs, abnormal, of Hooded Crow, 69; of Cuckoo in Bunting’s nests, 265 Egret, White, 344 Elanus ceruleus, 170 Emberiza citrinella, 133 a miliaria, 133 - schceniclus, 133 Erythacus rubecula, 48 Estrelda astrild, 299 Eudromias morinellus, 213 Euplectes oryx, 297, 460 ey xanthomelas, 297 Eupodotis cerulescens, 340 ‘9 ludwigii, 340 Falco biarmicus, 170, 460 ;, ruficollis, 170 Falcon, 416 » Rufous-necked, African, 170 Falconry in Wales, 117, 151 Finch, Little Barred-breasted, 299 », Red-collared Reed, 208 », Scearlet-shouldered Reed, 298 Finches, &e., migration of, 334 Fink, Red, 297, 460 » Yellow Kafir, 297 Firecrest in Oxfordshire, 234; in Yorkshire, 268 Fishes, rare, on the Cornish coast, 192; sea, food of, 235 Flycatcher, Cape, 248 <3 European Spotted, 248 as Fairy, 248 as Layard’s, 248 3 Red-vented, 248 " South African, 248 EF White-flanked, 248 Yellow- browed, 249 Flycatcher’ s nest, curious site for, 309 Food of sea fishes, 235; of the Her- ring, 268 CONTENTS. Fox, Arctic, 404 Francolinus gariepensis, 338 t. levaillanti, 338 Fratercula glacialis, 416 Fringilla carduelis, 133 » cclebs, 133 s, montifringilla, 133 » Sspinus, 133 Fringillaria capensis, 302 rf flaviventris, 302 tahapisi, 302 Fulica atra, 220 » cristata, 426 Fuligula cristata, 289 as ferina, 289 s marila, 289 Furzechat, 48 Gadwall in Radnorshire, 431, 463 Gallinago equatorialis, 425 *3 gallinula, 215 3 major, 215 rf media, 215 Gallinula chloropus, 220 Gallinule, Purple, 426 Gannet, breeding haunts of in Ire- land, 110; in Breconshire, 291; off Blakeney, 372 » south-African, 429 Garrulus glandarius, 47 Geocolaptes olivaceus, 208 Geronticus calvus, 424 a4 hagedash, 423 Glareola melanoptera, 341 » pratincola, 213 Goldeneye, 290 Goldfinch, 133 Gonoplax angulatus, 180 Goosander, 290. Goose, Bernicle, 366 » Brent, 257, 366, 412 » LHgyptian, 427 » Greylag, 287 » Pink-footed, 875, 413 » Spur-winged, 426 White-fronted, 366, 367 Grackle, Rusty, in Wales, 109 Graculus africanus, 429 capensis, 429 » carbo, 291 Grebe, Great Crested, 290, 369, 373 » Little, 291, 366, 426 » sclavonian, 373 Greenfinch, 134 Greenshank, 214, 425 Grosbeak, Streaky-headed, 301 ry White-fronted, 256 Grouse, albino, in Mayo, 147 Xlil Grouse, Black, 138 » Red, 188; variety of, 117 Grouse disease, remarks on the, 401 Grus cinerea, 216 », paradisea, 342 Guillemot, 291 os Black (with fig. of bill), 414 5 Briinnich’s, 414 f Mandt’s (with fig. of bill), 414 Gull, Common, 292 », Great Black-backed, capture of, 233 », Glaucous, 367, 375, 410 » Herring, 292 », Iceland, in Somerset, 71 » Lvory, 409 », Lesser Black-backed, colour of the legs in, 70 », Little, on the Lincolnshire coast, 73; in Lincolnshire, 117; on Breydon, 373 5, Sabine’s, occurrence of, for the first time, in Norfolk, 111 Gymnogene, Banded, 168 Gyps kolbi, 166 curious Hadadah, 423 Halcyon albiventris, 207 Hare, Irish, variety of the, 66; change of colour in the, 107 Harelda glacialis, 416 Harrier, Marsh, in Herm, 267; nest- ing in Glamorganshire, 310 » Montagu’s, 168 » Pallid, 460 » South-African Marsh, 168 Hawfinch, 134, 3871, 875; imitative powers of the, 189 Hedgesparrow, 48 Herodias garzetta, 344 Heron, 216, 343; nesting at Hemp- stead, 370. », Black-necked, 343 », Common, 3438 » Goliath, 343 » Night, 344, 371 » Purple, 217, 344 3, Squacco, 217 Herring, food of the, 268 Heterocorax capensis, 255 Hirundo albigularis, 251 » ¢cucullata, 251 r riparia, 136 » rustica, 136, 251 urbica, 136 Holibut at Penzance, 235 Honey-guide, White-eared, 208 XiV CONTENTS. Hoopoe, 135, 293, 368, 372 | Lark, Rufous Long-billed, 302 a Scimitar-billed Wood, 207 5 South African, 207 Hoplopterus coronatus, 341 Hybernation of the Dormouse, 161 Hybrid Dove, 369 : Hyphantornis capensis, 256 Pa ocularius, 297 ‘ spilonotus, 297 53 velatus, 257 Ibis ethiopica, 423 Ibis, Glossy, in Lincolnshire, 22 5, sacred, 423 Incubation of Serpents, 345 Indicator sparmanni, 208 Ispidina natalensis, 207 Jackdaw, 47 Jay, 47 Jynux torquilla, 135 Kestrel breeding on the ground, 352 ,, Large African, 171 ;, south African, 170 Kestrels, two, laying in the same nest, 267 Kingfisher, 135 a Brown-hooded, 207 % Great African, 206 “ Half-collared, 206 Se Malachite-crested, 206 » Natal, 207 5 Pied, 206 Kite, in Cornwall, 190 », Black, 169 s, Black-shouldered, 170 5, Yellow-billed, 169 Kittiwake, 292, 368, 409 Knot, 214 Lagopus hemileucurus, 407 Lamprocolius phenicopterus, 256 Landrail, 219; in Dorsetshire in winter, 117 Laniarius cubla, 253 _ ferrugineus, 253 Ss gutturalis, 253 5 rubiginosus, 253 Lanius collaris, 252 » collurio, 252 » excubitor, 293 Lanner, South African, 170, 460 Laomedontia carunculata, 342 Lapwing, 213 Lark, Grey-collared, 302 », Orange-throated, 335 », Red-headed, 302 ,, Rufous-naped, 335 », Shore, near London, 118; at and near Yarmouth, 3738, 374; at Lowestoft, 430 » Sky, 132, 371 s,s Wood, 182 Larks, Shore, 335 Larus argentatus, 292 », canus, inland breeding haunt of, 241; in Breconshire, 292 », glaucus, 410 », tridactylus, 292 Leech found in Cornwall, 269 Limnocorax niger, 426 Linnet, 133 Linota cannabina, 133 ;, flavirostris, 183 » linaria, 133 ;, rufescens, 133 Lithodes maia, 260 Loch Swen, Argyllshire, a visit to, 281 Lophogyps occipitalis, 167 Loxia curvirostra, 134 Lumpsucker, 417 Machetes pugnax, 425 Macronyx capensis, 335 Magpie, 47 Marten in Cumberland, 108; in Durham, 304 as Pine, in Lincolnshire, 230 Martin, 136 , Brown-collared Sand, 250 5 Brown Sand, 250 » sand, 136 » South African Sand, 251 Martins breeding in Bayswater, 433 ‘3 House, 335 Merganser, Red-breasted, 290 Mergulus alle, 415 Mergus albellus, 290 5, merganser, 290 t serratus, 290 Merlin striking at cage-bird, 310 Migrants, raptorial, 376 Migration of birds at Harwich, 116; of Finches, &c., 334 Migratory waders, 377 | Milvus egyptiacus, 169 ;, korschun, 169 Mirafra africana, 335 | Mole, variaty of, 187, 263, 351 Monticola explorata, 209 * rupestris, 209 Moorhen, 220 Motacilla capensis, 337 CONTENTS. Motacilla flava, 50 > sulphurea, 50 % vidua, 337 53 Yarrellii, 50 Mouse, Long-tailed Field, breeding habits of the, 121 Mus sylvaticus, 121 Muscicapa grisola, 248 Myrmecocichla formicivora, 210 Natterjack at Aldeburgh, 465 Nectarinia famosa, 246 Neophron percnopterus, 167 Nest, Marsh Warbler’s, near Taun- ton, 265; two Kestrels laying in the same, 267; Flycatcher’s, curious site for, 309; Chaffinch’s, unusual site for, 310; Woodcock’s, 368 Nesting of Dipper in North Oxford- shire, 150; of the Long-tailed Tit- mouse, 187, 233, 234; of the Cole Tit on a window-sill, 234; of Teal and Marsh Harrier in Glamorgan- shire, 310; of Tufted Duck and Pochard in Norfolk, 369; of Heron at Hempstead, 3870; of the Wood- cock, 391 Nesting-place, curious, of Common Wren, 264; of Great Tit, 358 Nests, Buntings’, eggs of Cuckoo in, 265 Newts in the tadpole stage in winter, 152 Nightingale, 48; in South Wales, 310 Nightjar, 136 Common European, 205 Niobe ardens, 298 Note of the Nuthatch, 189 Notes and observations on British Stalk-eyed Crustacea, 9, 98, 178, 228, 258, 386 Notes on Irish Red Deer, 81; on birds in Nottinghamshire, 148; of the Nuthatch and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 230; from the Nor- thumbrian Loughs, 308; of a natu- ralist on the West Coast of Spitz- bergen, 321, 378, 404; from Hun- stanton, Norfolk, 393; Skye and Higg, 418 Notices of New Books (see Books, Notices of New) Nucifraga caryocatactes, 47 Numenius arquatus, 216, 424 x phezopus, 408 Numida coronata, 338 Nutcracker, 47 rough, in | XV Nuthatch, the ‘‘churring” of the, 113, 149; in Breconshire, 132; note of the, 189; and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, notes of the, 230 Nycticorax griseus, 344 (Xidicnemus capensis, 340 (Cina capensis, 338 Ornithological notes from Devon and Cornwall, 62, 456; from Dublin, 17; from East Norfolk, 294; from Ire- land, 74; from Jersey, 266; from Lowestoft, Suffolk, 882, 429; from Mayo and Sligo, 129; from Natal, 165, 204, 243, 297, 335, 423, 460; from Norfolk for 1880, 366; from Northamptonshire, 16, 392; from North Lincolnshire, 84; from Red- car, 90; from the Solway Firth, 304 ; frais Yorkshire, 171; in France and Switzerland, 56 Ortygospiza Dufresnii, 300 i polyzona, 299 zs subflava, 300 Osprey in Lincolnshire, 22,116; near Durban, 204; near Worthing, 463; in Leicestershire, 464 Ostrich, 339 Otis kori, 339 Otogyps auricularis, 167 Otter, breeding of the, 201 Otters taken in a bow-net, 391 Ouzel, Ring, 368; in Northampton- shire, 432 Owl, Barn, 205 », Hagle, Cape, 204 » Hagle, S. African, in Ireland,460 » Grass, South African, 205 », Long-eared, call of, 265 s, Scops, Cape, 204 Short-eared, breeding of in Suf- folk, 232 ; breeding i in Cambridge- shire, 309 ; in Norfolk, 871 », Short-eared, African, 205 » Spotted Eagle, 204 », Tengmalm’s, in Norfolk, 115 Pachyprora capensis, 248 i molitor, 248 Pagophila eburnea, 409 Paguride, 386 Pagurus Bernhardus, 387 » cuanensis, 389 » fasciatus, 390 FA Hyndmanni, 390 » levis, 391 » Prideauxii, 388 Xvi CONTENTS. Pagurus pubescens, 390 » tricarinatus, 389 », Uulidianus, 390 Pandion haliaétus, 204 Parisoma layardi, 248 5S subceruleum, 248 Partridge, variety of, 117 js Grey, 139 Ep Red-legged, 139 Parus ater, 50 », exruleus, 50 » caudatus, 50 rE major, 49 niger, 248 Passer arcuatus, 301 » diffusus, 300 ;, domesticus, 134 ; montanus, 134 Pastor, Rose-coloured, 48; in Jersey, 432 Pastor roseus, 48, 432 Peafowl, Black-winged or Japanned, 462 Perching of Snipe, 267, 352, 392 Perdix cinerea, 139 » xufa, 139 Peregrine in Northamptonshire, 117 Peregrines of Salisbury Cathedral, 18 Pernis apivorus, 293 Petrel, Fork-tailed, 21; inCo. Antrim, 114; near Ringwood, 115 5» Fulmar, 411 ,, Leach’s, in Oxfordshire, 73 , Storm, habits of in captivity, 20; in Breconshire, 292; near Norwich, 374 Petrochelidon spilodera, 249 Phalarope, Grey, 298, 373 * Red- necked, on the Lin- colnshire coast, 73 Phalaropus fulicarius, 293 “! hyperboreus, 73 Phasianus colchicus, 137 Pheasant, 137 Philomela luscinia, 48 Phoca barbata, 405 » hispida, 405 Phycis blennoides off the Manx coast, 853 Phylloscopus hypolais, 49 he sibilatrix, 49, 293 es trochilus, 49, 246 Pica caudata, 47 Picus major, 135 5, woinor, 135 5 viridis, 135 Pigeon, Wood, 137 Pilchard, digestive organs of the, 24 Pilumnus hirtellus, 9 Pinnotheres pisum, 178 veterum, 179 Pintail, 288; breeding in Westmore- land, 353 Pipit, Cape, 335 > Meadow, 50 », Red-eared, 336 » ree, 50 », Yellow-breasted, 336 Pirimela denticulata, 11 Planes Linnezana, 181 Platalea tenuirostris, 3845 Plectrophanes nivalis, 407 | Plectropterus gambensis, 426 Plotus Levaillanti, 429 Plover, Golden, 213 s, Kentish, on the Lincolnshire coast, 74; in Sussex, 805; in Suf- folk, 384 » Norfolk, in confinement, 234; at Thetford, 370 » Spur-winged, 341 » Three-banded Sand, 341 »» White-fronted Sand, 341 Pochard, curious capture of a, 74; in Breconshire, 289; nesting in Norfolk, 869; at Martham, 371 Podiceps cristatus, 290 35 minor, 291, 426 Peecilonetta erythrorhyncha, 427 Pogonorhynchus torquatus, 208 Polecat in Leicestershire, 230 Poliospiza gularis, 301 Polybius Henslowii, 98 Polyboroides typicus, 168 Porphyrio smaragnotus, 426 Portumnus latipes, 14 Portunus arcuatus, 106 3] carcinoides, 105 i corrugatus, 103 nA depurator, 101 >» holsatus, 102 » longipes, 104 ;; Marmoreus, 101 ‘g puber, 100 3 pusillus, 104 tuberculatus, 107 Porzana bailloni, 426 Pratincola torquata, 212 Pratincole, Black-winged, 341 st Collared, 213 Procellaria glacialis, 411 “3 macroptera, 428 pelagica, 292 Ptarmigan, 407 Puffin, Northern, 416 Puffinus anglorum. 292 CONTENTS. Puffinus major, 464 Pycnonotus layardi, 209 Pyrrhocorax graculus, 47 Pyrrhula vulgaris, 134 Quail, 139 ;, Button, 339 ,, Common, 339 Querquedula crecca, 289 x hottentotta, 427 Rail, Water, 218 Rallus aquaticus, 218 Ramsey Island,, Pembrokeshire, a visit to, 263 Rangifer tarandus, 406 Rat, Black, inthe Channel Islands, 67 Raven, 45 », White-collared, 254 Recurvirostra avocetta, 425 Redpoll, Lesser, 133 » Mealy, 133 Redshank, breeding in Yorkshire, 232; in’ Natal, 425 05 Common, 214 Redstart, 48 Redwing, a melanism of the, 151 Regulus cristatus, 49 a ignicapillus, 49 Regulus, Fire-crested, in Jersey, 433 Reindeer, 406 Reinhardt, Prof., death of, 465 Rhinolophus hipposideros in York- shire, 186 Rhinopomastes cyanomelas, 207 Rhynchea capensis, 425 Rissa tridactyla, 409 Robin, 48 Rook, 46 » African, 255 Ruff, 425 Ruticilla pheenicura, 48 Salicaria phragmitis, 48 » Sstrepera, 48 Salmon—do they spawn in the sea? 153; the Severn, whence it comes and where it goes, 221 Sanderling, 333, 430 Sandpiper, Common, 214, 369, 425 es Curlew, in Cornwall, 266; in Natal, 425 FA Purple, 334, 409 a Wood, 425 Saxicola bifasciata, 211 » galtoni, 211 ss monticola, 211 » cenanthe, 48 Xvil Saxicola pileata, 211 5, rubetra, 48 5, rubicola, 48 Scaup, 289 Scolopax rusticola, 214 Scops capensis, 204 Scopus umbretta, 344 Seal, Great, 405 », Grey, off the Norfolk coast, 187 » Ringed, 405 Secretary Bird, 167 Seed-eater, Sundevall’s, 301 Serpentarius secretarius, 167 Serpents, the desquamation and di- gestion of, from a new point o view, 50; incubation of, 345 Shag, 373 Shark, Spinous, in Penzance, 22; on the coast of Dublin, 434 , hresher, off the coast of Devon, 434 Shearwater, Great, in Lincolnshire, 464 a Manx, in Jersey, 234; in Breconshire, 292; off Cley, 372; in Somerset, 433 Sheldrake, 287, 372 Shoveller, 288 ‘“s Cape, 428 Shrike, Backbakiri, 253 » Fiscal, 252 » Great Grey, in Somerset, 71; at Durham, 115; in Breconshire, 148, 293; in Devon, 148; near Barnsley, 148; in Norfolk, 378, 374, 375 » Greater Puff-backed, 253 » Lesser Puff-backed, 253 » Long-billed Bush, 253 », Pallas’s Grey, in Wales, 109 » Red-backed, 252 ; », Ruddy-breasted Bush, 253 Siskin, 133, 368, 429 Sitta cxsia, 132 Skate, 417 Skua, Buffon’s, in Co. Waterford, 22 ; in the Channel Islands, 188 ,, Common, 429 ,, Pomatorhine, 373; in Sussex, 463 ,, Richardson’s, 410 Smew, 290 Snake poison as a pepsine, 118 Snake, Smooth, in Surrey, 433; at Bournemouth, 434 Snakes venomous and non-veno- mous, 140; treatment of in cap- tivity, 448 c XVlil Snipe, Common, 215, 374; variety of, 149 » Great, 215 5 Jack, 215; inJune, 371; early arrival of, 433 » perching, 267, 352, 392 », Red-breasted, in North-East Lincolnshire, 392 » Solitary, 334, 373 » South African Painted, 425 SocIETIES, SCIENTIFIC :— Entomological, 31, 77, 200, 275 Linnean, 26, 75, 119, 196, 236, 270, 466 Zoological, 28, 76, 120, 154, 199, 238, 274, 311, 467 Somateria mollissima, 413 Sparrow, Cape, 301 », House, 134 “7 Southern Grey-headed, 300 “5 Tree, 134 Sparrowhawk, 368 99 African, 169 Spatula capensis, 428 Spheneeacus natalensis, 244 Spoonbill, 370, 372, 373, 375 Spreo bicolor, 256 Star-fishes, rare, on the coast of Aberdeen, 24 Starling, 47, 371 », Brown & White Glossy, 256 », Cape Glossy, 256 », | Red-shouldered Glossy, 256 » Wattled, 256 Stenostira scita, 248 Stercorarius crepidatus, 410 Sterna bergii, 428 » fluviatilis, 292 3» macrura, 409, 428 Stint, Little, 425 Stoats, white, 186 Stonechat, 48 + South African, 212 Stork, White, 423 Strepsilas interpres, 408 Strix capensis, 205 », flammea, 205 Struthio camelus, 339 Sturnus vulgaris, 47 Sula bassana, 291 3, capensis, 429 Sun-bird, Amethyst, 247 5 Greater Double-collared, 246 »» Lesser Double-collared, 247 its Malachite, 246 »» Mouse-coloured, 247 » Natal Collared, 247 - Scarlet-chested, 247 CONTENTS. Sun-bird, South-African Olive, 247 Swallow, 136 », Chimney, 251 », Prince Alfred’s, 249 45 Rousseline, 251 » White, 372 » White-throated, 251 Swan, Bewick’s, 367 » Wild, 287, 429 Swift, 186, 334 y, Common, 205 ;, White-bellied, 206 », White-rumped, African, 206 Swordfish, large, off Plymouth, 434 Sylvia atricapilla, 49 5, cinerea, 49 ;, hortensis, 49 » sylviella, 49 Sylvietta rufescens, 246 Tadorna vulpanser, 287 Teal breeding in Yorkshire, 232; in Breconshire, 289; nesting in Gla- morganshire, 310 », Hottentot, 427 », Red-billed, 427 5, Yellow-billed, 427 Telephonus longirostris, 253 Temnopleuride, morphology of, 25 Tephrocorys cinerea, 302 Tern, Arctic, 372, 409 ;, Black, in Lincolnshire, 117 s, Common, 292 » Roseate, 371 », sandwich, 372 », White-winged Black, at Scilly, 235 Terns, 335 Terpsiphone perspicillata, 248 Tetrao scoticus, 138 » tetrix, 138 Thalassornis leuconota, 428 Thia polita, 228 Thick-knee, Cape, 340 Thrush, Cape Chat, 210 A Cape Rock, 209 » Jardine’s Babbling, 209 » Natal, 209 - Olivaceous, 209 = Sentinel Rock, 209 s, White’s, in Yorkshire, 74 Titmouse, Blue, 50 i Cole, 50; window-sill, 234 7 Great, 49; curious nesting- place of, 353 35 Long-tailed, 50; nesting of, 187, 288, 284 nesting on a CONTENTS. Titmouse, Southern Black-and- white, 248 Torpedo on the Yorkshire coast, 193 Totanus calidris, 214, 425 + canescens, 425 > glareola, 425 A glottis, 214 = solitarius at Scilly, 432 Trichechus rosmarus, 405 Tringa canutus, 214 » maritima, 409 » minuta, 425 »» Ssubarquata, 425 Tringoides hypoleucus, 214 Troglodytes parvulus, 49 Turdus guttatus, 209 », Olivaceus, 209 Turkey, ‘ Wild,” 424 Turnix lepurana, 339 Turnstone, 408 Turtur auritus, 137 », capicolus, 338 », Senegalensis, 338 Twite, 133 Tympanistria tympanistria, 338 Umbrette, Tufted, 344 Upupa africana, 207 » epops, 135, 293 Ureginthus phenicotis, 300 Uria bruennichi, 414 », troile, 291 Urobrachia axillaris, 298 Ursus maritimus, 405 Vanellus cristatus, 213 Variety of the Irish Hare, 66; of the Red Grouse, 117; of the Partridge, 117; of Grouse, 147; of the Com- mon Snipe, 149; of the Redwing, 151; of Mole, 187, 268, 351; of the Wheatear, 352; of the Swallow, 372 Vespertilio mystacinus, 147 Vidua principalis, 297, 460 Visit to Ramsey Island, Pembroke- shire, 263; to Loch Swen, Argyll- shire, 281° Vulpes lagopus, 404 Vulture, Eared, 167 » Egyptian, 167 » Griffon, South African, 166 » White-headed, 167 Waders, migratory, 377 Wagtail, African Pied, 337 » Cape, 337 xix Wagtail, Grey, 50 », Pied, 50, 480 » Yellow, 50 Walrus, 405 Warbler, Bar-throated, 245 i Brown Fantail, 244 - Common Fantail, 244 » Huropean Willow, 246 A Garden, 49 i Great Reed, 245 + Larger Grey-backed Fan- tail, 244 » Le Vaillant’s Fantail, 244 3 Marsh, nest of near Taun- ton, 265, 306 re Natal Fantail, 243 re Pointed-tailed Grass, 244 BA Reed, 48; in 8. Wales, 319 a Saffron-breasted Grass, 243 - Sedge, 48 BP Short-tailed Bush, 246 is Smith’s Fantail, 244 Pr South African Reed, 246 FP Stripe-throated Reed, 245 » Lawny-flanked Grass, 248 », Tawny-headed Bush, 246 White-breasted Reed, 245 Waxbill, Blue-breasted, 300 », Common, 299 » Dutfresne’s, 300 » Sanguineous, 300 Waxwing near Birmingham, 117; near Llanwrtyd, 132° Weaver-bird, Black-fronted, 257 “5 Cape, 256 Smith’s, 297 #5 Spotted-backed, 297 - Whale, White, 406 Whales, 405 Wheatear, 48, 430; variety of, 352 i Capped, 211 “5 Mountain, 211 re Southern Ant-eating, 210 Whimbrel, 408 White-eye, Cape, 247 Whitethroat, 49 Lesser, 49 Whooper, 368 Widow-bird, Dominican, 297, 460 5 Long-tailed, 298 Wigeon, 288 ‘* Wigeon,” the etymology of, 110 Wildfowl breeding at Rainworth, Notts, 309 ‘Wild Turkey,” 424 Woodcock, 214; habits of the, as observed in Ireland, 307; nest of, 368; nesting of, 391 EX CONTENTS. Woodeock’s mode of carrying its young, 306 Woodpecker, Cardinal, 208 - Great Spotted, 135, 366 v3 Ground, 208 Hairy, supposed occur- renee of in Oxfordshire, 69 Lesser Spotted, 135, 368; "and Nuthatch, notes of, 230 58 Red- vented, 208 Wren, Common, 49; curious nesting- place of, 264 » Fire-crested, 49 »» Golden-crested, 49 Wren, Wood, 49, 298 3» Willow, 49 Wryneck, 135 Red-breasted, 208 Yellowhammer, 368 Yunx pectoralis, 208 Zoological Science, grants in aid of, 394 Zoology of the voyage of ‘ The Hira, 361 Zosterops capensis, 247 THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Vou. VI.] JANUARY, 1882. [No. 61. THE PAST AND PRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF SOME OF .THE RARER ANIMALS. OF SCOTLAND. By J. A. Harvie Brown, F.R.S.E., F.Z.S. IV. Tue Bapcer. Aurtnoves still a common British quadruped, the Badger is not nearly so numerous or so widely distributed as formerly. Proofs of its former abundance are forthcoming from almost every county of Scotland; topography teems with places called after the ‘‘ Brock.” The following are only a few instances from many selected to illustrate its former distribution :—Alt-nam-broc, in Rosshire; Carn-broc, Ayrshire; Has-nam-broc (‘the Badger’s Waterfall ’’), Invernesshire ; Strath-broc, Linlithgowshire ; Monia- broc, Stirlingshire; Mona-broc, Renfrewshire (the two latter meaning Badger’s Hill) ; Craig-nam-broc, Argyleshire. In nearly all of these counties many more instances might be given of the use of the name in topography; and in England also are many, as Brockley Hill in Middlesex, Brockhurst in Shropshire, and Brockworth in Gloucestershire. Many of these localities are still known as the haunts of Badgers at the present day, and have, in most cases, been frequented by Badgers from an extremely early date. They are also still far from uncommon in England, and recent reports have been received of their occur- rence within a few miles of London. Thus, at Dollis Hill Farm, Willesden, as I am informed by Sir Dudley Marjoribanks (now Lord Tweedmouth), a Badger was dug out about five years 2 B 2 THE ZOOLOGIST. ago (say 1876), and many other notices might be gleaned from ‘The Field,’ ‘The Zoologist,’ and other periodicals. But the distribution of the Badger in Scotland is far from being general, many large tracts being unfrequented, and others well stocked. Protection has a good deal to do with this in certain localities, and persecution in others, apart from the amenity of the situations. Owing to the trade in live Badgers, and the escape of individuals from confinement, some of the records may not be considered so reliable for the purpose of comparing the past and present distribution, as if they all related to truly wild animals ; but it would be next to impossible to separate these two classes of records, and I have not attempted to do so in the present article. Proof of its former abundance also may be gathered from the fact that of old there was no specific name in Gaelic for a fox-hunter, but such a man was invariably known as a ‘* Brocair,” 7. ¢., the Badger-man, or Badger-killer. It is curious to find that no mention is made of the Badger, or Brock, in the ‘ Boke of St. Albans,’ one of the oldest books in the English language,* nor do we find any notice of it in Maddox’s ‘History of the Exchequer,’ or in Burke’s ‘ Heraldic Illustrations’; but later, in heraldry, we find it in common use. Thus, in ‘ The List of the Baronetage,’ the crest of the Brokes, and also of the Brookes of Colbroke, was a Badger. One of my correspondents remarks, no doubt correctly, that 1842 was a sad year for the poor Badgers, owing to the revival of the Highland dress after the Queen’s visit to Scotland. The Badger occurs, or occurred, all over the mainland of Scotland, but does not appear to be indigenous to any of the islands, specimens which were caught in Jura about twenty- five years ago by Mr. Cox, gamekeeper at Culzean, Ayrshire, having in all probability been introduced. Badgers have also been introduced to the island of Ailsa Craig. Five were obtained from Peebleshire about six years ago, and were put upon the Craig by Mr. Cox, and the introduction has been successful, as young ones have been seen there since. From the following notes, collected from various parts of Scotland, some idea may be formed of their past and present * In ‘The Boke of St. Albans’ the Badger is referred to (f. iiij rev.) as ‘the Graye,” a name by which it is frequently mentioned in medizyal Household Books.—Eb. THE RARER ANIMALS OF SCOTLAND. 3 distribution, though the said notes do not profess to exhaust the subject. Commencing in the North of Scotland, and travelling southwards, the comparison between the notes under each county will, I believe, be made easiest :-— Caithness.—From this county I have no returns, as I have hitherto failed to obtain a regular correspondent in it. Sutherland.—This county appears eminently suited to the habits and requirements of the species, especially in the more mountainous districts of the north and west, and of the east. They are preserved in the Duke of Sutherland’s own Forest of Dunrobin, and they breed there every year. A male, caught ina trap in Balblair Wood in October, 1866, was at once liberated, but a sow, caught in a trap in 1870, was not so fortunate, but died before it could be released. Elsewhere, in the east of the county, they cannot be said to be plentiful. Mr. T. E. Buckley, indeed, who lived there for many years, and is intimately acquainted with the district, writes me that he never heard of the Badger in the district until 1879, when one was killed at Dun- robin: “but,” he adds, “they used to be present on this ground, as there is a barn on Gordon Bush called Alt-nam-broc. In the Reay country it still exists in small numbers. Two were trapped about 1875 or 1876 on the march of the Reay forest, in a fox-trap baited with a hare.* Fiosshire.-—In many parts of this county, where it was, not many years ago, abundant, it is now nearly or quite extinct. In the parish of Gairloch it is considered quite extinct by Mr. Osgood H. Mackenzie, who is intimately acquainted with the * fauna of his district. He records the last killed twenty years ago (say 1860) at Inverewe. In May, 1879, distinct evidence of the presence of a Badger was seen by the forester in Fannich Forest, it having passed the winter in a den there. In the preceding spring a Badger was trapped in the neighbouring Forest of * I may mention here that I have a great many returns of vermin killed in this county for many years back, from which I could cull many facts of the past and present distribution of this species; but I prefer to retain these notes for the present, or at least only occasionally to refer to them, as I think that the material will accumulate sufficiently to make a fuller paper upon “Past and Present Distribution of so-called Vermin,” and will be more interesting in this form, 4 THE ZOOLOGIST. Braemore, a few miles from where the above evidence was seen. These are the only ones heard of or seen in the district for a very long time. In tho east of the county it appears to be equally rare, as it is now more than twenty years since the last one was killed on Balnagown by a keeper of the name of Scott. A little further inland, in Strath Conan, it is reported as having been very common before game was preserved, but does not appear to have been common for the past twenty years (or say since . 1860). The last killed was about eight years ago (say 1872). At Struy, also in the east of the county, it is reported as being almost extinct, and this extermination has taken place since 1874, between which date and the present eight have been trapped. Invernesshire.—In this county it still holds its own fairly well, though not so abundant as formerly. In some places, where once common, it has become quite rare. The last Badger seen on Guisachan, in the east of the county, was trapped at Cogie, four miles from Guisachan House, in the winter of 1855, and none have since been seen or tracked in the snow, as I am informed by Lord Tweedmouth. Its former residence there is shown in the name of a waterfall close to Guisachan, called to this day Hassan-nam-broc. A little more inland, in Glen Urquhart and Glen Morrison, it still exists, though not very plentifully. ‘* At the present moment,” writes my informant, “there are two Badgers within two miles of where I write.” This was in March, 1880. It is reported also as not yet extinct in the Glenmore district, south of the Spey. Further west, and north of the Caledonian Canal, it is still abundant about Fort Augustus. In Badenoch Badgers are counted rare, but are still present in Ardverikie or Ben Aulder Deer-forest. Two were got in 1880 also at Corrie, Invereshie, on the property of Sir George Mae- pherson Grant, Bart. Four were killed within three miles of Loch Errochd Lodge in 1878, and an informant teld a corre- spondent of mine that two years ago he counted no less than thirteen Badgers sunning themselves in a choice spot not far from Ardvyerikie Lodge. They are carefully preserved here—as indeed are all the native wild animals—by the proprietor, Sir John Ramsden, Bart. Nairn, Elgin.—A very marked cause of their decrease here is stated by the Brothers Steuart, in their ‘Lays of the Deer THE RARER ANIMALS OF SCOTLAND. 5 Forest,’ where it is stated that many were killed at Tarnaway inthe violent floods of 1827 (‘ Lays of the Deer Forest,’ vol. ii., p. 268), so graphically described by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder (‘ Account of the Moray Floods).’ It is now scarce, and indeed has been for a good many years- They still exist in Darnaway Woods, and seventeen years ago, at Dalry, they were numerous, and Mr. Grant, keeper there at that time, kept a lot of rough-haired terriers on purpose to hunt them. The last killed at Dalry was about four years ago (say 1876). In the Keith district the last killed was a sow, along with four young, which were trapped upon Keith Lodge shooting about thirteen years ago (say 1868). Speaking of Badgers at Dalry, Mr. Grant tells me of one Badger which became so tame that it followed one about like a dog, and use to go out with the shooting party regularly, and keep close at their heels like a terrier. It would not, however, take the water, and, when they crossed a certain burn, it used to run along the bank until it came to a foot-bridge, when it would cross and follow on their track like a dog. Captain Dunbar Brander recollects the Badger as very abundant in Elgin forty years ago. He has a distinct remembrance of no less than five earths within a radius of three miles of his house. These earths now are occupied only by rabbits, and the last Badger occurred there in 1854 or 1855, when in company of the late Mr. Charles St. John, author of ‘The Highland Sports,’ &c., he saw one dug out. Aberdeenshire.—In the Don Valley the only Badgers in the district at present are strictly preserved by the proprietor. The locality is pretty far up the river, but it is not necessary to name it. Inthe Dee Valley they are not quite so scarce, but they are far from numerous. In Glen Tanar, Dee Valley, ten Badgers have been trapped or otherwise obtained between 1870 and 1880. Itis reported as not yet quite extinct in the north- east of Aberdeenshire, being still found on one or two properties. On most of the lower reaches of the Dee it is probably verging on extinction, if not indeed already extinct. Long ago they were present at Crathes. Until six years ago, however (say 1874), Badgers were to be seen, and some were frequently killed in the woods of Hazelhead, about three miles west of Aberdeen. The last seen there, of which Mr. George Sim has any knowledge, were a male and female which had taken refuge in a waterlade, 6 THE ZOOLOGIST. and had been drowned when the water was let down upon them. At Park Hill, where they had a stronghold, they were killed out ‘about ten years ago (say 1870). Park Hill is about six or seven miles north-west of Aberdeen. Mr. Sim says he is not aware now of any places in the county which can be said with certainty to hold Badgers, excepting one property, which he mentions by name. At this place they were extirpated about forty years ago, but have lately reappeared, and they are now carefully preserved, and looked upon as harmless by the proprieter. In the extreme north-east of the county, the Rev. W. Gregor got one twenty-four years ago (say 1856), and reports it as being now very rare in the district ; it is indeed, I think, probably extinct. A few still, in 1880, exist about Braemar, however, and their tracks were seen in 1880—81 on the snow near Old Mar Lodge, and I have record of one killed in 1856 on the braes of Mar, but none since then. Argyleshire.—In Sunart there are still a good many Badgers, but few fortunately are killed, as they go deep into carns of stones. One was killed on the top of Ben Resipol by terriers when hunting for foxes in April, 1876, and the keeper trapped another in May of the same year on the “‘ rough side of Glen- tuirc” in a trap set for Hooded Crows. It is somewhat curious that they seem to be quite unknown in the adjoining promontory of Ardnamurchan, west of Salen, which marches with Sunart. Mr. J. J. Dalgleish, who has known the place since 1856, has never known of Badgers there, nor have any been seen by the keeper since he came there in 1862. The tangled woods and rocky and almost unapproachable places overlooking Loch Sunart, however, might possibly harbour a few of these animals for a long time without much chance of their detection, especially of late years, since the woods have got up. The Rev. A. Stewart, of Ballachulish, seems to consider the Badger much rarer in Strontian Locheil and Lochaber. He can only instance very few having been killed during the last twenty years. Twenty years ago (say 1861) he saw a living female with two cubs, which had been captured previously about ten miles north of Fortwilliam. About twelve years ago (say 1870) he saw a very fine and savage old male in the possession of a shepherd at Strontian. It was afterwards sent south to a friend in Dumfriesshire. About five years ago (say 1877) a female was killed in Glen Etive. There is THE RARER ANIMALS OF SCOTLAND. 7 also—or was—a stuffed specimen in Balachulish House. It was killed, Mr. Stewart was told, in Glen-a-Chaolis, about a mile and a half inland from the present hotel. I have few returns of con- sequence from other parts of Argyleshire, but they are still found in many parts of the county, and I know of one locality, not far from the Pass of Brander, where they have existed almost from time immemorial, and are still to be found every season. I shall be glad to receive further statistics from this county. Kincardine.—Fifteen years ago at Benholm Castle, the keeper at that time there, killed ten Badgers the first season. After that he received instructions not to kill any more. They are reported as plentiful in the county up to 1847, when a litter was destroyed ; and in 1865 one was shot, but was supposed to be a wanderer. Forfarshire.—F rom this county I have scarcely any returns, and would be glad to receive some. At Gray House one was caught in 1849, as I am informed by Capt. H. W. Feilden. Fifeshire.—Along the sea-coast, in the east of Fife, it was at one time abundant, but is much rarer now, as well as in the interior. They lingered in Kinglassie Wood until 1848, when two were trapped at Camber House. Kinglassie Wood has since been cut down, however, and, as far as I can learn, none have been seen there since. It was cut down in 1848—1849 (vide ‘The Squirrel in Great Britain,’ p. 140). A year or two ago one was caught on Bunarty Hill, which lies up towards the Cleish Hills, and is well wooded on the southern slope. It is forty-two years (say 1838) since a Badger was killed in the district around Largo, as far as my informant, Mr. Charles Harvie, can learn. The sea-cliffs east of St.-Andrew’s were their breeding haunts fifty years ago, and it used to be the practice to ‘“,draw the Badger” in a hole on St. Andrew’s Links. Of later years they have been known to occur in the west of the county, but their occurrence in the east is doubtful. At Markinch, however, one was obtained on the 14th of February, 1880; but it is many years since any were seen here before.—(‘ Scotsman,’ 10th February, 1880.) Kinrosshire.—In this small county I have no record of any specimens obtained of late years, but should be glad of data, if any such are forthcoming. 8 THE ZOOLOGIST. Perthshire.—This county still holds a prominent place in Scotland, notwithstanding the extent to which game-preserving is carried, as sheltering many of our rarer and most interesting animals, and the information obtainable is considerable as regards the Badger, amongst others. In the north of the county they were very abundant about 1842, and for a few years afterwards along Loch Erroch side, and also in Rannoch, but they are rare or almost extinct there now—some correspondents say “‘ extinct.” In the Upper Tay district and Breadalbane, however, they are still not uncommon, haying been seen at Killiechassie and on the Cluny Rocks as late as 1880, and one having been killed in 1874. It is believed that they are still common in this locality, which is well adapted to their habits. In Remony and Breadal- bane, further west, however, they appear to be scarce, and in one part of the district Mr. Dewar claims to have killed the last one seen, in 1844, a little west from Kinmore on the south side of Loch Tay; but on Mornish Hill, and above Finlarig, Mr. Dewar killed eight during the last ten years. In 1871 he got the mother and two cubs. At Chesthill, Glenlyon, two were killed during seven years since 1872, and they are not yet extinct there ; while, about Glenhochy and Killin, four were killed in 1879. At Glen Queich, south of Loch Tay, near Easter Shian, it is probably extinct, and the last killed was about 1860, on the borders of Amulree and Easter Shian Moors. In the east of the county, between 1870 and 1880, five were obtained, but Mr. Paterson, of Dalnaglar, thinks they must have come long dis- tances, and were not really daily inhabitants of the glen. A few still exist about Dunkeld, but it is thought will soon be extinct unless preserved. In the Carse of Gowrie and the Sidlaw Hills, Colonel Drummond Hay remembers them as very abundant about 1820—24, but they have been extinct now for many years. At Dupplin several have been killed of late years. From all the Valleys of the Earn and Allan west of this, I can hear of none obtained in late years. In the west of the county Mr. Mac- pherson killed one on Ben More, and they are still not extinct on the Braes of Balwhidder, where one was got in 1879, and another the same year at Glenbucket. Nor are they extinct around Callendar. One was killed at Blairgany three years ago (1877), and now, if any remain, they are preserved. They were once abundant at the head of Edinchip Glen amongst the great BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. § loose carns, and in Glen Ogle above Loch Earn, but it is doubtful if they now exist there. It thus appears that the Badger has become rarer or extinct in the north and a great part of the south of the county; also in the south-east and east, but retains a hold in the west and central portions. Again, in the south-east, one was caught about seventeen or twenty years ago (say 1860—63) by a poacher named Frank Morgan, along with two others, Peter Allison and John Pryde (all still alive), who caught the said Badger in a common Hare-net at a gate. It was kept alive, but again escaped. This happened on the Estate of Cromlix. Dumbartonshire.—In 1873 Mr. John Colquhoun, in his ‘ Fere Nature of the British Isles,’ wrote, ‘‘ Hach rocky carn capping the Glenfalloch range of the Grampians has its family of Badgers.” How far this is true at present I cannot exactly say, but I do not think they are now so generally abundant. In Arrochar, how- ever, they are still very plentiful, and are unmolested. There are many colonies between Arrochar and Luss, and on the hills of Glenfalloch ; the whole ground being rooted up by them, as lam informed by Mr. Colquhoun. He adds, ‘‘ There have been Badgers in Glenfinlas from time immemorial, though in all probability they will in time be rooted out.” (To be continued.) NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. By Joun T. Carrineton, F.L.8., anp Epwarp Lovett. (Continued from vol. v., p. 461.) Pilumnus hirtellus, Leach. Being the only British representative of this genus, it will not be necessary to consider separately the generic features of this species. It is somewhat diminutive in size, scarcely attaining, and rarely exceeding, an inch in breadth of carapace. Thi latter is of very compact form, rather convex, and covered on the anterior portion with closely-set hairs. The anterior margin is denticu- lated and the lateral margins are straight, narrowing towards the Cc 10 THE ZOOLOGIST. posterior margin, which is also nearly straight. The abdominal segments are seven in number in both sexes, those of the male tapering off after the third segment, whilst those of the female are, as usual, much broader on account of the protection required for the ova. The external antenne are long, and the third joint longer than the second; the internal antenne are club-shaped. The anterior pair of legs are very powerful in comparison with the size of the animal, thick and somewhat cylindrical in form. Perhaps the most remarkable feature in connection with them is, that one anterior claw is almost always nearly twice the size of the other, and that this disparity is not constant, for in some cases the right and in others the left claw is the larger. This does not appear to be the result of difference in sex, or locality, but is apparently a chance phenomenon. The remaining pairs of legs are rather plano-convex in form, the convex surface, of course, being the upper one. ‘They are very hairy. The colour of this species is usually of a warm reddish brown, with paler speckled markings. The forceps are pale brown. Like many others, the colour of this crab seems to be modified in some degree by the locality inhabited by the animal. Some specimens that we obtained from Weymouth were all of the tint referred to by Bell as occasionally occurring; whilst others that we obtained from the Sussex coast were reddish brown, and in some instances very pale. Here we have two different localities, not only geologically, but in the development of their marine flora, and hence possibly the variation in this, as in many other species. Pilumnus hirtellus is with ova during the summer months. The eggs are yellowish when first exuded, becoming darker in colour as they mature; they are exuded in the arly summer months in warm localities, but later in less favourable places. Bell mentions that he only found one female, and that dead and mutilated, among twenty or thirty specimens. We have, how- ever, obtained a number of specimens of this sex from various localities. This crab, though well distributed, is evidently a frequenter of warm areas; not only is it found on our southern and western coasts, but it is a fact to be noticed that the finest specimens we have ever seen were from the Channel Islands and the Devonshire and Dorsetshire coasts. BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACIEA. 11 Other species of this genus seem to be widely distributed, and are recorded from such localities as the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Australia, east and west coasts of East Indies, and South America. As regards the British Isles, we have obtained Pilumnus hirtellus from many localities of the south-western coasts, as well as from the Channel Islands. Bell states that it appears from Mr. Thompson’s catalogue to be widely distributed on the coasts of Ireland, but in small numbers. It is, however, elsewhere recorded as common near Galway, and was washed up near Dublin after severe gales. It is frequent at Plymouth. Prof. Stalio gives it as occurring in the Adriatic Sea. Pirimela denticulata (Leach). The carapace of this rare species is roughly circular, being nearly as long as it is broad; the anterior margin is much denticulated, and the lower lateral margins converge towards the posterior margin; the upper surface is decidedly convex, the regions being well marked. The anterior pair of legs are equal in size, carinated, and the fingers grooved and serrated on the inner margins; the remaining legs are somewhat flattened and slightly fringed with hair on the edges. The abdomen is seven-jointed in the female and five-jointed in the male. In size this beautiful little crab rarely exceeds an inch in diameter of the carapace. Its colour varies somewhat, being usually of a brownish tint, with occasionally a tinge of green. It is evidently one of our rarest species. Bell records a few isolated cases of its capture on the coast near Sandwich, Bantham, Torquay, and Compton, Isle of Wight, as well as from Scotland and the Antrim coast. It has been recorded from St. Andrews (rare), Galway (rare), Belfast, and South Devon. Mr. Norman has obtained it at Guernsey and Herm in the pools accessible at extreme low tide, where it had probably gone for exuviation. In Cornwall it is sometimes found amongst trawlers’ refuse. We have received specimens from the Channel Isles, Sussex coast, and Brixham. In the ‘ Natural History Review’ (vol. iv. p. 156) Dr. Kinahan gives an interesting account, with plate, of the zowa form of this Yare crustacean. 12 THE ZOOLOGIST. Carcimus menas, Leach. Again we have an instance of a genus represented by a single species, which is the commonest British crab. It is popularly known as “The Shore Crab,” which is so commonly met with in our sea-side rambles. Although so extremely plentiful, it is not, on account of its small size, much used as an article of food, except in some districts by the poorer classes, although its flavour is decidedly sweet and pleasant. It is not unusual, however, to see barrows laden with this species hawked by costermongers at the east end of London. The carapace of Carcinus menas is slightly convex, regularly denticulated on the anterior margin, which is an even curve. The lateral margins converge towards the posterior margin at an angle of about 45°. The posterior margin is quite straight, with an elevated waved margin, when viewed vertically. The anterior pair of feet are of moderate size, the wrist toothed and the pincers denticulated. The chele are of great service to the owner, for no other crab has such pugilistic and predatory habits as Carcinus menas. If driven to defend itself, it will fiercely attack with these by no means insignificant weapons. If, however, it can burrow in the sand or mud of the shore it will do so, leaving its eyes, antenne, and anterior legs uncovered. In this position few of its enemies will dare to attack it. The remaining legs are somewhat simple and smooth, the fifth pair having a few hairs on their lower margin. The abdominal somites are five in number in the male and seven in the female, the latter being, as usual, broad and adapted to cover a large mass of ova. In the case of this crustacean the ova are not of so brilliant a colour as are those of many other species, being of a dull yellowish brown tint. They are not fixed in such definite groups either, as many of those we have referred to, but are arranged in rows attached to a common centre, each ovum being attached to a main ligature by an equal-sized stem. This arrangement is dissimilar to the usual method on which the ova of the Brachyura are attached. The eggs are exuded at intervals extending over a long period. We have obtained the female with spawn from spring to autumn, but consider that this is due, to a great extent, to the more or less favourable conditions under which the animal exists. BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. 13 The colour of this common but interesting species varies more than that of any other of the British Crustacea, and it is no doubt from the protection that is derived from its very close resemblance in this respect to its surroundings that it is of such wide distribution. On the sandy beaches of most of our shores this crab is invariably of a yellowish or reddish brown colour, the latter tint being more prominent in localities where the sand partakes of a ferruginous character. In estuaries or on shores of a clay or mud deposit, such as at the mouth of the Medway, the colour again becomes assimilated to the surroundings, the animal being of a dull brown, frequently tinged with green. In the rock-pools, however, of such highly favoured localities as the Channel Islands, where, in hollows in the syenitic or dioritic rocks, the Zostera, Ulva, and other richly tinted Alge are in almost tropical profusion, there it is that the most beautiful colours of Carcinus inenas are developed. Instead of the sombre shades of the inhabitants of sandy or muddy shores we have here specimens marked with the brightest green mottled with white. So striking is the resemblance to its surroundings in these localities that it is at times almost impossible to detect the animal unless it moves. Even in the tanks of the Westminster Aquarium, this adapta- tion of colour, as a means of protection, can be clearly observed. Specimens from different localities and of different shades have become of one hue after a short existence under such new conditions of life, those inhabiting tanks with a sandy bottom becoming unicolorous, whilst those in tanks with a shingly floor assume a mottled appearance. The geographical distribution of Carcinus menas is remark- able; not only is it extremely abundant on almost all parts of the coasts of the British Islands, but according to the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History’ (1874, vol. xiii. p. 405), quoting the _ ‘Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal’ (November, 1873), Dr. J. Anderson is stated to have taken it at Point de Galle. Besides this it has been recorded from the coasts of North and South America, as well as from the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean. Carcinus meénas is of much service as well as of considerable annoyance to fishermen. It is crushed and used by them as bait for the whelk-pots. At Shoreham the children are often employed 14 THE ZOOLOGIST. catching them for this purpose, their apparatus being simply a piece of string with a fish’s head tied at the end of it. A steady trade also exists in catching and sending away Shore Crabs from the Wash and Lincolnshire coast to the south-coast fishing towns, where they are used as just mentioned. Immediately after exuviation this crab is a tempting bait for some kinds of fish; in this soft state they are known as “‘peelarts.” As an annoyance to fishermen, it not only walks off with the bait from ground- lines, but often when fishing from a boat the hooks upon being drawn up are found to be occupied by several of these crabs, to the exclusion of any fish. On the Sussex coast the Shore Crab is called the “Jack Avell;” on the Norfolk coast, ‘“‘Swinard;” and in Jersey, “* Verte Crabbe.” Portumnus latipes (Pen.). Although this remarkably interesting little crab is the only one of the genus yet known from the British seas, several others exist and have been described. M. Milne-Edwards places them in the genus Platyonychus. The two generic names seem to have given rise to some slight confusion, and we would refer our readers to Bell’s explicit table of characteristics of the two genera. The carapace of this species is usually about an inch long, and the same across the broadest part. The anterior margin is rounded, the orbits forming circular indentations in the curve; on each latero-anterior margin are three tooth-like notches, and between the orbits are three others, the centre one being the longest. The carapace is smooth and shining, of a dull whitish brown, with just a tinge of purple, and having a pitted appearance. The chele are equal in size, the movable forcep much curved, the claws slightly ridged and fringed with short hairs. The remaining legs are also slightly fringed with hair. The antenne are short. The eyes are somewhat prominent and fixed on stout peduncles. We have had an opportunity of examining the ova of this species, which are very beautiful. We obtained specimens with spawn in the month of May. At that time the ova were of a beautiful straw-colour, and so clear as to be almost transparent when examined microscopically; they are, as usual, attached by OCCASIONAL NOTES. 15 viscid ligatures, but in long strings instead of in bunches—in this respect resembling the foregoing species. Portumnus latipes is by no means a common species, and, owing to its habit of burrowing, its exuviated shell is more frequently found than the living animal. We have obtained these casts from the Channel Islands, and when at Boulogne, in June of this year, we found a great number of them, very small in size, scattered over the broad reach of sand on the coast there. In May of this year we obtained about a score of living specimens, taken in one haul of a seine-net, at Shoreham. One female was with exuded ova, and others with ova not exuded. Carapaces only have been recorded from sandy ground at St. Andrews and Galway; at Dublin it has been washed up after gales; from South Devon, rare; and from other localities cara- paces only are recorded, thus bearing out the idea that it is owing to its habits of life that it is apparently rare, and not often seen alive. (To be continued.) OCCASIONAL NOTES. Tue Braver IN ScanDinavia.—JIn continuation of my notes on the Beaver in Norway, which appeared in ‘ The Zoologist ’ last year, I have now to add that I cannot hear of so much as one individual of this species in Sweden, though I visited last autumn the two neighbourhoods in which I had had reason to suppose it likely that some few might still remain, I came down the whole length of the Torne River from Naimakka (passing on the way the late Mr. J. Wolley’s collecting grounds), and could not learn that any Beaver had been heard of in the neighbourhood of that river for about thirty years, which is the most definite information I could obtain. I think this, however, leaves very little room to doubt that they are extinct _ thereabouts, for a Beaver is not an animal that hides its light under a bushel. The man (a Quan, or Finn), who gave me this information, knows the animal, for he used to see them up to about the time mentioned, but said that they used to be in the smalj streams, and never in the big river. I returned westwards, via the Stor Sjén, a locality I had had great hopes of, as the majority of people whom I have questioned on the subject in any part of Sweden referred me to Jemtland; and Lilljeborg meutions the Stor Sjén as being a possible locality. I was here again assured that it was years since any had been heard of thereabouts, and that they had existed most recently in the Fjeld districts, and not down in the lake. 16 THE ZOOLOGIST. T had a short-lived false alarm here, a gentleman telling me he had séen a Beaver-skin in Ostersund last winter. On pursuing my search to head- quarters, I found that it was nothing more than one of the ordinary stock of American furs in a furrier’s shop! Of course, merely travelling through a district is a very different thing from thoroughly searching it; but, though so many people outside Jemtland were confident that Beavers existed therein, yet no one in the province with whom I conversed held out the slightest hope of such a thing; and, though I am very far from being in a position to assert positively that no Beaver exists at the present time in Sweden (and should be very glad to find myself entirely wrong), yet I cannot help being now extremely doubtful about it. In Jemtland I was generally referred to acertain other province, which I hope to visit some day, but do not at all expect my wish to find Beavers there realised. Besides these localities, I naturally heard occasionally of some other locality where Beavers were supposed by my informant to exist; but further inquiries in each case satisfied me that such was no longer the case.— Autrrep Henrace Cooks (Great Marlow, Bucks). Uncommon Bar near Dusiin.—On the 22nd June last, at half-past ten in the morning, I saw a large black Bat hawking for flies over the River Dodder, near Miltown Bridge. ‘The sun was shining brightly at the time, and, as I watched it from the bridge, it frequently came quite close, sometimes above, sometimes beneath me. Its ears seemed short. From its dark colour I saw it was not the Noctule, which, from its size, I thought it might be when I first noticed it. It was in company with numbers of Swifts and Swallows. My friend Mr. More, of the Dublin Museum, who is familiar with the Serotine, agrees with me that it might perhaps have been that Bat, which, I believe, has not yet been noticed in Ireland.—Prrey E. Frexe (Rosemount, Dundrum, Dublin). [The Serotine can hardly be described as black, or even dark-coloured. It is perhaps more likely to have been Leisler’s Bat, which has already been noted in Ireland. See Zool. 1874, pp. 4071, 4236; and 1875, pp. 4419, 4532.—Ep.] OrnitHoLocicaL Notes From NortHAMPTONSHIRE.— Mr. W. Tomalin, of Northampton, informed me by letter that he shot a Rough-legged Buzzard, Buteo lagopus, at Weston Favell, October 5th, 1881, and has recorded this occurrence in the ‘ Field’ of October 15th. A Great Grey Shrike, Lanius excubitor, was shot by my friend Mr. George Hunt near Thorpe Waterville, November 1st, 1881, and sent to me in the flesh; this specimen is a female, and I think a young bird of the year. A Ruff, Machetes pugnax, was shot by my gamekeeper in a meadow near Pitch- marsh, November 2nd, 1881, and sent to me. I consider this fact worthy OCCASIONAL NOTES. 17 of record, because the above is only the second instance of the occurrence of this species in our own immediate neighbourhood which has come to my knowledge, though the Ruff bred in the Cambridgeshire Fens, at not more than fifteen miles distance from Lilford, well within my recellection. I subjoin the dates of arrival of some autumnal migrants about Lilford, as observed by myself and Mr. G. Hunt above mentioned ;—Redwing, Turdus iliacus, September 30th ; Jack Snipe, Gallinago gallinula, October 10th (very unusually late); Grey Crow, Corvus cornix, October 11th; Wild Goose, Anser sp.?, October 15th; Teal, Anas crecca, October 19th (very late); Widgeon, Mareca penelope, October 28th; Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris, October 29th; Golden Plover, Charadrius pluvialis, October 29th; Wood- cock, Scolopax rusticula, October 31st (about a week later than usual). We had but very few Snipes about our meadows on the Nen till the end of October, about which time a considerable flight dropped in, and upwards of one hundred, amongst which were a large proportion of “Jacks,” were bagged by Mr. Hunt and the Lilford gamekeepers betweeu November Ist and 10th. The annual arrival of travelling Wood Pigeons, Colwnba palumbus, took place about the end of October. Mr. Hunt, writing to me from Wadenhoe House, Oundle, November 1st, says:— “The Wood Pigeons have come; they are in flocks of hundreds and hundreds up round the woods, and will soon clear up all the acorns.” A large number of these birds breed in our woods and plantations, but we always have an immi- gration of strangers in the autumn, their numbers apparently depending on the abundance or scarcity of acorns and beechmast, both of which were very plentiful in Northamptonshire last autumn.—Litrorp. OrnitHoLoaicaL Notes rrom Dupiin.—We were visited by a terrible ‘sou’-wester on Sunday, November 20th, which extended over the whole of Ireland, and during the week following specimens of Leach’s Petrel were observed at the undermentioned places :—At McGilligan’s Strand, Lough Foyle, seashore, one; Malahide, Co. Dublin, seashore, one: Clontarf, Dublin Bay, seashore, six; Edenderry, King’s County, inland bog, one; Turbotstown, Co. Westmeath, inland lake, two; Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, thirty miles inland, one. At Turbotstown a pair were seen following a boat on the lake; a gentleman, who watched them, mistook them for little hawks. They flew along the margin of the lake for several hours against the wind to the upper part, then settling, drifted back again, keeping head to wind all the time. The stomachs on dissection contained the usual oily matter, and a number of round semi-transparent objects resembling the seeds of aquatic plants. The rusty, faded looking plumage of both, with the exception of the wings, was in an advanced state of moult, some of the tail-feathers being only half-developed, the new dark grey feathers making their appearance about the head and neck. Of those taken at Lough Foyle D 18 THE ZOOLOGIST. and Malahide, there is no information as to whether they were alone or formed part of a small party. Six were seen at Clontarf estuary, Dublin Bay. The Great Northern Railway cuts across the mud-flats, forming a sheltered expanse about a quarter of a mile long and a few hundred yards, wide. Up and down and round this place the Petrels kept flying in a, zigzag course, following each other in single file, and reaching the margin, of the tide for food. Outside an archway in the embankment, where the water rushes out at the fall of the tide, seemed to be a favourite place for them, and here, among the small waves, the little Petrels (looking like large black Swallows), hovered head to wind, and kept tipping the water with their tiny black feet. They were, however, well able to take care of them- selves, keeping just out of gunshot, and it was with difficulty that one specimen (in an advanced state of moult) was obtained. The Petrel from Ballinasloe was picked up dead in a field about three miles from that town, and thirty miles from the west coast. As the telegraph wires run through the field, it may have been blown against them during the gale. The bird from Edenderry, King’s County, far inland, was put up by a Snipe-shooter at the edge of a bog. On November 22nd, after the gale, I saw a specimen of the Pomatorhine Skua at Sutton, Bay of Dublin; it was chasing a Black-headed Gull when seen first, and was observed a few days later in the same place. On December 2nd I had a good opportunity of observing a flock of thirty or forty Snow Buntings; they were very tame, allowing me to walk up to them within five yards whilst feeding among the sand-hills, They were in various stages of plumage, the beautiful white-winged adult birds being mixed among the grey and dark brown plumaged birds of the year.—A. Wixtiams (7, Grantham Street, Dublin). Tue Perecrines or SaLissuRy CaTHEDRAL.—They are old friends of mine, and I believe they have inhabited the spire of our Cathedral from time immemorial. I have been here since 1861. The first time I think I noticed them must have been in 1864, and no doubt I ought to have done so before had my eyes been open ; but never thinking of seeing such birds, they may have ere that escaped my notice. It was, then, in 1864, or possibly in 1865, that, being in the confines of the Close of Sarum, I was attracted by the piteous cry of a Peewit far above my head, and, on looking up, saw a Falcon and Plover both climbing the air as fast as they could go, the Peewit ringing in small circles, the Falcon making bold sweeps and mounting so quickly that she seemed almost to be walking upstairs; as soon as she ascended high enough, down she came at the Plover, but failed to strike it, the Plover descending in spiral curves like a corkscrew. After seeing this I kept my eyes open, and soon found that a pair of Peregrines roosted on the spire regularly every night. During that year I was constantly down in our water-meadows shooting, and 1 picked OCCASIONAL NOTES. 19 up four different kinds of birds killed by them, viz., Wood Pigeon, Moor- hen, Partridge, and Wild Duck, the last so fresh that I took it home and dined off it; I might possibly have disturbed her. I used then to go up to the eight doors of the Cathedral (7. e., where the spire springs from the tower, the tower being 207 feet and spire 193), and there I used to find’ various remains left by the Falcons, showing that it was a favourite resort of theirs. Amongst other things I picked up there was a Snipe’s leg. On one occasion, when I was up at the eight doors, a fine Falcon (hen bird) settled on the fretwork just above my head, some sixty feet or more, and she did not seem to take the least notice of me. I could see every feather on her, and she was in good adult plumage. This must have been about 1867—1868, so it certainly was not the ‘ Queen of Sheba” [a trained hawk that was lost and supposed to have taken up her qnarters on the spire]. About 1864 or 1865, I one day noticed no less than four Peregrines, all soaring round the spire at the same time, one of which perched on the knob of the cross above the weathercock. This certainly looked like the old ones with their young, but unfortunately I cannot remember the date or time of year, though I feel sure it was in the late summer or early autumn. In 1866 the spire was restored, and, after returning from a six weeks’ outing, I heard that one of the workmen had shot one of the “big hawks.” [ immediately inquired, and found the foreman had it, and valued it as a memento of his work at the Cathedral. I went to hin, and, after seeing my birds, he let me have it for a consideration. It was villanously stuffed. I sent it up to Ward, of Vere Street, to be redone. Two days after I retnrned I was working in my garden in the Close, when I heard a noise, as I thought, of a plank thrown down on the roof of the Cathedral. But my man, who was with me, said “‘ That’s the other big hawk shot ; I know the man was looking out for it.” The next night but one the man brought it down to me. It was the Falcon, a fine adult female, evidently having previously been caught in a gin, her upper mandible being broken, and one toe of the left foot being wanting. He had taken it round the town to sell it, and at last, hearing that the foreman had given me the other, he brought it tome. He said there were two others there, and he would get them for me. These I saved, however, telling him I knew the Dean would not like it, and would send away any man who killed them. ‘The Falcon was in the middle of the autumn moult, and therefore rather ragged in plumage; the Tiercel, killed about a month before, was in adult plumage, and had finished - moulting. Since that date (1866) I have on and off always seen the Peregrines round the spire, especially in the winter, when they frequently roost there, our water-meadows affording them fine wintering grounds. About 1872 or 1873 I had a fine view of a pair flying about some fine elms iu a park in front of the vicarage. I watched them for half an hour or so; at last the Tiercel flew off to the Clarendon Woods, and, giving a peculiar cry, the Falcon who 20 THE ZOOLOGIST. had stopped behind darted after him, and the rapidity of her flight when she went away in earnest was something marvellous, being out of sight, with a clear horizon, in a few seconds. In 1879 there was a great talk in Sarum about the Peregines on the spire, the majority of people not having apparently noticed them much before; and they were said to be building there. This proved to be more or less correct, for the boy who rings the bell got up and took the eggs. As far as I could discover there was no nest, however, the eggs being laid in the gutter. There was quite a furore about it, and the boy was warned that if he ever disturbed them again, he would be dismissed on the spot. In 1880 it was reported that they were building there again. The eight doors, therefore, were locked, and no one was allowed to go up, for I asked myself; but the answer was that strict orders had been given by the Dean and Canons that no one was to go up there until the birds had flown. However, about a month or so afterwards one of the Canons, whom I know personally, went up to inspect, as he took an interest in such matters, and there he found two eggs laid in two different gutters, but no attempt at a nest made, the eggs having evidently been there for a month or more. These two eggs he has now himself, and will, I think, give them to the Museum. This year (1881) apparently no eggs have been deposited there. I was up at the eight doors about the middle of April, and found remains of pigeons, &c., but nothing else, and the Canon told me, on the last day of May, he had not seen or heard of the hawks for the last two months, whereas before that time he heard them regularly about eight o’clock in the morning, making a great noise, which was just as he entered his study, and when he always looked for them. The workmen, in 1866, used constantly to see them bring up various birds to devour there. It is quite possible that the ‘“ Queen of Sheba” may have paid the Temple a visit, hoping to find a Solomon who could answer the “ hard question” where to build her nest in safety in these perilous days; but I think the subjoined account militates against her, or proves anyhow that we are independent of her—A. P. Morrzs (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury). [Communicated by Capt. F’. H. Salvin.] Hasirs or tHE Storm Perren 1 Capriviry.—I was much interested in the notice of the habits of the Storm Petrel which the Rev. Mr. Mathew quoted in ‘ The Zoologist’ for December last (p. 489). However, I do not agree with the statement that these birds “never take the water like ducks,” &c., and being forced into it “would perish as certainly as any land bird.” During the years 1871-2 I had very many opportunities of observing this species, and have often observed it alight on and rise from the surface of the sea. I particularly remember one very calm day near the equator, when hardly a breath of wind was to be felt and the sea was as smooth as a mirror, that a great many Storm Petrels were noticed resting on the water. On lowering the gig and pulling towards them they swam OGCASIONAL NOTES. 21 slowly from us, till, on getting too close, they rose one by one,only to settle down a little farther off. This was repeated several times with the same result. On the other hand, some Albatross, that were also near, seemed far more reluctant to rise, and did so only after great difficulty, striking the water for several yards with feet and wings before they got fairly ‘‘ under weigh,” and sometimes disgorging their finny prey to lighten them. It was only in calm weather, though, that I ever noticed the Petrels alight; at other times they were always on the wing.—J. M. Campsutt (Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow). [It is not at all unlikely that the captive Storm Petrel referred to by Mr. Mathew was in ill health, and the oil-gland affected; hence the bird was unable to keep its plumage waterproof.—Eb. | Fork-TAILED Perret.—Two specimens of this species were killed in November in the West of Scotland, one at Oban, the other a day or two after at Mearns, a village in Renfrewshire, a considerable distance from the sea, where it had been driven by one of the recent gales.—J. M. CamppeLu (Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow). European Birds OBSERVED IN NortH AmeERica.—I shall be obliged by the insertion of the following corrections in my article on this subject, which appeared in ‘The Zoologist’ for September last :—Mr. Ridgway informs me that Phylloscopus borealis (Blas.) has been found breeding in the Yukon district, Alaska. Parus cinctus (Bodd.) breeds in northern Alaska; the eggs have been obtained lately from the Arctic coast at either Fort Rae or Fort Anderson. Mareca penelope (Linn.) breeds at the Aleutian Islands. This is in accordance with what I stated in tho introduction, when I said, ‘‘ Of those species which I have retained, some will, [ believe, eventually be found breeding regularly in North America, and will be included in its fauna.” Mr. Dresser also informs me that he has a specimen of an undoubted Iceland Falcon obtained from the Labrador missionaries.—PErcy EH. FRexe (Dundrum, Dublin). Errata.—P, 368, for Larus marinus read L. minutus. P. 376, for Brewer read Brewster, as the authority for the occurrence of the Ruff in Maine.—P. E. F. SporreD CRAKE ON THE IsLAND or FeTLar, SHETLAND.—I have lately received from Mr. Ritchie, of Unst (the northernmost of the Shetlands), a specimen of the Spotted Crake, C. porzana, shot by him on the adjacent island of Fetlar, on October 25th. This bird was killed among some long reeds growing upon the excellent snipe-ground with which the island is for a great part covered. Mr. Ritchie killed two Water Rails and a large bag of Snipe the same day. As Dr. Saxby makes no mention of the Spotted Crake in his ‘ Birds of Shetland,’ this specimen, so far as I know, is the first recorded example from the islands.—C. Cuampers (High St., Edinburgh). 22 THE ZOOLOGIst. Burron’s Sxua AnD Lirtrz Avx in Co. WarEerrorD.—On the 14th October an immature specimen of Buffon’s Skua was shot on the Comeraghs, at a distance of fifteen miles from the sea. It attracted the notice of the gentleman who shot it by swooping down like a hawk at some Golden Plover. On the 19th November a Little Auk was found alive in a ditch about seven miles from the sea. After its capture it was placed in a large tub of water, but has since died. It is an adult bird in beautiful plumage, and not very thin. A Storm Petrel anda Turtle were washed ashore at Tramore a few days ago.—J. C. Baxer (Newtown, Waterford). OsPREY AND BuzzarpD In LincornsHrrE.—Mr. Barber, taxidermist, of Lincoln, showed me an Osprey and a Honey Buzzard, both of which were recently shot in the neighbourhood of Lincoln. Two or three specimens of the Rough-legged Buzzard and one at least of the Common Buzzard were shot not far from here at the end of last year. Mr. Barber also showed me a white Jay, without a single normal marking, taken this year from a nest which also contained a pied specimen.—W. W. Fow er (Lincoln). Guossy Isis 1n LincoLnsuireE.—An immature specimen of this bird was shot at Skegness, Lincolnshire, on the 9th September, 1881. On dissection it proved to be a male.—J. CuLiinerorp (University Museum, Durham). [This is the specimen to which reference is made, Zool. 1881, p-. 469.—Ep.] Sprnous SHarK AT Penzanor.— Two fishermen of St. Michael's Mount, fishing with hook and line within the headlands of the Bay in about fourteen fathoms water, caught a Spinous Shark on the morning of Deeember 12th. Before I saw the fish it had been completely gutted and very much cut up, and buried in a pile of manure; but I had it dug up, and saw the remains of the head (the jaws had been cut out). All the back part of the belly and the dorsals and caudal fin were entire. The fish measured eight feet four inches over all, and I was told that it weighed three hundredweight, with which statement my judgment agrees. The head was very rough, with tubercles on it, but there were no spines. All over the back and two dorsals, and over the thicker part of the tail, there were the irregularly- placed sharp spines characteristic of the fish, but they were not so numerous nor so long as those which I had before seen, and I could find none on the part of the belly which I saw. I was particular in examining this, because I had been told beforehand that there were no spines on the belly. The tail was very large, and had both lobes fully developed. The stomach of the fish contained a rusty conger-hook, and nothing else. This is remark- able, isasmuch as in nearly, if not all, the recorded specimens, of which the stomachs have been examined, the same emptiness has been observed. It is probable that the fish may have been near the ground on which it was EE OCCASIONAL NOTES. 23 caught for ten days or a fortnight, because our fishermen of Penzance have noticed during that period an unusual scarcity of fish there. And, assuming this to be so, it may point to some power on the part of the fish of ejecting the contents of its stomach nnder the terror of capture. So far as I could judge of the fish in its damaged condition, it was a flabby Ground Shark, not a Sarimmeo.—Tomas Corntsu (Penzance). Tue Dorse, ok GoLDEN Cop, on THe BanrrsHirE Coast.—A fine specimen of the Dorse, Gadus callarius, was taken in the Bay of Cullen, a small town on the Banffshire coast, on December 3rd. Examples have been met with both in England and Ireland, but though a northern species Tam not aware of its being met with before in Scotland. As it is a rare visitor to Britain, and apparently but little known, perhaps a brief account of the specimen in question may be worth recording. The description is as follows :—Length nearly 2 feet; circumference across the middle of first dorsal fin, 123 inches ; length of head, 43 inches; fin rays—first dorsal 19, second and third rays the longest; second dorsal 20, fourth, fifth and sixth the longest; third dorsal 21, seventh and eighth the longest ; pectoral 18, third and fourth longest; ventral 7, third longest; first anal 21, seventh, eighth and ninth longest; second anal 20, fifth, sixth and seventh longest. The caudal, which was slightly forked, being injured, I could not make out the exact number there, but I think there were over forty. The colour of the fish above and descending slightly below the lateral lines, as also on the top of the head, was of a beautiful golden yellow; the sides were of a silvery hue, which extended to the belly and on to the cheeks. All the fins and tail were likewise tinged with a delicate golden hue. The sides and head had a few dark markings here and there; the whole, however, had a very glossy and metallic lustre. The head was of a very peculiar shape, the sides being literally perpendicular, whilst the crown from about an inch and a half from the mouth to beyond the eyes was perfectly flat. It then rose into a rather sharp ridge, which extended back to the first dorsal fin. The mouth appeared very small for the size of the fish, the gape being only about an inch and a quarter. ‘Che barbel was scarcely a quarter of an inch in length. Both jaws were armed with very minute teeth, a few on the Vvomer, but none on the tongue. ‘I'he eye was very large, fully an inch and a half across. The lateral line in this case had two slight curves, one upwards above the end of the pectoral, the other downwards from near the end of the second to about the middle of the third dorsal, then straight to the tail. The upper jaw projects considerably beyond the lower. The head as a whole looks rather diminutive for the body of the fish; at least, so it appears to me. The stomach contained live crabs,—a Cleanser Crab and a minute Porcelain Crab,—thus showing that the fish had been feeding along shore.—THomas Epwarp (Banff). 24 THE ZOOLOGIST. Tue Dicrstive ORGANS oF THE PincHarD. — While visiting the S.W. coast of England during the past autumn, the food of the Pilchard, Clupea pilchardus, and the anatomy of its digestive cinal, claimed my attention. The fishes upon which my investigations were first made come inshore of an evening in order to obtain food ; so, after sundown, nets were shot between their feeding grounds and the deep sea to intercept their return. On opening one of these fishes one sees the three separate portions of the stomach; anteriorly the esophageal going from the mouth to the sac-like second or cardiac. division; while the pyloric part passes laterally from between the two first portions to the commencement of the small intestines, and appears églid to the touch. On slitting them up we see, on the inner surface of the cesophageal portion, several rows of large proventricular glands, behind which the mucous membrane is plicated into longitudinal or slightly oblique folds: these are interrupted opposite the opening into the pyloric portion, but reappear in the cardiac part. The walls of the pyloric portion are at least twice as thick as those at any other part of the stomach, while the mucous membrane is densely studded with round but small glandular prominences. In every instance, out of hundreds examined, this division of the stomach was distended by what may be likened to a sausage-shaped mass, consisting of an outer covering formed by secretion from the glandular mucous membrane, which was distended by the remains of Crustacea in their zcea-form, while similar food was likewise present in the cardiac portion of the stomach, but not enveloped by any unorganised membrane. Having subsequently received some more examples which were not so distended with food, still this remarkable membrane, hitherto, as I believe, unnoticed among fish, was found. Weber, in 1829, pointed out that the air-bladder of the Herring possessed a posterior opening into the progenital canal, which I likewise found to be the case in the Pilchard and in the common Sprat.—F'rancis Day (Cheltenham). RakE STAR-FISHES ON THE Coast oF ABERDEEN.—On the 10th of May last one of my fisher friends brought me a fine specimen of Strichaster rosea ; and in June a specimen of Astronyx loveni was brought to land by one of our “great line” fishers. As both the above were new to me—the former described by Forbes as “ Cribella rosea,” the other not known when he wrote—I took both to London, and, through the kindness of Professor Jeffery Bell, had them identified from specimens in the British Museum. Astronyx loveni was first described by Miller and Loschell in 1861, and the only British specimen known apart from mine was described by John A. Stewart of New College, Edinburgh. The dimensions of the one now referred to are as follows :—Longest ray, part of which is wanting, 18 in. long; second and third, also imperfect, 14 and 15 in. respectively ; fourth, perfect, 15¢ in. Of the fifth ouly 22 in. remain. On the upper side of the OCCASIONAL NOTES. 95 body two rosy, round, irregular-edged plates run from the base of each of the rays, and nearly meet in the centre of the disk, the spaces between being of a soft leathery-like substance, and of a dark brownish colour; rays and dorsal plates white—Grorcx Srm (Aberdeen). MorpHotoey oF THE TeMNopLeuRIDZ£.—The following is an abstract of a communication by Prof. P. M. Duncan, read before the Linnean Society, December 15th, 1881 :—The Temnopleurida, a subfamily of Oligo- pores, are remarkable for their sutural grooves and depressions at. the angles of the plates. The author examined the grooves and depressions, or pits, in Salmacis sulcata, Agass., and found that these last are continued into the test as flask-shaped cavities, sometimes continuous at their bases, which are close to the inside of the test, but do not perforate. This is the case in the median vertical sutures of the interradium and ambulacrum. Between the interradium and the poriferous plates of the ambulacra are numerous pits in vertical series, which are the ends of cylinders closed and often curved within. Altogether the undermining is considerable. The grooves over the sutural margins are losses to the thickness of the test. The edges of the contiguous plates are sutured together by a multitude of knobs and sockets one-eighth of an inch in diameter, visible with a hand lens. In the vertical sutures there is an alternate development of knobs and sockets on each plate, corresponding to a similar development on the opposed plates, and these structures lining the pits. Between the horizontal _ plate-edges are sutures remarkable in their distinctness and position. The apical edges of the interradial plates have multitudes of sockets, and the actinal edges have, correspondingly, knobs; whilst the apical edges of the ambulacral plates have knobs, and the actinal ones have sockets. The ambulacre, on their interradial edge, have nothing but knobs, and the inter- radial plates corresponding sockets; so that a great series of knobs and sockets (‘‘dowelling”’) prevails. Temnoplewrus torematicus, Agass., gave similar results, modified by the great development of the grooves, and the _ young form was shown to differ from the adult, and to have rows of knobs _ and sockets and barely penetrating pores. The arrangement in Salmacis bicolor and Amblypneustes ovum was considered. The pits have an im- portance, for they increase the superficies of the derm, and near the peristome, _ as indicated by Lovén, they contain Spheridia. The paucity of knowledge respecting the union of the plates of the Echinoidea was noticed, and the nature of the suturing of an Echinus and Diadema was explained, the first resembling part of that of a young Temnopleurus, but it was without knobs and sockets. The author concluded by separating the Temnopleuride into two divisions—those with pores, and those with grooves without pores. The last are the oldest in time, and resemble young modern forms, which subse quently develop pits. He reduced the number of genera considerably. E 26 THE ZOOLOGIST. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.” Linnean Soctety or Lonpon. November 3, 1881.—Sir Joun Lussocs, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., President, in the chair. In opening the session, the President regretted it to be his melancholy duty officially to announce the death of the Treasurer, Mr. Frederick Currey, who was held in universal esteem. Thereupon a resolution was proposed, which was sympathetically spoken to by the former President, Mr. George Bentham, and his former colleagues and Secretaries, Messrs. H. T. Stainton and Prof. St. G. Mivart, which resolution was carried unanimously. The Rev. W. H. Jones and the Rev. W. Moyle Rogers were balloted for and elected Fellows of the Society. Prof. T. Spencer Cobbold exhibited under the microscope about a hundred eggs of Bilharzia hematobia. They were taken from a gentleman who had just arrived from Egypt, and who was the victim of hematuria, induced by the parasites in questiou, and supposed to have been contracted during a hunting expedition. By adding water nearly all the eggs were hatched during the meeting, and the rare opportunity was thus afforded of witnessing the behaviour of the newly born ciliated animalcules. Mr. R. M‘Lachlan exhibited and made remarks on a parthenogenetically bred beetle (Gastrophysa raphani). The specimen had been the second reared by Dr. J. A. Osborne in Ireland. The egg which produced it was one of a batch of forty-two laid by a virgin female on June 14th, and was hatched on the 24th. Moults occurred on the Ist and 5th July, metamor- phosis to pupa July 14th, and the imago appeared July 23rd. A description of some new birds from the Solomon Islands and New Britain, by Mr. Edward P. Ramsay, of Sydney, was then read by the Secretary. The new species are:—Ceya sacerdotis, Pomara (Monarcha) ugiensis, Calornis feadensis, Carpophaga Finschii, Baza Gurneyi, and Astur pulchellis. - December 1, 1831.—Sir Joun Lunsoor, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., President, in the chair. The following gentlemen were balloted for and duly elected Fellows of the Society :—Capt. P. Greene, G. 8. Jenman, W. Landau, E. G. Warnford Lock, Rev. J. P. A. Sturges, Lieut.-Col. C. Swinhoe, G. C. Walton, C. S. Wilkinson, G. S. V. Wills, and the Rev. George Wilson. ——— Ss PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, Q7 Mr. J. Harris Stone exhibited specimens of the dried plant, and made remarks on Lychnis viscaria as a trap for ants. He pointed out that three or four glutinous, sticky rings are situate immediately underneath the nodes in the flowering stalks. Ants climbing are arrested and die in numbers at the sticky zones. In Norway he had observed 95 per cent. of the plants with dead ants thereon; and he submits (1) whether the zones are a protection to the flowers, (2) the ants noxious, or (3) their dead bodies serve as nutriment to the plant? Dr. Cobbold exhibited diseased roots of Stephanotus, which he had received from Dr. Masters. They swarmed with myriads of nematode worms, and were also covered with minute Acari. He referred the worms to the genus Leptodera, and stated that thirty years back he discovered similar parasites on the shrivelled leaves of Gloxinias. Prof. Owen read a paper “On the Homology of the Conario-hypo- physical Tract; or the so-called Pineal and Pituitary Glands.” He propounds the view that it is the modified homologue of the mouth and gullet of Invertebrates; that the subcesophageal ganglia or ganglionic masses, or neural cords, constitute the centres whence are derived and caudally continued the homologues of the vertebrate spinal cord. The President, Sir John Lubbock, then read a paper “On the Sense of Colour among the Lower Animals,” containing an account of some experi- ments made on a species of Daphnia, a small fresh-water crustacean, in order to determine its power of distinguishing colour and the limit of its power of vision. Ifa beam of light is passed through a prism and thrown on a white surface, we get, as everyone knows, a spectrum consisting of the colours of the rainbow, beginning at one end with red and ending with violet. But though the red and the violet are the limit of our powers of vision, it is hardly necessary to say that the rays of light extend farther in both directions; that is, beyond the red at one end and the violet at the other. It is an interesting problem, then, whether the limits of vision of other animals are the same as ours, or whether they are able to perceive _ any of the rays which are invisible to us. M. Paul Bert, some years ago, made experiments with Daphnias, and came to the conclusion that their limits of vision are the same as ours. Nay, he even felt justified in extending their generalisation to all animals. Sir John Lubbock, however, _ has already shown that ants do possess the power of perceiving the ultra- violet rays. His present experiments were made on Daphnias. He pointed out that if his conclusions differed from those of M. Paul Bert, it was probably because—thanks to Prof. Dewar and the authorities of the Royal Institution—he was able to experiment with more perfect appliances. He considers that Daphnias have certainly the power of perceiving the ultra- violet rays considerably beyond the limit visible to our eyes. This fact Opens up various physiological questions of much interest, as for instance, 28 THE ZOOLOGIST. whether these animals perceive a colour different from any of those known to us, and of which, indeed, we can form no idea. Mr. M‘Lachlan communicated a paper “ On the Neuroptera of Madeira and the Canary Islands,” prompted by the researches of the Rev. A. E. Eaton in November and December, 1880. The author gives a resumé of all that had been published on the subject, and a tabular statement of the species found in the islands, indicating those known also to exist in Europe. In all about fifty-three species had been noticed from the islands, of which nineteen are known inhabitants of the European Continent, and four African; thirty-seven species had been found in Madeira, thirty-one in the Canaries, sixteen being common to both. ‘The paper concluded with a detailed account of the species, including descriptions of several new ones. December 15, 1881.—Grorce Busxk, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. Messrs. W. H. Coffin, E. Milner, and S. H. Parkes were balloted for and elected Fellows of the Society. Prof. T. 8. Cobbold exhibited a large Guinea-worm (Dracunculus), taken from a pony, and furwarded by Vet.-Surg. Frederick Smith from Madras. Only one previous instance of the occurrence of this parasite in the horse has been mentioned, and its authenticity was doubted by Fedschenko and other helminthologists. Prof. Duncan gave the gist of a paper “ On the Morphology of the Test of the Temnopleuride,” for a notice of which see p. 25. A communication was read from Dr. Geo. Edw. Dobson “On the Digastric Muscle, its modifications and functions ;” and part xi. of the “Mollusca of the ‘ Challenger’ Expedition,” by the Rev. R. Boog Watson, was read in abstract.—J. Muriz. ZootoaicaL Sootnty or Lonpon. November 15, 1881.—Prof. W. H. Frower, F.R.S., President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions: that had been made to the Society’s Menagerie during the months of June, July, August, September and October, 1881, and called attention to certain interesting accessions which had been received during that period. Prof. Newton exhibited a specimen of Emberiza rustica, recently shot on the coast of Yorkshire. [See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1881, p. 465.] The Rev. Canon Tristram exhibited and made remarks upon skins of a Darter and Pigmy Cormorant procured in June of this vear on the Lake of Antioch, PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 29 Mr. Sclater exhibited a specimen of the Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus, belonging to Sir Henry Mildmay, Bart., which had been shot in Hampshire in September last. [See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1881, p. 494. ] A communication was read from MM. L. Taczanowski and J. Stolzmann on the habits and various plumages of the rare Humming-bird, Loddigesia mirabilis. Communications were read from M. L. Taczanowski on two nearly allied species of Humming-birds of the genus Steganura from Peru, and on a new species of Mustela from North-Eastern Peru, which he proposed to call Mustela Stolzmanni. Mr. W., A. Forbes read notes on the structure of the palate in the Trogons (Trogonida), and on the systematic position of Hupetes macrocercus. A communication was read from Mr. E. P. Ramsay, containing an account of the true habitat of Pycnoptilus floccosus, Gould. A communication was read from Mr. E. L. Layard, containing a note on the South African mollusk, Celiawis Layardi of Angas. A communication was read from Mr. Edgar A. Smith, containing notes on the shells of the genus Chilina, with a list of the known species. Mr. Arthur G. Butler read a paper on some Butterflies from Japan, with which were incorporated notes and descriptions of new species by Montague Fenton. Mr. H. J. Elwes read a paper on the Butterflies of Amoorland, Japan, and Northern China. November 29, 1881.—Dr. A. GiintHER, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. : A letter was read from Dr. A. Frenzel, announcing his success in breeding Parrots of the genus Kelectus in his aviary at Freiburg, in Saxony. A communication was read from Dr. A. B. Meyer, containing the description of a new species of Helectus received from Timorlaut Island, which he proposed to name Eclectus Riedelt. Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe read a note on the genera Schwnicola and Catriscus, and pointed out that these genera were identical, but that the South-African §. apicalis was specifically distinct from the Indian S. platyura. Mr. G. A. Boulenger gave the description of a new species of Anolis from Yucatan, proposed to be called Anolis Beckeri. Mr. W. A. Forbes gave an account of the observations he had made on the temperature of the Indian Python, Python molurus, duriug her incubation in the Gardens of the Society in June and July last. The result arrived at was that in the present case there was a difference on the whole average of 1°-4 Fahr. in favour of the female as compared with the 30 THE ZOOLOGIST. non-incubating male when the temperature was taken on the surface, and of more than double that amount when the temperature was taken between the folds of the body. Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys read the fourth of his series of papers on the Mollusca procured during the Expeditions in H.M.SS. ‘ Lightning’ and ‘ Porcupine, 1869 and 1870. This part concluded the Conchifera or Bivalves. Eighteen additional species, chiefly belonging to the genus Neera, which is peculiar to deep water, were described. The geographical, hydrographical, and geological distribution, as well as the synonymy of all the species named in the paper, were treated of. A communication was read from Dr. G. Hartlaub, describing the birds collected in Socotra and Southern Arabia by Dr. E. Riebeck. Among the Socotran birds was an example of a new species of Finch of the genus Rhynchostruthus, which he proposed to call, after its discoverer, R. Riebeckt. December 18, 1881.—Prof. W. H. Frowrr, F.R.S., President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society’s Menagerie during the month of November, and called attention to certain interesting accessions which had been received during that period. Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on two skins of a Rail from Macquarie Island, south of New Zealand, which had been sent to him by Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Mr. H. Seebohm exhibited and made remarks on specimens of ,the Rusty Grakle, Scolecophagus ferrugineus, and Pallas’s Great Grey Shrike, Lanius major, which had been shot near Cardiff, and were new to the British avifauna. A communication was read from Mr. Clements R. Markham, containing an account of his researches into the former Whale Fishery of the Basque Provinces of Spain. Messrs. J. J. Lister and J. J. Fletcher read a paper on the condition of the median portion of the vaginal apparatus in the Macropodida, in which they arrived at the following conclusions:—(1) In the Macropodide the median vaginal canal is closed in early life. (2) In the genera Macropus, Halmaturus, and Petrogale (and perhaps also Dorcopsis and Deudrologus) an opening is formed, leading directly from the median vaginal canal into the urogenital sinus, which opening most probably gives passage to the young. This opening may be formed early in life, as is usual in the genus Halmaturus, or not till young are about to be produced, as in Macropus rufus. (8) The evidence with regard to Macropus major is conflicting; in one case the median canal has been found open after parturition, and in two others closed. (4) In Hypsiprymnus Gaimardi (and propably in H. murinus) the median canal remains closed, and the young passes down the lateral PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 31 vaginal canals, which present a different structure from that found in other examples of the Macrodide. A communication was read from the Rev. Canon Tristram, containing the description of a new Fruit Pigeon of the genus Carpophaga, from the Louisiade Archipelago, which he proposed to name Carpophaga Salvadorit. —P. L. Sciater, Secretary. EntTomoLoaicaL Socrety or Lonpon. October 5, 1881.—H. T. Stratton, Esq., F.R.S., &e., President, in the chair. Mr. R. M’Lachlan. exhibited a female specimen of Gastrophysa raphant, Fabr., bred from a parthenogenetic ovum by Dr. Osborne, of Letterkenny, Donegal. Mr. T. Wood exhibited a specimen of Notiophilus biguttatus, Fabr., having two impressions on the right elytron and one on the left. It was captured at West Wickham last August. Mr. R. Meldola, on behalf of Mr. W. J. Argent, who was present as a visitor, exhibited five varieties of Lepidoptera captured in Britain during the present season. Mr. H. B. Pim exhibited a specimen of Harpalus discoideus, Fabr., captured at Gravesend on July 26th of this year. Mr. E. A. Fitch exhibited males, females and workers of Lastius mizxtus, Nyl., which had been taken this year, for the first time in Britain, by Mr. G. C. Bignell, at Bickleigh, Devon. Mr. E. Saunders said that this species was now generally considered to be only a form of ZL. wmbratus, Nyl., differing from typical specimens in haying a narrower head and the pubescence more scattered. Mr. A. 5S. Olliff exhibited an abnormal specimen of Papilio americus, Koll. (sadalus, Lucas). The Secretary read a letter, addressed to Mr. A. R. Wallace, from Mr. James Blyth, of Vanualevu, Fiji, to the effect that the cocoa-nut trees there were suffering more severely than usual this year from the ravages of an insect called by the natives “ mimimata,” and that the planters wish to introduce some bird that will clear the trees of the insects, and yet not destroy the early flower of the nut or pick the berries of the coffee plant, or the ears of the maize. Mr. C. O. Waterhouse expressed the opinion that the Phasmidw referred to were no doubt Lopaphus cocophages, Newp., and Phibalosoma Apollonius, Westw.; specimens of the latter were in the British Museum Collection from Vanualeru ; also specimens of Phibalosoma Pythonius, Westw.—rather the larger species—from Ngau, Fiji. Mr. K. A. Fitch said of course the Phasmidé were protected species, 32 THE ZOOLOGIST. but the introduction of the Kingfisher (Haleyon sancta, Vig.) might prove useful, as Mr. E. L. Layard had related in ‘ The Field’ (August 10, 1878), that this bird fed greedily on Cicadida, &c., in New Caledonia. Lopaphus cocophages was the species mentioned by Mr. Nightingale (Trans. Ent.,Soc. Lond. i. p. xiii; Proc. July 6th, 1835) as so very destructive to the cocoa- nut trees in the neighbouring Friendly Isles. The Secretary read a communication received from the Colonial Office with reference to the report upon the insect which attacks the eggs of locusts; also an enclosure from Sir Robert Biddulph, High Commissioner of Cyprus, enquiring whether the insect itself might not be destructive to crops and vegetation; and further, an extract from a letter from Lieut.-Col. Sir C. Wilson, H.M. Consul-General in Anatolia, recommending certain mechanical steps to be taken with a view to the limitation of locust attacks, also suggesting the introduction of the Russet Starling, or Locust-bird, (Pastor roseus, Linn.). Mr. D. Sharp communicated the descriptions of ‘‘ Some new Coleoptera from the Hawaiian Islands.” Mr. C. O. Waterhouse read a paper “On some new South American Coleoptera of the family Rutelide,” resulting from the examination of some Rutelide collected by Mr. Buckley in Ecuador; which were described, together with others already in the British Museum Collection. Prof. J. O. Westwood communicated the “ Description of the immature state of a Ceylonese insect (Dyscritina longisetosa) apparently belonging to an undescribed genus.” Mr. P. Cameron communicated some “ Notes on Hymenoptera, with descriptions of new species.” November 2, 1881.—-H. T. Sramnton, Esq., F.R.S., &c., President, in the chair. Mr. C. 0. Waterhouse exhibited a variety of Urapterya sambucaria, L., captured at Wandsworth. Also a specimen of a recently characterized Hemipteron, Aépophilus Bonnairii, Sign., discovered in the British Museum Collection, labelled “ Polperro, Cornwall,” no doubt of British origin. Mr. W. F. Kirby exhibited a new species of Anther@a (A. macroph- thalma, Kirby), received from the Gold Coast. Mr. Kirby also exhibited, on behalf of Mr. P. Cameron, numerous microscopic preparations of the saws, mouth parts, and other details of various Hymenoptera. The Rey. A. EK. Eaton exhibited pieces of honeycomb, constructed, by a community of hive-bees, in the open air, upon the outside of an exposed bare wall, quite unsheltered from the afternoon sun. At the end of last May, Mr. W. Herbert Evaus, of Forde Abbey, Dorset, noticed a protuberance on the western wall of the principal wing of his residence placed just under- PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 33 neath a string course in the masonry, about 40 ft. from the ground and 10 ft. below the battlements. He at first supposed it to be a curiously coloured swallow’s nest, but on looking more carefully he perceived that it was the commencement of a honeycomb, in course of construction by the bees of an adjoining crevice. The comb eventually consisted of four slabs, hung parallel with the face of the wall, measuring each of them about 2 ft. by 23 ft. The larger part of the combs was blown down during the gale of October 14th, when many of the cells were found to be tenanted by bee-grubs; but the bases of the combs remained in situ, and on November 2nd were not deserted by the bees. The fragments exhibited were picked up from the ground under the nest on the 26th ult., after the bees had forsaken them and the grubs had departed. The President remarked that he knew no other instance on record of the hive-bee building in the open air. Mr. Eaton also exhibited specimens and coloured figures of new varieties of Armadillium vulgare, L., and Porcellio scaber, Latr., together with a typical example of the latter species from Iceland. Dr. H. C. Lang exhibited a specimen of Lycena Icarus, Rott. (Alexis, W. V.), var. Icarinus, Scriba, in which the basal spots on the under side of the fore wings are absent. Dr. Lang thought it would be difficult to distinguish the female of this variety from L. Medon, Esp. Mr. J. Jenner Weir remarked that he possessed specimens of this variety, but he believed it to be of very rare occurrence in Britain. Mr. W. L. Distant exhibited a specimen of an undescribed species of Cicada from Borneo. Mr. T. R. Billups exhibited a female specimen of Dufourea vulgaris, Schk., captured on a bloom of ragwort on the banks of the Basingstoke Canal at Woking, August lst, 1881. This was the first female taken in Britain. Sir Sidney S. Saunders said he captured a male near Chewton, Hamp- shire, in August, 1879. He believed this genus was rare on the Continent, as Lepeletier de St. Fargeau had never met with specimens himself, but described a male and female from Latreille’s collection. Sir Sidney 8. Saunders exhibited a species of Scleroderma received from an entomologist of Lyons, and specimens of two dipterous insects, Oscinis Jrontella, Fall., and Drosophila fenestrarum, Fall.; the former reared from wild figs forwarded by Mr. Frank Calvert, of the Dardanelles; the latter from Egyptian sycamore figs. In both instances the parent flies appeared to have entered these figs after the Cynipide (reared therein on the seed-germs) had escaped through a large aperture which they. make by gnawing around the crown until this falls in. The slender white worm- like larvee of the Oscinis were wriggling about amid the pulp of the fig, together with many of the fragments of the former occupants, chiefly males which never quit the fig; and a large number of the Oscinis pupse—some EF 34 THE ZOOLOGIST. of these obtained from their larve placed apart tor identification—were found attached to the paper wherein the figs were enveloped, the flies emerging about three weeks later in September. These figs were sent with the object of possibly obtaining from that locality specimens of the Cynips Psenes of Linneeus, found by Hasselquist near Smyrna in the figs of the “ Ficus Carice orientalis,” as described in his ‘Iter Palestinum,’ edited by Linneeus in 1757, and therein adverted to under the names of C. Ficus and C. Carica. The types of C. Ficus exist in the Linnean Cabinet at Burlington House, but no one appears to have met with it since that period. Mr. M’Lachlan remarked that he had lately examined the Linnean Collection, in company with a German botanist interested in the fig insects, and had failed to find the types of Cynips Psenes. In reply Sir Sidney Saunders stated that the specimens of C. Ficus in the Linnean Cabinet, although unlabelled, correspond with Hasselquist’s description, in their rufous colouring. Mr. H. T. Stainton exhibited some curious cases said to be constructed by lepidopterous larvee found by Dr. George Hay, Port-Surgeon at Aden. Mr. Stainton said it was remarked in the ‘ Proceedings’ of this Society (p. xxii) that “ no other insect {than Dolerus palustris, Klg.] was known to feed on Equisetum.” He was requested by Mr. Buckler to refer to his description of a larva of Hydrecia micacea, Esp., found feeding on the roots and stems of Hquisetum arvense and later on LE. fluviatile (ef. Ent. Mo. Mag., vi. 164). Mr. Stainton exhibited a specimen of Cerura vinula, L., which had been bred by Mr. Piffard from a larva found in Hertfordshire, and which from the description (more especially of the larva) in Kirby’s ‘ European Butter- flies and Moths,’ p. 136, had been referred by him to C. erminea, Esp. Mr. A. G. Butler communicated the completion of his “ Descriptions of new Genera and Species of Heterocerous Lepidoptera from Japan,” treating of the Pyrales and Micros. Prof. J. O. Westwood communicated a memoir entitled ‘ Note Diptero- logice. No. 6.—On the minute species of dipterous insects, especially Muscidae, which attack the different kinds of cereal crops”; giving a resumé of the descriptions and habits of the various species. Special reference was made to a species (Oscinis avene, Bjerk.) which this year had proved very destructive to housed oat grains, near Winchester. Mr. Fitch remarked that Curtis’s Oscinis granurius was most probably synonymous with this species, and the same which the Rey. O. P, Cambridge had found in great numbers in Dorsetshire in a loft where barley had been stored. Mr. Fitch also mentioned that on the heavy clay-land of Essex it was remarkable that wheat after a whole summer's fallow was almost in- variably attacked by the young stem-feeding larve of O. vastator, Curt., locally known as “ white maggot.” —E. A. Fircu, Hon. See. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. Allgemeine Zoologie oder Grundgesetze des thierischen Baus und Lebens. H. ALEXANDER PaGEnsTEecHER. Berlin. I.—IV. 1878—1881. THE appearance of the fourth part of Prof. Pagenstecher’s very elaborate ‘General Zoology’ seems to be a suitable oppor- tunity for directing the attention of our readers to the scope and object of this work, the fourth volume of which, larger somewhat than its predecessors, contains more than 950 pp., while the four parts together present us with as many as 847 figures. Professor Pagenstecher may justly be congratulated on his activity, and the German world of science on this valuable addition to their already noble monument of conscientious laboriousness. While saying this we are bound to add an expression of sympathy with the learned author. In the preface to the second part of his work he had to express a regret for the delay in its appearance, due to an attack of inflammation of the eyes, which for seven months precluded all work. Illness and other circumstances have pre- vented the publication of the fourth volume, the mere printing of which is stated to have taken as much as fifteen months; and we can well believe it. Some general considerations immediately arise when we pro- _ceed to take a comprehensive survey of this work. Obviously enough, we have not here to deal with any elementary introduction to the science, and any criticisms on the score of its length may therefore be regarded as being fairly beside the question; though, on the other hand, one who was a student in one of our ancient Universities, and is a teacher in one of the great centres of popu- lation, might well question whether he finds more leisure as professor than he found as student. From such a point of view as this, Dr. Pagenstecher’s work might meet with severe treat- ment. ‘The second and third volumes contain more than 900 pages, or as much as the fourth itself; but with all this mass of printed matter, nowhere is there an index, nor any list of the figures in each part, while the table of contents for each may, not unfairly, be spoken of as meagre. Secondly, we have to find fault 36 THE ZOOLOGIS'T. with the complete absence of any kind of bibliography ; the author is so careful to refer to his authorities by name that he makes this absence all the more felt; and, if he would have us compare him with the author of that great work which is still in some points unequalled,—with the veteran Von Siebold,—he stands, in this particular at any rate, on a level so much lower as to be beyond comparison. In a work now appearing in its fourth edition, with which we shall compare his in a moment,—the ‘ Zoologie,’ namely, of Prof. Claus,—we find sufficient references to direct us to the monographs on which works such as these must always be based, and the want of which must be so much felt by the student of Pagenstecher that we hope the author will find it possible to issue some systematically arranged list of the papers which he has consulted. As to the question of figures, the three notable German works on Zoology,—those of Siebold (or Siebold and Stannius), of Carus and Gerstaecher, and of Claus,—are all without illustra- tions; on the other hand, Owen and Huxley, in this country, have always presented a certain number of figures or diagrams, more or less satisfactory. There are, therefore, two points of view; the former has the advantage of forcing the student to consult the original monograph from which the parts are drawn; the latter has the advantage of being much more compendious. From Prof. Pagenstecher we never learn anything as to the existence of those monographs, which are the veriest treasures of the thorough student, and he is therefore bound to atone for this defect by being compendious. As to the figures themselves, one has to speak with some difficulty, for while some are passable and clear, others are badly printed and almost unintelligible; on the other hand, it is true that our old favourites are welcomely absent, and the monographs of which we have spoken have been largely and justifiably drawn upon. On the whole, then, it would seem that a general treatise, like a simple manual, of Zoology can never be prepared without meeting with somewhat severe, though, we trust, not in this case carping or ungracious, criticism. Even yet another trouble remains,— due, however, to a cause which we can hardly lament,—“ Den wihrend dieser Zeit im tiberreichen Flusse der zoologischen Literatur erschienenen werthvollen Arbeiten.” The third volume of this work is completely devoted to the organs of respiration ; NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 37 that volume bears date 1878, and so when we put it into the hands of a student we find ourselves presenting him with a book in which not a word is said, nor could have been said, of Prof. Huxley’s ingenious classification of the gills of the Crustacea. Well may the writer of systematic anatomical works stand by the rapidly growing stream of zoological literature and cry with Horace’s peasant, ‘‘ Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis evum.” But, were he to stand and wait for the stream to flow past, we should never be able to hail the appearance of a book like that in hand; one in which there is no speculation, and too little of the author himself, but one which has, at any rate, this considerable recommendation, that it exhibits throughout that principle which John Hunter has, for this country, made for ever classical, and which the College of Surgeons as their conservators have brought to a point of perfection which is the admiration of comparative anatomists ; the method, that is, of dealing, from the lowest to the highest, with that set of organs which, for each, subserves the same function. In a day when embryology and phylogeny have given a some- what different aspect to morphology, it is well, if only for the purposes of rivalry, that a teacher should still be found who insists without reservation on the importance of complete comparison. ' Cameos from the Silver-land; or, the Experiences of a Young Naturalist in the Argentine Republic. By Ernest WiLLIAM Waits, F.Z.S. Vol. I. London: Van Voorst. 1881. Tus volume of 412 pages contains a certain amount of infor- _ mation, conveyed in the “tallest” language. It is difficult to conceive why these sketches should have been termed “ Cameos,” nor does the writer give any clue to his reasons for such a title. The work appears to be intended as a kind of handbook to the Argentine Republic, which, according to the accompanying map, includes the whole of the Pampas, Patagonia, and even Tierra del Fuego and the outlying islands as far as the western exit of the Straits of Magellan (!)—an overlapping of the territory of Chili which will scarcely be acknowledged by that Republic. The various provinces comprised in these vast claims, which extend 38 THE ZOOLOGIST. from Cape Horn to Bolivia and Brazil, are described in rhap- sodical style. The author talks familiarly of the Patagonian Indians, whom he terms “‘ huge Macropods,” whilst the Pampeans are ‘‘ Longobardi Centaurs,” whatever that may mean; and he sprinkles his pages with sketch-lists of the principal plants and animals, each with a Latin name, thus making a brave show of scientific knowledge. So far, however, as this volume goes, Mr. White’s experiences seem to have been confined to the familiar route by steamer and rail from Buenos Ayres to Cordova; thence by rail and diligence to Mendoza; with a few excursions in those neighbourhoods. To make amends for his own want of experience, he appears to have jotted down everything that he was told, and being somewhat deficient in critical faculty, he gives us a good many so-called “facts,” which render the book highly amusing; it is indeed a long time since we have so thoroughly enjoyed a work on South America. Many passages might be cited in illustration of this, but as we are noticing the work on its Natural History merits, we will endeavour to confine ourselves to that topic. The following extract will convey some much-needed infor- mation, and will at the same time give a favourable impression of the author’s style :— “The Museum of Buenos Aires is doubtless rich, perhaps richer than any other, in paleologic edentate osteology: those huge monsters which once lazily trod its (sic) surface, are brought from their oozy tombs by the wand of science, to astonish mankind by their massiveness and uncouth forms, to attest zoologic degeneracy and themselves to witness how the mighty have fallen in the puny pigmy forms which now surround us. Fancy with what contempt must the huge Glyptodon clavipes look down upon his tiny modern representatives the Dasypus peba or the still smaller Chlamydophorus truncatus; the gigantic Megatherium, twenty feet long, and with bones more massive than an elephant, or his ancient brother the Mylodon somewhat less ponderous, with what a derisive smile must they not view the efforts of their feeble modern vicar (!) the Bradypus tridactylus : and so on of the rest.” Worthy of the foregoing is the description of the presiding genius of this Museum :— “The stranger would hardly expect to find buried here amongst his ponderous tomes, one of Europe's savans: yet so it is, the curator Dr. Hermann Burmeister, whose twenty years’ residence in the Argentine a NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 39 Republic has not dimmed but enhanced the lustre of his fame, is a philosopher who has already celebrated his golden wedding to science: spare and tall, eagle-eyed, fibrous, his whole frame bristling with intel- lectual energy; such is the courteous but independent autocrat, whose figure stands out amongst the literati of South America, as did Saul’s amongst the Israelites.” But we must tear ourselves away from Buenos Ayres, where the President daily converses with his ministers by telephone; “and the time seems looming when man will hardly need bodily presence and activity, but the subtlety of ethereal intercourse banishing corporeality he will begin his immortality on this side of the grave;” a very consoling reflection for South American Presidents, who, like Irish landlords, were evolved to be shot at, and sometimes hit. And, glancing at the cemetery where “the loved head which ought to have been tenderly laid in the family vault at home, lies here expatriated till the last trump unites all stragglers” —a sentence suggestive of dynamitic operations; we follow our author to the railway which takes him to Campana, on the river Parana, where the “‘ Dipterous plagues are unusually large and bloodthirsty,” and one species of ‘‘ the Culicides, a very numerous family in this neotropical region,’ emits a delicious flowery fragrance when crushed. Ascending the river to Rosario, the railway is again taken to Cordova, and we are informed that “on a late occasion a countrywoman of ours, an authoress of repute, visiting the Republic for the first time, and crossing these Pampas, actually preferred to ride on the cow-catcher in the midst of a pitiless Pampero, her dress and locks streaming in the wind, whilst the worthy engineer of the line, a victim to gallantry, was obliged to share her company on that dangerous and exposed seat.” Who can this celebrity be ? From Cordova Mr. White made the excursion to Cosquin, _ the narrative of which has already been published in this journal (Zool. 1878, pp. 155-60) under the title of ‘ Condor-hunting in the Sierras,” in which a great deal of lead was wasted, and one Condor was secured—with a lazo. The nests were not then _ visited, apparently from fear of the birds, for “ woe betide the daring plunderer, if the old birds should return during the burglarious attempt;” but we are now told that “the nest usually is composed of a few sticks merely, and contains two eggs, each about four inches long;”’ whereas in the first account 40 THE ZOOLOGIST. it is stated that “the universal testimony is that the Condor lays but one egg.” Condors on this side of the Andes seem to have several peculiarities not noticed elsewhere: their fierceness—or the dread of it—is greater, and they appear to be more amenable to swan-shot than to a bullet, ‘‘as the skin is so closely covered with hard glossy plumage that the latter is more liable to glance off”! The same will probably hold good of buck-shot. Further on we are told that the Condors “ select a calf four or five months old and wait till the mother is at some distance, then suddenly swooping down and striking the animal to the ground, to rip out its tongue either as a ‘bonne bouche’ or to prevent the utterance of any signal of alarm” !—the italics are ours. Has Mr. White ever seen this ? We trow not: our experience is that the Condor invariably begins operations at the other end of the victim. From the pleasant city of Mendoza, at the foot of the Andes, Mr. White made an excursion to hunt Huanacos, and so far as the hunting was concerned he succeeded abmirably, but he bagged no game. Atan elevation of 8300 feet he observed two specimens of the Mountain Biscacha, Lagidium Cuvieri, the occurrence of which we do not remember to have seen previously recorded from this side of the Andes. The most interesting expedition was, however, the one to the neighbourhood of La Paz (a settlement about forty leagues from Mendoza, and not to be confounded with the Bolivian city of the same name), the ‘“ Médanos,” or sand-hills of which, are the stronghold of the curious Chlamy- dophorus truncatus, known in Argentine Spanish as the “ Pichi- ciego,” an obvious corruption of “ Bicho-ciego,” or blind animal, a “beautiful little plantigrade aberrant member of the Armadillo family.” Full notes on a single specimen obtained after six days’ search by a large number of men, will be found in the ‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ 1880, pp. 8-11. Here we must take leave of the first volume. A second is promised, and as we see by the last ‘Ibis’ that Mr. P. L. Sclater has described two new species of birds obtained by Mr. White on recent visits to Oran, in the province of Jujuy (not Salta), near the Bolivian frontier, and to Catamarca, it is possible that the next instalment may be more instructive to the naturalist, even if somewhat less amusing to the ordinary reader, ‘ $ THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Vou. VI.] FEBRUARY, 1882. [No. 62. THE PAST AND PRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF SOME OF THE RARER ANIMALS OF SCOTLAND. By J. A. Harvie Brown, F.R.S.E., F.Z.S. IV. Tue Bapvcer (concluded). In the South of Scotland the Badger is still far from un- common in certain districts, though of course in numbers not to compare with what were to be found only a few years ago. The Border Counties and those with coast-lines seem to harbour these animals most plentifully at the present time, as the statistics, I think, pretty clearly show. They have sooner become scarce in inland localities, owing, no doubt, to the accessible nature of most of their haunts there, while the more rugged coast-haunts have longest withstood the attacks of the poor Brock’s enemies. Stirlingshire.— There is plenty of evidence to show that Badgers were abundant in this county, especially along the great central range of hills, which form the highest ground in the county, with the exception of the hills to the east of Loch Lomond, including the lofty Ben Lomond. The ‘Old Statistical Account’ of the parishes shows this with tolerable distinctness, and a very fair idea of their former distribution may be gathered from the notices of it in that work.* The grouping of the more important localities * Some years ago I had been at the trouble of indexing fully the whole twenty-one volumes of the ‘ Old Statistical Account of Scotland’ for my own use. I afterwards offered this index to the publishers (Blackwood, Edin- burgh), but it was refused, although their own index is far too imperfect G 49 THE ZOOLOGIST. shows the preference the Badger had to the central range. Thus it is specially mentioned as common in Gargunnock parish on the north, Killearn on the west, and Campsie and Kilsyth on the south side of the hills. Perhaps of all these Campsie held the largest numbers, owing to the particularly suitable cliffs and carns of the Campsie Fells. ‘The reverend author of the account of Campsie (Rey. James Lapslie) seems to have paid considerable attention to the local fauna, and gives a very full and interesting list—i. e., interesting after sifting the chaff from the grain. Of the Badger he says:—‘‘ There are two species of Badger found among the loose rocks of Campsie Fells, the one somewhat resembling a sow, the other a dog: the first is more arched in the back, and is not so nimble in turning itself.” The Campsie Fells still hold a few Badgers, but they are now quite scarce. The last I have record of was trapped on Ballakinrain estate in 1875, which property lies somewhat to the N.W. of Campsie, but has the range of fells continued to it. Another was trapped on Aucheneck in the same year. Another was trapped on Wood- burn estate, Campsie parish, in 1874. On the Campsie Fells, in 1867, a keeper of the name of Mathieson trapped a Badger, which is the next latest date I have note of, though I believe they have continued to exist there almost uninterruptedly. About seven years ago two were taken on the Strathblane Hills and sent to Culzean, in Ayrshire. Linlithgow.—It is feared the Badger is here extinct. The stream Broxburn runs through Strath Brock, indicating its former presence, but there is little to show it in the ‘Old Statistical Account.’ About 1838, or between that year and 1845, David Carr trapped and killed three Badgers at Lochcote, and caught four more, which were taken alive to Wombwell’s Menagerie. At this locality Badgers had taken up their quarters in some old lime mines underneath Bowden Hill, which is about three miles S.W. of Linlithgow. There are also some Badgers’ earths at Nancy’s Hill, near Champfleurie House, about two miles east of Linlithgow; and one was seen by Mr. Henderson, on Broomieknowe Hills about 1854. to be of much real or ready use to naturalists. I have, however, found this MS. index most useful for my own purposes, and do not in the least regret the labour I expended upon it. Except to verify a quotation I scarcely ever require now to handle a volume of the ‘ Account’ itself. ne THE RARER ANIMALS OF SCOTLAND. 43 Midlothian.—Formerly abundant, as statistics show. A keeper, Mr. Nichol Kerr, trapped a number of them, both in this and the adjoining county of Haddington. ‘They appear to be not yet extinct in the county. In 1880 a fine Badger was advertised for sale in the ‘Scotsman’ of April 25th, but the owner (Carfrae, bird dealer, Frederick Street, Edinburgh) knew nothing about it further than that it had been sold to him by a man, and that it had been trapped ‘“‘ oot sooth o’ Pathhead,” and brought to Edin- burgh by the Pathhead carrier. The south-west of the county (parishes of Borthwick, Temple, Crichton, Heriot, Tala, Stow), with its numerous “deans,” still probably harbour a few Badgers, as there is great store of good earthing ground, but they are probably very scarce. Mr. Ritchie, of Middleton, writes me that between 1866 and 1880 his keeper had only heard of one Badger being caught near Roseberry, parish of Temple, and Mr. Wood, late keeper on Blackshiels-shooting, caught one some years ago. East Lothian.—Formerly common, and not yet extinct in this county. The Rev. Thomas 8. Marjoribanks, of Preston, informs me that there are Badgers still in the wooded hill above Pres- mennan Loch on the Biel estate, belonging to Lady Nisbet Hamilton, and that he saw one which had been recently captured there. At Whittinghame the last seen was fifteen years ago (say 1867). Dr. J. L. Crombie writes me that a year or two ago one was seen in Tynninghame Woods, where there are many foxes’ earths. In 1870 two were caught in Presmennan Wood, before noted, and Dr. Crombie has a young one in his collection shot above Haddington about twelve years ago. Berwickshire.—Still abundant, mostly so on the rugged coast- line. It is very common still in Upper Berwickshire, especially in the parishes of Gordon, Earlston, and Legerwood. Mr. R. Small has seen them frequently in these parishes, and remembers seeing one taken from a drain in the village of Karlston about twenty-two years ago (say 1859). The animal was seen running along the _ street at day-dawn, and had taken refuge in the drain. They are _ scarcely so common, however, as they were twenty-five years ago. Around Jedburgh it is still not rare, and within the last twenty years has been frequently found in Black Burn, Greypeel Burn, and about the Merlin Dean, all of which localities are within two miles and a half of Jedburgh. Mr.James Hardy, of Old Cambus, writes me:—‘ Though diminished in numbers it still maintains 44 , THE ZOOLOGIST. its place over a large area. One was caught in the Peasedean last winter (1880-81), and fortunately escaped. Its diminution here has been entirely owing to rabbit-catching, and the prices obtained for Badgers for the purposes of baiting. Now that ‘rabbit-catching is likely to pass into the farmers’ hands the old animals may regain a footing at least in wild places, as the Pease- dean and by the sea-coast.” Peebleshire.—Not extinct, but are much scarcer than in some of the neighbouring counties. In 1878 Mr. A. Wood got one alive opposite the foot of Manor Water on Edstone farm, and five years ago (say 1875) one was obtained on the Eshiels Hope. A pair killed in 1859 are in the possession of Mr. James Anderson, Chambers Nest, Peebles; they were got at Portmore, Eddleston. At Stobs Castle Mr. Alexander Taylor has only killed one in thirty-eight years, and none have been seen during thirty-one years on Traqueer by the keeper there. On Dry Grange estate, near Melrose, Mr. Clark killed four old ones and two young half- grown about fifteen or sixteen years ago (say 1867). They are probably extinct on that estate now. On Moffat Water one was seen three years ago (1878), and one was trapped at Dumerieff, one mile from Moffat, no doubt the same. One was seen near the head waters of Etterick, not later than nine or ten years ago (say 1870). As already noticed, Mr. Cox, at Culzean, Ayrshire, obtained five from Peebleshire about six years ago, and put them upon Ailsa Craig, where they have since thriven and bred. Ayrshire-—At Culzean they are reported as- having been extinct for twenty years, or since 1860 or thereabouts. Two tame ones were brought from the Strathblane Hills in Stirlingshire over seven years ago (say 1873), and placed in Culzean kennels. About eight years ago (say 1872) one was trapped near Kilkerran kennels, which must have been a stray one or an escape, as none have been seen since. I lack other data from Ayrshire, but I believe it to be scarce over all the county, unless perhaps in the extreme south, where it is most likely to linger longest. Dumfriesshire, Galloway, The Stewartry.—At one time, as, Dr. Grierson, of Thornhill, informs me, Badgers must have frequented various places in the district. The last killed was taken at Clachrie Burn, parish of Closeburn, about twenty-five years ago (say 1857), which is now in Dr. Grierson’s Museum, Another taken about the same time in Galloway is also in the THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 45 Museum. The latest on record I have was killed by the keeper on Cowdenknowes in 1880. Further S.W. it is still common at sea-coast stations; also not rare on Mabie and generally throughout the Stewartry. In concluding the present series of papers on the past and present distribution of our rarer British animals, I may state that I have accumulated a large mass of notes upon the class of animals usually called ‘“ vermin,” including Squirrel, Dipper, Jay, Rook, Magpie, “Hawks,” Hooded Crow, Common Crow, Raven, and others, besides the Carnivore. I still want further particulars with a view to perfecting the subject, and if any one can render assistance by forwarding to me lists of vermin killed during the past ten, fifteen, or twenty years on any Scottish estate, I shall be obliged. I believe that the results, if carefully analysed and com- pared, will reveal some curious causes and effects, and interesting statistics in connection with this subject. The series of papers now concluded is confessedly imperfect, and must be regarded rather as an aid to further investigation, with a view to more general results at some future time. With such an end in view I can only repeat that any data of a kindred nature will be thankfully received by me, and will be carefully preserved for future use. THE BIRDS. OF BRECONSHIRE. By E. CamBripcGr PHILLIPS, Member of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club. (Continued from vol. v., p. 409.) Raven, Corvus corax.—Still common, and I think will remain so, a great part of the county being unpreserved, and these birds frequent the mountains and highest hills, which are very little disturbed. Wherever you happen to come across a dead sheep you are sure to hear the hoarse croak of the Raven. This bird lives to a great age. When a boy, in Wiltshire, I used to pay a visit—generally on a Sunday—to some friends that lived in an old manor house where there was a tame Raven; he was then about twenty years old, and full of all sorts of mischief and iniquity, but being a great favourite and a good talker he had pretty much his own way. I remember him well, for on one 46 THE ZOOLOGIST. occasion he took a small slice out of my leg, wé mos fuit, and retired to the top of a spout to digest it, amidst my yells and the threats of the whole party. Happening to be near the place twenty-five years afterwards, I ventured to ask for my old friend, and to my surprise out he came with the same sidelong hop, the same malicious twinkle in his eye, and looking more sleek and diabolical than ever. I only heard of his death last autumn. He took a similar liberty with a large dog that he did with my leg, and got a nip in return that killed him. He must have been fifty years old when he died, and was one of the finest birds I have ever seen. The Raven is a bird of ill omen amongst the Welsh, and for that reason is seldom, if ever, kept as a pet by them. Crow, Corvus corone.—One of the commonest birds in the county, and one that we can well do without. I believe this bird does more mischief than any hawk; he is always about the same place, and always on the look out, not for carrion, but for something better; a small leveret, a partridge’s nest of eggs, or a half-grown rabbit—it ail comes the same to him; whilst a weakly lamb has its eyes out before he well knows where he is. Although they generally work in twos and threes they come home to roost together, in numbers of from twenty to thirty, to the same roosting-place, and by waiting them in a few may be killed; but by far the best way to kill them is to trap them with an egg and a common gin. Royston or Hooprep Crow, Corvus cornix.—I have never yet seen this bird alive in the county, and can only record with certainty one instance of its having been met with here. Rook, Corvus frugilegus.—Plentiful, there being several large rookeries in the county. I once visited a rookery near Brecon, composed of oak and other trees with a very large ash growing in the centre, and the owner informed me that, although he had lived there many years, he had never seen the Rooks build in that tree. Sometimes, indeed, a pair of young ones would begin to build a nest there, but it was instantly torn to pieces by the older birds, with every symptom of disapprobation. Why they should avoid this particular tree, which was quite sound, he could not say, but their continued and determined rejection of it showed a unity of counsel and fixity of purpose which to me was in- explicable. Only once during my residence here have I seen a >= THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRKE. Aq pied or parti-coloured Rook, and that was a bird with whitish wings. Cuoven, Pyrrhocorax graculus.—Although it occurs sparingly amongst the rocky cliffs of the Glamorganshire coast, I am unable to include it amongst the birds of this county. JAcKDAw, Corvus monedula.—Very common indeed, particularly about the tower of the grand old priory church of Brecon. Some- time since I saw a curious specimen of a white Jackdaw; the plumage of this bird was not only pure white, but its legs, claws, and eyes were white. I think among the Crow family an albino is very rarely seen. Jay, Garrulus glandarius.—Very common in all our woods; in the hard weather of last winter the poor Jays were put to great straits and came into the town gardens for food. One was caught feeding with my poultry in one of the aviaries, where it must have pushed itself between the wires to get at the food. Fora shy bird like the Jay this was somewhat singular. Maerrr, Pica caudata.—Very common, and, like the Raven, considered to be a bird of ill omen. Indeed I know of no bird that is more generally noticed in this respect, and the old adage,—‘‘ One, sorrow; two, mirth; three, a wedding; four, a birth,’—seems implicitly believed in by many of the country people. Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes.—I have seen but one stuffed specimen in Wales, and that was a bird in perfect plumage, which was killed many years since in the adjoining county of Glamorgan. Sraruine, Sturnus vulgaris.—Although this bird breeds here pretty plentifully, yet the number that roost in the reed-beds of Llangorse Lake during the autumn must come from other parts. If you are on the lake about four o’clock in the afternoon you will see flock after flock flying over and pitching in the reeds, and this continues until they are all come; then with a roar—and no _ other word expresses it—the whole flock rises in one living mass, sweeping over the lake close to the reeds in a black moving cloud ; then threatening to settle again, then up and round once more, with a regularity and precision of movement that is beautiful and wonderful to witness, until at length, their drill being over, they finally pitch and roost for the night. Their numbers on these occasions must be in thousands, and during the time they are 48 THE ZOOLOGIST. settled they keep up a continual chattering, but are silent whilst on the wing. RosE-coLouRED Pastor, Pastor roseus.—I have the pleasure of recording the oceurrence of one of these beautiful birds, if not actually in the county, at least close to the borders. It was shot in an apple tree at Cynghordy (one of the ancient seats of the Gwynnes), not far from Llanwrtyd, and was fortunately preserved. It was an adult male, in good plumage, and when alive must have been a splendid bird. It had been stuffed some years when I examined it, and the delicate rose-colour had somewhat faded. Hepeusparrow, Accentor modularis.—Pretty plentiful with us, but not nearly so much so as in England. Probably it is rather too cold here for it in winter. Rosix, Erythacus rubeculaa—Common. The country people here say that the year-old bird kills the two-year-old bird, but I think the weaker generally goes to the wall. Only the other day a man called my attention to two Robins fighting, and one killed the other in an incredibly short space of time; he then picked up and showed me the dead bird, and it certainly was a fine old male, in beautiful plumage. It appeared to have been choked by the victor, as its plumage was almost unruffled. Repstart, Ruticilla phenicura.—Is invariably called here the “ firebrand-tail,” and is very common in the gardens around Brecon and in the woods of the county. Wueatear, Savicola cnanthe.—Common on our hills and moors, but in no great numbers. Sronecuat, Saxicola rubicola, and Furzecuat, S. rubetra.— Both common, especially the latter, there being still a great quantity of furze on the lower part of most of our hills. They affect favourite localities, for whilst in some places covered with furze they may be constantly observed, on other hills equally well covered they are hardly ever to be seen. Srepce WarBueER, Salicaria phragmitis, and Reep WARBLER, S. strepera.—Both fairly common, particularly in the neighbour- hood of and around Llangorse Lake, where there is an abundant growth of reeds. NigHTinGaLe, Philomela luscinia.—Sparingly scattered over the county. There is a saying common here that the Nightingale is never heard westward of the Bwlch, which is distant about eight miles from Brecon, on the Crickhowell side of the county ; hl tee Dey THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 49 and although I have heard it near Brecon, ten miles on this side of the place referred to, I am disposed to believe that there is a great deal of truth in the saying. Buacxcap, Sylvia atricapilla—Fairly common. It used to breed in my garden at Vennyvach, near Brecon, every year. GARDEN WaRBLER, Sylvia hortensis.—Very rare here. I have only known of one instance of its occurrence, and on this occasion the nest and eggs were taken. Wurreturoat, Sylvia cinerea.—Very common here. Lesser Wuireruroat, Sylvia sylviella.—Very rare; I have never yet met with or seen a specimen. I give it place, however, among the birds of our county, on the authority of one of our resident landlords, himself a keen and observant naturalist, who has noticed it from time to time. Like many of our migratory birds (notably the Spotted Crake), it probably visits various places in the county year after year, whilst others are constantly avoided. Woop Wren, Phylloscopus sibilatrix.—Very rare. Wittow Wren, Phylloscopus trochilus.— Fairly common. CuirrcoHaFF, Phylloscopus hypolais—I have noticed occa- sionally, but do not consider it to be particularly common. GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN, Regulus cristatus.—Very common, the numerous larch plantations in the county being most suitable to its habits. It is usually considered a scarce bird, probably from its small size and inconspicuous colour, but I see it con- stantly, and there can be no doubt of its abundance here. FIRE-CRESTED WREN, Regulus ignicapillus.—Common, but not so much so as the last-named bird. I have had many specimens brought me, and have killed several myself for the purpose of identification. This and the Goldcrest are very hardy birds, and during the severe frost of January last, when so many other birds perished, these merry little fellows were actively searching for their food in the firs and larches as usual, not seeming to care for or feel the bitter cold. Common Wren, Troglodytes parvulus——Very abundant, and like the Robin, a universal favourite with the Welsh. Great Trrmousr, Parus major.—Very abundant. BBY rs. a 17th. A 4 + 23 June 12th. A (?) 4 * 20 ites July 9th. A (?) 4 " + eee Judging from this table, the period of gestation seems to be about three weeks. I have added a mark of doubt to A in the last two instances, because being absent from home in Iceland during June and part of July, I am unable to say whether A or B was the mother of the mice born on June 12th and July 9th, but that A was the mother I have little doubt. On my return from Iceland I found it impossible to recognise my pets; some were dead, others had escaped, and many of the young were now as large as their parents. I cannot therefore give any accurate notes subsequently, but the above table shows what two female Long-tailed Field Mice are capable of in less than five months; and had not one of the females (I have sup- posed B) escaped early in June the number of young would have been still larger. During April we had twelve to twenty mice, young and old, in the nest; they all slept together, and it was certainly a curious sight to see father, mothers, and children of all ages and sizes in the nest, the young of different ages suckling the same mother at the same time, and the mothers appearing to suckle each other’s young indiscriminately. They also seemed to have no cessation of suckling; but on this point I will not ee BREEDING HABITS OF THE LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE. 123 speak confidently. So fast did the young attach themselves that the females could scarcely move without pulling two or three after them. The young were reared in the small box, but the mothers had a care over their movements outside, and carried them ‘back to the nest until they reached the age of three weeks. They were not caught at the back of the neck, as is usual with dogs and cats when carrying their young, but generally by the side of the belly, midway between the fore and hind legs; the mother then raised the young one completely off the ground, and with head erect conveyed it to the nest. Sometimes the parental authority was attempted to be exercised on an “old” young one, and a species of dragging was then resorted to. The entrance to the breeding-box was narrow, and it was not possible to carry the young through it. This the mothers soon learned, and they overcame the difficulty by dropping the young one at the entrance and then, going in themselves, they turned round and dragged it in head foremost. It has been said that Mus sylvaticus is easily tamed, but my pets were always timid and easily frightened. As to food, a sod of grass was put in every morning, and in this they delighted to root until the whole of it was scratched about the cage. The blades of grass were seldom eaten, the roots being much pre- ferred, but the leaves of clover, and especially dandelion, were greatly relished, and for an unexpanded flower of dandelion nearly everything else would be deserted: the fortunate possessor of this delicacy would carry it off to a corner to be free from inter- ruption. A tiny saucer of milk was always in the cage, and they drank it eagerly. Oats, wheat, barley, chesnuts, beech-nuts, walnuts, arbutus berries, gooseberries, apples, grapes, and, in fact, every variety of fruit was eaten. Almonds were not much liked. Every corner of the cage was a storehouse; a grain of wheat or other food would be covered up with the nose, after the manner of a dog burying a bone, and sometimes the hind legs would be used in scraping the floor of the cage backward to assist in heaping materials to hide it. The Field Mouse hides many things in the one place; I do not know that dogs have ever been known to do this. 124 THE ZOOLOGIST. EFFECTS OF REVERSION TO THE WILD STATE IN OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS.* By Hon. J. D. Caton. A unirormity of form, colour, and habit in individuals among the various species of wild animals, is almost universally observed, and the loss of this uniformity under the influence of domesti- cation, if less universal, is very general. How long it took to produce these changes in the Horse and the Ox, the Sheep and the Goat, we cannot know, for these were subdued to domestication before events were recorded which might tell us of the struggle. That some animals were more readily influenced by domestication than others, we know. How readily the wild Turkey changes in form, colour, and habits under the influence of domestication I have demonstrated by my own careful experiments, an account of which I gave in the ‘American Naturalist’ for June, 1877. That the domesticated Reindeer of Lapland have become parti- coloured, while their wild brethren of the mountains all about them retain a uniform colour, I have shown in ‘ The Antelope and Deer of America’ (p. 880), andin ‘A Summer in Norway’ (p. 223). The Deer in the parks of England and Ireland have become unstable in colour, although they have been subjected to the influence of domestication for a much shorter period than have the Reindeer of Lapland. These are the most striking instances among the Quadrupeds, which occur to me, to enable us to com- pare the wild with the domesticated animals, although the Wild Horse and the Wild Ass are still met with in Asia, and the Wild Ox still existed in Scotland till within very recent times at least, but it may be well doubted whether the wild cattle of Scotland are the progenitors of our Domestic Ox. The domesti- cated Buffalo, as seen in Southern Europe and Asia, and in Northern Africa, has degenerated less both in colour and form than most other quadrupeds under domestication, and his wild habit still possesses him to a certain extent. The Wild Boar submits to domestication with remarkable docility, and human care changes its form, colour, and habit in a very short time and in a remarkable degree. Human care, * Fyom the ‘American Naturalist,’ Dec. 1881. REVERSION TO WILD STATE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 125 by judicious selection, may fix varieties of all these domesticated animals with persistent characteristics, but immediately his supervising care is withdrawn all these peculiarities disappear. Of the birds, perhaps the Peacock resists the influence of domestication with the most persistence, though the Guinea-fowl undergoes no perceptible change from generation to generation, with rare exceptions. While all have had opportunity to observe the changes which have been wrought in our domesticated animals by human care and supervision, opportunities have not been so general for observing the effects upon our domesticated animals when allowed to return to the wild state. My observations lead me to the conclusion that the tendency is not only to return to the wild habit, but to the original form and colouring of the remote wild ancestor. That there is some law governing this reversion we may well believe, though we may not be able to fully under- stand it yet. My own observations tend to show not only a tendency, at least in some species, to revert to the original form and colour of the wild ancestor, but they also suggest the possibility that this tendency is the strongest in those cases where the domesticated animal has most recently been reclaimed from the wild state, or in those cases where the change produced by domestication was the most rapid. T have had the best opportunities for studying this subject in the Hawaiian Islands. With the exception of the Goose and the Duck, nearly all the animals which have been introduced into those islands since their discovery, as well as those which were then held in domestication,* have reverted to the wild state. Among these I may mention the Ox, the Horse, the Goat, the Sheep, the Hog, the Dog, the Cat, the Turkey, the Peacock, and the Barn-yard Fowl. Where I had not the opportunity of studying these personally, I spared no pains to gather the facts from the most reliable sources. The greatest physical degeneracy was observed in the Wild Horse and the Wild Sheep. The Ox was introduced by Van- couver, less than a century since, upon the island of Kauai, from California, whence it was introduced upon the other islands. At * They had the Hog and Common Fowl when discovered by Cook. 126 THE ZOOLOGIST. most it has been subject to the new influences scarcely three quarters of a century. During that time no appreciable change has taken place in the colouring of the Ox, nor much in his form, but his habit is wild and wary, fleeing from man in alarm; and he has acquired great fleetness over the lava beds in the moun- tainous regions which he selects for his home. While he is © terrified at the approach of man, when wounded or hard pressed he becomes bold and aggressive, and is a dangerous enemy. In some parts of the islands they have become so numerous that the scarcity of sustenance has forced them down into the lower regions, where it is feared that they may destroy the forests, upon which it is supposed much of the rainfall depends. Indeed, on the island of Ouahu a large district of country was pointed out to me which was said to have been once a forest, and was now entirely destitute of arboreous vegetation. This change was attributed to the wild cattle. They are hunted for their hides alone. I saw none of the Wild Horses or Wild Sheep, neither of which are numerous. I was told that the former are much more degenerated in size, form, and vigour than those on our western plains, which may be attributed to the want of an abundance of food adapted to their requirements in the elevated regions which they affect, but in habit they are as wild as the cattle. The Wild Sheep, which are very limited in number, and I met with few who had seen them, were small, gaunt, and long- legged, with a scant and coarse pelage. The Wild Goats are very numerous, especially in the moun- tainous regions of the eastern islands. During the afternoon which I spent viewing the wonderful sights from the rim of the great extinct crater, Haleakala, I saw two bands of Wild Goats within the crater. I sat ten thousand feet above the sea. The chasm before me was seven miles across and two thousand feet deep. Its vertical walls in a few places had been partially broken down, so that bunches of grass had taken root on the shelves or steps formed in the disintegrated lava, and the Goats were clambering about, leaping from shelf to shelf, seeking food. Towards evening they descended to the floor of the crater and disappeared in its eastern arm. With the naked eye they could not be identified, although one band was directly beneath me, but a good field-glass revealed them very plainly. A large majority —— REVERSION TO WILD STATE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 127 were snow-white, some were parti-coloured, and one appeared to be black. Their natural capacity for climbing has no doubt been improved by their reversion to the wild state. They are very wild and cautious, and difficult of approach by the hunter. They, too, are hunted for their skins. The most marked and rapid change is produced in the Hog by his emancipation from the restraints of domestication and the care of man. In a single generation he changes in form, colour, and habit from the staid and quiet porker to the fleet and fierce Wild Boar. The latter is the character as described to me by all who had been interested to make observations on the subject, of the numerous Wild Hogs now roaming in those islands. Colonel Charles Judd assured me that, many years before, a lot of Hogs escaped from his ranch on the easterly side of Ouahu, and went into the mountain which bordered the ranch. Among them was an imported Boar. Before he could find them they had become so wild that he could not reclaim them from their mountain fastnesses. He got sight of this Boar many times during several succeeding years. He was so marked that he could readily identify him. The change in form and habit were almost immediate. He soon became wild and almost as fleet asadeer. His body became thin, his back arched, and his legs appeared to be much longer than when he escaped. Much slower was the change of colour, but this finally occurred to a very appreciable extent, so that in a few years he had distinctly assumed the dark sandy shade of the Wild Boar. He wisely forbore to shoot him that he might study the develop- ments which he saw going on. In the third or fourth generation the pigs showed very distinctly the sandy shade and stripes observed on the side of the young of the Wild Boar. From these and similar observations, I should infer that it would not take very many generations, with proper care, to completely domesticate the Wild Boar. I heard of but two places where the Pea-fowl had gone wild. The first was at the plantation of Colonel Judd, before men- tioned, and the other was the plantation of Captain M‘Kee, on the island of Maui, whence the birds had escaped, and gone into the mountains above. No change was observed, except that they had become wild, but not excessively so, and I did not learn that they had been much hunted in either case. 128 THE ZOOLOGIST. At what time the Domestic Turkey was first taken to the islands I did not learn, but probably not very long after their discovery, or certainly soon after the arrival of the first mis- sionary, which occurred in 1820. We may safely assume that soon after some of them wandered away and reverted to the wild state, and now they are found, more or less abundant, in the forest regions of most of the islands. ‘They have not yet become as wary and difficult of approach as are the Wild Turkeys here. The natives trap them with some success. At Haiku I found two hens in confinement, which Mr. Dickey had purchased from a native who had caught them. I studied them with great interest. They were in a large poultry-house, the front of which was closed with slats. On approaching them they showed about as much alarm as our Wild Turkey would, similarly situated. A very decided tendency was shown to revert to the colour of our Wild Turkey. The legs had already assumed a lightish colour with a pink shade, though not so brilliant as in the wild ancestor, but quite unlike the black leg of the black tame Turkey. The colour of the plumage had also undergone a marked change. ‘The ends of the tail-feathers and of the tail-coverts had assumed a tawny or russet shade,’ hardly so pronounced as in our Wild Turkey, but a great departure from all tame Turkeys. My observations in domesticating the Wild Turkey show that they first degenerate in their colouring in these two points. The white bars on the wing- feathers were there, but they are not always absent on the domesticated Turkey. In form, too, a change was manifest; the legs were longer and the body was longer and more erect than in the tame bird. Altogether the tendency to revert to the form, colouring, and habit of their wild ancestors was very marked. I say their wild ancestors, for I think I showed satis- factorily, in a paper published in the ‘American Naturalist’ for June, 1877, that the domestic Turkey of this country is descended from our Wild Turkey. I heard of the Barn-yard Fowl which had gone wild in several parts of the island, but I did not see any of them. I obtained the most satisfactory account from Mr. Emerson, a son of one of the early missionaries who was located at the north-west end of the island of Ouaha, where the son still resides. The domestic birds escaped from his father’s place at least fifty years ago, and NOTES FROM MAYO AND SLIGO. 129 occupy an extensive elevated or mountainous wooded country. They still nest on the ground, and are quite numerous, in spite of the depredations of the Wild Cats. Although he has often seen them, they are the most wild and wary of any animal he had ever attempted to approach, and he was very rarely able to shoot one. At the approach of day the whole forest would be vocal with the crowing of the cock, and, although secreted right among them, when daylight came not one could be seen, and all was as still as if nothing had ever disturbed the quiet of the wilderness. How they managed to disappear so quietly in the grey of the morning he could not explain, for he never heard them fly from their perches in the trees. They had diminished appreciably in size, and had assumed a uniform buff-colour. Now I confess that I do not know the colour of the wild bird from which our Barn-yard Fowl, or that which was common in the States sixty years ago, is descended, but if, as I have ventured to suggest, there is a tendency, when domesticated animals revert to the wild state, to return, not only to the wild habit, but to take on other pecu- liarities of their wild ancestors, from which they had departed under the influence of domestication, then we may infer that the original wild stock was of a buff colour. Ido not know that this subject has been deemed worthy of observation by naturalists,—at least I have not been so fortunate as to meet with any discussion of it,—but I hope an amateur may be allowed to so far depart from precedent as to make observations in out-of-the-way directions. It may be that my inclinations have too much of a practical tendency for strictly seientific studies. I study the bones but little, for practical utilitarian features interest me more. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM MAYO AND SLIGO. By Ropert WARREN. Tr the last few winters commencing with that of 1878-9 have been remarkable for their unusual severity, the present one will be long remembered for the long continuance of stormy weather throughout the season, beginning with the fearful gale of the 14th of October—a gale that caused more destruction amongst the trees of the wooded parts of the country than had been known for s 130 THE ZOOLOGIST. fifty years past: the wind when at its strongest blew from the N.N.W., afterwards veering round to W.S.W., scattering hay- and corn-stacks in all directions, uprooting large trees, stripping others of all their branches, leaving only the naked boles standing, and breaking short-off some eight or ten feet from the ground fir- trees of fifteen and sixteen inches in diameter. After this gale subsided, we had a continuance of high winds all through the month and up to the 26th of November, when another terrific gale from the S.W. set in, and, as it held longer when at its height than the October gale, the damage it caused throughout the country was far more serious; for the farmers’ and cottiers’ houses were stripped of thatch and slates in all directions, many completely unroofed, and in some instances the walls were levelled to the ground by the fury of the storm. Along the coast the destruction of fishing-boats was greater than , ever before known, for, although drawn up ashore, many were blown into the sea and lost; in other cases they were so knocked about by the wind as to be totally wrecked in the fields into which they had been blown by the gale. During the gale of the 14th of October the mercury in a Fitzroy barometer fell from 30°1° to 29°1°, and on the night of the 26th of November from 29°3° to 28°3°.. Although these high winds blew from an easterly direction the first week of October, and for the last two weeks of that month also,—so very favourable for the flight of our winter visitors,—yet birds of all species, including game and wildfowl, were never so scarce in this locality; and I have had a similar account from those great wildfowl haunts of the Lower Shannon and Tralee Bay, which state of things goes far to prove that the effects of the three hard winters in succession had so thinned out both our residents and winter visitors that a period of some years must elapse before we can expect to see them reappear in their usual numbers. The stormy weather sent very few rare visitors to this locality ; the only species worthy of notice being a fine adult Black- tailed Godwit, shot by a young friend near Roserk Abbey on the 8rd of September; and a very beautiful specimen of the Grey Phalarope in that pretty transition stage of plumage between the young and adult: this bird was shot by Mr. Little close to his residence, on the tidal part of the Moy, on the 15th of October. On Oct. 24th I observed a little flock of fiveR edwings a ee ae NOTES FROM MAYO AND SLIGO. 131 about the hedges, feeding on haws; and their number afterwards increased to about twenty birds, which was the greatest number I saw together at any one time this season. No Fieldfares have appeared in this district as yet this season, nor have I heard of any being seen elsewhere either in Mayo or Sligo. A pair of Missel Thrushes appeared in the town here on the 6th of November, the first of the species seen since last winter ; and on the 10th of that month I saw in one of our hedges either a Willow Wren or Chiffchaff, but, though it allowed me to get very near, owing to the want of light I was unable to make out the colour of its legs ; yet still I am almost certain it was the last- named bird—its mode of flight, restless flitting about the branches, peculiar movement of the wings, &c., all go far to prove that the bird was a Chiffchaff; and also at this time of the year it is more likely that the hardy Chiffchaff would be met with than the more delicate and tender Willow Wren. A few days after meeting with the Redwings, I thought I saw some Thrushes along with them, but until December 11th I was uncertain of the fact, when I saw three fly out of a hedge—the first seen since last winter, when both these birds and Missel Thrushes were completely exterminated in the district by the effects of the long-continued frost. I was glad to observe a pair of Golden-crested Wrens frequenting the plantations during the autumn and winter, and hope that, owing to the mildness of the weather, they will manage to keep alive until the breeding season. The three species of Tits appear to have held out pretty well. I think they are to be seen in about the same numbers as last year; but I only saw one family of Long-tailed Tits this winter. Starlings have been fear- fully thinned by the past hard winters, and only little parties of from half-a-dozen to a dozen are now to be seen directing their evening flight to the roosting-places, instead of the thousands that were to be seen previous to the destructive winter of 1878-9. On the 22nd January I was down near Bartragh in my punt, but found the few Widgeon there very wild, and almost un- approachable. I succeeded, however, in obtaining a long shot at a dozen, and picked up seven birds, and when returning I came across a pair of Long-tailed Ducks: they were very tame, allowing the punt to come within about twenty yards before rising from the water, when I knocked them down with a charge of 132 THE ZOOLOGIST. No. 2 from my cripple stopper. They were nice specimens, a female and a young male. Early in September I witnessed a most interesting flight of a Peregrine Falcon at a Greenshank. I only came in for the end of the flight, when I saw the Greenshank take to the water three times, and dive to escape the stoop of the Falcon. When the Falcon soared upwards after each stoop, the Greenshank rose from the water, screaming most piteously and flying to the shore, which it at length reached, and hid amongst the stones and sea- weed (the Falcon waiting a short distance off), until I came down and saved its life. THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. By E. Campripcr PHILuies, Member of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club. (Continued from p. 50.) Sxy Lark, Alauda arvensis.—Common. Occasionally a small flock is observed passing over, but one never sees anything like the large flocks that occur constantly on the Wiltshire and other Downs. I think we are too high and wet for them, and it must not be forgotten that, comparatively speaking, there is very little land under tillage here. Woop Lark, Alauda arborea.—Very uncommon. I have only seen it twice since I have resided here. Waxwine, Ampelis garrulus.—I can only record one instance of the occurrence of this bird, and that was killed near Llanwrtyd. Tree Creeper, Certhia familiaris.— Generally scattered throughout the county. I often see it actively creeping up some fine old elms in my garden at Brecon. Nuruarcu, Sitta cesia.—-This bird has been very slowly increasing for the last few years. It was formerly rare here; so much so, indeed, that I have only observed it during the last four or five years, and then occasionally. I have seen it twice in my garden, when I was attracted by its piping note. Miss Lloyd, of Llandefailog, near Brecon, who so kindly gave me the particulars of the nesting of the Hen Harrier at Nantgwilt, tells me that the Nuthatch breeds at Llandefailog, but that the old birds only reared one young one last year, and she thinks the district too cold for them. THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 133 Common Buntine, Emberiza miliaria. — Fairly plentiful throughout the county. Reep Bunrine, Emberiza scheniclus.—Common, especially in the neighbourhood of Llangorse Lake, and on the banks of the canal. Yetitow Bunrine, Emberiza citrinella.a—Very common. The late Mr. Marsh, Rector of Sutton Benger, near Chippenham,— whose lectures on British Birds are always remembered with pleasure by those that had the privilege, as I often had, of hearing them,—-used to say that the Yellow Bunting, if properly roasted between two vine leaves, was equal to, and not easily to be dis- tinguished from, the celebrated Ortolan, EH. hortulana, so eagerly sought after by gourmets on the Continent. CuarrincH, Fringilla celebs. — May with truth be said to be the commonest bird we have, and the boldest. A curious variety of a uniform delicate fawn-colour, which I have had the pleasure of inspecting, was killed at Velinnewydd by Mr. Williams- Vaughan, jun., of that place. BramBuine, Fringilla montifringilla.—Rare. I only know with certainty of a single instance of its occurrence, and that was at Cynghordy, near Llanwrtyd, on the borders of the county. GouprFincy, Fringilla carduelis. — Very general all over the county. We are fortunately not much troubled with professional birdcatchers, with their call-birds and nets, but only by a few amateurs, so that I think this may in some way account for their numbers. I often see them both in large and small flocks, and a pair or so nest in my garden in Brecon nearly every year. Siskin, F'ringilla spinus.—This bird I see occasionally during the winter, and generally moving in small flocks. Linyet, Linota cannabina.—Common enough, but I think not so much so, or in such large flocks, as in England. Twitze, Linota flavirostris.—Fairly distributed in the winter throughout the county. Meaty Reproux, Linota linaria.—I am not able to say with certainty that we have this bird with us. I have not observed it; still it is so very liable to be confounded with the Common Linnet that it is very probable it occurs occasionally. Lusser Reppoutr, Linota rufescens.—Not common, but still occurring in fair numbers. A station-master on one of our principal Welsh lines tells me that he catches both the Redpolls, 134 THE ZOOLOGIST. especially the Lesser Redpoll, in his traps when taking Gold- finches, and that he can sell the latter, but not the former. I imagine, however, that the Linnet is mistaken by him for the Mealy Redpoll. The Lesser Redpoll makes a lively little pet, but its rich markings soon vanish in confinement. Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus.—Resident with us, but in no great numbers. Housr Sparrow, Passer domesticus. — Very common, very noisy, and very impudent, as everywhere else. I think also increasing during the past few years. GREENFINCH, Coccothraustes chloris—Common throughout the county. Hawrincu, Coccothraustes vulgaris.—Very rare indeed ; in fact I may almost say unknown here. I have never seen one. Mr. Roche, of Tregunter, our late high sheriff, tells me that some twenty years ago a large flock of these birds established them- selves in the large trees near his house, and that they stayed there nearly the whole winter, which, if I recollect right, was a severe one. He well remembers catching numbers of them in traps and keeping them in cages, but he has not observed any since that time. Bouuirincy, Pyrrhula vulgaris —Very common. I sometimes see it in the garden, but not often, for it is, I think, a wood- loving bird. CrossBILL, Loxia curvirostra.—Very rare here now. In the winter of, I believe, 1866,.they were very abundant all over the county. Some tall larch trees in my garden at Vennyvach were literally covered with them one morning. Not knowing their note I killed several, but after that I did not disturb them. One of the birds killed was a cock in splendid plumage of a bright red ; another a cock of a bright yellow; whilst the rest were hens of a dull olive-green. They stayed with us for some time, but all left about January, except one hen that stayed about the place until April, when I missed her ; she frequented one larch tree in particular, and was so tame that she would take no notice of any one’s approach. I have often watched her within a few feet, and her mode of feeding on the seeds of the fir-cone, and indeed her actions generally, invariably reminded me of those of a parrot. I felt quite sorry when she left us to return no more. I think if she had had a mate she would have nested here. In the same THE BIRDE OF BRECONSHIRE. 135 year they were equally plentiful in the adjoining county of Caermarthen. GreEN Woopprcxer, Picus viridis.—Plentiful throughout the county. On the Crug, a hill near Brecon, it is common, and may often be seen on the short turf there feeding, and, if disturbed, flying with its undulating flight to the nearest tree, uttering at intervals its loud and somewhat weird ery. GREATER SPOTTED WooprEckEeR, Picws major.— Rare with us. I have seen it once, and once only, on one of the large elms in my garden. I also saw a very beautiful hen bird killed by Mr. Williams- Vaughan, jun., at the Skreen-on-the-Wye, his Radnor- shire residence, and close to the borders of Breconshire. The cock bird flew about in loneliness for some time, and was after- wards killed, and the pair are now in that gentleman’s collection. There are also several stuffed specimens in the town that have been killed at or near Brecon. LrEssER SpotteD WoopPEcKER, Picus minor.— Much com- moner than Picus major, but still far from plentiful. Occasionally one pays me a visit, and I have seen it in Vennyvach Wood, and other parts of the county. Its variegated plumage of black and white makes it so attractive that one cannot fail to notice it. Wryneck, Jynx torquilla.—Not common with us, but its nest has been taken by some young friends of mine. I imagine it occurs very sparingly throughout the county, although, as a summer migrant, its numbers are of course liable to variation. Hooror, Upupa epops.—This beautiful bird occurs only as an accidental visitor with us. I can, however, out of many reports, give two with certainty, viz., one killed at Cathedine, near Llan- gorse, by my friend the late Mr. David Brown, and now in the possession of Mr. David Thomas of this town, and another killed some years since at Frwdgrech, near Brecon. The former had a beautiful crest, but the latter, when TI saw it, was either very badly stuffed or was in bad plumage when killed. Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus.—Very common. Last year one frequented my garden, where, as the gardener expressed it, it “sang lovely.” KinerisHER, Alcedo ispida.—Fairly numerous on the Usk and Wye and on the Brecon Canal, but certainly decreasing during the last two or three years. It is only occasionally seen on the mountain streams, and I think that it prefers slow-running water. 136 THE ZOOLOGIST. It is very susceptible of cold. Looking one frosty day over the Honddu Bridge, near the Castle, in this town, I saw close by the houses a Kingfisher perched, like a dull emerald ball, on a willow by the slack water that turns the mill. Repeated stones failed to move him, but at last he seemed to wake up, and, showing all his beautiful colours of blue and orange, he flew a few yards farther on, when he pitched again, and positively refused to move, he seemed so perished with the cold; and so we left him master of the situation. May not the coldness of this climate account for their not increasing faster here, for I think they are seldom if ever molested ? Tue Swatitow, Hirundo rustica; Martin, H. urbica; Sanp Martin, H. riparia; and Swirr, Cypselus apus, are very common here; in fact, I see no difference between their numbers here and in England. The Sand Martins occur in numbers on the banks of the Usk. My boys tell me that if you take a young Sand Martin from its hole, and place it at the mouth of another hole, it will not move; but place it at the mouth of the hole in which it has been hatched, and it will scuttle out of sight directly. : Nieutsar, Caprimulgus europeus.—Common on all our heathy hills. Many a time have I had it brought to me as a great rarity, and as often have I totally failed in impressing on my visitor that, if he only watched “between the lights,” he might see them almost any summer evening. How well I recollect my first introduction to this bird. Many years since, alas! in an old country seat in Wiltshire, where I have spent many happy days, I took my gun one summer evening, and, followed by old “ Sahib,” the retriever, I started to get a rabbit. Passing through the small park and down by the “ Ladies’ Well,” I came to a field almost surrounded by woods. It was twilight, and all was still, save the tinkling of the distant sheep-bells on the Cherhill Down, and the faint ringing of the many chimes borne from the hills of the ** White Horse.” No rabbits were out, so “Sahib” and I watched and waited, until at last an old doe cautiously appeared and began distrustfully to feed; then a little hedgehog came out, working about with his nose in the grass in a wonderful way. All at once the old rabbit stopped feeding, the hedgehog seemed inclined to roll himself up, and old “Sahib” pricked his ears, as, with a splendid swift-like rush, gliding noiselessly through the air, a bird THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 137 came circling by; a minute more and I heard its curious jarring cry, and forgot everything else in watching with a delight that comes back to me, even now, the beautiful and fairy-like flight of the Nightjar. Woop Picron, Columba palumbus.—Very plentiful, but the large flocks one constantly meets with in the winter must be visitors from other counties, probably Herefordshire, where it breeds in great numbers. I think this bird is certainly on the increase here during the last few years, both as regards residents as well as visitors. Stock Dove, Columba enas.—Certainly rare with us; I have never killed but one, and that was when waiting to shoot Wood Pigeons as they came in to roost in a wood on the confines of the county. I recognised it by its smaller size, and, on killing it, found it to be a veritable Columba enas. The keeper with me said there was a pair of them, but that they were very uncommon; it is, however, common in the adjoining county of Hereford. Rock Dove, Columba livia.—In many places fairly plentiful. Mr. Crawshay has killed two in a stone-quarry near Cyfarthfa, just over, if not actually in, the county, and in the curious Aberedw Rocks, on the Wye, they breed in tolerable numbers. These rocks crop up in various turretted shapes on the Brecon- shire and Radnorshire sides of the river, more especially on the latter, and the Rock Doves constantly cross to and fro with arrow- like flight; they feed in the daytime on the various corn and stubble fields near, but are, of all the Columbide, the most difficult of approach and the most difficult to shoot. Indeed, the quantity of shot this bird will carry away almost surpasses belief. Turtite Dove, Turtur auritus.—A summer visitant, but in spare numbers. The only place in the county where I usually notice it with any certainty is on the large flat tract of land between Three Cocks and Boughrood part of the Dderw Farm, the property of Lord Tredegar. Pueasant, Phasianus colchicus. —I cannot say when the Pheasant was introduced into Wales, but probably it soon spread from the large woods of Herefordshire until it established itself in the Great Forest of Brecon. It seems to do very well here, bearing severe cold with impunity. The largest Pheasant I have ever seen was a cock of the old-fashioned colchicus type, killed in 1879 in Lord Hereford’s preserves at Tregoyd, by my friend the T 1388 THE ZOOLOGIST. Rey. John Bowen, the Vicar of Talgarth; it weighed 3 lbs. 10 ozs., and measured 2 ft. 103 ins. from tip of beak to tail; it was a very old bird. The Chinese torquatus, with the white ring round the neck, is of comparatively recent introduction here, and is invariably smaller. Many white and pied birds have been killed in different parts of the county, at Clyro, and elsewhere. A beautiful pied hen, an old bird, was killed near here during the past season. Indeed, of all the game birds, there is none that seems so peculiarly liable to sport white feathers, either in a greater or less degree, than the Pheasant. I fancy that the reason is partly that no fresh blood is introduced. On the other hand, my father had in an aviary at Chippenham, Wilts, a pure white cock Pheasant and two pure white hens, as well as a parti- coloured hen, all of good size and strength. Buacxk Grovusr, Tetrao tetriz.—-Has always existed in this county, and I am glad to say, in spite of repeated thinnings, has— thanks to a few spirited landowners—considerably increased during the past ten years. Last season (1881) several brace were killed in one day on the Marquis of Camden’s property, near Trecastle. Mr. Dillwyn Llewellyn also has a few; and on Lord Tredegar’s, Sir Joseph Bailey’s, and Mr. Williams-Vaughan’s hills there is a fair stock of breeding birds. What a pity that they cannot have one year’s jubilee awarded them in this county, for its wet-bottomed woods of alder and birch bordering our heathy hills are in every respect exactly suited to their habits; and their beauty as game birds must be appreciated by every true sportsman. Rep GrovsE, Tetrao scoticus.—Still fairly plentiful on our heather-covered hills, and, for the reasons mentioned in the last paragraph, greatly increasing of late years. On the Eppynt Hills, Mr. Dillwyn Llewellyn and another gun killed, to the best of my recollection, fifteen brace on the first day of the past season (1881); but his hill is a very extensive one, and he is too good a naturalist and sportsman to kill them down too closely. The same remark applies to Sir Joseph Bailey, Mr. Williams-Vaughan, and Mr. Butler, who have a fair stock. On the hills between Devynnock and Penwyllt the Grouse have greatly increased, and where a few years ago one could only see four or five birds, one may now see several flocks. On one of these hills, in 1880, I and another gun killed five brace in September after the usual Grouse-shooting had THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 189 taken place ; and I am told this year they are more plentiful still, such are the excellent effects of a little preservation. I omitted to add that Grouse are plentiful on Lord Tredegar’s excellently- preserved manor near the ‘Storey Arms.’ Grey Parrrivge, Perdix cinerea.—Still common, I am happy to say, although materially decreased in numbers during the past few years; wet seasons have played sad havoc with them, and they have also, I think, been shot down much too closely in various localities. This should not be, as a better Partridge country than that round Brecon it is almost impossible to conceive. Rep-Leecep Parrriver, Perdix rufa. — Almost unknown. About six or seven years ago a young bird was killed at Scethrog, near Brecon, by Mr. Williams, of Manest, in a turnip-field. About six months afterwards, a gentleman living in Ashbrook | Place, Brecon, on going into his garden, saw something running along the ground, and, it being late in the evening, he succeeded in catching it, and sent for a well known sportsman to look at it; he at once pronounced it to be a Red-legged Partridge, in excellent plumage, and no doubt a bird bred in the county; it lived for four or five days, but its extreme wildness caused its death. He afterwards related the circumstance to me. Mr. Williams thinks that Mr. Alfred Crawshay, of Talybont, turned out a couple of Red-legged Partridges about a year previously, and that they must have hatched a small brood. In the autumn following, he believes, there were four or five young ones, and surmises that the bird he shot and also the one caught in Brecon were two of them; the remainder were not seen afterwards. Mr. Williams is an indefatigable sportsman, and has shot over the greater part of the county for the last thirty years; and these are the only two he has ever seen or heard of as being killed; it justifies my including it, however, in my list of the birds of our couuty. Quai, Coturnix vulgaris.—An occasional visitor. A friend of mine, shooting near Brecon some years since, flushed a small bevy when Partridge-shooting, but thought at first they were “squeakers” ; he, however, followed them up, and killed three of them. At another time I saw a single bird on the hill near Devynnock, and another was killed not far from Llanwrtyd, at Cynghordy, by that excellent sportsman, the late Mr. Henry Gwynne-Vaughan. Mr. Williams-Vaughan, jun., also saw three 140 THE ZOOLOGIST: or four near Trebarried a few years since, but, after flushing them once, failed to rise them a second time; and Sir J. Bailey also has kindly sent me word that once he shot two brace of Quail at or near Glenusk Park. Mr. Williams tells me that they were more plentiful here during the Franco-Prussian War than in any other season, and suggests that the constant firing which occurred at that time in France drove them over; he then killed several brace. Last year, I am informed, a brace of Quail nested near Bolgoed, Brecon, but did not hatch, in consequence, I imagine, of their being disturbed. I believe my friend Major Morgan, of Bolgoed, has one of the eggs. From the above, it will be seen that they are still somewhat uncommon with us. (To be continued.) SNAKES VENOMOUS AND NON-VENOMOUS. By Arruur Strapiine, C.M.Z.S. “‘ How can one tell a snake which is poisonous from one which is harmless?” is a question often asked by people who, on being censured for killing an innocuous reptile, aver that through a lack of knowing one kind from the other they have destroyed it, lest it might have proved dangerous. It is to be feared that no general rule can be laid down whereby a snake’s nature may be ascertained from its external characteristics, except, of course, those which lead to the recognition of the «dividual species, which would imply a considerable amount of familiarity with them. This is to be deplored, since there is no creature more absolutely inoffensive than a non-poisonous snake; even the huge constrictors very rarely meddle with human affairs, or molest man and his belongings; while the smaller genera do positive and appreciable service to him. Our common English Ringed Snake is a great devourer of slugs, which it will eat at all times in preference to frogs; and—in captivity, at any rate—will take earthworms, caterpillars, and snails. In this country, where we have practi- cally but two Ophidians, there is no need of any universal principles of distinction, since the difference between the two reptiles is so broad; the strongly-marked black and yellow collar should alone be enough to distinguish the harmless Ringed Snake SNAKES VENOMOUS AND NON-VENOMOUS. 141 at a glance from the Viper, which possesses the further charac- teristic of well defined lozenge-shaped markings which run down the whole length of the back. Perhaps the popular idea that the Viper is characterised by a V on its head may actually have much to do with the indiscriminate slaughter of both. It does not require a very vivid imagination to trace a V-shaped mark among the lines and plates on any snake’s head; and the bright yellow and black blotches, to which allusion has just been made as forming a kind of collar at the back of the head in Tropidonotus natriz, joining at. an acute angle, constitute a much closer resemblance to the letter than the irregular star-shaped patch on the ‘‘ forehead” of the Viper. There is a third snake occasionally found in Great Britain—Coronella levis, but this might excusably be mistaken for the Adder. It is found more frequently in the New Forest than anywhere else; and, though certainly uncommon, is possibly not so rare as it is supposed to be. A gentleman in that neigh- bourhood, who offers a reward for every Viper killed, sent me several “doubtful cases” last summer, which proved to be Coro- nelle. The harmless Slow-worm, Anguis fragilis, holds an inter- mediate place between the Ophidians and the typical Saurians. The words “snake” and “serpent” I use indiscriminately, since their import is the same. It would be very convenient, however, if by common acceptation the venomous species might be ranged under one term and non-venomous under the other. In some parts of the world this is so, “serpent” being usually understood as designating the noxious species; in others, the term is limited to Pythons, Anacondas, and allied families; here, both have the same signification, though I remember an article in one of the magazines some years ago, which bore the heading, “Serpents and Venomous Snakes.” The wide-spread notion that all venomous snakes have flat heads—and, conversely, that all flat-headed ones are venomous— is undoubtedly a most erroneous one. ‘Take all the Boas and Pythons, for instance: all with flattened, pointed, and (with the single exception of one Tree-boa, Epicrates cenchris) triangular heads. That of the Anaconda, too, is flat, but more rounded in outline ; so is the Dalmatian Hlaphis, the largest European Snake; so are certain species of Zamensis, Dromicus, Dipsas, and numerous other Colubring. On the other hand, many Vipers and most of the Hlapide have rounded, convex, or even bulbous heads, 142 THE ZOOLOGIST. the beautiful Coral Snake or Chequered Elaps (EH. lemniscatus) being a striking example. Nor would a diametrically opposite test hold good, as occasionally happens where popular theories are in question. The majority of the Colubers are round-headed, while all the Crotalide are exceedingly flat and angular; some Vipers, as the River-jack (Vipera rhinoceros), the Nose-horned Viper (V. nasicornis), and a species of Causus are flattened and three-cornered as well, but slope with a curious sort of pyramidal declension from the median line to the margin. There are flat-headed snakes and round-headed snakes of both kinds, but between the extremes we find every possible gradation; besides, as we shall see presently, some are much flatter at times than they usually are. Brilliancy of colour is accepted by many people as an indication of the baneful character of the reptile, but this is equally fallacious; indeed, though no approach to a rule can be laid down, I think it is quite the other way in the greater number of cases. Many deadly or dangerous serpents are certainly of very brilliant hue; the two African Vipers, above quoted, the Curucucu or Bushmaster (Lachesis mutus), the Death- adder (Pseudechis porphyriacus) of Australia, and Blue Viper (Bungarus lineatus)—so-called—of India, the Coral Snake, and most of the others belonging to the Hlapide, may be cited as examples. But there is nothing very gorgeous about the Cobra- di-capello, or Hamadryad, or Carpet-viper ; while the large group of Rattlesnakes, the Water-viper, Copper-head, Fer-de-lance, Jararaca, Vibora-de-la-cruz, and other Crotalide, have not a bright tint amongst them. The Viper of the British Islands varies from dull brown to black. Then look at the vast number of innocuous species which present almost every colour of the rainbow in all degrees of intensity. What can rival the vivid green of Philodryas viridissimus, the blood-red upper surface of Sceytale coronatum, or the vermilion, yellow, white, and black of Oxyrhopus formosus, trigeminus, doliatus, and petolarius? or the variegated pattern of Pelophilus madagascarensis, or even the Common Boa, which Laurenti named Constrictor formosissimus? Hundreds of other specimens might be instanced. Some—such as D’Orbigny’s Heterodon—are dark on the back, but beautifully marked under- neath; others again, though uniformly dark in tint, glow with a most brilliant metallic lustre, as the plumbeous and pointed oS ee SNAKES VENOMOUS AND NON-VENOMOUS. 143 Tree-snakes. The South-American Rat-snake (Spilotes variabilis) presents a shining black, barred with brightest yellow, and the East-Indian Coryphodon blumenbachii glistens like silver. It is difficult to see how or why an idea should have originated that all those having short or blunt tails belong to the dangerous class. No basis whatever exists for such a dictum; unless it be that in many tropical countries a great horror prevails of certain creatures which are reputed to be fearfully venomous, and which certainly have such very blunt tails that they are often known as Two-headed Snakes, being accredited with a head at either extremity, and the power of going ahead and astern with equal facility when burrowing in the earth or mud in which they are found. These really are not snakes at all, but Amphisbene, and perfectly incapable of doing any mischief. A thick upper jaw looks bad, but is not to be trusted as a universal indication of danger. All snakes which wear any peculiar external appendages may certainly be looked upon with well-grounded suspicion, but these are comparatively so few in number that such appendages can be regarded in this light as little more than distinguishing marks of certain species. I am not aware that there are any harmless horned snakes, though there are some which have something or other analogous to such an ornament—for instance, the Dryiophide, with their elongated, pointed snouts, and the Heterodons, in which the rostral shield is thickened into a promi- nent, recurved trihedral pyramid. A horny or bony appendage to the tail should also put us on our guard, whether it assumes the form of the rattle belonging to the many different genera of Rattlesnakes, or the claw-like termination of the Curucucu, or the Lance-headed Snakes. Of less diagnostic value is the possession of an expansile hood—though, naturally, in all these cases we should be guided according to the country in which we happen to be at the time, and the reptiles we may expect to meet there. The Indian and Egyptian Cobras, and the Hamadryad are the hooded snakes of common notoriety, but there are other less celebrated ones in which the dilatation is not so well-marked; hor is this characteristic confined to poisonous ones. ‘The Caninana (Spilotes pecilostoma) of Brazil hisses, rears its head, and Spreads a very respectable hood when angry. ‘The word “hood,” however, hardly conveys a correct impression of the appear- ance to anyone who has never witnessed the action; “fins” 144 THE ZOOLOGIST. might do so more appropriately. The phenomenon is really due to the anterio-posterior flattening of the neck—if we may speak of a snake’s neck, for in anatomical law it has none; this flattening is brought about by the extension of the ribs: these being extremely mobile in their articulation with the vertebre, and not fastened down to any breast-bone underneath, admit of being drawn out at right angles to the spine, stretching the skin and subjacent soft tissues to a corresponding extent. But this power is actually limited in the specially-noted “hooded” snakes in comparison to what it is in many others which flatten their whole bodies, throughout the entire length to which the sides are supported by ribs, in the same way! All snakes, indeed, possess this faculty in some degree; but striking examples of it are afforded by the Puff-adder (Vipera arietans), Liophis merremi, and, perhaps above all, by the Leaf-marked Snake (Xenodon rhabdocephalus). This last not only flattens its diamond-patterned body until it becomes a mere ribbon, with the back-bone visibly jutting up in the middle line, and possibly a recently-swallowed frog sticking out like a tumour, but positively expands its normally convex head in like manner; so that the whole animal looks as if a cart-wheel had passed over it longitudinally. This hideous habit combined with its decidedly truculent aspect have given it a bad reputation, and, in some places, the name of *« Spreading Viper,” though it is quite harmless. In the absence, then, of any outward and visible sign to lead us to infer with certainty the presence or absence of the death-dealing teeth, there is only one way of making sure on the point; and that is, to open the snake’s mouth and see if they are there. Nor need anyone be alarmed at the idea of doing this; it is by no means difficult or dangerous. If a serpent be held firmly behind the head—whether gripped in the hand, or pressed forcibly on the ground with the foot, or held by a loop of string or tape rove through an eye in the end of a stick (which is the very best and safest way of catching them)—it will open its jaws of its own accord and keep them widely distended in its efforts to bite, and a deliberate inspection of the interior of the mouth may thus be obtained. Perhaps an exception to this should be made in favour of our common Ringed Snake, which, as far as I have seen and heard, can never be induced to bite. Serpents allied to the Viper and Rattlesnake have movable fangs, which will be seen to OCCASIONAL NOTES. 145 become erect, webbed to the gums by a fold of mucous membrane, or they may be brought down by drawing a pencil along the teeth from behind forwards; the Elapide have fixed fangs, permanently erect. All snakes have ordinary teeth, of course—very long and sharp ones, too, sometimes. Is this test absolutely infallible after all? One would feel inclined to say that ocular demonstration must bring conviction ; nevertheless, our eyes deceive us at times when peculiar com- binations of appearances favour the cheat, and we must allow that even in this there are certain circumstances under which the apparent visibility of fangs may be misleading. It is well known that some innocuous snakes have a long, fang-like tooth, standing apart from the rest, though destitute of any vestige of a poison-sac or duct. Such a thing might by itself easily give rise to mistakes. But Miss Hopley has recently pointed out the remarkable fact that these teeth are erectile, like viperine fangs, in a species which has already been mentioned, Xenodon rhabdocephalus. Under the circumstances, a correct diagnosis could only be arrived at (supposing the specimen to be unknown) by an accurate knowledge of the proper position of true fangs; or—still more certainly, but less to be recommended—by the crucial experiment of allowing the reptile to bite. OCCASIONAL NOTES. Witp Car in Assynt.—I have had presented to me from Scotland an unusually fine specimen of the genuine Wild Cat. It is an old male, with the teeth blunted from age, and one of the canines broken short off. The following is the account given of it by my brother-in-law, the Rev. Geoffrey Hill, who sent it to me:—‘‘In the first week of May, 1879, I was passing through the parish of Assynt, in Sutherlandshire, when I met one of the game- keepers on the Duke of Sutherland’s estate. I asked him whether he had trapped any cats during the winter. He said he had caught but one, and that he had the skin of it in his house. I bought it of him, and he promised to let me have the next cat that he killed. I had not been in Edinburgh more than a day or two when I received a letter from him telling me that the very morning after he saw me he had succeeded in trapping the finest cat he had ever caught: this he sent me. During my U 146 THE ZOOLOGIST. conversation with him he told me that cats were some years ago much more numerous than at present—that, in fact, they were now becoming scarce; and this is natural, for he sets traps for them assiduously every winter, and besides this there are now four gamekeepers for the same tract of country for which some few years ago there was only one. He himself, he told me, trapped eighteen cats during his first winter—that is, fifteen years before; and the innkeeper of the place, who was the gamekeeper before the present one, told me that he had trapped sixteen cats in a fortnight, but that was, he said, some thirty years ago. The innkeeper also told me that he was the first gamekeeper appointed to that part of Sutherlandshire. Before his time no persistent efforts were made to exterminate cats, but there was a class of men called ‘ fox-hunters,—or ‘ hunt-foxers,’ as I once heard them termed by a man who spoke little more than his native Gaelic,— corresponding to the English vermin-catchers, who were employed by the farmers to keep down the number of cats when they became troublesome. I was told by this innkeeper that the male Wild Cats paired with the female domestic cats, and that he had had in his house kittens which were a cross between the wild and the domestic breed.” The keeper, my brother adds, had great difficulty in killing this cat while in the trap, and it seriously injured the dog which he had with him.—Arruur P. Morrzs (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury). Marten Cat 1n Norrotx.—I should like to mention the capture of one of these animals, which I believe has not hitherto been recorded. It was trapped by a former keeper of ours, on Kelling Heath, in 1864. The specimen is an old female, and is I believe the last but one that was killed in Norfolk. It was stuffed by Travis, of Saffron Walden. Length about eighteen inches and a-half, tail about ten inches and bushy, throat yellowish white, ears large and erect. I saw a Badger, in the flesh, which was caught in a rabbit-trap on Winterton Warren, between 1869 and 1874, but cannot remember the exact year. Otters are still fairly numerous in the Broad district. A pair which nested in the boat-house on the island in Somerton Broad had two young ones of a distinctly different shade of colour, one much darker than the other. Is this a general sexual distinction in the garb of the young of this quadruped?—M. C. H. Brrp (The Vicarage, Canvey Island, South Benfleet.) (The last Marten taken in Norfolk, we presume, was that recorded by Mr. F. Norgate (Zool. 1879, p. 171) as having been killed in the parish of Havingham, in the summer of 1878.—Ep.] THE Bapderr in OxrorDsHire.—Notwithstanding great persecution, the Badger is still not very uncommon in North Oxfordshire and the adjoining parts of the counties of Northampton and Warwick. A taxidermist in this town has, during the past year, preserved no less than ten specimens, OCCASIONAL NOTES. 147 and, I am sorry to say, I have heard of several others having been killed during the same period. They breed regularly ou the small remaining portion of Todmorton Heath, about six miles from Banbury. Iam informed that one of the largest of those procured weighed forty pounds; this was late in autumn, when they would of course be very fat.— Oxtver V. APLIN (Banbury, Oxon). THe WHIsKERED Bat (Vespertilio mystacinus, Leisler), In YORKSHIRE. —I have had the pleasure of adding this species to the Yorkshire list of mammals, three specimens, from three different localities, having passed through my hands within the last nine months. The first, from Great Mytton in Ribblesdale, is recorded in the ‘ Handbook of the Vertebrate Fauna of Yorkshire.’ A second was shot near Harrogate, in August, 1881, by Mr. Johu Grange; and I have just received a third in the flesh from Mr. James Ingleby, of Eavestone, near Ripon, who found it in a cavern near that place, which is a favourite haunt of bats. He tells me that it was the only one he found in the cave on his last visit, and that it is quite new to his neighbourhood, he not having seen one of the species before. Of other bats, the Noctule, the Pipistrelle, and the Long-eared Bat are all of more or less common occurrence, and generally distributed throughout the county, and the wonder to me in the case of the Noctule is, considering its wide diffusion over Yorkshire, even as far north as Whitby and Northallerton, that it should not be known to inhabit the counties of Durham and Northumberland. None of my correspondents have as yet been able to ascertain that Daubenton’s Bat (which, judging from Bell’s ‘ British Quad- rupeds,’ is extremely likely to be found) occurs in the county of York. I have indeed had it reported, but no specimens have been forthcoming.— Wm. Denison Rorsucx (Sunny Bank, Leeds) BorrLe-Nosep DoLpdin IN THE Cotne.—On March 12th two Dolphins were observed in this river, near Wyvenhoe Wood, and, after several attempts, one, a female, was shot. On examination she proved to be of the Bottle-nosed species, Delphinus tursio. She was seven feet six inches in length to the bifurcation of the tail. Examinations of captured Porpoises would probably show that this species is not nearly so rare as is generally supposed.—Henry Laver (Colchester). Atsino GrovusE In Mayo.—From my friend Mr. J. H. Scott, of Ballina, I have received (as a loan for our museum), a very singnlar variety of Grouse. It is a female bird, shot early last December, on a moor called Lugnalettin, near Ballycastle, on the borders of Erris, and was killed by Mr. A. Malley, when shooting on the moor which belongs to Mr. Scott. The bird is very pale in the general markings, and the quills are much paler than usual, 148 THE ZOOLOGIST. Not having ever seen or heard of such a variety, I sent the skin to Professor Newton, of Cambridge, who identified it as an uncommon variety of the Grouse, which he has seen from several localities in Scotland; but hitherto this form has not been recognised in Ireland. It is, as I learn from Professor Newton, the variety entered as “‘persicus,” in Gray’s ‘ Hand- list,’ having been first described by Mr. G. R. Gray, under this strange name, through some misapprehension of its patria. Our museum is fortunate in holding possession, though only on loan, of so rare and interesting a specimen. Would that all Irish naturalists would follow the liberal example of Mr. Scott, and we should soon have before the public all the rarities as they occur.—A. G. More (Curator of the Dublin Natural History Museum.) Great Grey SHrikE tn Devon.— Early in March an immature specimen of the Great Grey Shrike was brought to me in the flesh. It was shot at Morchard Bishop, in North Devon, about thirteen miles N.W. of Exeter. The only other instances of the occurrence of this Shrike in this county that are known to me are as follows :—One at Topsham, 1839 (F. W. L. Ross); one at Exeter, 1845 (Dr. W. R. Scott); one at Torquay, July, 1865 (R. Cumming); one near Honiton, January, 1871; and one between Lydford and Bridestowe, November 15th, 1876 (J. Gatcombe).— W.S. M. D’Urpan (Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter). GREAT GREY SHRIKE IN BREcONSHIRE.—I am indebted to Mr. Roche, of Tregunter, our present high sheriff, for the particulars regarding the occurrence of this rare visitor; it was seen both by himself and his brother at Tredustan, near Tregunter, in November last, and was at once recognised, Mr. Roche having often seen the Great Grey Shrike on the Continent.— E. CamBridGeE Putters (Brecon, 8S. Wales). Great GREY SHRIKE NEAR Barnstey.—On January 7th I saw, in the hands of a bird-stuffer of this town, a fine specimen of the Great Gray Shrike (Lanius excubitor), which had been shot the day before “ while chasing insects.” It is a rare winter visitor to this neighbourhood. In Mr. T. Lister’s paper on the ‘ Birds of the Barnsley and South Yorkshire District,’ six occurrences only of this bird are noted near here since 1831, none of which are of recent date. ‘The Snow Bunting has been observed here this winter, though in less numbers than last year; only three speci- mens have, I believe, been reported, one of which was in winter plumage. —Ww. E. Brapy (1, Queen Street, Barnsley). Notes on Birvs 1n NorrincHaMsHire.—During the past autumn and winter very few birds of the rarer kinds have come under my notice. I may mention the following :—An Osprey was killed in October last at Clawson ; a Peregrine stayed about the woods here for a week, and I could have shot OCCASIONAL NOTES. 149 it had I been so disposed: I saw another—perhaps the same bird—on the 26th February. Two or three Rough-legged Buzzards were seen during the autumn, and a Buffon’s Skua was shot near Ollerton in November; a Long-tailed Duck was also obtained during that month on the Trent near Nottingham, and a Gadwall was sent to a Nottingham birdstuffer from Lincolushire. I purchased of Stanley, a naturalist at Nottingham, a beautiful specimen of the Bee-eater, which was shot in July, 1879, ina pea-field at Ingoldsby, near Bowes, in Lincolnshire: though three years back, so rare a bird is worth recording. This has beeu one of the best partridge seasons and the worst wildfowl winters I have ever known.— J. WHITAKER (Rainworth Lodge, near Mansfield). VaRIETY OF THE Common SnipeE.—Some time ago Mr. Vingoe for- warded me a Snipe from Penzance, which he claims to be a distinct species. He tells me he has obtained more than thirty examples in his neighbour- hood, that sportsmen of the locality are now well acquainted with it, and many have been sent him for preservation. The peculiarity of this Snipe consists in its tail, which is much longer than that of the Common Snipe, — and is square instead of rounded ; it is also a somewhat smaller bird. The length of tail in the Common Snipe is two inches and two-eighths; in Vingoe’s Snipe the tail is two inches and five-eighths, the two outer tail- feathers being longer than the next adjoining. Some time ago a Snipe answering this description was termed Scolopaa Brehmi, and after a time was considered to be merely a Common Snipe with the central feathers not fully grown in'the tail. This explanation, however, will hardly do for the Penzance birds, as it would require their tails to develope into full an inch more than the average length of tail in the Common Snipe. I do. not myself regard this variation in the tail-feathers as of specific value, and probably many long-tailed Snipes have been shot and pocketed elsewhere without notice; only, if they are as plentiful in other localities as they appear to be about Penzance, they must constitute a numerous race.— Morray A. Matuew (Stonehall, Wolf’s Castle, Pembrokeshire). THE “CaurRING” or THE NurHarcu.—The idea of the noise called by Mr. J. Young “ churring” (p. 113) being caused by the Nuthatch is quite new to me. Nuthatches are numerous here, and the Small Spotted Woodpecker not infrequent. I have on several occasions (after watching with great care) seen the latter in the act of causing this noise, during which the head vibrated with great rapidity, and (as I believed then, though Tam told by others that it is not so) apparently causing the noise by the rapid beating of its beak against the hard dead spur of a broken limb of the tree. Before I traced the noise unmistakably to the Woodpecker, I could easily have persuaded myself that it was caused by any bird on which my eye happened to light, in the immediate neighbourhood whence the noise 150 THE ZOOLOGIST. appeared to come. The sound is undoubtedly ventriloquial (therefore probably not caused by vibration of the beak upon the tree), and it appears to come from any spot to which the eye or attention is called by other circumstances. On one occasion a friend of mine was watching with me, while the noise was going on with great force and distinctness, apparently somewhere in a tree close to us, at one moment in one spot, and then in another ; just then a Tree-creeper caught our eyes, and at once we both exclaimed, “ That is the bird!” and it was not until the Creeper had gone quite away, while the noise still continued, that we felt we were mistaken. I would ask whether Mr. Young may not have thus groundlessly credited the Nuthatch with this noise.—O. P. Campripex (Bloxworth). ABNORMALLY COLOURED Birps 1n NorrincHAMsHIRE.—I have noticed the following varieties in this neighbourhood :—A cream-coloured Yellow- hammer, with the markings of a sandy red colour, also a light yellow-coloured bird of the same species; the former is in my possession, but not the latter. There are also in this neighbourhood a white Rook and a white Wood Pigeon; this bird, which has been about for two years, is marked on the back and wings with a sandy colour. Isaw in the summer a white Swallow and a pied Hedgesparrow. A white Tufted Duck was seen twice on a pond here, and there have been several pied Sparrows about. I think it is worthy of note that so many abnormally coloured birds should have been observed in so short a time as six months within a mile of this house. During the last few months I have also been fortunate in obtaining specimens of birds in abnormal plumage, and I think the following are worth mentioning :—Albinos of the Blackbird, Wood Wren, Hedgesparrow, Swallow and Wagtail, pied Whinchat, cream-coloured Yellow Wagtail, one pied and two smoke-coloured Chaffinches, a cream-coloured and a white Thrush, one sandy-coloured and two cream-coloured Larks, two pied Corn Buntings, an albino Flycatcher, an albino Jay {shot by myself near here), a light brown Blackbird, a Yellowhammer with white bars on wing, a sandy- coloured Waterhen, two pied Swifts, one pied Swallow, one albino and several pied Sparrows, and a sandy-coloured Starling. — J. WH1TaKER (Rainworth Lodge, near Mansfield). Diprer Nesting mv Norra Oxrorpsuire. —An innkeeper in this town has in his possession a Dipper’s nest, together with the old birds and two eggs. The nest was taken on the banks of the Cherwell, near Claydon, in the north of this county, in the month of May, six years ago. He says that the male bird was shot by a man who, not contented with that, after- wards watched the hen to the nest and caught her alive. When brought to him the nest was surrounded and partly covered with growing vegetation— reeds, moss and grass—some of which seemed as though planted on the sides and dome. It contained four eggs, and was built close to the water (the lower OCCASIONAL NOTES. 151 part indeed touching it), in the stump of one of the small old thorn bushes which grow commonly along our streams. The occurrence seems the more strange because (as you pointed out in ‘ The Zoologist’ for last month with regard to the eastern and southern streams generally) our streams are generally sluggish, and have rather low earthy or muddy banks, never approaching a rocky bank. The nest was preserved in the stump as it was found, and this is the only instance I know of the Dipper breeding in North Oxfordshire.— Ottver V. Apxin (Banbury, Oxon). A MEtanisM oF THE Repwinc.—On the Ist January, 1881, a curious variety of the Redwing was caught by a man netting birds at Beeston, near Nottingham. The plumage is as follows :—Head and back dark chocolate- colour; tail dark hazel, with a slight tinge of grey-blue near the ends of the two outer feathers; wings light brown on the outer sides of the flight feathers, and blackish brown on the inside, the first being of a slaty-blue, the last four the same colour, and also some of the feathers on the shoulder, the outside ones of which have black edges to them; the breast dark chocolate, with black and yellow markings. This bird I have shown to Prof. Newton, Messrs. Dresser, Borrer, and Sharpe, also to Mr. Tindall, of Knapton Hall, Yorkshire (who thinks it is the young of the Blue Thrush). Messrs. Dresser and Sharpe consider it to be melanism of the Redwing. —J, Wutraker (Rainworth Lodge, Mansfield). Uncommon Birps in THE ORweELL.—On the 6th September last a Cormorant was seen in the water near Pin Mill, but although fired at and badly wounded managed to escape. On the 7th October three Eider Ducks were seen near Levington Creek, two of which were shot, and the third obtained near Harwich on the following day. All three were in immature plumage. An indifferent specimen of the female Long-tailed Duck was shot in the Bathing-place Creek, quite close to Ipswich, on the 25th Octo- ber, and on the 24th November, during a gale from the south-east, another Long-tailed Duck was shot in the same creek. This was also a female, but a much better specimen than the one first obtained —J. H. H. Krauts (Ipswich). Lirrts Crake in Ireranp.—Mr. A. G. More states (p- 114), that no occurrence is known of the Little Crake in Ireland. I may mention that there is a specimen of this bird in the collection of Canon Tristram, which was killed at Balbriggan, and which I have had the pleasure of seeing many times, and about the correct identification of which there is no doubt. There is a record of it in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1854 (p. 4298.)—J. H. Gurney Jon. (Northrepps, Norwich). Faconry in Wates.—In answer to the remarks of Mr. F. H. Salvin (p. 117), I beg to assure him that I knew Morgan Williams well. He has 152 THE ZOOLOGIST. been dead more than ten years, aged over seventy, and therefore must have been over forty years of age when he was a pupil of J. C. Belany. I always understood him to say that he flew hawks when quite a young man, and it was probably to acquire the higher branches of the craft that he became the pupil of J.C. Belany. I could give Mr. Salvin stronger proof if needed, but I think I have said enough to show that I have made no mistake, and I still must consider Morgan Williams as ‘‘one of the last of his race.”— E. CamBripce Purxuies (Brecon, S. Wales). Newrs In THE TADPOLE SvacEe 1n WinrER.—l1 should be glad to know if it is not an unusual circumstance for the Common Smooth Newt, L. punctatus, to pass the winter in the tadpole state. I found several of these tadpoles in a pond here at the latter end of February, in various stages of development; some having the limbs in a rudimentary state, others with those organs nearly perfect; they all retained their branchie in a more or less complete state. Out of several which I kept in a glass vessel there are a few with the branchie still remaining, but in most cases they very soon became absorbed, the growth and development of the limbs being pro- portionately rapid. I found during the previous winter a perfectly developed Newt of the same species, hybernating under a stone, close to this pond, the size of which was so extremely small that the above-mentioned tadpoles were at least three times as large. They must I think have been very late hatched individuals. This species seems to be liable to considerable variation as regards colour and markings, this being the most observable in the females ; some of the difference may, however, be owing to the recent casting of the skin or the reverse.—G. T. Rope (Blaxhall, Suffolk). Tae Brack Fisu (Centrolophus pompilus) 1s tHE Cotne.—In the March number of ‘ The Annals and Magazine of Natural History ’ (p. 204), Dr. Giinther, in noticing the occurrence of this fish at the mouth of the Colne in November last (as recorded by Dr. Laver in ‘ The Zoologist’ for February, p. 75), remarks that “the majority of British specimens of this fish have been obtained on the coast of Cornwall, and so far as he is aware this is the first instance known of the fish having wandered so far eastwards.” It may be well therefore to note that in Day’s ‘Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland’ (part ii., p. 113), instances are recorded of the occurrence of this fish at Lossiemouth, Elginshire; on the Northumberland coast; and at Redcar, on the Yorkshire coast. The occurrence of the last- named specimen was recorded at page 3504 of ‘The Zoologist’ for 1852.— J. E. Hartine. ee ee OCCASIONAL NOTES. 153 Do SaLMon sPAWN IN THE Sra ’—Rondeletius and also Gesner, who wrote upon the Salmon upwards of three and a quarter centuries ago, were both upholders of the doctrine that Salmon spawned in the sea, which, were it believed in and acted upon, would be disastrous to our Salmon fisheries, as it might be advanced that these fishes could as well breed in the ocean as in rivers; consequently on their behalf no necessity arises for keeping our fresh waters pure, or having free passes in our streams in order to allow them to reach their Spawning-beds. It was probably from such views sprang the notion of the parr being a distinct fish, and even now there are some who doubt whether all our last-springs are the young of Salmo salar. Willughby, in his < History of Fishes,’ published in 1686, lib. iv., adduces his reasons for disputing the correctness of Rondeletius’s and Gesner’s opinions; while Pontopiddan, in 1755, in his « Natural History of Norway,’ returns to Gesner’s views, which are now again brought forward as novel. Pontopiddan observed that “the Salmon unquestionably breeds in the sea, though it is not entirely to be denied but that they may some- times breed in rivers also, for they are found in the midst of Germany and the upper parts of the Rhine, about Basel; but we are well assured that the Salmon chiefly ejects its roe at the mouths of rivers, where they empty themselves into the sea, or a little beyond in the salt water, in this manner : they bend themselves crooked in order to eject the roe at an aperture under .the belly, and in the meantime they stick their heads down in the sand that they may have the more strength. The male comes presently after to keep off other fish from devouring the roe, and he then bends his head towards the tail and ejects his sperm upon the roe” (pp. 131, 132), A correspondent of ‘ Land and: Water,’ May 28th, 1881, observed, “I also took a samlet last month which was assuming the smolt dress, the ripe milt from which exuded on my fingers—a circumstance common in the autumn, but which has never previously come under my observation in a spring smolt.” Probably almost every healthy male parr, when assuming its smolt dress in the autumn, has either ejected its milt in the river, or it is still present at the time he is migrating into the sea. Salmon Ova can be fertilised from the milt of a parr, as observed by Willughby and proved by Shaw, while, should a flood carry down these fishes to the sea, it does not seem a very unlikely occurrence that if captured their milt or roe might be still not ejected. Irrespective of this Buckland and others have observed that should this state of the rivers be such—due to pollutions or insufficiency of water—that Salmonide are unable to ascend they may drop or deposit their ova in the sea or at the mouths of rivers; but Suppose it is thus deposited, “experiments have proved that the presence of salt-water is fatal to the development into life of the fertilismg property of the milt, as also of the impregnated egg, if it come in contact with it.”—Francis Day (Pittville, Cheltenham). x 154 THE ZOOLOGIST. Tus Cure or tHE Cricker.—The rate of the Cricket’s chirp varies with the temperature, becoming faster as the latter rises. A writer in the ‘ Salem Gazette ’(Mass.), has given the following rule for estimating the temperature of the air by the number of chirps made by Crickets per minute :—‘ Take seventy-two as the number of strokes per minute at 60° temperature, and for every four strokes more add 1°; for every four strokes less deduct the same.” In a letter to the ‘ Popular Science Monthly,’ Margarette W. Brook gives an account of observations she made, with a view to testing this rule, on twelve evenings, from September 30th to October 17th. Her column of temperature, as computed by the rate of vibration, shows a close agreement with that of temperatures recorded by the thermometer. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ZoosoeicaL Society or Lonvon. February 21, 1882.—Prof. W. H. Frower, F.R.S., President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie during the month of January, 1882, and called special attention to a young male Gayal, born in the Gardens, January 6th, being the produce of the fine pair received in exchange in October, 1880, from the Zoological Gardens, Calcutta; and to a young female Markhoor, Capra megaceros, from Afghanistan, presented by Lieut.-Colonel Oliver B. C. St. John. Mr. F. Moore read a paper containing an account of the Lepidoptera collected by the Rev. J. H. Hocking, chiefly in the Kangra District N.W. Himalaya, with descriptions of new genera and species. A communication was read from Mr. G. A. Boulenger, in which he gave the description of a Frog, Phyllomedusa hypochondialis, lately living in the Society’s Gardens. This Frog has been obtained at Pernambuco, and was belived to be the first example of the species that had reached Europe alive. Attention was drawn to the peculiar coloration as being worthy of notice, it not having been described before. Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a paper containing the descriptions of a small collection of Rodents which had been obtained by the late Mr. C. J. Andersson in Damara Land and in the neighbouring countries. The collection contained examples of a new species of Mouse, which was proposed to be named Mus nigricauda. Mr. W. A. Forbes gave a description of the pterylosis of Mesites, and = 7 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIE'TIES. 155 made some remarks on the position of that genus, which he considered to be most nearly allied to Rhinochetes and Eurypyga, though all these three forms should be referred to different families. ; ' Prof. St. George Mivart read a series of notes on the anatomy of the Canada Porcupine, Hrithizon dorsatus. March 7, 1882.—Prof. W. H. Frowrr, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair. The Secretary exhibited and made remarks on some living examples of Helix hamastoma from Ceylon, which had been forwarded to the Society by Mr. J. Wood-Mason. Mr. W. A. Forbes read a paper on certain points in the anatomy of the Great Anteater, Myrmecophaga jubata, as observed in two adult female specimens that had lately died in the Society’s Gardens. The arrangement of the ducts of the submaxillary glands and their relations to the stylo- hyoid muscle, the composition of the anterior cornu of the hyoid bone, the presence of clavicles, and the structure of the brain and of the female reproductive organs were amongst the chief features touched upon. Capt. G. E. Shelley read an account of the birds collected by Mr. Joseph Thomson while engaged on an exploration of the River Rovuma, East Africa. The collection contained examples of forty-three species of birds, among them being two new species, proposed to be called Merops Dresseri and Erythrocercus Thomsoni. A second paper by Capt. Shelley gives an account of a series of birds recently collected by Sir John Kirk in Eastern Africa. This collection was made chiefly in the neighbourhood of Mambois, on the eastern slopes of the mountain range which separates Ugogo from the Zanzibar province. March 21, 1882.—Prof. W. H. Frower, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie during the month of February, 1882, and called special attention to four Warty-faced Honey-eaters, Xanthomyza phrygia, and two Musk Ducks, Biziura lobata, purchased February 8th; also to a young Tapir, born in the Gardens February 12th, and thriving well; and to a female Mule-deer, Cervus macrotis, from the Western United States, presented by Dr. J. D. Caton, and received February [5th. Mr. J. K. Harting exhibited and made remarks on a mummified bird of the genus Sula, and some eggs from the guano deposit of an island off the Pacific coast of South America. Mr. Sclater made some remarks on “ lipotypes,” a new term which he considered convenient in order to designate types of life the absence of 156 THE ZOOLOGIST. which are characteristic of a particular district or region. Thus Cervus and Ursus were “ lipotypes” of the Aithiopian Region. Dr. A. Giinther exhibited and made remarks on the skin of a pale variety of the Leopard from the Transvaal. : Dr. Giinther also exhibited and remarked upon a specimen of a new Turtle (Geomyda) from Siam. Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe exhibited a specimen of a Goldfinch from Hungary, sent to him by Dr. J. von Madarasz, of the Museum of Buda- Pesth, which that gentleman had described as Carduelis elegans-albigularis. Mr. Sharpe observed that a white-throated variety of the Goldfinch was by no means unknown in England. Dr. Hans Gadow read a paper on some points in the anatomy of Pterocles, with remarks on its systematic position. Detailed descriptions of the alimentary organs and of the muscles were given. The author took the opportunity of discussing the classificatory or systematic value of the ceca in birds. Then, after pointing out the difficulty of placing the Sand Grouse in the Avian system, he came to the conclusion that the Pterocletes (Sclater) should be considered as a group co-ordinate to the Rasores, Columba, and Limicola, between which they formed a connecting link. Mr. W. A. Forbes read a note on a peculiarity of the trachea of the Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise, Seleucides nigra, as observed in a male specimen that had recently died in the Society's Gardens. Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe read a note on the Striz Oustaleti of Hartlaub, and pointed out that this bird was none other than the Grass Owl, Strix candida. Capt. G. E. Shelley gave the descriptions of some new species of birds which had been obtained in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, Natal. These the author proposed to name Anthus Butleri (a very interesting Yellow- breasted Pipit), Sphenwocus natalensis (the Natal representative of S. afri- canus), and S. intermedius (an intermediate form from Kaffraria). Messrs. Godman and Salvin read a paper in which was given the descriptions of some new species of Butterflies of the genus Agrias, from the Valley of the Amazons. Mr. E. J. Miers read an account of a collection of Crustaceans which had been made by M. V. de Robillard at the Mauritius. The author called special attention toa fine Spider Crab dredged up from a depth of eighty fathoms, which he proposed to name Naia Robillardi.—P. L. Scrarer, Secretary. Crk} NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. Rough Notes on the Birds observed during twenty years shooting and collecting in the British Islands. By E. T. Boorn. With plates from drawings by E. Neale, taken from speci- mens in the Author’s possession. 4to, Part I. London: Porter, Tenterden Street ; and Dulau & Co., Soho Square. 1881. Ir may well be supposed, after so many years’ personal observation of many of the rarer British birds in their natural haunts, that Mr. Booth must have a considerable store of infor- mation on what the late Mr. Timbs would have called ‘things not generally known.”’ The public are already indebted to him for the privilege of being able to inspect what is in its way one of the most instructive zoological museums in this country, namely, his own museum of British birds, every one of which has been procured by himself, and preserved and cased under his direction. A printed catalogue, which is placed at the disposal of visitors, gives the names of the species in the different cases, together with the locality where each was obtained; but something more than this seemed needed. One longed to know under what circumstances some of the rarer species were met with, in what sort of situation, and how obtained ; for their shyness of habit or wariness by nature seemed to indicate that a great deal of trouble and skill must have been expended before they were eventually secured. As many of them also were tracked to their nesting-haunts, and their eggs and young carefully observed and described in the collector’s note-book, it was reasonable to infer that Mr. Booth could clear up sundry disputed points, or rectify, from personal observation, errors into which even authors of repute have been betrayed for want of the opportunities of observation which he has enjoyed. Fortunately for naturalists there appears to be no difficulty in satisfying their curiosity, for Mr. Booth has kept daily records of his experiences, and a reference to his journal enables him to avoid all such mistakes as might occur from trusting solely to memory. 158 THE ZOOLOGIST. In the thin quarto now before us we have the first part of a work the merit of which lies in its being entirely original. We have been so long accustomed to refer to standard works of reference, which, though excellent of their kind, are after all but compilations, that it is refreshing to take up a book in which the writer tells us nothing but what he has himself observed, and in most cases noted down on the spot. He commences with the birds of prey, and, in a few pages of transcripts from his journals, gives us more real information about Eagles, Ospreys, and Kites, their haunts, food, changes of plumage, mode of nesting, and so forth, than is contained in any half-dozen books on British birds that might be selected. About many of the rarer species, and more particularly Eagles, there is a vast amount of misconception prevalent amongst those who have never had the opportunity of observing them ina state of nature. The Golden Eagle, for example, is usually styled ‘‘a noble bird,” ‘of majestic flight,” disdaining the humbler quarry, or carrion that crows and buzzards delight in; and so forth. But Mr. Booth, from his own observation, has a very different story to tell. Writing of this bird, he says :— “The Golden Eagle may, without fear of contradiction, I think, be termed essentially a lazy and indolent bird, unwilling or unable to capture for himself any prey that would require much exertion on his part. Hares or rabbits, when surprised in the open, most probably fall easy victims, while lambs or fawns are far too feeble to cause him any great amount of trouble. I cannot call to mind a single instance where I have observed him in pursuit of any winged game that was not partially crippled by shot, while I have noticed scores of times that he has contented himself by making an ignoble meal off some wretched crow or other vermin that was struggling in a trap. “A keeper in the north related to me the following incident; and, as it helps to illustrate the character of the bird, it may not be out of place :— ‘‘He was on bis rounds visiting the traps, when his attention was attracted by an Eagle which was rising a short distance in the air and again dashing down. On carefully approaching the spot (a rough and strong gully, where he was able to obtain a view), he discovered a Wild Cat held by a clam, and the Eagle swooping down, as he imagined, attempting to seize the cat. Every time the bird approached with outstretched talons the cat sprang forward to the fullest extent of its chain, and the Eagle sheared off. Crawling still nearer, he was at last observed, and the bird reluctantly sailed NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 159 away to a range of hills above the spot where the encounter had taken place. Making sure that the Eagle would return speedily, he killed the cat and left it as a bait; then, resetting his trap, he threw the rabbit which had been his former bait on one side, and rapidly left the spot. Returning after a few hours, quite confident of finding the Eagle in the trap, he was greatly surprised to discover everything apparently untouched. It was only when he had removed the cat, whose skin he required, and looked out for the bait previously used, that he noticed the rabbit had disappeared from where he had flung it in the morning, and was nowhere to be found. Had he only thought for a moment, it ought to have been clear to him that the Eagle would never have attempted to interfere with the cat (a true Wild Cat is far too rough a customer to be tackled with impunity), and the hungry bird was simply endeavouring to reach the rabbit; even this proceeding the cat most forcibly resisted, and it was not till he returned and found everything quiet that he managed to search out the prey he was originally in quest of and then make off.” With regard to the nesting-haunts of this species; Mr. Booth says :— “ The situations chosen by the Golden Eagle for breeding purposes vary considerably. I have never seen their nests so open and exposed to the storm and wind as those of the Sea Eagle; they appear, in most instances, to seek a more sheltered and hidden position. At times the eyrie may bein the face of a precipitous range of rocks, utterly inaccessible, except to those well acquainted with the use of ropes; but more frequently it requires but little skill to scramble within a few feet of the spot, and, with the assistance of a single line from above, to reach the nest itself. Numbers of ledges showing more or less of the old and weather-beaten nests have been pointed out to me, where, without the slightest help, a very moderate climber might easily make his way to the spot. These localities, with the exception of those in the strictly preserved deer-forests, are now nearly all deserted. I have, however, during the last few years, frequently heard of Eagles taking up their quarters and nesting in districts where their presence formerly, except during an occasional flying visit, was entirely unknown. “The most curious and striking nest of this species that I ever came across was placed just above a sloping bank that was a perfect bed of primrose-roots. A stunted holly-bush formed a background, and broke the dull appearance of the dark and sombre slab of rock that rose straight from the back of the ledge. The primroses were a mass of bloom, but the holly looked as dried and uncomfortable as if it were struggling for existence in the smoky atmosphere of some London garden. “It is seldom, I believe, that the nests are now to be found on trees. The old and decaying remnants of the deserted structures may still be 160 THE ZOOLOGIST. seen, but the tenants have been long evicted. I am aware of but two eyries so placed, which are still used in the Northern Highlands ; in both instances a large Scotch. fir is the tree resorted to.” The same remarks will not apply to the Osprey, although it seems evident that in the choice of situation for the nest both species are governed very much by circumstances ; while changes in the physical aspect of the localities affected by them, whether by the felling or planting timber, or by the various so-called improvements considered necessary by game-preservers, have brought about a consequent change of habit. On the nesting of the Osprey, Mr. Booth remarks :— “ All the nests now occupied that I have visited during the last few years have been placed on trees, and, without a single exception, the birds had chosen Scotch firs. In two or three cases the nest was placed on the highest branches, which were twisted and growing downwards towards their extremities, giving almost the impression that the growth of the tree had been influenced by the weight of the nest. If the same spot was resorted to for many seasons in succession, such a result might possibly be brought about. In one instance, I believe, the tree has been made use of regularly, while another is only one of several different eyries to which the birds oocasionally return, some years taking up their quarters at one spot, and the next changing to another. For the last twenty or thirty years they have never been known to choose an entirely new situation. Within a distance of twelve or fifteen miles nearly a dozen nests in various stages of repair may still be seen; but it is seldom, if ever, that more than a couple of pairs will be found breeding over the whole range. In one instance an immense spreading fir is resorted to (one of the largest and finest trees in the forest) ; here the nest is placed among the lower branches, at a height of about fifteen feet; it is seldom that I have seen them at a much greater elevation —twenty or twenty-five and (in two instances only) about thirty feet, the latter being the highest I have ever noticed.” These extracts will serve to show the interesting nature of the author’s so-called ‘‘ Rough Notes,” as well as to illustrate his style. The species dealt with in this the first part of the work are the Golden Eagle (four plates), the White-tailed Eagle (one plate), the Osprey (one plate), and the Kite (two plates). We learn from the Preface that the work will probably be completed in eight or ten parts, with between sixty and seventy coloured plates brawn by Mr. Edward Neale from subjects in the author's collection. Tes ee THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Vou. VI.] MAY, 1882. [No. 65. ON THE HYBERNATION OF THE DORMOUSE.:« By A. Rapus. In July, 1879, I received from London two dormice (Muscar- dinus avellanarius), the one a male of about a year old, the other a female of a few weeks. I at once commenced to observe them closely and carefully, and learnt with certainty many facts hitherto little known, and possessingmuch interest, especially with regard to the increase and decrease in the weight of these animals during their winter sleep. The two mice were sent over to Germany in one cage, and in consequence of this the male had badly bitten the tail of the female, so that about three weeks passed before it . quite healed. In the meantime both mice grew well and quickly. I keep them separately in a little wooden cage with wires, in which they make their nests of wool and tow, and continue to give them materials for this purpose, until they leave off dragging any more into their hole. Thus they have the nests made entirely to their liking. At the commencement of their winter sleep I strew a little insect-powder at the bottom of each nest to guard against insects or mites. The little cages, their separate sleeping places, stand together in one large bird-cage, into which the mice can go out at will to fetch their food and take exercise. At night they generally climb into the top of the cage, or sit and eat on their wooden boxes; but always draw back timidly if * ‘Beitriige ‘zur Kenntnis iiber den Winterschlaf der Siebenschliifer’ ; von A. Rabus, ‘‘ Der Zoologische Garten,” 1881, pp. 821 - 325. Y , 162 THE ZOOLOGIST. I speak to them. I feed them on hazel nuts and filberts, as well as soft-seeded fruits; and three hazel nuts or one filbert generally constitute their daily quantum of food. In addition to this they get a bit of apple or pear, or perhaps a cherry, accord- ing to the time of year. I found they did not care for apricots, strawberries, or grapes; a really good sweet pear seemed to be their favourite delicacy. Of smaller fruits they never ate any quantity. In 1880 I attempted to make them open their nuts for them- selves, thinking this would be more natural to them ; until then I had always given them the nuts ready cracked, but this experi- ment was entirely unsuccessful. During the first night they gnawed round holes the size of peas in the nut-shells, and took out all the contents. The next time they gnawed at the nuts without touching the kernel; and in the nights following they made scarcely any attempt at even gnawing them, so that in a short time they became very weakly and thin, and would probably have died of starvation had I not given up my experiment, when they recovered in a few days. Although of different ages, they seemed never to have obtained their food in this state, and thus I was unable to accustom them to it. The experiment might perhaps have succeeded with the female, which was only a few weeks old, had I made the attempt immediately on receiving it ; but I did not do so till a year later, and then without success. Both mice went to sleep on September 23rd, 1879, when the temperature was 0° Réaumur. The bodily heat of the female was less than that of the male. Amongst other hybernating animals the temperature during their hybernation is known to vary considerably, a fact which is very striking in the case of the Ground Squirrel, Spermophilus citillus, and which has been made an object of careful study and observation by Horwarth.* The position of the mice during sleep is generally as follows : they curl themselves up, pressing the fore paws firmly against the cheeks, the tail turned forward towards the head, and lie in the nest with the back of the head uppermost. Occasionally I find them lying on their backs, the nose pointing upwards. With regard to their weight before and during hybernation, I made the * ‘Beitriige zur Lehre iiber den Winterschlaf. Abhandlungen der phys. med. Gesellschaft,’ Wiirzburg, vii., xiii., und xiv. Bd. ON THE HYBERNATION OF THE DORMOUSE. 163 following observations: at a temperature of +3° Réaumur a slight whistling sound might be heard from both of them. Mate. FEMALE. Weighed on Sept. 2, 1879, 39 gr. Weighed on Sept. 2, 1879, 25 gr. yy Sept, 23; /,, 48 gr. Sept: 23s) gg gr. Fell asleep on Sept. 23, 1879. Fell asleep on Sept. 23, 1879. Weighed on Oct. 19, 1879, 39 ar. Weighed on Oct. 19, 1879, 33 gr. Nov. 4, ., 38 gr. ;, Nov. 4, ,, 82 gr. Ss Nov. 20; ° 5," 35 gr. Fr Nov. 29; 5.9 "3 ore: x «Dee. 28,- ,, 83gr. temperature — 7° R. » Jan. 31, 1880, 34 gr. Weighed on Dec. 28 ,, 29 gr. ; A few days later he lay dead in the temperature — 16° R. nest. Weighed on Jan. 31, 1880, 27 gr.; temperature — 10° R. On February 7th I counted twenty respirations to the minute. FEMALE. Weighed on Feb. 29, 1880, 26 oe | Weighed on Jan. 29, 1881, 30 er. : FA Mar: 27, ,, )24 or, greg MeUcGwe 42, Oy gr. Awoke on April 15th, evacuated, ate, yy Mar/an. ) 26 or and came outside its nest in the | Awoke on April 9th, evacuated, and morning, having thus slept unin- ate, having slept for 6 months terruptedly for 6 months 23 days. 19 days, with one single inter- Weighed on May 1, 1880, 243 gr. ruption on Dee. 31st. » May 29, ,, 27gr. | Weighed on April 30, 1881, 25 gr. rey eule Bs) asu ete gr. | ie Pal ye By -yysan 2S gr. i SOY SL, 4. 26er. PP July 30, ,, 27 gr. “ Dept, 5, \24 er, » Aug. 27, 4, 29or. Fell asleep Sept. 21, __,, Fell asleep Sept. 24, _,, Weighed on Oct. 2, ,, 387 gr. Weighed on Oct. 1, ,, 37 gr. és Oct. 31, ,, 35 gr. zy Oat. 29, ,,.. 84 or. Su ahOvVeat, 49 fou OT, 39 NOV: a0, .4;. eo'Br. As Dec. 23, ,, ~ 82 gr. ( Was lively on Dec. 31st, but did not eat anything. A male Dormouse which I received from London on Sept. 2nd, 1881, weighed as follows :—On September 3rd, 21 gr.; on October Ist, 28 gr.; on October 29th, 31 gr.: on November 26th, 30 gr.; fell asleep on the 15th of October, but his sleep was not so unbroken as that of the female, for he awoke several times a month, took food (though in smaller quantities than usual), and evacuated. The variations in the weight of the female during the summer months ‘from May to September may have arisen from some slight organic disturbance. I found no increase in weight during hybernation, except in the case of the last-mentioned male from 164 THE ZOOLOGIST. the lst of October to the 26th November, which, as described above, began its sleep on October 15th, and on November 26th showed an increase in weight of 3 gr. According to Horwarth other species of hybernating animals, such as the Ground Squirrels, increase in weight during hybernation. I observed that the greatest increase in weight took place in the month of September, as from 59 to 48, from 25 to 35, from 24 to 37, from 29 to 37, and from 21 to 28 gr. During the very regular hyber- nation of the female there was a total decrease in weight of 11 gr., not quite 2 gr. a month. On examining, under a microscope, the excrement voided during the first days after awaking, which had lain almost seven months in the intestines, I was unable to distinguish any fatty particles from the nuts, whilst particles of fruit were present in abundance ; possibly a proof that the fatty portion of the food had been entirely absorbed in the formation of fat in the body. In addition a kind of leathery substance was present in abun- dance, which I cannot as yet fully determine, but which in form has some resemblance to the well-known psorosperms in the muscles of the pig. I will mention one more incident in my experience, as it presents an apparent contradiction to the characteristics of these little creatures. In Brehm’s ‘ Thierleben’ it is expressly stated that “they never venture to defend themselves against their captors, never attempt to bite,” &c. But on September 20th, 1881, when I was cleaning out the cage as usual, I suddenly observed the male to ‘be outside the cage, on the window, and at once snatched at him. The mouse, making a violent piping sound, bit me on the finger so deeply that it was impossible to shake him off, and I had to place my hand in the cage, when he at last let go his hold. Since that time my confidence in the gentleness of the Dormouse has been somewhat shaken, although I am firmly persuaded that they never attempt to bite when stroked gently and carefully. At present the two mice are separated, but at the end of their winter sleep I shall again place them together, in the hope of their breeding, although this seldom occurs in captivity. Should they breed I hope to make further observations con- cerning them. ( 165 ) ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NATAL. By Masors E. A. Burter anp H. W. Fernpen, anp Capr. S. G. Rein, Mucu has already been written on the Ornithology of Natal, but the old saying “every little helps” is especially applicable to the study of birds; and it would have been contrary to human and ornithological nature if we, who found ourselves condemned to a life of comparative idleness for months at Newcastle, owing to the unexpectedly peaceful results of the operations against the Boers, had not devoted our spare time to our favourite science. The aggregate results of our labours we now present in the form of a catalogue, and we trust that they will serve to throw some further light on the geographical distribution of certain species, and in this respect form a supplement to Mr. T. Ayres’ valuable contributions to the Ornithology of Natal, which appeared in ‘ The Ibis’ in 1860 and following years. Newcastle was our head-quarters from March to November, 1881, and most of our work was carried on from that miserable town, a most unfavourable position for collecting; but we made several journeys and expeditions to other parts of the colony, which afforded us many additional species. We were much struck by the uncertain and apparently erratic breeding of some of the Natal birds. Nests were found in winter as well as in spring and summer, and it was impossible to say at what time some of the species were going to breed. In Capt. G. E. Shelley's paper, *'Three Months on the Coast of South Africa,” in ‘ The Ibis’ for January, 1875, he mentions having found several birds nesting at Durban in March and April, equivalent to September and October in northern latitudes. Would not these breed a second time in the summer months, November and December, and do the majority of species in Natal follow this law, or were these instances merely accidental ? Our notes on Striw capensis, Cypselus melba, C. apus, Columba pheonota, and Scopus wmbretta refer to similar cases, and though we are unable to prove the existence of any systematic double- breeding, the facts remain and afford a most interesting question for future solution. The nesting of Falco biarmicus, Ardea goliath, Platalea tenuirostris, Geronticus hagedash, &c., will doubtless prove of 166 THE ZOOLOGIST. considerable interest to all who are acquainted with the South- African avi-fauna. Capt. G. E. Shelley has kindly named and classified our respective collections, and has described the two new species, Anthus butleri and Spheneacus natalensis, in the ‘ Proceedings’ of the Zoological Society for March, 1882. We have adopted throughout the nomenclature used by him, and by Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, in his new edition of Layard’s ‘ Birds of South Africa.’ Unless otherwise stated all dates refer to the year 1881. The initial letters B, F, and R, after various paragraphs, denote that the observations were made by individuals, not by the three of us collectively. Gyps kolbi (Daud.), South African Griffon Vulture.—This most useful bird is exceedingly numerous in the Newcastle district, as many as seventy or eighty being frequently seen together. Its numbers appear to diminish towards the coast-line, though it can nowhere be called anything but a common species. A dozen or more were feeding on a carcase at Maritzburg on December 12th, 1881. Its stronghold would appear to be in the more elevated kloofs of the Drakensberg, where it undoubtedly breeds in con- siderable numbers in the month of May. Butler observed hundreds of them, apparently nesting, in some steep “ krantzes” not far from Newcastle in May, 1881, but, thinking it too early, did not try for eggs. It may possibly have been a roosting-place only. In this land of dead animals the presence of such a watchful army of scavengers is of incalculable advantage. What would happen if the ‘ Aas-vogels” were to strike work is hard to imagine! As it is there are always too many carcases of horses and oxen to be seen lying about untouched, poisoning the atmo- sphere and the water supply in their decomposition. Fortunately the ‘ Aas-vogel” is not (to our knowledge, at any rate) sought after for the table, and his repulsive appearance at close quarters is, moreover, much in his favour. Anything more horridly erotesque than one of these Vultures waddling along in a vain attempt to take flight after a good “gorge” cannot be imagined ; but compare the same bird as seen a quarter of an hour before, circling in magnificent spirals far above his intended meal, and you have indeed a descent from the sublime to the ridiculous. In discussing a carcase a good deal of noise proceeds from the greedy crew—a harsh, grating cry of anger apparently. They fight NOTES FROM NATAL. 167 occasionally, and the young birds have to sit round till their parents and ancestors are full. We observed a hungry, but patient circle of dark immature birds waiting their turn at a dead ox on the Ingagane River. On one occasion at Newcastle, at a time, too, when telegraphic communication was a matter of life and death, a large gathering of “Aas-vogels” frightened suddenly from a carcase directly underneath the telegraphic wires, got “mixed up” in their confusion, and caused the wires to become seriously entangled. This stopped the transmission of messages completely, but fortunately the mishap occurred close to head- quarters, and things were quickly righted. From some unknown cause, very few of these birds were seen round Newcastle in September, 1881. From the Ist to the 26th of that month they were almost entirely absent. Could they have been driven away by the severe snow-storm and cold weather at the end of August ? Otogyps auricularis (Daud.), Eared Vulture. — Occasionally seen in the north-west portion of Natal; shy and retiring. Lophogyps occipitalis (Burch.), White-headed Vulture.—A pair seen at the Ingagane River, July 28rd, 1881 (R). Neophron percnopterus (Linn.), Egyptian Vulture.—A pair of adult birds seen in April on a rocky bank of the Butfalo River, about four miles east of Newcastle (B). An adult bird seen at Colenso on the 20th November (R). Serpentarius secretarius (Miller), Secretary Bird.—Common in the Newcastle district, becoming scarcer down country. There is a penalty of £10 for killing one of these extraordinary birds, on account of the good service they render in destroying snakes. Several pairs are always to be met with in the course of a ride over the ‘‘veldt’’ between Newcastle and Ladysmith. Near the latter place it breeds undoubtedly, and most probably does so wherever there are suitable trees throughout the district. Ina nest taken at Ladysmith by an officer of ‘‘ The Welsh” Regiment, one egg was white, the other distinctly btotched and coloured with red. Length of an adult specimen, shot (in ignorance of the penalty) at the Ingagane in June, 3 ft. 4 in., without the two long central tail-feathers, 4 ft. 3 in. with these; wing, 2 ft. 24 in.; tail, 2 ft. 2in.; tarsus, 1 ft.; expansion of wings, 6 ft. 9 in. The soft parts of this specimen were as follows:—Iris hazel; bill pale bluish grey, base of the lower mandible gradually 168 THE ZOOLOGIST. changing to yellowish green, which is also the colour of the cere ; bare skin round eye and at gape, rich orange; legs and toes, light flesh-colour; claws, neutral tint (R). There is a considerable resemblance between these birds and the Cranes when seen at a distance on the ground, and even on the wing a Secretary-bird looks more like a Crane than a member of the Falconide; but once in motion, whether walking or running over the ‘‘veldt,’ the resemblance vanishes ; it is hard to conceive anything more graceful than the Crane, while the Secretary-bird walks badly, and runs in the most ungainly fashion. Butler observed this species near Estcourt. ; Polyboroides typicus, Smith, Banded Gymnogene.—Two speci- mens obtained in the kloofs of the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, one by Butler on the 21st July, the other by Feilden about the same time. The bird shot by Butler was a male developed for breeding, and there was a female with it at the time, which he failed to procure. There seems to be a good deal of the Harrier about this genus, as far as external appearance goes, but in flight it is more like a Buzzard. Soft parts of specimen obtained as follows :—Male: legs, feet, orbital skin, and cere, lemon-yellow; bill, whitish at base and tipped black ; iris blackish brown (B). Circus pygargus (Linn.), Montagu’s Harrier. — “A beautiful male Harrier passed within a few yards of me between Ladysmith and Colenso on the 20th November. I was in uniform at the time, and had no gun with me. I believe it to have been a Montagu’s Harrier, and entered it as such in my note-book, but it is possible that it may have been Circus macrurus, the Pallid Harrier, a much commoner species in these parts. I know Montagu’s Harrier well, but have never met with the other before” (R). Circus ranivorus (Daud.), South African Marsh Harrier.— Exceedingly common everywhere, nesting in the “ vleys,” and in the long dry grass surrounding them, in September and October. When a nest was robbed of its eggs the old birds frequently laid again there, sooner than construct a fresh one. Butler con- tributes the following note of its nidification :—“‘ Sept. 22nd, four fresh eggs. The nest was of moderate size, and built in high rushy grass by the side of a small tank, being composed of rushes, intermingled with a few sticks and well lined with fine dry grass. NOTES FROM NATAL. 169 It was raised about a foot above the level of the water, which was scarcely visible through the long dense rush, though several inches deep. Another nest, on the 25th September, similar to the last, without sticks, and built in long dry grass on high ground between two sheets of water, contained three incubated eggs. The old birds hovered round me, and squealed loudly when I approached the nest. Another nest, precisely similar, in long dry grass by a ‘ vley,’ 1st October, contained four incubated eggs; female sat very close, rising off the nest almost at my feet. The pair of which I took the nest on the 22nd September built again immediately afterwards, about ten yards from where the first nest was taken, and on the 12th October I took three fresh eggs from the nest, and on the 16th it contained another fresh eggs. On the 18th October I found two more nests, one building, the other containing three incubated eggs. Eggs pale bluish white, having a green membrane within.” Accipiter rufiventris, Smith, African Sparrowhawk.—A male obtained in the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, on August 27th. Soft parts as follows :—Legs, feet, and orbital skin lemon-yellow ; cere greenish yellow; iris bright yellow; bill plumbeous, tip blackish; claws black. Sexual organs considerably developed. Other specimens were observed, but it was by no means common. Buteo jakal (Daud.), Jackal Buzzard.—A very common bird in the upper portion of the colony, but very shy and difficult to obtain. Breeds in “krantzes,” without any great choice of site, in July. Butler notes that in a fine adult male specimen, shot by him, the iris was grey-brown; legs, feet, cere, and gape, lemon- yellow; bill horny blue, tip blackish. The crop contained four or five striped field mice. He also took a nest in a bush growing out of a rock on the side of a precipitous cliff, about six feet below the summit, containing two fresh eggs, on July 30th; one was plain white, the other faintly marked towards the large end with light yellowish brown. The nest was an ordinary large stick- structure, well lined with tufts of grass and green leaves. The old birds were seen to stoop at a brace of Francolin, F’. levaillantii, in long grass close by, capturing one of them. Milvus egyptiacus (Gm.), Yellow-billed Kite.—Two pairs of this Kite were seen near Rorke’s Drift on October 3rd, 1881 (RB). Milvus korschun (Gm.), Black Kite.— Apparently a regular Visitor in the summer months to the Newcastle district. It was Z 170 THE ZOOLOGIST. seen there by Butler in March, and by Reid in October and November. ‘The latter shot a young male on October 28th. Tris light brown ; bill black, yellowish at base and gape; cere yellow; legs and toes orange. The crop contained a small frog and a number of beetles. Elanus ceruleus (Duf.), Black-shouldered Kite.—First ob- served on August lst at Addendorf’s Farm, about eight miles south of Neweastle; afterwards occasionally noted in the district. Common along the road to Colenso, and also seen down to the coast. Examples recorded at Richmond Road on December 10th, and at Durban on August 12th (R). A pair apparently attempted to nest at Cochrane’s Farm, close to Newcastle, in October, but the nest was disturbed and nothing came of it. Eggs were taken by an officer of ‘‘ The Welsh” Regi- ment near Ladysmith. ‘The men of this Regiment had a young bird in camp, very tame and friendly (R). Falco biarmicus, Temm., South African Lanner.—Feilden kept one of these grand birds alive for some time at Bennett's Drift Camp, near Newcastle; it was a female, and had been winged by a shot. Butler found a nest containing young birds in down in a kloof in the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, on the 18th August. The nest was a good sized stick-structure, and built in a small green bush on the side of a precipitous cliff, within six feet of the summit, but in an inaccessible situation, on account of an overhanging ledge of rock which completely covered it from above. ‘The chicks were but a few days old and covered with white down. He poked two out of the nest from below with a long pole, but there may have been more. The female bird was shot at the nest, but the male escaped, badly wounded un- fortunately. The nest looked as if it was an eyry of long standing, and was probably used by the same pair of birds for years. Butler noticed a Lanner on several occasions amongst the hills in the vicinity of Newcastle, but it is not very common. Falco rujicollis, Swains., African Rufous-necked Faleon.—A male shot by Reid near Rorke’s Drift on October 4th, one of a pair frequenting a clump of mimosas on the Butialo River; no nest to be found. The female escaped, and, when Capt. Watkins, R.E., visited the place in November, had taken to herself another mate. Cerchneis rupicola (Daud.), South African Kestrel.— Abundant throughout the colony, nesting in holes and crevices in the clitts, NOTES FROM YORKSHIRE. 171 or “krantzes.” ‘Two eggs taken on October 11th were simply laid in a depression in the sandy floor of a miniature cavern. Butler took four slightly incubated eggs on October 16th. They were laid in a depression on the bare rock on a ledge in the crevice of a cave: situation inaccessible, except with ropes, &c. The eggs are very like those of the common European Kestrel in colouring. Cerchneis rupicoloides (Smith), Large African Kestrel.—Not observed nearer to Newcastle than Rorke’s Drift, where Reid found a pair breeding, and took one egg from a nest on October 4th. He obtained the male bird. Ivris white; bill bluish horn-colour, softening into yellowish white at the base; cere and legs Indian- yellow. Near Ladysmith it seems to be a common species. Eggs were taken by officers quartered there in October, and numbers of the birds were observed perching on the telegraph-wires near the junction of the Free State and Newcastle Roads by both Feilden and Reid in November and December. (To be continued.) ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM YORKSHIRE. By Wiui1am Bacite CLARKE. In 1880 the chief incident for January was an unlooked-for immigration of Fieldfares and Short-eared Owls. Fieldfares, which had been almost entirely absent during the autumn of 1879, appeared in considerable numbers at Spurn on Jan. 24th. The Owls immediately followed, and were somewhat numerous on the Holderness coast during the latter days of the month. A large party of Swans, most probably Hoopers, were observed passing Withernsea, in a southerly direction, on one of the early days of the year. During the severe weather of January and February, Brent—or as they are locally termed “ Rock”—Geese were extremely abundant on the Humber estuary, coming up to the shore and retiring on every tide. In my notes for 1879,* I alluded to the occurrence of a flock of Shore Larks at Easington on December 22nd. These birds were again seen on February 9th, and between that date and March 20th I had many opportunities of observing them. At * +The Zoologist,’ 1880, p. 353. 172 THE ZOOLOGIST. first they frequented a bare flat of sand and pebbles at some distance above high-water mark on the sea-side, but very soon transferred their affections to a long and narrow bed of débzis, composed chiefly of the withered blades of the marine plant Zostera maritima, which had been heaped up by the tide into a series of little hillocks and depressions, on the Humber fore- shore. To this they were most constant, occupying themselves in searching for food over its undulating surface, or basking in the sunshine, in a crouching position, on one of its hillocks. At all times they evinced but little fear, as I watched them with the binocular from a distance of about twenty yards. On March 13th I counted twenty together, which was the largest number seen in one party. On this day the sun was very brilliant, and the old males of the assemblage were very conspicuous; the black of their breasts, crowns, and patch below the eye, the fine brimstone- yellow of their throats, the lateral horn-like tufts, and the warm vinous tints on their napes and shoulders, contrasted advan- tageously with the identical but more subdued colours of the immature birds and females of the group. The mature males, on a closer examination of specimens obtained, appeared to have more massive heads and to be generally of a stouter build than the others. The flight is jerky, and whilst on the wing they uttered a note which bore a somewhat close resemblance to that of the Meadow Pipit. The contents of all the stomachs examined consisted of one description of food, which at sight appeared to be the small coiled shells of a mollusk, but on examination with a lens they proved to be seeds of a marine plant, and perhaps those of Zostera. I saw these birds for the last time on March 20th, on which day they most probably departed, for they were not seen afterwards. I regret to say that no less than thirty- three specimens were obtained, and a carefully compiled list of these showed that the males predominated to the extent of five to one. The great majority were immature males, which, so far as I could perceive, were indistinguishable from the females. At Easington, on March 20th, I saw a Rough-legged Buzzard flying leisurely along the coast-line, pursued by about a dozen Grey Crows. In a remote locality among our north-western fells, on March 26th, I was much gratified to observe a Common Buzzard sailing over the craggy haunts that once knew this bird so well, but from which it is now so utterly banished that I doubt NOTES FROM YORKSHIRE. 173 if the county can boast of possessing more than a single pair nesting annually. On March 29th I visited a Raven’s nest. This species has of late years become very scarce in the county, though we possess such an extended fell range in the north-west and suitable cliffs on our sea-board, both of which—and our larger woods, too— once harboured Ravens in some numbers; but now only two or three pairs are known to me as nesting, and I much fear that a very few years will suffice to see the Raven’s name erased from the list of resident Yorkshire birds. The nest contained five eggs, and was placed in an angle of a cliff, some twenty feet from the top, and with a sheer drop of about two hundred feet below. The date was late for this species to be commencing incubation ; but the pair had set their hearts upon a site on the other side of the fell, from which they were driven at the last moment by a pair of Peregrines, which appeared upon the scene and pitched upon the nest as suitable for their own purposes. The young were hatched on April 11th. On April 14th I again visited the Ravens’ locality, in response to a missive from my friend, informing me that the Peregrine was sitting, and the pair were playing “‘ old gooseberry” with his Grouse, and must be destroyed, and I might have the eggs. I did all in my power to have the old bird spared, but it was of no avail; Grouse were almost the only birds at hand, and my friend could not afford the quantum requisite to feed so hungry a family. Accompanied by my friend and his keeper I set out for the nest, to which it was a stiff climb. On reaching the brow of the fell, the male commenced to utter a plaintive cry, evidently from a very considerable height, for although we could hear him most distinctly, yet we entirely failed to distinguish his form. When we had arrived immediately above the nest, the keeper gave a loud whistle, which caused the old bird to leave the nest with a deep downward dive, when she received the contents of both barrels, and was killed. She was a grand old bird, weighing thirty-three ounces, and measuring forty-four inches across the wings. The nest was placed on, or rather occupied, the top of a small column of rock, whith was stuck, as it were, on to the smooth face of the cliff, whose slope had a considerable inward tendency, rendering it necessary to put one’s head and shoulders uncomfortably far over the brink to obtain a glimpse of the nest, 174 THE ZOOLOGIST. which was composed of old heather-stems, with little or no lining, and appeared to be & somewhat ancient structure. In it were four eggs, which we obtained by means of a net attached to a long rod, brought with us for the purpose, the rocky nature of the place and the stiff slope to the brink rendering the use of a rope quite impossible. Angling for the eggs was not at all a pleasant task; the ground above sloped not only smartly to the cliff, but as smartly to the left, from which point alone it was possible to work, making it necessary to be held by ropes from behind and from the right. The dizzy depth beneath, and the distance it was necessary to place one’s chest over the edge to use the net, must also be taken into consideration in appreciating the position. The eggs were extremely handsome, two of them being especially so, having a ground colour of a beautiful pale flesh tint (almost pure pink), richly marked with red-brown. To give some idea of the persecution to which the Peregrine is subject, I may mention that this was the sixteenth bird shot by this keeper from nests on this fell. Leaving the Peregrine’s desolated home, we paid a visit to the Raven’s nest on the other side of the fell, and inspected the raw-looking little creatures, now three days old, which were gaping vigorously beneath. The female Raven left the nest in a very different fashion to that adopted on the 29th ult., when she slunk away in the quietest manner possible; now she was very noisy, and flew around croaking during the whole of the intrusion. The male bird did not put in an appearance on either occasion. The Raven has bred on this fell for a great number of years, confining its choice to the sites on the eastern or western slopes. The Peregrine varies its choice between this fell and two other sites a few miles off, in all of which it fares very badly. I saw an extremely fine variety of the Blackbird on Strensall Common on April 24th; the head and neck were pure white, and most sharply defined from the black of the body. Redshank, Teal, and Snipe were nesting on the Common in some numbers ; but the place is too near York, and consequently is completely ransacked. Migratory waders, on their way north, made their first appear- ance on the Humber ‘‘ clays” on May 20th, when Sanderlings in partial summer dress and Turnstones in full breeding plumage were observed. On the 25th eight Dotterels (H. morinellus) and NOTES FROM YORKSHIRE. 175 nine Whimbrels were noted. But it was not until the 27th that the great rush from the south took place; when thousands of waders were to be seen. The Dotterel when on its way north appears to be an extremely stupid bird. For some years past a party of them have repaired annually, in May, to an identical field on the Holderness coast, where they linger for about a fortnight, during which period they appear to know no fear, and should a local gunner appear upon the scene the lot fall an easy bag. In May a nest and eggs of the Shoveller were found by a friend of mine on an extensive tract of heath in the vicinity of the coast. This is, I believe, the first undoubted record of the breeding of this species in Yorkshire. Waders from their northern breeding haunts made their appearance on the coast early. A Knot, in summer dress, was killed under the Spurn telegraph-wire on July 28rd. Three Grey Plovers, an immense flock of Dunlins, and several Whim- brels were observed on the 25th. The first Sanderlings were seen on August 15th. The year 1880 witnessed the destruction, by enclosure, of Riccall Common—a locality which, until the commencement of the present century, could claim the Ruff among its annual breeding birds, and since those palmy days has been the resort of Redshanks, Black-headed Gulls, Teal and other Ducks; but, alas! it has had its day, and Strensall, like it, is soon to follow suit. But while we are thus banishing certain species from old haunts, it is a pleasure to hail the return of others to former ones. ‘Thus the Sheldrake, once not uncommon on the Holder- ness coast, has returned, and this year reared her young in safety ; a brood of six were seen to issue from a rabbits’ burrow, and on digging out the nest two addled eggs were found. Now that Spurn is so very strictly preserved, it is to be hoped that this species may become numerous there. This year has also seen the return of the Cormorants to the Flamborough cliffs, from which they were driven by the murderous times preceding the Sea-Birds Act. An immature Black Tern was shot at Easington on the 28th August. This species, in the inconspicuous plumage of im- maturity, is probably much overlooked; at all events it is not often reported. Redstarts and Wheatears swarmed on our coast- 176 THE ZOOLOGIST. line, as elsewhere, during the latter days of August. The Red- starts departed from Spurn, to a bird, on September 8rd. A white Martin, a true albino with pink eyes, was shot at Patrington on September 6th. Some of the autumn immigrants put in an early appearance on our coast. Goldcrests were seen on September 18th, and a Short-eared Owl was shot on the 29th. Probably these very early arrivals are not from the Continent, but British-bred birds following the coast-line south along with our summer visitors. On October 5th, the weather cloudy with passing showers, a considerable immigration of Goldcrests and Redwings took place on the Holderness coast. A male Great Grey Shrike was shot on the 6th, and sent to me in the flesh: the crop was filled with coleopterous remains, chiefly belonging to the genera Geotrupes and Carabus. A few Woodcocks and a more con- siderable immigration of Goldcrests occurred on the 9th, when the gardens on the southern portion of our coast literally swarmed with the latter species. The first Grey Crow was seen on the 10th. On the night of the 16th a large flight of Hedge Accentors arrived, the village of Easington being alive with them on the following morning; a few Common Wrens accompanied them. On the night of the 19th, when a keen frost prevailed, the first Field- fares and Redwings put in an appearance, and were accompanied by a few Snow Buntings and Siskins. The last few days of October I spent with Mr. Cordeaux on the Holderness coast, when we made the following observations :—On the 26th a few migra- tory Goldfinches, old male Blackbirds, and a Short-eared Owl seen. 27th, wind strong from the E, cloudy with rain, a solitary Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a Long-eared Owl shot ; Carrion Crows passing in great numbers from E. to W. at2p.m. On the 28th, after a strong N.E. gale, I shot a female Blackcap at Kilnsea; a Willow Wren was obtained at Flamborough on the same day; a considerable immigration of Fieldfares, Redwings, and Snow Buntings, and a few Siskins also occurred. Purple Sandpipers—a species which seems to be somewhat erratic in its visits to this portion of our coast—were not uncommon. Two Hoopers appeared at Crofton, near Wakefield, on the 30th, one of which was shot. On November 5th a large flight of Scaups passed up the Humber. A solitary Swallow was seen at Spurn on the 17th. NOTES FROM YORKSHIRE. 177 A rather curious incident occurred at Spurn on the 22nd. Three Crows were observed disputing, on the wing, about a morsel which one of them, more fortunate than the rest, had managed to secure, when suddenly a Great Black-backed Gull appeared upon the field, and put in a claim, much to the alarm of the Crows, and resulting in the fortunate one relinquishing his capture, which fell upon the sands, and was secured by my informant before the Gull could pounce upon it. This bone of contention proved to be a Storm Petrel, just dead and still quite warm. I received this bird in the flesh on the day following, and on dissection it proved to be a male in emaciated condition ; the lungs were considerably diseased, each containing a con- solidated whitish mass, about the size of a small pea, showing on ‘section the bronchial tubes running through the centre standing wide open. A question is here suggested as to the nature of the diseases in the lungs of undomesticated animals ; and whether this mass was of a cancerous nature, or the result of acute phthisis? Many Storm Petrels occurred far inland during November, being blown off the sea and carried before the easterly gales which prevailed. A fine adult male Bittern was shot in a stubble-field at Tun- stall, near Withernsea, on December 15th. This bird weighed thirty-nine ounces, and the contents of the gizzard, sent to me for examination, consisted of a mass of coleopterous remains, including an entire head and elytron of a Dytiscus marginalis, and a stringy substance much resembling wet tow. On December 30th an adult male Tengmalm’s Owl was shot at Normanby, near Whitby, by some rabbit-shooters whose dog put the bird out of a broom-covert. This specimen was kindly sent to me for inspection by Mr. Wilson, of Whitby, in whose collection it now is. The bird agreed with the description given by Mr. Dresser, with the exception that there were jive white spots on the tail-feathers, whilst Mr. Dresser only mentions four. This fifth spot, however, is not observable until the tail-coverts are raised. I also noticed decided traces of a sixth spot at the extreme end of each feather, but this was not very marked, owing to abrasion. Of the five Yorkshire occurrences of this species, three of them have been from the neighbourhood of Whitby: an adult now in the collection of Mr. W. Lister, of Glaisdale, was shot from a tree at Egton, on November 19th, 1872; whilst 2A 178 THE ZOOLOGISY. one, which some years ago occupied a place in the Whitby Museum, was shot on Sleight’s Moor about the year 1840. Unfortunately this specimen was badly preserved, and had to be destroyed. NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. By Joun T’. Carrineton, F.L.S., ann Epwarp Lover. (Continued from p. 50.) Genus Pinnotuergss, Latr. This genus embraces two British species, remarkable. on account of their habitat being in the living shells of Bivalve Mollusca. The generic characteristics are as follows :—Carapace nearly round, hard in the male and soft in the female; anterior pair of legs nearly equal, with normally developed forceps; remaining legs having the terminal joint somewhat hooked and strong. Peduncles of eyes short. Abdominal somites seven in number in both sexes, those of the male being narrow, whilst those of the female are very broad; in fact, more so in pro- portion to the size of the animal than those of any pre-considered species. M. Milne-Edwards includes four other allied genera in the family Pinnotheride, and gives the localities for them as the Red Sea, Cape of Good Hope, and Australia. Pinnotheres pisum, Latr. This little crab, known as the common Pea Crab, is, as its name suggests, very small—the male being even smaller than an ordinary sized pea, whilst the female is about three times as large. The anterior portion of the carapace in the male projects, and there is a depression on the latero-posterior margin; whilst in the female the anterior part is rounded, and the depression is wanting. The forceps of the male are robust and strong, whilst those of the female are weak. As it appears that most probably it is the female that is most addicted to inhabiting the shells of Mollusca, this weakness of the forceps would be thus accounted for, as they would be but little required. BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. 179 The colour of this species varies, particularly in the case of the male, which is usually of a pale yellowish brown, somewhat mottled ; the female is yellow, with brownish markings, the brown sometimes having a reddish tinge. Pinnotheres pisum is found in the shells of several species of Mollusca. We have found it chiefly in that of the common mussel, Mytilus edulis, from Southend. This species is very generally distributed. It has been recorded from St. Andrew’s, in Modiolus modiole; from Devon, in Mytilus, Cardiwm, and Ostrea; and Couch, in the ‘Cornish Fauna,’ says it is rare, and only found in the shell of the mussel, the natural inhabitant of which it either finds diseased or leaves it so. In Norfolk they are considered poisonous, and are known as “ Swinards.” Pinnotheres veterwm, Bose. This species, which is much rarer than P. piswm, is known as the Pinna Crab, and also as the Ancient Pea Crab. It is larger than the former speciés, being often of a length of five-eighths of an inch. In general habits it much resembles P. piswm, with the exception that it is found chiefly in the shells of the Pinna; in colour, too, it varies, this species being of an uniform brown tint, and devoid of the markings that characterise P. piswm ; it is interesting to note that the tint of P. veterwm corresponds in colour to the mantle of its host, the Pinna. The following is a short description of a specimen which we recently obtained from about thirty miles off the Devon coast, in deep water, from a Pinna :—Length of carapace, five-eighths of an inch. Colour of an uniform dirty umber-brown, with a darker tinge down the centre of the abdominal segments and the latero-anterior portion of the carapace. Eyes of a rich pink. Sex female. Abdominal segments extremely large and broad, covering the whole of the sternum. It is recorded in the reports of the British Association from Devon coast; and in the ‘Cornish Fauna’ as rare on that coast. As the fables of the association of the Pinne and Pinnotheres of Pliny and other early naturalists are so well known, we need not do more than refer to them. ‘That the crab finds the habitat in the Pinna-shell of advantage there can be no doubt, but it 180 THE ZOOLOGIST. seems very doubtful whether this advantage is mutual. We must not expect to find a crab.in every Pinna-shell. Gonoplax angulatus, Fabr. This remarkable crab is a common Mediterranean species, but it occurs frequently on our southern and south-western shores. It fully justifies its popular name, ‘‘the Angular Crab,” and its curious forms in this and other respects cause it to be one of the most interesting of the British Crustacea. Its carapace is much broader than long, with the sides almost at right angles with the anterior and posterior margins, the former being nearly straight, with the space between the orbits slightly projecting. The anterior angles are armed with two spines, one on either side. The lateral margin has one spine only projecting, and not nearly so large as that at the angle. ‘The first pair of legs are remarkably long, broadest at the base of the forceps, the latter long and toothed. The remaining legs long and attenuated, the last three joints of the second and third pairs being furnished with sete on the edges. The eyes are fixed upon very long peduncles, which are capable of being turned back for pro- tection beneath the anterior edge of the carapace so as to be quite hidden. Abdominal segments seven in number in both sexes; the third segment of the male is broader than the rest, and the posterior segments to this are form a triangle. Those of the female are oval, the fourth, fifth, and sixth being the broadest. The colour of this remarkable species is yellowish or pinkish red, occasionally bright and coral-like in its tints, but most frequently dull. We have as yet had no specimens in ova, and so cannot speak as to the date of spawning or the appearance of its ova. This rare species is stated by Prof. Bell to have first been found in British waters by Montagu in the estuary of Kingsbridge, Devon; he also states that it has since been found on the coasts of Cornwall and Wales, as well as Ireland. In the ‘Annals and Magazine of Natural History’ for 1870 this crab is recorded from the Isle of Mull, its first appearance in Scotland. From the reports of the British Association we gather that it has been taken on the Cheshire coast (rare), South Devon (occasionally), and Dublin (rare). In the ‘Cornish Fauna’ we learn tha tit is a BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. 181 common off that coast in undoubtedly deep water.* Prof. Celler says that it occurs at the Cape of Good Hope. We have obtained it from Weymouth and Torbay, off both of which parts of the coast it is not unfrequently found. The localities given by M. Milne Edwards are the north-western and southern coasts of France. It is said to be a very favourite food of many fishes, particularly the Cod. We were told by the Penzance and Newlyn fishermen that they only get this crab when the trawlers are beset by calm, so that the trawl remains still for a time on the bottom of the sea. These fishermen consider that Gonoplax is then tempted by the fishy smell of the net to enter through the meshes, which are tightened when being drawn up, and so closed as to prevent the escape of the crabs. Planes Linneana, Leach. This crab can only be said to be British from the fact that specimens are washed ashore on our coasts occasionally, ‘nolens volens,’ in the same manner as are sometimes tropical seeds. Its true home is no doubt the Sargasso or Atlantic Gulf-weed (Fucus vagans), but it has also been found attached to the bodies of Turtles. P. Linneana is a curious-looking species; its carapace is nearly square, with the posterior angles rounded, and the anterior angles replaced by concave cavities to receive the eyes, which are fixed upon stout peduncles. The antenne are very small. The posterior legs are nearly equal, robust, and having the arm toothed. The remaining legs are flat and clothed with sete. The abdominal segments are seven in number in both sexes, those of the male triangular, and of the female circular. * In the 2nd edition of the ‘Fauna of Cornwall,’ 1878, the section on Crustacea, originally written by the late Mr. Couch, was edited by Mr. C. Spence Bate. At p. 72 Mr. Bate says, after Gonoplax angulatus, ‘Mr. Couch next describes a very doubtful species under the name of Gelasimus Bellii, which Mr. Bell thinks may be the young of Roux’s Gonophax rhomboides, which most carcinologists consider as a variety of G. angulata.” Then follows Couch’s description in full, the chief points of difference being, “‘Foot-stalk of the eye long and slender, the transparent cornea small. Carapace resembling that of Gonoplax, but more advanced in front and less extended laterally.” 182 THE ZOOLOGIST. The colour is greyish or pale yellowish brown, some specimens having a mottled appearance. In the report of the British Association, 1867, this crab is recorded as occurring off the French coast, attached to the under side of the Hawk’s-bill Turtle. In ‘Cornish Fauna’ it is recorded as being a “stray inhabitant” of the coast of that county. It is also recorded from the Devon shores by the Devon Association.* In November, 1881, we received, through the kindness of Mr. Stephen Clogg, a remarkably fine specimen which that gentleman obtained amongst the stalk-barnacles upon a balk of timber that had been thrown up on the shore at Looe, Cornwall. The specimen, which is exceptionally large, is seven-eighths of an inch each way over the carapace. In the present volume of ‘ The Zoologist’ (p. 118) Mr. Cornish records the capture of seven specimens near Penzance, from amongst soil and sea-weed growing on a derelict cask of paraffin found floating at sea. Mr. Cornish having kindly presented to us two of the specimens, we find them smaller and darker than that above recorded. Genus Epapia, Leach. This genus, which is a very decided one, includes three species that are not only British, but in all probability peculiar to our seas; for M. Milne-Edwards in his description of them does not give any other locality. They are commonly known as the “Nut Crabs,” and their generic characteristics are as follows :— The carapace is roughly diamond-shaped, with the angles rounded or elevated, the size of it rarely exceeding five-eighths of an inch by half an inch. The anterior pair of legs more or less robust in the different species, as we shall describe. Antenne very small, as also are the eyes. Abdominal segments seven in number in both sexes. * Grapsus pelagicus, Prideaux. The reference to this crab occurs in ‘Cornish Fauna’ (p. 74), where Mr. Couch says: ‘A species of the genus Grapsus is in the Atheneum at Plymouth under the name of G. pelagicus by Mr. Prideaux, and known to Dr. Leach, but not in any published work. It is understood that the collection in the Museum of that Institution is confined to the specimens taken on the borders of Devon and Cornwall.” This is now usually considered by carcinologists to be a variety of Planes Linneana. BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. 183 Ebalia tumificata, Mont. This species, ike H. Cranchw, differs from EH. tuberosa in that its carapace is much more flat and hollowed, but to this we must except the female of this species. The lateral margins are prominent and rounded, with a flat sharp edge, whilst on the anterior margin are two small projections immediately above and between the eyes. Of the three prominences situate on the thorax, one is proximate to the posterior margin, while the other two are centrally placed between the fore and hind margin, one on each side of the medial ridge. It is these two that in the female are so remarkably different in appearance, from their globose and swollen form, as to almost decide in the mind of the student its specific value, as no such difference occurs in the other two species to be described. The anterior pair of legs are depressed, warty, and broad. In the abdominal segments the fourth, fifth, and sixth joints are united. The size of this species rarely exceeds half an inch across the carapace, and its colour usually of a pale dull pink or yellow, occasionally speckled with red. Although this species is rather rare, it is recorded by Prof. Bell from Weymouth, Exmouth, Plymouth Sound, Belfast, and off the Mull of Galloway. According to the reports of the British Association, it has been taken on the coasts of Durham and Yorkshire, as well as from the Hebrides, and a single specimen from Shetland ; and is, according to the ‘Cornish Fauna,’ rare in that county. We have obtained it, in company with the former species, from Guernsey, in comparatively deep water, where it clings to the Algz; also from mid-channel off the Sussex coast, and occasionally from South Devon. So far as we have observed, it is with ova in the early months of the year, so that it would spawn in the spring, This ova greatly resembles that of H, tuberosa both in colour and size. Ebalia Cranchii, Leach. The carapace of this species strongly resembles that of the male of H. tumificata, each of which species has the ridge from the anterior to the posterior margins more prominent than the transverse one, thus being unlike H. tuberosa; it is very finely granulated, and has two additional tubercles to those of the 184 THE ZOOLOGISY. former species, which are more forward and closer to the medial ridge; it is these additional tubercles that are its chief specific feature. The anterior pair of legs are very long in the male, robust, and having the forceps slightly serrated. The female has these limbs of the normal length, while the carapace is similar in both sexes. This species is considered by Bell to be the most rare of the British Ebalias; he gives it as having occurred at Plymouth Sound, the Frith of Forth, Connemara, and Belfast Bay. It has also been recorded from St. Andrew's; Galway (common) ; Dublin (rare); Aberdeen; the Hebrides; Moray Frith; and the coast of Northumberland. It is said to be rare in Cornwall. We have obtained it from off Torbay and Start Point, in which locality it is not unfrequently found. Ebalia tuberosa, Pennant. This species is the largest of the genus, and may be dis- tinguished by several decided specific features. The carapace is raised and divided by two rounded ridges crossing each other from the four angles; it is roughly granulated and of a reddish brown colour, though in favourable localities it often assumes a much brighter tint. The anterior pair of legs are robust, and, like those of H. Cranchii, are rounded, carinated slightly, and have the forceps serrated; the remaining legs are simple. The abdominal segments of the male are long and narrow, having also the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth joints “soldered” together; those of the female are broad and rounded in form. According to Prof. Bell, this species, although less rare than the preceding ones, is by no means common; but as their habitat is the coralline zone preferably, this may to some extent account for their apparent rarity. We have obtained it in con- siderable numbers from Guernsey, the South Devon coast, and from mid-channel off the Sussex coast. Those from the latter locality were remarkably fine specimens, and one had a young oyster, about one-fourth the size of the animal itself, attached to its carapace. In Jersey we observed it to be somewhat scarce. In Bell’s work it is recorded from Devon, Dorset, Berwick- shire, Cork, Belfast Bay, and off the Mull of Galloway. It has also been taken at St. Andrew’s and Shetland (at the former ee BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. 185 place often in fishes’ stomachs) ; according to Couch, it is “not common” in Cornwall. Tts ova are small and of a golden colour, being exuded during the early part of the year. Atelecyclus septemdentatus, Leach. This remarkable crab may be readily recognised by the circular form of its carapace; hence its popular name, the “ Circular Crab.” It is the only species of the genus known to occur in our seas, and the following may be taken as a general outline of its description :— Carapace, as we have already stated, almost circular, the poste- rior margin being, however, flattened; lateral margins regularly and evenly serrated ; orbits slight, and having two notches in their cavity ; space between the orbits armed with three even denticula- tions; carapace generally convex, with the regions decidedly but not harshly defined. Antenne well developed and plumose, some- what resembling those of some. of the Lepidoptera. The anterior pair of legs are massive and broad, capable of closing together beneath the cephalo-thoracic portion of the animal; they are armed with rows of small tubercles and warty prominences. The forceps are curved so that they cross at the- tips; they are brownish black in colour. The remaining legs do not differ much from the normal form, except that they are closely fringed with hair, as also is the carapace and anterior pair of legs. The abdominal somites are five in number in the male and seven in the female ; it is remarkable that the female segments are not so broad in proportion as is the case with most of the Brachyura ; from this it would appear as if the ova were not so much in need of that protection which is so necessary to other species. The colour of this crab is a very pale yellowish white, speckled over with a brick-red tint. The hair-like fringe is a pale warm brown. This species is evidently a deep-water one, for, according to Bell, it is common in the stomachs of fishes from a depth of twenty to fifty fathoms. He records it from the coast of Devon- shire, the Welsh coast, and Scarborough; as well as from the Frith of Forth, Scotland, and several localities in Ireland. We have received this species from Milford Haven; also obtained several specimens by dredging off the South Devon coast in about thirty fathoms of water. (To be continued.) 186 THE ZOOLOGIST. OCCASIONAL NOTES. Waite Sroars.—Whether it is that during a winter when much snow falls these creatures are not so easily seen, or that at such a time they are not so much abroad, I am not prepared to say, but it always seems to me that a mild winter is the most productive of these animals in their white or partly white garb, and the past mild season has helped to confirm my sup- position. In this neighbourhood they have been met with in comparative plenty in all stages of change, and some of them have been very prettily marked, reminding one at first sight of a spaniel dog. One I saw—a very large specimen—appeared at a short distance to be of an uniform gray colour on the upper parts, and lighter underneath, but on closer inspection it proved that brown hairs were scattered amongst the white all over the body, which gave it such a peculiar appearance. ‘This was probably an old one, as its teeth were very much broken and decayed. The most remarkable that has come under my notice was one wholly white except the charac- teristic black tips to its tail. Itis the first I have ever seen not having some indications of the dark summer coat. It is my usual experience that if the body is perfectly white, the head in a greater or less degree shows some marks of the dark dress, and especially on the crown; but the specimen in question has no such markings, for except a few scattered gray hairs about the eyes, its head is as uniformly white as the rest of its body. I may mention that its eyes were of the usual dark colour. Has the unusual oceurrence of these creatures during the past winter been noticed by other correspondents ?—G. B. Corsrn (Ringwood, Hauts). Tue Lesser Horse-sHor Bar (Rhinolophus hipposideros) 1x Yorx- sHIRE.—I have to record an interesting addition to the bat-fauna of York- shire, specimens of the Lesser Horse-shoe Bat having been sent me by Mr. Henry Laver, of Colchester. ‘They were collected in January, 1876, in a cave near Kavestone, Ripon, a very wild and exposed part of the country, 700 feet above sea level, and sent to Mr. Laver by Mr. James Ingleby, of that place. I have had some correspondence with Mr. Ingleby on the subject, and he informs me that the species is the prevalent one of his neighbourhood, the others occurring there but sparingly in numbers. Of the Long-eared Bat, which in some parts of Yorkshire is the com- monest species of all, he has only found one or two examples, while the Whiskered Bat, which I recorded in ‘The Zoologist’ for April, was the first of the kind he ever saw. TI fully agree with Mr. Laver’s deter- mination of the species as R. hipposideros,—W. Denison Roxsuck (Sunny Bank, Leeds). OCCASIONAL NOTES. 187 Variety or Motn.—Some years ago I sent a note to the pages of ‘ The Zoologist’ on the occurrence, in this neighbourhood, of a few specimens of “cream-coloured ” Moles. Since last autumn I have seen several specimens of a similar colour, suspended with many of their black relations upon the bushes which the Mole-catcher appropriates as a gibbet for his captures. Perhaps the term “cream-coloured” scarcely describes the variety in ques- tion, for although the upper parts of the body are of a creamy buff hue, yet all the under parts are of a brownish red, or brownish orange colour. I believe I have seen the record of the occurrence of similar varieties in several other localities, but are they of general distribution, and do they occur regularly or only at intervals? In this neighbourhood they are some- what uncertain in their appearance, and seem to affect particular localities. —G. B. Corsin (Ringwood). OccURRENCE OF THE GREY SEAL OFF THE NorFOoLK Coast.—On December 24th, 1881, one of the Trinity pilots, whilst in the neighbourhood of the Long Sand in the Lynn Roads, saw a very large Seal, watching over the dead carcase of a recently-born young one. On attempting to capture the old one she immediately showed fight, and had to be killed before she could be secured. ‘Through the kindness of Mr. F. J. Cresswell and Mr. Garrod, of Lynn, I have had the opportunity of examining the skins of both individuals, which are unquestionably those of the Grey Seal, Hali- cherus gryphus. The old female measured seven feet one inch in total length, and five feet nine inches in girth behind the fore flippers ; the claws were very long, the first two measuring two inches and a-half and two inches and a-quarter respectively. The general colour was yellowish buff, indis- tinctly with spots and blotches of dark brown. The young one was a beautiful silvery white, the muzzle sooty grey, a slight tinge of the same colour being visible on the back of the head and for some distance along the spine. Unfortunately the skull of the old Seal was not preserved. I have for some time suspected that this species occasionally visits the sands in the Wash, as I have heard of large Seals being seen or killed, which could scarcely be any other than the Grey Seal. Mr. Cordeaux also tells me that some years ago he saw on the same sand a large Seal, which he believes belonged to this species ; it was in company with several Common Seals and “ was a veritable Triton amongst the Minnows, looming like a big bullock in the haze.”—'T. SourweE.t (Norwich). NestinG or THE Lone-raiLeD Trrmousw.—I should like to ask other observers at what height from the ground the nest of the English Long- tailed ‘Tit (Acredula rosea) is generally placed? There is now ina large oak tree of mine here, a Long-tailed Tit’s nest, at least fifty feet from the 188 THE ZOOLOGIST. ground. My experience in Holland led me to think that A. caudata always, or nearly always, built its nest some way from the ground, and generally in the fork of an oak branch. In Corsica also, I should say, that A. Irbit builds at about the same elevation as the last-mentioned species. But my experience of A. rosea is that the nest (and I have found a great many) is not placed more than from five to twelve feet high, and then generally in a hedge-row or blackthorn bush. It may be said, with regard to the nest that I am here referring to, that circumstances alter cases—such as lack of suit- able or ordinary positions for the nest, abundance of vermin, &c. Now suitable hedges are in the near neighbourhood of the oak tree in which the nest is placed, and my cats (Persiau) never go birds’-nesting. Macgillivray (ii. p. 457) says of Mecistura longicaudata, that the nest is ‘‘ supported by the twigs or branches of a tree or bush, sometimes at the height of many yards, but not unfreqnently very near the ground.” Prof. Newton (Yarrell, i. p. 506), writing of A. caudata (apparently not recognizing A. rosea as a species), says the nest is ‘sometimes even high up in the fork ofa tree.” Mr. Dresser, in his ‘ Birds of Europe,’ gives no special heights for the nests of the different species of European Long-tailed Titmice. In ‘ The Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar’ A. Irbii is said to nest at ‘“ about fifteen to sixteen feet from the ground.” ‘Temminck, obviously describing A. caudata, says (Man. d’Ornithologie, 1st ed., p. 174), “ Construit avec assez d'art un nid a quelque distance de terre et posé sur l’enfourchement des branches.” Again, Degland et Gerbe (i. p. 571) say, “ Elle niche sur les buissons, dans les tailles, les vergers, contre le pied des grands chénes. Son nid, qu'elle établit & une elevation mediocre.” Now I should like to ask, Is there any difference in the nidification between our species of Acredula and those species belonging to the Continent? I confess I believed there was, but now my theory is overthrown. Needless to say that if any ornithologist who reads this, happening to be in the neighbour- hood, cares to look at the nest referred to, I shall be very pleased to show it to him.—C. Byerave Wuarron (Hounsdown, Totton, Southampton). Burron’s Skua In THE CuannieL Istanps.—As this bird has not hitherto, I believe, been recorded from the Channel Islands, I send you the following note of its occurrence in the island of Herm. In November 1881, Mr. Jago, a birdstuffer in Guernsey, wrote to me as follows:—* A female Skua was found dead in Herm on the 29th October; it was very thin, but in good plumage; it is very like the Pomatorhine, but much smaller, being about the size of a Kittiwake; I think it is Richardson’s.” I did not record thissupposed occurrence of Richardson’s Skua in ‘ The Zoologist’ at the time, as I was a little doubtful as to the identity. Mr. Jago, however, forwarded the bird to me a few days ago, and it turns out to be a Buffon’s Skua, Stercorarius parasiticus, a young bird of the year. I have OCCASIONAL NOTES. 189 carefully examined it and compared it with others, both of its own species and with Richardson’s Skua, and have no doubt as to its identity, for besides its considerably smaller size, it has the shafts of the first two primaries only white, the rest being decidedly darker: this is Mr. Howard Saunders’s test, and seems perfectly reliable at all ages, though in some specimens the shafts of the third and following primaries do not seem to be quite so strongly marked as in others, but always sufficiently so to distinguish the bird from Richardson’s Skua. Mr. Jago, in his letter to me, describes it as very like a young Pomatorhine Skua, but smaller: this is as nearly as possible Mr. Dresser’s description of the young bird in the ‘ Birds of Europe,’ where he says it differs from the young of Stercorarius crepidatus in bemg much darker, and in colour resembles more the young of Stercorarius pomatorhinus. This seems also a perfectly good distinction in young birds, but I should think it doubtful in intermediate stages. It is not included in Professor Ansted’s list, nor have I been able to hear of any other occurrence of this kind in the Islands.—Crci Suirx (Bishop’s Lydeard, Taunton). On THE Nore or tHe Nurnatca.—Why one of the sounds made by this bird is called “ churring” by Mr. Young (p. 113), and by the Rev. O. P. Cambridge (p. 149), I do not know; but I am quite confident that the sound referred to by both the above writers emanates from the Nuthatch, and not from the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. The former (locally termed the “ Mud-dabber”) is very common in the New Forest, where the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is comparatively rare, though I have had fair opportunities of observing both species. Anyone reading the article by the Rey. C. A. Johns on the Nuthatch, in ‘ British Birds in their Haunts’ (p. 311), will not doubt for a moment that the note referred to in the above-mentioned letters was that of the Nuthatch—C. Byeravu Wuarton (Hounsdown, Totton, Southampton). Erper Duck ar Scitry.— An Eider Duck was recently taken by Mr. Dorrien Smith at the Scilly Islands. It is a male bird in perfect plumage, and has been forwarded to Mr. W. H. Vingoe to be set up. Mr. Dorrien Smith’s gamekeeper recollects having obtained another speci- men of this bird there some years since, but the occurrence does not appear to have been recorded.—THomas CornisH (Penzauce). Imtrative Powers or THE Hawrrncn.—I do not recollect having seen any notice of the imitative powers of the Hawfinch, Coccothraustes vulgaris, and therefore suljoin a few words on the subject. A bird of this species, now in his third year (which I brought up by hand), constantly imitates the “ sweeting ” and “ clucking” sounds with which I have talked to him and other birds. In his youth, and especially during his first moult, he used to * record” in a low tone a few notes, probably those which he heard in the 190 THE ZOOLOGIST. nest from his parent. Unfortunately he dropped this true song, in favour of the slightly eccentric noises aforementioned, to which he has recently added the piercing whistle of a Gray Parrot. Devoted to insects, particu- larly in the summer months, he nevertheless, of late, has shared all dainties with a timid Grey Cardinal, with which he paired. He invariably cracked all hemp-seeds before presenting them to her, and exhibited the deepest concern when she died in moult last autumn. Only in the matter of the first bath in the morning did he insist on holding his own. They lived together on the happiest terms for two years, though they both resented the intrusion of any other birds into their cage. This Hawfinch constantly repeats his own name, “ Jock,” though the J baffles his efforts sadly.— H. A. Macpuerson (120, Westbourne Terrace, W.). Hooprp Crows 1n Hampesuire.—From various notices in recent numbers of ‘ The Zoologist’ it seems that Hooded Crows, both native and migratory, have been very plentiful in many localities. It is not altogether a frequent winter visitor to this immediate neigbourhood, yet its occurrence at that season is by no means rare; during the past winter, however, it has been unusually abundant, so that many casual and disinterested observers have noticed its appearance, or seen its mischievous depredations. The first I saw was about the middle of October, but since that date I have seen a most unusual number for this locality, and several gamekeepers tell me that the birds display a considerable degree of cunning in avoiding snares and traps prepared for their especial destruction. How can their occurrence be accounted for in this neighbourhood during such a mild and spring-like winter? With such interesting and able articles as we often get in these pages from well-known pens, our knowledge of the migration of birds must necessarily increase, yet it seems that the more we know of the subject the wider grows the field for investigation and research. The winter of 1880-81, from its severity, caused many northern birds to visit us in great numbers, whilst the ‘‘ hoodies ” were comparatively few, or at least no commoner than in ordinary seasons. How different the experience of the past mild winter! The great bulk of ‘‘ visitors,” and especially waterfowl, were rare or entirely absent, but the species (or variety) in question came to us in unusual quantities, and yet I suppose the same instinct and laws of migration actuate the movements of each and every individual of the feathered race. —G. B. Corstn (Ringwood). Kire 1x Cornwati.—Very recently a Kite was shot at Clowance, near Camborne, the seat of the Rev. St. Aubyn St. Aubyn, I believe by his keeper. A Kite (probably the same bird) had been previously seen by Mr. R. G. Lakes at Trevarrack, St. Austell ;'and shortly afterwards a Kite (probably the same bird) was seen by Mr. E. Vingoe at Scorren, near Redruth. The specimen killed at Clowance, which proved to be a male in OCCASIONAL NOTES. 191 excellent plumage, is now in the hands of Mr. W. H. Vingoe, of Penzance, for preservation.—THomas Cornisu (Penzance). BLINDNESS IN THE CopFisH.—Fishes, as a rule, are provided with two eyes, symmetrically placed one on either side of the head, while they are undoubtedly large as compared with what obtains in other vertebrates, or even in comparison with the extent of surface in their own bodies. Their size, however, is modified in accordance with local surroundings and their habits. Some frequent muddy waters, where vision would be of less service than tactile organs ; in such cases appendages for feeling, as barbels, are more developed than eyes. Others again are restricted to living in dark caves where rays of light can hardly enter. Irrespective of the foregoing cause of atrophy there are many forms residing in the dismal abysses of the ocean where light is unable to penetrate, for solar rays are computed to be lost at a depth of two hundred fathoms or less; while in the fresh waters of the Lake of Geneva, Prof. Forel ascertained that at thirty fathoms photo- graphic paper was entirely unacted upon. Another modifying influence is whether the habits of the fish are nocturnal or diurnal, the former, unless residing in dark places, requiring the larger organs of vision. Active animals residing in the light are provided with eyes, while those having limited powers of progression and residents in the dark are usually more or less deficient in these organs. They may consequently be present in almost the lowest animal forms, and absolutely wanting in some of the higher, as the Shrew Mouse and the Mole. Eyes likewise may be only rudimentally developed, as in the Amphioxus or Myswine, wherein they appear as mere dark specks, but still have a nerve distributed to them. Or they may have retrograded to so considerable an extent as to be entirely absent in some forms which have taken up their abodes in dark caverns, but even here the lens and other constituent portions of the eye may usually be detected, whereas examples of the same species living outside are provided with fully formed eyes. When we commence investigating the relationship which exists in fishes’ eyes to the localities they reside in or their general habits, we must be struck by the fact that some forms live where the rays of solar light are absent, others in the glare of the sunshine. But I do not purpose entering in detail into the organs of vision of fish and their numerous modifications, but to restrict myself to whether light can have such a modifying influence on the eye of the Codfish as to occasion morbid symptoms and even total blindness. In the thirteenth volume of the ‘New Sporting Review ’ exists a most interesting account of a visit to Colonel McDowell’s vivarium for Codfish in the Mull of Galloway. An excavation was formed in the rock about fifty feet in diameter, and at low tide about eight feet of water remained in this basin, and six feet more at high tide. It was 192 THE ZOOLOGIST. observed as a curious fact that fish when they have remained long in this pond always became blind; this was supposed by Colonel McDowell to be due to there being insufficient shelter for them from the heat and glare of the sun, owing to the shallowness of the water as compared with the depths of their usual haunts. The various members of the Cod family appear to be very susceptible to disease, especially of the vertebral column, and during the past year, when visiting an aquarium in the north, supplied with pure sea water, I observed several of these fishes blind with one or both eyes. The eyeball in those which were totally deprived of vision moved on the blind similar to that on the sound side. In some examples of the Common Cod, Gadus morrhua, the pupil instead of being circular was transversely oval, or even pear-shaped, probably due to an adhesion of the posterior surface of the iris to the lens or its covering. The pupil was either dull or greenish, while in some a film appeared to cover the eye. Without the opportunity of examining these eyes it would be difficult to determine the exact lesion, but I am disposed to think that the theory advanced at Colonel McDowell’s was the correct one. I was lately observing a fine school of Bibs, Gadus luscus, which had been upwards of eighteen months in the Westminster Aquarium, where the water had not invariably,been particularly clear, nor had all of it come direct from the sea. Here numerous cases of blindness were not apparent. Before, however, attributing this immunity entirely to the character of the light, we have to consider the relative susceptibility of such in the Common Cod to what obtains in the Bib. The Cod, although hardly a deep-sea fish, resides in localities at one hundred to one hundred and fifty fathoms, while the Bib, although it lives in deep waters during the winter, approaches the shore in spring and summer, consequently does not so invariably remain in dark or semi-dark places as does the Cod. Before’ offering any opinion on the frequency and probable cause of this blindness among members of the Cod family while in confinement, it would be interesting if managers of various aquariums would let us know whether they have observed such cases in the establishments under their control. If so, the time at which they com- menced as well as the clearness and depth of water in which the fish have been kept.—Franois Day (Cheltenham), Rark FisHes on tue Cornish Coast.—I have received the Lesser Weever, T’rachinus vipera, from a new locality. This is the first specimen T have ever seen, although I have heard of it as occurring in Pra-Sand in Mount’s Bay, and in Hayle Sand. This specimen was taken out of some hard lug-sand just westward of Laregan Bridge, Penzance. I have again received a Dorse, Gadus callarius, taken in Mount’s Bay. This specimen was sent to me as a present by the fisherman who caught it, and who considered it to be a Cod in very fine condition. I have also obtained a MEMOIR OF THE LATE CHARLES DARWIN. 193 Lump-fish, Cyclopterus lumpus, of very large size. It is remarkable that during the whole of my experience I have never (judging by colour) seen a a male or red Lump-fish. The female or blue Lump-fish occurs frequently. I received a second female taken in the mackerel drift-nets, and on the 5th April my boatman caught another in a very singular manner. He was fishing at night in the Bay, with his brother, when they observed something phosphorescent making its way towards their boat on the surface of the water. As it passed them my man struck it with the gaff and secured it. It turned out to be a blue Lump-fish of large size and shotten.— THomas Cornisu (Penzance). Tar Torrgpo on tHe YorKsatrE Coasr.—A specimen of the Tor- pedo, 7. hebetans, the first that has occurred on the shores of this county, so far as I have been able to ascertain, was captured while among the breakers on the beach at Easington, on the 14th April, and kindly sent to me for identification. In length it measured two feet five inches, and was one foot five inches from pectoral to pectoral at its greatest width. The fish was in a dying condition when caught, and no shock was felt by its captors.—W. HaciE CiarKE (Leeds). MEMOIR OF THE LATE CHARLES DARWIN, LL.D., F.B.S. THE name of Charles Darwin has so long been a “ household word” that the news of his decease, which took place on April 19th, will be received with profound regret by the entire civilized world. At the ripe age of seventy-three, in the arms of those nearest and dearest to him, he passed calmly and peacefully away, full of honours, and leaving behind him an illustrious and imperishable name. The studies and researches which contributed to render his name so famous appear to have been commenced at an early period of his life, when, meditating the pursuit of medicine as a profession, he was sent to Edinburgh, then at the height of its reputation as a medical school, and in the University of which city his grandfather, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, had taken his degrees. After two years of study there he proceeded to Cambridge, where in due course, at Christ College, he graduated B.A. and M.A. Finding about this time that his private means were sufficient to render him independent of a profession, he abandoned the idea of adopting the practice of medicine, and devoted himself, from the love of it, to the study of Biology. 2c 194 THE ZOOLOGIST. Although known at this time to only a small circle of scientific friends, his abilities as a naturalist soon became more widely recognised; and in 1831, when the Hon. Capt. Fitzroy—after- wards better known as Admiral Fitzroy, of meteorological fame— was ordered, with the ‘Adventure’ and ‘ Beagle,’ to survey the coasts of Antarctic America, Charles Darwin was appointed Naturalist to the Expedition. He sailed in December, 1831, and returned in October, 1836, during which interval he visited the Straits of Magellan and the coasts north of that Strait, and crossed the country from Valparaiso to Buenos Ayres, visiting besides the Galapagos, Ascension, the coasts of Australia, and other regions touched by the vessels during their voyage. In every locality visited he made large and important collections of rare or new animals and plants, recording in his journal a mass of valuable notes to be afterwards utilised. His services on this expedition were highly appreciated by Capt. Fitzroy, who paid a deserved tribute to his merits when receiving the medal voted him by the Royal Geographical Society; and the esteem in which he was held by his fellow voyagers has been fitly perpetuated in the names bestowed on Port Darwin in North Australia, and Darwin Mount and Sound, in Tierra del Fuego. On his return from this expedition he settled at Down, near Beckenham, in Kent, where he has ever since resided, and where he commenced and prosecuted those literary and scientific labours which have since procured for him a world-wide repu- tation. In 1839 appeared his ‘Journal’ of a Naturalist, giving a narrative of his voyage, and written in a style so pleasing, and withal so instructive, that it has maintained a popu- larity to this day, and is regarded as quite a model work of its kind. Between 1839 and 1842 appeared the official ‘ Zoology of the Voyage of Her Majesty's ship Beagle,’ in four quarto volumes, by ‘‘ various eminent hands,” though the whole work was edited by Mr. Darwin, and the habits of the animals and their range were given by his own pen. In this work, for the first time, were described those great mammals of geological ages which are found on the Argentine Pampas, in addition to a series of observations on almost every other group of mammals. Not to enumerate many detached memoirs of interest, the next conspicuous work of MEMOIR OF THE LATE CHARLES DARWIN. 195 Mr. Darwin was ‘ The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs’ (1842-46), in which was enunciated the theory of their growth which is now generally accepted. ‘This treatise was the first part of the Geology of the ‘ Adventure’ and ‘ Beagle’; the ‘Geological Observations on Voleanic Islands’ (1844) formed the second volume; ‘ Geological Observations on South America’ appeared in 1846, as the third section of the work; and this, with the exception of a number of detached papers, may be said to have com- pleted the formal systematic account of the task he had officially undertaken between 1831 and 1836. ‘A Monograph of the Fossil Balanide and Verucide of Great Britain’ (1854), published by the Paleontographical Society, was an elaborate and laborious treatise on the extinct Barnacles; while that on ‘ Fossil Lepadide’ (1851), published three years before, referred to another section of the same group. In the same year he also published, through the Ray Society, a monograph of the living forms of Barnacles. But the treatises here enumerated were merely the fore- runners of that work which, more than any other, has made the name of Darwin famous, namely, ‘ The Origin of Species,’ which appeared in 1859, and which in its turn became the preface, as it were, to the elaborate series of works which at intervals followed it. The theory, as set forth in this remarkable volume, of the evolution of species from a few simple organisms, by a system of natural selection, is now too well known to require comment, but the circumstances which led to its somewhat premature _ publication may be briefly referred to. In 1858 Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace, who was exploring the Malay Islands, sent home a paper describing his own views as to the “ Origin of Species.” Sir Charles Lyell and Dr. Hooker on reading it were struck by the fact that Mr. Wallace had arrived at conclusions almost identical with those which Mr. Darwin had already communicated to them. It was felt that delay would no longer be fair to Mr. Wallace, or just to Mr. Darwin, whose manuscript was still unpublished. Accordingly, on the 1st July, 1858, papers by both authors were read to the Linnean Society, and from that period must be dated the birth of the “ Darwinian Theory,” though it was not till the 24th November, 1859, that Mr. Darwin’s ‘ Origin of Species’ appeared. In 1862 was published ‘The Various Contrivances by which Orchids are Fertilised,’ and, 1865, ‘The Movements and Habits 196 THE ZOOLOGIST. of Climbing Plants,’ both works of the highest botanical value. In 1868, ‘ The Variations of Plants and Animals under Domesti- cation, and in 1871 ‘The Descent of Man’ revived the con- troversy regarding the character of the Darwinian doctrines which had been occasioned by the appearance of ‘ The Origin of Species.’ ‘The Expression of the Emotions in Men and Animals’ did not do much to allay this, though none could deny that the author had enriched knowledge with a marvellous series of curious observations. In 1875, ‘Insectivorous Plants,’ describing the carnivorous propensities of certain plants, Drosera, Dionea, &c., contained another excellent series of botanical observations. ‘The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation’ (1876), ‘The Different Form of Flowers on Plants of the same Species’ (1877), and ‘ The Movements of Plants’ (1880), at once proved Mr. Darwin not only to be an ingenious theorist, but the first physiological botanist of his age. Finally, in 1881, his now familiar treatise on the Earth- worm and its ways has only served to enhance his reputation. Whether his now well-known theory of evolution will meet the fate of others which have preceded it, or become more enduring amongst scientific doctrines than the views of Lamarck and the author of ‘The Vestiges of Creation,’ it is of course impossible to say; but the impetus which his various works have given to modern thought and research, and the extraordinary number of biological facts which have been collected and brought to light by his untiring industry, will cause naturalists of every nation to be for ever indebted to him. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Linnean Society or Lonpon. March 16, 1882.—Sir Joun Lupsock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., President, in the chair. Messrs. H. M. Brewer, VY. I. Chamberlain, and A. P. Withiel Thomas were elected Fellows of the Society. Mr. Worthington G. Smith called attention to certain very destructive Australian Fungi new to England, viz., Capnodium australe, fatal to conifers, especially Thuyas and Isaria fuciformis, a great pest to grass in Kent and Sussex. The latter plant is popularly supposed to induce a PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. L197 disease similar to diphtheria, and said to be fatal to cattle. Isaria fre- quently grows on animal substances, dead and living, as on larve and pupe of ichneumons, spiders, moths, wasps, &c. Mr. Smith showed a bee caught alive in this country, and having a profuse growth of the Isaria condition of the Cordiceps sphecocephala, a W. Indian form, the latter genus being closely allied to Clavieps, or Ergot. Dr. Francis Day read a paper upon the Salmones found in the British Isles, remaking how great changes are occasioned by retaining any of them in unsuitable localities. He objected to the augmentation in number of the British forms of non-migratory Trout from three to seven, as made by Dr. Giinther, holding that we possess only two:—the Loch Leven Trout, which is in reality a marine form acclimatized to fresh water, whereas the remainder are solely local races of the common Brook Trout. A most interesting fact was brought forward, viz. that Mr. Arthur, in New Zealand, having lately examined the Trout which were introduced there in 1869, from ova originally obtained from the Thames and the West of England, found great structural changes had taken place. The fish in question, moreover, living in different streams in New Zealand, had also assumed local peculiarities of size and change of form; and, due doubtless to increased food, the annual increment of weight had risen from 13 to 24 pounds, and an example had been seen weighing 20 pounds. The cecal appendages, hitherto held as significant of species, were found augmented from 33 to 50, as exemplified in British fish, to from 43 to 54 in the New Zealand examples, showing that these organs are inconstant in number. Having alluded to the different species, Dr. Day concluded that, as the various species of non-migratory Trout, accepted by Dr. Ginther, interbreed, and the hybrids are not sterile, the fact gives increased reason for sup- posing these various forms are merely local races, and not different species ; that if they are really distinct species, division has not proceeded sufficiently far, because the Gillaroo, a form of Trout with a thickened middle coat of the stomach, has been termed Salmo stomachicus, Giinther, whereas the Great Lake Trout with a thickened stomach, and the Charr, haying a similarly transformed organ, have not yet been differentiated into species. Dr. Day considers that all our non-migratory freshwater Trout (excluding the Loch Leven) are merely local races; that interbreeding will produce mougrels, in which sterility need not be anticipated, while intro- ducing new races (unless on the principle of preventing breeding in and in) will not be of much benefit to fisheries, unless the food is in excess of local requirements, for if not the new-comers will revert to the colour, form, and size of the original tenants of the water. Two papers by Mr. Charles Darwin—(1) on the action of carbonate of ammonia on the roots of certain plants, and (2) the influence of carbonate of ammonia on chlorophyll bodies —were read. The observations which led 198 THE ZOOLOGIST. to the first of these papers were originally made many years ago on Euphorbia peplus, and have now been extended to other genera. A plant of E. peplus having been dug up and carefully washed, the smaller rootlets may be placed under the microscope without further preparation, the thicker roots may be examined by means of sections. If such roots are left, before being examined, in a solution of carbonate of ammonia (1 to 7 per 1000) fora short time(varying from a few minutes to several hours), they present a wonder- fully changed appearance. The most striking alteration is that the surface of the root assumes a longitudinally striped appearance, due to longitudinal rows of darker brown cells, alternating with lighter-coloured rows. The darker colour is seen under a high power to be due to the presence of innumerable rounded granules of a brown tint, which the lighter-coloured cells are without. Similar brown granules are deposited in cells scattered throughout the parenchyma, and markedly in the elongated endoderm cells surrounding the vascular bundle. The granules are apparently neither resinous nor fatty, for they are not removed by alcohol or ether; they are, however, slowly acted on by caustic potash, and seem to be of the nature of protein. The most remarkable part of the phenomenon is that the granules are only formed in some of the external cells, and that these cells are, before the treatment with ammonia, indistinguishable by their shape or by their contents from their fellows, which are un- affected by the solution. There is, however, a curious functional difference between the two classes of cells, namely, that the granular cells do not produce root-hairs, which arise exclusively from the cells of the light- coloured rows. Effects similar to those now described were observed in some other Euphorbiaceous plants, e. g., Phyllanthus compressus, though not in all the genera of this family which were observed. Among genera belonging to other families may be mentioned Drosophyllum and Cyclamen, as showing the phenomenon especially well. Altogether 49 genera were observed ; of these 15 were conspicuously acted on, and 11 in a slight degree, making together 26 genera, while the roots of the remaining 23 genera were not acted on in any plain manner. The view suggested by Mr. Darwin is that the granular matter is of the nature of an excretion, the arrangement of the dark-coloured cells in rows agreeing with what is known of the disposition of certain cells whose function admittedly is to contain excretions. The granules, moreover, are deposited in the loose exfoliating cells of the root-cap, where they cannot take part in the life of the root; and this fact points in the sate direction. In his second paper, above referred to, Mr. Darwin adduces facts to prove that carbonate of ammonia causes a kind of aggregation in chlorophyll bodies, and as these are protoplasmic, the belief in the protoplasmic nature of the aggregateed masses in Drosera and other carnivorous plants is supported. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 199 ZooioeicaL Society or Lonvon. April 4, 1882.—Prof. W. H. Frowrr, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair. Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on an example of a rare Flycatcher, Cyanomyias celestis, from the Philippines, which had been sent to England for determination by Dr. Moesch, of Zurich. Mr. Sclater also exhibited and made remarks on two specimens of the Subcylindrical Hornbill, Buceros subcylindricus, which had been formerly living in the Society’s Gardens. Dr. A. Giinther read the description of a new species of fresh-water Turtle from Siam, a specimen of which had been recently acquired by the British Museum. The author proposed to name it Geoemyda impressa, from the peculiar shape of the principal upper plates, which are not merely flattened, but distinctly concave. Mr. W. A. Forbes read a paper on the structure of the convoluted trachea of two species of Manucode, Manucodia atra and Phonygama Gouldi, and added remarks on similar conformations in the traches of other birds. Mr. J. E. Harting read a paper on the eggs of three species of wading birds which had been obtained by the Rev. W. Deans Cowan in the neighbourhood of Fianarantsoa, in the Betsileo country, Madagascar. The species to which these eggs belonged were Glareola ocularis, Atyialitis Geoffroyi, and Gallinago macrodactyla. Much interest attached to these eggs as not having been previously described. A communication was read from Mr. E. P. Ramsay, containing the description of a supposed new species of Tephras, an example of which had been obtained by the late Mr. 8. White while collecting at the Aru Islands. The author proposed to name it Tephras Whitei, after its discoverer. April 18, 1882.—Prof. W. H. Fiowrer, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie during the month of March, and called special attention to a Radiated Fruit-Cuckoo, Carpococcyx radiatus, from Sumatra, purchased March 3]st, and quite new to the Society’s Collection. Prof. Flower read a paper upon the mutual affinities of the animals composing the order Hdentata, in which the usual binary division into Phyilophaga (or Tardigrada) and Entomophaga (or Vermilingua) was shown not to agree with the most important structural characters. These, according to the interpretation put upon them by the author, indicate that the Bradypodide aud Megatheriide are allied to the Myrmecophagide, and 200 THE ZOOLOGIST. also, though less closely, to the Dasypodide—all the American forms thus constituting one primary division of the order, from which both the Manide and Orycteropodide of the Old World are totally distinct. A communication was read from Mr. Charles Darwin, introducing a paper by Dr. Van Dyck, of Beyrout, on the modification of a race of Syrian street dogs by means of natural selection. ; Mr. Oldfield Thomas read an account of a small collection of mammals made by Mr. A. Forrer in the State of Durango, Central Mexico, in which examples of several northern forms not hitherto recorded so far south, and several southern forms not hitherto known so far north, occurred. A communication was read from Mr. Edward Bartlett, containing notes on a collection of mammals and birds formed by Mr. J. Hauxwell in the neighbourhood of Nauta, Elvira, and Loretoyacu, on the Peruvian Amazons. The collection contained examples of new species of Thamnophilus and of Crypturus, which were proposed to be called T. loretoyacuensis and C. Balstoni. A communication was read by Mr. Edgar A. Smith, containing an accouut of the collections of terrestrial and fluviatile Mollusca lately made in Madagascar by Mr. W. Johnson and the Rev. W. Deans Cowan. Various new and interesting species of the genus Cyclostoma, Vitrina, Helix, Stenoyyra, Melanatria, Cleopatra, Ampullaria, Limnea, Physa, Planorbis, Corbicula, and Pisidium were described. —P. L. Scrarer, Secretary. ENToMOLoGIcAL Socrmty oF Lonpon. April 5, 1882.—H. T. Srarnron, Esq., F.R.S., &c., President, in the chair. Mr. Lionel de Nicéville, of Calcutta, was elected a member. Mr. T. R. Billups exhibited a box of Hymenoptera, the specimens being mounted on glass, which admitted of their under sides being readily examined. The Rev. H. 8S. Gorham exhibited a remarkable variety of a Coccinella; although intermediate between C. oblongo-guttata aud C. ocellata, Mr. Gorham did not believe it to be a hybrid. Several members remarked on the really small amount of variation to be found in this group, although commonly believed to be variable. Mr. R. M‘Lachlan exhibited his collection of Trichoptera, contained in five cabinet drawers, and made some remarks thereon. Mr. A. G. Butler communicated a continuation of his ‘ Heterocerous Lepidoptera collected in Chili by Thomas Edmonds, Esq.” Forty-five Noctue were noticed in the present paper.—E. A. Fircu, Hon. See. THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Vou. VI.] JUNE, 1882. [No. 66. ON THE BREEDING OF THE OTTER. By A. H. Cocks, M.A., F.L.S. In the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for February last I gave some account of the breeding of a pair of Otters in my possession, and as I am now able to add some supple- mentary notes of interest I may perhaps be allowed to preface these by briefly recapitulating the substance of my former communication. A female Otter was sent to me in March, 1873, from North Wales, as a cub of about 23 tb. weight, with the permanent incisor teeth just cut. From about the time she was full-grown she came in season nearly every month; but I never possessed an adult until October, 1879, when I obtained one in Hamburg. Owing to the female animal’s extreme jealousy, I was not able to let them run together until they had been duly introduced to each other through the bars of adjoining cages for some weeks. Early on the morning of July 17th they paired in the water, the female loudly chattering, or whistling, in a peculiar way all the while. They remained thus for about an hour; and the sides of the tank being perpendicular, they were of necessity swimming the whole time, Nothing further was noticed until the morning of August 12th, when they again paired in the water. They remained together on this occasion for an hour and a half. On October 2nd, the female being evidently with young, I separated the animals; and (about 5.45) in the afternoon of the 12th I heard young ones squealing; in all probability they 2D 202 THE ZOOLOGIST. had not been born more than an hour or two when I discovered them. Reckoning from August 12th (the date of the second pairing), the gestation was therefore sixty-one days. We con- stantly heard the cubs squealing; but nothing was seen of them until the 25th, when I looked at them, and found them to be two in number, measuring about eight inches in length, including the tails, which were about two inches, or perhaps rather more, in length, and which were curved tight round on the abdomen, as in a foetus. They were completely covered with a fine silky coat, very different from the somewhat rough “ puppy-coat” they afterwards assume. ‘They were still blind, with the eyes very prominent. Within two hours after I had looked at them the mother removed them to the other bed-box. From this time they were frequently shifted by the mother from one box to the other, often daily, the longest stay in one box being from October 28th to November 15th. On November 17th, while I was in the act of putting clean straw into the unoccupied bed box, the Otter came out of the other box with one of the cubs in her mouth, and, swimming with it across the tank, came right up to the box I was filling, as if totally unconscious of my presence. On finding that the bed was not ready, she swam back with the cub across the tank ; and, although I left the tank as quickly as possible, she made altogether about six journeys across the tank (which is between thirteen and fourteen feet long), holding the cub by the neck in her mouth, and carrying it most of the way under water. I could not be sure about its eyes, but believe it to have been still blind. It appeared to be then about fifteen inches long, or possibly hardly so much, On the 29th the cubs were about one foot long in head and body, with tails six inches long. Weight probably about two pounds. Eyes open. On the night of December 5th one of the cubs first showed ilself, lying with its head hanging out of the box. On the 9th the cubs first came out of their own accord, and went into the water several times (both accidentally and purposely it was supposed); the tank being nearly brimfull, they were able to get out without assistance. On the 10th I first saw the mother carry fish into the box to try to tempt the cubs to eat. In the afternoon of the same day the cubs were anxious to come out of the box; but the mother, hearing the gardeners at work close by, ON THE BREEDING OF THE OTTER. 203 would not allow them. Presently, one of the cubs having become very refractory, the old Otter seized it by the side of the neck, carried it to the tank, and gave it a thorough ducking, and thence straight back to bed, where, after another short demonstration of independence, it subsided. On the 12th one of the cubs when out, being frightened at an accidental noise, plunged without hesitation into the tank, and swam across nearly all the way under water. On the morning of December 13th, on my feeding the old Otter while the cubs were out with her, she took two small roach to them, and tried to make them eat, taking first one fish, then the other, then both together in her mouth, and moving them about close in front of the cubs to attract their attention, at the same time uttering a peculiar whine or growl, or something between the two, which sounded ferocious. This she continued to do every day up to January 15th. On this first occasion, though they occasionally gnawed at the fish, they appeared to get nothing off. On December 28th I turned out the cubs to exhibit: they had now become shy, and bit fiercely. On the 31st, about 11.15 p.m., I found the cubs out, and calling, as if hungry; so I gave them a supply of food, which they appeared to appreciate. They con- tinued from that date to expect some food the last thing each night, in addition to a meal about 6 p.m. About the same date they began to eat a little the first thing in the morning; but would lie up all through the day, and the mother, when fed at other times than those specified, made no attempt to induce them to eat. On January 25th they came out an hour earlier than usual (5 p.m.); and continued gradually to come out earlier, until February 20th, when they were out as early as 2.20 p.m. I could not satisfy myself as to how long they suckled, but believe they continued to do so all through the spring—of course in addition to a more solid diet. I parted with one of the cubs in June, for “a good con- sideration,” they being by that time nearly full-grown. Early in July I went abroad, and on my return, at the end of September, I found the remaining cub quite full-grown, and was told that she had been in season during my absence—probably during August, or when she was ten months old. 204 THE ZOOLOGIST. The mother (now more than nine years old) and daughter continue to the present moment in apparently the best possible health, but I have been unlucky enough to lose the male, from blood poisoning—the effect, I believe, of the extreme cold of the early part of last year acting upon an abscess at the root of one of the lower premolars, and causing the mischief to spread to a fatal extent. My hopes of again sntibia Otters are therefore for the present at an end. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NATAL. By Masons E. A. Burner ann H. W. Fermpen, anp Capr. 8. G. Reip (Continued from p. 171.) Pandion haliaétus (Linn.), Osprey.—One seen at the mouth of the Umgeni River, near Durban, on the 24th and 26th December, by Reid. On the 26th this solitary individual flew quietly up to within a few yards of him and picked up a wounded Kingfisher, Ceryle rudis, which he had just shot, from the water, flying off to a neighbouring post to make a meal of it. Bubo capensis (Daud,), Cape Eagle Owl.—A female shot near Newcastle by Feilden on June 5th. Bubo maculosus (Vieil.), Spotted Eagle Owl.—Common every- where, frequenting rocky krantzes near streams. Butler took eggs from a ledge among rocks near Newcastle on the 30th June, and contributes the following note :—‘ Shot a hen bird off the nest on the lst June; the three eggs, which were incubated, were in a sandy depression of the ground on a ledge of rock, with a bush growing out of the rock in front that concealed the eggs from view. The rocks were on the top of a low hillside, and almost perpen- dicular for about fifteen or twenty feet at the spot where the nest was found, with a slope of grass for about a hundred yards below. The following day on revisiting the place I found another pair there, but I do not think they bred.” A female obtained at the Horn River on the 22nd July, had eggs considerably enlarged in the ovary; another female shot near Richmond Road Camp on December 5th showed no signs of breeding. Iris brilliant pale yellow (B). Scops capensis (Smith), Cape Scops Owl.—Butler obtained a single example of this rare little Owl in the Drakensberg kloofs NOTES FROM NATAL. 205 near Newcastle on the 23rd August. It was a female, and was sitting in a tree, mobbed by a number of small birds. Iris pale yellow; feet and bill leaden-grey. Asio capensis (Smith), African Short-eared Owl.— Very common in the grass-grown edges of the “ vleys” in the neighbourhood of Newcastle. Five or six may be seen on the wing together at times. A pair obtained on the 18th May showed unmistakable signs of breeding, but no nest was found. Strix capensis (Smith), South African Grass Owl.—Common, but not so numerous as the preceding species, in company with which it is found among the long dead grass near “vleys,” or small streams, in the Newcastle district. Reid found a pair at Richmond Road Camp, near Maritzburg, on the 5th December, and obtained the female. The ovary contained three enormously developed eggs, the largest as big as an average-sized grape; she was evidently just about to nest. This time is at variance with that in Layard’s description (Atmore, im epist.), where a nest contained large young birds on the 26th May, but our experience of the breeding of South African birds shows that no reliance can be placed on any given dates for nests. Birds seem to breed in the most erratic fashion, independent of seasons and state of plumage. A male shot by Butler on the 28th September had the iris blackish brown; bill livid white, inclining to pink at the base; feet slate-colour. Strix flammea (Linn.), Barn Owl.—Reid shot a female near Camperdown Station on December 15th. When first discovered it was sitting in a dense bush at the bottom of a deep “ donga,” or ravine. . Caprimulgus euwropeus, Linn., Common European Nightjar.— One, a male, obtained on the stony bed of a “ donga” at Camper- down on the 15th December (R). Cypselus apus (Linn.), Common Swift.—Seen in considerable numbers at Durban and Maritzburg in April; one was noted at the latter place on the 15th August, and it was common there on the 30th of that month (R). Towards the middle of September Swifts made their appearance in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, where they were afterwards common. They must breed, in our opinion, in the crevices of the rocky ravines, otherwise why should they choose their particular spot, fly constantly in and out of it throughout the day, sometimes remaining there for a long time, 206 THE ZOOLOGIST. screaming loudly the while? In Tiger Kloof, near Newcastle, Reid found them numerous, and all apparently nesting. One pair kept flying in and out of a hole ina rock just out of his reach, regardless of his presence, and appeared to have young. This was on the 11th November. Cypselus caffer, Licht., African White-rumped Swift.—First observed near Newcastle on the 27th October, afterwards fairly common. Seen at Tiger Kloof in considerable numbers on the 11th November, in company with C. apus. A pair were breeding in a nest stolen from Hirundo cucullata in the verandah of Mitchell- Innes’ Hotel, at Sunday’s River, on the 17th November. Cypselus melba (Linn.), White-bellied Swift.—Visits the north- western portion of the colony in considerable numbers, appearing there early in September. As with C. apus, it is more than pro- bable that they breed during their stay in South Africa, for Reid shot a female with eggs very much enlarged on November 4th, on the Incandu River. See Layard’s remarks on this question, in the ‘Birds of South Africa,’ both editions. Many of these fine Swifts were seen daily in the vicinity of Fort Napier, Maritzburg, between the 12th and 25th April, making their appearance regu- larly every morning in company with C. apus. Six were observed flying about the city of Maritzburg on the 23rd August (R). Alcedo semitorquata (Swains.), Half-collared Kingfisher.—Not common near Newcastle. One was shot by Lieut. Giffard, of ‘The Welsh” Regt., in September, and others were seen occasionally along the upper waters of the Incandu and its tributaries (R). Corythornis cyanostigma (Riipp.), Malachite-crested King- fisher.—Exceedingly common on all the rivers, skimming along like a little ball of blue fire just above the surface of the water. Ceryle rudis (Linn.), Pied Kingfisher.—Common on the In- candu and other streams in the Newcastle district, and observed at Rorke’s Drift (breeding), Colenso, Estcourt, &c.; in fact, it seems generally distributed throughout the colony. Reid found two pairs at the mouth of the Umgeni, near Durban, in December. Ceryle maxima (Pall.), Great African Kingfisher.—“ While I was crawling through the bush at the mouth of the Umgeni River, on the 24th December, in a vain attempt to stalk a wily Curlew in the lagoon, one of these enormous Kingfishers flew just over my head, but I had not time to get a shot at him” (R). NOTES FROM NATAL. 207 Ispidina natalensis (Smith), Natal Kingfisher.—Several times observed in December in the bush near the mouth of the Um- geni, perching indiscriminately on trees, telegraph-wires, and stalks of reeds overhanging the ponds. When approached it disappeared into the bush. One seen at Colenso on the 20th November (8). Halcyon albiventris (Scop.), Brown-hooded Kingfisher.—One shot by Sergeant Williams, of “The Welsh” Regiment, near Ladysmith, in the winter months (R). Upupa africana, Bechst., South African Hoopoe.—One shot at the Ingagane River on July 9th; four seen at Guinea-fowl Kopje, near Ladysmith, on August 21st (specimens afterwards obtained there by Lieut. Harkness, of “The Welsh” Regt.) ; two or more at Blaauw Krantz River on November 22nd, where Butler also observed it. Seen at Pietermaritzburg by Mr. Chap- man on August 30th, and by Mrs. Savile Reid about the middle of September (R). Rhinopomastes cyanomelas (Vieil.), Scimitar-billed Wood Hoopoe.—One obtained in the winter near Ladysmith by Sergt. Williams, of “The Welsh” Regiment (R). Colius striatus, Lath., Cape Coly.—Obtained by Reid at Estcourt, where they were not uncommon, in April, and at Durban in December. Cuculus solitarius, Stephens, Red-chested Cuckoo.—Butler obtained a single specimen of this bird, sitting on a bush in the open “veldt” near Newcastle, on September 27th, but observed no other specimens. Developed for breeding: iris dark brown; legs and feet yellow; orbital skin lemon-yellow ; bili blackish, greenish yellow at base of lower mandible and at gape; inside of mouth yellow. Chrysococcyx smaragdineus (Swains.), Emerald Cuckoo.—One ° shot by Lieut. Jenkin Jones, of “The Welsh” Regt., a short distance from Newcastle, on October 22nd (R). Butler heard of several others being killed by men in the Natal Mounted Police between Colenso and Maritzburg. Coccystes glandarius (Linn.), Great Spotted Cuckoo.—“I shot the only one I ever saw in Natal, a male breeding, at Blaauw Krantz River, on November 23rd” (R). Coccystes jacobinus (Bodd.), Black and White Cuckoo.—A pair seen and the male obtained, at Blaauw Krantz River, on the 23rd 208 THE ZOOLOGIST. November (R). Butler noticed it on one occasion near New- castle, and on two or three other occasions about Colenso in November. : Centropus natalensis, Shelley, Lark-heeled Cuckoo.—A female in wretched plumage, but with eggs considerably enlarged, obtained in the bush between Durban and the Umgeni River on December 24th. Another, probably the male, seen but not procured (R). Indicator sparmanni, Stephens, White-eared Honey-guide.— Butler shot a female specimen, developed for breeding, in a kloof on the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, on October 9th. It was on the ground at the time, pecking at a large piece of the comb of a wasp’s nest. He observed another one at the same place a few days later, and noticed the species also at Blaauw Krantz. Legs and feet plumbeous; iris brown; bill dusky plumbeous. Pogonorhynchus torquatus (Dum.), Black-collared Barbet.— Lieut. Harkness, of ‘‘ The Welsh” Regt., obtained a specimen near Ladysmith in the spring (R). Geocolaptes olivaceus (Lath.), Ground Woodpecker. — Ex- ceedingly common, especially in the upper portions of the colony. Specimens obtained in all stages, and a nest taken by Butler on August 2nd, which he describes in the following note :—“ Aug. 2nd found a nest containing four fresh eggs. The nest-hole was bored in soft earth on the face of a precipitous rocky bank or cliff over- looking a running stream. The eggs were laid in a depression of the ground about one foot and a half from the entrance. The passage inclined slightly upwards. No attempt at a nest. Bill dusky slate ; legs and feet greenish plumbeous ; iris whitish pink.” Fond of perching in twos and threes, sometimes in family parties of five or six, on a big rock or ant-hill, the head and neck only visible to the intruder. Dendropicus menstruus (Scop.), Red-vented Woodpecker.— ‘“‘ Lieut. Giffard and I obtained one, a male, on the 19th June, in a kloof underneath the Drakensberg, not far from the leo Kop Mountain” (R). Butler obtained two or three specimens also in a kloof on the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, in August. Dendropicus fulviscapus (Ill.), Cardinai Woodpecker.—Butler mentions a pair that were shot by an officer in his regiment, on the march down country in November, at Blaauw Krantz. Yuna pectoralis, Vigors, Red-breasted Wryneck.—‘ A pair shot, and others seen, by Lieut. Harkness, near Ladysmith, in NOTES FROM NATAL. 209 November. Common along the Tugela at Colenso, where I obtained specimens, the same month” (R). Turdus guttatus, Vigors, Natal Thrush.—‘I was shown a specimen of this Thrush at Durban, in December, which had been obtained in the bush, not far from the coast” (R). Turdus olivaceus, Linn., Olivaceous Thrush.—Appears to be universally distributed. Butler obtained four, all males, in the Drakensberg kloofs, near Newcastle, in August, three of which were developed for breeding. In some the legs and feet were brownish yellow, but in the adults yellow. Iris brown; bill brown above, yellow below. In some the upper mandible was partly yellow also. Reid shot a male in the bush, close to the beach, at Port Natal, on August 25th, and another, also a male, in the Drakensberg (Newcastle), on September 19th. Chlorocichla flaviventris (Smith), Yellow-breasted Bulbul.— Several seen, and one obtained, in the bush close to the town of Durban, on April 9th (R). Andropadus importunus (Vieil.), Sombre Bulbul.— One, a male, breeding, obtained near Camperdown Station, on the 15th December (R). Pycnonotus layardi, Gurney, Black-eyebrowed Bulbul.— Common everywhere. All our specimens are alike in having the black unwattled eyelid. “Capt. Watkins, R.E., and I took a nest containing three lovely eggs near Richmond Road, on the 7th December. It was built in the fork of a small mimosa, and very badly concealed from observation. I found these birds unusually tame in the bush near Durban at the end of December; they remained perched on the telegraph-wires, a few yards from passing carriages and pedestrians. I did not shoot one, but presumed they were males watching over their sitting spouses” (R). Crateropus jardinii, Smith, Jardine’s Babbling Thrush.— “Lieut. Harkness, of ‘The Welsh’ Regt., shot one near Ladysmith in November, and kindly presented it to me” (R). Monticola rupestris (Vieil.), Cape Rock Thrush.—Found com- monly in the kloofs at the foot of the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, and evidently breeds in that neighbourhood. Monticola explorator (Vieil.), Sentinel Rock Thrush,— Numerous in all parts of the Newcastle district, frequenting the stony “kopjes,” throughout the winter, but only a few scattered pairs remained to breed. Shy and retiring at first, they soon 2E 210 THE ZOOLOGIST. got accustomed to the presence of strangers, and we could have obtained dozens if we had wished. “« At the Ingagane, when I was engaged in building some forts, these birds gradually got so tame that they would sit on the rocks within a few yards of the working party, darting eagerly down on the insects disturbed by the removal of the smaller rocks for building the walls. A pair took up their quarters in the rocks close to my tent, and used to come within a few feet of the door while I was sitting writing within” (R). Butler considers this species much more closely allied to Sawicola than to Petrocincla. It frequents the open country, and in habits and appearance in the field it is truly Saxicoline. Cossypha caffra (Vieil.), Cape Chat Thrush.— Obtained at Newcastle by Butler, also by Lieut. Giffard, ‘“‘ The Welsh” Regt. Lieut. Harkness, of the same regiment, obtained it at Lady- smith (R). It is common and breeds in all suitable places in that locality. Myrmecocichla formicivora (Vieil.), Southern Ant-eating Wheat- ear.—Exceedingly common after passing Estcourt. One of the most characteristic birds of the dreary, treeless “ veldt,” the mono- tony of which it does much to relieve. Though not difficult to get near, they keep the best possible look-out from the tops of the ant-hills, and it is exceedingly hard to find their nests. Butler obtained a single white egg, measuring 0°90 by 0°70 in., from one nest near Newcastle, on September 7th, and Reid found two nests containing young birds. Butler's nest was in a hole in an ant- hill, composed of dry grass and rubbish, but the two latter were in tunnels or holes (whether made by the bird or not is not known) in the sides of holes excavated by the Ant-bear. Often seen in family parties on an ant-hill after the young are hatched ; the young are browner and dingier-looking than the old birds. Their flight is straight and rapid, and it quite startles any one unacquainted with their habits to see them suddenly check them- selves and drop like a stone from a height of several feet on to a convenient rock or ant-hill, with a shock sufficient apparently to break every bone in their little bodies. The males sing very prettily at times, both stationary and on the wing, the note being loud and rich. An ant-hill recently broken into by an erratic ox-waggon or by an Ant-bear is a sure find for them. When wounded they go to ground like a rat if there is a hole near. NOTES FROM NATAL. 211 Sazxicola galtoni (Strickland), Galton’s Chat.—One obtained out of a pair seen by Reid, near Ladysmith, on August 2Ist. Sazxicola pileata (Gm.), Capped Wheatear.—A familiar bird in the vicinity of habitations throughout the district, preferring the more level “veldt” and the society of man to the hill-sides and boulder-strewn “‘kopjes” patronised by the two succeeding species. Nests about September in rat-holes, frequently choosing one close to a frequented road or path. The sexes are alike in plumage. Saxicola bifasciata (Temm.), Butf-streaked Chat.—Plentiful in the neighbourhood of the Drakensberg, at the foot of the slopes, breeding there in considerable numbers. Butler obtained some beautiful specimens in breeding plumage on October 20th. Lieut. Giffard took a nest containing two incubated eggs near Newcastle, on or about the same date. They appear to winter in the same situations, for Reid observed several, and obtained one,. at the Ingagane River on June 7th. Saxicola monticola (Vieil.), Mountain Wheatear.—Almost as common on the rocky hills as M. formicwora is on the “ veldt.” Like Monticola explorator, they are very shy on first acquaintance, but soon acquire confidence if unmolested. Their song is pretty, though not very often heard. Many nests were taken in the neighbourhood of Newcastle; in most cases the complement of eggs was only three; pale bluish green, spotted with brownish rufous at the larger end; they measure 0°90 by 0°65in. The plumage of the male is subject to great variation; the ordinary type, or rather what we believe to be the /irst breeding dress, being that given in Sharpe’s edition of Layard’s work. As the bird gets older the black of the head changes gradually to grey, followed by that of the back and under parts, so that an old male has the greater part of the plumage grey. We saw several in this strikingly handsome plumage paired with the ordinary white- tailed black female; the latter does not appear to undergo any such modifications of colouring. It seems clear that the grey colour is not, as stated in the first edition of Layard, a sign of immaturity, for no females were ever observed with any grey at all about them; and, moreover, young birds just out of the nest and barely able to fly, seen on the 26th October, were dull black, without the faintest trace of grey. We suspect that an examination of the series of skins of this species in all stages of plumage, which we have placed in Capt. Shelley’s hands, will lead to the 212 THE ZOOLOGIST. lumping together of two or three species that have hitherto been regarded as distinct. Butler adds the following notes on its nidification :— (1) “Found a nest on the 10th September, near Newcastle, containing two fresh eggs, and the fragments of another that had been broken. It was built on the side of a hill under a slab of rock overlooking a running stream about twenty yards below, and consisted of fine dry grass, roots, &c., neatly put together, and well lined with sheeps’ wool, horse and cow hair, &c., the whole being supported by a strong embankment of short pieces of coarse stems, grass-fibres, roots, lumps of dry earth, &e., matted together, and extending some eight or ten inches from the edge of the nest, so as to suit the slope of the ground. Eggs pale green, well marked with chestnut-red and with a few faint purplish markings as well, chiefly at the large end, forming a conspicuous confluent cap.” (2) “ Another nest, under a ledge of rock, October 1st, con- taining three fresh eggs. The nest was similar to the one described above, consisting of moss and dry grass, well lined with cow-hair, wool, &c., but the eggs were more richly marked. After taking the eggs I threw the nest on the ground, and two days afterwards I noticed the old birds removing the débris to a fresh site under another rock, about twenty yards off. On the 12th October I returned to the spot, and found the nest finished and containing three slightly incubated eggs, which I took.” Pratincola torquata (Linn.), South African Stonechat.— Universally distributed and very abundant. Butler thus describes the nidification :—‘“ Snared a hen bird on the nest,‘1lth Sept.. The nest, which was placed under a tussock of grass on a bank overlooking a stream, was a neatly built structure, composed principally of dry grass, and lined with rats’ fur, cow-hair, and a few feathers, being prolonged on the outer side for six or seven inches, so as to form a sort of embankment to suit the slope of the ground. Kggs three, fresh, pale green, somewhat faintly marked with light chestnut or fawn-colour, the markings being confined chiefly to the large end, forming a cap or zone. Two more nests, precisely similar, on the 14th of the same month and the 22nd October respectively, one containing five fresh eggs, the other three fresh eggs.” (To be continued.) (218. | Leah Pinos OF BRECONSHIRE. By E. CamBripcr Puituies, Member of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club. (Continued from p. 50.) BrroreE concluding my notes on the game-birds, it will be interesting to state that a few years since two very curious hybrids were killed in the neighbourhood of Builth—a cross between the Pheasant and Black Grouse. Both have been preserved, and are now in the possession of a gentleman in that town. A friend of mine who has inspected them tells me that they partake of the shape and plumage of both parents in a marked degree, and that the cross is distinctly visible; he also - says that they are apparently birds of the year. CottaRED Pratincote, Glareola pratincola.x—One of these curious birds was seen near Hay, in Breconshire, some time since by the brothers of Mr. Baskerville, of Clyro Court. They are quite certain it was the Collared Pratincole, for it alighted several times, and allowed them to walk close to it. They knew the bird well, as they had both been stationed in South Africa, where they had often observed it. The Stone Curlew, Gidicnemus crepitans.—We have not this bird with us, nor have I ever heard of its being seen here, although one would imagine that our hills were well suited to its habits. GoLDEN Puiover, Charadrius pluvialis.—Resident with us; it breeds sparingly on some portions of the Eppynt hills, and on the hills between Llanafawfawr and Nantgwilt it breeds in some numbers. It also breeds on the range of hills stretching from the Sugar Loaf, near Llanwrtyd, to Llanafanfawr. Occasionally it comes down to the lowlands, but very seldom; it is essentially a bird of the hills. In the severe winters of the last and preceding years large flocks frequented the fields at Newton, close to Brecon, and remained for a considerable time. Larwine, Vanellus cristatus.—Very common with us all the year round; it breeds all over the county. The Welsh call it by the appropriate name of “ Cornicell” (the bird with the little horn). DorrEeret, HEndromias morinellus. — A friend of mine has seen this bird near Abergwessin, and I was recently shown a 214 THE ZOOLOGIST. beautifully stuffed specimen that had been shot in the adjoining county of Cardigan. It is very rare in this part of the county. GREENSHANK, Totanus glottis— Also very rare. I have seen it once, and only once, and that was on the banks of the River Usk, about two miles above Brecon, running along a little sandy beach. I was fishing at the time, and watched it for some minutes before it was aware of my presence, when it quickly flew away. Mr. David Thomas, of Brecon, has a stuffed specimen in his collection that was killed near this town. Common Repsuank, Totanus calidris.—Very uncommon with us, and, in fact, is considered quite a rarity; occasionally, however, one is killed. In the autumn of 1880 one was shot, by a gentleman living in Brecon, on the Eppynt Hills; it was a young bird of the ‘year, and it is therefore quite possible that it was bred somewhere near the spot where it was killed. The Welsh name is “ coesgoch” (red-leg). Common Sanppirer, T'ringoides hypoleucus.— As its name denotes, is most common with us, especially on the banks of the Usk and Wye, where it breeds; it is also to be found on most of our smaller streams. It is very tame during the breeding season, and its beautiful flight and twittering wailing cry form a pleasing accompaniment as with rod in hand you follow the windings of our beautiful rivers. Knor, Tringa canutus.—The only instance I can quote of its occurrence here is a specimen killed near Hay, most probably an exhausted migrant. Woopcock, Scolopax rusticola.—Our county has long been celebrated for its Woodcock-shooting, but alas! it is but too true that the Woodcock gets scarcer and scarcer each succeeding year. I think the two last hard winters have considerably lessened their numbers. The season 1881-82 was the worst for Woodcocks I ever remember. In beating a large cover for Woodcocks in February last I only flushed a single bird, where in years past I have often found a dozen, it being a favourite place for them early in the year. I have never with certainty known of its nesting with us, but Mr. David Thomas, of this town, has a very small Woodcock of an entire light fawn-colour, without any bars whatever, that was killed in this county some years since, and which has all the appearance of a young bird about three parts grown, and therefore must have been hatched here. THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 215 GreaT Snipe, Gallinago major.—Occurs oftener with us than is generally imagined, being regarded by many people as merely a very fine Common Snipe. About six years ago I flushed what appeared to me a very large Snipe on a bog on the Eppynt Hills. It made no noise on rising, and on my missing, it flew steadily and slowly for about one hundred yards, when it pitched again. I killed it on flushing it the second time, and found it to be the Great Snipe, a bird of the year. On the large bog at Oullwyn in September, 1880, I had just knocked down a Common Snipe, which my retriever was bringing, and on taking it from her a splendid Great Snipe rose at my feet, and flew, very like a Wood- cock, slowly away ; all my efforts to find it again were unavailing, although it must have settled out close by. Mr. Alfred Craw- shay has killed this bird at Llangorse in August, 1876, and a man at Senny Bridge, who showed me a particularly large Snipe that he had killed near Cray about five or six years ago, seemed quite astonished when I informed him that it was a Great Snipe. Common Syipz, Gallinago media.—Breeds commonly on the various bogs on all the hills in the county. Last season when flapper-shooting on a large bog in the neighbourhood of Devyn- nock, on August Ist, I killed seven Snipe, all young birds, which may, I think, fairly represent the average number of young birds that may be killed on any large bog in the county at this time of the year. ‘The Snipe, however, on the whole, are not nearly so humerous in the winter season as they were. As with the Wood- cock, the last two severe winters played sad havoc in their ranks. They are plentiful on the many bogs on the Eppynt Hills, and I know nothing more delightful than to wander with dog and gun on a fine November day, after rain, over these beautiful hills, now picking up a few Snipe, then a Duck or Teal, sometimes a Cock or two, often a Golden Plover, and listening to the cry of an old cock Grouse, as he springs whirring up far out of reach. The largest bag of Snipe I ever made on these hills was seven couple. The Welsh name for the Common Snipe is “ giach,” and as pronounced in Welsh admirably expresses the sound it makes on rising. Jack Snipe, Gallinago gallinula.—Very common with us, especially during the season 1881. I think this bird stands the severe cold better than the Common Snipe, and is, as its French name implies, of a more sluggish nature, and consequently usually in excellent condition. A gentleman in this town who 216 THE ZOOLOGIST. had been shooting over one of the large Snipe bogs near Trecastle in December last, told me that his party had moved from thirty to forty Jack Snipe in one day. ‘This little bird has a very strong scent; most dogs hunt them with eagerness, and pointers and setters usually stand them with great staunchness. CurLew, Numenius arquatus.—Breeds very generally with us on most, if not all, of our hills, making its appearance with great regularity about the middle of March, and going away again— I think to the sea-side—before or by the lst September. Miss Lloyd, of Llandefailog, tells me that this year the Curlews have come to their breeding places earlier than their usual time. They are certainly on the increase, and I think that being protected in this county from the lst March to the lst August may, in a great measure, account for this. ‘The Curlew is a bold bird in the breeding season, when, like many other birds, it seems to throw off its exceeding caution. I once saw a Curlew make a very determined attack on an old Carrion Crow that was probably on the look-out for one of its young ones. The Crow stood no chance against the Curlew, with its grand free flight, and was soon beaten off and pursued until both were close tome. The exceedingly appropriate name of the Curlew in Welsh is “ Chwi- banog-y-mynydd”’ (the whistler of the mountain). The Whimbrel, Nwmenius pheopus, is unknown in this county. Common Cranz, Grus cinerea.—Although now, of course, extinct, yet I think it must have formerly occurred here in years gone by in some numbers, from the fact that the Welsh, both here and in Carmarthenshire, invariably call, in English, the Heron a ‘‘Crane”—indeed I never remember hearing a native call the Heron by any other name. The Welsh for Crane, as given in Richard’s Dictionary, is “ Crychydd,” but he does not apply this word to the Heron, although two of the other names of the Crane and Heron are identical in Welsh; still I always hear the Heron called ‘‘ Crychydd” by the Welsh both here and in Carmarthenshire, and this would lead one to believe that the name of the Crane had in some way descended to the Heron, and although this is far from conclusive as to the former occurring here, still I think it is well worth noticing. Heron, Ardea cinerea.—Very general everywhere on all our rivers and streams. It breeds sparsely in scattered pairs all over the county ; sometimes there are two or three nests in the vicinity THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. Paws of each other, but we have no regular heronry in the county, and numbers must go elsewhere to breed. Formerly there was a heronry at Llwynwormwood Park, near Llandovery, Carmarthen- shire, about twenty miles from Brecon, as the Crow—or rather the Heron—flies, but from some inexplicable cause, and without any apparent reason, about fifteen years ago this heronry suddenly broke up into two parties, one going to Neuadd-fawr, Cilewm, near Llandovery, the residence of Mr. Campbell Davys, where they still are, and now number about one hundred birds, and the other, and smaller portion coming to Bailyddu, Llandilofan, in the county of Brecon, where, however, they did not stay long, but no doubt gradually distributed themselves over the county. The distance from Llwynwormwood to Neuadd would be about six miles, and to Llandilofan about twelve miles. J am indebted to my friend Col. Jones, of Velindre, Llandovery, for the above interesting particulars. The severe weather of January, 1881, was most fatal to the Herons. In looking for Woodcocks in that month, on one of the coldest days I ever remember, I moved a splendid cock Heron from a spring, or as it is called here a “soak,” near the Gludy Lake. Happening to be in the same place a few days after, I found one (probably the same bird) dead from starvation. About the same time I also saw another Heron dead from the same cause on the banks of a pond at Penlan, close by Brecon. A very small colony of Herons have bred in a wood near Senny Bridge for many years, but their nests never seem to increase beyond half-a-dozen. These birds, I am glad to say, have a very easy time of it here, not being often molested, as if killed they are seldom or ever eaten. Purrete Heron, Ardea purpurea.—Has once been killed in the county, near Talybont. The gentleman who shot it told me there were three together on the River Usk, near this place. This specimen, which has been preserved, I have had the pleasure of inspecting, and a beautiful specimen it is. Squacco Heron, Ardea comata.—One of these unusually rare visitors was shot by Capt. Hotchkis on the River Wye, near Hay, in Breconshire, on May 8rd, 1867, and is now in the collection of Mr. Baskerville, of Clyro Court, Hay, who has kindly favoured me with these particulars. Birtern, Botaurus stellaris.—If ever there was a county that formerly echoed with the ‘‘ boom” of the Bittern, it must have 2F 218 THE ZOOLOGIST. been Breconshire; now, however, it is scarce. Still a great many have been killed in various parts of the county from time to time. Mr. Gwynne Holford shot one at Llangorse Lake some years ago, and several have been killed there since. Near Llandulas Church, situate in the most wild and desolate part of the county, and which is hunted by Col. Jones, of Llandovery, with his excellent pack of harriers, there are several rushy bogs, and not long since in one of these the Colonel when hunting constantly flushed a Bittern; it did not fly far, but settled again close by. As it seemed to have a decided attachment to the spot I hope it is still in the neighbourhood. The feathers of this bird were formerly—and I believe still are—in great request with anglers for making a particular salmon-fly. The Welsh for Bittern is, like most other Welsh names, wonderfully descriptive, viz., “ Aderyn-y-bwn” (the bird with the hollow sound), from ‘‘ bwmp,” a hollow sound; hence probably the English word ‘‘ boom,” so generally applied to the noise made by the bird. The Little Bittern, Botawrus minutus, so far as I can learn, is unknown in this county, for after numerous enquiries I am unable to record any instance of its occurrence here. It is possible, how- ever, that being only an occasional summer visitor, it has, from the nature of its haunts and its shy retiring habits, hitherto escaped observation. Warer Raw, Rallus aquaticus.—Remains with us all the year round, and may be very generally found in all the marshy places of the county; itis seldom seen, on account of its skulking habits, but it is far more common with us than is generally supposed. It counterfeits death exceedingly well. In shooting round a lake near here, I flushed a Water Rail close to me. I fired, and down fell the bird. On picking it up, it lay in my hand for some minutes motionless, and to all appearance dead. I was looking fur a shot-mark, when suddenly, as I looked away for a moment, without the slightest warning, it flew off. I was so surprised that I could hardly believe my eyes. My dogs moved the bird twice afterwards, but I gave the clever little fellow the liberty it had so well earned. ‘The late Mr. Marsh used to say that dogs hunt the Water Rail with greater avidity than any other water bird, when once it has been killed to them; and I have found this to be the case, several dogs I have had taking the greatest pleasure in hunting them. Some years ago I had a fine stutied THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 219 Bittern with a skeleton of a Water Rail which had been taken from its crop after it had been killed. Lanprain, or Corn Crake, Crex pratensis.—Fairly plentiful, but I have never seen them in any numbers. In August and September they are often found on the hills, where I think they resort before returning. They are not nearly so plentiful with us us in England, and I think have decreased in numbers of late years. Here again the Welsh name, “ Ysgrech y gwair” (the screamer of the hay), is most expressive, the word “ysgrech,” as pronounced in Welsh, being a good imitation of the cry of the Corn Crake, and preferable in this respect to our word “ crake.” SporreD Crake, Crex porzana.—A regular visitant, but very local. On many large bogs in this county it is never seen, on others it is invariably to be found. On the numerous bogs on the Eppynt Hills, over which I had the privilege of shooting for many years, I have never seen it, whilst on the Trath, a large bog on Mynydd Illtyd, near Brecon, it is to be found every year ; but the favourite spot for them in this county is in the large bog near Onllwyn, and here in the early part of the shooting season I invariably flush several, and many breed in this place. I one day flushed six and killed four, three of which were birds of the year. The station-master who was then at Onllwyn informed me that there were two broods of them hatched in that part of the bog close to the station that year. This is an enormous bog, the middle of it being very deep, and about half a mile of it absolutely unapproachable, thus forming a secure retreat for many water- birds. From the thickness of the reeds it is almost impossible to beat this stronghold of the Spotted Crake with dogs, and many have been lost in attempting it. I generally find them where a warm spring or two runs in a little rivulet through the centre of a bog, and they greatly frequent this part. The flight of the Spotted Crake varies greatly, sometimes, like the Moorhen, flapping slowly out with its legs hanging straight down; at another time tucking them up under their bodies, and flying with all the speed of, and very similar to, a Quail, and the more the autumnal Season advances the stronger I fancy they fly. I have never seen one after October. I once had one alive in my hand, a winged bird that my dog caught before it could escape into the reeds; its eye was a brilliant olive-green, and exactly matched the colour of its legs. I mention this because bird-stuffers invariably return you 220 THE ZOOLOGIST. the bird with a red eye. Like all the Crakes, it is very difficult to flush the second time, but dogs hunt it with the same eagerness that they do the Water Rail. It has been killed on some of the bogs near Cray, and its nest and eggs have been taken on the Trath, near Brecon. Mr. Dilwyn Llewellyn tells me that in the fall of the year he can at any time move three or four in some bogs in Glamorganshire. Of course, as in the process of time many of our larger bogs are drained, the area used by this bird must necessarily get smaller until it ultimately has no place to breed, but I hope that the county will yet afford this graceful and elegant little visitor a safe breeding place for many a year. May not its exceeding rarity in many parts of England arise from this cause? The late Mr. Marsh told me that he had seen it twice in his life, and those were days to be marked with a white stone. I never kill one now except to oblige a brother naturalist. I may add that I have never seen it on any of the bogs near Llanwrtyd, which bears out my observation as to its partiality for particular localities. It has also been obtained near Hay, on the other side of the county. MoorHen, Gallinula chloropus.— Very general everywhere, except on our rivers and brooks. Though plentiful on the Brecon Canal, and on all our lakes and ponds, especially Llangorse Lake, it is hardly ever seen on bogs on the hills, preferring water where it can swim and feed in quietude, and this it is unable to do on rapid streams. Coot, Fulica atra.—Very common on Llangorse Lake, where it breeds, as it does also on a few other smaller lakes in the county; but the large number of Coots that appear in the early part of the winter are migrants from other parts. I think it is increasing of late years, and since the Gludy Lake, near Brecon, has been looked after, it has become much more numerous there. This would also be the case at Llangorse Lake, but for the constant fusilade which takes place there every year directly the shooting season opens (August), and which must inevitably drive away every bird from its waters. It is worth remarking that on our deep hill-bogs the Coot is never found, and only occasionally the Moorhen. On the Onllwyn Bog, before mentioned, I have never seen either of these birds, and this is, I should think, the largest and deepest bog in the county, as well as the most dangerous, (To be continued.) (a) a THE SEVERN SALMON—WHENCE IT COMES AND WHERE IT GOES.* By Francis Day, F.L.S., F.Z.S. THERE was a time when the “King of Fresh-water Fishes” so abounded in England that the friends of every intending apprentice were careful to cause a stipulation to be inserted into each bond of apprenticeship that the lad should not be compelled to dine off Salmon more than two or three days ina week. The rivers wherein these fish were born, reared, and nourished still remain, but scarcity of the article (as demonstrated by its market value) shows that at the present time there is a woeful falling off in the supply. How many among us, may I ask, have witnessed the capture of a Salmon in the Severn off the ancient city of Gloucester? Is it not a fact that the fishery there gives but little comparative employment to the fishermen, sport to the angler, or food to the town? It may well be said of the Salmon— “They come like shadows, so depart.” We all know the appearance of a good healthy fish when we see it exposed for sale, and are cognisant of its taste when served at table; but how few of us are aware of the many and strange adventures it has passed through before it has reached a sufficient size to reward the net-fisherman’s toils, or attained to the dignity of appearing at an aldermanic feast! I propose to consider its life-history—that is, its eggs in the nest, the parr or young in our rivers, the smolt as it assumes its silvery migratory dress, the grilse which returns from the sea to our fresh waters (mostly during the summer months), and the adult Salmon that, residing in the sea, ascends our streams at certain periods in order to deposit its eggs and maintain, so far as it is able, the continuation of its race. The eggs of the Salmon are small, round, elastic bodies, of a clear white, pink, or even coral colour. Owing to their tough outer coat, they are very elastic, as may be seen by throwing one on the ground, from which it will rebound like an india-rubber ball. This strength and elasticity must be an important property, * Abstract of a paper read at the Gloucester School of Art. 222 THE ZOOLOGIST. if we remember where these eggs are deposited and what an amount of pressure they may have to undergo. Young Salmon are hatched from eggs deposited in rivers, such as the Severn— not near its mouth, where the tide or the current would be too strong for the baby-fish to live in, but in small and often moun- tainous streams, where the water is pure and shallow, having a gravelly bed which permits the redd, or nest, to be constructed, while deep pools in the vicinity allow the breeding-fishes to retire into them for rest. The places selected by fishes for depositing their eggs vary in different families. ‘Thus the ova of the Cod floats on the surface of the sea until the young come forth; that of the Herring sinks to the bottom, where, by means of a glutinous substance, it becomes attached to sea-weeds, rocks, or other objects. One form of Sea-sucker (Lepadogaster) attaches its eggs to the inside of an old shell, as a butterfly does to a leaf. The Perch in our fresh waters have stringy ova, which is made fast by one end to some stationary object, as grass or timber. That of some species of Carp sinks into the mud of ponds; while a few of the tropical scaleless Siluroids that reside along the coasts have this remarkable peculiarity, that the male carries the eggs about in his mouth until the young are hatched. Our Common Stickle- back forms a veritable nest, which is attached to a water-plant, and this nest has one hole by which the fish enters and another on the opposite side by which it emerges. But none of the foregoing plans are followed by the Salmon, which ascends our rivers to a suitable spot, and in the gravel at the bottom of the stream constructs its redd or nest, which work seems to be the occupation of the female. She lies on one side, and, by moving her tail rapidly from one side to the other, fans up the gravel until she rapidly sinks into a kind of trough, the male remaining near ready to give battle to any intruder, for which purpose his lower jaw is furnished at this period with an offensive weapon in the shape of a cartilaginous, hook-like process. The female (waited upon by the male) now deposits her eggs in the trough she has made in the gravel, and these are subsequently covered to some feet in depth, the whole forming a redd. She now falls back into one of the deep pools until she has acquired sufficient strength to deposit more eggs. During this period Salmon (like Shad and many other fishes) are indisposed to feed, THE SEVERN SALMON. 223 and live on the stock of fat they have laid in while at sea. . It has been computed that every female Salmon deposits about 900 eggs for every pound of its weight, and that only 900 of these in every 17,000 shed in British rivers ever attain the parr stage. As might be anticipated, eggs deposited in a running stream are very liable to be carried away by the current, and, as I shall presently show, the places selected by Salmon for their redds are precisely the localities where Trout have previously deposited their eggs, which now become routed up and carried away down stream to be devoured by every hungry fish. The length of time the eggs remain in their nest before they are hatched may now be considered. This is subject to variation as great as from 50 to 128 days, which last period occurred at Stormontfield on the occasion of a very severe winter. Acting upon previous experience, Mr. Youl succeeded in transmitting Salmon-eggs to the Antipodes in small boxes packed in ice, which retarded hatching until the 145th day. Mr. Branden examined a redd that appeared to have been left dry, but on opening it found that a little water was trickling through the stones and gravel, which was sufficient to keep the ova healthy. Having scraped a hole he obtained a considerable number of eggs, and these he transferred to a pail of water, where two-thirds hatched within periods varying from five minutes to twenty-four hours. About a week subsequently he returned to the same spot, and had another dig for Salmon-eggs, no rise having occurred in the river during the interval. He collected more, and putting them into the water they hatched, as the former ones had done. He very fairly suggests that this may be a wise provision to prevent ova deposited in localities where the depth of the stream is liable to considerable fluctuations from becoming lost or destroyed, which must occur unless some delay be provided for; for as the floods come and sweep up these redds, the imprisoned ova are let loose at a time when they are ready to burst and the young to emerge. But Salmon-eggs, even in redds, are not permitted to rest in peace and hatch in security: they have many accidents to escape from and numerous enemies whose vigilance must be avoided. Not only may floods prematurely Sweep away redds with their unripe eggs, but during the continuance of such high waters Spawning fish are unable to occupy their usual breeding grounds, 224 THE ZOOLOGIST. because they are too deep in the water. They consequently may have to shed their eggs in the stream, where they become lost, or push higher up to where there will be more chance of their redds being left dry and the ova perishing; even in their annual spawning grounds, where their eggs may have been deposited, severe seasons of drought may occasion most disastrous results. Irrespective of season, the eggs have numerous water enemies, as Fresh-water Shrimps, which hunt out the nest, where they are as merciless to the eggs as Rats are to cornin a granary. ‘The larva of the May- fly and of the Dragon-fly, and even some birds, cannot be deemed innocent of joining in this great work of destruction; while Swans and Ducks enjoy nothing so well as the spawn of fishes, in which taste the Vole or Water Rat appears to coincide. In consequence of the many destructive agencies at work, an ingenious plan of artificial hatching and rearing has been adopted with great success. By regulating the water, droughts and floods are prevented, and — many enemies are excluded which run riot among fish-eggs left in a state of nature in our rivers. Supposing all to have gone well with the eggs, and some young fish hatched, it does not follow that the fry are always strong and healthy. The temperature of the water ought to range out of doors about 40° or 45°, for if it should rise to 50° the eggs may become prematurely hatched. The higher the temperature the sooner the young appear, and the more weakly they may be expected to be: sometimes the jaws are deformed in the fry, or the spinal column is curved; even two fish may be connected together, like the Siamese twins; again, two or even three heads have been seen attached to one body. When the young fish emerge from the eggs they have a large bag, the umbilical vesicle, attached to their stomachs: this contains the nourishment which is to serve them for several (three to eight) weeks’ subsistence, and they do not commonly take in any food by the mouth until it is absorbed. Weighed down by it, they lie quietly among the stones at the bottom of the stream, and seek concealment from fish larger than themselves, aquatic insects, and other enemies which would at once commence to feed on them. When the fry has become an ounce or so in weight, it is commonly known in our river as the “‘ last spring” or “ parr.” Its colours are very similar to those of its relative the Common Trout. Several so-called “finger marks” appear down its sides, and THE SEVERN SALMON. 225 numerous scarlet spots are scattered over its body. Many dis- cussions have arisen to prove or disprove this being the young Salmon, and it has been pointed out that in rivers destitute of Salmon there are no parrs, and where parrs exist there are Salmon. The question is now set at rest by eggs having been taken direct from Salmon and artificially hatched, the young produced being parrs. ‘The parrs in their second or third year, about the month of May, begin to be restless, assuming a silvery or smolt dress, and, assembling in shoals, drop down the river towards the sea. Here again it has been asserted that smolts are not parrs. A number of the latter were placed in a fresh- water tank in the Brighton Aquarium, and when the month of May came round all but four assumed the silvery livery of the migratory smolt. Sea-water was now gradually introduced, when all became smolts ! We have now traced the Salmon-eggs to the fry, these to the Trout-looking parr, and the latter to the silvery smolt that descends to the sea. These smolts when reappearing from the sea, do not present the same appearance as when they entered it, but assume a larger form, weighing more pounds than they did ounces—miniature Salmon, termed “ grilse,” which ascend in shoals. These by popular repute were the intermediate stage between the smolts and the Salmon, being supposed to be those forms which descended to the sea, where they remained one or two seasons and then returned, mostly to the river where they were originally bred. Russell tells us that of all the smolts which were marked by the attachment of rings, or other effective means, none were obtained until the second year, or fifteen months after they had been turned loose. These “ grilse,” or young Salmon, ascend from the sea, and some of them breed, but do not deposit sO many eggs as do the old Salmon: after a time they descend again as grilse-kelts, coming back subsequently from the sea as Salmon. . Salmon enter our rivers in varying numbers throughout the year, unless impurities (as in the Thames) have annihilated the breed. At certain times, as during the cold season, they ascend the Severn for the purpose of reaching their spawning-beds, and having deposited their eggs in the redds, as described, they descend to the sea in a miserable condition, many of the males succumbing from exhaustion. At this period the female fish is known 26 226 THE ZOOLOGIST. as a “shedder” or “ baggit,” and the male as a “‘kipper,” but speaking generally they are termed “‘kelts.” Such fishes, as might be expected, are positively unwholesome. Let us follow our Salmon stage by stage up the Severn, past the city of Gloucester, where laws against polluting the river are not in force, to the weirs at Tewkesbury and elsewhere, which the fish can only cross at high floods. Here the poachers prey upon them at every obstruction; and disease, due to contagion, conjoined with filth, carries off numbers. But irrespective of the physical difficulties they must experience in surmounting natural or constructed obstacles (as weirs), the Salmon has many other dangers to contend with. First, and foremost, are those of pollutions of the river-water. Drains, manufactories, and water mines, are wholesale causes of destruction, more especially to young fish. During the last few seasons I have collected some of the accounts recorded respecting poisoning fish. A poacher having placed some chloride of lime in an old stocking, sunk it in a sluggish stream, and killed many Trout He was convicted and punished, I suppose, as a retail sinner, for it was lately recorded in ‘The Field’ that the proprietors of a large paper-mill, on the Cray River, have obtained a special Act of Parliament to permit them to discharge the same poisonous substance into that river, where they would be wholesale destroyers. The washings of bags which have contained artificial root manure, or bones dissolved in sulphuric acid, have been known to kill all the fish in a pond; the self-same substance, to the extent of two or three ewt. to an acre, is often employed in fields contiguous to rivers, into which much of it would obtain access were a sudden storm to occur immediately subsequent to its employment. The washing of sheep, from the drugs employed, has also been observed to poison the water. An old gas-tank was drained into a sewer, and from thence obtained access to the River Roden, poisoning the fish for miles. Peat-water, or the bursting of peat-bogs into rivers, has produced similar results. Not only does the presence of pollutions in rivers concern the owners of fisheries, the fishermen who have to earn their living, as well as the consumers of fish, but it also raises the very interesting home-question of how such pollutions operate upon the dwellers residing on its banks? Does not the stream thus rendered unfit for domestic purposes drive the public THE SEVERN SALMON. 227. to purchase and consume other and apparently less tainted fluids ? On this point Salmon and other fishes play a most important part by demonstrating whether the water they reside in is sufficiently pure to sustain their lives, for if not, it stands to reason that human beings and cattle that may incautiously partake of it may be doing so to their own destruction. Anybody may pollute the Severn at Gloucester where it is tidal, the authorities declining to consider it a stream, and thus it escapes the provisions of the Rivers Pollution Act ! We are now in a position to enquire why it is that the interests of the proprietors of Salmon fisheries are not identical throughout the entire extent of the river, and also to consider whether this clashing of interests is not inimical to the fisheries, and conse- quently to the general public? ‘The proprietors of fisheries living on the higher waters may fairly argue that from Tewkesbury to the sea pollutions are permitted unchecked access, that immoderate netting is almost continuously carried on, giving the fish, except in close time, but little chance of escape. Thus the upper proprietors see but few fish, excepting during the breeding season, when it is illegal to capture them. They are, in a manner, “ clucking hens,” whose duties seem to be to take care the eggs are hatched, rear the fry, and “ speed the parting guest”’ as it descends to the sea, from whence nets and other obstructions, and pollutions in the lower reaches of the Severn, will most probably prevent their ever re-ascending, or only in sufficient numbers to maintain a supply for the lower waters. Official statistics are worse than useless—they are positively misleading ; for they ought to show the yearly quantity of Salmon taken in each portion of the river—not the number of boxes of Severn Salmon received at Billingsgate. Can it be a source of surprise if the breeding grounds are not strictly preserved? For the rearing of Salmon is effected at the expense of the local fish, which are residents of the upper waters. Take the Trout as an instance : it has constantly been observed that a Salmon river is not, as a rule, well stocked with Trout. Several reasons have been advanced to account for this, but the most prominent seems to be that the Trout breeds some little time earlier than the Salmon, and deposits its eggs in the identical spots that the Salmon like- wise selects. As the Salmon turns up the gravelly bed, in order to form its redd, it disturbs the previously deposited Trout eggs, 228 THE ZOOLOGIST. which are then carried down stream by the current, and afford a repast to every fish in the vicinity. The Salmon is rare in the Severn in comparison with the number of fry hatched there, and which would be quite sufficient to form a good supply had they a chance in the battle for life in the lower waters. The paucity of these fish is due to three main causes, excluding poaching :—(1) Difficulty in the ascent of breeding fish, owing to natural or artificial obstructions in the river; (2) immoderate netting; and (3) pollution of the water. The present policy of masterly inactivity against the great destroyers of the Salmon, aided by local activity against the petty ones, are characteristic of our fishery laws and regulations, and will probably form a subject for marvel to the antiquarians of future ages, when naturalists will perhaps observe—‘‘ What could have been expected from a legislature that left the young fish to take care of themselves, but protected the useless birds which destroyed them, and concluded every Parliamentary Session by dining at Greenwich off ‘whitebait,’ the fry of the Common Herring ?” NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. By Joun T. Carrineton, F.L.S., ann Epwarp Loverr. (Continued from p. 185.) Thia polita, Leach. This rare species is described by Bell in the Appendix to his work, at the time of writing of which very little seems to have been known as to its habitat; though it seems probable, according to M. Milne-Edwards, that it is a Mediterranean form. The carapace is somewhat shaped like a thumb-nail, but produced posteriorly ; it is rarely quite an inch in length, and nearly as broad in the widest part; it is remarkably smooth and polished, and fringed with fine downy sete. The antenne are about a quarter of an inch in length, and slightly plumose. The anterior pair of legs are robust, rounded and smooth, the forceps curved; the legs are capable of being closed in beneath the carapace. ‘The remaining legs are hairy and rather -short, the fourth pair being the shortest. ‘lhe abdomen is five-jointed BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. 229 in the male and seven-jointed in the female, and in both fringed with sete. Its colour is white, with a faint greenish tinge; but specimens are not unfrequently found of a delicate pink suffused over the whole of the carapace, whilst the legs are of the normal white colour. There is often a circular spot of red on each side of the carapace, over the branchial region, which greatly varies in size, and which is quite absent in some specimens. According to Bell, this species is only recorded from Galway, where it was first discovered about 1857. We have obtained it in somewhat considerable numbers from Jersey, where it is found buried in the sand, being similar in habits to the next species. This has been called by Jersey fishermen the “'Thumb-nail Crab,” the only popular name we ever heard for the species. Corystes Cassivelaunus, Leach. This species, again the only one of the genus known to inhabit our seas, is popularly known as the ‘‘Masked Crab,” from the resemblance of the marking of the regions on the carapace to a human face or mask. It is a remarkably interesting species for several reasons, and may be described as follows :— The carapace is much longer than broad, somewhat cylin- drical, and approaching in form the carapace of the Macroura. It is about an inch and a half in length and about half that in width, roughly oval in shape, and armed with three spines on each lateral margin. The orbits are large, and the space between them is notched. ‘The antenne are very long, being nearly as long as the carapace, and slightly plumose. The anterior pair of legs are remarkably long in the male, but only about a third as long in the female; they are rounded in form, and enlarged at the base of the forceps, which are serrated and hairy; the wrist is armed with spines. The remaining legs are somewhat compressed, and slightly fringed with sete on both margins. The abdominal somites are five in number in the male and seven in the female, narrow in the former and, as usual, broader in the latter. The ova are small, and resemble that of Carcinus menas ; they are exuded in the spring-time, and are a dull yellowish brown, becoming very interesting under the microscope as the formation of the enclosed zoza proceeds. 230 THE ZOOLOGIST. The colour of this species is a pale yellowish white, often, however, tinged with red. Corystes Cassivelaunus is a rather deep-water species, usually found in the laminarian zone; and appears not to have occurred very commonly when Bell wrote his work. He records it from Wales, Torquay, Sandgate, Scarborough, Hastings, Cornwall, and also from Ireland. We have obtained it from Weymouth, Teignmouth, Torbay, and in considerable numbers some distance off the Sussex coast, where it was also thrown upon the shore in thousands during the great storm of January, 1881. (To be continued.) OCCASIONAL NOTES. Prxe Marren anv Porrcat 1x Lixcotysumre.—I have much pleasure in recording the occurrence of the Pine Marten near Bardney, in Lincoln- shire; the specimen (which I have just seen at Mr. Barber's, taxidermist, Lincoln, and which he asked me to record) was caught in a trap a few weeks ago: it was unfortunately very much mauled by dogs. As many inquiries have been made lately in various quarters as to the extinction of this animal in Lincolnshire and other districts, the capture is very interesting. A Polecat was taken near Grantham two or three months ago: this animal seems to be becoming very rare in this district —W. W. FowLer (Lincoln). Norges or tHE Nuruarcy anp Lesser Sporrep WooprrckEr.—The correspondence recently published in * The Zoologist’ on this subject, taken in connection with a letter received a short time since from Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., and a conversation with Prof. Newton, convince me of the great difficulty—to say no more—of attempting to translate into words the sounds made by many birds or other animals. In my communication (Zool. 1882, p. 149) I took it for granted that Mr. J. Young and I were alluding to the same note or sound, described by him as “ churring,” a sound he attributed (/.c. p.113) to the Nuthatch, but which I believed to be that of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Mr. 0. B. Wharton (J. c. p. 189) is confident that the sound we allude to is that of the Nuthatch, and wonders why we should call it “churring”! Jt seems now to me more than probable that we are all three of us alluding to different notes, and therefore possibly to different birds as their cause. I will not add to the evident assumptions and confusion of the matter by attempting to give a OCCASIONAL NOTES. 231 name to the sound I mean. I certainly should never myself have called it * churring,” nor should I, in a manner, have adopted it from Mr. Young, had I not then been convinced that no note I ever heard from the Nuthatch could be so translated, while the jarring note of the Lesser Spotted Wood- pecker—so very familiar to me—might by possibility be so called. The note I have had, and still have, in my mind is that of the latter, and not of the former bird: and, so far as my own experience goes, the two birds have no single note in common ; nor, when heard, liable to be mistaken for each other's by anyone who has had sufficient opportunities of verifying the producer. Although, however, I will not venture to translate the sound T allude to, I may remark that it can be fairly reproduced by drawing a piece of hard stick rather quickly across some wooden palings not set too close together; in fact, by so imitating it I believe that in several instances the attention of the bird was drawn, and that I was thus enabled to induce it to continue tapping, and so to discover its position. Prof. Newton and Mr. Gurney will, 1 know, forgive my here alluding to them without their formal consent. The latter, writing to me on the subject, assumes that he is referring to the same sound as myself, and asks if I do not think it is like that of the Wryneck! stating his belief that “some of the Wrynecks recorded in March were only Nuthatches.” This seems to me to prove that the verifying of the notes of birds is a matter at present beset with, at any rate, some little difficulty and confusion, quite apart from the attempt to translate the notes when verified. On this last point it is that Prof. Newton’s observations are instructive to me. In part xiv. of his new edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (I have not the part by me at this moment) Prof. Newton translates the ordinary cry of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker by the words, “kink, kink.” The cry of this bird, which I should call the ordinary one, is very familiar to me, but those syllables are about the last by which I should ever have thought of describing it. It bears a certain resemblance to that of the Green Woodpecker—very much weaker, of course, and also less clear and resonant. I understood Prof. Newton to agree with me that, besides the jarring spring note, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is only known to utter the one in question, and I allude to it here merely to ‘ point the moral,” that if “kink, kink” sounds to him like this cry, the attempt to translate obscure notes of birds into ordinarily intelligible language is almost hopeless, and will probably prove misleading.—O. P. CamBripes (Bloxworth). Uncommon Birvs in THE IsLE or Wicut.—I am informed by Mr. Dimmick the Ryde naturalist, that a Great Grey Shrike was shot near Brading last October; a Great Northern Diver, in November, off Ryde; a Red-breasted Merganser, in December; and a Red-throated Diver, in the same month, which was in a transition state of plumage, that of summer 232 THE ZOOLOGIST. predominating. A Common Buzzard was procured in the neighbourhood of Ryde in December. Starlings were first observed about the roofs and chimneys in the town early in March, and Blackbirds were found to be nesting early in the same month, when its song was first heard. Young Thrushes were on the wing by the middle of April. The Chiffchaff was unusually late in arriving, none having been heard of till the beginning of April, nor did I see one till the 14th of the month. Though I am told that the Nightingale was heard towards the end of March at St. Lawrence, its song was not again heard till April 14th, a mild day, therm. 52° at 10 a.m. Swallows were rather late in arriving, none having been observed till the 14th April; they seldom remain on the coast on their arrival, as I have had occasion to point out in former notes. On the 20th April I did not observe oue between Ventnor and Ryde, though the meadows on the Yar abound with them later on in the season. Rooks had returned to their nesting trees in the village of Bonchurch by the first week in March.— Henry Hapriecp (Ventnor, Isle of Wight). BREEDING OF THE SHOKT-EARED Owl IN SurroLtk.—One if not two pairs of the Short-eared Owl, Asio accipitrinus, have bred this season in Tuddenham Fen. In the fourth edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ the year 1864 is stated to be the latest known to the Editor in which this bird nested in the Eastern Counties: and nothing is there said of this bird’s habit of placing its young, soon after they are hatched, one here and one there within a radius of about twenty yards of the original nest. By the side of one of the young ones so placed in Tuddenham Fen was a full Snipe.— W. T. Anocove (Mildenhall, Suffolk). [Our correspondent appears to have overlooked the fact that the third part of the fourth edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ which contains the account of the Short-eared Owl to which he refers, was published ten years ago—February, 1872. Since then this bird has been reported to have nested again in the Eastern Counties. For instance, Mr. Christy last year reported a nest in Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire (see Zool. 1881, p. 336), and Messrs. Clarke and Roebuck, in their lately published ‘ Handbook of Yorkshire Vertebrata,’ refer (p. 41) to the occasional nesting of this Owl in their county.—Ep. | Tat AND REDSHANK BREEDING IN YORKSHIRE.—Allow me to record the finding of e eggs of the Teal on Strensall Common, on Easter Monday, which is exactly a year since I recorded the last taken there. The nest contained nine eggs, and, unlike that previously recorded, was in the immediate vicinity of water. The nest was visited twice, and each time the bird allowed a near approach before quitting the eggs. A friend of mine also purchased in a poulterer’s shop here four eggs of the Redshank, taken in the vicinity of Melbourne, near York. On Easter Monday I procured OCCASIONAL NOTES. 233 five eggs of the Little Grebe or Dabchick on Strensall Common; the eggs were, as usual with this bird, completely covered up. Since this note was written I have found three more nests of the Teal. That many nests of this bird should be found in the same locality is an unusual occurrence. T may add that since the breaking up and enclosing of Riccall Common, several pairs of Black-headed Gulls, Larus ridibundus, now breed on Strensall Common.—W. Hewert (Clarence Street, York). Curious CAPTURE OF A GREAT BLAck-BacknpD GuLL.—Thomas Sorrell, naturalist, of Old Humphrey’s Avenue, Hastings, informs me that he had a Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus, brought to him at the end of February, which had been obtained in a very singular manner. The bird dived down into the hold of a fishing-smack, at sea, which was half full of Whiting. The men on the smack surrounded the hold, snatched at and secured the bird as it came up. They killed it and brought it to Sorrell, who tells me that it was an old male in fine plumage, the stomach full of half-digested Whiting. It hardly seems as if hunger could have made it endanger its life in such a strange manner.—THomas Parkin (Halton, near Hastings). NEstine oF tax Lone-raitep Titmouse.—Mr. C. B. Wharton (p. 187) asks other observers at what height from the ground the nest of the English Long-tailed Tit is usually placed. Although only three nests have come under my notice it may be as well to mention their position. The first was built at a height of about twenty feet from the ground, and although hundreds of other sites could have been chosen, it was placed in the fork of a tree, quite close to another tree in which was suspended a farm-yard bell, rung four times daily. The second nest was at the top of a very high Scotch fir, on an outer branch. My attention was attracted by observing the two birds flying about the nest. These two were at Tower Hill, Co. Limerick. ‘Uhe third I saw a few days ago, in an apple-tree, in the garden of my friend Mr. R. J. Ussher, of Cappagh, Co. Waterford. This nest, he told me, was eleven feet from the ground. I may mention that I saw on the 12th of this month (May) a family party of old and young Long-Tailed Tits flitting restlessly about in the Curraghmore Woods.— Wittiam W. Fremyne (Portlaw, Co. Waterford ). Nestine or tae Lone-1atLeD Titmousze.—Referring to Mr. Wharton's enquiries on the above subject (p. 187}, I write to say that a nest of this Species is just being completed (May 6th) in an apple tree in my garden. It is placed eleven feet from the ground, at a point where a brauch had been cut short some years since, among the offshoots that have sprung from the cut limb, and so artfully adapted to its surroundings, with the usual covering of silvery lichens, as to resemble a knob or excrescence of 2H 2384 THE ZOOLOGIST. the tree. This is late for the Long-tailed Tit to commence breeding here. I have seen two other nests in apple trees in my garden, at a similar or greater distance from the ground; and a fourth nest in a hawthorn bush, which, as well as I remember, was but six or eight feet from the ground, but this was in an unfrequented island in my ponds.—Ricuarp J. UssHER (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). NEsTING OF 'HE LonG-TarLeD TirMouse.—Since writing my note on this subject (p. 187), I found in the New Forest, on April 27th, a Long- tailed Tit’s nest containing eight eggs, and placed in a large beech-tree, exactly forty-five feet from the ground. Within two hundred yards of this tree was another nest, containing ten eggs, of the same species, but placed in the ordinary way in a blackthorn bush, and only four feet from the ground.—C. Bbygrave Warton (Hounsdown, Totton, Southampton). Cote Tir NEsTING oN A WinpDow-sILt.—There is now (May 2nd) sitting on ten eggs, on a window-sill at Hoddesdon, at the height of about twenty-five feet from the ground, in a little box, a Cole Titmouse. Its perfect tameness and the extraordinary situation of the nest seem worth a record.—J. H. GuRNEY, JUN. FIRECREST IN OxrorDsHtre.—The only example, so far as I can learn, hitherto recorded from this county, of the Firecrest, Regulus ignicapillus, was killed near Banbury, in December last. It appears to be an adult male, the crest being of a brilliant orange colour, and the lines on the face very distinct. The “remarkable yellowish green patch which pervades the shoulders and sides of the neck” (vide Rodd’s ‘ Birds of Cornwall,’ p. 42) is very noticeable-—Oxiver V. Aptry ( Banbury, Oxon). NorroLtk PLover tn ConrinemMEeNtT.—The Norfolk Plover, the par- ticulars of which were mentioned by my father in ‘ The Zoologist’ last year (p. 384), lived five months, and died on the last day of December. I have more than once known them kept as late as this. It always sought con- cealment in the day-time, and its power of hiding was certainly curious. If its feet had not got diseased, from the soil of the garden, so different from its native heath, it would have lived all through the winter. Though Norfolk has always been considered the head-quarters of this species, it is not a common bird, and a very local one.—J. H. Gurney, Jun. (Northrepps, Norwich). Manx SHEARWATER IN JERSEY.—It may be interesting to place on record the recent occurrence of the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus anglorum) in Jersey. This is a rare bird in the Channel Islands, where it is regarded us au accidental visitor. It is omitted from Prof. Ansted’s list of the ‘Birds of the Channel Islands,’ and Mr. Cecil Smith, in his ‘ Birds of OCCASIONAL NOTES. 235 Guernsey,’ only notices one specimen, which was killed near St. Samson's, in September, 1876. The example to which I have now to refer was picked up in St. Clemeut’s Bay by a fisherman who was collecting Crustacea for me. It was perfectly fresh and in adult plumage.—J. Sinex (Bagot, Jersey). Wuite-wincep Buack Tern at Scinty.—A specimen of this rare Tern has lately been taken at Scilly, and is now with Mr. W. H. Vingoe for preservation. So far as I can ascertain this is the first recorded occasion of its capture either at Scilly or in Cornwall—Tuomas CornisH (Penzance). Remains oF tHe Great Aux.—The discovery of the remains of the Great Auk, Alca impennis, in the Isle of Oronsay, off the coast of Argyllshire, formed the subject of a paper by Mr. Symington Grieve, read at a recent meeting of the Linnean Society. The purport of his observations, which are of much interest to naturalists, will be found briefly noted in our report, in the present number, of the meeting referred to. In connection with this paper of Mr. Grieve’s may be men- tioned one by Dr. John Alexander Smith on the remains of the Great Auk discovered a few years since in Caithness. This very interesting memoir will be found in the ‘ Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’ for 1879 (vol. xiii. pp. 76-105, and 436-444), and deserves to be read in extenso by all who are curious on the subject of the former existence in the British Islands of this now extinct sea-fowl. On THE Foop or Sua Fisuxs.—An investigation into the food of sea-fishes is an indispensable preliminary to the framing of enactments applicable to marine fisheries, for at the present time we have but few established upon this all-important subject. On May 12th I received, in spirit, from Mr. Dunn, of Mevagissey, in Cornwall, the contents of the stomach of a single Herring captured there, with the remark that hundreds having been opened contained the same food. I found nineteen small Sand-launces, Ammodytes, varying from one and a half to two inches and a half in length, while the intestines of these young fishes are of a bright orange colour, due to the crustacean food they had been consuming. Last month Mr. Dunn sent me, in spirit, the contents of the stomachs of several Mackerel, which fish had appeared off Cornwall somewhat earlier this year than is usual. The food consisted of young Shrimps. A few days subse- quently the fishermen reported to Mr. Dunn numerous fry of fish out at sea, too small to be captured by their nets. He proceeded to the locality indicated, and obtained many small but adult Shrimps, which were identical with those forming the Mackerels’ food. I sent some to Mr. Norman, who 236 THE ZOOLOGIST. identified them as Thyranopoda Couchii, Bell. The original examples when obtained by Couch were constituting at that period the food of the Mackerel, but they have escaped observation until about two years since. It seems very probable that these crustaceans may play an important part in the appearance of the Mackerel. It has been constantly remarked that Flat- fishes, Plewronectid@, are decreasing around our coasts, the result of over- fishing, and one of the remedies proposed has been that Soles under six inches in length should be returned to the sea. During the autumn last year I was along the Devonshire and Dorsetshire coasts, from whence a large number of small Soles are fished. I therefore closely investigated the subject, and though I found very large numbers of the young of the Common Sole, Solea vulgaris, were being wantonly destroyed, still the majority of these small ones belonged to the Little Sole, Solea minuta, which rarely exceeds three inches and a half in length, and the Thick- backed Sole, Solea variegata, which is generally about five inches and a half long. Should the proposition to make it penal to possess Soles less than six inches in length be passed into a law, then the two last-named species would escape capture, and most probably, as a result, increase in prodigious numbers. Here the question arises, Do all these forms feed upon the same food? because, if they do, such an enactment would be tantamount to preserving a form useless as human food. but which is consuming the sustenance required for the maintenance of our most valuable species.— Franois Day (Cheltenham). Horisur at Penzancr.—A Holibut, weighing about one ewt., was taken on hook and line (Spiller), in the Bay here, on May 15th. Itisa rare fish in this district—Taomas Cornisu (Penzance). PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Linnean Society or Lonpon. April 6, 1882.—Sir Joun Luspock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., President, in the chair. Mr. John Blaikie, Mr. C. C. Lacaita, Mr. J. W. Phillips, and Mr. John B. Wilson were elected Fellows of the Society. Mr. Patrick Geddes exhibited and described a series of living specimens under the microscope, illustrating the presence of Alye in Radiolarians aud in certain forms of Calenterata. Mr. Marcus M. Hartog afterwards drew attention to microscopic sections of Cyclops; and he demonstrated structural peculiarities in the eye of Daphnia, and compared it with that of certain other crustaceans. a PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 237 Parts xiii. and xiv. of “ Contributions to the Mollusca of the ‘ Chal- lenger’ Expedition,” by the Rev. R. Boog Watson, were read. These comprised descriptions of new forms of the families Buccinide and Muricide. Other papers discussed were botanical. April 20, 1882.—Sir Joun Lupsocs, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., President, in the chair. The President, addressing the meeting, said that they would all, no doubt, have heard the sad news of the irreparable loss which Science, the country, and the Linnean Society have sustained in the death of Mr. Charles Darwin. Only a month ago they had the pleasure of hearing a paper of his—unhappily his last—which showed no sign of any abate- ment of vigour. That was not the occasion to speak of the value of his scientific work, but he might say that while the originality and profound character of his researches had revolutionized Natural History, he had also added enormously to its interest, and given—if he might say so— new life to biological science. Many of them, and no one more than himself, had also to mourn one of the kindest and best of friends. He begged to propose, as a small mark of respect to the memory of their late illustrious countrymen, the greatest—alas! that he could no longer say living—naturalists, that, after the formal business was concluded, the meeting should adjourn. The motion having been put was adopted in silence. The Auditors of the Treasurer’s accounts were then agreed to, viz., Dr. J. Millar and Mr. H. T. Stainton, for the Fellows, and Messrs. R. M‘Lachlan and A. W. Bennett, for the Council. Sir Thomas D. Acland, Bart., M.P., was then elected a Fellow of the Society, and the meeting adjourned. May 4, 1882.—-Sir Joun Luspocx, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., President, in the chair. Dr. Cuthbert C. Gibbes was elected a Fellow of the Society. A resolution of Council was read by the President, embodying the Society’s sense of the loss sustained by the death of Mr. Charles Darwin, and expressing sympathy with Mrs. Darwin and the family in their bereavement, a copy of which was unanimously agreed to be forwarded to them. A paper was read “On the discovery of remains of the Great Auk, Alea impennis, in the Island of Oronsay, Argyllshire,” by Mr. Symington Grieve. A series of wing and leg bones of the bird were obtained, along with a various assortment of remnants of the Guillemot, Red-deer, Marten, Otter, Sheep, Rat, Rabbit, Common Seal, Pig, Wrasse, Mullet, Skate, Crabs, and several kinds of Mollusks. ‘hese were dug out of a large 238 THE ZOOLOGIST. cone-shaped mound which the author believes must in early times have been occupied by man. The exceeding rarity of Gare-fowl remains in Britain gives a special interest to the record of their being found in these Western Scottish isles, and as associated with animals and other material giving evidence of the presence of man. A communication followed from Mr. P. H. Gosse, dealing with the clasping organs auxiliary to the generative parts in certain groups of the Lepidoptera. After preliminary remarks the author mentions his mode of manipulation, and proceeds to a description of the organs in question, finally dealing with the modification of the apparatus as investigated in a very considerable number of species of the genera Ornithoptera and Papilio. A paper “ On the Ornithology of New Guinea,” part viii., by Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, was read. This contribution comprised the results of collections made by Mr. A. Goldie in the districts at the back of the Astrolabe Range in South-East N. Guinea, and by Mr. Charles Hunstein on Normanby Island, on the south shore of the mainland of the China Ghauts, and on the banks of a river at the end of Milne Bay.—J. Murix. ZooLtoeicaL Socivry oF Lonvon. May 2, 1882.—Prof. W. H. Frowrr, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair. After the Secretary had read the minutes of the previous meeting, the President said,—‘‘ ‘The minutes just read recall the fact that at our last meeting we were honoured by a communication from Mr. Darwin, probably his last contribution to that science to which he devoted his life-long labours. No one who heard that paper—showing as it did no sign of faltering from that eager interest which he had always manifested in a subject which he had made peculiarly his own—expected that not twenty-four hours would elapse before those labours would be brought to a close. During the fortnight that has passed the whole world has been moved at the loss it has sustained, and his work and his character have, more than any other theme, filled the minds of thinking people of all countries, classes, creeds, and occupations. We who humbly follow him in cultivating the science he adorned must feel elevated at the sight of the full recognition accorded to his work. The general acceptance of Darwin as one who has exercised a powerful influence upon the whole realm of human thought, the cordial reception of his remains in our magnificent Abbey, among the illustrious men of whom our country is proud, are triumphs in the history of Zoology, for it was mainly zoological observation which led to those philosophical speculations which have made his uame famous. The nation’s grief at his PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 239 loss has already found eloquent and feeling expression in many quarters ; the resources of our language seem to have been exhausted in bearing testimony to his worth. No words that I could find would add anything to what has been so well said by others; and surely here, if in any place in the world,— among those who are always occupied with subjects the pursuit of which has been so profoundly modified by his writings, and among many who loved him as a personal friend,—nothing is needed but to mention his name to call forth the strongest feelings of admiration for his work and reverence for his character. If it is not given to any of us to emulate him in brilliancy of scientific induction, or to light upon discoveries that will change the current of human ideas, we can at least endeavour to follow the example he has set us of patient perseverance in observation, scrupulous accuracy of statement, deference for the opinions and feelings of others, candour towards opponents, and of that invariable modesty and gentleness of demeanour which shed such a charm round his public as well as his private life.” Mr. Sclater exhibited a drawing of a Tapir presented to the Society by Mr. Fritz Zurcher in August last, which had been captured on the Yuruari River, in Venezuela. Mr. Sclater observed that in form and colour this animal seemed to agree better with Tapirus Dowii than with the ordinary T. americanus, and suggested that it was quite likely that the former species might be the Tapir of the northern coast-region of Columbia and Venezuela. Mr. J. E. Harting made some remarks on the desirability of adopting a standard of nomenclature when describing the colours of natural objects. Dr. Hans Gadow read a paper on the structure of feathers in relation to their colour, in the course of which he endeavoured to show how the optical appearances of the various colours met with in the feathers of birds were produced. Prof. Flower gave an account of the cranium of a Cetacean of the genus Hyperoodon, from the Australian Seas, upon which he proposed to found a new species, H. latifrons. A communication was read from Dr. O. Staudinger, containing the description of some new and interesting species of Rhopalocera from the New World. A communication was read from Mr. H. J. Elwes, containing a description of a collection of Butterflies made on the Tibetan side of the frontier of Sikkim, amongst which were examples of several species new to Science. A communication was read from Mr. Edgar L. Layard, describing a new species of Parrot of the genus Nymphicus from Uvéa, one of the Loyalty group, which he proposed to call V. wveensis. 240 THE ZOOLOGIST. May 16, 1882.—Osperr Satvin, Esq., F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society’s Menagerie during the month of April, 1882, and called special attention to the following birds, all of which were said to be new to the collection:—(1) A male Rifle-bird, Ptilorhis paradisea, in immature and worn plumage, changing very slowly into the adult dress, but apparently in good health ; (2) a pair of Black-headed Tragopans, Ceriornis melanocephala ; (3) four Rippell’s Parrots, Pwocephalus Rueppelli, from Western Africa ; (4) a Western Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus naso, conspicuously differing from the eastern C. Banksi in its smaller size ; (5) a male Cabot’s Tragopan, Ceriornis Caboti, making a fine addition to the gallinaceous series; and (6) two of the recently described Uveean Parrakeet, Nymphicus uveensis. There was exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Henry Stevenson, a specimen of the Dusky Petrel, Puffinus obscurus, which had been picked up dead in the neighbourhood of Bungay, Suffolk, in April, 1858. (See Zool. 1858, p- 6096.) A communication was read from the Rev. O. P. Cambridge on some new genera and species of Araneidea. Of the sixteen species described two were from Caffraria, one from St. Helena, two from Ceylon, and the remaining eleven from the Amazons. Mr. W. A. Forbes called attention to a peculiarity recently observed in a young male specimen of Pithecia satanas, in which the third and fourth digits of both hands were completely ‘‘ webbed.” Mr. Forbes also read a paper on certain points in the anatomy of the Todies (Todus), and on the affinities of that group. He dissented from the views of most previous authors as to the close affinities of these birds to the Momotide, considering that they must form a group by themselves, to be called Todiformes, of value equivalent to the Pici-, Passeri-, and Cypseli- formes of Garrod. There were many grounds for supposing that Todus is a very ancient form, more nearly representing the ancestors of the whole group of Anomalogonatous birds than any other living form. A communication was read from Mr. Roland Trimen, containing a description of an apparently undescribed Sun-bird obtained in the province of Mossamedes, South-Western Africa, which he proposed to name Cinnyris Erikssoni, after its discoverer, Mr. Abel W. Eriksson. Mr. P. L. Sclater read some notes on a species of Duck, Anas gibberi- frons, examples of which had recently bred in the Soviety’s Gardens. Mr. W. A. Forbes gave an account of some points in the anatomy of a rare Australian Duck, Biziura lobata, from examples that had recently died in the Society's Menagerie. —P. L. Sccarer, Secretary. THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Vou. VI.] JULY, 1882. [No. 67. ON AN INLAND BREEDING HAUNT OF LARUS CANUS. By Ropert WARREN. On the 17th May, accompanied by my friends Dr. §. Darling and his brother, Mr. James Darling, of Ballina, I visited a breeding haunt of the Common Gull, situated on some small loughs about ten miles from the sea, the same distance from Ballina, and about three miles from the little town of Crossmolina, Co. Mayo. Driving to Glenmore, we put up the horse, and employed a boy to guide us to the loughs. In about half an hour’s smart walking we reached a wide expanse of flat wet moor, having many little loughs in the low-lying parts of it, and in these loughs islands or clumps of turf covered with heath or coarse grass. On reaching the first of the loughs we observed a Gull resting on a clump in the middle, but seeing only a solitary bird, which flew off at our approach, we did not suppose there was a nest there. Dr. Darling and I went on ahead; James Darling remaining to take another look round, and wading out to the clump of turf found a nest of dried grass on it, containing three eggs. This “find” was most encouraging, for not seeing any Gulls about we were beginning to fear that our journey would prove in vain. We walked on to a group of loughs about a quarter of a mile farther on, and there we saw two Gulls resting on clumps, and in a few minutes we had three pairs of the Common Gull circling around us, plainly showing .by their 21 242 THE ZOOLOGIST. anxious movements that three nests at least must be somewhere about the islands of the lough. Unfortunately for us, owing to the great depth of the black soft mud forming the bottom of these loughs, it was quite impossible to wade out to the islands, except where the roots of the water-plants supported our feet, but the plants were too scarce to be available. While walking around this lough, vainly seeking a passage, we disturbed a pair of Dunlins, but though we made a long and careful search for the nest, were not successful in finding it. Although so far fortunate in discovering a breeding haunt of the Common Gull, we had not found the particular lough reported to me of which we had come in search. We again questioned the boy, but he knew of no other lough, nor of one where Gulls built on the tree-stumps of an old submerged forest, as had been described to me. Finding the boy therefore of no further use as a guide, we decided upon going in different directions over the bog, and, while time allowed, persevere in searching for the missing Lough-na-Crumpawn, ‘the lough of the stumps.” Dr. Darling and I then proceeded to examine some small pools that appeared about a quarter of a mile off, at the same time James Darling and the boy went off in the opposite direction to a little ridge about twice that distance away, from which they could obtain a better view over the surrounding bog, and perhaps discover the particular lough of which we were in search. Soon we heard the boy whistle, and saw James Darling run to meet him (we afterwards learnt that just then he had come upon a Dunlin’s nest with four eggs). We then saw them walk to the top of the ridge, and then James Darling immediately whistled, and waving his hat to us disappeared over the ridge. Not seeing him return, we concluded that he must have discovered the lough; so as soon as we finished exploring those we were at, without finding anything, we hastened after him, and on reaching the top of the ridge we saw to our delight, in a hollow about half a mile away, the lough we were in search of, easily identified by the tree-stumps studding its surface. A number of Gulls were flying over the head of our friend, who was wading out through the muddy water to where the Gulls had nests. On reaching the water we soon had eight pairs of Larus canus flying around us, and found eight nests composed of dried grass on the tree-stumps; James Darling visited seven of these, and NOTES FROM NATAL. 243 six contained eggs; the eighth he was unable to reach, owing to the depth of the mud; nor would he have reached any of them had he not made use of two pieces of board to prevent his sinking. We expected to have seen a larger colony of Gulls, for there was ample space, even on the last lough, for the nests of many more birds; but, from what we heard from a man who was cutting turf beside the water, there was the usual number of birds there. In the summer of 1855, when visiting Lough Talt, in the Ox Mountains, Co. Sligo, I saw a few pairs of the Common Gull that had bred on two.small islands in the lough, and found the young just fledged, and in one nest an addled egg. Shortly afterwards, however, that place was deserted by the Gulls as a breeding haunt, in consequence of boats being placed there for trout- fishing; and as the lough was often fished, especially in May, the birds were never undisturbed in the nesting season. I never saw the bogs so bare of birds, for during the long time we walked over them, visiting a number of loughs, not a Snipe was seen; only one Grouse, a Curlew, and the pair of Dunlins already mentioned, which I think must have been the owners of the nest found. It was certainly rather early for the Dunlins to pair, for the next day I saw a flock of over two hundred individuals on the shore here, and nearly all in summer plumage. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NATAL. By Masors BK. A. Burter anv H. W. Fempen, anp Cap. 8. G. Rem. (Continued from p. 212.) Drymeca affinis (Smith), Tawny-flanked Grass Warbler.— A single specimen, male, obtained by Reid at the Umgeni River, near Durban, on the 26th December. Drymeca hypoxantha (Sharpe), Saffron-breasted Grass War- bler.—Not uncommon in the Neweastle district, where we all obtained specimens. It is a conspicuous bird, in spite of its shy habits. We usually found it in the neighbourhood of water, especially in bushes among rocks and high grass. Cisticola natalensis (Smith), Natal Fantail Warbler.—Reid shot two specimens of this Grass Warbler—one, a female, at the 244 THE ZOOLOGIST. edge of some dense bush, near Durban, on the 12th August, and another, a male, in the “Town Bush,” near Pietermaritzburg, on the 3lst August. Cisticola curvirostris (Sund.), Brown Fantail Warbler.—Two males obtained hy Reid near the camp at Richmond Road, near Pietermaritzburg, on the 8th December. Fauces blackish. The species appeared to be common in the long coarse grass below the camping ground. Cisticola tinniens (Licht.), Le Vaillant’s Fantail Warbler.— Common in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, along the rivers and streams; a restless and noisy bird. Reid found a nest on the 25th October, containing two young birds just hatched, and an addled egg, pinkish white, with spots of a darker pink collected at the obtuse end; and a nest full of clamorous young birds on the following day. Both these were placed in the centre of a tuft of coarse grass growing on the bank of the River Incandu, and were discovered by watching the old birds; they were of the usual Cisticoline construction, purse-shaped, and supported by the grass-stems. Cisticola chiniana (Smith), Larger Grey-backed Fantail.—Very common near Newcastle, where we obtained numerous specimens in May, June, and July. It frequents long grass in swampy ground, and by the side of streams. Cisticola aberrans (Smith), Smith’s Fantail Warbler.—Two specimens were procured by Reid—a male near Camperdown Station, between Pietermaritzburg and Pinetown, on the 15th December, and another at Richmond Road Camp. Cisticola cisticola (Temm.), Common Fantail Warbler. — Numerous on the “veldt,’” and a most conspicuous bird in spite of its diminutive proportions. It frequents the long grass, and betrays the greatest alarm on the approach of an intruder—flying round him with a jerky, spasmodic flight, and making a curious snapping noise, apparently with its wings. ‘This species is pronounced by Messrs. Finsch and Hartlaub, and Mr. R. B. Sharpe, to be specifically inseparable from the common Fantail Warbler of Europe. Sphenewacus natalensis (Shelley), Natal Pointed-tailed Grass- Warbler.—This species has been separated, as a new one, from S. africanus of Cape Colony, from which it differs in the almost uniform rufous-buff colouring of the under surface of the body, NOTES FROM NATAL. 245 and in the absence of black shaft-stripes to the upper and under tail-coverts. It is common in the vicinity of Newcastle, fre- quenting scrubby bush and long grass by the sides of the rivers and water-courses, from which it is very hard to dislodge it after its first weak flight. Specimens vary a good deal in size. Iris reddish-brown ; legs, feet, and bill lavender. Apalis thoracicus (Shaw), Bar-throated Warbler. — One obtained by Feilden and Reid on the 15th May, in a “kloof” on the Drakensberg mountains, near Newcastle. It was creeping about like a mouse along the leafy branch of a tree. Butler also found it not uncommon in the same locality, and obtained several specimens. He remarked that the note is loud for the size of the bird, and peculiar, so that, once having heard it, it is im- possible to mistake it. Iris pale yellowish white; legs and feet pinkish flesh (B). Bradypterus brachypterus (Vieil.), Stripe-throated Reed War- bler.—Butler found this species not uncommon about Richmond Road, and shot a female developed for breeding at Karkloof on the 16th November. It frequents long grass and rushes growing in swamps or by the side of streams. He also noticed it occasionally in the swamps about Newcastle, and in other localities on the march down country during the wet season. Bradypterus gracilirostris (Hartl.), White-breasted Reed Warbler.—Not uncommon in the thickest reeds in the “vleys” near Newcastle in September and October, at which season it breeds. It is a noisy bird, betraying its presence by its loud musical notes. We had hard work, however, to obtain specimens, as it is very shy on the approach of an intruder, creeping about like a mouse among the stems of the reeds, and keeping to the densest parts. The note is almost as rich and powerful as that of the Nightingale. A hen shot on the 27th October was un- doubtedly sitting. Bill brown above, flesh below; legs and feet dark plumbeous-olive ; iris brown. Acrocephalus arwndinaceus (Linn.), Great Reed Warbler.— The Great Reed Warbler from Natal is now pronounced inseparable from the European bird, A. turdoides (Meyer) = A. arundinaceus (Linn.) The only specimen obtained was a pale- coloured variety shot by Reid at Richmond Road, near Pieter- maritzburg, on the 7th December. He saw another the same day, but could not secure it. Male, immature; iris light brown; 246 THE ZOOLOGIST. legs and toes flesh-colour; claws brown ; bill bluish horn-colour ; lower mandible flesh-colour at base (R). Butler also noticed it in this locality. Acrocephalus beticatus (Vieil.), South African Reed Warbler. —Two specimens, both males, shot by Reid on the Incandu River, near Newcastle, on the 25th October. Several others were seen. They were uncommonly lively, flitting to and fro among the reeds at the water's edge, singing lustily at intervals. Phylloscopus trochilus (Linn.), European Willow Warbler.— Several observed and one shot by Reid in a patch of thick trees about three miles south of Newcastle, on the 28th October. He also fell in with a small party of three lively little birds close to Camperdown Station, on the 15th December, and obtained a specimen. Both these were males, showing no signs of breeding; it is very doubtful if the species does breed in its South African winter-quarters. Dryodromas fulvicapillus (Vieil.), Tawny-headed Bush Warbler. —Not an uncommon bird; but the only specimens obtained were one at “Guinea Fowl” Kopje, near Ladysmith, in August, and one on the banks of the Tugela, near Colenso, on the 21st November; both shot by Reid. Sylvietta rufescens (Vieil.), Short-tailed Bush Warbler. — “Only one specimen met with, shot near Ladysmith on the 18th August by Lieut. Harkness, of the Welsh Regiment, who kindly gave it to me in the flesh next day” (R). Nectarinia famosa, Malachite Sun-bird.—Very abundant in the Newcastle district, where it is by far the commonest species of Sun-bird. Fielden discovered it wintering in the Drakensberg kloofs, and obtained specimens there in July. In October and November they were scattered in pairs all over the country, and numerous examples were obtained in all stages of plumage up to the full summer livery. It was abundant at Ladysmith in August, so perhaps it winters in sheltered kloofs there as well. Common at Richmond Road in December, many beautiful males falling victims to ‘“‘Tommy Atkins” during the time the troops were encamped there (R). Cinnyris afer (Linn.), Greater Double-collared Sun-bird.— Found commonly in the Drakensberg kloofs in company with the succeeding species. It evidently winters there, for specimens were ' obtained in May andJune. Reid obtained one near Ladysmith in NOTES FROM NATAL. 247 August, and saw several others there. About the same time (August 21st), Butler found it breeding in the Drakensberg, near Newcastle. The nest he describes as very similar to many of the Indian “‘ Honey-suckers,” consisting of a pear-shaped ball of dry grass, vegetable fibres, cobwebs, &c., very neatly constructed and suspended by the small end from the top of a good-sized green shrub about ten feet from the ground. The entrance was at one side, with a portico over it; it was warmly lined with feathers. Unfortunately this nest was blown down in a snow-storm before the eggs were laid. One can hardly realise the fact of birds of this genus building with two feet of snow lying on the ground, but it is nevertheless a fact (B). Cinnyris chalybeus, Lesser Double-collared Sun-bird.—Very common in the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, where we obtained examples in mid-winter (May and June), and where it breeds. Seen in small flocks, or rather assemblies, on flowering trees in the Town Bush at Maritzburg, on 31st August. Cinnyris gutturalis (Linn.), Scarlet-chested Sun-bird.—“I was shown a stuffed specimen at Maritzburg in August, which my informant had himself shot in the ‘Town’ Bush in summer; he stated that the species was not uncommon there in the hot months” (R). Cinnyris amethystinus (Shaw), Amethyst Sun-bird. —- Not uncommon from Durban as far up country as Ladysmith, but not obtained beyond. At the latter place a male was killed by a boy with a catapult. It was common at Colenso in November, and at Durban both in August and December. Reid obtained some lovely specimens at these two places. Cinnyris verreauxt (Smith), Mouse-coloured Sun-bird.—A female shot in the bush between Sydenham and Durban on the 12th August (R). Cinnyris olivaceus (Smith), South African Olive Sun-bird.— Reid obtained a female in the bush near Durban on the 12th August. Anthreptes collaris (Vieil.), Natal Collared Sun-bird. — Specimens obtained in the bush near the mouth of the Umgeni (Durban) in December (R). Zosterops capensis (Sund.), Cape White-eye.— A common Species, universally distributed throughout the colony. Many specimens were obtained in the kloofs of the Drakensberg, near 248 THE ZOOLOGIST. Newcastle, and it was also shot near Durban. It was usually found in small parties. ‘Legs and feet lavender” (B). -Parus niger (Vieil.), Southern Black-and- White 'Titmouse.— A small party seen in a bushy “donga” at Camperdown, near Pietermaritzburg, and one specimen, female, obtained by Reid, on the 15th December. Pachyprora capensis (Linn.), Cape Flycatcher.— Universally distributed and common in every wooded kloof we explored. Specimens were obtained from May to August at Newcastle, and in August also at Durban. Iris deep golden or orange-yellow. These birds are of a very affectionate disposition, and on one occasion when Butler shot a male bird, the female, instead of being driven away by the report of the gun, few down with it as it fell lifeless to the ground, and kept hopping around it, evincing the greatest anxiety and refusing to leave it till its mortal remains were consigned to the collecting-basket. Pachyprora molitor (Hahn & Kiister), White-flanked Fly- catcher.—Not so common as the preceding. Reid obtained a male specimen at Ladysmith on the 21st August, seeing several others, and another male at Colenso on the 21st November. We did not meet with this species in the kloofs of the Drakensberg, near Newcastle. Muscicapa grisola (Linn.), European Spotted Flycatcher.— Several were seen by Reid in the bush at Blaauw Krautz River, between Colenso and Estcourt, and one obtained on the 23rd November. Stenostira scita (Vieil.), Fairy Flycatcher. — This is the Platysteira longipes, Swains., of Layard’s first edition of the ‘Birds of South Africa.’ We met with it frequently in the kloofs at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains in July, August, and September, and obtained several specimens. Parisoma subceruleum (Vieil.), Red-vented Flycatcher.—‘‘ One shot by Lieut. Harkness, of the Welsh Regiment, near Ladysmith, on the 18th August, and given to me” (R). Parisoma layardi (Hartl.), Layard’s Flycatcher.—An immature male obtained by Reid, in the thick bush between Durban and the Umgeni River, on the 26th December. Terpsiphone perspicillata (Swains.), South African Paradise Flycatcher.—Obtained by Butler in the Drakensberg kloofs, near Newcastle, in October. Very common towards the coast, Butler NOTES FROM NATAL. 249 meeting with it (nesting) at Colenso in November, and Reid at Camperdown in December. Measurements as follows:—Male ; length, 8 in., wing, 32 in.; tail, 32 in.; bill from front, 4 in.; from gape, ~ in.; expansion of wings, 9$in. The total length and length of the tail are exclusive of the long tail-feathers, which were shot away. Bill and eyelids bright blue; legs and feet lavender- blue; iris dark brown; extreme tip of upper mandible blackish. Butler’s notes of the nesting of this species are as follows :— “Found two nests near Colenso on the 13th November, one _ containing three young ones ready to fly, the other a single young bird that flew out of the nest as I approached it. Both nests were exactly alike, neat little cups composed of dry grass with lichen attached exteriorly and placed upon a thin stem or fork of a low bough, being bound to it by cobwebs. about five feet from the ground, by the side of a stream running through a wood. The old birds evinced great excitement and anxiety whilst the nests were being examined” (B). Cryptolopha ruficapilla (Sund.), Yellow-browed Flycatcher.— Butler found this species not uncommon in the kloofs on the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, and obtained several good specimens in August. It frequents the thick bush, and has much the same habits as Zosterops capensis, with which species it often associates, flitting from tree to tree in the same restless manner, searching tbe branches in quest of insects. On one occasion he observed a party of these birds, in company with a few ‘‘ White-eyes,” in the greatest possible state of excitement, mobbing a small Scops Owl which was seated motionless on a branch, fast asleep, though with one eye, as usual, half open, and looking for all the world like the stump of an old broken branch. In all probability it is migratory, not having been noticed before the middle of August. Soft parts as follows :—Iris dark brown; legs and feet olive-grey ; lower mandible fleshy yellow (B). Petrochelidon spilodera (Sund.), Prince Alfred’s Swallow.— This is the Hirwndo lunifrons (Sav.), of Layard’s first edition, and a very numerous species in the Newcastle district. We found many colonies breeding near Newcastle in October. The nests are large globular mud structures, very similar to those of Chelidon urbica, with a hole near the top, and warmly lined with feathers matted together. As a rule they are built under cliffs and rocks overhanging small streams, from one to nine feet above 2K 250 THE ZOOLOGIST. the surface of the water, and are packed closely together. In some instances the entrance-hole slightly projects, but never 80 much as to form a passage, as in the nests of Hirwndo cucullata. In a colony at the Ingagane River, visited by Reid, there were as many as two hundred nests together in one clump, and several smaller ones close by, quite four hundred nests in all, while in others there are not more than fifteen or twenty. Three eggs appear to be the regular number, for in one nest only did we meet with four. The eggs, which vary much in size, are white, rather finely spotted and blotched with reddish brown or chestnut and inky purple, the markings being rather more numerous towards the obtuse end. We took them in October and November. The birds were first noticed about their nesting-places at the end of August. They appear to resort to the same place to breed every year. It would appear that they make use of the “ daaga,” or cement-like mixture of which the ants form their hills, in the construction and repairs of their nests; one was shot by Reid, sitting on the top of a broken ant-hill with its bill full of this material, which from its binding properties is collected and used as mortar throughout the upper districts of the colony. “Iris dark brown ; bill, legs and feet dusky ” (B). Cotyle cincta (Bodd.), Brown-collared Sand Martin.—First noticed in the Newcastle district early in October, after which it was fairly abundant, frequenting river-banks and “‘vleys.” It has a very noticeable flight, less jerky and more vigorous than that of its congeners. Butler’s measurements of a fine female speci- men shot by Reid, when the two were duck-shooting at ‘‘ Spoon- bill” Vley, near the Buffalo, are as follows:—Length 6°9 in. ; wing, 5°25 in.; tail, 2°6 in.; bill, from front, 0°4 in.; from gape, 0°6 in.; expansion of wings, 144 in. Legs, bill, and feet dusky ; iris dark brown. ‘They appeared to be going to breed in Novem- ber, in holes in the river banks, but we did not meet with any occupied nests. ‘The length given in Layards’s work, viz., 5°9 in., is probably an error, as these birds do not appear to vary in size to any extent in either sex. Cotyle fuligula (Licht.), Brown Sand Martin.—A familiar species throughout the year in the upper part of the colony, especially noticeable on rocky hill-sides in winter, hawking in straggling bodies for its food among the sheltered ravines. In such situations it also breeds, in October and November, fixing its NOTES FROM NATAL. 251 shallow cup-shaped nest to the under side of a projecting rock or side of a cave, and laying three or four eggs, white, spotted with reddish brown chiefly at the larger end. The nest is made of mud, warmly lined with feathers. ‘They roost at night in caves, often congregating in large colonies and sitting huddled up together on the ledges in long rows or in a cavity of the rock” (B). Cotyle paludicola (Vieil.), South African Sand Martin.—A permanent and most abundant resident in the neighbourhood of Newcastle. Two phases of plumage occur, as mentioned by Layard in his first edition; one with the under parts white, the other with these parts of a brownish colour like the rest of the plumage. We were unable to solve this question, but are inclined to the belief that the darker-coloured birds are immature. It probably breeds twice, for Feilden found a nest containing three incubated eggs in the bank of the Buffalo River, on the 6th August, and it was undoubtedly breeding in the clay banks of the rivers and streams near Newcastle, in October and November. Hirundo rustica (Linn.), Chimney Swallow.—First observed in the Newcastle district by Butler and Reid on the 19th October. Much more numerous down country ; large flocks seen both at Richmond Road and Durban. Hirundo albigularis (Strickl.), White-throated Swallow.— Appeared at Newcastle early in September in numbers, and noted all the way to the coast. . Numerous at Richmond Road in December. The nest is open, of a half-cup shape, built of mud, warmly lined with grass and a large quantity of feathers, and is placed on the under surface of rocks, usually over water. Eggs four, measuring 0°75 in. by 0°55in., white, with small blotches and spots of reddish brown, most numerous towards the obtuse end. Nests were taken by Butler and Reid in October and November; one found by Butler was on a cliff about one hundred yards from the water on a sloping hill-side. When the nest is destroyed by accident or removed, the birds usually commence a fresh one on the same foundation within a few days. Reid took one on the 15th October, and on the 21st found a new nest ready for eggs in the same place. Hirundo cucullata (Bodd.), Rousseline Swallow.—This Swallow visited the upper portions of the colony somewhat later than the preceding, not being recorded by us earlier than the 2nd October. 952 THE ZOOLOGIST. From this date it was extremely abundant, and was observed constructing its peculiar gourd-shaped nest in the verandahs of houses as well as in the wildest and most remote ‘‘ krantzes ” and ravines. No eggs were taken, though a nest was found, apparently ready for them, on the 11th November. N.B. We were disappointed at not meeting with the Black Swallow, Psalidoprocne holomelena (Sund.), in any part of the colony, as we had fully expected, on the strength of Mr. Ayre’s experiences (quoted in the original edition of Layard’s book), to find it common. This can hardly be the case, or we must have noticed it. Reid heard of it at Durban as having been seen there on Christmas Day, but did not meet with it himself. Lanius collaris, Fiscal Shrike.—Extremely abundant every- where, from Durban to the Transvaal, breeding in thick bushes. Some specimens obtained in the Newcastle district are larger (measuring 10 in.) than usual, and have the under parts pure white ; but they have no claim to rank as anything more than an accidental form. Nests were found containing eggs in Sep- tember, October and November. The eggs are of the ordinary Shrike type, not unlike those of Hnneoctornis collurio. Butler shot two specimens carrying small field-mice in their claws like a hawk, and in one instance the mouse, although its head was battered in by blows of the Shrike’s bill, was alive. Butler adds the following note :—‘“ Found a nest near Newcastle containing four fresh eggs on the 9th September. It was a massive and well-built structure, placed in an orange tree in a garden, and about five feet from the ground, being composed externally chiefly of the stems of a species of white mildewed-looking herb intermixed with strips of rag, string, tufts of sheep’s and goat’s wool, a few feathers, &c., and well lined with grass roots, feathers, tufts of wool, and a few horse and cow hairs interwoven. Eggs of the usual Lanius type, whitish, with a conspicuous ring or cap of olive-brown and slaty grey confluent markings at the larger end, the markings on the rest of the egg sparse. Another similar nest, containing three fresh well-marked eggs, at Sundy’s River on the 10th November. It was in a garden and placed in a fork on one of the outside boughs of an apple tree about eight feet from the ground.” (B). Lanius collurio (Linn.), Red-backed Shrike.— Specimens of this well-known bird were obtained by Reid at Blaauw Krantz NOTES FROM NATAL. 2538 River and Weston (Mooi River) in November; it was common at Richmond Road, near Pietermaritzburg, and at Durban, in December. Laniarius rubiginosus, Sund., Ruddy-breasted Bush Strike.— Butler obtained two specimens in a kloof on the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, in August, but it does not seem to be common in that part of the country. A female obtained by Reid in the bush, near Durban, on the 12th August. Laniarius ferrugineus, Cuyv., Greater Puff-backed Shrike.— Butler procured a few on the Drakensberg, near Newcastle. It is not very common, and strictly a woodland species, frequenting the densest bush. It is very shy, keeping out of sight as much as possible, and is usually found singly, except perhaps in the breeding season. A male shot in the “Town” Bush, near Pietermaritzburg, by Reid, on the 31st August. “The note is loud and rich, and not unlike some notes of the Indian Magpie, Dendrocilta rufa. Male: legs and feet light greyish plumbeous ; bill dark blackish plumbeous, horny white on the terminal two- thirds of the upper mandible ; iris blackish brown” (B). Laniarius cubla (Lath.), Lesser Puff-backed Shrike.—An example of this was obtained near Ladysmith, in August, by Serjeant Williams, of the Welsh Regiment, and examined by Reid on the 19th of that month. Butler procured one also near Newcastle, in a kloof on the Drakensberg, in August, but it is not common according to our experience, and belongs to the forest tracts. Iris brilliant orange or golden yellow; legs and feet lavender ; bill black” (B). Laniarius guttwralis, Miller, Backbakiri Shrike.—Extremely common in the neighbourhood of Newcastle. Also numerous at Colenso, where it was nesting in November, and at Ladysmith. Not observed at Pietermaritzburg, though doubtless occuring there. A shy bird, though betraying its presence by its loud and not unmusical notes. Both male and female have the black collar in adult plumage. The eggs are lovely, but lose their beautiful colouring sadly when incubated; they are accurately described by Layard in his first edition. Both birds take part in sitting. Iris dark brown; bill blackish horn colour; legs and feet lavender colour, or plumbeous grey ” (B). Telephonus longirostris, (Swains.), Long-billed Bush Shrike.— Common in the bush between Durban and the Umgeni River, 254 THE ZOOLOGIST. where it was doubtless breeding. Reid obtained two males there and saw several others. They were very noisy and restless, and came close to him, uttering a harsh scolding cry. Butler observed a Drongo Shrike in a densely wooded ravine about three miles north of Colenso, but unfortunately had no gun with him at the time. He thinks it was, in all probability, Dicrurus musicus, agreeing well with the description of that species in Layard’s first edition. It was quite tame, and he watched it hawking for insects for several minutes close to him. Corvultur albicollis (Lath.), White-collared Raven.— Widely distributed, though somewhat local. As many as fifty were frequently seen together on deserted camping-grounds at Maritz- burg in April. Though by no means absent in the intervening districts, it was not met with in any great numbers on the march up country at that time of the year; the camp at Newcastle, however, seemed to have drawn together the scattered parties, for they were common there throughout the winter months. We were, unfortunately, unable to investigate their breeding habits, but it seems certain that they breed all along the Drakensberg in October and November, as Butler noticed several isolated pairs scattered about the hills at that season; and early in October, Reid came suddenly on a large number of them, paired but still gregarious, on the Zulu side of Rorke’s Drift, which were evidently nesting there, in a steep “ krantz.”’ Corvus scapulatus, Daud., White-bellied Crow.—Scattered throughout the colony, but not observed below Howick. Seen in small parties, keeping together; also in pairs. Note extremely guttural and hoarse, only to be compared to that of a frog with a bad cold! Nests in both trees and rocks. Reid took a nest in a “ krantz”’ close to Newcastle, containing four eggs, on the 9th October ; the old birds, nothing daunted, built another nest on a ledge of rock close by, and in twelve days one of them was sitting on a fresh clutch of eggs. It is worthy of note that the first nest was so compactly built, though to all appearance a most flimsy construction, that it was lifted bodily from its site by the end of one of its component sticks, and that the lining consisted solely of a mass of pieces of ox-hide (evidently torn from a carcase), weighing quite two pounds. The eggs agreed exactly with Layard’s description. Butler noted it as specially abundant between Colenso and Estcourt, but found it far less numerous NOTES FROM NATAL. 255 north and south of that district. Reed observed a considerable number— enjoying a gale of wind like Rooks in England—at Howick. Heterocorax Capensis (Licht.), African Rook.—Like the last, . universally distributed between Maritzburg, or rather Howick (about twelve miles up the road), and Newcastle. Gregarious, feeding in small bands, never exceeding, perhaps, twenty in number, attaching themselves to particular spots, and maintaining a regular line of morning and evening flight. Several pairs bred in the immediate neighbourhood of Newcastle, where eggs, agreeing with those described by Layard, were taken both by Butler and Reid in September and October. Nests bulky, built in isolated thorn trees, frequently close to farms or Kaffir “kraals,” composed of twigs lined warmly with hair. These nests may be counted by dozens in the thorn bush near Lady- smith, and all along the main road between that and Estcourt. The call-note of this Crow is even more guttural and unmusical than that of C. scapulatus. Butler furnishes the following interesting notes regarding the nidification:—“Found a nest containing fresh eggs about the 12th September, which were unfortunately destroyed by Kafirs. The same pair built another nest at once in an adjoining tree, but being again disturbed by Kafirs deserted it before completion, and built a third nest at the top of the tree in which the first nest had been placed. From this last I took a single egg on the 2nd October. The birds then built again in a low peach tree about ten yards off, but the eggs were again destroyed by Kafirs on the 5th N ovember. The Kafirs regard them as birds of ill omen, and consequently destroy their nests and try to drive them away. Another nest on a low tree by the side of the road between Colenso and Ladysmith contained four fresh eggs on the 14th November. The eggs are not at all like Crow’s eggs, but resemble rather some of the Rails’, especially those of the Indian White-breasted Water Hen, Erythra phenicura.” Buphaga erythrorhyncha (Stanl.), Red-billed Beef-eater,— Only seen at Durban on April 7th, where the arrival of a flock on the backs of the horses belonging to the 7th Company Royal Engineers, which had just landed from the troop-ship, almost produced a “ stampede;” and from the railway near Pinetown, perched on the backs of oxen (R). Does not, appa- rently, occur any great distance inland. 256 THE ZOOLOGIST. Lamprocolius phenicopterus (Swainson), Red-shouldered Glossy Starling.—This isthe Juida phenicopterus of Layard’s first edition. It was observed at Blaauw Krantz in November, by Butler and Reid, and found common at Camperdown in December. Im- mature birds have the iris brown, and but slight traces of the magnificent purple gloss of the adult (R). Spreo bicolor (Gm.), Brown and White Glossy Starling.—A very familiar bird in the upper portions of the colony, remaining in flocks even after the breeding season has commenced. Nests in numbers in the Incandu River, at Newcastle, also in crevices in the rocks among the hills. Materials similar to those used by our common European Starling. Eggs four to six, light blue, sometimes spotted with red. Reid took two nests near Lady- smith from the inner walls of a deserted farm-house, one con- taining five pure blue eggs, the other six red-spotted ones. This was on the 18th November. It is sometimes seen on the backs of the oxen, which it diligently attends when they are grazing. It has a soft note, “ pwipe,” “ pwipe,” when disturbed. Amydrus morio (Linn.), Cape Glossy Starling.—Common in flocks in rocky places, especially in the Newcastle district, scattering in pairs for the breeding season, in October. Butler gives the following account of its nidification:—‘* Found a nest nearly finished, on the 6th November, 1881. It was placed on a ledge of rock under a projecting slab of rock overhanging a stream, about 3 ft. above the level of the water, and consisted of a large mass of dry grass, matted together with mud, and lined with the same kind of grass, looking not unlike a large Black- bird’s nest; the old birds were by no means shy, flying to and fro with building materials in their beaks in my presence. Unfor- tunately I had to leave the district before the eggs were laid. A few bits of green moss, collected from the neighbouring wet rocks, were stuck round the edge of the nest, and seemed to be growing, and there was a large colony of Petrochelidon spilodera breeding about 4 ft. above the nest. The note is loud and striking.” Dilophus carunculatus (Gm.), Wattled Starling.—One obtained by Lieut. Giffard near Newcastle in December. Amblyospiza albifrons (Vig.), White-fronted Grosbeak.—One shot in the bush on Sydenham Road, near Durban, on the 12th August (R). Hyphantornis capensis (Gm.), Cape Weaver Bird.—Not often NOTES FROM NATAL. 257 observed in the winter months, but Butler obtained a male on the 10th June there, and shot a couple of specimens in some bush near Ladysmith on the 21st August; so they do not, apparently, leave the colony at all. About Newcastle they were first noticed in numbers about the middle of October, when they at once proceeded to the construction of their nests. These we found in tall trees, on bushes overhanging steep krantzes, as well as in bushes and reeds by the river-side. Over thirty nests were counted on one tree. The male appears to do most of the build- ing, but this may be only a supposition, arising from the much greater shyness of the female while an intruder is near. The first eggs were taken on the 29th October. How they can pos- sibly remain in the nest when a gale of wind is blowing is quite a mystery, the entrance being so large and the depression inside the globular portion so little below it. “Apparently not so numerous down country as H. velatus, which seems almost to replace it at Ladysmith, Colenso, and Blaauw Krantz, but a colony were breeding on an island in Mooi River, at Weston, in November, and it was also nesting, in small numbers, at Rich- mond Road, in December” (R). Butler mentions that the nest is shaped like a snail’s shell, with the entrance directed down- wards, and that out of some dozens of nests examined, containing eggs in all stages of incubation, he failed to discover more than three eggs, many containing only two. ‘“‘ The male only assumes the bright yellow plumage in the breeding season; at other times he closely resembles the female, but is greener above and more yellow below” (B). “Legs and feet brownish flesh; bill blackish; iris brownish-white, in some greyish brown and dark brown. The crop of one examined was full of caterpillars ” (B). Hyphantornis velatus (Viel.), Black-fronted Weaver Bird.— Seen in September in small reedy vleys between Newcastle and the Drakensberg. Butler obtained specimens there, and found one or two nests, but these were afterwards knocked down by a hailstorm. Not observed elsewhere (though doubtless occurring in suitable places) in the Newcastle district, but we found it very common, and came across many colonies, nesting at most of the halting-places on the march down country, notably near Ladysmith, Colenso, and the Blaauw Krautz River. The eggs are most variable in colouring, as mentioned by Layard. Like H. capensis, the birds are very shy and difficult to get near, 2L 258 THE ZOOLOGIST. approaching their nests with extreme caution, when once dis- turbed. “Iris orange-yellow; bill and inside of mouth black. Legs and feet fleshy brown. Iris brown; bill horny brown above, pale flesh below. Legs and feet brownish flesh” (B). Butler adds the following note:—‘ Clusters of nests of this species observed about Colenso on the 10th November, on trees along the river bank and out in the open fields, but in most instances the young had left the nests. At Ladysmith as many as forty or fifty nests were observed on one tree, and the tree was often completely stripped of its leaves by the birds. Some of the nests contained young, and some fresh eggs (two as a rule, but sometimes three), of two types, white spotted with chesnut, and pale green spotted with greyish green.” (To be continued.) NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. By Joun T. Carrineton, F.L.S., ann Epwarp Lovert. (Continued from p. 230.) Having completed our notes on the first sub-division of the PopoPuTHALMA, viz., the Bracuyura or Crabs proper, we now come to the ANomMouRA, a sub-division which embraces the most remarkable examples of these animals. It would appear as if the ANomoura consisted of a series of stepping-stones in the development of Crustacea, from those con- structed on one plan to those constructed on another ; for in this sub-division we have genera of the “crab” form, as in Dromia and Lithodes; others of the “lobster” form, as in Galathea and Munida; whilst the remarkable genus Pagurus cannot be identified with either form of construction. One curious feature, however, exists in common, and it is this, that the fifth pair of legs are quite rudimentary in all the genera classed under this sub-division. What their use can be is not very clear, beyond the possibility of their being utilized to cleanse the carapace, for which purpose they seem well adapted. If, however, this be so, why are not those of the two other sub-divisions, viz., the Brachyuwra and Macrura furnished with the same appendages ? The habits of all the Podophthalma are not widely different, and BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. 209 in fact many are found living together under similar conditions. In describing the species of this class we shall refer more fully to this striking characteristic. ANOMOURA. Dromia vulgaris, Edwards. This common Mediterranean species has the carapace, when the limbs are at rest, almost round like a ball. The whole body, excepting the forceps, is densely covered with a warm brown mass of closely-set sete; this gives it the appearance of an Kehinoderm (Amphidotus cordatus), for which at a short distance it might easily be mistaken. Its first pair of legs are massive ; the extreme tips of the forceps are bare and shining, and are of a most exquisite pink colour. The remaining legs are com- paratively short and armed with strong hooked claws, the last pair being rudimentary and curiously turned upwards, so as to rest flat upon the upper surface of the carapace. This un- natural position for ambulatory appendages may be accounted for by two remarkable specimens obtained from the Channel, off the Sussex coast, now in Mr. Carrington’s collection. These two animals bore on each of their backs a finely grown sponge, each large enough to protect its host from observation. Unlike the instances to which we have already referred, notably that of Pisa Gibbsii, where the sponge grows in the villous coat of the carapace, this is not so with Dromia; for although the lower surface of the sponge was a perfect mould of the carapace of the crab, it was nevertheless quite free, and simply held in its place by the sharp claws on the two pseudo-legs already described as turned over on to the carapace of the animal. This instance of protective adaptation is without exception the most wonderful that we have yet met with in the whole of the British Crustacea. Although there are many very striking cases constantly attracting attention, they may be said almost to exist in spite of the animal itself; here, however, we have an example of quite another kind. It appears that the animal has actually taken, in its small rudimentary feet, a sponge which it has held upon its carapace, but not permitted it to obtain a hold upon that structure. At the same time the sponge has been able to grow; the remarkable way in which it has taken the form of the carapace of the animal without adhering to it is a proof of this. The abdominal segments of Dromia vulgaris are somewhat 260 THE ZOOLOGIST. narrow in the male, but very broad in the female. They project slightly beyond the posterior edge of the carapace, as if distended. When alive the eyes of this species are bright, and give the animal a most interesting expression. The antenne are com- paratively short. Dromia vulgaris can be said to answer to its specific name only in the Mediterranean, for it is undoubtedly very seldom obtained on our coasts, possibly no doubt owing to its being a deep-water species. We have obtained a few specimens from Guernsey, Jersey and in the Channel off the Sussex coast. Bell, who, by the way, only describes the species in the appendix to his work, states that it has been taken at Whitstable Bay, Worthing, and Selsey Bill. ' Fic. 1. Diagram showing symmetrical plates on abdomen of male Lithodes maia. Lithodes maia, Leach. The carapace of this species is of considerable size, often attaining the length of five or six inches; it is somewhat rounded BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA. 261 in form, but is gradually extended forward into a powerful rostrum consisting of a double bifurcated spine. The carapace is strongly tuberculated, and the regions are well marked; it is also armed with sharp and powerful spines, very strongly developed on the margin. ‘The eyes are fixed on stout pe- duncles, protected by strong spines, and the antenne are simple and of moderate length. The first pair of legs are unequal in size, resembling in this respect the Paguride ; the larger one is robust and powerful. These appendages are from four to five Fic. 2, Diagram showing asymmetrical plates on abdomen of female Lithodes maia. inches in length, and both are armed with numerous spines. The next three pairs of legs are tapering and thorny, the 262 THE ZOOLOGIST. terminal joint being a sharp claw. The third pair are often eight to nine inches in length. The fifth pair are characteristic of the class, and are simply small brush-like appendages. The abdominal segments of Lithodes maia are very re- markable, and in the female sex differ from any other of our known Crustacea. It will be observed by referring to Fig. 1, that the plates on the abdomen of the male in this species are quite symmetrical, being three on each side. Very different however are those of the female, which are remarkably asym- metrical, as shown in the sketch (Fig. 2.) It is difficult to account for this difference in the sexes, and we cannot help thinking that this must be a species under- going a change inform. Possibly, at some period of its existence, it was akin in its habits to the Hermit Crabs, but for some reason has discarded its artificial protection, and may ultimately become like true crabs (Brachyura) in having symmetrical plates on the abdomen in each sex. It is difficult to imagine that the process of change is in an opposite direction. The colour of this species is a pale dull red, varying slightly according to the age of the specimen. We have been fortunate enough to obtain the zowa form of this somewhat rare crustacean, which is as curious in structure as many other examples of this stage of development. It ‘resembles in appearance Nebalia bipes, as figured on p. 130, vol.i., of Mr. Gosse’s ‘ Manual of Marine Zoology.’ Its cephalo-thoracic region is cylindrical, enlarging into a good-sized thorax; the eyes are large and sessile, and the legs are purely swimmers. The abdominal segments are simple and graceful in form, terminating in a remarkable filamentous tail. A comparison of this description with that of the perfect animal just mentioned will show how difficult it is to identify the unknown zova forms of Crustacea, unless they are attached to the swimmerets of the parent. Although this animal is not so much subject to the growth of foreign substances upon its carapace as many other species, yet it is occasionally encrusted with barnacles. We have obtained specimens of L. maia from the coast of Northumberland, upon which were fine groups of Balanide of over an inch in height of the calcareous structure. Besides the locality above mentioned, this species has been recorded by Bell from the Mull of Galloway, Firth of Forth, coast of Ayrshire, OCCASIONAL NOTES. 263 Aberdeen and Yorkshire, and from the Orkneys. It is usually found in deep water, and obtained by dredging. (To be continued.) OCCASIONAL NOTES. Variety oF THE Moxu.—l have a specimen of a Mole trapped in this neighbourhood last February, which is of a pure cream-colour. There is not a single black or dark hair on its body, but the under parts are of a light brownish red. It is not only remarkable for its colour, but also for its size, measuring 8} inches in length and 5 inches round the body. I have also a Mole that I bought some years ago which has two white or nearly white spots on its back, one about the size of a half-crown and the other of a shilling. The white hairs are just twice the length of the black ones on the rest of its body.—Rocrr Forp (Wraxall, Somerset). A Vistr to Ramsry Istanp, PeMBrokesaire.—On June Ist, a long- projected visit to Ramsey Island was accomplished under very favourable circumstances. A beautiful summer’s day made the flower-covered cliffs, with the blue water rippling at their feet, seem like a piece of fairy-land ; and the company of Mr. Mortimer Propert, of St. David's, a most efficient guide to the island and its bird-haunts, enabled me to proceed at once to the parts most attractive to a naturalist. It would be impossible to describe the bright appearance of the cliffs beneath the June sunshine. Here large patches of the pink sea-thrift, and there vast beds of the snowy blooms of Silene maritima ; white roses of an exquisite perfume were not wanting, growing entwined with the heath, and ferns were everywhere, in some places reaching almost to the water's edge ; and here and there cropped out on the rocks those bright orange lichens which Mr. Brett loves to paint in his exquisite views of the Cornish coast. As our boat ran into the little harbour a Sea-pie was observed sitting on a rock, and on our approach flew off with his shrill whistle. A few pairs breed round the island. Landing, we made our way to the S.W. end, our object being to see the ledges of the cliffs most affected by the sea-fowl. It was a busy scene. Guillemots, Razorbills, and Kittiwakes were in profusion, but as yet not many of the birds had eggs. Parties of them were continually flying off to sea; others arriving and settling on the cliffs, shaking their wings from time to time to dry them in the sun. We were astonished at the velocity of the flight of the Razorbills when once on wing. As we stood on the top of the cliff, the birds flashed backwards and forwards beneath us, some of 264 THE ZOOLOGIST. them circling round their special ledges in alarm at our appearance, afraid to settle and jealous as to the safety of their eggs. All the while there was a weird concert proceeding from the birds. The caterwauling wail of the Kittiwakes, by far the most numerous of the sea-fowl tenanting the island, reminded one of the sounds proceeding from the hyena-den at the Zoo; with these were blended the crooning and husky barking of the Razorbills and Guillemots and the laughing cry of the Herring Gulls. Proceeding round the island we disturbed a pair of Buzzards from a rocky inlet, where they were doubtless nesting ; a Peregrine was seen in the sky overhead ; a pair of Ravens settled near the cairn of stones marking the summit and watched us narrowly; Choughs and innumerable Jackdaws flew along the cliffs. Time not allowing, we did not visit the north end, where the Puffins have their quarters. Mr. Propert told me that he had never seen the Black Guillemot on Ramsey or any of the smaller islands in its neighbourhood, nor can I hear of species being now on Skomer or Caldy, and probably it was entered by mistake on the list of Pembrokeshire birds. Some years ago I picked up a Black Guillemot which had been washed ashore on the N. Devon coast, which I at the time suspected might have been brought across from Wales. On the western slopes of Ramsey we found a pretty little moth (Philea irrorella) occurring in great numbers, and were glad to box a few. The tide runs with tremendous force between Ramsey and the mainland, and we had a troublesome pull across on our return against it, a brisk east wind raising a choppy sea. The rocks below the water cause countless eddies and back currents with broken water, locally called “ shots,” and anyone navigating the narrow channel in a small boat soon has experience of these. However, we reached Portstinnan, our harbour on the mainland, in safety, and shall always recal our pleasant visit to Ramsey as a day worthy to be marked with white chalk, favente Jove and Mr. Propert—Murray A. Matuew (Stone Hall, Haverfordwest). Curtous Nesting Puace or ta—E Common Wren.—In April I found the nest of a Wren placed in some flags standing out about three feet in the water. It was fastened to three or four stems and only about two inches above the water. It is well known that this bird tries to match its nest with surrounding objects, and two nests here fully carry this out. One is on a fir-bough where the bracken has grown through and is still standing, being supported by the branch ; the outside of this nest is entirely made of bracken, and most difficult to see; 1 only found it by the bird flying out. The other is on a stack of straw in my stackyard, the straws haying been drawn out and woven round in the most beautiful manner, quite proving that this interesting little bird is not colour-blind, because if built with moss and leaves (the usual material) it would at once have been seen; whilst anyone might walk within three yards and uever see this one. As OCCASIONAL NOTES. 265 this piece of stack was going to be cut I took this nest, but she has since built another like the first one: I trust she may be rewarded for her clever- ness by rearing her brood. I have this year found twelve nests within one hundred yards of the house-—J. Wuuiraxer (Rainworth Lodge, near Mansfield). Cat or THE Lone-EARED Owx.—For several years past the Long- eared Owl has bred in a plantation of tall Scotch and spruce firs, a few hundred yards above my house, generally I believe in old Magpies’ nests. In 1880 I first noted the peculiar warning note I am about to describe. On the 16th May last, while standing among these firs with the Rev. W. W. Flemyng, about nine p.m., and while the young were uttering from the nest their plaintive call for food, the parent Owl, seeing us, alighted on a neighbouring tree and made a distinct quacking sound, repeated three or four times in close succession, and then, after an interval of silence, simi- larly repeated. It took up more than one position, observing us all the time. On hearing this sound (which decidedly resembles the word * quack ”), the young became quite silent and remained so as long as it was repeated. It resembles not so much the long quack of a duck as the sound produced by a toy which is squeezed to make it squeak or quack, with something of the conventional tone of a “ Punch and Judy” performance. On the evening of June 6th, the young, having left their nest, were uttering their call from other trees, when the parent flitted past, hushing them at once by this note, and perched on tree after tree in full view, even closer than twenty yards from me, trying to draw me away from the young, and at the same time warning them of danger. I could observe her distinctly while uttering the “ quack.” Her back was arched, neck stretched forward, mouth opened wide, and wings compressed as the sound was uttered. I have never heard any Owl hoot, the Tawny Owl being unknown here.—Ricwarp J. Ussuer (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). MarsH Warsier’s Nest near Taunton.—The nest of the Marsh Warbler has been again obtained in the neighbourhood of Taunton the beginning of June, and, like former ones, was attached to the stalks of meadow-sweet (Spirea Ulmaria). The eggs are very handsome ones, and have been placed in the collection of Mr. J. Marshall, of Belmont, Taunton.—Morrar A. Matuew. [See Mr. Cecil Smith’s remarks on the breeding of the Marsh Warbler in Somersetshire, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1875, p. 4718.—Ep.] Eees or tHe Cuckoo iy Buntines’ Nests.—On May 16th I found near here a Cuckoo's egg in the nest of Emberiza cirlus; on the 24th, on this place, one in a nest of LE. citrinella; and on the 25th, also on this place, one in another nest of E. cirlus. In each nest were three Bunting’s eggs. In no instance did the Cuckoo's egg at all resemble a 2M 266 THE ZOOLOGIST. Bunting’s in markings, but the eggs of the Cuckoo found on this place on the 24th and 25th were quite undistinguishable from one another, and I should say were certainly laid by the same bird—C. Bygrave Warton (Hounsdown, Totton, Southampton). OrnirHoLocicaL Notes From JERsEY.—During last winter an unusual number of Great Northern Divers remained with us, their favourite haunt being the shallows around La Rocque Point, where, on almost any day during December and January, from thirty to forty of these beautiful birds might be seen at once. On one occasion no less than ten of them were in the little barbour there, within a hundred yards of the fishermen’s houses. We also had a great number of Sclavonian Grebes, some which came into my possession in the month of January, having the beautiful bronze- coloured ear-coverts of their summer dress. The Red-necked and Great Crested Grebes (the latter a rare visitor) were fairly represented. Other winter visitors, such as Brent Geese, various Ducks and Mergansers, were very scarce. Of the large flocks of the first-named, which usually occupy the bay of St. Aubin, I only saw a few solitary specimens, and the markets, generally well supplied with these birds from La Rocque and the Minquier rocks, had very few of them. Our inland visitors, the Woodcock, Snipe, and Plovers, were scarce. Of uncommon visitors, one Richardson’s Skua, in immature plumage, was taken alive (having been wounded) in St. Brelade’s Bay, and is now in my possession. It is, I think, only the second specimen recorded from Jersey. Reverting to the Great Northern Diver, many of your readers have probably been struck with the great difference in the measurements of this bird, as given by different authorities, Bewick giving the length as three feet six inches, Yarrell two feet six inches to two feet nine inches. Bearing this in mind, I carefully measured some twenty specimens which I obtained during the winter, with the following result :— Males, two feet nine inches to three feet three inches: females, uniformly two feet six inches. As regards weight, I found that, in all cases, below that given by the books (fourteen and sixteen pounds) ; the largest specimen I have had, although in good condition, weighed but nine-and-three-quarter pounds. Of specimens obtained in January, one female was in full plumage and two others nearly so; males uniformly in the more sombre dress, or with just a few white spots on the scapulars.—J. Sinet (Bagot, Jersey). CurLew Sanppiprr ty Cornwatit.—While fishing on the banks of the Bude reservoir towards the end of May, my brother, Col. Mathew, found himself close to a Curlew Sandpiper in the rich chesnut dress of the complete summer plumage. This Sandpiper is very rare in the spring on the south-west coast, although common enough in the autumn. Many years ago Mr. S. B. Heaven shot some in the month of May on Lundy Island, and this is the only other instance within my experience of the OCCASIONAL NOTES. 267 occurrence of the Curlew Sandpiper in its breeding plumage, on the south- west coast.—Murray A. Matuew (Stone Hall, Haverfordwest). Marsh Harrier 1n Hermu.—As the Marsh Harrier does not very frequently occur in the Channel Islands, I think it worth while to record the occurrence of one in the Island of Herm, near Guernsey, on the 2nd of May this year, when it was killed by the keeper in that island, and soon afterwards forwarded to me by Mr. Jago, the bird-stuffer, in Guernsey. It - was in immature plumage, the Moor-Buzzard plumage of Bewick. May seems an odd time for it to be found wandering about, but still that is the month in which the more recent occurrences of this bird in Herm which I have been able to record in the ‘ Birds of Guernsey’ have taken place. Probably the young birds of the year before are driven away by the old ones in the spring, and consequently have to wander about and pick up a living on their own account,—Cercit Situ (Bishop's Lydeard). TurtLe Dove in Co. Stico,—On the 28th of May a specimen of that rare visitant to the west of Ireland, the Turtle Dove, appeared here and remained about the place until the 3rd of June, on which date I last saw it. On several occasions I observed it picking on the roadway of the avenue, and as it appeared to keep near one particular clump of trees, I was in hopes of its finding a mate and building a nest. However, as I have not seen or heard anything of it since the 3rd inst., I fear that it has left the place, probably for the young larch plantations of Belleek, at the other side of the Moy. The Turtle Dove is of such rare occurrence in this - part of Ireland, that it has come under my observation only twice previously. So far back as the 27th of August and 3rd of October, 1862, 1 saw a Turtle Dove (probably the same individual) feeding in a stubble field. On the last-named date I had a very close view of the bird, and as I could not see the marks on the sides of the neck, I considered it a young one, pro- bably bred in the larch woods of Belleek—Robert WaRREN (Moyview). SNIPE PERCHING.—When walking up the brookside here the other day I flushed a Snipe, which after flying about a couple of hundred yards settled on some posts and rails, where it remained about a minute before taking flight again. This is the first time 1 have noticed a Snipe perch on anything, but have, of course, read and heard of their doing so, though 1 believe the habit is far from common.-——J. WuiTaker (Rainworth Lodge, near Mansfield, Notts). Two Kesrrets Layine tn THE sAMu Nest.—When lately in North Devon, my nephew came in one day with a Kestrel’s nest, and said there were three Kestrels in the tree from which he took it, a male bird and two females. The nest contained six eggs; four of them were fine type, dark and handsome varieties; the other two were of the ordinary character in 268 THE ZOOLOGIST. markings and colour; and this great difference I thought indicated that the clutch was the joint production of the two female birds—Murray A. Martuew (Stone Hall, Haverfordwest). Frrecrest in YorKsHrre.—Messrs. Clarke and Roebuck, in their ‘ Handbook of Yorkshire Vertebrata,’ remark (p. 22) that the Firecrest is a casual visitant to the county, and of extremely rare occurrence in winter. In December, 1880, I noticed at Clifton, near York, a pair of what I thought at the time were Golden-crested Wrens, Regulus cristatus, but on . shooting one I discovered it to be the Firecrest, R. ignicapillus.—W. Hewett (York). On tHE Foop or tHE Herrinc.—At page 235 I remarked that small Sand Launces (Ammodytes) formed the food of the Herrings which were being captured off Mevagissey. On the night of June 9th some thousands were landed at the same place, having been taken about eight miles from land near the surface of the sea, where they appeared to be feeding on young fish. Mr. Matthias Dunn, observing that they were all crammed with one kind of fry, kindly placed the contents of one stomach in spirit and forwarded it to me. I found the whole or portions of about thirty-five small fish, the largest being an inch anda half in length, and to my surprise observed that they were almost entirely composed of the gobioid Crystallogobius Nilssonii, of which only a single example has been recorded from the British Isles, and which was captured by Mr. Edward, of Banff, in May, 1868. The large canines and persistent premaxillary and mandibular teeth were very distinct, also the large broad-based pectoral fin, the disk-like ventrals, and two spines only in the first dorsal fin, rendering identification easy. I however wrote to Mr. Dunn, who has kindly sent me more, which fully confirm my first views. These fish were filled with the remains of small Crustacea (not yet examined). Ido not propose at present to discuss how these fish, usually believed to be almost restricted to the coasts of Norway and Sweden, may have been brought to our shores by currents or in pursuit of food. Still it is worth considering whether the Herrings may not have followed these Gobies from higher latitudes, as the Gobies have pursued their small prey. There is also another question that I hardly consider solved. Herr Collett, from whose investigations most of what we know of these fishes is derived, con- sidered them annual vertebrates, or fish which having spawned die. Among the last batch of specimens received from Mr. Dunn are some very young ones, a little thicker in the body than horse-hair, also every inter- mediate size up to an inch and a-half in length, but no spawning fish, nor I believe spawned fish. It is very remarkable how such forms should be taken so far from the coast, and only shows how much we have yet to OCCASIONAL NOTES. 269 ascertain respecting the food of sea fishes and what it is that influences these various migrations.—F'rancis Day (Pittville, Cheltenham). DoarFisH ON THE Coasts or Stigo AND Mayo.—Dogfish in immense numbers have this season invaded the fishing-grounds off Killala Bay and the adjacent coasts ; indeed so large have been the ‘“ schools” that fisher- men speak of seeing acres of them, and owing to their voracity and numbers have seriously injured the coast fishings for some weeks past, more especially the Mackerel fishing; for although a ground fish, they rise to the surface and attack the Mackerel or Herrings suspended in the drift nets. Some eight or ten days ago, off the Sligo coast, the crew of a fishing boat shot their nets into a “school” of Mackerel, and a most successful haul was made ; but to the great disappointment of the fishermen, on taking their nets on board, it was found that of nearly two thousand Mackerel taken, only two hundred were marketable, the remaining fish being so bitten and disfigured by the Dogfish as to be unsaleable; and as the marketable fish were sold for 18s. per hundred, the feelings of the men at such a loss may be better imagined than described. It appears that the Dogfish have thus come in-shore for the purpose of producing their young, and their presence has not only stopped the drift-net fishing, but has inter- fered also with the long-line fishing. The fishermen say that until these fish have left, it will be useless shooting either-nets or lines. It will be interesting to know whether other parts of the coast have been similarly visited by Dogfish this season.—Ropert WarreEn (Moyview, Ballina). On a LEECH FOUND IN CornwaLL.—On May 12th, I found in a little rill at T'remeader, springing out of the granite rock of Zennor Hill, near Penzance, which rill makes its way through a total course of less than a mile to the sea, over a clear pebble bottom bordered by ordinary vegetation, a large Leech (either a Horse Leech or the Black Leech, probably from its decided colour the latter). I searched the rivulet for a considerable distance up and down, but could find no trace of animal life in it except this Leech and some tadpoles. The bed of this rivulet is throughout of a sandy nature, without any suspicion of a muddy bottom anywhere. ‘There are leeches in ponds in this district, but the nearest that I know of are many miles away from this Tremeader rivulet, and spearated from it by a granite watershed. Of course the question is, where did this Leech come from ?— ‘Tuomas CornisH (Penzance). [Some Leeches are parasites on fishes; the specimens in question may have been transported in this way, but without seeing it, or having a more detailed description, we cannot express an opinion. ‘ Horse-Leech” is a name given to two distinct species, or even genera—Hemopsis sanguinea and Awlostomum gulo.—Ep. | 270 THE ZOOLOGIST. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Linnean Society or Lonpon. Anniversary Meeting, May 24, 1882.—Sir Joun Luspock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., President, in the chair. Mr. H. T. Stainton, on behalf of the Audit Committee, read the state- ment of receipts and payments for the year, and the Treasurer, Mr. Frank Crisp, followed with a detailed explanation of the various items, showing that the Society was in a sound financial condition, for besides investments about £4000, the balance at bankers was £649 Qs. 5d. Afterwards the Secretary, Mr. B. D. Jackson, read his annual report. Since the last anniversary fifteen Fellows of the Society, two Foreign Members, and one Associate had died, and seven Fellows had withdrawn ; while forty new Fellows had been elected. Between purchase, exchange, and donations 383 volumes and 348 separate parts had been added to the Library, and a large number of books and pamphlets had been bound. The President then delivered his Anniversary Address, commenting generally on the events of the past year, with special reference to their bearing upon the Society. He also made allusions to the removal of the Botanical Department of the British Museum to South Kensington, and to the additions of Miss North’s oil paintings, &c., to Kew Gardens. This was followed by reports on the various botanical and zoological publications published during the last twelvemonth. The obituary notices of deceased Fellows was read by the Secretary, the Society having to deplore the loss of Mr, Charles Darwin, Prof. Rolleston, Sir C. Wyville Thomson, and others, besides their late Treasurer, Mr. Frederick Currey, who had been in office above twenty years; as also the Librarian, Mr. R. Kippist, who had been in the Society's service over fifty years. The Scrutineers having examined the ballot, then reported that Mr. H. W. Bates, Prof. S. Cobbold, Prof. P. M. Duncan, Mr. E. M. Holmes, and Sir J. D. Hooker had been elected into the Council, in the room of Prof. Allman, Rev. J. M. Crombie, Mr. W. 8. Dallas, Mr. A. Grote, and Prof. Lankester, who retired ; and for officers, Sir J. Lubbock as President, Mr. Frank Crisp as Treasurer, and Mr. B. D. Jackson and Mr. G.J. Romanes as Secretaries. June 1, 1882.—F rank Crisp, LL.B., Treasurer, in the chair. Mr. H. C. Burdett was elected a Fellow of the Society. In illustration of his paper, “ On some Cutaneous Nerve Terminations in Mammals,” the following preparations were shown under the microscope by Dr. Hoggan :—(1) Longitudinal and transverse views of the organ of ‘*% PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 271 Eimer in the Mole, the nerves seen being representatives of the nerves upon an ordinary hair-follicle ; (2) forked nerve termination on hair-follicle of Mole’s tail; (3) nerve endings in nose of Cat; (4) termination of a nerve in the ganglion cells upon a “ feeler” hair in the Horse, and that of an ordinary hair in the same, showing forked and cellular endings and encircling fibres. Dr. Hoggan related his observations on the habits of a Mole (Talpa) kept in confinement, more particularly concerning its nasal organ as a special sense of touch, and of the tail as a tactile organ. He compared the develop- ment of the nerve in these with the cutaneous nerve structures of other Mammalia, dealing with the effects of habit in causing evolution of the so-called “organ of Kimer.” ‘Treating in detail of the differentiation of structure and function in this latter, he summed up as follows :—The central fibrils in the organ in question, and the nerve-cells at the base, with which they are continuous, are similar in character to the subepidermic nerve-cells and their intra-epidermic fibrillar prolongations. The outer circle of fibrils have equally their existence and nature explained, as well as the cause of their being dragged into their present position in the epiderm. Then, as relates to function, Eimer was certainly correct, or at all events within the truth, when he spoke of the organ he had discovered in the Mole as a * tactile instrument,” for it certainly possesses most remarkable powers of touch, but along with this other sensorial functions. Indeed it may be considered very probable that the inner circle of fibrils are the analogues and homologues of the forked endings, and that they provide for the sense of touch, while the centre fibrils and those of the outer circle provide for the sense of temperature, pain, and any functions connected with the sympathetic nerve system. The Paccinian bodies at the root of the organ, but not properly connected with it, are probably the agents for registering pressure, so that in itself the organ of Eimer is completely provided with the full armament of peripheral nerve terminations. A paper was read ‘On the Ascidians collected in the South Coast of England during the Cruise of the yacht ‘Glimpse’ in the year 1881,” by Mr H. A. Sorby and Prof. W. A. Herdman. A notice was given of the localities visited round the south coast of England, the depth where specimens were obtained, the nature of bottom, &c., followed by particulars respecting twelve species of simple Ascidians, one of these being a new form of Molgula, dredged in Hole’s Bay, near Poole, and named by the authors M. cepaformis. Only a few compound Ascidians were obtained during the cruise. Mr. P. Herbert Carpenter followed with “ Descriptions of new or little- known Comatule,” being materials derived from the ‘ Challenger’ Expedition and from the Hamburg Museum. ‘These comprise three species of Atele- crinus, one A. Wyvilli, a new form dredged near the Fiji Islands; four species of Ophiocrinus (= Eudiocrinus, n. g.), three of which are new; nine 272 THE ZOOLOGIST. species of Antedon, of which eight are new; and seven species of Actino- metra, two of these being hitherto unknown. The author institutes the new genus Eudiocrinus for Semper’s Ophiocrinus, the latter name having been preoccupied by an obscure Crinoid described by Salter from the Devonian formation of South Africa. June 15, 1882.—Sir Joun Lussock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., President, in the chair. The following gentlemen were elected Fellows of the Society :—The Rev. R. Collie, Chas. A. Ferrier, W. D. Gooch, T. D. Gibson-Carmichael, Sir J. R. Gibson Maitland, Bart., M. Murphy, Rev. H. A. Soames, H. C. Stephens, H. W. G. Stephens, and James Turner. Specimens in illustration of the papers by Mr. Geo. Brook and Mr. R. M’Lachlan, were exhibited under low powers of the microscope. Prof. E. Ray Lankester read ‘‘ Notes on some Habits of the Scorpions, Androctonus funestus, Ehr., and Euscorpius italicus, Roes.” Of the former he related its mode of burrowing in the sand, making horizontal tunnels occasionally eight inches long. The process of exuviation was also wit- nessed on several occasions, when the Scorpion, pushing its large chele into the sand, scraped rapidly backwards with the three anterior pairs of walking legs. The specimens of Androctonus were evidently timid; in walking they raise their body, and the tail and sting are carried highly arched over the back; in this mode of carriage differing from Huscorpius, which keeps its body low and flat, and drags the tail behind with only the very tip bent. Androctonus only fed at dusk, and then, seizing its prey with the left chele, archedly swung its tail over its head and pierced its victim with its sting, afterwards inserting its short chelicerse and sucking in the nutriment of its victim. The so-called combs or pectiniform appendages do not appear to be ordinarily sensitive; they may possibly become more so during the breeding season. The old story of the suicide of the Scorpion when surrounded by a ring of fire, is to be partially explained by an individual accidentally lacerating itself by the sting when driven to extremities. The Euscorpius observed occasionally fought furiously with each other, and then only used their chele, but never the sting. A paper was read “On a New Genus of Collembola (Sinella) allied to Degeeria, Nicolet,” by Mr. Geo. Brook. It differs from Degeeria in having four eyes, instead of sixteen ; in the absence of long abdominal hairs ; and in the different construction of the claws and mucrones. SS. curviseta is a new species, and on which the genus Sinella is founded ; examples were bred, and watched through their immature stages onwards. Mr. R. M’Lachlan read a communication “On a Marine Caddis-fly (Philanisus, Walker, Anomalostoma, Brauer) from New Zealand.” Material for examination of this curious discovery was sent the author by Prof. Hutton, PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 273 of Canterbury, New Zealand. The larva, &c., were obtained in rock-pools between high and low water mark in Lyttleton Harbour. A small tubular cylindrical pupa case, with attached fragments of a coralline, a larva some- what damaged, and disconnected portions of others, enabled the identifi- cation of the genus. Prof. P. M. Duncan gave the salient points of a paper “ On the Genus Pleurochinus, L. Agass., its classification, position, and alliances.” After noting the diagnosis of Pleurochinus by L. Agassiz, and the description of the species P. bothryoides of A. Agass., in the ‘ Revision of the Echini,’ the linking it with the fossil forms from Gand described by D’Archiac and Haime, was shown to be erroneous. The supposed affinities with Opechinus, Desor., a genus of no value, were considered, and the minute anatomy of the test of Plewrochinus was shown to correspond closely with those of Temnopleurus. Placing the form (with A. Agassiz) as a subgenus of Temnopleurus, its distinctness from Temnochinus and from the nummulitic so-called Temnopleurid@ of D’Agchiac and Haime, was proved. Mr. F. Maule Campbell detailed some interesting observations “ On a probable case of Parthenogenesis in the House Spider, Tegenaria Guyonii.” He concluded by submitting that the fertility of one of the female spiders in question, after a confinement of eleven months, during which time she twice moulted and afterwards laid eggs, which were duly hatched, can only be explained by one of the following alternatives:—either that she was impregnated previous to the casting of the two exuvie, ie., in an early and therefore immature stage; or parthenogenesis occurs in the Araneida. Hitherto no instance of this latter has been recorded in the true Spiders, Araneida, though Megnin, Kramer and Michael have Shown that the females of some Acarini couple with the males prior to their final moult, and that practically there are two stages of sexual maturity ; moreover, Beck and others have related cases of undoubted parthenogenesis in the Acari. A paper was read “On the Indication of the Sense of Smell in Actini@,” by Walter H. Pollock, with an addendum by G. J. Romanes. These authors record experiments whereby it appears probable that these lowly organized creatures are aware or evince recognition of the presence of food when placed near them. This sense is possibly of a diffused nature, and as suggested may be equivalent to an imperfect olfactory kind. A description was given of a new Infusorian allied to Plewronema, and obtained in ponds near Hertford by Mr. F. W. Phillips. Thereafter two papers were read, viz.:—‘“ On the Teredo utriculus, Gmelin, with remarks upon other Shipworms,” by Mr. Sylvanus Hanley ; and the fifteenth “ Contribution to the Mollusca of the ‘Challenger ’ Expedition,” by the Rev. R. Boog Watson; dealing with the families 2N Q74 THE ZOOLOGISYT. Ranellacea, Muricide, Scalariida, and Solariide. With a few remarks from the President, concluding the session, the meeting adjourned till the 2nd November.—J. Murine. ZootocicaL Soctety or Lonvon. June 6, 1882.—Prof. W. H. Frower, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair. The Secretary called the attention of the meeting to the curious way in which the young Cormorants lately hatched in the Gardens were fed by _ the parent birds, and exhibited a drawing by Mrs. Hugh Blackburn illustrating this subject. A communication was read from Prof. St. George Mivart, containing a series of observations on certain points in the anatomy of the Cat tribe (ALluroidea). Mr. Howard Saunders read a paper on some Larid@ collected by Capt. H. H. Markham, R.N., on the coasts of Peru and Chili, comprising, amongst other rarities, the third known example of the large Fork-tailed Gull (Xema fureatum), a species which had been vainly sought for on the Pacific coast of America for upwards of thirty years. The author drew attention to the peculiarities distinguishing the various species of Gulls found in the Pacific from those of the rest of the globe; and pointed out that, owing to oceanic currents, the connection between the species now ouly found on opposite sides of the equator had evidently been much more recent in the Pacific than in the Atlantic. Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell read a paper containing an attempt to apply a method of formulation to the species of the Comatulide, and added the description of a new species, which he proposed to call Bo The Birds of Breconshire, Z. Cambridye Phillips, 132. . ‘Snakes Venomous and Non-venomous, Arthur Stradling, C.M.Z.S., 140. OCCASIONAL NOTES, : * -. MamMaia.—Wild Cat in Assynt, Rev. Arthur P. Morres, 145. Marten Cat in Norfolk, Rev, M. C. H. Bird, 146. The Badger in Oxfordshire, Oliver Vu Aplin, 146. The Whiskered Bat in Yorkshire, Wm. Denison Roebuck, 147. Bottle-nosed Dolphin in the Colne, Henry Laver, M.R.C.S., F.L«S., 147. A Birps.—Albino Grouse in Mayo, A. G. More, F.L.S., 147. Great Grey Shrike | in Devon, W. 8. M. D'Urban, F.L.S., 148. Great Grey Shrike in Brecon- shire, H. Cambridge Phillips, 148. Great Grey Shrike near Barnsley, W. E. Brady, 148.. Notes on Birds in Nottinghamshire, J. Whitaker, 148,| Variety of the Common Snipe, Rev. Murray A. Mathew, M.A., F.L.S., 149; The “Churring” of the Nuthatch, Rev. O. P. Cambridge, M.A:;- 149% Abnormally coloured Birds in Nottinghamshire, J. Whitaker’, 150. Dipper nesting in North Oxfordshire, Oliver V. Aplin, 150. A Melanism of the Redwing, J. Whitaker, 151. Uncommon Birds in the Orwell, J. H. H, Knights, 151. Little Crake in Ireland; J. H. Gurney, Jun., F'.Z.8., 151, Falconry in Wales, L. Cambridge Phillips, 151. Repritzs.—Newts in the Tadpole Stage in Winter, @. 7. Rope, 152. * Do Salmon spawn in the Sea? Francis Day, F.L.S., F.Z.S8.;'158: ‘SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. -~ ‘Rough Notes on the Birds observed during twenty years’ shooting and collecting” in thé British Islands,’ by E, T. Booth, 157. a The Huntiy Collection of Bird Skins, Heads and Horns, &c., Removed from Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire, for absolute Sale. - a R. J. 0, STEVENS has received instructions from the ‘Trustees of the Marquis of Huntly to offer for Sale by Auction, at his Great Rooms, 38, King Street, Covent Garden, about the niiddle of Appril,, the CHOICE COLLECTION OF BIRDS of all kinds, beautifully set up and arranged in cases; also a superb Collection of HEADS and HORNS OF ANIMALS all removed from Aboyne Castle for absolute Sale. seg Fi - Further particulars in future Adyertisements, © -% PRELIMINARY NOTICE. ; ae R. J.C. STEVENS will Sell by Auctiou, at his Great Rooms, 88, King | . Street, Covent Garden, during the month of May, the fine COLLECTION? | Library of Entomological Books; and some good Water-Colour Drawings the British Tineine (Stainton’s ‘ Manual’), 730 Figures, Sieg Further particulars in future Advertisements. of Pr West, Newman & Go., Printers, 54, Hatton Garden, E.C. a 0 Fo. ee oe ee Pe AS | tat . Say Paha Pe ee Oe - f £4 APP + ADS. THE ZOOLOGIST A Monthly Journal NATURAL HISTORY. EDITED BY E. HARTING, F.L.S., F.Z.S. MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. DELECTANDO PARITERQUE ‘MONENDO. LONDON : JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. — Price ONE SHILLING. Feap. 8yo, boards, =? Ba: Se THE INSECT HUNTER’S COMPANION. a Rey. JOSEPH GREENE, M.A. BEING Instructions for Collecting, Rearing, Setting and Preserving Butterflies and Moths, Besiles; Bees, Flies, and other Insects. ae ““We have here an enlarged and improved edition of a manual, which has been found GranD Resvris or Scienriric Researcu, discussing the most recent scientific discoveries, and pointing out the bearing of Science upon civilization and progress and its claims to more general recognition, as well as to a higher place in the ‘educational system of the country. Every Thursday, price 6d.— Yearly, 28s.; Half-yearly, 14s. 6d.; Quarterly, _ 7s. 6d. P.O. Orders to be made payable at King Street, Covent Garden. Macmitian & Co., London. useful by many entomologists. ..... 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RE-ISSUE OF NEWMAN'S DICTIONARY OF BRITISH BIRDS. : This work embraces Colonel Montagu’s Ornithological Dictionary, with — - additions bringing it up to date of publication from the works of Yarrell-and Selby. It contains a full account of the Plumage, Weight, Habits, Food, Migrations, Nest, and Eggs of every Bird found in Great Britain and Ireland. The whole edited by Epwarp Newman, F.L.S., F.Z.8., &e. A work which will very deservedly constitute an essential occupant of every noclegiiate library.”—Athencum. a “A work which must be regarded as indispensable to all British ornithologists.” Eee es Price Seven Shillings and Sixpence. ‘ 4 : : a _. May also be had of Wesr, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden. Ke - : 4 “4 + Crown 8yvo, stiff cover, Prick StxpeNce, A LIST OF BRITISH BIRDS. H GENERA arranged | according to SUNDEVALL’S METHOD; the Nomenclature revised, according to the Rules of the British Association, by Henry THORNTON Wuanron, M.A., M.R.C.S., F.Z.S., Member of the _ British Ornithologists’ Union. - With an Introduction treating of—The limits of the British Avifauna; Nomenclature, giving Rules of the “British Association ; and Classification. ‘The ' Author has incorporated the latest results of the researches of Professor Nuwron, 2 Mr. DreEssER, and other well-known ornithological authorities. London: JoHy Van Voorst, 1, Paternoster Row. -On the Ist of every Month, price One Shilling and Threepence, TRIMEN’S JOURNAL OF BOTANY, Cae BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Epirep sy JAMES -BRIITTEN, F.L.S. ~ Contains original articles by our leading British Botanists, Notices of Books, Proceedings of Societies, and Botanical News. Especial attention is now given ~ to British Botany. There is usually at least one plate, drawn by a well-known b rtanical artist. ' Subseription for the year 1882, payable in advance, ‘TweLve SHILLINGS, : jet free. ‘Terms for Advertisements may be had on application to the Publishers. : Londor: West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Gaiden, E.C. THOMAS COOKE & SON, laturalists, Dealers in Entomological Apparatus, &ec. (Late of 513, NEW OXFORD STREET), 0, MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C. All articles and communications intended for publication in ‘ Tue Zooxoaist,’ books and pamphlets for review, may be forwarded direct to the Editor, J. E. Hartine, 24, Lincoln’s-Inn Fields, London. one and Subscriptions should be sent to West, Newman & Co., Hatton Garden, London, E.C. AUTHORS’ SEPARATE COPIES. Authors who require separate copies of their articles may obtain them at the — ‘mentioned charges :— : pages, 25 copies 4s. | 4 pages, 25 copies 5s. | 8 Pages, & " denice 8s. Od. oe 50 » DS. ” 50 ” 6s. ” ” 9s. Od. pee LOD! yu, Re 9 100) > 4s, 88. - 100 » 10s. 6d. _ A greater number of copies to be charged in equal proportion. Beparees tles, Wrappers, &e., extra. Authors are requested to order from West, — EWMLAN & Co., also to state, at head of the manuscript, the number of spies Ea - other ise the ‘ype pay: be distributed before the order is received. On the Hybernation er the bre A. Ratns, 161. Ornithological Notes from Natal, Majors EA. Butler sag re Ww. Capt. S. G. Reid, 165. “ Ornithological Notes from Yorkshire, W. Hagle Clarke, 171. Notes and Observations on British Stalk-eyed Crustacea, John £ Carrington, FL. S., and Edward Lovett, 178. OCCASIONAL NOTES. rhe ; Mammaria.—White Stoats, G. B. Corbin, 186. The Lesser Horse “shige Bat in Yorkshire, W. Denison Roebuck, 186. Variety of Mole, G. B. Corbin, 187. Occurrence of the Grey Seal off the Norfolk Coast, 7’. Southwell, F.Z.S., 187. Birps.—Nesting of the Long-tailed Titmouse, ¢. Bygrave Wharton, F.Z.8., 187, | Buffon’s Skua in the Channel Islands, Cecil Smith, F'.Z7.S., 188. On the Note of the Nuthatch, C. Bygrave Whiter 189. Hider Duck at Scilly, Thomas Cornish, 189. Imitative Powers of the Hawfineh, A. A. Macpherson,” 189. Hooded Crows in Hampshire, G. B. Corbin, 190. etic in Cornwall, Thomas Cornish, 190. ¥ Fisures.—Blindness in the Codfish. Francis Day, F.L.S., rZS, 191. Rare ~ Fishes on the Cornish Coast, Thomas Cornish, 192. The- Torpedo on the Yorkshire Coast, VV. Eagle Clarke, 193. + Memoir of the late Charles Darwin, LL.D., F.R.S., 193. SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Linnean, 196. sea: 199. Entomological, 200. ine H. W. MARSDEN, a Being now in regular communication with the best Collectors in NORTHERN: and EASTERN EUROPE, can always supply fine Specimens of | EUROPEAN & BRITISH BIRDS’ EGGS AND BIRD SKINS, including many very rare Species. Price Lists on application. Also PRESERVED LARVZ of LEPIDOPTERA; EUROPEAN: a EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &e., &c. ; and © the best BOOKS on ENTOMOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY and OOLOGY. — REGENT STREET, GLOUCESTER. . BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS EGGS.—A-few fine fresh Clutches 9 of Waxwing'’s Eggs just received. Apply as abous. Jor eee OTe: . COLLECTION OF BRITISH i omaha N\ R. J.C. STEVENS is instructed to Sell by Auction, at his Great Roomy 38, King Street, Covent Garden, on Saturday, 20th May, at Half-past Twelve - precisely, a very VALUABLE COLLECTION of BRITISH LEPI OPTER. _ containing several rare and unique varieties. Most of the specimens have be Z selected with great care, and have labels attached to them. Also several Maho _ and other CABINETS. Some Ornithoptera Brookeana from Borneo; and a B d Gold Screen of Butterflies. On view on TOE of Sale, and Cat: ready ten days prior to day of Sale. . ron : Tea er iae ew Dire Lea PN Be OS NE = ee West, Newman &Co., Printers, 54, Hatton Ganden: DAE CRON 4 +4 : 7s Turrp SERIES. |] JUNE, 1882. [Vou. VI., No. 66. ee es a a = Bas) THE ZOOLOGIST 4 Monthly Journal NATURAL HISTORY. KDITED BY Jy. HARTING, F.LS. F.Z.S. MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO. ‘ - Cs LONDON: JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. Price ONE SHILLING. Aas Just ready, Demy 8vo, cloth extra, gilt. RE-ISSUE OF NEWMAN'S DICTIONARY OF BRITISH BIRDS. This work embraces Colonel Montagu’s Ornithological Dictionary, with additions bringing it up to date of publication from the works of Yarrell and Selby. It contains a full account of the Plumage, Weight, Habits, Food, Migrations, Nest, and Eggs of every Bird found in Great Britain and Ireland. The whole edited by Epwarp Newman, F.L.S., F.Z.8., &. ‘©A work which will very deservedly constitute an essential occupant of every zoological library.”—Atheneum. ‘©A work which must be regarded as indispensable to all British ornithologists. "Field. Price Seven Shillings and Sixpence. London: W. SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW, May also be had of Wes, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden. NATURE: A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. One of the leading objects of this periodical is to awaken in the public mind a more lively interest in Science. With this end in view it provides original Articles and Reviews, written by scientific men of the highest distinction in their various departments, expounding in a Popular and yet Authentic Manner the Granp Ruesuris or Scientiric ResparcuH, discussing the most recent scientific discoveries, and pointing out the bearing of Science upon civilization and progress and its claims to more general recognition, as well as to a higher place in the educational system of the country. Every Thursday, price 6d.— Yearly, 28s.; Half-yearly, 14s. 6d. ; Rae ce 7s. 6d. P.O. Orders to be made payable at King Street, Covent Garden. MacmiLuan & Co., London. t Feap. 8vo, boards, THE INSECT HUNTER’S COMPANION. BY THE Rev. JOSEPH GREENE, M.A. z BEING Instructions for Collecting, Rearing, Setting and Preserving Butterflies and Moths, Beetles, Bees, Flies, and other Insects, “We have here an enlarged and improved edition of a manual, which has been found useful by many entomologists. ..... The instructions are sound and practical. .... . The~ book may be safely recommended as a manual for young collectors, and will save them much loss of time and disappointment.”—‘ Journal of Science, March, 1882. THIRD EDITION. REVISED AND EXTENDED BY A. B. FARN. THE CHAPTER ON COLEOPTERA BY EDWARD NEWMAN. Price One Shilling. WEST, NEWMAN & CO., 54, HATTON GARDEN, LONDON, B.C, ; Mas also be had of BK. G. MerK, 56, deramapton Road, S.W. ace a2 2 On the Ist of every Month, pricé One Shilling and Threepence, _ TRIMEN’ S JOURNAL OF BOTANY, BRITISH AND FOREIGN, ; Epirep By JAMES BRITTEN, F.L:S. ee origimal articles by our leading British Botanists, Notices of Books, Proceedings of Societies, and Botanical News. Especial attention is now given o British “Botany. There is usually at least one plate, drawn by a well-known jotanical artist. ~ Subseription for the year 1882, payable in advance, 'Twetve SHILLINGS, ost free. Terms for Advertisements may be had on application. to the Publishers. London: West, Newman &-Co., 54, Hatton Garden, E.C. NEW WORK ON NATURAL HISTORY. e ae ready, with Portrait and Illustrations, crown 8vo, 12s. 6d. TOTES AND. JOTTINGS FROM ANIMAL LIFE. By. the late = Frank BuckLanpb. London; SMITH, EEDER & CO, 15, Waterloo Place. THOMAS COOKE & SON, N aturalists, Dealers in Entomological Rpeatenns &e. (Late of 518, NEW OXFORD STREET), 0, MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C. a : H. W. MARSDEN, jeing now in regular commuiication with the best Collectors in NORTHERN and EASTERN EUROPE, can always supply fine Specimens of UROPEAN & BRITISH BIRDS’ EGGS AND BIRD-SKINS, including many very rare Species. Price Lists on application. “Also. PRESERVED LARV4 of LEPIDOPTERA; EUROPEAN and KOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &e., &e.; and ee BOOKS: on ENTOMOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY and OOLOGY. REGENT STREET, GLOUCESTER. BOHEMIAN WAXWING S EG@GS.— A few fine fresh Clutches of mee Ey 998 just received. Apply as above for particulars. ee ; AUTHORS’ SEPARATE COPIES. E: Authors who require separate copies of their articles may obtain them at the ider-mentioned charges :— 2 pages, 25 copies 4s. | 4 pages, et copies 5s. 8 pages, 25 copies 8s. Od. eS “3 50 > 58. »> ” 6s ’ ” 50 ” 9s. Od. Bears L003 78s.) ¥, 106 pac es oa, OO = 55-1 08. Gay | z- A greater number of copies to be charged in equal proportion. Separate itles, “Wrappers, &e., extra. Authors are requested to order from” West, mwaan & Co., also to state, at head of the manuscript, the number of copies nired ; otherwise the {TBP may be Ber eNte’ hefore the onder is received. CONTENTS. On the Breeding of the Otter, 4. H, Cocks, M.d., F.Z.S., 201. a Ornithological Notes from Natal, Majors E. A. Butler and H. W. Feilden, ade ; Capt. 8. G. Reid, 204. ; The Birds of Breconshire, 2. Cambridge Phillips, 218. The Severn Salmon—whence it comes and where it goes, Francis Day, F’.L.S., F.Z.S.4 221. 3 Notes and Observations on British Stalk-eyed Crustacea, John T. Carrington, F.LS.. and Edward Lovett, 228. ; OCCASIONAL NOTES. roceedings of Soeieties, and Botanical News. Hspecial attention is now given otanical. artist. Subscription for the year 1882, payable in advance, TwELve S#HiLtines, ost free. ‘Terms for Advertisements. may be had on application to the Publishers. London: West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden, H.C. H. W. MARSDEN, and KASTERN EUROPE, can always supply fine Specimens of ~ including many very rare Species. Price Lists on application. 4 PRESERVED LARVZi .of LEPIDOPTERA; EUROPEAN and best BOOKS on ENTOMOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY and OOLOGY. i REGENT STREET, GLOUCESTER. THOMAS COOKE & SON, (Late of 513, NEW OXFORD STREET), te STREET, OXFORD STREET, a . E. Harrine, 24, Lincoln’s-Inn Fields, London. ~ 5: Hatton: Garden, London, EiC. are AUTHORS’ SEPARATE COPIES. * cuthore wlio require separate copies of their articles may obtain them at tthe pepe -mentioned charges — nts Q pages, 25 copies 4g,"|-4 pages, 2 copies 5s. |-8 pages, 25 copies 8s. Od. é 50 * BB. eB tye oe BS; gh TOOLS at Se Oat Ode pS een 59 TOO. 330 - Bee » 100. ,, 10s. 6d. other wise the type may be aisiesbueed before the ontea is received. — ~ All articles and communications intended for publication in ‘ THE Zooroaist,’ -and books and pamphlets for review, may be forwarded direct to the Editions a Advertisements and Subscriptions should be sent to Wust, Nuwman & Co. rE: ~. “A greater number of copies to. be- charged in equal proportion. Separate % Titles, Wrappers, &c., extra. Authors are requested to order from West, uan & Co., also to state, at. head of the manuscript, the number of a o British “Botany. There is usually at least one plate, drawn by a well-known — Being now in regular communication with the best Collectors in NORTHERN {9 EUROPEAN & BRITISH BIRDS' EGGS AND BIRD-SKINS, — IX LIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &c., &e.; and -A Visit to Loch Swen, Argyllshire, J. M. Pike, 281. ~ The Birds of Breconshire, /. Cambridge Phillips, 28% - Ornithological Notes from East Norfolk, J. H. Gurney, jun; EZ ye Ornithological Notes from Natal, Majors EH. A. Butler and H.W. 3 Capt. S. G. Reid, 297. MEE eS 55 et OCCASIONAL NOTES. er dees ~ Mawmatia.—Badger in Essex, Robert Miller Christy, 303. Marte in D T. H. Nelson, 304. Ph SNES See Brrps.—Ornithological. Notes from the Solway Firth, J. J. Armistead, 304. Kentish Plover in Sussex, J. Jenner Weir, F.L.S., 305. Marsh Warb near Taunton, F’. Stansell; 306. Woodcock’s.mode of carrying its You Richard J. Ussher, 306. Habits of the Woodeock, as observed in Irela RwE. Reeves, 3077 Notes from the Northumbrian. Loughs, Edward Gibbins, 308. Wildfowl breeding at Rainworth, Notts, J. Whitaker, 3| Curious Site fora Flycatcher’s Nest, 7’. H. Nelson, 809. Short-eared Owl breeding in Cambridgeshire, &. M. Christy, 309. ° Unusual Site: for @ Chaffinch’s Nest, Edward J. Gibbins, 810. Merlin striking at Cage-bird, Herbert Langton, 310. Reed Warbler and Nightingale in South Wales, J. Young, 310... Teal and Mavsh Harrier nesting in Glamorganshire, 22. Gibbins, 310. Common Buzzard in Nottinghamshire, J. Whitaker, 310. “ ‘ SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. AL Bin Zoological Society of London, 311. CSN AT Ee NOTICES. OF NEW BOOKS. ’ aR PRD: « Matabele Land and the Victoria Fall; a Naturalists Wanderings in the Inte of South Africa,’ from the Letters and Journals of the late Frank Oa F.R.G.S. ; edited by C. J. Oates, B.A. 318.0 7 ee ae ‘Notes and Jottings from Anintal Life,’ by the late Frank Buckland, M.A., 316. © ‘The Micrographic Dictionary; a Guide to the Examination and Investigation of the Structure and Nature of Microscopic Objects,’ by J. W. Griffith, M.Dy and Arthur Henfrey, F.R.S8.. Fourth Kdition, edited by J.W. Griffith, the Rev. M.J: Berkeley, M.A., and 'T. Rupert Jones, FVR.S., 319. © ; ‘ 3 ° ee General Index to the ‘ Zoologist. In accordance with au urgent wish expressed by many working zoologists is proposed to prepare and publish a General Index to the 38 volumes of ‘T Zoooaist,’ ending with the volume for 1880. : pete a This Index will be compiled by a working naturalist, not from the a Indices issued with each volume, but from the pages de novo, so as to é perfect accuracy and completeness, and will contain*cross-referenées, andi localities. ee As the preparation and printing of such an Index will necessarily- ew considerable expense, it cannot be undertaken unless a certain proportion of gost be previously guaranteed by intending subscribers. At least 200 copies, a » £1 each, should’ be ordered in advance before the work ‘can be commenced; an it is for naturalists to show. the need there is for the work by expressin ~ willingness to subscribe for it. ae z psa gis ~*~ _ Names are now being received-by Messrs. West, Newman & Co., 54 ~~ Garden, E.0. hae erates Tae = 4 i ae Se PN. Dae RR pak ets Re ten EB Se Se ~~ West, Newman & Co., Printers, 54, Hatton Garden, H.C. ee ae Nee od Dee Fie) See, oP 5/5 eer spr Be a a Die > atc Tar Sy ne ae “2 Bim Th os Np) _ SEPTEMBER, 1882. [Vor. VI., No. 69. FE Suntes.] 2 THE ZOOLOGIS! te “ 3 Monthly Journal NATURAL HISTORY. EDITED BY ; |. J. B, HARTING, F.LS.. F.Z.8.2 MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. ~DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO. é ee + m in hye ts Fa ee ® ve eel, £2 OS Re ie 24h 1, ree heler alk “SAL Wi (SE Ee] eee LONDON: =p | JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. oD) Se - Pasi : ? ) ON SaSTE ES: ey Royal in Parts L & i. now pate srige 1e 10s. 6 )HOPALOCERA MALAYANA: a Description of the B tt Malay Peninsula. By W. L. Distanr. To be completed in Royal 4to Parts, each containing Four Coloured Plates, executed in style of Chromo-lithography, and about 28 tue of Leip? Bubeeriy on ae for the entire work, £3 3s. Nhe “This book will be really’ of necessity to those working the insect fauna of tare? indiaah region. * * *. The chromo-lithographed plates are all that can be desired.” * Entomologist.’ ¢ ‘London: W. L. Distant, care of. West, NewMAn & Co., 54, Hatton: Garden. RAS DOr BRITISH BIRDS. THE GENERA arranged according to SUNDEVALL'S METHOD; “thes é Nomenclature rovised: according» to the Rules of the British ABsBb ALOR: i by. Henry THornron Wuarron, M-A., M.R.C.S., F.Z.5., Sips of the — British Ornithologists’ Union. a With an Introduction treating of—The limits of the. British Avifauna; ~ Ky Nomeuclature, giving Rules of the British Association; and Classification.» The Author has incorporated the latest results of the researches of Professor ‘Nowron, pa Mr. Dresser, and other well-known ornithological authorities. on a 1 For Labels or Reference: Price Sixpence. Aces Vein os ~ & a London: Joun Van Voorst, 1, Paternoster Row. ; aps - Just ready, Demy 8vo, cloth extra, gilt. RE-ISSUE OF NEWMAN'S DICTIONARY OF BRITISH BIRDS. _. This work embraces Colonel Montagu’s Ornithological Dictionary, with additions bringing it up to date of publication from the works of Yarrell and Selby. It contains a full account of the Plumage, Weight, Habits, Food, Migrations, Nest, and Eggs of every Bird found in Great Britain and tyeland, The whole edited by Evwarp Newman, F.L.S., F.Z.8., &e. “A work which will very deservedly constitute an sadeitial occupant of every zoologica) ; ‘= PoP on a library.”—Atheneum. ‘‘A work which must be regarded as indispensable to all British ornithologists. "Wield. Price Seven Shillings and Sixpence. ~ 5 London: W. SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., PATERNOSTER ‘ROW. “4 May also be had of Wrst, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Gandens fe: a N A T U R ly A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. _ One of the leading objects of this periodical is to awaken in the public Tnind ; or a more lively interest in Science. With this end in view it provides original” — Articles aud Reviews, written by scientific men of the highest distinction in their Aa various departments, expounding in a Popular and yet Authentic Manner the GranD, Resuirs oF Scientiric Resrarcw, discussing the most recent scientific _ discoveries, and pointiug out the beariug of Science upon civilization and progress = - and its claims to more general recognition, as well as to a higher place in‘ th ss educational system of the country. Baie Every Thursday, price.Gd.— Yearly, 28s.: Hali-yearly, 14s, 6d. ; Quarter » ae P.O. Orders to be made payable at King Street, Covent Garden. . ew MAcMILLAN & Co., London. ~ Sen = sanding many very rare Species. Price. Lists on application. > best BOOKS, on ENTOMOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY and OOLOGY. i REGENT STREET, GLOUCESTER. BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Epirep sy JAMES BRITTEN, ELS. |. “a Contains original articles by our leading British Botanists, Notices of Books, itish Botany. . There is usually at least one plate, drawn by a well-known sical artist. ~ London: WEstT, Newaan & Co., b4, Hatton Garden, B.C. articles aid communications intended for publication in ‘Tur Zooxocist,’ E. Harting, 24, Lincoln’s-Inn Fields, London. \ tisements and Subscriptions should be sent to West, Newman & Co., atton Garden, London, E.C. AUTHORS’ SEPARATE COPIES. utioned ehatges.:<= 2 pages, 25 copies. 4s, | 4 aclaage s copies 5s. | 8 pages, 25 copies 8s. Od. Bes 50. ” 5s. ie, 1 2” 6s ” 50 ” 9s. Od. x Sieel S 100 ie Be! Fhe gu 100", loa? Bas PEP DOR: &e,, extra, _ Authors are requested to order from Was, ired ; therwise the type: pay be peels ited Uptore the order is received. PRESERVED LARVA) of LEPIDOPTERA: EUROPEAN and _ IC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &e., ke. ; and edings of Societies, and Botanical News, Especial attention is now given — ‘Subseription | for the year 1882, payable in advance, TWELVE Bankes. ; st f ee. Terms for Advertisements may be had on application to the Publishers. oks and pamphlets for review, may be forwarded direct to the Editor, greater number of copies to be charged in equal proportion. Separate. : Co., also to state, at head .of the manuscript, the number of copies uthors s who require separate copies of their articles may obtain them at the. = Notes of a Naturalist on 1 the West Coast of. Stange, Mot et M. A; FF. 4.8., 321, Ornithological Notes from Natal, Majors E. ve Butler and H. W. “Folden Capt. S. G. Reid, 335. The Incubation of Serpents, Arthur Stradling, C.M;Z.S:, 845. OCCASIONAL NOTES. Mammatia.— Variety of the Mole, Oliver V. Aplin, 351. Bortlenosed D pl in the Colne, Henry Laver, F.L.S., 351. Birps.—Common Buzzard in the Lake District, J. Baskugae ae 3 Variety of the Wheatear, Robert Service, 352. Snipe perching, J. Ba house, Jun., 352. Kestrel breeding on the Ground, .R. M. Christy, aa Curious Nesting-place of a Great Tit; Pintail breeding in Westover J. Backhouse, "i un., 853. = Fisues.—Phycis Clermoides (Giinther) off the Manx Coast, P. M. C. Kermoi 358. Unusual abundance of Dog-fish on the Coasts of Scotland, J. Harvie Brown, F.RS_E,, FZ... 354. uy The late Professor Balfour, 355. The late Professor Leith Adams, 356. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. “ The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man's Recreation ; bein, Discourse of Fish and Fishing, not unworthy the perusal of most Angle 357. . : PROPOSED General Index to the : Zoologist. In accordance with an urgent wish expressed by many working ‘eolasue™ My is proposed to prepare and publish a General Index to the 38 volumes of *° i Zooxoaist,’ ending with the volume for 1880. ‘ ag This Index will be compiled by a working naturalist, not from the annua Indices issued with each volume, but from the pages de novo, so as to ensur perfect accuracy and completeness, and will contain cross-references, and indi localities. oo As the preparation and printing of such an Index will necessarily: en considerable expense, it cannot be undertaken unless a certain proportion cost be previously guaranteed by intending subseribers. At least 200 * a. Nits ; be > . rs ¥ n \ iv ue + ZOOLOGIST és . a Monthly Journal t NATURAL HISTORY. “EDITED BY §, B HARTING, F.LS. £28. MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, DELECTANDO é PARITERQUE MONENDO, ey ey ae 5 eS price ONE SHILLING. _ Royal 4to, Parts a re ae ll. now re HOPALOCERA .MALAYANA: a Deseri Malay Peninsula. By W. L. Distant. To be completed in a “This book will be really of necessity to those working the insect fauna of the region, The chromo-lithographed plates are all that can be desired.” —Entomologist. ; “We have before us the first two Parts of this truly magnificent work. The Auth former residence in the Straits Settlements peculiarly fits him for the production of a wo such as this. The descriptions are clear, and are always accompanied by copious: com- parative, geographical, and philosophical notes. The plates are in the best Style of — chromo-lithography,”—Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine. 5 et ah te London: W. L. Disrant, care of West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden, : NATURE: RCO A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, tes One of the leading objects of this periodical is to awaken in the public mind — a more lively interest in Science. With this end in view it provides original = Articles and Reviews, written by scientific men of the highest distinction in their — various departments, expounding in a Popular and yet Authentic Manner the — Granpd Resutts or Scientiric Resmarcu, discussing the most recent scientific discoveries, and pointing out the bearing of Science upon civilization and progress , and its claims to more general recognition, as well as to a higher place in the — educational system of the country. Oe ieee Kyery Thursday, price 6d.—Yearly, 28s.; Half-yearly, 14s. 6d.; Quarterl is. 6d. P.O. Orders to be made payable at King Street, Covent Garden, Macmitian & Co., London. ALIS T*’-OF: BRITISH BIRDS = _ THE GENERA arranged according to SUNDEVALL’S METHOD; the ~ Nomenclature revised, according to the Rules of the British Aésociation, — by Henry THornton Wuarton, M.A., M.R.C.S., F.Z.S., Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union. ; For Labels or Reference: Price Sixpence. London: Joun. Van Voorst, 1, Paternoster Row. é | Just ready, Demy 8vo, cloth extra, gilt. es. . RE-ISSUE OF NEWMAN'S © a Wee DICTIONARY OF BRITISH BIRDS. This work embraces Colonel Montagu’s Omithological Dictionary, wit additions bringing it up to date of publication from the works of Yarrell and — Selby. -It contains a full account of the Plumage, Weight, Habits, Food, — “ Migrations, Nest, and Eggs of every Bird found in Great Britain and Ireland, — The whole edited by Epwarp Newman, F.L.S., F.Z.8., é&e. ORs Pach ‘A work which will very deservedly constitute an essential occupant of every zoologics ~. library.”—Atheneum. Rone “A work which must be regarded as indispensable to all British ornithologists.” mS Price Seven Shillings and Sixpence. nek is _ London: W. SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW. May also be had of Wusr, Newnan & Co., 54, Hatton Garden. ; ’* - eer THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS IN THE SPRING gree AUTUMN OF 1881. R. M: Biechittion, and A. G. Mors. few copies of the Report (over and above those required for the Committee) be obtained of Wrst, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden, London. As the iber is limited an early application is desirable. Sayer ON the 1st of every Month, price One Shilling and Threepence, TRIMEN’ S JOURNAL OF BOTANY, BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Epirep sy JAMES BRITTEN, F.LS. Contains original articles by our leading British Botanists, Notices of Books, edings of Societies, and Botanical News. Especial attention is now given ~ Badsoviatioi for the year 1882, payable in advance, TWELVE SHILLINGS, free. ‘Terms for Advertisements may be had onapplication to the Publishers. London: West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden, E.C. THOMAS COOKE & SON, (Late of 513, NEW OXFORD STREET), 4 MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C. H. W. MARSDEN, ng now in seems communication with the best Collectors in NORTHERN — “and EASTERN EUROPE, can always supply fine Specimens of ‘C LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, é&e., &.; and BOOKS on ENTOMOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY and QOLOGY. 37, MIDLAND ROAD, GLOUCESTER. ‘ion soagenal Sumo woes San oe “Q pages, 25 copies is, 4 pages, 25 copies bs. 8 pages, 25 copies 8s. Od. ” : BOSS Oe aeRO 4-68 i HORS de coda) ah WOO 2 eta Fo At TOO ssn BR BOS” 5, 4 108,60 A greater number of copies to be charged in equal. proportion. Separate AN & Co.; also to state, at head of the manuscript, the number of copies otherwise the type may be distributed before the order is received. British es There is usually at least one plate, drawn by a well-known = ,. Wrappers, &e., extra. Authors are requested to order from WeEsv, — “ pa af a Naturalist on the West Goast of Spitzbergen, Alfre é ~~ MLA., F.Z.S8.; 404.6 ae Mia Rough Notes i in i and Higgs, ae aspire 418, i? ; Capt. 8. G. Reid, 423. At ere potpvnpogyph t Notes from Laven Saffolk, Hen, y Stevenson, P. LS § OCCASIONAL NOTES. Birips.— Choughs breeding in Domestication, Lady Dorothy Novilt, 2 % Gadwall in Radnorshire, H. N. Ridley, 431. — Alpine Chough i in “Onttn J. Whitaker, F'Z.8., 481. Ring Ouzel in Northamptonshire, #. F’, Toi “A32°: Totanus pollen at Scilly, Thomas Co rnish, 432. Rosé-col - Pastor in J ersey, J. Sinel, 432. Manx Shearwater in- Somerset, Cecil: [ 433. Fire-crested Regulus in Jersey, J. Sinel, 433.. Martins breeding Bayswater, J. Young, °433. Barly Arrival of the Jack Sniper, Oe : Aplin, 488. : Rerrites.—The Smooth Svake in Surrey, H. N, Ridley 493, The a Snake at Bournemouth, H. A. Macpherson, 434. _ Fisues.—Thresher Shark off the Coast of Devon, John Guesomie ee Shark on the Coast of Dublin, A. G. More, F.L.S., F.Z.8., i Soe _ Sword- fish off Plymouth, John Gatcombe, 434. ” NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. : “ Cameos from the Silver-land’; or, the Experiences of a Young Naturalis . Argentine Republic,’ by Ernest William White, F.Z.S. (Vol. IL), 48 =f puamite,t in otersnienl by Joseph Lucas, F.G.S., F.M.S., 487. > © Z Allarticles and haves Gsinaigous intended for ou blicutibt in ‘ Tur ZOoOLosis ~ and books and pamphlets for. review, may be forwarded direct to the Ea Mr. J. E. Hantine, 24, Lincoln ‘sm Fields, London,» ee ‘ | 54, Hatton Garden, London, F.C, ANTED— ZOOLOGIST’ for January. and Februar), 1866.: Barrinoron, Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Wicklow. * British Lepidoptera, Cabinets, Birds in Cases, So. R. J. Oe ‘STEVENS will Sell by Auction, at his Great Rooins, 88,” Street, Covent Garden, on Friday, November LOth, at half. -past 12. prec THE FINE COLLECTION OF BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. form Mr. Wm. Presv, of York, containing many good Varieties, Local Forms “Rare Species, including the new Tortria Safauryana, taken and bred by and the new Scoparia Conspicualis, taken by Mr. Presv near York this . with additions also from the Cabinets of the late-Mr. Wa. Tarpor, of ~ and Dr. J. 8. Wesnny, late of Wetherby. Also’ several dther small ~~ of British aud Exotic Lepidoptera, Mahogany and other Cabinets, Bin ~~ Heads and Horns, and other Specimens of Natural History. ~~ On views after Two o’Clock the day prior and moni of Catalogues had. ; ~ <= 3 - DECEMBER, 1882. [Vou. VI., No. 72. | OOLOGIST | | 4 Monthly : Sournal NATURAL HISTORY, EDITED BY J. B, HARTING, BLS. B28. : MmMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITAOLOGISTS’ Union, “DELECTANDO: PARITERQUE MONENDO. \N VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. | All articles and communications joronded for publication i in ‘ Pape Ben e aud books and pamphlets for review, may be forwarded direct to the Baitor, ee Mr: J. E. 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If a communication be worth printing it should be worth writing — legibly in a form which will occasion the least trouble to the printer. ie (3) When specimens are forwarded for identification or exhibition, the Editor: a ought not to be expected to pay the carriage. as (4) All letters relating to the non-delivery of ‘The Zoologist,’ ‘through this- = ‘ carriage in the post or otherwise, the purchase of back numbers, and so forth, should be addressed to Messrs. West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden. ; Te , iN EASES CORES ek AUTHORS’ SEPARATE COPIES. “kg Authors who require separate copies of their articles ay obtain them at the q £ ~ ; under-mentioned charges :— ee 2 pages, ri copies 4s. | 4 pages, 25 copies 5s. | 8 pages, 25 copies 8s. Ode \.*oee ‘i Tee. i SDOLS as OB i $0. 55,5 ORees Gos : 100 Nera sy ob LOOKS tige3i- BB 1 100%: 5), “ROseOe, eae se we A greater number of copies to be charged in equal proportion. Separate — Titles, Wrappers, &c., extra. Authors are requested to order from WEsr, Newman & Co., also to state, at head of the manuscript, the number of eopies required; otherwise the type may be distributed before the order is received. THOMAS COOKE & SON, Naturalists, Dealers in Entomological Apparatus, ue (Late of 618, NEW OXFORD STREET), ‘ 30, MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.c. H. W. MARSDEN, Being now in régular communication with the best Collectors in NORTHERN _ and KASTERN EUROPE, can always supply fine Specimens of EUROPEAN & BRITISH BIRDS’ EGGS AND BIRD- SKINS, including many very rare Species. Price Lists on application. cr Also PRESERVED LARVA of LEPIDOPTERA: EUROPEAN: ond ~ EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &c., &e. ; and ote best BOOKS on ENTOMOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY and OLOGY. 37, MIDLAND ROAD, GLOUCESTER. TEVENS will | Sal by Kigeoh, ca hig Great Rooms, 38, . King , Govent Garden, on Friday, December 8th; at half-past 12 precisely, LECTION OF BIRDS". EGGS, inelading many rare Specimens, and -and_localities* to each 5 also BIRD- SKINS, comprising the rare sects, some rare, and various other Natural-History Specimens. “view after Two o’Clock the day prior and morning of Sale, and wes had. 4 On the 1st of every Month, price One Shilling and Threepence, THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY, ~ BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Epitrep spy JAMES BRITTEN, F.LS. Con tains original articles by our leading British Botanists, Notices of Books, British Botany.- pe is usually at least one plate, drawn by a well-known tanical artist. " Subseription forthe year 1883, payable in advance, TwLve SHicuines, st ee. Terms for Advertisements may be had on application to the Publishers. ~ London : West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden, E.C. LIST OF BRITISH BIRDS. y Henry THoRNTON WHARTON, M.A., M-R.C.S., F.Z.S., Member of the 3 Beish Ornithologists’ Union. th an Introduction treating of—The limits of the British Avifauna; hor has incorporated the latest results of the researches-of Professor Ni NEES RESSER, and other well-known ornithological authorities. For Labels or Reference: Price Sixpence. London: Jonn Van Voorst, 1, Paternoster Row. _ BOTANICAL DRYING PAPER. | : cash leah oe &e., FOR THE: HERBARIUM. ‘employed.”—The late Sir W. J. Hooker. ial point in its favour.” —H. N. Moseley. ~ r’s Chronicle. ee #3 inches by 10, when folded, 15s. per ream, Is. 1a. per quire. 18 1s. 4d. y ey wer ’ ” 19s. ” ” Seek nee, 12, iG _ 23s, FS Is. 9d. rn a Se FS 16g ae 80s. 9 ee = 28, Ads 5 neaege This Cher i is too oS to seni by Post. Greenland Falcon, Swallow -tailed Kite, in fine condition; a few roceeditigs of Societies, and Botanical News. Especial attention is now given ~ ® GENERA arranged according to SUNDEVALL'S METHOD: ‘the. omenclature revised, according to the Rules of the British Association, Awe venclature, giving Rules of the British Association; and Classification. ‘The “have to’say is in its favour. It is the best paper for the purpose [ found your drying paper very useful, and dried -all the plants which i ie ted on the Challenger’ Expedition with it _ I consider its Breet Sree BAS _ botanical students should provide themselves with a supe se ; _. The Weatine oF Bnalish Bid saae ‘H, T. Wha On the Treatment of Snakes in Captivity, Arthur Str aa 9, C. Ornithological Notes from Devon and Comal, John Gatcomb - Ornithological Notes frongNatal, 5 EVA. Butler and: Capt. 8.@ G. Reid, eg J OCCASIONAL NOTES. — te 5 Brrps.~ South-African Eagle Owl in. Ireland, Richard J. ‘atin: 460 Black-winged or Japanned Peafowl, Cecil Smith, #.Z.S. 462. Osprey ne Worthing, Seatus Vernon Clark, 463. ‘Common Grane in Lincolnshire, A: Thémeon; 463. Pomatorhine Skua in Sussex; ~H, ‘Nicholls, 463, The -~ Gadwall in Radnorshire, £. Cambridge Phillips, 463. Greater Shearwater in Lincolnshire, 4. Thomson, 464. » Osprey- in Leicestershir Eh nes Macaulay, 464. x Reprites.—Natterjack at Aldeburgh, H. A, Macpherson, 465. Cheliter De z @. Koch, a Species new to Britain, Henry Crowther, 465, 0 2 _ Death of Prof. Reinhardt, 465. Death of Dr. Crisp, 466. — ia RS Ee ee SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Linnean Society of London, 466. Zoological Society of tibaaees 407. BERS ee ‘The Subscription to ‘THE ZOOLOGIST’ for 1882 has noy expired; that for 1883 (Twelve Shillings, post free, includi ‘all Double Numbers) may be sent to WEST, NEWMAN & CO. 54, Hatton Garden, London, E.C. P.O. Orders may rade the Hatton Garden Office. - Thee 1883: wnt On the Migcation of the Gone pane John Cordeaux, ~~ « Field Notes in Norway,’ ’ Rev. H. H. Slater; “Natural History Notes from Alde burgh,” H. A. Macpherson, Esq.; “On some Reptilia and Batrachia obtained | Normandy,” G. I. Rope, Esq.; ‘On the Treatment of Snakes in Captivity,’ Arthur Stradling, Esq.;. Notes and Observations on British Stalk- eyed: RE 2 tacea,” Messrs. Carrington and Lovett. Communications having the following signatures also stand over :—Olive Aplin, R. M. Barrington, R. M. Christy, Thomas Cornish, J. Cuilingford, G. _ Douglas, W. S. M. D’Urban, Major H. W. Feilden, Capt. Hadfield, W. Hewet 1H. A. Macpherson, T. J. Monk, Thomas Parkin, J. 'T, Reed, Cecil Smith, Thompson, R. J. Ussher, J. Jenner Weir, J. Whitaker, C. bis ‘ Part I., now ready, By HENRY SEEBOHM. : This ‘Work is intended to form “Three Royal Octayo é Voluiie of Bbiut 60 pages each, and willbe published in Six Parts, at £1 1s. each to Subseribers on h It is the Author's intention to issue a Part every Six Months. ‘The Work. wil be illustrated with between Sixty and Seventy Coloured “Plates, execut Chromolithography by Messrs, M. and-N. Hanuart, including all the_ —. Eggs of British Birds, with some of’ their striking Varieties; and the 1 _ several Species will now be figured for the first time, - re TE Published for the Author by R. H. Porver, 6; ‘Tenterden Street, Han xe See W. Caer weer, Newman & Co., halk, sith astute Talat Threlelstetes - a Ketatel es ein laluiedsee : eed o, o Eacrtrecesreteederepe