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fae ZOOLOGIST:

A MONTHLY JOURNAL

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

FOURTH SHRIES.—VOL. XIV.

EDITED BY

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LONDON:

WEST, NEWMAN & CO., 54, HATTON GARDEN.
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i

PREFACH.

In this volume an illustration is given of the opportunity
for study in animal bionomics. Mr. Richard Elmhirst con-
tributed his own observations on the “‘ yawning” of fishes,
* practice little recorded, but one which Mr. Heneage Cocks
subsequently showed was long known to himself, though he
had looked upon it as a well-known habit common to most, if
not all, vertebrates. Other contributors have shown that
yawning is not uncommon among Rodents, though Mr. EKlm-
hirst had been unable to find any records of such a custom,
proof being thus afforded of the value of recording bionomical
observations which may wrongly be considered as either trivial
or within general knowledge. The importance of such facts
may easily be underestimated at the time they are published,
but they provide material for future generalisations, and always
receive a hearty welcome in the pages of ‘THE Zoouocist.’

In zoological speculation the comparison of animal instinct
with reason is a subject which has long exercised philosophers,
and is still to be regarded as an open question largely from
the imperfect definitions of those two terms. Mr. Dodsworth
has again opened the discussion in these pages by his paper on
‘** Mental Powers of Animals,’ which has in the usual way
induced other contributors to record supplementary facts from
their own personal observation. This is another field in which
many records may appear unimportant, but their value is of
a cumulative description, and they supply the material for an

iv PREFACE.

ultimate decision. In every speculation one fact is more than

equal to many suggestions.

Ornithology is again to the front in ‘THE Zooxoaist,’ and
British Birds still present an inexhaustible subject to field natura-
lists. A recent paper by Mr. Brock on the ‘‘ Willow-Wrens of
a Lothian Wood” is an example of patient work, and one to be
continued in other localities. Mr. Stubbs has found several
original topics of the greatest interest, while in ‘‘ Notes and
Queries” alone are published records and observations which
cannot escape reference in any future standard work on the
birds of these islands.

We again rejoice in the wider field of zoology that this
Journal represents. Prof. McIntosh’s memoir on the “ Red
or Precious Coral’’ is a definite example; Col. Shepherd and
Mr. A. H. Patterson have continued to show the interest apper-
taining to fishes from both the anatomical and observational
methods, the latter writer persistently adding to the list of
fishes found along our eastern coast.

The present monthly number of ‘THE Zoonoaist’ is eight
hundred and thirty-four. During all those many months a
steady record of zoological observations has been continued.
Our Journal has thus had a past; it is for our contributors
to give it a future.

CONTENTS.

a

ALPHABETICAL LIST

ALEXANDER, W.B., B.A.
Recent work on the inheritance of
acquired characters, 441
Aptin, O. V., F.L.8., M.B.O.U.

|
|
|
|
|

Summer in Lleyn, with some other |
notes on the Birds of the district,

41, 99; ‘‘ Hardistrow,’’ a name
for the Shrew, 116; Variety of
the Mole, 157; Notes on the Or-
nithology of Oxfordshire (1909),
281; Daphne-berries eaten by
birds, 393
ARNOLD, EH. C.
Records of rare birds, 393
ARUNDEL, WALTER B.
Albino House-Sparrow in York-
shire, 339
BaGNaLL, RicwHarp §., F.L.S.,
F.E.S.
Records of some Scandinavian
Woodlice, 223

ease
Common Shrew on Scotch Islands,
267; Greater Horseshoe Bat in
Wiltshire, 307
Bate, D. M. A.
Artifices by Cat to secure its prey,
30
Bewtz, Wituiam, Rev.
Lieutenant Boyd Alexander, 316
Boortu, H. B.

A local race of light-coloured Mice, |

471
BRITTEN, HKDWARD

On the occurrence of Vipera berus |

in the Pyrenees, near San Sebas-
tian, 266
Brock, 8. E.

Incubation and fledging periods in |
birds, 117; Nesting of the Wren, |

196; The Willow-Wrens of a
Lothian Wood, 401
Bryant, CHARLES H.

Yawning of rodents, 39

od

OF CONTRIBUTORS.

BUTTERFIELD, HE. P.

Notes from Yorkshire, 3387; Late
eggs of Nightjar, 392; Kestrel
mobbed by Starlings, 892; Bees
killed by wasps, 396, 435; Intel-
ligence of a Squirrel, 434

Cocks, ALFRED Hrenuace, M.A.,
IDS, WeAasns, WEIBAO Ks

Bechstein’s Bat—a correction, 74 ;
On the yawning of fishes and of
other vertebrates, 384

Cooxg, A. T.

Impressions of a naturalist on the

White River, Transvaal, 377

| CorsBin, G. B.

Notes from South-west Hants, 198;
Late eggs of Nightjar—was it a
second brood ?, 389

Cotton, T. A.
Chiffchaff in Hants. 158

| Cummines, Bruce F.
Barretr-Hamitton, Major G.E. H., |

The formation of useless habits in
two British Newts, with obser-
vations on their general be-
haviour, 161, 211, 272; Fauna
of Lundy Island, 267

CumMINGs, S. G.
Nesting of the Wren, 155.
DaLGLIEsH, GORDON

The Dragonflies of South-west
Surrey, 192; Notes on Culex
vecans and Osmylus fulvi-
cephalus, 231; On the validity
of the Yellow-necked Mouse to
rank as a species, and notes on
Mus sylvaticus, 241; Weasels
and Stoats hunting together,
267; Additional notes on Mus
flavicollts, 433

Dewar, J. M.

A preliminary note on the manner
in which the Oystercatcher at-
tacks the Purple-Shell, 109

Distant, W. L.
| Recent valuable additions to the

vl CONTENTS.

Hull Museum, 84; An intro-
duced Rhynchotal pest to rhodo-
dendrons, 895
DopswortH, P. T.L., F.Z.S.
Mental powers of animals, 361
Dye, B.

Lapland Bunting near Great Yar-
mouth, 34; Honey-Buzzard near
Yarmouth, 34; Glossy Ibis at
Yarmouth, 74

HKeutt, A. W.
Strange nest of Blackbird, 226
Evuiott, J. STEELE

Slavonian Grebe in Shropshire
and Worcestérshire, 75; Lesser
Shrew in Bedfordshire,
Stone-Curlew in Bedfordshire,
227; Mortality among House-
Martins, 810; Crossbill nesting
in Bedfordshire, 472

Ew.uuirst, RicHarp, F.L.S.
Notes from Millport Marine Bio-
logical Station, 69, 321
Evans, WILLIAM
Common Shrew in Islay, 196
Fircu, Epwarp A.

Short-eared Owl nesting in Essex,

270
Forrest, H. H.

Common Seal on the Somerset |
coast, 268; Albino Wood-Mouse |

in Montgomeryshire, 3807
Fortune, R.

Terns feeding upon Sticklebacks, |
229; Large clutches of eggs, |

229; A variety of the Gannet,
340; Great Crested Grebe rear-
ing three broods, 393

Fowxrer, W. Warp, M.A.

A rare variety of Common Viper,

394; An albino Bunting, 471
Gurney, J. H., F.Z.8.

Ornithological Report for Norfolk |

(1909), 121, 197; Avocets in Nor-
folk, 196; Stoats (?) attacking
Lapwings, 226; A variety of the
Gannet, 472

HarviE-Brown, J. A., F.R.S.E.,
F.Z.S

Notes on the Mammals of Islay,
157; Six foetuses ina Whale, 268
Heppurn, THomas
The nesting of the Common Tern
and Black-headed Gull in Col-
chester Harbour, 137
Houuis, EDwin
Albino variety of Common Shrew,

158;

307; Variations in the dentition
of Hrinaceus curopeus, 325
Hops, Linnamus EH.
Natural History Record Bureau
(1909), The Museum, Carlisle,
183
INGRAM, COLLINGWOOD
Reeve in Gloucestershire, 159;
Late stay of the Fieldfare, 227
KELsAtu, J. H.
Bechstein’s Bat in the Isle of
Wight, 30; Crossbills in Hants,

00
Keuso, J. E. B., M.D, MB Osu:

Havoe wrought by the Starling,

144
Kirepy, W. F., F.L.S., &e.

An undetermined species of Stick-

insect found in Devonshire, 197
MacponaLpD, J. 5.

Large clutch of eggs in nest of

Mistle-Thrush, 226
McCuiymont, J. R.

The Wolf in Scotland and else-

where, 72
MclIntosu, Professor, M.D., LL.D.,
F.R.SS. L. & E.

A brief sketch of the Red or

Precious Coral, 1
MerapbrE-WaAtLpbo, GEOFFREY, B.A.,
FE.E.S.

Presentation to Mr. C. O. Water-
house on his official retirement
from the British Museum, 271

Meyrick, Lieut.-Col. H.

Lesser Redpoll at Hampstead, 269,

310

| Miuuats, J. G., F.Z.S.

Note to paper by Mr. Gordon Dal-
gliesh on Mus jflavicollis and
M. sylvaticus, 241
Morris, RoBERT
Late departure of Chiffchaff, 158
NEWSTEAD, ALFRED
Ornithological report from Chester,
75
‘ NorTH QUEENSLAND HERALD,’ Lon-
DON CORRESPONDENT OF
The Queensland Dugong, 31; The
Queensland ‘‘ Barramundi,” 35
OGILVIE-GRANT, W. R., F.Z.S.,
M.B.0O.U.
‘Obituary notice of Dr. Richard
Bowdler Sharpe, LL.D., 35
Owen, T.
A curious nesting site, 269; An
account ofa ramble with the birds

CONTENTS.

in Anglesey and Carnarvonshire,
510, 341
ParKIN, THomas, M.A., F.L.S.

Supposed occurrence of the Swal-

low-tailed Kite in Surrey, 270
PatTerRson, ARTHUR H., A.M.B.A.

Some Fish-notes from Great Yar-

mouth for 1909, 63 ; for 1910, 451
Rare, P: G.

Ornithological notes from Den-

mark, 81
RaMsBpotuHaM, R. H.

Irregular appearance of Blackbird,
116; Observations on the nest-
ing of Rooks, 227

Roper, G. T.

Reappearance of Bearded Tit in an
old haunt, 74; Black variety of
the Water-Shrew in Suffolk,
307 ; A Sheep-killing Horse, 433

RUSSELL, ELIZABETH

Yawning of rodents, 435

RussELL, Haroup

Notes on the Mammals of Islay,
118; A note on bird-lfe in
the Spessart, 229; Habits of the
Chough, 391

SELOousS, EDMUND

An observational diary on the

nuptial habits of the Blackcock |
in Scandinavia and England, 23, |

51, 176, 248; Humble-bees and
foxgloves, 327
SHEPHERD, Col. C. E.
The ‘‘asteriscus’’ in Fishes, 57;
Comparisons of otoliths found
in Fishes, 292;
teeth of Fishes, 418
SHERBORN, C. Davirs
Swan-marks, 159

Pharyngeal |

vil

| SIDDALL, C. KINGSLEY

Notes on the breeding of the Great
Tit, 207; Red-backed Shrike
breeding in Merionethshire, 309

Stuspss, FREDERICK J.

A lost British bird, 150, 380; The
mechanism of plumage in water-
birds, 201; The Nightingale in
Lancashire, a new record, 308 ;
The Egret in Britain, 380; Kes-
trel end Starlings, 435; The
colour of the Kingfisher, 462

Swinton, A. H.

The vocal and instrumental music

of insects, 299, 426
TuHorpPE, D. LosH

Natural History Record Bureau
(1909), The Museum, Carlisle,
183

Topp, WILLIAM A.

Observations in North-east Surrey

(1909), 75
Tuck, Rev. JunIaAn G., M.A.

Notes on nest-boxes, 315;

Crossbill in captivity, 436
WARREN, ROBERT

Black-tailed Godwits in Co. Cork,
34, 116; Sandwich Terns and
White Wagtails in Ireland, 228 ;
Nightingale and Willow-Wren
in captivity, 839 ; Karly building
of Herons, 340; Herons breed-
ing twice in the season, 341;
Rare American Teal in Co. Cork,
436

WATERHOUSE, C. O.

Obituary notice of Edward Saun-

ders, F.R.S., 77 :
Watt, Hueu Boyp
Bibliography of London birds, 386

The

Vili

CONTENTS.

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF, SUBJECTS.

Abramis brama, 57,58; asteriscus of
(fig. 22), 59

Acanthias vulgaris, 64, 458

Accentor modularis, 96

Acentropus niveus, 426

Acerina vulgaris, 452

Acherontia atropos, 431

Acipenser strurio, 298

Acquired characters, the inheritance
of, recent work on, 441

Acredula caudata, 210, 230

Acrocephalus palustris, 96; phrag-
mitis, 96 ; streperus, 96

Acronycta psi, 430; tridens, 430

Adamsia palliata, 69; sp.?, 69

/Hgialitis cantiana, 98 ; euronica, 98;
hiaticula, 98

Aigithaliscus erythrocephalus, 372

Ailurichthys gronovii, 294, 295 ; oto-
lith of (fig. 4), 294

Aipyceros melampus, 379

Aischna grandis, 193

Agrion puella, 194; pulchellum, 194

Alauda arvensis, 97; cristata, 97

Alcedo ispida, 463

Aleyonarians collected
Ocean, 400

Alypia octomaculata, 428

Alytes obstetricans, 446, 449

Amia calva, 296, 418

Anas boseas, 97

Anglesey and Carnarvon, ramble |
with birds of, 310, 341

Anguis fragilis, 185 |

Animal kingdom, &e., concealing-
coloration in, 233

Animals, mental powers of, 361

Anthus pratensis, 97; trivialis, 97

Aphrodite aculeata, 273

Aplecta nebulosa, 480

Apogon rex mullorum (Plate IL.,
fig. 3), 428

Aporophyla nigra, 430

Aprodemus sylvaticus, 115

Arctia caja, 442

Arcyptera fuscus, 299

Ardea cinerea, 97; garzetta (?), 150,
380

Arius gagora, 58, 293, 295, 296; as-
teriscus of (fig. 19), 59; otolith of
(fig. 19), 298

in Indian

Armadillidium album, 225; vulgare,
224; nasatum, 228, 224; pictum,
224

‘¢ Asteriscus ”’ in fishes, 57

Auxis rochei, 292, 293;
(fig. 2), 293

Avocet, 180, 196

otolith of

Bacillus geisovii (?), 197

Bagarius yarrellii, 418

Balenoptera musculus, 268

‘‘ Barramundi” (Giant Perch), 35

Bat, Bechstein’s, in Isle of Wight,
&e., 80, 74; Greater Horseshoe, in
Wiltshire, 307

Bats in Islay, 113

Bees killed by wasps, 837, 396

Bernicla nigrans, 123

Beryx splendens, 293, 294, 295; oto-
lith of (fig. 9), 298

Bibliography of London birds, 386

Bird-life in the Spessart, Bavaria, 229

Bird, a lost British, 150, 380; and
mammal reservationsin Alaska, 278

Birds added to Hull Museum, 34;
of Lleyn, 41, 99,—Kent, 78,—Tas-
mania and Dependencies, 275,—
New York, 317; observed in Den-
mark, 96; incubation and fledging
periods in, 117; slaughtered in
Hawaiian Islands’ bird-reserva-
tion, 120; migration of, 129, 1382;
Water, mechanism of plumage in,
201; in Anglesey and Carnarvon,
a ramble with, 310, 341; Land,
littoral feeding habits of, 323;
London, bibliography of, 386; re-
cords of rare, 393; Daphne-berries,
eaten by, 394; foreign, for cage
and aviary, 397; North-American,
check-list of, 898; list of British,
399

Birds, nests, and eggs found in
British Isles, 294

Blackbird, irregular appearance of,
116; strange nest of, 226

Blackcock, observational diary on
the nuptial habits of, in Scandi-
navia and England, 23, 51, 176, 248

Blennis gattorugine, 293, 295; oto-
lith of (fig. 4), 293

CONTENTS. 1X

Bombus hypnorum, 827, 329; lu-
corum, 829, 337, 396; mastru-
catus, 328, 334; mortnucatus, 333;
terrestris, 327, 834; sp. ?, 327

Booxs Noricep :—

Man and Nature on Tidal Waters,
by Arthur H. Patterson, 39

Indian Insect Life, a Manual of
the Insects of the Plains (Tropi-
eal India), by H. Maxwell-Le-
froy, assisted by F. M. Howlett,
40

A History of the Birds of Kent, by
Norman F. Ticehurst, 78

Nimrod, Ramrod, Fishing-rod, and
Nature Tales, by J. Whitaker,
80

Life-history and Habits of the
Salmon, Sea-trout, Trout, and
other Freshwater Fish, by P. D.
Malloch, 160

Concealing-coloration in the Ani-
mal Kingdom, &c., being a sum-
mary of Abbott H. Thayer’s Dis-
coveries, by Gerald H. Thayer,
233

The Vertebrate Fauna of Cheshire |

and Liverpool Bay, edited by
T. A. Coward, 234

Experiments on the Generation
of Insects, by Francesco Redi,
236

The British Freshwater Rhizopoda
and Heliozoa, by James Cash,
assisted by John Hopkinson,
238

Bulletin of Entomological Re-
search, 239

The British Bird Book, an Account
of all the Birds, Nests, and Eggs
found in the British Isles, edited
by F. B. Kirkman, 274

A Handbook of the Birds of Tas-
mania and its Dependencies, by
Frank Mervyn Littler, 275

A Synonymie Catalogue of Ortho-
ptera, by W. F. Kirby, 276

Birds of New York, by Elon
Howard Eaton, 317

The Subantarctic Islands of New
Zealand—Reports on the Geo-
Physics, Geology, Zoology, and
Botany, &c., edited by Charles
Chilton, 342

Life of William Macegillivray, by

William Macgillivray, with a |

scientific appreciation by Prof.
J. Arthur Thomson, 344

Faune des Mammiferes d’Europe,
par HK. L. Trouessart, 345
Foreign Birds for Cage and Aviary,
by Arthur G. Butler, 397
Check-list of North-American
Birds, 398
A List of British Birds, showing
at a glance the exact Status of
each Species, by W. R. Ogilvie-
Grant, 369
An Account of the Alcyonarians
collected by the Royal Indian
Marine Survey Ship ‘ Investi-
gator,’ by J. Arthur Thomson
and J. J. Simpson, with a Re-
port on the Species of Dendro-
nephthya, by W. D. Henderson,
400
Reptiles of the World, by Ray-
mond L. Ditmars, 437
A Monograph of British Nudi-
branchiate Mollusca (Supple-
mentary), by Sir Charles Eliot ;
figures by the late Joshua Alder
and Albany Hancock, and others,
438
A History of British Mammals,
by Gerald E. H. Barrett-Hamil-
ton, 440
Bourne, Prof. G. C., Address to
Zoological Section of British Asso-
ciation (1910), 347
Brama raii, 293; otolith of (fig. 3), 293
Breeding of Common Tern and
Black-headed Gull in Colchester
Harbour, 137; Great Tit, 207;
Red-backed Shrike in Merioneth-
shire, 309; early, of Heron, 340,—
twice in the season, 341; of Tern,
at Omaui, New Zealand, 279
‘Bulletin of Entomological Re-
search,’ 239
Bunting, Lapland, near Yarmouth,
34; Ortolan, 182; Reed, 76
Buzzard, Honey, near Yarmouth, 34

Calamichthys calabaricus, 296

Calcarius lapponicus, 34

Calidris arenaria, 98

Calopteryx splendens, 194; virgo, 193

Canis aureus, 370

Cantharus lineatus, 58; asteriscus of
(fig. 5), 59

Capreolus caprea, 114

Caprimulgus europeus, 339, 392

Caradrina brevilinea, 429; subtusa,
429

Caranx armatus, 58,—asteriscus of

(fig. 11), 59; trachurus, 58, 293,—
asteriscus of (fig. 10), 59,—otolith
of (fig. 7), 298

Carassius gibelio, 63; vulgaris, 63

Carduelis elegans, 97

Cat, artifices by, to secure its prey, 30

Catocala concumbens, 430; parta,
430

Catopsilia spp., 432

Centropristes hepatus (Plate IL., fig.
4), 493

Cephalophus grimmi, 377

Cervicapra arundinum, 378

Cervus dama, 114; elaphus, 114

. |
Chanos salmoneus, 58; asteriscus of

(fig. 25), 59

Charadrius pluvialis, 98

Chelidon urbica, 97

Chen hyperboreus, 160

Chester, ornithological report from,
75

Chiffchaff, 76, 158

Chorthippus albomarginatus, 805; |

dorsatus, 505; parallelus, 304
Chough at Lleyn, 46 ; habits of, 391
Chrysotis, 469
Ciconia alba, 97
Clupea finta, 419;

pilchardus, 61
Clupeide, 61
Ceereba, 463
Columba nas, 98 ; palumbus, 97
Colymbus arcticus, 75; glacialis, 75
Concealing-coloration in animal king-

dom, &e., 233
Conger niger, 323
Conistra erythrocephala, 429
Coot, 77

Coral, Red or Precious, a brief sketch |

Oui, 1!

Corallium boshuensis, 19; elatius,
19, 21; inutile, 19; japonicum, 18,
21; johnsoni, 17; konojoi, 19, 21;
pusillum, 19; rubrum, 2; sulca-
tum, 19

Cordulia enea, 193

Corvus corax, 938, 97, 398; cornix,

97; corone, 230, 823; frugilegus,
97,227; macrorhynchus, 364, 374;
monedula, 97; splendens, 363

Corydalis brogniarti, 426; cornuta,
426

Cotile riparia, 97

Cottus scorpius, 323

County REcoRDS :—

Bedfordshire—Lesser Shrew, 158; |
Crossbill, |

Stone-Curlew, 227;

472

harengus, 61; |

CONTENTS.

Berkshire—Bechstein’s Bat, 74
Berwickshire—Cat and its prey,
30
Buckinghamshire
Shrew, 307
Cheshire — Ornithological notes,
75; Wren, Common, 158; Ver-
tebrate Fauna of, 2384
Cumberland—Stone-Curlew, 183 ;
Natural History Record Bureau,
183
Derbyshire—Mistle-Thrush, 226
Devonshire — An undetermined
species of Stick-insect, 197 ;
Fauna of Lundy Island, 267;
Weasels and Stoats hunting
together, 267; Hrinaceus euro-
peus, 325
Essexz—Common Tern, 187; Black-
headed Gull, 137; Short-eared
Owl, 270; Kestrel and Starlings,
435
Gloucestershire—Reeve, 149
Hampshire—Bechstein’s Bat, 30,
74; Crossbill, 83; Bearded Tit,
74; Starling, 144; Chiffchaff,
158; Notes, 198; Nightjar, 339
Kent—Fieldfare, 227
Lancashire — Blackbird, 116;
Rooks, 227; Nightingale, 308
Middiesex—Lesser Redpoll, 269,
310; Bibliography of London
birds, 386; Stephanitis rhodo-
dendri, 895; Yawning of White
Rat, 435
Monmouth—Blackbird, 226
Norfolk — Lapland Bunting, 34;
Honey-Buzzard, 34; Fish-notes
from Yarmouth, 63,451; Smelt
fishery (Yarmouth), 67, 489;
Glossy Ibis, 74; Ornithological
report, 121, 197; Avocet, 130,
196; Stoats (?) attacking Lap-
wings, 226; Black-tailed Godwit,
393; Barred Warbler, 398 ;
Pelamys sarda, 454; Herring
fishery (Yarmouth), 456, 459;
Gannet, 472
Oxfordshire—Shrew, 116; Mole,
157; Ornithology of, 281 ; Daphne
berries eaten by birds, 894; Com-
mon Viper, 394; Bunting, 471
Shropshire—Slavonian Grebe, 75 ;
House- Martin, 310
Somersetshire — Common Seal,
268
Suffolk—Bearded Tit, 74; Water-
Shrew, 307; Nest-boxes, 315;

Common

CONTENTS.

A sheep-killing Horse, 433;
Crossbill in captivity, 486; Vel-
vet Fiddler Crab, 461
Surrey—Ornithological notes, 75 ;
Dragon-flies, 192; Culex vexans,
231; Osmylus fulvicephalus,
231; Swallow-tailed Kite, 270;
Black Tern, 393; Spotted Fly-
catcher, 393
Sussex—Chifichaff, 158; Yawning
of rodents, 391; Mus flavicollis,
433
Westmorland—Golden Oriole, 184
Wiltshire — Greater Horseshoe
Bat, 307
Worcestershire—Slavonian Grebe,
75; Local race of light-coloured
Mice, 471
Yorkshire—Additions to Hull Mu-
seum, 84; Notes, 337; House-
Sparrow, 839; Gannet, 340;
Late eggs of Nightjar, 392;
Kestrel mobbed by Starlings,
392; Great Crested Grebe, 398;
Bees killed by wasps, 396;
Humble-bees and foxgloves, 396 ;
Squirrel, 434
Crangon vulgaris, 68
‘** Creative thought,” 319
Creeper, Tree, 76
Crex pratensis, 98
Cromer Lighthouse, Sky-Larks and
Starlings slain at (Plate I.), 124
Crossbill in Hants, 88; cone detached
from Scotch-fir by (fig.), 129; mi-
gration of, 129; in captivity, 436;
nesting in Bedfordshire, 472
Ctenolabrus rupestris, 638, 323, 451
Cuckoo, variations in call of, 80;
egg-depositing by, 126; eggs and
young in Pied Wagtail’s nest, 126
Cucullia umbratica, 429; verbasci,
429
Cuculus canorus, 80, 97, 126
Culex pipiens, 232; vexans, 231
Curlew, Stone, in Cumberland, 183 ;
in Bedfordshire, 227
Cyprinide, 57, 58, 60, 61, 419
Cyprinus carpio, 58, 293, 296, 323,
419,—asteriscus of (fig. 21), 59,—
otolith of (fig. 16), 293; specularis,
63

Cypselus apus, 97

Dafila acuta, 97

Daulias philomela, 96; luscinia, 308

Deer, Fallow, Red,and Roe, in Islay,
114

x1

| Denmark, ornithological notes from,

with list of species observed, 81

Dentex vulgaris, 58; asteriscus of
(fig. 2), 59

Dichromanessa rufa, 3882

Dicrurus longicaudatus, 368

Diomedea exulans, 3843;
phrys, 343; regia, 343

Dipper, Black-breasted, 123

Dipterygia pinastri, 430

Diver, Black-throated, stomach-con-
tents of a, 75

Dog acting as foster-mother to young
kitten (fig.), 875

Dragonflies of South-west Surrey, 192

Drepane longimanus, 58; asteriscus
of (fig. 3), 59

Dryocopus martius, 231

Dugong, Queensland, 31

melano-

Kelectus polychlorus, 468

Eel with Water-Vole fast in gullet,
453 ; Broad-nosed, a huge, 66

Eggs, large clutches of, 226, 229; late,
of Nightjar, 339, 392

Egret in Britain, 150, 380

Elanoides furcatus, 270

Eluma purpurascens, 226

Emberiza citrinella, 97; milicoria,
97; schceniclus, 97

Erinaceus collaris, 825; europzeus,
variations in dentition of, 825; mi-
cropus, 326 ; pietus, 826

Erithacus rubecula, 96

Erythromma naias, 194

EHsox lucius, 57, 58, 60; asteriscus of
(fig. 24), 59

Eupagurus bernhardus (pubescens)
at Millport Station, 69

Exoccetus pcecilopterus, 292, 293;
otolith of (fig. 6), 293

Falco peregrinus, 75

Fauna of Lundy Island, 267; Verte-
brate, of Cheshire and Liverpool
Bay, 234

‘Faune des Mammiféres d’ Europe,’
3845

Felis pardus, 878

Festuca arundinacea, 430

Fieldfare, late stay of, 227

Fish-notes from Great Yarmouth for
1909, 63,—for 1910, 451; from
South-west Hants, 200

Fishes, asterisci from, 59; killed by
lightning, 280; otoliths found in,
292; yawning of, 321; pharyngeal
teeth of, 418

Xll

Flamingo, 128
Flycatcher, Spotted, 398
Fringilla ccelebs, 97
Fulica atra, 98

Fuligula ferinoides, 125

Gadide, 61

Gadus callarius, 3238; luscus, 58,—
asteriscus of (fig. 17),59; morrhua,
295; pollachius, 823, 453; virens,
323

Galathea strigosa at Millport Station,
69

Galaxias brevipennis, 343

Galeus vulgaris, 64

Gallinago ccelestis, 98

Game-preserves, private, in United
States, 278

Garrulus lanceolatus, 368

Gnophora rubricollis, 427

Gobius paganeilus, 293, 295 ; otolith
of (fig. 5), 298

Godwit, Black-tailed, in Co. Cork,
84; in Cork Harbour, 116; at Cley,
Norfolk, 3938

Goldsinny, Jago’s (fig.), 451

Gomphocerus maculatus, 804; rufus,
3804; sibericus, 304

Goose, Pacific or Black Brent, 123;
Snow, 1838

Grebe, Great Crested, 77,—rearing
three broods, 393; Slavonian, in
Shropshire and Worcestershire, 75

Gull, Black-headed, nesting in Col-
chester Harbour, 187; Kittiwake,
76; Lesser Black-backed, 77

Gulls at Lleyn, 49, 106

Gullet of fish, description of, with |
| Kingfisher, 76; colour of, 462

diagram, 420
Gymnorhina hyperleuca, 275
Gyps bengalensis, 368

Habits, useless, formation of, in two |
littoral |

British Newts, 161, 211;
feeding, of some land- birds, 328 ;
of Chough, 391

Hadena basilinen, hepatica, ophio- |
gramma, polyodon, rurea, satura, |

scolopacina, unanimis, 430
Hematopus ostralegus, 98, 109
Halicherus gryphus, 114
Halicore dugong, 31; sp., 31
Hants (South-west), notes from, 198
Haplophthalmus danicus, 223; men-

gil, 223
Hare, Common, 115
Heeatesia fenestrata, 427
Heliophobus popularis, 431

CONTENTS.

Herring fishery (Yarmouth) disap-
pointing, 456, 459

Heron, early building of, 340; breed-
ing twice in the season, 341

Hirundo rustica, 97

Horse, a sheep-killing, 433

Hull Museum, recent valuable addi-
tions to, 34

Humble-bees and foxgloves, 327, 396

Hybrid Carp, 63; between Nyroca
Duck and Pochard, 125

Hydrochelidon nigra, 98

Hydrocyon brevis, 294, 296; otolith
of (fig. 7), 204

Hylophila prasinana, 428

Hypolais icterina, 96

Hyppolyte spinus, 460

Ibis, Glossy, 74, 1381, 135

Incubation and fledging periods in
birds, 117

Insect-life, Indian, 40

Insects, classification of, 40; ** mimi-
cry’ of, 40; experiments on gener-
ation of, 236; vocal and instru-
mental music of, 299,426

InnLanp—Black-tailed Godwit, 34,
116; Sandwich Tern, 228 ; White
Waztail, 228 ; Nightingale and
Willow-Wren ir captivity, 539;
Herons, 340, 841; American Biue-
winged Teal, 486

Irena puella, 463

Ischnura elegans, 194

Islay, mammals of, 1138, 157, 196, 267

Tynx torquilla, 97

Kestrel mobbed by Starlings, 392, 435

Kite, Swallow-tailed, supposed oc-
currence in Surrey, 270

Labride, 419

Labrus bergylta, 323; maculatus, 63,
293, 295, 452,—otolith of (fig. 12),
2938

Lamna cornubica, 66, 453

Lamphygma exigua, 430

Land-birds, littoral feeding-habits of,
323

Lanius collurio, 97, 309

Lark, Sky, at Cromer Lighthouse, 124

Larus argentatus, 98; canus, 98;
minutus, 98; ridibundus, 98, 137

Lates calearifer, 85; niloticus, 418

Lepidosteus osseus, 57, 294, 296;
otolith of (fig. 6), 294

Lepinotarsa, 441

CONTENTS.

Lepus cuniculus, 115; europeus, 115

Lestes sponsa, 194

Leueania albipuncta, congrua, coni-
gera, extranea, l-album, lithargy-
ria, littoralis, loreyi, obsoleta, pal-
lens, straminea, vitellina, 429

Leuciscus erythrophthalmus, 323;
rutilus, 58, 323,—asteriscus of (fig.
23), 59

Libellula depressa, 192; quadrimacu-
lata, 192

Lichia amia, 58; asteriscus of (fig.
12), 59

Ligurinus chloris, 97

Limosa exgocephala, 98; belgica, 34;
lapponica, 96

Linota cannabina, 97; rufescens, 269

Lithodes maiaat Millport Station, 70 |
| Muscicapa atricapilla, 97; grisola, 97

Lleyn, summer in, with notes on
birds of district, 41, 99

Lobster, growths on, 70

Loligo rondeletti, 65

Lophius piscatorius, 418

Lopholatilus chameleonticeps, 294,
295; otolith of (fig. 1), 294

Lophophanes melanolophus, 371

Lota vulgaris, 297

Loxia curvirostra, 33

Lundy Island, fauna of, 267

Lutra vulgaris, 114

Machetes pugnax, 98, 159

Maegillivray, William, 344

Malacoclemmys palustris, 437

Mammals of Islay, 113, 157, 196, 267;
British, 440

Mania maura, 429

Marine Zoological Station, Millport,
notes from, 69, 321

Martin, House, mortality among,
810; Sand, 76

Mecostethus alliaceus, 305

Melanchra. brassice, 430; persicariz,

430

Melipolis sinualis, 480

Mergus serrator, 97

Merluccius vulgaris, 58; asteriscus of

(fig. 16), 59

Metoponorthus pruinosus, 224

Miana furuncula, 430

Mice, a local race of light-coloured,
471

Microtis agrestis, 115

Migration of birds, 129, 182

Miltochrista miniata, 427

Milvus govinda, 374; ictinus, 341

Molge cristata, 161, 211; palmata,
161, 211

Xl

| Mollusea, British Nudibranchiate, 438

Morone labrax, 292, 293, 423; (fig.),
424; otolith of (fig. 8), 298

Motacilla alba, 96, 228, 280; flava,
96; melanope, 230

Motella mustela, 66

Mouse, House, 115; Long-tailed
Field, 115; Yellow-necked, on the
validity of, to rank as a species, 241

Mugil capito, 58; asteriscus of (fig.),
59

Mullus barbatus, 58; asteriscus of
(fig. 4), 59

Mus decumanus, 115; flavicollis, 346,
483, 471,—description of, 241;
flavicollis wintoni, 244; hirtensis,
246; musculus, 115, 433; rattus,
435; sylvaticus, 241, 307, 346, 433

parva, 97

Musiphagide, 463

Music, vocal and instrumental, of
insects, 299, 426

Mustela erminea, 113

Mustelus vulgaris, 65

Mygale stridularis, 431

Myotis bechsteini, 30, 74

Myripristis murdjan, 295

Naja bungaris (Ophiophagus elaps),
438

Natural History Record Bureau, the
Museum, Carlisle, 183

Nature Tales, &c., 80

Nesonetta aucklandica, 343

Nest, strange, of Blackbird, 226

Nest-boxes, notes on, 315

Nesting of Common Wren, 158, 196;
Rook, 227; Common Tern and
Black-headed Gull in Colchester
Harbour, 187; Short-eared Owl in
Hssex, 270; Crossbill in Bedford-
shire, 472

Nesting-site, curious, 269

Newts, two British, formation of use-
less habits in, with observations on
their general behaviour (five figs.),
161, 211

New Zealand, breeding of Terns at
Omaui; Subantarctic Islands of, 842

Nightingale in Lancashire, 808; in
captivity, 339

Nightjar, late eggs of, 389, 392

Noctuina spp., 430

Nonagria dissoluta, 429

Norfolk, ornithological report for
1909, 121, 197

Numenius arquata, 98; phzopus, 98

X1V

OBITUARY :—
Kine Epwarp VII. (to face p. 160)
Boyd, Alexander, Lieut., 316
Hearder, William, 273
Saunders, Edward, 77
Sharpe, Richard Bowdler,

(with portrait), 35

(idicnemus scolopax, 227

Omaui islet, New Zealand, Terns on,
279

Dr.

Omocestus ventralis, 301; viridulus, |

300
Oniscus asellus, 224

Oriole, Golden, in Norfolk, 18i,—in |

Westmorland, 184
Oriolus galbula, 184 P
Ornithological notes from Chester,
75; Denmark, 81; Hants (South-
west), 198;
75; Wales, 310, 341

Surrey (North-east), —

Ornithology of Oxfordshire, notes on |

(1909), 281
Orthagoriscus mola, 67, 418
Orthetrum cerulescens, 193
Orthoptera, Catalogue of, 276

CONTENTS.

Pelamys sarda, 58, 292, 933; at
Great Yarmouth (fig.), 454, 455 ;
asteriscus of (fig. 13), 59; otolith
of (fig. 1), 298

Perea fluviatilis, 60

Perdix cinerea, 98

Pericallia matronula, 426

Pericrotus brevirostris, 364

Pernis apivorus, 34, 97

_Petromyzon marinus, 452

Phalarope, Grey, 76

Pharyngeal teeth of fishes (Plate II.),
418

Phasianus colchicus, 98

Philoscia muscorum, 223, 224; pa-
tiencel, 225

Phlogophora meticulosa, 429

Phoea vitulina, 114, 268

Phylloscopus rufus, 158; sibilatrix,
96; trochilus, 96

Pica rustica, 97

Pigeon, Wood, diphtheria in, 135

| Pincer-claws, malformed, of Edible

Orthosia aurago, 429; flavago, 429, |
_ Plagioscion surinamensis, 298, 296 ;

431; lota, macilenta, pistacina,
ypsilon, 429

Oscanius (Pleurobranchus)
branaceus at Millport Station, 71

mem- |

Crab (fig.), 460
Pipit, Rock, 105
Pitta moluccensis (cyanoptera), 463

otolith of (fig. 18), 293
Plegadis falcinellus, 74

| Pleuronectes flexus, 63; limanda, 63,

Osmerus eperlanus, 66, 292, 293,295; |

otolith of (fig. 13), 293

Osmylus fulvicephalus, 231

Otoliths found in fishes, comparisons
of, 292

Otolithus maculatus, 58, 298, 296;
asteriscus of (fig. 9), 59; otolith
of (fig. 17), 293

Otter, 114

Owl, Barn, luminous, 122,—food of,
136; Short-eared, nesting in Essex,
270

Oystercatcher, preliminary note on
the manner in which it attacks the
Purple-Shell, 109

Pagellus centrodontus, 293, 295,—
auditory organs of (fig.), 62,—oto-

328, 452; microcephalus, 452; pla-
tessa, 328

Plover, Golden, 77; Ringed, intel-
ligence in protecting its young, 100

Plumage of water-birds, 201

Pneumora, 306

Pochard, 77

Podicipes auritus, 75; cristatus, 77,
98, 393

| Polypterus senegalus, 294, 296; oto-

lith of (fig. 5), 294
Porcellio dilatatus, 223, 224;

kei; 224; scaber, 224
Portunus puber, 461

rath-

| Pratincola rubetra, 96

lith of (fig.), 293; erythrinus, 58,— |

asteriscus of (fig. 6), 59

Pandalus annulicornis, 68, 68

Pandion haliaétus, 75

Panurus biarmicus, 74

Parorchestia sylvicola, 343

Parus ater, 230; cxruleus, 96, 230;
major, 96, 207, 430; palustris, 2530

Passer domesticus, 97, 339, 871;
montanus, 97

Pseudoscarus muricatus, 418

Pterimocytus sp., 426

Pteropus edwards, 373

Puffin-warren onSt. Tudwal’sislands,
Lleyn, 41

Purpura lapillus, 109

| Pyrenees, Vipera berus in, 266
| Pyrrhocorax graculus, 391

Pyrrhosoma nymphula, 194

Queensland, Dugong,31; Giant Perch
(‘* Barramundi’’), 35
Querquedula circia, 97; crecca, 97

CONTENTS.

Rabbits in Islay, 115

Raia alba, 64; clavata, 323
Raphicerus campestris, 377
Recessus utriculi, 58
Recurvirosta avocetta, 98

|

XV
Shrike, Red-backed, breeding in
Merionethshire, 809; nest and

young (fig.), 309

_Simenchelys parasiticus, 294, 298;

Redpoll, Lesser, at Hampstead, 269, |

310
Redstart, 76, 295
Reeve in Gloucestershire, 159
Reptiles of the world, 437

Freshwater, 238
Rhododendrons, an introduced pest
to, 395
Rodents, yawning of,°391, 485
Rook, nesting of, 227

culosa, 448, 444, 445, 446
Salmo fario, 160; trutta, 160
Salmo salar, 2938, 295 ;

(fig. 14), 298

Salmon, &e., life-history and habits |

of, 160

Sandpiper, Purple, stomach-contents
of, 324

Saxicola cenanthe, 96

Scandinavian Woodlice, records of
some, 228

Sciena aquila, 418

Scomber concolor, 64, 458; scomber
var. scriptus, 453

Scorpena dactyloptera, 64; scrofa,
58; asteriscus of (fig. 8), 59

Scotch Islands, Common Shrew on,
113, 157, 196, 267

ScotLanp—Millport Marine Zoologi-
cal Station, 69, 321; Wolf, 72;
Common Shrew, &c., 113, 157, 196,
267; Wren, 196; Incubation and
fledging periods in birds, 117; Wil-

low- Wrens of a Lothian wood, 401

Sea-Tiout, 160
Seal, Common, 114,—on Somerset
coast, 268; Grey, 114

Sebastes norvegicus, 58, 293, 294, |
453; asteriscus of (fig. 7); otolith

of (fig. 10), 293
Serranidx, 61
Serranus gigas (Plate II., fig. 1), 58,
421,—asteriscus of (fig. 1), 59;
scriba (Plate II., fig. 2), 421
Setina aurita, 427; sp.?, 427
Shearwater, notes on young of, 101
Shrew, Common, 118, 157, 196, 267,

—‘‘ Hardistrow,’’ a name for, 116; |

Lesser, 113, 157,—in Bedfordshire,
158; Pigmy, 267

| Solea

otolith of (fig. 2), 294
Smelt fishery (Yarmouth) for 1909,
67; for 1910, 459
vulgaris, 58;
(fig. 18), 59

asteriscus of

_ Solen siliqua at Millport Station, 71
Rhizopoda and Heliozoa, British |

Sorex araneus, 113, 157, 196, 267,
307; minutus, 113, 157, 158, 267;
ramifer, 307

Sparide, 419

Spatula clypeata, 97

Spessart (Bavaria), bird-life in, 229

_ Sphenocerus sphenurus, 368
Salamandra atra, 448, 444,445; ma- |

Squirrel, intelligence of a, 434

_ Starling at Cromer lighthouse, 124;

re OE |

havoe wrought by, 144; stomach-
contents of a (fig.), 147, 824; im-
mense numbers of, near Keighley,
338

Stauroderus biguttulus, 301; scalaris,
299

Stenobothrus apterus? (brachy-
pterus ?), 805; lineatus, 301

Stephanitis rhododendri (fig.), 395

Sterna anglica, 98; cantiaca, 98;
fluviatilis, 98, 187; macrura, 98;
minuta, 98

Stethophyma grossum, 305

Stick-insect, an undetermined species
of, found in Devonshire (fig.), 197

Sticklebacks born in a bottle, 453

Stoat, 113

Stoats (?) attacking Lapwings, 226

Stoats and Weasels hunting together,
267

Stone-Crab, growths on, 70

Strepsilas interpres, 98

Stromateus niger, 419

Sturnus vulgaris, 97, 144

Suberites domincula, 69; prideaux,
69

Sula bassana, 340, 472

Surrey (North-east), observations in,
75

Swallow, 76

Swan, Whooper, 183, 186, 188, 191

Swan-marks, 159

Swift, Alpine, 130

Swine husbandry and bacon produc-
tion, 119

Sylvia cinerea, 96; hortensis, 96

Sympetrum vulgatum, 193

Synodontis schal, 294; otolith of
(fig. 3), 294

XV1

Tadorna cornuta, 97
Teal, American Blue-winged, in Co.
Cork, 486

Tern, Black, 393; Common, 77,—

|

nesting in Colchester Harbour, |

137; Sandwich, in Ireland, 228

Terns feeding upon Sticklebacks, |
229; breeding at Omaui, an islet |

in New Zealand, 279

Tetrao tetrix, 23, 51, 176, 248

Thrush, Mistle, 226

Thymallus vulgaris, 298, 295; oto-
lith of (fig. 15), 293

Tidal waters, Man and Nature on, 39

Tinea tinea, 58; asteriscus of (fig. 20),
59

Tinnunculus alaudarius, 97

Tit, Bearded, reappearance in an old
haunt, 74; Coal, 76; Great, notes
on breeding .of, 207,— young,
twenty-two days old (fig.), 208

Totanus calidris, 98; glareola, 98

Trachinus draco, 295; vipera, 65

Trachurus trachurus, 68, 455

Tragelaphus scriptus var. sylvaticus,

377
Trichoniscus linearis, 245; pusillus,
223 ;
roseus, 223; spinosus, 225; steb-
bingi, 225
Trigla cuculus,
(fig. 14), 59
Tringa alpina, 98
Tringoides hypoleucus, 98
Troglodytes parvulus, 96, 158, 196
Trygon pastinaca, 64
Turdus merula, 96; musicus, 96;
pilaris, 227; viscivorus, 226

18; asteriscus of

United States, private game-pre-
serves in, 278; bird and mammal
reservations in Alaska, 278

Uranoscopus scaber, 295

Urocissa occipitalis, 372

Vanellus vulgaris, 98

Vanessa urtice, 442

Variety of Accentor, Hedge, 135;
Bunting, 471; Coot, 185; Dab,
Smeared, 452; Fieldfare, 191;

pygmeus, 223, 224, 225; |

CONTENTS.

Gannet, 340, 472; Mole, 157, 200;
Mouse, Wood, 807; Otter, 114,
157; Partridge, 135; Pipit, Rock
(eggs), 105 ; Shrew, Common, 307,
—Water, 307; Sparrow, House,
339; Starling, 135, 189; Viper,
Common, 894; Wagtail, Pied,
185

Vesperugo pipistrellus, 113

Viper, Common, rare variety of, 394

Vipera berus in Pyrenees, 266

Vole, Field, 115; Water, 115

Wagtail, Blue-headed, in Denmark,
95; White, 76,—in Denmark, 95,
—in Ireland, 228; Yellow, 76,—
in Anglesey, 312

Wates — Birds of Lleyn, 41, 99;
Curious nesting-site, 269; Wood-
Mouse, 307; Red-backed Shrike,
809; Ornithological ramble, 310,
841

Warbler, Barred, 898; Willow, 76

Water-birds, mechanism of plumage
in, 201

Waterhouse, Mr. C. O., presentation
to, on his official retirement from
British Museum, 271

Weasels and Stoats hunting together,
267

Whale, six foetuses in, 268

Wheatear, 76

Whinchat, 76

White River, Transvaal, impressions
of a naturalist on, 377

Willow-Wrens of a Lothian wood,
401; map of, showing position of
nests in 1910, 405

Wolf in Scotland and elsewhere, 72

Woodlice, Scandinavian, records of
some, 228

Wren, Common, nesting of, 158;
Willow, in captivity, 339

Yarmouth, Great, fish-notes from,
for 1909, 68; for 1910, 451

Yawning of fishes, &c., 821, 384, 391,
435

Yorkshire, notes from, 337

Erratum.—Page 436, for ‘‘ Winslow”’ read ‘‘ Woburn.”

CONTENTS.

PLATES.

Plate I. Skylarks and Starlings at Cromer Lighthouse . to face

Serranus scriba (Fig. 2); Apogon rex eel FF

Mouths of Serranus gigas, right half (Fig. 1) )
By
lorum (Fig. 3); Centropristes hepatus (Fig. 4)

ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT.

Portrait of Dr. Richard Bowdler Sharpe .

Asterisci from skulls of Teleostean Fishes (twenty-five figures)

Auditory Organs of Pagellus centrodontus

Cone detached from Scotch-fir by Crossbill

Newly-sown wheat, molluscs, and triturated material contained in
the stomachs of seven Starlings : 5

Five figures (pp. 162, 163, 166, 169, 174) to illustrate paper on the
formation of useless habits in Molge cristata and M. palmata

Young Great Tits, twenty-two days old

Otoliths taken from Fishes (nineteen figures) .

Otoliths taken from Fishes (seven figures)

Nest and Young of Red-backed Shrike

Dog acting as Foster-mother to young Kitten .

Stephanitis rhododendri, Horv. .

Willow-Wrens of a Lothian Wood: Map ae sdlatin of Nests

Diagram typical of left half of a Fish’s Gullet, defining branchial
arches and bones : : ; : : : :

Mouth of Morone labraz . c

Jago’s Goldsinny (Ctenolabrus rupestris)

Pelamys sarda . 5 5

Malformed Pincer-claws of Hdible Crabs .

Diagram of barb or ramus of a Kingfisher’s blue feather

XVil

PAGE

121

418

37
59
62
129

147

161
208
293
294
309
375
395
405

420
424
451
454
460
464

&

i

if i
o

at JA Monthly Journal

NATURAL HISTORY,
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en ZO0L0GIST

No. 823.—January, 1910.

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE RED OR PRECIOUS
CORAL.

By Prof. McIntosu, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.
Gatty Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews.

‘THE capture of marine products for food or for commerce
haz in some cases been carried on for centuries before science
stepped in to ascertain their nature, map out their life-histories,
and indicate the true course for legislative interference. The
fishing for the red coral of commerce in this respect agrees with
that for the food-fishes. Both had been carried on for centuries
before they attracted the earnest attention of the scientific, and
both are examples of the long-continued prevalence of error,
and, in the case of the fishes, even culpable lack of knowledge
about a food-supply so important. Indeed, the application of
science to the problem of the food-fishes is of much more recent
date than that of the coral of commerce, just as if personal
adornment and not practical utility were of primary importance
in the world.’’*

From one point of view there is, in the scientific history of
the two fisheries, certain elements in common which cannot but
strike the thoughtfu! observer, and though in the one case they
assume the form -of dogged adherence to preconceived and
erroneous interpretations, and on the other consist of a choice
of crude beliefs. often interwoven and warped by political
exigencies, yet in both the same obstinate refusal to accept the
scientific position is manifest.

* * Resources of the Sea,’ p. 11.
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV.. January, 19:0. B

t>

THE ZOOLOGIST.

The older writers made no fanciful remark when they stated
that, with the exception of pearls and ambergris, no product of
the sea was fraught with greater interest than the red or precious
coral of commerce. Its early history is obscure, but it is stated*
to have been an important article of trade with the Gauls, who
decorated their weapons and helmets with it. About the begin-
ning of the Christian era, however, the commerce in coral
between the Mediterranean and India seems to have absorbed so
much of the attention of the enterprising merchants that, Pliny
observes, it was even rare in the regions which produced it.
The natives of India considered this coral was endowed with
mysterious or sacred properties,t and that its wearer was pro-
tected from all evil, and that it was a cure for sterility; nor need
we think them specially superstitious when we remember the tiny
bags of camphor suspended from our necks in childhood.

The citizens of ancient Rome again hung it round their
children’s necks as a charm “‘ to preserve and fasten their teeth,”’
and to save them from “falling sickness”: and in Italy even
now the wearer is protected from the ‘‘ evil eye,” and is cured of
certain maladies, while at the same time it prevents the skin of
the neck from being chafed.t Gansius, further, lauded it as a
preservative from the effects of thunder, the shade of Satan, a
fertilizer of the field, and, when worn round the neck, a cure for
gastric pains and many other ills.§

The economic aspects of coral (Corallium rubrum) thus for
ages formed the sole attraction to mankind, its very origin being
shrouded in mystery. At one time it was considered a petri-
faction, a red plant turned into stone by the touch of the
Gorgon’s head or hand, and valued by the Persian as a talisman,
which, in the hour of triumph, purified the hand which had shed
blood. It was, moreover, supposed by such as Ovid, Sextus
Empiricus, and Boyle to be soft in the sea, and to be only solidified _
by contact with the air. Theophrastes, a disciple of Aristotle,
Dioscorides, Pliny, Cesalpinus, Ray, Geoffroy, and Shaw con-

* Eneyclop. Brit., article ‘‘ Red Coral,” ninth edition, 1877. See in this
connection an interesting Address by Prof. Hickson on “ Precious Corals,”
1905, Manchester Microsc. Soc.

} Ibid. } Simmonds.

§ Other maladies in which red coral was used are given by Prof. Hickson
Op. cut.

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. : 3

sidered it to be a plant, but they knew not its origin or forma-
tion. Ferrante Imperato also concluded that its vegetable nature
was evident, and Tournefort placed it amongst the stony marine
plants. Rumpf, however, from his practical acquaintance with
marine organisms, took a different view. This opinion was
further strengthened by Boccone’s observation of the milky juice
in the living structure, and by Marsigli’s discovery* of the pale
flowers, resembling cloves in shape, which appeared on its
surface. Boccone (the Sicilian), however, resiled from hig
original view, and by-and-by combatted the notion that it was
a plant. Guisoneus, a physician of Avignon, in his letter to
Boccone, affirms positively that red coral is only a mineral,
composed of much salt and a small quantity of earth, while its
form is given by precipitation, like that of the arbor Diane of
the chemists. Swammerdam, the celebrated savant of Holland,
held similar opinions. Dr. Woodward considered red corals
were stones, from their exceeding hardness and specific gravity,
and especially by observing that when calcined they were con-
verted into lime. The distinguished Réaumur at first thought
the independent central hard part was a concretion, whilst the
enveloping softer rind was the plant. He declined to believe
that the whole was formed by the so-called ‘‘ insects,” but he
subsequently, along with Bernard de Jussieu, after an examina-
tion of living polyps of various kinds on the shores of France,
wholly altered his opinion.

As an example of the views in our own country about the
beginning of the eighteenth century (1705), Mr. Anthony van
Leeuwenhoek, F.R.S., may be cited.t He held that blood-coral
did not grow, but was coagulated on shells. It lost its colour by
heat, was not dissolved by either hot or cold water but was so
by acid (aqua fortis), that its hardness arose from the great
number of its fixed salts, and that it was composed of particles
which puzzled him greatly. He also assured himself that coral
can be of no manner of service—as physic—to the bodies of
men, “‘ unless it were to amuse common people with uncommon
medicines, and thereby get themselves (that is, certain physicians)

* 1706. ‘Histoire Physique de la Mer.’
+ Philos. Trans. 1708-1709, pp. 126 e¢ seq.

4 THE ZOOLOGIST

a name, whilst they are in the meantime only cheating the
world, of which we have so many examples.”* Leeuwenhoek
apparently could not satisfy himself as to whether the coral was
an accretion or a plant, being confused by the particles forming
the mags of the dried structure.

Thus halting between a petrifaction and a plant, the posi-
tion of red coral was uncertain. About the beginning of the
eighteenth century, however, a talented young French surgeon,
Peyssonnel, who had been initiated into the study of marine
organisms by Marsigli, and who was acquainted with the views
of the older authors in regard to anemones and other plant-like
animals, formed a very different opinion, and by a careful study
of the coral in a living and fresh condition, he discovered that
it was the formation of polypes. A native of Marseilles, and a
student of marine zoology from early days, he qualified in medi-
cine, and subsequently found opportunities to pursue his re-
searches on red coral. His familiarity with sea-life during
various voyages to America, St. Domingo, and Egypt enabled
him to join the rough coral fishermen in their boats on the
Algerian coral-grounds, which had been known to the Pisans in
the tenth century.

Fully aware of what his master in zoology, Count Marsigli,
had discovered, viz. the flowers of the so-called coral-plant,
Peyssonnel, as soon as the coral was brought by the fishermen
near the surface, plunged a jar into the water and inserted
several branches. After some hours he noticed white points
over the surface, corresponding to the holes which pierced the
outer covering or so-called bark. Gradually expanding, these
points assumed a radiate structure, each somewhat resembling
the flower of the clove, as described by Marsigli. Continued
study of these structures convinced Peyssonnel that they were
truly coral ‘‘ insects,” each of which he termed urtica, purpura, or
polype, and which expands itself in water, and contracts itself
in air or when irritated. He thought that each polyp issued
from its cavity or cell in the bark, while in the tubes were the
organs of fhe animal, the glandules being the extremities of the
feet, and the whole containing the liquor or milk of coral, corre-
sponding to the blood and juices.

* Philos, Trans. 1708-1709, p. 134.

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. 5

Before Peyssonnel gave full descriptions of the polyp and its
physiology he had an opportunity of studying the polyps of a
madrepore, which he says are much larger and more easily
examined. Hach is placed in the centre of a pore, and causes
the structure to increase in every direction by lifting itself
further and further from the centre of the stone. Hach deposits
a liquor which runs along the furrow, becomes hard, and causes
the coral to increase proportionally in every direction. Corals,
therefore, are truly zoophytes, formed by the labour of the
animals which inhabit them.

Some of his views, as might be expected, were crude. Thus
he supposed that corals produced spawn enveloped in a viscous
substance, which fastens to rock, glass, broken earthenware, and
stones. The egg is duly hatched, and furnishes the animal
which resembles the sea-polyp. It is now known that the egg is
developed internally, and that a ciliated larva issues from the
mouth of the polyp. He also erroneously imagined that a par-
ticular tube (gut), which in the cuttlefish secretes ink, in this
case secretes matter which hardens into the dense axis of the
coral. Nature, he quaintly says, had furnished these animals
with claws (tentacles), which seize their prey as it passes, and
thus they are nourished.*

He described two kinds of apparatus used in coral-fishing—
one for smooth ground (same as described by Gassendi in his life
of Peyreskius), the other, the salabre, where the bottom is rocky.
Peyssonnel found that coral grew amongst the rocks and in the
caverns plentifully in ten to twelve fathoms of water, but also as
deep as one hundred and twenty fathoms. He cites the coast of
Barbary, which lies open to the north, as a proof that coral
flourishes there as well as in southern exposures.

When Peyssonnel’s observations were first communicated
to the French Academy, they were received for the most part
with incredulity and opposition. There was little sympathy,
indeed, with the young surgeon who had so loyally stood by his

* Justice is done to Peyssonnel both by Milne-Edwards in his Hist. Nat.
des Coralliaires, Suites a Buffon, 1857, and by Lecaze Duthiers in his Hist.
Nat. du Corail, 1864. The former gives interesting quotations from the
manuscript of Peyssonnel preserved in the Library of the Museum of Natural
History, Paris.

6 THE ZCOLOGIST.

father, whose devotion to his fellow-citizens during the plague
cost him his life, and whose own discoveries were an honour to
his country. He received from the King, however, a mission to
explore the shores of Barbary, and was thus enabled to forward
additional observations to Paris. These, while giving rise to
fresh discussions and renewed combats in the Academy, caused
some, such as Flourens, to perceive the importance of Peys-
sonnel’s discovery. Three members of the Academy, moreover,
after personally investigating the subject, ranged themselves on
the side of Peyssonnel, viz. Bernard de Jussieu, Réaumur, and
Guettard. Their notions, however, of the relation of the polyps
to the solid axis of the coral were inexact, especially those of
Réaumur, who compared the coral to the bee and its cells.
Fresh opposition was thus engendered to Peyssonnel’s views, for
which he was not responsible. These memorable discussions,
however, decided by-and-by the position of the red coral. Hence-
forth it was admitted to be a product of animals. Yet here and
there doubts subsequently appeared. Thus Donati,* an Italian
naturalist, attempted to unite the diverse views of Marsigli and
Peyssonnel by asserting that red coral showed the vegetation of
a plant and the propagation of an animal, therefore it should be
placed in an intermediate position. This author gives a fair
account, with figures, of the polyps with their pinnate tentacles,
and of a section of the axis and cenosare of the corallium.
He appears, however, to have been unable to shake off pre-
conceived notions.

Such views, however, and those of Dr. Parsons in the
‘ Philosophical Transactions + to the effect that, though Peys- ~
sonnel did find animals on the coral, it need not be concluded
that they constructed it, gradually died away, and the investiga-
tions of Cavolini (1785) and Milne-Edwards on the one hand, and
the more recent work of Lacaze Duthiers on the other, did justice
to the researches of the young French surgeon and naturalist.

Peyssonnel was thus the discoverer of the true nature of
coral, and he resolutely defended his views against the French
savants. Disgusted, however, at the reception his labours met
with, and the absence of all encouragement in his zoological

* ‘Della Storia Naturale Marina dell’ Adriatico, Venezia, 1750,’ p. xliii,
tav. v. + 1751-1752, p. 505.

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. if

studies, he accepted the post of physician-botanist to the Island
of Guadaloupe, and never again entered France or sent a paper
tothe Academy. His completed researches, indeed, were com-
municated to the Royal Society of London, and did not appear
in French. As Lacaze Duthiers truly says, he merited other
treatment from his countrymen. His devotion during the
plague at Marseilles,* his enthusiasm and courage in encounter-
ing danger and fatigue during his explorations of the African
coast, and his discovery of the nature of coral ought to have
assured him a distinguished name. He was one of the band of
surgeon-naturalists (to whom allusion has more than once been
made) who have done so much both at home and abroad for the
progress of zoological science, yet whose labours and whose
influence have escaped the just consideration of the late Uni-
versity Commissioners for Scotland. Though by statutory in-
junction the future medical graduate must write a thesis on a
purely medical subject, and not on a zoological or a botanical
one—a freedom which his predecessors enjoyed—it is unlikely
that the indissoluble brotherhood between these two subjects
and medicine will heed either appreciation or sympathy. In the
future as in the past the ranks of medicine surely will produce
men like Peyssonnel and Rigaut, Rondelet, Kolliker, Ehlers,
William Harvey, Alex. Monro, Erasmus Darwin, Sir Hans
Sloane, John and William Hunter, John Goodsir, John Reid,
George Busk, W. B. Carpenter, John Hutton Balfour, G. J.
Allman, James Syme, Joseph Hooker, Richard Owen, Thomas
Huxley, William Flower, William Turner, George Johnston,
Albany Hancock, Robert Grant, Alex. Dickson, G. S. Brady,
J. B. Pettigrew, Alleyne Nicholson, Robert Edmonstone, and many
others, whose services to medicine and to zoology and botany
have been and are an honour to their respective countries.

The red or precious coral, then, frequents a rocky bottom on
the borders of the Mediterranean and its islands, and is most
abundant at depths from twenty-five to fifty fathoms, but may
extend to about one thousand fathoms. Its distribution in
quantity is indicated by the titles of the various fisheries. Thus
it occurs on the shores of Southern Italy, off the Island of Ponza,

* He wrote a youthful memoir on the contagion of the plague, for which
the Academy made him a Correspondent.

8 THE ZOOLOGIST.

in the Gulf of Gaeta, off Sicily, especially at Trapani at its
western extremity, off Corsica and Sardinia, in the Straits of
Bonifacio, off the Mediterranean shores of France, at Marseilles
and Provence, off Catalonia, off Tunis, Algiers, and the shores
of Morocco, as well as the Ionian Sea, and Cape Verde Islands
in the Atlantic. Other species of corals come from the Mauritius
and Djilolo.* ‘‘ The valuable pink coral is found chiefly off the
coast of Sicily. In the year 1875 a bed was discovered in the
Straits of Messina, in which the coral, though found only in
small quantities and of small size, was of immense value, owing
to its beautiful uniform pink colour, and without any of those
stains which detract so much from its worth. The coral found
in this place was sent chiefly to London and Birmingham.
Its value is from £80 to upwards of £200 per ounce.”+ The
supply of this coral, however, was of short duration. It is
usually attached to the under surface of stones and rocks on the
so-called banks, which the coral fishermen (corallini) find with
remarkable skill; indeed, Lacaze Duthiers says they are as well
acquainted with these as with the islands which rise avove the _
sea. Moreover, it would appear to flourish better where the
bottom is muddy than where it is clear or sandy. By its base it
clings firmly to stones, rocks, and other surfaces, penetrating the ©
small crevices, and often having various growths such as Polyzoa
and Melobesia externally, while occasionally it envelops a shell
(Thecidiwm), a sea-acorn (coral-tulip), or a piece of wood.

Coral varies in appearance, some specimens being larger and
more branched, others shorter and less branched, age having a
considerable effect in modifying its aspect. Rarely are the
branches regular, since accidents of various kinds and the death
of parts occur. Its hard axis is capable of taking a fine polish,
as also is that of certain allied forms such as Plewrocorallium.}

Most authors who have examined it in life have had consider-
able difficulty in carrying out their wishes—from the days of
Peyssonnel till now—for the boats are often a long time at sea.
Their owners are somewhat suspicious of strangers on board,
both in connection with the coral itself and the distraction of the

** See Hickson, Camb. Nat. Hist. vol. 1906, ‘‘ Coelenterata,” &c., p. 352.

+ Greck & Co., im litt. to Prof. Moseley, ‘ Nature,’ March, 1882.
{ J. Yate Johnson, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1899, p. 57.

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. 9

workers, while a certain amount of secrecy still haunts the
pursuit. Moreover, the trials of such a life are not few. Hven
with every advantage it is by no means easy to secure specimens
that will live, for the tangles and other instruments of capture
inflict injuries which in warm weather prove fatal. Lacaze
Duthiers was most successful by selecting uninjured specimens
on stones, and suspending them in vessels of sea-water.

Like all the members of the group Alcyonaria, to which red
coral belongs, the polyps on its surface have eight pinnate arms,
but instead of being red, or, as some of the older authors called
them, “flowers of blood,” they are pale and transparent. When
contracted the surface of the coral is dotted with little elevations
marked by deep radiate grooves, and from each of these, in
sea-water, a polyp by-and-by expands. These polyps of the red
coral were the flowers of Marsigli,* and about which, in the
earlier days of Peyssonnel’s discovery, so many opposing views
were broached. The hollow, pinnate tentacles (with thread-
cells) surround the mouth, which is in the centre, being ciliated,
and send currents of water (bearing food) into the digestive system.
Around the latter are eight radiating lamelle (mesenteries) and
other organs. The polyps, moreover, are dimorphic (autozoids
and siphonozoids, the latter without ova or generative organs).
These polyps thus resemble those of the common Alcyoniwm
digitatum, the ‘‘ dead men’s fingers and toes”’ of the fishermen,
yet it is remarkable that in a country of marine zoologists like
Britain scarcely a single figure representing these beautiful
polyps in their natural condition exists, for Prof. Hickson does
not figure a fully expanded polyp in his excellent brochure on
Alcyonium,t whilst the figures of the expanded polyp in his
finely illustrated Memoirt also lack the beauty of the perfectly
healthy example. Prof. Hickson, indeed, explains that when at
Piymouth he never succeeded in getting Alcyontwm to expand to
his satisfaction, even the figure in the recent Cambridge Natural
History (1906) being indifferent, for it apparently has been taken
from a specimen by no means vigorous, and the striking diffe-

* They essentially differed, however, as Lacaze Duthiers pointed out, for
when touched they contract.

+ L. M. B. C. Memoirs, v. 1901.
{| Quart. Journ. Micros. Sc. vol. xxxvii. pls. 386 and 37.

10 THE Z00LOGIST.

rences between the fully expanded polyps and the shrunken
apertures into which they have disappeared lack tone. It is
rare to find one collected by hook, dredge, or trawl in a satis-
factory condition—indeed, such has never been seen. The only
method of securing a perfect example is, as stated in 1864,* by
searching for small specimens near low-water mark under
stones, chipping them carefully with a basis of stone, and at
once placing them in sea-water. Thus a patch three-quarters
of an inch in diameter contracted to one-tenth of an inch in
thickness. ‘‘ As the polyp contracts into its stellate aperture its
mouth gapes, apparently the more readily to give exit to the
water in its interior. It presents the aspect of an octagon with
hollow sides when about the level of its cell. Rows of spicula
project from the corners towards the centre. If further extended
the tentacula, their pinne, and the rows of spicula become
more apparent; oral aperture dilated; outline of oral dise
similarly octagonal, though much larger. When still further
extended, coiling of the arms is frequently seen, like the circi-
nate vernation of the ferns. In a state of full expansion the
polyp is elongated and narrowed toward the head, measuring
more than half an inch from the tips of the tentacula to the base.
The tentacles can be stretched to more than twice the diameter
of the oral disc, are narrow and tapering, and have the elongated
pinne at each side; the tips are slightly opaque, probably from
minute suckers. The tentacles are also rendered rough by
minute spicula, which do not, however, go further than the
base, where a pale non-spicular portion occurs; below this the
neck of the polyp is supplied with long tuberculated spicules,
arranged in an arrow-like manner. In those polyps which are
best expanded the diameter of the oral disc is smallest. Some-
times, from the position of the parts, the tentacle with its pinne
presents a spindle-shaped appearance.”’t The spicules of the
tentacles appear to have had but little attention paid to them,
though they are figured by Prof. Hickson in his Memoir (vol. 37,
fig. 10), and alluded to on p. 870.!

* Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin. vol. v. p. 893, 1862-66.

+ An accurate drawing of this example by the late Mrs. Ginther is given
in ‘The Marine Invertebrates and Fishes of St. Andrews,’ pl. vii. fig. 8, 1875.

t Op. cit.

ip ED

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. 11

The fleshy external part (ccenenchyma), in which the polyps
are placed, is canaliferous, has spicules, which are, according to
Ridley, of one type, ‘‘viz. a hexahedral oblong form, the angles
being formed by broad truncate but microtuberculate tubercles
which preserve the chief features of their characteristic form
throughout all varieties of the external form of the coral.’* It
surrounds the dense, inflexible, calcareous axial part (the coral
of commerce), which consists of fused spicules formed by the
fleshy part, and it is stated to be devoid of an investing cellular
(epithelial) layer, whereas Gorgonia and its immediate allies
have the latter, the central rod in these being ectodermal.
Cavolini compared the fleshy and the hard parts to periosteum
and bone—a somewhat crude simile—while Boccone thought
the hard axis was only formed by juxtaposition.

The vessels ramify through the whole of the fleshy part, the
larger parallel ones next the hard axis, the smaller forming a
reticulation throughout the entire layer. They carry a nutritive
fluid originating in the chyne in the interior of the polyps, as
clearly described by Peyssonnel. It is the so-called ‘‘ milk” of
coral. The fleshy part is translucent when distended by water,
is cellular, and has the calcareous spicules already mentioned.
Externally is the cellular ectoderm, which by fusion of its cells
appears as a structureless layer. The fleshy part has a tendency
to produce buds everywhere, even injuries being followed not
only by repair but by branching.

The sexes of the red coral are generally borne on separate
colonies ; rarely both occur on the same branch. No external
distinction exists between them, except that in dead branches
the eggs become yellow, whereas the products of the males
remain milky. Both elements are produced in the sarcosome in
the deeper parts of the polyps, as in Alcyonium. The eggs are
developed internally, and the larva escapes by the mouth (asa
planula) from May to September, and occasionally as late as
December. A close-time, therefore, could only be carried out by
the division of the entire coral-bearing area into sections. The
larva swims freely in the water, and becomes pear-shaped before
fixation, sinks to the bottom, fixes itself to stone or rock, and
becomes flattened.

* Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, p. 228,

12 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The rate of growth is still uncertain. Some assert that
coral grows with tolerable rapidity, and that articles thrown
into the sea will in a few months be studded with small speci-
mens. Others, again, hold that it takes twenty years to produce
an axis as thick as the forefinger.

Previous to the sixteenth century the coral fishery was con-
trolled by the Italians ; thereafter for a short time it was in the
hands of the Spaniards; then the French held it till 1798, the
centre of the trade being Marseilles, when the Revolution threw
it open. Though the British Government took charge of the
fisheries for a short time (1806), the industry since that period
has been mainly Italian.

The coral fishery is carried out in decked boats of two sizes,
viz. six and fourteen to sixteen tons. The former are chiefly
French, though manned by Italians; the latter Italian, mostly
from Torre del Greco, where the inhabitants are nearly all
engaged in this fishery, either as fishermen or manufacturers of |
coral brought on shore. Smaller boats without a capstan are
also used by the Spaniards, and with only three or four men
on board, whereas the former have respectively six and ten or
twelve men. Many of the men come from the coast of Tuscany,
a few are Genoese, most are Neapolitan, and more especially
from Torre del Greco (near the foot of Vesuvius). No French
crews will undertake the work. In the large boats is a captain,
a second in command, and eight or ten fishermen. The best
fishermen get from four hundred to five hundred frances for the six
summer months. The greater number get from two hundred to
three hundred francs.* The fishing season is from March till
October, but weather permitting it may be prosecuted at all times.
Whilst the food of the men consists chiefly of biscuits and
water, Italian pie, and a few vegetables, their muscular exertions
are very great as well as long-continued, since they work night
and day—often in the broiling sun of the African shores—
relieving each other in shifts of six hours. The hardships of
the life are, indeed, a byword.

* Simmonds (‘Commercial Produce of Sea’) says from £20 to £24, and
the masters twice as much. See also ‘ Nature,’ vol. 25, p. 511 (March 30th,

1882), for a letter from Messrs. Greck & Co., describing the Italian coral
fishery.

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. 13

Each boat is provided with an apparatus or engine formed of
a cross of wood, a metre long in the smaller, and two metres in
the larger. Sometimes an iron centre is used with sockets for
the arms. The latter are made of stout wood, and in the centre
(when no iron is present) is a large stone, while a series of
tangles made of hempen ropes and pieces of net are attached to
the cross. The tangles are about a yard or more in length, and,
in the larger boats, from twenty-eight to thirty in number.
Under the central stone is often a circlet of six or eight tangles,
which the fishermen call ‘‘the tail of Purgatory.” The main
rope passes from the centre of the cross, and is protected from
friction by a sheath of lashing, and shorter ropes connect the
beams to the central one so as to increase the strength of the
apparatus.* The Spaniards use a perforated iron instrument
with teeth, and a bag of net to entangle the coral, but no special
advantage is gained.

When the captain thinks the ground is suitable he launches
the engine, the sails (lateen and jib) are trimmed, and the capstan
put in action. The cross of wood fixes on rocks and stones,
breaking off the coral and overturning the latter. Pulled on by
the rope it advances by jerks, the horizontal action of the sails
being combined with the vertical action of the capstan. Now it
may be necessary to give more rope or reverse the action of the
boat and capstan, and again proceed, all being done under the
orders of the captain, who is the stern and inflexible master of
the toilsome pursuit. As the huge stones are overturned and
the corals broken off, the tangles pick up the loose pieces,
besides starfishes, fin-shells or sea-wings (Pinna), lamp-shells,
and other invertebrates.

The fishermen engaged in this arduous work are naked, with
the exception of drawers. When busy they chant various songs,
often including the names of their favourite saints, swaying
their heads and bodies to the song, and straining every muscle
at their exhausting work. The work of these men thus resembles
in some respects that of the eager trawlers in our waters.

Should the engine become fixed and resist all efforts to dis-
engage it, an iron ring is sent down on the main rope to free

* Vide a figure on the covers of the ‘ Resources of the Sea,’ 1899. This

was sketched from the apparatus exhibited in the London ‘ Fisheries’ Exhibi-
tion of 1883,

14 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the wooden cross, and a kind of grappling-iron (harrow) to
disentangle the hemp which may have become twisted round
rocks. Thus continuing their weary labours, the apparatus is
hauled on deck, and an eager search is made for coral amongst
the tangles. Every fragment is carefully picked out, and stored
for the owner of the boat, for no one employed in the fishery is
permitted to sell coral. .

Coral is separated into Dead Coral (or pourris), which is sold
at a price varying from 5-20 francs a kilogramme (2b. 8 0z.).
Black Coral, 12-15 frances per kilogramme. Coral in case (caisse),
45-70 francs a kilogramme (ordinary commercial coral). Choice
Coral, 400-500 francs per kilogramme,* including rose coral and
peau dange (angel’s skin), off Sicily and Straits of Messina.
The finest rose tint is worth £120 per oz. Rare kinds of pale
- tints are worth twenty times their weight in gold (Simmonds).
It is occasionally milk-white.

The large boats are valued at £550, and their outlay averages
about 11,000 francs per season. From 400 to 600 boats were
engaged in 1880; in 1871 there were 460 Italian boats, valued
at £80 and £160 each (Simmonds). About 6000 Italians and
Spaniards were occupied on the Algerian banks in 1864. In
1873 the Algerian fishery employed 311 vessels, manned by
8150 men, and yielded coral valued at £18,000. The Spanish
fishermen collect off the Cape Verde Islands about 24,760 lb. of
coral = £20,000. Large boats may collect from 650 to 850 lb.
of coral in the season, value from 13,000 frances to 24,000 frances.
If 250 kilogrammes are procured at 50 francs it covers expenses.
Foreign boats pay heavy dues for right to fish on the Algerian
coast.

A diver’s dress (Scaphandre) for the coral fishery in shallow
water has been suggested, but it appears to be unsuitable. The
same applies to a submarine boat. A steam capstan is a more
reasonable proposal.

Coral is often perforated by sponges and annelids, besides
having externally various tubes of Sepula (Spirorbis), and other
encrusting forms. On the Spanish coast fine blood-red coral is

** Some of the finest from Sicilian grounds and Straits of Messina is sent

to London and Birmingham, to be cut into lentils, and, as stated, is valued
at £80 to £200 per oz.

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. 15

found affected by filaments of a parasitic alga, which causes a
change in the tissue. The same parasite is found on Astroides
and molluscan shells. :

The produce of the coral fishery is sold in Messina, Naples,
Genoa, Leghorn, Marseilles, and the Algerian coral goes in
addition to Pisa, in Sicily, and Trapani. About 160 tons are
‘annually brought into Italy, and the articles made of it are
valued at nearly £500,000. The total annual value of rough
coral has been estimated at £2,000,000, while, when manu-
factured, it reaches £10,000,000. Great skill is shown by the
Italians in sculpturing and polishing coral. The finest must be
of a delicate pinkish or flesh-like hue, uniform in tint through-
out, and in large pieces. ‘‘ It has the hardness and brilliancy of
agate, and shines like garnet with the tints of the ruby.’* In-
ferior kinds are sold at £2 per oz., and small fragments,
‘‘ collete,”’ used for children’s necklaces, at 5s. per oz. Even
worm-eaten coral, of little value in Europe, goes to the East, for
the natives believe that gods dwell in the little holes. Arabic
coral of inferior quality is also made into simple cylinders pierced
lengthwise, and sold for servants’ use.

The finest workmanship perhaps is seen at Naples and Leg-
horn, and in the form of pearls, large and small, smooth and
facetted, olives, sculptured men, animals, flowers, fruits, or
rounded buttons, the largest and finest of which go to China for
the Mandarins’ caps. ‘‘In Leghorn about 1000 women are
employed preparing 50,000 lb. of coral into little beads—round,
egg-shaped, smooth, and cut into facets. The greater part is
sent to India, but also to Germany and Russia.” + The same
author states that in 1879 Genoa had thirty engravers of cameos
and coral. In all from 5000 to 6000 persons gained a livelihood
in the province in connection with coral, the craft producing a
revenue of £80,000. Marseilles, again, manufactures 2,000,000
francs of coral. Manufactured coral is exported to Egypt,
India, Thibet, China, Britain, the European States, and America.
In the latter and the West Indies the blacks have a great fancy
for coral, and so in Morocco, India and Central Asia, Central
Africa and America, and as in these countries and in some
European States the dead carry the coral ornaments with them

* Simmonds, ‘ Commercial Produce of Sea,’ 1879, p. 441. +. Ibid.

16 THE ZOOLOGIST.

to the tomb, the demand is constant. In our own country coral
beads and other personal ornaments are common. Between
1860 and 1870 Simmonds mentions that £300,000 worth of coral
was received in Britain. Very costly articles of jewellery,
indeed, may be formed from it, a single set occasionally reaching
£1000. <A fine piece (8 in. long), exquisitely carved and form-
ing the handle of a parasol, was valued at £70 (Simmonds).

The antiquity of the coral fishery, the comparative freedom
in regard to working, and the exhaustion of certain banks, have
led to suggestions for restriction—for instance, to make a close
season during the development of the eggs—but as this period
stretches from April to September, and even later, the very
season when the fishery can best be carried on, the suggestion,
as already indicated, is impracticable.

The fact that small quantities are procured from a bank that
has been persistently fished for some time, whereas numerous
and fine specimens occur on a new bank, or one that has had a
long rest, point to the propriety of intermitting the work. This
was further exemplified after the four years’ rest of the Kgyptian
campaign. Lacaze Duthiers thus advised that the Algerian
region should be divided into five areas, each of which should be
fished in succession, after a four years’ rest, so that this sugges-
tion as applied to the food-fishes of the North Sea is not new.
The conditions, however, of the two groups, viz. coral and food-
fishes, widely diverge. The Algerian reefs, indeed, were divided
into ten portions, only one of which was fished annually, ten
years being considered sufficient for the growth of large pieces
of coral.

Of important banks in recent times, that of Sciacca (near
Sicily) may be mentioned. This was discovered in the middle
of May, 1875, and large supplies attached to groups of bivalve
shells or pieces of dead coral, chiefly of red or black coral, were
obtained. Thus a boat with eight men collected from thirty to
forty pounds a day, and it sold at eleven shillings per pound less
five per cent. tare, so that each boat had a daily gain of about
£20. By the middle of July the coral sold at only seven shillings
per pound and eight per cent. tare, and towards the end of the
month considerably less. It was estimated by Simmonds that
from June Ist to August 81st, 1875, the quantity of coral sold

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. 17

at an average price of seven shillings per pound was 264,000 lb.,
or = £92,000. In the case of Sciacca about seven hundred
boats crowded the beds, so that a Government ship had to be
sent to keep order. Another bed was found ten miles off, and
still another further removed (1880). About eight thousand
tons of coral were fished on these banks, reddish and black
(which Moseley supposed to be due to manganese, since he found
shells elsewhere with blackish deposit of manganese). The
Sciacca coral was chiefly attached to shells and fragments of
corals, not to rocks and stones; depth, one hundred to one
hundred and seventy fathoms. Greck & Co. say that the dark
colour appeared to be due to the muddiness of the water. This
coral found ready sale in English markets, being prepared for
Calcutta. It was exposed for months to the heat of the sun and
kept moist, when the black colour disappeared.*

Prof. Giglioli (to whom I am indebted for interesting in-
formation on the subject), however, mentions that, although
this bank was worked till it by-and-by was exhausted, others
were found in the same region. Thus on the banks worked from
March to October, 1882, coral was procured to the amount of
£179,724. There were, indeed, 582 boats and 5766 men on the
area. Moreover, it was chiefly dead coral, and sold at a low
price.

Between the years 1880 and 1883 much coral was got on the
extreme edge of “Adventure Bank,” not far from Graham’s
Island (Ferdinandea), and principally in three patches. It was,
however, dead and blackened, probably from the volcanic erup-
tion which caused the island to appear and disappear in 1831.

The fact that no minute survey of the Mediterranean has
been made, so as to map out the rich coral-banks with their
fauna and environment, and that no very accurate statistics
have been kept of the captures from year to year, show that
sreat caution is needed in drawing deductions.

Recently a species of coral (C. johnsont), which is known off
Madeira, was dredged in 388 fathoms about sixty miles off
Hagle Island, on the west coast of Ireland, where so many

* In litt. Messrs. Greck & Co. to Prof. Moseley. The most recent account
is that of Canestrini, ‘ I] Corallo, Monografia,’ 1883.
Zool 4th ser. vol. XIV., January, 1910. c

18 THE ZOOLOGIST.

rare forms. have been procured under the skilled auspices of
Mr. Holt, Scientific Adviser to the Fisheries Department.” *

An artificial substitute—coraline—is used for cheap jewellery,
but the beads are too regular, smooth, and uniform in tint to
pass for the genuine article.

A story is told by Simmonds of certain distinguished
foreigners who admired a string of large coral beads in a shop
in London, but expressed astonishment at the high price. Some
time after they visited the same shop and expressed indignation
at the imposition attempted to be practised on them, since they
had purchased a similar article for one-tenth of the price. They
were asked to put the two articles to test with a knife. The true
coral was uninjured, but the artificial compésition splintered.
An appeal to a law court for redress of the fraud was the result.

Ivory beads are also sometimes dyed to imitate coral (Sim-
monds).

On the Pacific coast of Japan rocky coral banks of great
richness were known in the seas of Tosa long ago, and coral.
was occasionally taken off the coast of Tsukinada in early times.
In the time of the Daimyos, however, the fishery or sale of coral
was prohibited lest the Daimyo of Tosa might be compelled to
hand it over to the Shogun. The grounds off Tosa are the
oldest in Japan, and include the Muroto, Tsukinada, and Kashi-
wajima grounds, and they range from 90-180 metres in depth,
and are often very rough. The second or Hizen ground is both
the most extensive and the most profitable, and it lies about
65 km. §.S.W. of the Goto Islands, and is from 55-180 metres
in depth, both rough and smooth ground being found. The third
area is the Satsuma ground, including the smal! banks to the
south of the Koshiki Islands, and was recently discovered. Prof.
Kishinouye describes seven species of Coralliwm from Japanese
waters: viz. C. japonicum, the most abundant, is known by
the name of ‘‘Aka-sango.”+ It comprises two-thirds of the
annual proceeds of the commercial fisheries in weight, or from
4000 to 10,000 kilos. The axis (skeleton) is dark red in

** Vide Prof. Hickson, ‘ Nature,’ vol. Ixxiii. p. 5, 1905.

+ An allied species has been recently described by Prof. Hickson from
the coast of Timor (K. Akad. Wet.. Amsterdam, 1905). In this form the
sexual organs are carried by the siphonozoids.

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. 19

colour with a white centre. A small pit marks each autozoid.
A polychet worm (Eunicid ?) is a commensal in a burrow on
the front of the branches, the large examples of which are about
300 mm. in height and 30 mm. in diameter. Light-coloured
varieties are rare and valuable. Two other species—C. boshu-
ensis, Kish., and C. sulcatum, Kish.—seem to be rare. C. elatius,
Ridley, on the other hand, is more abundant, and grows to a
comparatively enormous size, viz. 100 cm. in height, and about
6 cm. in diameter at the base. It is generally red in colour,
rarely colourless, and forms one-fifth in weight of the total
annual product of Japanese corals. The other forms are C.
konojoi, Kish., known by the name of ‘‘ shiro-sango,” and of
considerable size (30 mm. in diameter), and it has a milk-white
skeleton with a small reddish centre; C. inutile, Kish., a rare
species; and C. pusillum, Kish., with a white striated skeleton,
and only one example of which has been procured.* The
common Japanese coral is readily distinguished from the Medi-
terranean species by the white centre of the main stem and
branches. This was unknown to Prof. Moseley, who refers to
what he considers a remarkable carved jewel of Japanese coral,
which is marbled white and red, and is characterized by its
greater hardness when compared with ordinary precious coral.
The history of the coral fishery in Japan is full of interest,
since after the interdict of the Daimyo a coral fisher about
seventy years ago secretly carried on his occupation on the
Moroto ground with profit, and others followed. After the Meiji
Reform in 1868, when the prohibition was removed, about one
hundred boats worked on the Moroto ground, and soon exhausted
it, so that only a few boats were observed in 1886. But by-and-
by coral was discovered on the Tsukinada ground, and in such
quantity that nearly all the coral fishers flocked to it. While
the centre of the fishery was thus at Tsukinada some fishermen
again explored the Moroto ground, formerly so rich, and it was
found that the corals had again re-established themselves in such
force that no fewer than one thousand boats soon were busy on
it, a sight never since seen in the coral fishery of Japan. If

* The foregoing abstract of the Japanese corals is from an interesting
paper by Prof. Kishinouye in the ‘ Journ. of the Imperial Fisheries Bureau,’

vol. xiv. 1, Tokyo, 1904.
C2

@

20 THE ZOOLOGIST.

any object-lesson could open the eyes of the authorities in our
country to the permanence of the food-fishes in the sea, not-
withstanding temporary alterations which may or may not be
due to man’s agency, surely this of the stationary coral of the
Japanese seas should.*

Besides the foregoing grounds, a new area, the Hizen ground,
near the Danjo Islands, was discovered in 1886; the next year
eighty boats were at work, and since then the average has been
one hundred boats, and this notwithstanding the sudden storms
and the calamities characteristic of the region. The newest or
Satsuma ground was opened in 1898, near the islands of Taka and
Tsukura, and others have been discovered every year near these
islands and those further south, so that one hundred boats work
on them. It is probable that all the coral banks have not yet been
explored, and that the accidental capture of fragments in line-
fishing over this great area may lead to further developments.

The Japanese boats used in the coral fishery are, as a rule,
ordinary fishing-boats, and they are manned by six to eight men,
though this varies in the different villages. The captain is
owner, while all share in the captures. Prof. Kishinouye, to
whom I am indebted for much of the information on the subject
before the publication of Mr. Kitahara’s paper, thinks it is a
kind of gambling. At first the men used a rectangular net
hanging from a piece of bamboo, but lately tufts of old netting
are dragged at the lower edge of the net as well as at both ends
of the stick. The rectangular net of strong cord breaks off the
coral, and the tufts entangle it. The principle is much the
same as in the Mediterranean, and as the Japanese ground is
rocky it might be an improvement to supplement by heavier
bars of wood, though this would undoubtedly add to the labours
of the crew. They work with the current, and find it most
profitable to sweep the ground with the net from deeper to
shallower water; the best months are May, June, and July.
Only the Moroto and Kashiwajima banks are within easy reach
of shelter, so, as a rule, when signs of rough weather appear,
they return to the harbour.t

* Vide ‘ Resources of the Sea,’ pp. 25, 239, &e.

+ I am further indebted for information to a paper ‘‘On the Coral
Fishery of Japan”’ (Journ. Imperial Fisheries Bureau), by T. Kitahara, 1904.

RED OR PRECIOUS CORAL. 21

The coral trade in Japan seems to have been a comparatively
recent development, for nearly all the coral ornaments were for-
merly imported from Italy. Mr. Kitahara shows that the export
of coral began to increase about 1896, and culminated in 1900,
while the imports suddenly decreased from 1899. The greater
part of the Japanese coral goes to Italy, and the minor part to
China. The amount for home use is small. The coral exported
to Italy is chiefly the ‘“‘Aka-sango”’ (C. japonicum) and
‘‘Momoiro-sango”’ (C. elatius), whilst the latter almost exclu-
sively is sent to China. The ‘‘Shiro-sango’”’ (C. konojot) is
rarely exported. When first introduced into Naples it sold, not-
withstanding its bad colour and somewhat cloudy aspect, for
£150 a kilogramme, a price which was due to its large size and
hardness. Now it is much cheaper.

In Japan it has been used for two or three centuries chiefly
as beads for ladies’ hair, cords for tobacco-pouches, ‘“‘ inro”’
rosaries, and inlaid work. The ‘‘ Momoiro-sango ”’ is highly appre-
ciated, whilst the others are less valued. Mr. Kitahara concludes
with the remark equally applicable to the capture of food-fishes
as of coral, viz.: ‘“‘It is generally believed that the coral fishery
is quite different from other fisheries from an economical stand-
point, for the catch can never be known beforehand, as one
boat may get nothing for a whole day’s work, while another may
get several hundred yen worth in one haul on the same bank!
This is true to a certain extent, but I believe it is too much to
say so decidedly, because the clever, experienced fishermen who
can exactly detect the position of the banks, and clearly under-
stand their contour, and can take advantage of the current in
using the net, have always a fair catch.”

In conclusion, it may be mentioned that the persistence of
the red coral of commerce was alluded to in the ‘ Resources of
the Sea’ (p. 12), and this notwithstanding man’s efforts to
destroy it. It has been eagerly sought for many centuries, and
has been captured generally without restriction wherever and
whenever the corallint, or coral-fishermen, listed. Its growth is
comparatively slow, and its powers of increase limited. More-
over, fixed to rocks, stones, shells, and dead pieces of coral at
the bottom of the sea, it could neither escape the engines of cap-
ture nor, by an adult pelagic habit, aid in the spread of its larvee

22 ' THE ZOOLOGIST.

over a wide area. Its resources for continuing the species under
disadvantageous circumstances, caused by the constant efforts of
man, are: (1) the facility for branching, and the fact that broken
branches retain their vitality and grow on a fresh site, while the
fixed portion, if not too much reduced, can send up a new stem ;
(2) the pelagic nature of the larve (true planule), which carry
to new and suitable sites swarms of the species. Finally, the
remarks applied in connection with the sea-fishes are appropriate
here, viz.: ‘‘ Nature has been able by her unaided resources to
ward off extinction in a species so eagerly desired by man for
one of the greatest incentives, viz. pecuniary gain, and yet so
circumscribed in distribution, and so slenderly supplied with
means of dispersion in comparison with many marine animals.
Moreover, all this has occurred in a sea specially excluded, from
its limited boundaries, from the consideration of the question in
the ‘ Resources of the Sea,’ which has been swept by hundreds
of boats’ crews annually by day and by night. if the con-
tinuance of the red coral, therefore, has been assured (for
authorities deem the diminished price rather than scarcity of
coral at the root of the present depression), what difficulty is
there in regard to the permanent abundance of the chief food-
fishes of the open seaboard of our country—set as it is in the
midst of an almost boundless ocean—with all the marvellous
powers of increase (a thousand-fold greater than the coral), so
characteristic of them on the one hand, and all the varied and
gigantic resources of nature in the sea at command on the other ?
Science as well as experience answers that there is none.’ *

* ¢Resources of the Sea,’ p. 241.

( 23>)

AN OBSERVATIONAL DIARY on tor NUPTIAL HABITS
or tHE BELACKCOCK (THETRAO TFETRIX) m
SCANDINAVIA ann ENGLAND.

By Epmunp Sstovus.

(Part I. Scanprnavia.)
(Continued from vol. xiii., p. 413.)

April 20th.—Starting at 3.a.m., I must have reached the
place about 3.30 a.m. There are the usual early cries, and as
light begins slowly to struggle through the mists and shadows of
the arena I make out four birds through the glasses—‘‘ darkly.”
A little later, one flies off, if indeed it is only that, for he seems
to rise straight up into the air, and I see the white tail, as if it
were spread.

Now, just as daylight breaks clearly, there is the pause—no
bird on the arena—all, I think, must have flown off when that
one did; only a rookle, here and there, round about, and that not
near. This pause, or rather interval in the birds’ activities,
after daybreak, seems an actual thing; but perhaps they are
then feeding. Then, as the sun begins to top the rocky ridge of
the low hill behind me, come rookles and ‘‘ tchu-whais,”’ so
suddenly, one would think there was really a connection.
Nothing more happens, however, no bird, since the semi-dark-
ness, has been down on the ‘‘moss,”’ nor is now likely to, it
being past the time of gathering. It seems strange that there
should be this set-back, since yesterday, but, though a splendid
fine morning, passing into a cloudless day, it is still colder than
yesterday, so that this may account for it. The shooting, too,
which goes on all about in the early morning, in defiance of the
unenforced game laws, may have something to do with it. No
doubt I have come too early, and may have to leave before I
shall have seen much. Yet even the little I saw yesterday goes
far to show that the general principles governing the courtship

24 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of the Blackcock are much the same as those which obtain in
the case of the Ruff—that is to say, that the female is won by
assiduity, or superior attractions, and not by fighting, or force
applied to herself. This hen, for instance, rejected both the
birds that courted her, not, in all probability because she was
indifferent to such courtship in itself, but simply because she
required to be better pleased. She looked, as I say, quite
conscious of what the performance meant, and here, as with the
Ruffs, and, in my opinion, all female birds (except, perhaps,
where the relations of the sexes are reversed), the power seemed
to lhe in her hands. Probably—or possibly—owing to the
earliness of the season, the feelings of neither sex are yet suffici-
ently advanced for pairing to take place.

April 21st.—Arrive at the usual time. From the “tchu-
whai-ing ”’ and the soft ‘‘ choc-kerada’—that plaintive note of
war—some birds it seems, are on the ground, and now, in flashes
through the gloom, the white tail of one, here and there, and
then its coal-black body appears. But, as the day breaks, all is
silent, and not a bird visible. Nor do any come down again.
It is another blank morning.

April 24th.—On the ground at 3.20 a.m., but nothing to
record.

April 25th.—On arriving at near 5 a.m., I found several
cocks on the ground, which made me regret not having come
earlier—for I like to see things from their first beginnings.
There was, now, more flying, for short distances, over the ground,
and again alighting. This indeed was a feature, and, as the
birds flew, they often uttered a deep note—“ tchu-u-u ’”’—which
had a warning and threatening character. They did not, how-
ever, leap into the air. The war-dance, or frenzy, even in its
incipient stage, was wanting.

A hen now flew into a small tree, close to where the cocks
were, and I then saw that there were two more hens there on
the ground. There was now some courtship, but it was of a
very sluggish nature, nor did the presence of the hens have any
marked effect upon the cocks, in regard to each other. There
had been no fighting before, and there was none now, though,
of course, there is always an idea of it. Itis, so to speak, in
the air, but does not—that is to say, I have not yet seen it—

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 25

come off. Two birds did, indeed, advance, in a slow way, and
stand front to front, with their heads down, but nothing came
of it; they did not make a pass. The little actual fighting
which I have hitherto seen, and which has amounted to a few
half-hearted passes and jumps against one another, has been
when no hens were present. Such courting of the hens as now
took place was the same as on previous occasions. The cock
walked beside, or round, the hen, tilting himself in the way I
have described, but springing, or ‘‘ dancing,’ made no part of
such display. The flying about the ground, indeed, was con-
tinued, on and off, by the cocks, the hens—some three or four
in number—being also there; but it did not seem specially
addressed to them. On the contrary, whenever a cock went
specially to a hen there was nothing of it.

After awhile, another hen flew first into a small tree in the
vicinity, then into the arena, and, later, another flew from there
into such a tree, where she sat looking about. Things seemed
only, as yet, beginning, and everything pointed to an interesting
morning’s observations, when, from the ridge where I generally
watch, a shot was fired, and all, of course, was at an end.
Happily no bird was hit—at least none seemed to be. It was a
long stupid shot, having no other effect than to put an end to
the interesting scene I was watching. There is no one to enforce
the game-laws here and, for aught I know, it is the same all
over Sweden. Owing to there having been nothing, day after
day, I had come later than usual, and, finding the birds on the
ground, sat down, without crossing it, in a place from which I
had, perhaps, a better view. Had I been on the ridge, however,
the shot might not have been fired. These are the kind of
things that make the true field naturalist hate a gun; the bang
of it, too, vulgarises everything—all poetry goes out of nature.

All now was over, for though the birds showed a good deal of
disposition, in another half-hour, to resume their courtship, yet
the shot had made them wild and unsettled. They flew about,
both males and females, settling in different trees, rookling and
“tchu-whai-ing,” and one or two came down, here and there,
but soon flew up again. One settled in a small fir, some twenty
paces from where I sat, and rookled. The note commences with
a ‘“‘kroo, kroo, kroo,” or ‘‘roo, roo, roo,” and then comes the

26 THE ZOOLOGIST.

full ‘‘give him his coppers, &c.’”’ To produce the sound, the
bird lowers its head a little, and the throat is swelled, and
reduced, and again swelled, on the bellows principle of alternate
inflation and exhaustion, as I suppose. This gives it a curious
undulatory appearance. When the fierce ‘‘tchu-whai”’ note is
uttered—that is to say, just before it is—the Blackcock rears up
with a little jerk, and gives a menacing flap—or it has that
appearance—with its wings. Then comes the note, as does the
trumpet of the Pheasant or the crow of the Cock. As the wings
are flapped, their white under surface is revealed.

A hen also flew into a tree, equally near, and another into
one not much farther off. Birds were all about, but their
business of the morning had been murdered by that shot, and
so had my observations. One cock came down, and jumped
about a little by himself—a fly and then a spring or two—
and this was the nearest approach to the ‘‘ war-dance”’ that
there was.

That I have come early seems evident. Just as I have to
go, perhaps, things may be in full swing. Still I shall have
seen the early stages, and in studying these nuptial activities,
with a view to throwing light on their meaning and origin, this
is important. Nothing that I have yet seen leads me to suppose
that the courtship and pairing of the Blackcock differs, materi-
ally, from that of the Ruff. In this stage, indeed, I can say
little, or nothing, in regard to any selection that may be exercised
by the hen, but she has at least. shown no signs of that passive
surrender which naturalists who are opposed to the doctrine of
sexual selection talk about. The fact that the cock, whatever
he may do hereafter, is, at present, courting the hen after the
ordinary manner of our own and other Pheasants, and not with
that extraordinary dancing, or rather leaping, pantomime which,
later, he seems to develop, is important, for a doubt is thereby
raised whether he employs it for strictly courting purposes at
all. If not, then, whatever he does employ it for, the question
of sexual selection is not affected by it—except indirectly, and,
in that way,-perhaps, most importantly. In courting the hen,
now, the male Blackcock comes close up to, and walks about
her, precisely as the Pheasant does. On that occasion when I
saw the ‘‘dance”’ performed, about the middle of May, in

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE: BLACKCOCK. 27

Norway, no hen bird was visible,* and here, during its weak
beginnings, the cocks were almost certainly by themselves. In
the ‘‘dance,” although the Blackcock certainly cuts a very
extraordinary figure, yet there is no scientific exhibition of his
plumage, bringing out all the points. He merely looks a frantic
bird. It is also significant that, as I saw it performed in Nor-
way, angry sounds, more or less answering to the ‘‘ tchu-whai,”
which seems to be the note of challenge of one male to another,
were all the while uttered ; whereas the courting display proper,
as I have yet seen it, is made in silence.

April 27th.—Almost a blank morning. Two birds only,
after whirbling at one another from adjoining trees, for a long
time, till quite late, past 7 a.m., flew down at last, not upon the
arena, but amidst the scrub of undergrown fir-trees, skirting it.
Here I could see them seeking for and advancing upon one
another, and once they fought very slightly—over almost
immediately. After this, they remained on the ground for some
time, and then flew into the small trees.

April 29th.—On spot at 3.80 a.m. Rookling, &c., is all
about, and I hear sounds—unmistakable, I think—as of birds
fighting, in the darkness. With this comes the “‘ choc-kerada,”’
‘“choe, choc, kerade,’’ that plaintive invitation to battle—
though, as I say, of real battle I have seen nothing yet—also
the prolonged ‘‘chorrrrrrrr’’ made by the cocks when they fly
from place to place over the ground. Hens are also about, but
I can see little, there is a mist on the ground, and it soon begins
to rain. Not a bird to be seen, now, as it lightens. The fine
rain may keep them away, but otherwise it is mild—compara-
tively warm, indeed.

At last a bird flies down, and then another, in different parts
of the “‘moss.”’ For some time they rookle, ‘‘ tchu-whai,” and
fly about the ground; this last, however, being only at intervals.
That they are defiant of each other is plainly evident, yet they
keep their places, approximately, being at least fifty yards apart.
A hen now flies into a small Scotch fir, somewhere between the
two, and, shortly afterwards, down to one of them, alighting
within a few yards of him. He immediately walks up to her

* None could have been near. for the ‘‘lek’’ was a lichen-covered
granite surface, without cover.

28 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and begins to court her. This he does in the way I have
described before, but with this addition, or rather amplification—
there is no new feature—viz., that, having passed by her from
behind, he continues to walk away, then turns, comes back,
and does the same thing. It is evident that the hen has
only to look in the direction in which he is walking, each
time, after leaving her (t.e. straight before her), to have a full
view of the white tail, which is displayed now to the best advan-
tage. This was the principal point of interest. That every
beauty of the plumage is well shown to the female seems now
evident, but the spectacle of the courtship was a good deal spoilt,
for me, by my being often unable to see the hen, her sober
brown body—which is also smaller than the male’s—getting
hidden amongst the tufts of the heather; whenever I located
her, however, as I did every now and then, she was situated as
indicated by the cock’s actions, and, once or twice, walking behind
him, as he thus paced away from her, for she did not keep still.
No further point of intimacy, however, was reached, and, after
awhile, the hen flew away.

The conduct of the hen, therefore, this morning, was this.
She first flies into a small fir-tree—not more than a shrub—
growing amidst the heather of the assembly-ground, where the
two defiant rivals are waiting, and midway between them. Then
she flies to one of them, by whom she is courted, receives his
attentions, but is not overpowered by them, and leaves. This
is not what I understand by playing a passive part. On the
contrary, she shows an active interest, though reserving her
decision, and there is no indication of her being at either of the
males’ disposal. The power of invitation, permission, and veto,
seems to lie with her; which reminds me that I have never yet
heard it explained by those who have faith in the “‘ indifference ”
of the female birds, why she comes to this particular class of
assembly at all.

After the hen’s departure, the two cocks continue to vaunt
themselves, as before, but the martial spirit of the one that has
been tentatively selected seems risen, in consequence, and, in a
series of little flights, over the ground, and advances, upon it, he
enters the territory of the other, who moves to meet him, in a
similar spirit. The spectacle is now one of two timid boxers

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 29
pretending to be brave. Both seem about to leap, but draw
back, in the moment of doing so. They are about to grapple,
but do not grapple, to spar, but refrain from sparring. At last,
fronting one another, with hardly six inches between them, they
rookle in the most absurd manner, repeating the whole sentence,
time after time, as though they were sitting in trees. It was
really a ludicrous scene; yet, once, the bird whose territory had
been invaded did really attack the other, taking him, I fancy,
by surprise. But it was “‘like the lightning in the collied
night,’’ over almost before one can say ‘‘it lightens.” After
this, both cooled rapidly, and, before long, the invading bird went
back to his own part of the arena, where he remained, for some
little while, and then flew up into a tree. The other did not
remain much longer, and though the morning is now fair, and
not nearly so cold as it has been, the arena, at 6 o’clock, still
remains empty.

It would seem, from this, that, like the Ruffs, each male
Blackeock has his particular domain on the assembly-ground,
though the size of this is in proportion to the much greater
space of the whole. On the other mornings, too, the same
birds, as I now make no doubt they are, have flown down into
approximately the same areas. Yet it was a very different scene
when my observations were interrupted by that shot, for then,
in a small space, some half-dozen cocks were courting nearly as
many hens. It is difficult to say why, most unluckily, on that
particular morning, the coming-on disposition should have been

so much more marked.
(To be continued.)

30 THE ZOOLOGIST.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Bechstein’s Bat (Myotis bechsteini) in the Isle of Wight.—I write
by request of Mr. Percy Wadham, the well-known naturalist of New-
port, to ask you to make this record. He caught two specimens of this
Bat during the months of July and August last in a small copse of oak
and fir, within one hundred yards of his own house. The first he killed
with a stroke of his butterfly-net; the second he caught in the net
and kept alive for some days. His friend Mr. Jeffery, taxidermist, of
the same town, should have the credit of being the first to suppose
that they were a rare species, and when Mr. Wadham sent me the
female I was able to identify it without any doubt, being well
acquainted with its nearest relatives. Mr. Jeffery took the following
measurements of the female: Length of head and body, 1°75 in. ;
length of tail, 1:45 in.; length of ear, Zin. The male was somewhat
larger. At first sight one would call this Bat ‘“ long-eared,” though
its ears are not nearly so long as in the species of that name; they
are decidedly longer than in natterert, dawbentont, and mystacinus.
Hampshire claimed for many years to be the only British home of
this species, but Millais records its occurrence in Oxfordshire, and
Mr. Heneage Cocks in Berkshire (Zool. 1909, p. 154).—J. H. Kensanu
(New Milton, Hants).

Artifices by Cat to secure its Prey.—It is well known that Stoats
and Weasels will occasionally fascinate and cause their prey to
approach by performing strange and unusual antics which have the
effect of lulling suspicion and arousing the curiosity so highly de-
veloped in many wildanimals. This peculiar habit has been described
in detail and illustrated by Mr. J. G. Millais in his ‘Mammals of
Great Britain,’ vol. ii. pp. 116 and 132. Possibly it is less commonly
known that a similar device is employed by domesticated Cats, from
which it may perhaps be inferred that wild members (Felid@) also
make use of this artifice. This is illustrated by the following observa-
tions made by the writer in Berwickshire :—During some very severe
and snowy weather food for wild Pheasants was placed outside and
close to a small covert about seventy yards from the house, and over-
looked by several windows. More than twenty birds took advantage
of this, and continued to visit the spot in the early mornings even

NOTES AND QUERIES. 31

after the snow had entirely disappeared. A cinder-covered pathway
runs through the grass not far from the feeding-place, and on this
one morning was seen a black Cat surrounded by Pheasants—both
cocks and hens—some of which occasionally approached to within
two or three feet. All the birds—twenty-seven of which were counted
at one time, this being a greater number than had been previously
seen together—were watching the Cat with evidently the highest
interest, stepping round and gradually drawing nearer and nearer.
The object of their scrutiny lay quietly crouching on the ground,
now and again turning over on her back and rolling from side to side,
her paws and tail waving in the air. Then a sudden spring would be —
made at the nearest bird, but this meeting with no success caused
only temporary alarm, and she was very soon once more as closely
surrounded. This manceuvre was several times repeated, the whole
performance lasting altogether about half an hour after it was first
observed. By this time the Cat had evidently tired of her unsuccess-
ful attempts, and walked away quietly up the grassy slope, finally
disappearing into the covert, still followed by a straggling line of
fascinated Pheasants, a picture vividly suggesting a new version of
the ‘‘ Pied Piper.” It may be mentioned that the Cat in question
was quite young, which may account for the absence of fatal results
for the intended victims, supposing that the game itself did not pro-
vide sufficient charm and fascination. I am told that a Cat had been
previously observed near the same place, and apparently being mobbed
by a number of Pheasants, but no special notice was taken at the time
of the occurrence. The hunting Cat is very generally considered
one of the most destructive of the varied animals included in the list
labelled ‘‘Vermin,” and the habit described above seems to record
another black mark against an already damaged character.—D. M. A.
Bats (Bassendean House, Gordon, Berwickshire).

The Queensland Dugong (Halicore sp.).* — Queensland differs
from the other Australian States in having a rich and picturesque
tropical region, with a coast-line of fifteen hundred miles. Amongst
the inhabitants of Queensland waters the Dugong is the most remark-
able. It has died out of, or been killed off in, almost every other
part of the world, and if something protecting and encouraging be
not done the time is approaching when even the Australian tropics

* According to Mr. Lydekker, ‘“‘ although it has been considered that the
Dugong of the Red Sea and also the one found on the Australian coasts are
specifically distinct from the Indian Dugong (Halicore dugong), this is
extremely doubtful.’’—Ep.

32 THE ZOOLOGIST.

will fail to yield a specimen. It once abounded along the northern
and north-eastern coasts. Sixty years ago it was hunted by the white
man for sport; fifty years ago a belief in the curative properties of
its oil was propagated, and sport and money-making were combined.
All the time and for ages before it was killed by the aborigines, and
eaten as a choice article of food. It would have been extinct, or
almost extinct, before now had not the Queensland Government
legislated to protect it during certain seasons. The Dugong wears a
weird, misshapen look when seen in the shallow coastal waters, or on
the grass-grown bottoms at the mouths of rivers entering the sea.
The absence of hind limbs creates an impression of deformity, an 1m-
pression which is deepened by the apparent helplessness of the frail
flippers. The animal bulks largely in comparison with the living
things ordinarily seen in its vicinity. It sometimes reaches 12 ft. or
16 ft. in length, and weighs between 10 and 12 cwt. Hight or ten
feet is a common size, and 4 to 5 cwt. a medium weight. Its move-
ments are laboured and sluggish. It crushes the short reeds with its
broad molars. In the male the incisors become the formidable tusks.
The blacks and some whites tell stories of the Dugong climbing on to
the land and browsing along river-banks in the moonlight. Uncanny
incidents attach to these legends, but though seemingly corroborative
details are forthcoming, the stories must remain in the category of
myths. The sluggish beasts have quite enough to do to make a living
in their native element without adventuring on the mainland or on
dry land anywhere. And if they were set down any distance from
the water their frail flippers would be weak supports for the journey
back. In the stories, however, there is sometimes an element of
romance. The affection of the female Dugong for its young is raised
by some to the rank of a special virtue. Many examples of what looks
like affection are certainly forthcoming, but as often as not the cow
and bull Dugong make off when danger threatens, leaving the calf to
extricate itself as best it can. Seldom do they exhibit any of the
blind fury of the mother Whale in similar circumstances. The mother
Dugong may for a little time hang about well out of reach of harm in
expectation that the calf will come along, but the wound of severance
heals quickly, and browsing is renewed with freshened appetite.
Occasions occur when mother and calf appear inseparable, the mother
staying alongside the harpooned calf till she also has been har-
pooned. But such incidents are not frequent, and when they occur
there are grounds for attributing the mother’s conduct to dulness of
apprehension rather than to affection. There are authenticated cases,
however, of a mother following a captured calf a long distance, and

NOTES AND QUERIES. 33

her bleats of complaint, as well as the appeal in her eyes, have affected
the fishermen’s nerves. Natives of the Malay Islands make a de-
coction of Dugong juices, which they term “ Dugong’s tears,” and
sell as love charms, thus indicating a Malay belief in the tenderness
of the animal’s affection. Thirty years ago Queensland looked to the
Dugong as a coming source of national wealth. Great herds of them
abounded in the waters off the northern coast, and occasionally spread
as far down as Moreton Bay. Fisheries were established on a con-
siderable scale. Companies for boiling down and canning Dugong
were started at Wilde Bay and Hervey’s Bay under encouraging
auspices, but through a number of preventible causes the industry
was allowed to languish. Dugong bacon may be purchased in a few
shops along the Queensland coast. The blacks like it, and when
prepared in a fashion of their own the Chinese are fond of it. The
fresh meat, roasted or grilled, is acceptable to most men if they are
hungry. It tastes like pork, but with a fishy flavour. Of course the
way it is prepared has a lot to do with its acceptableness as food.
Many people along the coast, when Dugong was commonly sold,
have eaten it for pork without suspicion. The common method of
preparation is to fry it in its own oil or salt, and preserve it as hams
or bacon. The curative properties of the oil were first brought before
the world about the year 1855. The therapeutic effects were glow-
ingly described. The oil was classed as ‘‘emollient and solvent.” Dr.
Hobbs, Health Officer at Moreton Bay, wrote :—“ In its pure state
it may be taken into the most sensitive stomach. It is sweet and
palatable. As a restorative remedy it may be taken as food, and
many ounces consumed almost imperceptibly every day, thus furnish-
ing the system with the requisite amount of carbon for its daily
oxidation.” He and other Queensland medical men employed it in
practice, and for a time all Australia regarded it as a medical boon.
Fishing stations were formed at St. Helena; samples of oil and meat
were sent abroad, and medals and other recognitions won at various
exhibitions. Extract of Dugong is sold at present by Sydney chemists
in the forms of oil, lard, and ointment, and a London West End
physician is now using the oil in his practice—TuHr Lonpon Corre-
SPONDENT OF THE ‘NORTH QUEENSLAND HeERawpD’ (704, Basinghall
Street, H.C.).
AVES.

Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) in Hants.—-Several intelligent ob-
servers have met with these birds recently (December, 1909) on the
south side of the New Forest.—J. EH. Kensann (New Milton, Hants).

Zool. 4th ser. voi. XIV., January, 1910. D

34 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Lapland Bunting near Great Yarmouth.—On Oct. 15th, 1909, in
the vicinity of Yarmouth, a Lapland Bunting (Caleariws lapponicus)
was taken alive by means of a clap-net. Two others have also been
reported.—B. Dyk (Great Yarmouth).

The Honey-Buzzard near Yarmouth.—The Honey-Buzzard (Pernis
apivorus) has again appeared in one at least of the Hastern Counties.
A specimen was obtained in the second week in October, 1909, at
Haddiscoe, about seven miles south-west of Great Yarmouth. It is
now in the possession of our local taxidermist, Mr. W. Lowne, who
informs me that the prevailing colour of the bird is light umber-brown,
and differs considerably from the dark varieties obtained in the autumn
of last year.—B, Dy (Great Yarmouth).

Black-tailed Godwits in Co. Cork.—It may interest some readers
of ‘ The Zoologist’ to learn that in December, 1908, a small flock of
Black-tailed Godwits (Lvmosa belgica) visited Cork Harbour (about
nine or ten birds), and were seen on the mud-banks off Blackrock,
where my friend Mr. W. B. Barrington shot a fine specimen. And
this season another small flock visited our south coast, one being shot
near Youghal Harbour, and Mr. Barrington had the pleasure, in
October, of seeing about a dozen birds on the very same mud-banks off
Blackrock where he had observed them previously. One of this flock
was obtained by a friend of his, and the flock was afterwards seen on
several occasions feeding on the banks. These birds are of very rare
occurrence on our west coast, and although regularly punt-shooting
on the Moy Estuary, Killala Bay, from 1858 up to 1908, only three
or four individuals have come under my notice, and only one speci-
men shot by me, near Bartragh on March 6th, 1876. But I have
heard of two others being shot, and have seen the birds; one was
shot on the tidal part of the Moy in May, 1863, and was nearly in
perfect summer plumage, and another on Sept. 3rd, 1881. In every
instance, except the pair I saw in June, 1878 (which were in summer
plumage), all were solitary birds in company of Bar-tailed Godwits.
—Ropert WarRREN (Ardnaree, Monkstown, Co. Cork).

The Sir Henry Boynton Collection of Birds: a Valuable Addition
to the Hull Museum.—Through the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Wick-
ham Boynton, the collection of birds formed by the late Sir Henry
Boynton, which for many years has been exhibited in the large room
at Burton Agnes Hall, has been placed in the Municipal Museum at
Hull. As all ornithologists are aware, Sir Henry’s collection of birds,
principally obtained by his own gun, was one of unusual interest and
importance, and contains many great rarities. There are over two

OBITUARY. 35

hundred cases in all, and besides being valuable by reason of the |
scarcity of the specimens, the collection is interesting from the fact
that in many cases both sexes of birds are represented, and in some
instances there are also the young. Hach case has been exceedingly
well set up, and the whole forms a collection such as is rarely seen
together. In addition to this the Hull Museum has also recently
acquired the collection of birds (about seventy cases) formed by Mr.
Riley Fortune, F.Z.S., the well-known ornithologist. This latter
consists principally of Yorkshire specimens, and fortunately serves
well to fill in the gaps in the Sir Henry Boynton Collection. These,
together with the Pease Collection already in the Museum, will enable
the authorities at Hull to have a display of birds such as will be
difficult to beat in any Northern Museum.

PISCKES.

The Queensland “ Barramundi.”’—The northern rivers of Queens-
land have a first-class fresh-water sporting fish, the Giant Perch,
popularly known as the ‘“‘ Barramundi” (Lates calcarifer). This fish
attains a length of four to five feet, and a weight of over sixty
pounds. This fine fish, known in India as the Cock-up or Nair-fish,
occurs also in China, and has been seen in the Singapore fish-market.
In aspect and habits of feeding the “ Barramundi” suggests the
English Bass. So greatly is this fish esteemed for the table that
regular supplies are now being despatched to Sydney from Queens-
land, where tons weight are being disposed of from 6d. to 8d. per lb.
THE LonpoN CorRESPONDENT OF THE ‘NorTH QUEENSLAND HERALD’
(704, Basinghall Street, E.C.).

ORG OrAr Rye
Dr. RicHarp Bowpuer SHARPE, LL.D.

THE announcement of the death of Dr. RicHarD BowDLER SHARPE,
at the age of sixty-two, will cause the greatest regret among the
wide circle of his friends and admirers in all parts of the world; but
his loss will be more especially felt and mourned by ornithologists,
for they can best appreciate his great talents and extraordinary
knowledge of Birds. On December 16th he attended the monthly
dinner and meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club, which he
founded in 1892, and was then in his usual health and good spirits,

36 THE ZOOLOGIST.

but while returning to his house at Chiswick he appears to have
contracted a severe chill, which rapidly developed into pleuro-
pneumonia, and ended fatally on December 25th.

He was born on November 22nd, 1847, and was the eldest son of
the late Thomas Bowdler Sharpe, well known as the publisher of
‘Sharpe’s London Magazine.’ He early displayed a great taste for
natural history, more especially for birds and insects, and as a boy
spent much of his time in the company of William Briggs, a natura-
list of considerable skill, who helped him to form a collection of
mounted British Birds, which was eventually presented to the British
Museum.

He was educated at Peterborough (King’s Scholar) and Lough-
borough Grammar Schools, and subsequently entered the publishing-
house of Messrs. W. H. Smith & Son in 1863, and worked for a time
with the late Mr. Bernard Quaritch. In 1867 he was appointed
Librarian to the Zoological Society of London, and retained that
post until 1872. On the death of George Robert Gray he entered
the service of the Trustees of the British Museum, and was appointed
Senior Assistant in the Department of Zoology on September 11th,
1872, a post which he retained till November, 1895, when he was
promoted to be Assistant-Keeper in charge of the Vertebrate
Section.

While Librarian to the Zoological Society he began to publish
some of his work, including a catalogue of his private collection of
African Birds and his splendid ‘Monograph of the Kingfishers,’ a
work which at once established his reputation as an ornithologist of
exceptional ability. He also conceived, and in partnership with
Mr. H. E. Dresser commenced to publish, a great serial work on the
‘Birds of Europe,’ but after fifteen parts had been issued he was
obliged, owing to other important engagements, to relinquish his
share of the work, and the remaining parts were completed by Mr.
Dresser alone. Shortly after his appointment to the British Museum
he commenced to write the great work of his life, ‘The Catalogue of
the Birds in the British Museum.’

No one of the present generation who visits the Bird Room at the
Natural History Museum can have any conception of the difficulties
under which work was carried on in the old days at the British
Museum, the underground dungeons which were used as workrooms
being not only very small but very insufficiently lighted. The first
volume of this Catalogue, containing the Birds of Prey, was completed
and published by the Trustees in 1874, and the whole work, contained

OBITUARY. BT

in twenty-seven thick octavo volumes, took twenty-four years to finish,
having been only completed in 1895. Eleven different specialists took
part in this mighty undertaking ; Dr. Sharpe himself contributed no
fewer than eleven whole volumes and portions of three others, and
edited or assisted in the preparation of the remainder, a feat of which
he was justly proud. During these years he also found time to publish
a number of important works, such as his ‘Monograph of the
Swallows’ (commenced with Mr. C. W. Wyatt), and to complete the

‘Birds of Asia,’ ‘Birds of New Guinea,’ and ‘ Monograph of the
Humming-Birds,’ three great folio works by Gould, which had been
left unfinished at the time of his death. He also contributed numbers
of important memoirs and papers to various scientific periodicals,
more especially to the ‘Ibis,’ ‘ Proceedings ’ of the Zoological Society,
and ‘Journal’ of the Linnean Society.

In 1884 Dr. Sharpe was sent to India to superintend the package

38 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and transport of the great collection of Indian birds and mammals
which had been presented to the British Museum by Mr. A. O. Hume.
During his absence the writer was placed in charge of the Bird
Room, and since that date had been closely associated with Dr.
Sharpe up to the time of his death, and had co-operated with him in
forming the now unrivalled collection of Birds and Bee at the
Natural History Museum.

Between 1899 and 1909 he compiled a ‘ Hand-List of the Genera
and Species of Birds,’ which was published by the Trustees in five
volumes, a most laborious task, in which he was largely helped by
his faithful and devoted attendant, Charles Chubb, who had so ably
assisted him in all his work during the last twenty-five years.

The second volume of the ‘ History of the Collections’ contained
in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum appeared
in 1906, and of this Dr. Sharpe wrote the Section “ Birds,” pp. 79-815.
This very valuable contribution contains many interesting details
respecting those who have helped to form the great collection of Birds
in the Natural History Museum, and particulars concerning them which
otherwise would have been lost and forgotten, as many of the facts
were based on his personal knowledge of men long since dead and gone.
With the death of Dr. Sharpe a link is lost between the modern
school of ornithologists and the little band who originally founded the
British Ornithologists’ Union. He knew them all, and his personal
reminiscences extending over more than forty years were always
interesting and often most entertaining. His extraordinary memory,
which enabled him to name collections of birds off-hand with toler-
able accuracy, and by merely glancing over them to tell approxi-
mately where they came from, was truly remarkable, especially
before his health began to fail.

Dr. Sharpe was immensely popular, and justly so, among orni-
thologists all over the world, and was elected President of Section A
at the Ornithologists’ Congress held at Budapest in 1891, and at
Paris in 1900; he was also elected President when the Congress met
in London in 1905. He was Honorary LL.D. of the University of
Aberdeen, a Fellow of the Linnean and Zoological Societies, a
Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union, and a recipient of the
Gold Medal for Science bestowed in 1891 by H.I.M. the Emperor
of Austria.

W. R. OcinviE-GRANT.

( 39 )

NOTICES OF NEW _ BOOKS.

Man and Nature on Tidal Waters. By Artuur H. PatrTerson.
Methuen & Co.

Tris is the fourth volume written by Mr. Patterson on the
fauna of his native district which he knows so well; in fact, he
has now become the natural historian of Kast Norfolk. The
present volume, however, differs from its predecessors in being
mainly devoted to reminiscences of those humble folk who,
though born naturalists and sportsmen, know it not, and choose
to acquire a barely living wage by occupations which link them
with nature and the pursuit and familiarity of animal life.
These somewhat primitive and peculiar people, who might well
be called Homo breydonensis, are in many pursuits fast dying
out, their occupation gone, and the survivors themselves almost
relegated to the ‘“‘scrap-heap.” Mr. Patterson has had a long
personal experience of this hardy Yarmouth race—smelters,
shrimpers, eel-fishers, gunners, mussel-dredgers, trawlers, and
mackerel and herring catchers—and his reminiscences of them,
and the statements he has obtained from them make this book
a very ‘‘human document.” Interspersed with the yarns of
these delightful waifs and strays—who belong to the environ-
ment as much as the other animal life—are many bionomical —
observations of both bird and fish, told with that simplicity of
fact which only long familiarity inspires. How much more of
this first-hand knowledge is probably buried with these rough
naturalists who neither understood themselves nor were recog-
nized by others !

Mr. Patterson has done his work well; if this volume is
perhaps the least purely zoological of his series, in a literary
sense it is by far the best. We commenced his book in the early
evening; it held us, and we went to bed that night far beyond
our usual hour. We know these tidal waters well; fifty years
ago we first handled a gun, and that on Breydon; and though
for many years the wild district has become to us only as a
memory, these pages have reproduced the old scenes, the animal
life and the old human characteristics. It is not every writer
who can do this with success: Mr. Patterson’s books are as
representative of Yarmouth as is the Herring.

40 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Indian Insect Life; a Manual of the Insects of the Plains (Tropi-
cal India). By H. Maxweui-Lrrroy, M.A., F.Z.8., &e.
Assisted by F. M. Hows, B.A., &&. W. Thacker & Co.

Tus massive volume marks the untirimg energy of Mr.
Maxwell-Lefroy, the chief entomologist of the well-known Agri-
cultural Research Institute at Pusa, Bengal. Many beautiful
publications have served to illustrate some of the gorgeous
insects of India, but this is the first work to treat the subject
with any degree of completeness, so far as all orders are con-
cerned. The volumes devoted to the Insecta, in the series
relating to the ‘‘ Fauna of British India,” will naturally, when
completed, form a ‘‘last word” to date, but their complete
appearance will not be for some years. In this volume we must
not expect infallibility in the extensive field surveyed by Mr.
Lefroy, but we do in these pages discover the best introduction
to the subject, very much original information, and a distinct
and valuable addition to Oriental entomology.

As regards ‘‘Instinct and Habit,” the author’s views appear
to lean to the Cartesian estimate, and as being more or less auto-
matic. On the subject of classification, that vexed controversy in
which proposals are defended as axioms by their proposers, we
quite agree with the remark of Mr. Lefroy, that “‘ the most diverse
views prevail, and there is no standard classification that is or
can be universally employed, even if it be admittedly not academi-
cally accurate, but sufficiently so for practical purposes.” If
this is true of taxonomy, what may not be said of some
theoretical conclusions? and we are not at all surprised, nay
thankful, that on the subject of ‘‘ Mimicry” we read :—‘‘ The
sincere student with a profound faith in human nature may be
cautioned against accepting any conclusions or facts not based on
observation of insects in their natural conditions; the search for
explanations of insect-colouring has almost rendered the whole
subject ridiculous, since conclusions have been drawn from museum
specimens, which have no relation to the lives of insects.”

The excellent illustrations in this volume are mainly contri-
buted by the artist staff of the Pusa Institute, artists who are
natives of India, trained in art schools of that country; in fact,
the whole volume is the work of, and a credit to, the press of our
Indian Empire.

bad ue es Stal
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CHARLES DARWIN AND THE
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4

a

Mme ZOOLOGIST

No. 824.—IHebruary, 1910.

SUMMER IN LLEYN, WITH SOME OTHER NOTES
ON THE BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT.

By O. V. Apuin, F.L.S.

A Purrin colony is always interesting in the breeding season,
but I think that at no other time is it so full of life and interest
as just when the young are hatched and still in the holes. It
was partly to study the Puffins at that stage, and partly to see
the hills and cliffs of Lleyn when they were ablaze with the bell-
heather in blossom, that I made my way down to that delectable
country in the last week in July, 1905, a season when for good
reasons the field ornithologist usually avoids the sea-coast places
which cater for visitors. The Puffin-warren on St. Tudwal’s
islands is a very large one, and considering the small size of the
islands the crowds of birds one sees is extraordinary. The
warren is an old one. Pennant, who visited the islands in the
course of his tours (1773-6), mentions that there was a small
chapel on the larger island, of which a tradition still exists, and
that the then present inhabitants were sheep, rabbits, and, in
the season, Puffins. He does not refer to the old name Mer-
cross belonging to one of the islands, and marked on Speed’s
and Camden’s maps. The colony on the eastern island is really
enormous ; how many thousands of Puffins there are it is im-
possible to tell. Take, for instance, a piece of ground a chain
_ wide and three or four chains long, with Puffins sitting about a
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., February, 1910, E

42 THE ZOOLOGIST.

foot apart all over it. How would that work out? Then add
those sitting thickly on the sea just below, those underground,
and those coming and going, and this would be only a small
part of the whole of the Puffins on that island. There are also
great numbers on the western island. There are thousands of
Puffins on Ynys Gwylan fawr. On the north-west side they sat
as thickly as they do on St. Tudwal’s, but the island is much
smaller; still they form a big colony. On Ynys Gwylan fach
there is a fairly large number ; but I do not think they like this
island, because the thick growth of scurvy-grass keeps the peaty
soil very cold and damp, even in a dry season. I found this
year that Puffins breed on the mainland between Trwyn-y-
Penrhyn and Ogof Lwyd, where the cliff-top is covered with
short turf and sea-pink. They nest in old rabbit-holes in the
slope or in the earth bank raised along the edge of the cliff; the
holes seémed to be of great depth. Others went into holes part
of the way down the cliff. The birds were much more shy than
those on the islands, and had I not been attracted by the peculiar
sour smell of a warren and the wash and bits of small fish lying
about I might have overlooked the fact that they were breeding.
I soon noticed some loaded birds flying along the cliff, and then
out in wide circles over the sea, and then coming in again. I
had to go away to a little distance before I could watch the birds
in. About fifty birds sat in a cluster on the sea down below,
and there were a few others scattered about. I extracted some
young from holes on the islands as big as or rather bigger than
a Swan’s egg. ‘This was including the down, which stands
straight up, and is an inch and a half long or more in places.
At this stage the head and upper neck and throat are nearly
black; body dull blackish grey; belly patch pure white; be-
tween the throat and the white of the belly a band of lighter
grey; bill dull lead-grey; feet dark pinkish grey. Another
rather larger bird, with wing-quills just appearing, had the
mantle greyer. The young are active on their feet, and always
sought cover. They ran in under us when we were stooping
down, and when put at the entrance of the holes ran in like
rats. When handled the young frequently uttered a piping
‘“jerp.” The nests, when there was any nest, were chiefly
formed of coarse grass, grass-roots, and some old quills. Some

SUMMER IN LLEYN. 43

of the St. Tudwal’s Puffins (according to the man who knows
the islands best, and in whose company I have visited them for
several years past) do not leave until the middle of September,
although most of them go by the middle of August.* But the
young must grow very fast, and no wonder when we consider the
amount of fish that is brought to them. The fish-fry (‘‘ seel’’)
I saw brought in was of various sizes, from two or three inches
long up to six inches in some cases, but most of it seemed to be
about three inches long. With the glass I could make out that
some of it was Mackerel; there were bits of this, too, lying
about. Sometimes three good big ‘“‘seel” were brought, all on
one side of the bird’s bill; in other cases perhaps a thick bunch
of small ones hanging from both sides—six or seven certainly,
and possibly more. The ‘‘seel” were always held, as far as I
could see, just behind the gills, so that the head was on one side
and the body and tail on the other. When a Puffin loaded with
fish drops on the land it almost always bustles into its hole with
ludicrous haste—always when alighting among a crowd of birds
—fearing robbery perhaps, though I saw no attempt at it. At
other times they will stand still for a while before going in, and
sometimes they pitch a yard or two from the hole and walk or
run to it; but usually they pitch at the mouth of the hole and go
in at once. If you are standing too near a hole the bird does
not alight, but flies away again, describing a wide circle over
the sea, and comes back past the place. It will sometimes do
this as often as half a dozen times, always flying the same circle
and arriving from the same direction. Then they either give it
up and settle on the sea, or, overcoming their distrust, drop and
run into the hole. When the Puffin rises from the land it first
puts its feet together under it, not in an attitude of prayer, but
rather as with ‘“‘unctuous palms,” but almost at once extends
them at the side of the tail, and then gathers them (spread) at
the sides of and partly under the tail. When alighting it
straddles them widely. There was very little sound about the
warren. Sometimes I heard underground a long-drawn, very
srating ‘‘owk” or “‘ow’”’; or perhaps a long-drawn ‘“‘00000,”’
somewhat like one of the nocturnal calls of the cat, i.e. the

* In 1906 the keeper of the lighthouse wrote that they “left about the

_ 15th August, rather earlier than usual.”
E 2

44 THE ZOOLOGIST.

long ‘‘no,” from a hole after a bird had gone in with fish, and
was perhaps crooning over the young one. There is a con-
siderable variation in the appearance of the old Puffins. In
some the legs are orange-coloured, and the back a hoary greyish
black ; these birds are smaller than some others. In the bigger-
looking birds the legs are of a full vermilion-red, and the back is
blacker. As to the greyon the face, one sees at this season all
degrees between its presence in full degree and its total absence.

One thing which must strike an.observer who visits a
Puffin-warren at this season is the number of birds he will
see standing about idle, with apparently nothing to do, even
at this the most busy time of the Puffin’s year.* It may
fairly be advanced, it is true, that the Puffin which brings to
its young one, when it does come back, such a good weight
of solid fish has no need to be coming and going all day
long like a Blue Tit, which brings at each visit nothing more
satisfying than a flabby caterpillar or an unsubstantial fly. We
may even allow that the parent Puffins who brought their fluffy
young ones nice bunches of fish of this morning’s catching may
fairly be entitled to be now (11 a.m.) idle, and to pass the day,
like a lot of longshore fishermen, sitting in a row (with a careful
eye on the offing), until possibly, as evening comes cn, the
demands of the growing ball of down make it necessary to once
more go a-fishing. But even if we were to go further, and even
allow or suppose that each parent has only got to bring a bunch
of fish once in a day (and, indeed, this would amount to a fair
allowance), and could then go off duty, it would hardly seem to
account for the presence of all these idle-looking Puffins. .But
scanning the serried ranks of the birds with the glasses I was
struck with the difference in colouring and size mentioned above.
And these smaller, duller birds, if they are really as yet imma-
ture and non-breeders, would solve the question of why so many
Puffins in the breeding season always seem to be standing all the
day idle. But young or old, there they stand in crowds, im-
movable, silent, Sphinx-like, staring out to sea, or turning a

* It was Edward Pugh who wrote of Priestholm in 1804 as “ literally
half covered with those indolent birds called Puffins.’’ In those days Puffins
were pickled and put into barrels of twelve inches long, which sold for three
or four shillings each (‘Cambria Depicta’).

SUMMER IN LUEYN. 45

hard, cold eye on you if you approach them too closely. Con-
tent to have posed the whole world of bird-men with the great
Puffin-puzzle. How without dropping the five fishes in their
beak do they catch and stow away number six in that curious
wrinkled “gape”? I know no pleasanter way of smoking a
pipe than sitting on one of these breezy islands and pondering
on this, and the other great question, Where do all the Puffins
go to pass the winter ?

** Amusive birds! say where your hid retreat,
When the frost rages and the tempests beat ?”

Along the south coast between the foot of Rhiw and Aber-
daron is a strip of rich country with good farms, but still no
trees worth the name. There are hedgerows to some extent,
but they are made up chiefly of gorse, bracken, and brambles.
Some thorns let to go big and elders shelter the farms; they are
big enough to attract the Green Woodpecker which I saw there,
though itis much more common on the north coast about Carog,
where there are low woods. A few hedgerow birds may be seen
—Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Hedge-Sparrows, Whitethroats, and
plenty of Linnets and Corn and Yellow Buntings. The bay
between Trwyn-y-Penrhyn and Mynydd Penarfynydd is a
beautiful one, with cliffs which, green and sloping for nearly
all their height, have a richer soil than those of Aberdaron bay,
and so are more bushed and bird-haunted and flowery, Geranium
sanguineum being the most showy flower. The sand or clay of
the Aberdaron cliffs is very poor and cold, and grows the poorest
of floras; they are also weathering and falling away a good
deal, which the eastern bay cliffs are not.

Just as in May the gorse makes yellow the prevailing colour
here, so in summer purple is dominant. These Lleyn cliffs and
headlands are gorgeous on a bright day. Purple in the distance,
but near at hand broken up into the purple of the bell-heather,
yellow dwarf gorse, and deep green bracken. The air is full of
a honied scent, and butterflies are swarming—Graylings, Meadow
Browns, Gatekeepers, and Blues chiefly ; there are a good many
Fritillaries, too (I secured a “‘ Dark Green’), and Painted Ladies,
but the rather local Graylings were certainly the butterfly feature.
On all the higher parts of Lleyn—even Myntho Common, the

46 THE ZOOLOGIST.

coldest, bleakest part of the coach journey—purple is the bright-
ening colour, and when this (as in the Nant of the Horan) caps
a wooded slope the effect is beyond words. The masses of rag-
wort sometimes make the roadsides yellow. Broad stretches of
slowing purple light up Rhiw, Rhos Hirwaen, and similar places,
which are so brown and gloomy in spring. And there are purple
splashes on the hedge-banks, where the large harebells hardly
disturb the general effect; and the dull purple of the hemp-
acrimony is a feature of the roadsides on the lower ground.
The great masses of bracken have now turned a deep or
‘*prophet’s”’ green, and the barley is ripening, though oats
are green. Itis quite a barley country, and in some respects
does not seem much altered since the days of Camden, who
wrote of ‘“‘ Llein, which runneth forth with a narrow and even
by-land, having larger and more open fields than the rest of the
country, and the same yielding Barley most plenteously.” You
can still here get barley bread. Among the floral beauties and
rarities of the cliffs 1 found an everlasting pea (the Lathyrus
sylvaticus) in great masses. I know, too, where to climb down
the rocks and sit where the sea-spleenwort grows in profusion.
The Choughs about the Nevin bird-rock have, I believe,
become almost extinct now. When I wrote my description of
the rock a few years ago I refrained from mentioning them.
But now they are gone no harm can be done by placing on
record their former status. At the end of May, 1902, I spent
the greater part of two days at the rock. On the southern side
of it there isa rounded green-topped cliff frequented by Kitti-
wakes, Guillemots, and Razorbills, and on the southern side of
that the Choughs were going into the cliff. It was not easy to
see much of them, although I supposed they were feeding young.
They came over the top and shot down almost perpendicularly,
and then went in to the cliff below where I stood. Presently
they came out, beat up the cliff-face, and flew away inland. I
saw four at the same time, and came to the conclusion that
there were four pairs. I saw another pair which were said to
have young in a quarry in the mountain (Gwyliwr), a little
back from the coast between the rock and Nevin. A pair of
Peregrines were breeding in the rock at that time. The eyrie
was in about the middle of the rock; in a square-shaped hollow

SUMMER IN LLEYN. 47

or small cavern, with sheer rock below and overhanging cliff
above. The floor appeared to be flat, with a good growth of
herbage and dark green grass in front, and two big stones
in the foreground. I several times saw a bird go in, and it
always went behind the stones. They brought food from inland.
They were silent when they first appeared wheeling in front of
the rock, but on and after catching sight of me they kept up a
loud ‘‘ quayk, quayk, quayk”’ when flying, and also when settled
on a bit of rock. The male was warmly coloured underneath.
They often struck at Herring-Gulls, once at a Chough, once at
a Jackdaw, and twice at Cormorants, causing great outcries from
the birds attacked, but doing no damage. It was a fine sight to
see them close their wings, turn a little sideways, and shoot
down. Cormorants were quite happily sitting on their nests
just above the eyrie. I doubt if the Falcons often molest the
birds breeding around them. It was very fine to hear the deep,
reedy, bassoon-like ‘‘ howk”’ of the Cormorants, repeated many
times, and very quickly at the finish. This cry is uttered when
the birds fly in to the cliff, or wheel past the face of the rock. I
saw Cormorants often fetch sticks, &c., from disused (or tem-
porarily vacated ?) nests, and bring them to the nest on which
their mates were sitting, seeming pleased and proud of what
they had done, and trumpeting loudly. Other birds were lying
down and bending their necks backwards, until their upper
mandible rested on their lower back; they then shuffled their
wings. A most curious sight. In the afternoon Cormorants
seemed to enjoy flying round in great curves in front of the rock,
chiefly on motionless outstretched wings. They go across the
land to feed, doubtless to the shallows of the sandy south coast.
Fifteen species of birds frequented the rock, and from observa-
tion and information I believe they all bred there, viz. Peregrine,
Kestrel, Crow, Chough, Jackdaw, Rock-Pipit, Wren, Barn-Owl,
Herring-Gull, Kittiwake, Shag, Cormorant, Guillemot, Razorbill,
and a small unidentified blue Pigeon. It only required a few
Puffins to make as fine a rock-bird station as any in the British
Islands. I saw all the birds except the Owl.

To return to the summer of 1905. The young Choughs from
the nest at Porth Felen got off again this year, as they always
do, the nest being quite inaccessible. It was probably these

48 THE ZOO0LOGIST.

birds that I saw on Mynydd Mawr. On a fine hot morning
(28th) a Chough was turning over sheep-droppings among the
heather-tufts in a search for insects, and now and then crying
‘“)’chare.” At the top I surprised four together, and as I
rested there another flew past close to me. Choughs are too
tame. They appear to go some distance to feed. Returning
from a long hot tramp that afternoon, I had paused, as one
must, at the old water-mill to gaze down into the cool depths of
the ivied wheel-case, where the Dipper has bred, and listen to
the splash, splash of this ancient back-over-shot wheel (the only
one I remember seeing), when the familiar ringing cry came
down, and two Choughs passed over high up, and going towards
Mynydd Annelog, whence eggs were sent to Wilmot as long ago
as 1846 (‘ Ootheca Wolleyana’). Another day, before breakfast,
a pair came along the coast, over the church, and headed for
the same place, mobbed on the way by four Jackdaws. From a
boat when under Penrhyn Du I saw a little place in the cliff
which looked as if a hawk had nested*—a little shelf part of
the way down a perpendicular crevice—and was told that in the
spring a pair of Choughs came and tried it ; they appear to have
found it unsuitable, but bred that year on Llanbedrog Head, not
far away. One at least of the young ones had been taken, and
was then flying about by the quayat Abersoch. It was absurdly
tame, biting at your fingers, and afforded a nice opportunity of
studying the most graceful flight of this beautiful bird. I saw
a pair on Pen Cilan. One pair there had their eggs taken, and
the other pair, which used to breed in a cave, do not appear to
have nested there this year. I watched a pair on Penrhyn Du.
One of them sat preening itself on a bit of old rail in one of the
cross-banks just outside the big bank separating the heathery
cliff top, which is open to sheep, from the partly cultivated land
inside. It was a well-used spot, and ‘“‘castings” lying on the
ground showed that the birds had been eating barley already. I
have seen birds there in former years. Having picked up some
quills and enjoyed the unusual experience of cleaning my pipe
out with a Chough’s primary while I watched the birds feeding
and flitting about a pasture, I moved on. There were many
Stonechats about wherever there were any bushes; some Pee-

* A few years ago a Merlin did so close here.

SUMMER IN LLEYN. 49

wits and Curlews. The cries of the latter are very soft now,
“‘eurlewee’’; and I heard also the mellow flute-lke migratory
eall, ‘‘ klee-tler-wer,’’ which I have sometimes heard from birds
passing over at night in Oxfordshire. Passing Pistyll Cim
(where some Herring-Gulls nest on the cliff), I drank of the
“sweet water’’ of the clear spring, where such a lot of bog-
pimpernel was flowering, and, rounding the stony-topped
Trwyn-yr-Wylfa where you almost always see Shags, descended
to Porth Caered, whose sweeping slopes drop to the sandy
beach, and are covered with short bracken seared by sun and
salt winds, and varied here and there by a few tall mullein
plants. The bracken is followed by marram-grown sands, and
a low bluff separates this from the sandy shore. How few birds
one sees in these bleak, wintry-looking spots! From here I made
my way to the undercliff beneath the fearful precipice of Pared
Mawr—an eerie spot that evening. A few Herring-Gulls had
not yet got their young away (July 25th). There were two in a
nest on a pinnacle of rock, and I got close to another (full-
fledged) on a ledge. The old Gulls made curving swoops over
me with a swish of wings and angry cries of ‘‘ag-ag-ag’”’ and
“kiow”’ as I stood under the mighty rock-wall, with Cilan to the
west almost hidden and looming mysteriously out of the white
mist creeping in from the sea on the soft south air. Down below
the sea was so clear that all the stones at the bottom and the
brown seaweed could be seen clearly. The cries of a pair of
Kestrels (common birds along the cliffs I am glad to say) rang
out with surprising loudness. But Cilan was soon quite blotted
out, and I thought it advisable to get out of the rocks, for the
sea-mists of Lleyn are sometimes inconveniently thick. A Corn-
Crake was calling as I walked home. A clutch of eight eggs of
this bird, quite fresh, was waiting for me. They had been mown
out of hay-grass a day or two before the 24th—rather a late
date. Failing a knowledge of the English name, it was well
described as ‘‘ a brown colar bird, and it ues to sing at night.”
But to go back to my notes on Gulls. On the cliff at St.
Tudwal’s Islands on the 25th there were only two nearly full-
grown young ones. On the 27th I landed on Ynys Gwylan fawr
and fach, and found on both many adult Herring-Gulls, which
breed there in numbers. They were almost as noisy as in spring,

50 THE ZOOLOGIST.

but I could not see any late young ones, nor indeed was there
a young bird of any age in sight on the wing or otherwise, and,
although of course a young one or so might have been hidden
in the rocks, it was quite certain that practically all the young
were gone. There is a part of the low coast of Merioneth across
the bay where all the early summer at all events numbers of
immature (and some adult) Herring-Gulls are always to be
found, and as none are bred on that coast it is reasonable to
suppose that the young birds bred in Lleyn resort at once, as
soon as they are strong on the wing, to the sands and adjacent
marshes of Merioneth, and there pass their earlier years. I have
previously remarked on the comparative scarcity of immature
Herring-Gulls in Lleyn. I saw a very few brown young on the
wing about the deep cliff-enclosed inlet called Ogof Lwyd, where
there is a stack a little way out, on which, however, I did not
think any birds bred. Abouta score of Kittiwakes (their greenish
beaks noticeable) sat on steps of the steep black cliff by the
small deep cave at the south-east corner of St. Tudwal’s, and
looked at a little distance just as if they were breeding, but they
only come after Mackerel ‘‘seel.”” As they flew up they broke
out into their chorus of cries, which I could hear occasionally
from the mainland. Their appearance there probably gave rise
to the erroneous idea that they bred on St. Tudwal’s. There
were, of course, many about Pen Cilan,where they breed in num-
bers. The Great Black-backed Gulls had bred in one old haunt,
and when near them one morning the deep “‘ag-cag-cag” drew
attention to a grand old bird circling overhead. Black-headed
Gulls were very numerous—both adult and young—in the green
marshes chiefly, and in Pwllheli Harbour, though there were
some on the shores at various places, where they were very noisy
at night. Most of the adults had already lost, or almost lost,
the dark hood.

(To be continued.)

( 51)

AN OBSERVATIONAL DIARY on tot NUPTIAL HABITS
oF THE BLACKCOCK (THTRAO TETRIX) nN
SCANDINAVIA anp ENGLAND.

By Epmunp SEtous.

(Part I. Scanprnavia.)

(Continued from p. 29.)

April 80th.—In situ by 3.80 a.m. The whole air is obscured
by heavy mists, and the sky palled in clouds, yet, notwith-
standing, quite a hubble-bubble of rookling is going on, as well
as ‘“‘tchu-whai’s,” ‘‘choc-kerada’s,’” and the ‘‘ chucking” of
hens—also a sharp whisking sound, which has more of a
whistling intonation than I have yet heard.

Now, with the lightening, and somewhat earlier than usual,
all this ceases, except for an occasional bird or so. This
cessation is a very marked feature. On the morning when I
unfortunately came late, and found the birds on the ground, this
was at about 5 a.m. It would be contrary to my experience, on
every other morning, had there not been this pause, and the
probability is that the birds had not been long down—or, at
any rate, active—when I came. The stillness is now complete.
** Roorr-roorr-roorrr,’”’ as a preliminary, and then the rest—that
sentence—is the Blackcock’s full rookle or whirble, and this is
repeated over and over again for an indefinite period. At
intervals there is a sort of break in the note. ‘‘ Rerr-rerrke-
rer-rer-rer-rer”’ the bird says, then, in a higher key, and then
the other recommences.

I have just heard, for the first time, the soft-sounding, but
bellicose, ‘‘ choc-kerada ” note, uttered in a tree. It was by one
of two birds, in two birches, not far from each other. One of
the pair now flies down, though not into the arena, and the
other, still in his tree, utters the note several times; then he
flies down too. All the notes, then, may be uttered as well

52 THE ZOOLOGIST.

perched in a tree as on the ground, though, on a short acquain-
tance with the bird, it would seem otherwise.

No bird has come down upon the courting-place, and as it is,
now, as I suppose, past 7 a.m., there is no likelihood of it.

May 2nd.—This morning was quite a blank (yesterday, as it
was raining, I did not start). It seems now as though the
place, rather than the season, were to blame. The game-laws
not being enforced, men from the settlement are out with guns
every morning, and this may make the birds shy and wild, and
prevent them coming down. The weather, however, is very bad,
and may have something to do with it.

May 4th.—At place at the usual time—about 3.30 a.m.—but
there was nothing to record till much later. It was a dreadful
morning—cold, heavy with clouds, and sometimes raining a
little. There being small signs of activity, on the part of any
birds, about 6 a.m. I gave it up, and was walking back, when it
struck me that appearances were now a little better; more birds
seemed coming into the trees round about, with rooklings and
‘‘tchu-whai’s’”’ on the increase. I therefore sat down under a
fir, on a rising knoll commanding another, though not quite so
eood a view of the arena, and had not long done so when a cock
flew into a small Scotch fir, close to where, had I stayed where I
was, I should have been sitting. From here he flew into another
tree, and then into one or two more, as I thought from mere
restlessness, till I noticed a hen in a tree near, and when she
flew to another, he did so too, as had no doubt been the case
before, and soon both went down amongst the firs to that side
of the arena. After a time, however, they flew up again,
perching in contiguous trees, as before, and now the hen began
to ‘‘tehuk, tehuk” loudly, and kept on doing so for a con-
siderable time. Here, again, we have, not an “‘ indifferent,” or
‘‘ passive,” spectator of these nuptial performances—a sort of
stuffed bird for live ones to dance in a. ring about, such as we
have been asked to believe in—but an interested participator
in them.

All at once, two or three cock birds flew into the arena, and
were, before long, followed by others, and a few hens—three or
four of the latter to some half dozen of the former. Now there
was some real fighting amongst the cocks, confined, however,

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 53

almost, if not entirely, to two who seemed to pick each other
out, one, in particular, being nearly always the seeker. They
fought in the ordinary manner, sparring up against one another,
and, I think, seizing hold with the beak; but though, as I say,
it was real fighting, it was not remarkably violent, and did not
last long at a time. After a bout of it the bird who had sought
the encounter by entering his opponent’s territory, got back
again into his own, and, having paid some attentions to a hen
or two, would again come swelling up, and being received, by
the other, with a bold front, the duel was continued.

There was, now, a fair amount of courting, on the part of
various males, but, owing to the nature of the ground, which,
though flat, is uneven, and set with tufts of a wiry, brown
heather, I could not follow this nearly so well as I should have
liked to; the hens particularly, on account of their smaller
size,.and brown, heather-like colouring, were often invisible,
coming into sight only at intervals, and shortly disappearing
again. For these reasons I was only able to get general im-
pressions, and can give no detailed account of this or that
episode. It appeared to me that, in the manner before described,
the cocks went round the hens in rather a wide circle, and that
the raison d’étre of this was the showing to advantage of the
white tail, which, as the male walked forward, after passing the
hen from behind, was presented directly to her view. Also,
whilst the actual courting was taking place, the cocks, as I
thought, though now in close proximity to one another, were less
inclined to engage in combat, the martial spirit seeming to be
in abeyance, or put aside for the more important matter of the
display ; but again, lest it should be forgotten, I draw attention
to the fact that the martial spirit, all along, has been remarkably
tame. For the hens, whenever I could see them, they certainly
seemed to know they were being courted, but to what extent they
were impressed, and whether the object of the males was in any
case achieved—though I do not think so—I was unable, for the
reasons above given, to say; I believe, however, that, under
such conditions, it is easier than one would imagine to be mis-
taken on this point. i

The scene ended by all the birds flying off, on a sudden, just
as they might have done had a gun been fired, but there was no

5A THE ZOOLOGIST.

sound that I could hear, and nothing, I believe, had disturbed
them. It was evidence of this, I thought, since a distant shot
would not have disturbed them at all, that they did not fly right
away, but only into the trees that closely skirted the arena, and
also that one or two males returned, again, though there was no
further gathering. Thus spontaneously, then, and in so sudden
a manner, may the meeting break up.

May 5th.—No birds came down this morning, and not only
so, but the rookling round about was much fainter, and I hardly
heard another note. A shot before I arrived—for I was only
there at 4.80 a.m.—may perhaps have accounted for this; but,
looking back, I cannot now recall that the birds uttered their
usual cries, yesterday, when in the arena, and, even in the trees,
I think they were less than before. It was a wretched morning,
and cold, but hardly, if at all, more so than yesterday.

May 6th.—On spot about 4a.m. The arena was empty, but,
shortly after the sun had risen, two birds flew down into it, one
closely following the other, and, from the positions which they
took up, I judged them to be the two combatants of my last
observations, for I made none yesterday, They immediately
began making little flights over the ground, with springs into
the air, and, getting together in this way, were soon aux prises.
The fighting, however, was of the most timid and half-hearted
description, and, after a few very disappointing bouts, it ceased
altogether, and each bird took up its position in a certain part
of the ground, corresponding with last time. Here, for upwards
of an hour, as I should suppose, each bird rookled, ‘‘ tehu-
whaied,” and made, at intervals, those little springs into the air,
out of which it is easy, now, to see that the more developed
“dance” has been evolved. These were, this morning, of a
more definite character than I have hitherto seen them, and
consisted of a leap up, and a little forward, in which the wings
were fluttered, and then a drop, plumb down, when, I think, they
were closed. As each bird sprang, he uttered a deep and pro-
longed ‘‘chorrrrr,’’ and, on coming down, made a few steps
forward, and sprung again. Now this was what the bird in
Norway did, except that he leapt continually, without stop or
pause, and uttered, all the while, not one note only but a series
of most extraordinary ones, which often sounded like violent

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 55

hisses. He seemed to go mad, in fact, and, both in voice and
action, gave much more the idea of a rampant cat than a bird.
By all appearances he was a very great brave, a mighty warrior
of the tribe, but when another bird flew down into the space
where he was performing, he retired—nay, ran out of it—in the
tamest way possible; so that the sudden transition from the
raging thing he had been, to this, had something the effect of an
optical illusion—the eye was amazed by it.

In fact, with the Blackcock, as with other birds, bellicosity
seems to go hand in hand with timidity, and it may be out of
these two elements, possibly, that the ‘“‘ war-dance’’—so to call
it—has arisen. I am theorizing on what I have seen. Had
these two birds been as bold as they were hostile, had they felt
no nervous sensations, they would have fought, instead of leaping
and ‘‘chorrring’’; but they were afraid, or half afraid, to fight,
and these antics were a relief to their feelings. Animals, in
their psychology, are like pictures which resemble us in outline,
but want the shading. They have our grossnesses, so to speak,
but not ourrefinements. Thus, a bird might be afraid of another
bird, but it would not be ashamed of being so, and so would do
nothing on the principle of saving its face, or trying to disguise
its own feelings from itself. Still the wishing to fight, and not
daring to, would certainly produce mental discomfort, for which
some relief must be found, and it is not easy to imagine a better
one than violent actions, which, prompted by the very same
feelings, which, without the check of fear, would issue in battle,
might in time become, to some extent, a substitute for this.
Thus, amongst ourselves, men who both lack courage, and are of
a low, coarse nature—Pistols, not Connachers—find relief for the
failing, in boasting and braggadocio, and we may here, in essen-
tial elements, see, approximately, the same thing, for in human
psychology, too, there is more or less shading.

If, then, the dancing of the Blackcock be something distinct
from the nuptial display, it need not, for that reason, be either a
challenge, or a means of ‘‘ getting up’’ courage, nor yet the
mere safety-valve of sexual excitement. It may be, rather,
(though all these various elements may play a part) a substitute
for actual battle. Nothing, to look at it, can be more exhilarating,
and, while it has none of the disagreeables of fighting, it cannot

56 THE ZOOLOGIST.

have less influence on the choice of the female bird, if, as I
believe, she is not won by fighting, but by courting. In fact, with
such a resource as this, blows might, to a large extent, be dis-
pensed with, and, in the one case where I saw the thing in its
perfection, they certainly were.

I thought, naturally, with these two birds down, and such a
morning as this—for it was fine and sunny—that more would
follow, and that I should see something of the sexual relations
of the species. However, ‘‘I was the more deceived,” for no
other bird came down at all. These two continued to act as
described, at intervals, and also to rookle, but they got gradually
tamer, and did not again approach one another. About 7 a.m.
they flew off suddenly, just as had the whole assemblage, two
mornings ago, though here, again, I do not think anything had
disturbed them. Perhaps, therefore, it may be natural for the
meetings to break up in this abrupt manner.

The above was the last observation on the nuptial habits of
the Blackcock which I was able to make whilst in Sweden.

(To be continued.)

( 57 )

THE ‘“ ASTERISCUS” IN FISHES.
By Coronet C. KEK. SHEPHERD.

Instpz the skull of Teleostean fishes there are six otoliths,
concretions of limestone, nearly pure carbonate of lime, that
are contained in the membranes of the auditory labyrinth; they
are placed three on each side. One, much larger than the other
two, is the sagitta of scientists, and is familiarly known as the
“earstone” or “earbone,”’ but in the families of the Siluwride
(Catfishes) and the Cyprinide (Carps), however, it is not the
largest, as mentioned hereafter. To the otolith that is found in
the ‘‘lagena”’ of the sacculus the name of asteriscus has been
given. The third stone is known as the lapillus. The lagena
itself, a more or less pronounced prolongation of the sacculus,
according to the fish to which it belongs, is looked upon as a
rudimentary cochlea. The asteriscus usually shows the same
constancy to the characteristics of the family shape as the
otolith known as the sagitta does. Retzius,* in his monumental
work on the ‘Auditory Organs of the Vertebrate Animals,’
vol. i., gives in the plate relating to the ‘‘ Lepidosteus osseus’”’ an
illustration, natural size, of the asteriscus in this fish. It is a
little circular stone one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and
fairly circular in shape. In the plate referring to the ‘‘ Amia
calva’”’ in the same work an illustration is given, natural size,
of its asteriscus, a rounded pear-shaped stone, three-eighths of
an inch in length by nine-thirty-seconds of an inch at its broadest
part. In another work+ by the same author, in pl. iv. fig. 11,
he gives a drawing of the asteriscus of the Pike (Hsox lucius),
and in pl. iv. fig. 28, a drawing of a similar stone taken from a
fresh-water Bream (Abramis brama). This exhausts, as far as is
known, the detailed illustrations of the asteriscus. The mere
outlines given in all the plates, with the magnified drawings of
the ear-membranes in all the other plates of the first work by
Retzius, referred to above, whilst interesting as recording their
shapes, show nothing more than outline. The plate accompany-

* © Das Gehororgan der Wirbelthiere.’

+ ‘ Anatomische untersuchungen, Erste Lieferung.’
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., February, 1910. F

58 TE AOOL OGIUS TE.

ing this paper has been prepared most carefully to give an idea
of the varied markings and the indentations on the edges of
these stones. The small black illustrations represent the actual
size of the asteriscus next to it. It will be readily seen that it is
only by making a magnified drawing that these various markings
and the indentations of the edges can be appreciated. The
following tabulated form shows the family and the fish from
which the different asterisci in the Plate were taken; only some
of those fishes having a fair-sized asteriscus are given, as many
an asteriscus, e.g., those of the smaller Blennies and Gobies,
is SO minute as to be as small, or even smaller, than any full
stop in this page of print. Rather more of the asterisci of the
‘““ Cyprinide,” or Carp family, have been shown than of other
families, as their asterisci differ from those in other Teleosteans
very materially in being the largest of the three otoliths in each

side of the skull.*

No. Family. Scientific Name. English Common Name.
Th | YEVRGAT 26500 s00do5005 Serranus Gigas ....0000 Dusky Perch (Couch).
2, sg esas eevee mates Dentex vulgaris ......... Dentex (Couch).

3 | Squamiprnnes ...... Drepane longimanus ...| From Indian Ocean.

A | Mullad@ ..........006 Mullus barbatus ......... Red Mullet.

DiS PATUL LE rece gecacers Cantharus lineatus ....| Old Wife (Couch).

6 Ain al ogpesbadaad5 Pagellus erythrinus ....| Hrythrinus (Couch).

7 | Scorpentd@ ....... Sebastes norvegicus ...| Bergylt (Couch). :
8 Api 2 poagdo Scorp@na scrofa......+.- From Mediterranean.
OPES crcemidickenccccee ces Otolithus maculatus ...| From Indian Ocean.

10 | Carangid@ ......... Carane trachurus ...... Horse Mackerel.

ial Page i LSSO SCI Bl CUELLIEOTS opaceconc From Indian Ocean.

12 er acess Dichia AMG s...00..c0000- From Mediterranean. ~

13. | Scombrid@ .......... Pelamys sarda@ .....0...- Pelamid (Couch).

TN OD AHCI Doancocornnes cae Trigla cuculus ;..:.....- Elleck (Couch), a Gur-

1b | Margulide@ ... 2 ccc. Mugil captto %.........-- Grey Mullet. -[nard.

LG "Gadde: Wevesscawe Merluccius vulgaris ...| Hake.

17 has seceasae abort Gadus lwscws -*......0s0. Whiting Pout.

18 | Plewronectida@...... Solea vulgaris ............ Sole.

19S |Selumada Ae scs.cs AYTWUS GAGOTA «....0+.000 From Indian Ocean.

AON SCz rend ee ween TANGO LINCO 6 aecden-6222-| Louch.

21 Ay Oe ioagedadoen Cyprinus CAVP0O ......42. Carp.

29, Bh. Seba a eetes Abramis bramd ....c.66 Fresh-water Bream.

23 asthe .cyztseaciwenas Leuciscus rutilus ...... Roach.

24 | Hsocide ....... eokeas THS049 UVR cos c60onc00000c Pike.

25:1 | Cluperde cnt .esse- Chanos salmoneus ...... From India.

** It is well perhaps here to note that in the Silwride the lapillus, the
otolith of the Recessus utricwlt, is the largest otolith,

THE “ASTERISCUS” IN FISHES, 59

60 THE ZOOLOGIST.

With the exceptions noted as from the Indian Ocean or the
Mediterranean, all the other fishes of the list are to be found in
British waters.

There are sixteen families represented. As a rule the sagitte
in a fish are homogeneous in texture ;* it is more often not so
with the asterisci, and this may when they are large enough be
noticed with the naked eye. In most of those mentioned above
and shown in the plate there is a chalky-looking kind of deposit
in the centre of them; it is most particularly observable in
No. 20 (the Tench) and No. 21 (the Carp), owing to the larger
size of these asterisci. No. 22 (the fresh-water Bream), however,
also one of the Cyprinide, has homogeneous asterisct. The
normal appearance of an asteriscus is of a vitreous description ;
this is particularly observable in No. 16 (the Hake), which looks
like a delicate piece of Venetian glass. Fifteen out of the twenty-
five figured show traces, generally very marked, of this chalky-
looking matter in their structure, this being in the centre of the
asterisct, whilst the edges keep their vitreous character. This
chalky appearance is possibly due to an excess of organic matter,
and is not constant ; sometimes the asteriscus of one side shows
it strongly, whilst the other side keeps its vitreous character ; in
other cases both stones are affected, but in different degrees.
The position of the asteriscus in the head, beyond being in the
lagena, is difficult to determine on account of their small size,
but if the plate is turned upside down the asterisct of No. 21
(Cyprinus carpio) will assume the position in which they are in
the skull. The then left-hand one showing the inner aspect of
this otolith, and the other the outer aspect.

Why the asteriscus in the Carp family (the Cyprinide)
should have developed so largely and the sagitta dropped into
a small rod-like stone is hard to explain. The Pike (Hsox lucius)
and the Perch (Perca fluviatilis) have the usually developed
sagitt@, so it cannot be simply that the Carps live in fresh

* After dissecting for otoliths the skulls of some three hundred different
species of fish, with of course often many of the same kind in each family,
only three cases of abnormal sagitte have been come across, and these in
eighty species of fish from northern waters. The other two hundred and
twenty species from the Indian Seas off Madras and the Mediterranean did
not produce a single abnormal sagitta,

THE “ASTERISCUS” IN FISHES. - 61

water, for those two fishes do the same. The Carp family have
their auditory organs in connection with their air-bladders, but
so have several of the Clupeide, e. g., the Herring (Clupea
harengus) and the Pilchard (Clupea pilchardus) ;* these have the
sagitta as the largest otolith. Certain also of the Serranide
(Perch family), Sparide (Sea-Bream family), and Gadide (Cod
family)* have a connection between the air-bladder and the
auditory organs; all these families have the sagitta as the
biggest otolith. True, they have the connection between the
air-bladder and the auditory organs arranged on a different plan
to that adopted in the anatomy of the Carps, but are mentioned
to show that it is not due simply to the fact of their air-bladder
and auditory system being connected that makes the arrange-
ment necessary to increase the size of the asteriscus. Again,
the Siluride, which have the same method of connecting the
air-bladder with the auditory organs, as in the Cyprinide, viz.
by a series of movably connected ossicles, have the “ lapillus”
as their largest otolith (see note ante); their asteriscus, though
well developed, is relatively small compared to that in the Carp
family. A point of resemblance in these two families is that
each has a rod-like sagitta.

The asteriscus of the more strictly Gadus branch of the
Gadide (the Cod family) differs materially in shape from that in
other Teleostean fishes, as exemplified by No. 17 (the Whiting-
pout) ; the same stone, No. 16 (the Hake), classed with the
Gadide, is much the same as the other fish examples shown. its
resemblance to Venetian glass having already been noted.t

One characteristic of the shape of the asterisci that seems
to be common to a great many families is the little spike that
projects from the middle of one side; it is apparent in sixteen
out of the twenty-five figured. It is so delicate as to be very
easily broken when dissecting this stone out of the ear-mem-
branes.

Upon what are the actual uses of the otoliths in the working
life of Teleostean fishes authorities are not agreed. The older

* Vide ‘ The Cambridge Natural History,’ vol. vii. p. 8389, quoting Bridge,
Ridewood, E. H. Weber, and Bridge and Haddon.

+ The sagitta in the Hake, a long thin stone, is also markedly different
to that of the true Gadid@, which have a solid thick stone.

62 OSERULHE ZOOLOGIST: |

men of science saw in them only a means of increasing the
sound vibrations, and so making the hearing of the fish more
acute. Some modern authorities seem to see in them only an
organ to enable the fish to retain its equilibrium in the water,
and point to cases where, when the otoliths have been removed,
together with the semicircular canals, the fish has not been
able to remain in its usual vertical position. Others, and
possibly more correctly, credit the otoliths with the dual func-
tions of helping the equilibrium, as well as assisting the hearing.
Why three on each side of the head are needed no one has
attempted to explain.
But whatever their office
is, it is clearly very im-
portant when one sees
the number of nerve fila-
ments spread over the
sacculus, and also that
end of it called the la-
gena, showing that the
asteriscus carries on its
full share of the work
done by theotoliths. The
accompanying drawing,
: reduced from the first-
S! ‘5 mentioned work of Gus-
[dfter Retzius. taf Retzius, depicting the
4 eas 5 gale epee eee anions a ae
“ Pagellus centrodontus ”’
(a sea-water Bream), shows the situation of the nerves. It may
be taken as fairly typical: It shows the asteriscus and nerve,
the Ramulus lagene, or the Branch of the lagena, spread_root-
like over the outer surface of the lagena, just over the place
where the asteriscus is situated.

In concluding this article, the assistance received, given by
the courtesy and liberality of the administration of the ‘Stazione
Zoologica,’ Naples, must be recorded; without it many of the
specimens here shown could not have been brought to the notice
of the reader.

PAGELLUS CENTRODONTUS.

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH
FOR 1909.

By Artuur H. Patterson.

An error inadvertently made by me in “ Notes for 1908”
(Zool. pp. 445, 449) it would be well to correct. Crucian Carp,
referred to as occurring numerously at Lound, should have been
Prussian Carp (Carassius gibelio). During the summer of 1909
I was fortunate in obtaining examples of C. vulgaris (the Crucian
Carp), the Mirror Carp (Cyprinus specularis), and a hybrid,
identified by the British Museum authorities as between the
Common and Crucian Carps. Several of the latter have lived
for some time in amity with some gibelio in one of my tanks.

The past year has brought to notice several deformities
among Cods, the ‘‘ bull-dog”’ variety, with shortened upper lip,
in particular ; and on January 5th I examined an example with
a badly distorted under jaw, the result of an accident; the barb
or labial cartilage was growing on the right side instead of
depending amidships below.

A few boats put out after Shrimps as early as the first week
in January. Several very good catches of ‘‘ Pinks” (Pandalus
annulicornis) were brought in on the 8th, many of them being
large in berry. I found them also in spawn in February.

January 23rd: Sprats still being taken. I had some for tea,
individuals containing roe and milt.

From the ‘ Angler’s News’ annual list of large fishes taken
by sea-anglers I culled the following for Yarmouth :-- November
(1908), Dab (Pleuronectes limanda), 1 lb. 8 oz.; October 16th
(1909), Flounder (Pleuronectes flesus), 3 lb. 153 02.

A Jago’s Goldsinny (Ctenolabrus rupestris), of a beautiful
pink colour, 33 in. in length, brought me by a shrimper’s boy
on April 26th. It smelt very much like celery. A Ballan
Wrasse (Labrus maculatus), of the green variety, 9 in. in length,
was taken in a draw-net the following day.

64 THE ZOOLOGIST.

American Rose Perch (Scorpena dactyloptera): a six-inch
example sent me from Lowestoft on May 13th.

On May 19th, for the first time, I fell in with the Burton
Skate (Raia alba), the young of which, as depicted by Couch
under the name of the Bordered Ray, is distinguished by a well-
defined wide border of black upon the white under side of the
fish. My fish, which was 113 in. long’and 8 in. across the disc,
I despatched to the late Mr. T. Southwell, who had no hesitation
in referring it to the above species. The upper side was drab-
coloured, with no spiny process anywhere but on the tail, which
contained three rows of spines, and there were one or two
against each eye. This was the last fish, of a goodly number,
which my dear departed friend was delighted to receive from my
hands.

Blue Mackerel: I received my first whole-coloured Blue-
backed Mackerel (Scomber concolor), a fifteen-inch specimen, on
May 25th. A second came to hand on June Ist, 14 in. long,
and a third two weeks later on.

On June Ist I examined some fine Plaice from the White
Sea. I noticed that the spots were a bright orange set in a
faint white ring. One fish in particular, which had a dark
under side, and the corresponding spots (for when a Plaice is
coloured below it is also spotted, wherever the colouring may
extend to) had them also set in a ring of white.

“A very beautifully marked Brill brought me on June 29th
from Lowestoft (vide Zool. 1909). The groundwork of the
upper surface was white, with spots and blotches of the normal
colour prettily arranged.

I observed some ‘‘ Dogs” on a fish-slab in a back street on
July 12th. One, a large Tope (Galeus vulgaris), was destined
for the frying-pan; another, also fated to share the same
honours, was a Picked Dog (Acanthias vulgaris), 3 ft. 8 in. long,
weighing 9 lb., a very large example for this coast.

Salmon: a 142 lb. Salmon was netted on Breydon during
the second week in August.

A lady angler, fishing from Claremont Pier, Lowestoft, had
an exciting time on August 4th with a Sting Ray (7'rygon pasti-
naca), which she successfully landed, to the great interest of
less fortunate anglers ; it weighed 35 lb.

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH. 65

Herring-fry was remarkably scarce on local waters during
the month of August. Breydon usually teems with the silvery
little ‘‘syle,” to the great delight of the Terns, which flock
thither under normal conditions to feast upon it, and of the
Gulls that gorge themselves with those left stranded among
the Zostera when the tide falls off the flats. The Terns were
conspicuously absent during all the autumn.

During a stroll along Gorleston beach on August 26th I saw
a great number of Lesser Weevers (T’rachinus vipera) washing
about with Little Squids (Loligo rondeletti) and tiny Pollacks,
&e., the refuse from the draw-nets and shrimp-nets. Some
visitors’ children were playing ‘‘ shops”’ with a number spread
out upon a box; some of these were among the finest specimens
I ever saw. How those children escaped injury from the fishes’
poisonous dorsal spines was to me more than marvellous. Young
Pollacks a few inches long came up river numerously from the
sea in September.

In the middle of September a curious inshoring of Herrings
was noticed at Lowestoft, the fish coming quite into the breakers,
and many were flung up in the wash of the sea. Young
urchins, armed with baskets, fetched them out, to their own
ereat delight.

A Smooth-hound (Mustelus vulgaris), about 15 in. in length,
cast up on the south beach, September 30th.

On the evening of the same date I was visited by two
fellows from a neighbouring public-house, who begged me to
return with them to see a curious fish which no one could
name. I accompanied them thither, to find the bar crowded
with rough fellows in various stages of intoxication and excite-
ment, while bets were being freely made upon the creature, and
upon my decision. A space being cleared by ‘‘ Toby” Blake, a
local Hel-netter, and to whom the fish belonged, it was shot out
of a large rush basket on to the sawdust-covered floor. It was
a vile-looking object, almost black in colour, the eyes covered
with a white film, and the whole being flabby and offensive to
the touch and smell.

‘* Now then, ’bor, what is it?’’ asked several husky voices. I
examined it as well as the haze of pungent tobacco smoke and
the gloom of many shadows would allow me, and pronounced it

66 THE ZOOLOGIST.

a huge Broad-nosed Hel. ‘‘That’s what I say,” remarked “Toby”
Blake, in a husky voice. Others protested it was a Conger, but
the position of the dorsal fin and its general appearance were
against the latter. Blake informed me it weighed 24 lb., and I
myself measured it at five feet in length, with a circumference
equal to an average man’s thigh. Rumours were rife that it was
taken in the neighbourhood, but I afterwards learnt it had come
from some northern river, and sent by Blake’s son, who was fish-
ing out of a Yorkshire port. The largest Hel record for Yarmouth
was described by a local historian as taken in the Yare, a mile
below Yarmouth Bridge; he called it a ‘‘ Silver Hel.” Length,
6 ft. 1 in.; 21in. in girth; weight, 42 lb.

Being informed, on October 18th, that near the harbour-
mouth I should find a stranded sea-monster, I accordingly
rambled thither, to find the putrid remains of a Porbeagle Shark
(Lamna cornubica), which had probably been taken in a Herring-
net and cast adrift.

An inshoring of Whitings was noted early in October, great
numbers being taken by sea-anglers from the piers; whilst at
Lowestoft they were caught in thousands.

Karly in the month of October two large Cods were hear
tumbling about in the breakers, within a few days of each other ;
they were fished out with walking-sticks. One he 24 lb.,
the other 27 lb.

Several Five-bearded Rocklings (Motella muustela) were taken
in October and November.

A Flounder coloured on both sides, and with one eye on the
“edge,” was sent me from Lowestoft on October 28th. It was
10 in. in length.

During the week ending October 29th there had been. some
catches of fine Soles on the local piers. A visitor fishing from
the Britannia Pier caught in the morning one weighing 1 lb., in
the afternoon one weighing 13 lb., and in the evening a still larger
one scaling 13 lb. . This was on October 21st.

Great numbers of Scads (Z'rachurus trachurus) captured in
the Herring-nets at end of October. _

Pollack: another inshoring of this species, averaging 73 in.,
all along the coast. Harly in November.

I saw some very fine Smelts (Osmerus eperlanus), taken on

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH. 67

Breydon, November 8rd. Several were quite as large as full-
grown Herrings.

A very curious incident occurred in Yarmouth Roads, when
a Middlesborough steamer encountered strong winds and heavy
seas. When abreast of the town a particularly heavy sea was
shipped, and when the water had receded the deck was found to
be half-covered with Mackerel, a species which was exceedingly
abundant on several occasions during the Herring fishing.
Many of the Mackerel were washed back into the sea through
the scuppers, but enough were secured to serve the crew with
fresh fish for two or three days.

On November 25th Mr. Robert Beazor exhibited on his
fish-slab a very pretty little Sunfish (Orthagoriscus mola), which
had been taken in a drift-net and landed on the fish-wharf. It
measured 254 in. in length, and from tip of dorsal to tip of anal
fin, 86 in.; weight, 263 lb.

A Sprat famine characterised the Hast Suffolk fisheries
during the end of 1909.

I have to thank Mr. Robert Beatie for the following notes
on the local Smelt fishery of 1909. He writes :—‘‘ The Smelt
season commenced in the beginning of March, the Gorleston
fishermen starting, when some six or eight boats landed catches
varying from three to eight score. They were exceptionally fine
fish. Many of the river smelters had given up and sold their
nets and boats because of the action of the Bure and Yare
Commissioners, who debarred them from fishing above Breydon
[a very senseless procedure, as no fresh-water fishes come down
so low as the confluence of the two rivers, nor for miles above it,
owing to the constancy of salt water, which goes higher up rivers
year by year]. This caused a certain supply of Smelts to
diminish. April was a fair month, and when the weather
allowed the beach boats to work some procured from thirty
to forty score a day. The largest Smelt I weighed was 22 oz.,
and J have had as many as fifty Smelts in on one day weighing
16 oz. apiece. The autumn fishing was a failure; what few
were taken were secured at the top end of Breydon. I sent away
sometimes as many as four thousand fish per diem—-a much
lower figure than in some years. Prices were remunerative to
the catchers, who averaged two shillings per score, the highest

68 THE ZOOLOGIST.

price being three shillings and sixpence ; they were occasionally
as low as one shilling per score. The large import of Dutch
Smelts into London greatly influenced the English supplies,
although the latter always command the higher prices. Very
few Grey Mullet or Salmon-Trout were netted with the Smelts,
owing undoubtedly to the wretched summer. Drawing for
Trout along the coast was also a failure. My largest lot at any
one time this year was 80 lb. My largest Trout was 10 lb., an
example 16} lb. being my record fish. Very few Salmon-Trout
and Red Mullet were taken in the Mackerel-nets this year ;
last year I purchased Red Mullet by the trunkful! Numbers
of what we call ‘Red Trout’ [Bull Trout ?}, running from 6 oz.
to 10 oz. each, were captured. Fishermen aver that when these
are about ‘you may whistle for fine Trout.’ Those landed
fetched good prices.” |

Amongst the Crustaceans my most interesting “ finds” were
two aged Aisop’s Prawns (Pandalus annulicornis) with barnacles
growing on the carapace, and a Crangon vulgaris, the posterior
half of which was ivory-white.

(Ge) )

NOTES FROM MILLPORT MARINE BIOLOGICAL
STATION.

By Ricuarp Enmuirst, F.L.S.

Common Hermit-Cras, Huvagurus bernhardus (li), ASSOCIATED
witH Suberites domuncula.

THe Hermit-Crab, which is usually found associated with
the Sponge (Suberites domuncula), is EH. pubescens (Kroyer), just
as H. prideauxi is always found associated with the Cloaklet
Anemone (Adamsia palliata).

Out of several thousand Common Hermit-Crabs which I
have taken at one time or another there have been three asso-
ciated with the above Sponge. In June last year I took a very
small Adamsia, about 3 mm. wide, of course with an immature
E. prideauxt inside. They are locally called ‘‘ Strawberry
Crabs.” Fish do not seem to touch them for food, probably on
account of the stinging powers of the Adamsia. The Common
Hermit is, of course, a favourite item in the food of the Cod,
Thornback, and other fishes.

Movutine AND REGENERATION oF Galathea strigosa, Fabr.

In February, 1908, I took two adult specimens of this beauti-
fully blue-banded Squat Lobster at low tide. One is fairly certain
to find them during spring ebbs either on the “‘ Hilans”’ in Mill-
port Bay or about the Pier. .

I first noticed the larger one (a) to be eons spawn (‘‘in
berry ”’ or ‘‘ with coral’) on May 5th; hatching began on the
16th, and of course lasted several days. On July 21st, 1908, she
moulted, again in January, 1909, and again on the following
July 21st. A few weeks later this specimen died.

The smaller one (8) spawned soon after a, moulted on July
31st, 1908, again January, 1909, again on July 12th, and lastly
in December, but died a few days later.

In April, 1909, considerably after the second moult in cap-
tivity, a cast off her right cheliped when I was holding her in my

70 THE ZOOLOGIST.

hand. At the next moult in July a new limb appeared about
half the size of the old one, its growth having, of course, been
indicated by a papilla about 1 cm. long projecting from the
stump. On July 14th, two days after this new limb appeared, I
induced her to throw it off by handling. At the following moult

in December another and finer limb had appeared.
The following ‘table gives the sizes of the chelipeds, chela,
and carapace :—

Length of! Breadth Length of
Cheliped| of Hand | Hand Carapace, length measured
a, a7 (DoE ——-} from the. tip of- the-rvostrum.
After Jan.|oldlimb| 6 cm.| 1. cm. | 2°8 cm. ——
moult eau | If ae, | Length Breadth
Idina) 6-255 |e 0-0) a) oer ae
eee ie 2) After Jan. | (27 (2 86.
AtJuly jmewlimb) 42 ,, |-6 ©. | 1:9 ,, 71909 moult
moult — _— opal See eee
old limb * 6°4 ie 11 i 3-1 Bi After Dec. 2°85 - -4:0-
pita : moult Lo Gk
At Dec. jnewlimb} 4°6 ,, -\:°7 ,, | 21 ,,
moult

G. strigosa lives well in the aquarium, but is of a very
retiring disposition, and always tries to hide in the darkest
corners of the tank. They keep themselves wonderfully ciean,
and do not become overgrown with small alge. When disturbed
they swim rapidly, generally on their backs; if they happen to be
at the surface they make a great flapping, and show well the
action by which they have earned the name of ‘‘ Flappers ”’ from
the fishermen.

On tHE LosstER.

Iithodes maia, the Stone-Crab, . becomes overgrown with
small ale, &c., in the aquarium, as also does the Lobster. The
latter, however, cleans them off where he can reach them, as,
for instance, round the eyes. Sometimes also considerable
plants of Laminaria (oarweed) grow on the Lobster and Stone-
Crab. The former generally keeps them trimmed, especially on
its antenne. This natural appearance of weeds on animals in
the tanks, which at times must become traps for the spores of
alge, &c., brought in by the circulation, is quite a different
thing from the dressing of themselves which has been noted in
such Crabs as Hyas. A Lobster lately lost an antenna. After

MILLPORT MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION 71

the wound had healed the usual papilla appeared and grew in a
coil, until there were about three turns in it. It, of course,
showed indications of the future segments. At the next moult
an antenna appeared, about two-thirds of the length of the old
one, but with a curl of half a circle at the end of it. —

Lobsters sometimes get an idea of working, and for several
days will clear a path right round the sides of their tank, heaping
up the pebbles on the bottom in the middle of the tanks. They
have done this several times. One morning a Lobster which
had cast his skin overnight solemnly set to work to bury his old
skin among the pebbles. Newly moulted Lobsters seem to be
regarded as delicacies by Congers.

‘Put’ or Solen siliqua.

When disturbed in its natural surroundings the Spout-fish
is capable of quickly and strongly withdrawing into its hole in
the sand. This is probably done as follows: Some Spout-fish
IT had in a dish of sea-water overnight had stretched out their
feet and siphons. When I disturbed them some just con-
tracted, but three others, which were very well extended,
expanded the ends of their feet to about two inches in diameter,
and withdrew suddenly. This is surely how they get such a
erip of the sand. The inflated end of the foot with upturned
edges was like a Mushroom-anchor; even a soft, fleshy Mush-
room-anchor pressing into the sand would give an enormous
hold. The foot of the Spout-fish is locally called the ‘‘ pull”
(u”’ pronounced as in dull).

Spawn oF Oscanius (Pleurobranchus) membranaceus.

When trawling on Ascog Bank, near Rothesay, several large
masses of spawn came up. Hach of these masses consisted of
a soft gelatinous ribbon, about one inch thick and several feet
long, in an irregular coil. A spiral thread, containing the egg-
capsules, runs through the ribbon.. There seems to be one egg
in each capsule; the diameter of an egg is about ‘1 mm., and
that of a capsule 16 mm. Several Oscanius came up in the
same haul, and I suspected this was their spawn. 1 isolated
some of them, and on August 29th, after three days in captivity,
one of them deposited a coil of this spawn.

THE WOLF IN SCOTLAND AND ELSEWHERE.
By J. R. McCuymont.

A Few lines in the panegyrical poem ‘Forth Feasting,” by
Drummond of Hawthornden, which was published in 1617 on
the occasion of the visit of King James I. to Edinburgh, reveal
certain interesting points of difference between field sports in
the seventeenth century and at the present day. The lines
run thus :—

‘* When years thee vigour gave, O then how clear
Did smother’d sparkles in bright flames appear !
Amongst the woods to force a flying hart,

To pierce the mountain wolf with feather’d dart,
See falcons climb the clouds, the fox ensnare,
Outrun the wind-outrunning dedal hare,

To loose a trampling steed alongst a plain

And in meand’ring gyres him bring again,

The press thee making place, were vulgar things.”

The mental picture suggested by the flying hart forced into
a wood by the tactics of its pursuers reminds us that the
Normans hunted deer on horseback and on foot, employed dogs
in the chase of them, and shot them with arrows; and it is to
this mode of hunting Red Deer that Drummond alludes. It
would be to the advantage of those who engaged in the hunt to
drive the hart into a wood where its speed would be checked,
and where it could be shot by hunters in ambush. The climbing
of clouds by Falcons is an allusion to falconry, which survives
from olden times without important change, and the outrunning
of the Hare, dedal or fertile in resources, must have been akin
to coursing.

Drummond names two other forms of outdoor diversion
which are without counterpart in our days—at least within the
British Isles—namely, setting snares for Foxes and piercing
Wolves with feathered darts—“ feather’d dart’ being doubtless
a periphrasis signifying “arrow.” The employment of the
epithet ‘“‘mountain’’ might induce us to believe that a Wolf

THE WOLF IN SCOTLAND AND ELSEWHERE. 73

inhabiting mountainous districts existed which differed in some
respect from that which inhabited the Lowlands. There is,
however, no evidence to support such an hypothesis, and we
must therefore suppose that the epithet is employed by Drum-
mond merely as a poetical embellishment. It is worthy of note
that there is a melanistic form of the European Wolf, which is
said to be most common in the Pyrenees, and which may have
existed in Scotland when Drummond wrote.

An oral tradition, which assigns no date to the occurrence,
and which is probably of little value, indicates the vicinity of
Bridge of Allan as the locality in which a Wolf was last killed in
Scotland. In Roxburghshire are several local names which
indicate the presence of Wolves in that county. There is, for
example, near the confluence of the Teviot and the Rule, the farm
of Spittal-on-Rule, which very probably derives its name from
having been one of those ‘“‘ spittals’’ or places of refuge which
were provided for the benefit of travellers in danger from Wolves.

Boccaccio has a description of the mode in which Woives
attack a Horse. The incident which he describes is supposed to
take place in a forest between Rome and Alagna; so an English
version prints the name, but doubtless Anagni, about twelve
miles north-west from Frosinone and about forty-five miles from
Rome, is the town which is meant. The hero of the tale, Pietro
Boeccamazza by name, being overtaken by night in the forest,
tethers his Horse to an oak, which he climbs for safety. Pre-
sently a pack of Wolves appears. The story proceeds thus:
“Now, as for Pietro, he had but a dismal night of it, for he saw
his Horse soon surrounded by a number of Wolves, which made
him break his bridle, and he endeavoured to make his escape,
but was so encompassed that he could not, and he defended
himself with kicking and biting for some time, till at last he was
pulled down and torn all to pieces, and, having devoured him to
the very bones, they went away.”

In conclusion, it may be remarked that if, as is alleged,
James I. introduced a foreign variety of the Roedeer into Great
Britain (thereby adding one more reason why Wolves should be
exterminated), he cannot have been quite as indifferent to the
interest of the chase as Drummond supposed him to be.

Hobart, Tasmania.
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., February, 1910. G

74 THE ZOOLOGIST.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Bechstein’s Bat (Myotis bechsteini): a Correction. — The Rey.
J. H. Kelsall (ante, p. 30) has made one example of Bechstein’s Bat
into two. The mistake doubtless arose from Mr. Millais’s original
record of the specimen (P.Z.S. 1901, 11. 216) as captured “in the
neighbourhood of Henley-on-Thames,” which is, as everyone knows,
in Oxfordshire—that is, on the north bank of the river; but Mr.
Noble’s caves in the chalk are on the south bank, which is Berkshire,
in Remenham parish.—A. H. Cocks (Poynetts, Skirmett, near Henley-
on-Thames, but in Bucks).

AVES.

Reappearance of the Bearded Tit (Panurus biarmicus) in an Old
Haunt.—On January 29th I was pleased to hear from my brother,
Mr. A. M. Rope, that he had lately seen this bird at a spot where, up
to about forty years ago, it was often to be found. He was first
attracted by its note, and only got a distinct view of two birds, but
thought there were probably more; for it is a well-known. habit of
this species to be constantly flitting from place to place in small
flocks or family parties, after the manner of the Long-tailed Tit. For
obvious reasons I refrain from mentioning the exact locality, which
is, however, not far from the Suffolk coast. Drainage has greatly
reduced the area of its former haunts at the place referred to, and
grazing marshes now occupy the site of large beds of reeds. The last
note I have on this beautiful little bird at this old home of the species
is as follows :—‘ Nov. 18th, 1873. Walked round the ‘reedland,’ and
saw three flocks of Bearded Tits, each containing about eight or nine
individuals.” From the year 1871 to the date of the above note
we often used to fall in with them, and hear their musical tinkling
note as they came trooping along, only just skimming the tops of the
reeds.—G. T. Rope (Blaxhall, Suffolk).

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) at Yarmouth.—On December
9nd, 1909, near the River Bure, about two miles north-west of Great
Yarmouth, a strange bird was seen by a waterman. On reaching
home he informed a ‘“ gunner’”’ friend, who proceeded to the spot
immediately. Meanwhile the bird had retired to the marshes, where
it was found standing in a pool of water, where the gunner shot it.

NOTES AND QUERIES. 75

He showed it to the waterman, who identified it as an Ibis, or Black
Curlew. It is now in my possession. ‘ Black Curlew’’ is the name
given to the bird by the Breydon. gunners, owing to the resemblance
of the bills in these birds.—B. Dyr (Great Yarmouth).

Slavonian Grebe in Shropshire and Worcestershire. — On the 11th
December last my brother and I observed a Slavonian Grebe (Podi-
cipes auritus) on the River Severn, in the parish of Dowles, some
four hundred yards above Bewdley Bridge. When first noticed it
was swimming about in some quiet water near the river-bank ; it was
very tame, allowing us to approach within about fifteen yards and
watch its movements for several minutes. It occasionally dived
whilst we were near, in some instances coming up again even closer
than before, and it remained above water at longer intervals. Hven-
tually it got caught in the swift current then running, whence it was
quickly carried down stream and across to the Worcestershire bank
of the river.—J. STEELE Exuiort (Dowles Manor, Shropshire).

Ornithological Report from Chester.—Permit me to record the
following :—

Two immature Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus). — Bala,
April 19th, 1909.

Osprey (Pandion haliaétus).—Adult female, Capenhurst, May 7th,
1909. The stomach of this infrequent visitor was quite empty.

Great Northern Diver (Colymbus glacialis)—Shot December 21st,
1891, during extensive floods, Helsby Marsh.

Immature Black-throated Diver (C. arcticus).—Shot January 18th,
1910, River Dee, at Corwen. The gullet of this bird contained seven
Common Trout of different ages; the stomach was apparently filled
with bones of the same, together with some small pebbles.—A. Nrw-
STEAD (Grosvenor Museum, Chester).

Ornithological Observations in North-east Surrey, 1909.—The
most interesting notes for the year, for this portion of Surrey, are
the occurrence of the Golden Plover on Wimbledon Common, whence
it had not previously been recorded, and the Common Tern, White
Wagtail, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls observed on autumn migra-
tions at Barn Elm Reservoir. At least one hundred and forty-three
Species have already been recorded from this corner of Surrey; of
these, one hundred and fifteen have been seen within the last ten
years; this shows the district to be one of the richest, ornitho-
logically, in the county. The Barn Elm Reservoir is comparatively
new ground for the observation of bird-life. The only former records
from this spot being as follows :—

76 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Grey PxHatarorpE.—One reported to have been shot here in
October, 1870 (‘The ‘ Field’).

KirriwAkE GuLL.—Observed a few years ago by Mr. Felton; while
Mr. Cornish mentions having seen Tufted Ducks and two Great
Crested Grebes here in February, 1902.

WHEATEAR.—One on Wimbledon Common, Sept. 14th; rarely
noticed in the district when on autumn migration.

- WaurncHat.—A fairly common summer visitor, usually arriving
about April 15th; nests frequently on Wimbledon Common and in
Richmond Park.

Repstart.—Fairly common in Richmond Park during the spring
and summer, nesting in the old thorns, &c.; occurs, but does not
appear to nest, on Wimbledon Common.

CutrrcHaFr.—This little Warbler occurs in all parts during the
summer, but is nowhere numerous. First heard its welcome note this
year on April 8th, Wimbledon Common; also heard it as late as
October 6th last, near Raynes Park.

Wittow- WaRrBLER.—The most numerous Warbler, usually arrives
during the first week in April; nests even on Barnes Common
amongst the bracken.

Cone Trr.—Fairly common, especially in Richmond Park, where
it nests freely in the plantations.

Waite Waerain. — Noted one at Barn Elm Reservoir on Oct.
24th ; it is probably a regular spring and autumn migrant there.

YeLLow Waerain.— A common summer visitor to district,
usually to be seen during the second week in April by the Pen
Ponds; nests freely in the reservoir grounds at Barnes.

SwaLLow.—First seen on April 7th about Pen Ponds, while in
the autumn they lingered on the reservoirs till Oct. 24th, in spite of
occasional cold winds. :

Sanp-Martin.—A regular visitor during spring and autumn;
may be seen on the Pen Ponds by the second week in April, while
they are very numerous during October on the reservoirs.

TREE-CREEPER.—F airly common resident in Richmond Park, only
occasionally straying on to Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common.

REED-Buntine.—A regular visitor, though not common, to Rich-
mond Park and Wimbledon Common in the spring. Occasionally
seen in the park and in reservoir grounds during the winter, it is
known at the latter place as the ‘‘ Blackcap.”

KINGFISHER.—More often seen during the winter; one on Pen

Ponds Dec. 2nd; also a pair on reservoirs during November and
December.

NOTES AND QUERIES. 77

PocHarp.—A flock of eight arrived on reservoirs Noy. 11th; they
had increased to over one hundred by the 21st of the month. They
are very shy, and usually keep well out towards the centre.

- Coot.—Generally a few are'to be seen on Pen Ponds, while they
regularly visit the reservoirs in small numbers for the winter.

GoLDEN PLOVER. — One was picked up injured on Wimbledon
Common during severe weather in mid-March; it died a day later,
and found its way into a local collection.

Common TERN.—Observed one flying about the reservoirs on Oct.
10th. The well-known ‘‘Sea-Swallow”’ is probably a regular visitor
on migration.

BiACK-HEADED GuLL.—A very numerous winter visitor to the
Thames ; it may be seen often on Wimbledon and Barnes Commons
and in Richmond Park. They fly in thousands over Chelsea and
Fulham from the London Parks and river adjacent to the city, to
their roosting-grounds at Barn Elms. I have often seen some of the
reservoirs covered with sleeping Gulls.

Lesser BLACK-BACKED GuLL.—A dozen frequented the reservoirs
throughout October, remaining there all day, whereas the commoner
Gulls spend most of their time up in London.

GREAT CRESTED GREBE.—Fairly common on reservoirs during
the winter months, eight being there on Oct. 2nd, ten on Oct. 15th,
fifteen on Oct. 24th, eighteen on Nov. 21st, and twenty-five, the
largest number I have seen together, by the end of December.

Mr. Mouritz, in Zool. 1907, p. 95, remarks upon the erratic way
in which P. cristatus appeared upon the Pen Ponds during the early
part of the year. This is undoubtedly accounted for by the presence
of this species during the winter months on the reservoirs at Barn
Elms.—Wautt1am A. Topp (62, Festing Road, Putney, S.W.).

OBITUARY.
EpWaArRrp SAUNDERS, F.R.S.

WE regret to announce the death of Mr. Epwarp SAUNDERs,
which took place at Bognor on February 6th. He had been out of
health for some time, and had gone to Bognor with the hope that a
change would restore him. He was born at Hast Hill, Wandsworth,
on March 22nd, 1848, and was a son of William Wilson Saunders,
the well-known naturalist, from whom he inherited his love for ento-
mology. From 1865 to the time of his death he was im the City at
“Lloyd’s.” For many years he devoted himself to the study of

78 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Buprestide, of which he published an excellent synonymic catalogue
in 1871. He also published in 1873 a ‘ Catalogue of the Species con-
tained in the genus Bupestris of Linneus. He contributed numerous
papers relating to this Family in the ‘ Transactions’ of the Entomo-
logical Society (1867-1872), in the ‘ Journal’ of the Linnean Society
(1870-1873), and in ‘ Insecta Saundersiana’ (1869). He formed a fine
collection of these insects, which became the property of the British
Museum in 1874; it consisted of 7267 specimens, of which 364 were
types. He also formed collections of British Coleoptera, Hemiptera,
and Hymenoptera, and extended his studies of the two latter Orders
to the whole of Europe, including the Mediterranean fauna. He con-
tributed numerous notes and descriptive papers to the ‘ Entomolo-
gist’s Monthly Magazine’ on Hemiptera from 1869, and on Hymeno-
ptera from 1880. Some of the more important relate to the species
collected by the Rey. A. EH. Eaton in Algeria, many of which were
new to science. He published a ‘Catalogue of British Hemiptera’
in 1876. His most important separate works are ‘The Hemiptera
Heteroptera of the British Islands,’ illustrated by thirty-two plates,
in 1892. This was followed in 1896 by a similar work, ‘The Hyme-
noptera Aculeata of the British Islands,’ a standard work, illustrated
by fifty coloured plates. He was one of the Editors of the ‘ Ento-
mologist’s Monthly Magazine’ from 1880, and was a Fellow of the
Entomological Society from 1865, the Linnean Society from 1869,
and in 1902 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

He married in 1872, and leaves a widow and a large family, one
son being aclergyman; others have entered different professions, and
one represents him at “ Lloyd’s.”

Edward Saunders was a good man, whom it was both a pleasure
and a profit to know, quiet and retiring in his manners, always ready
to look at the best side of things, and willing at all times to assist his
entomological friends, by whom he will be greatly missed.

C OWE

NOTICES OF) NEW. BOOKS:

A History of the Birds of Kent. By Norman F. Ticknurst,
M.A., &e. Witherby & Co.

Tuere can be little doubt but that in this book we have the
standard history of the birds of Kent, and that it will receive
general acceptance as of that authority. It represents the work

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 79

of sixteen years, it is written by one who is thoroughly master
of his subject, and he has been assisted by the information and
notes of all the best ornithologists in the county. The literary
and scientific standard of the books devoted to county ornithology
is clearly a rising one, and is no longer a matter only of con-
scientious compilation ; records must be appraised, and where
possible verified; information must be sought from those who
never publish, and individual experience and observation must
be the foundation of the volume. Not only must well-known
collections be thoroughly overhauled, but how often one finds a
rare bird, badly stuffed and cased, on the walls of an inn, or in
the interior of a cottage! In the Introduction Mr. Ticehurst
gives us a good account of the Kentish birds preserved in public
and private collections, and there is another feature which should
obtain hearty and general commendation. We read in the
Preface: ‘‘ Where a rare species has been recorded from a
locality perhaps only a hundred yards beyond the actual boundary
it would be absurd to exclude it from all mention in the present
work.’ ‘This removes one of the haunting suspicions one expe-
riences in reading a county book on birds. A hedge, a stream,
a lane may in places divide counties, and may thus limit a dis-
tribution or confine a record. Mr. Ticehurst has also pursued
the clue of many recorded rarities, and has located the speci-
mens, using all the perseverance of a trustworthy political agent
in following up removed electors.

As regards the real material of the book, the history of the
birds themselves, there is little doubt that a further note might
be added here and there, but at the same time the reader will
wonder how so much has been included; bird-lovers in Kent
will find all they want, and if any supplementary notes are to
be added there are opportunities for publishing elsewhere. Any
young naturalist who carefully reads the pages will acquire
much sound ornithological information, and he need not con-
sider that this only applies toa Kentish reader. The illustra-
tions are principally of the birds’ haunts and breeding places.

In the Bibliography we find no mention of ‘ Greenwich Park,’
_ by A. D. Webster, its Superintendent, and which was published in
1902. In this publication is given a list of eighty-one species of
birds found there, thirty-four of which are said to breed in the
_ Park.

80 oie THE ZOOLOGIST.'

Nimrod, Ramrod, Fishing-Rod, and Nature Tales. By J.
Wairaker, F.Z.S. H. B. Saxton, Nottingham.

Mr. Wuairaker, who is well known to the readers of ‘ The
Zoologist’ as an ornithologist, has in this book shown himself
to be an all-round sportsman, not only with the gun and fishing-
rod, but also at the hunt and on the turf. This catholicity in .
pursuit gives these pages the charm of a naturalist writing as a
sportsman, and a sportsman as a naturalist, and we hope that
one day the author may give a larger volume of personal
reminiscences derived from these varied experiences.

Visits to Selborne and Walton, with illustrations of the
graves of both Gilbert White and Charles Waterton, will appeal
to all naturalists. As regards the Cuckoo, some interesting
points are detailed. Thus: ‘‘Harly on in May the call is
cuc-koo; about the middle of June it is zuc oh; after this the
voice commences to break, and they call cuc-cuc-cuc-ou.”’ Like
many other field ornithologists, Mr. Whitaker is ‘‘ no believer
of the March Cuckoo,” and he gives some amusing instances of
the way in which this belief has arisen. }

** A Winter’s Day with the Perch” is one of those exceptional
opportunities which does not come in the way of all anglers; but
why were only worms tried? A small Gudgeon might have
effected a revelation in such a water, and the writer has not yet
forgotten the horror of hooking and losing the Perch of his life-
time with that bait at a weir on the Mole aseasonago. ‘“‘ Seven
Hundred Miles for two Snipe” is one of those experiences that
befall all, the entomologist as well as the sportsman. Did we
not at one Yuletide in the Transvaal drive eighty miles over
heavy soddened veld to the proper locality and at the right time
for the capture of four species of insects? We only brought two
back, one of which was given to us and the other we purchased.

The illustrations comprise many varieties of birds, in which
Mr. Whitaker’s collection is known to be particularly rich, and
the volume sustains its interest from start-to finish.

cot, eet ay hte bears at

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This is the Autobiography published at One Guinea in 1904. It abounds
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THH ZOOLOGIST

No. 825.—March. 1910.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARK.
bye 2G. RAL.

In spite of the universal lowness of its surface, Denmark is

a land of much beauty and of strong contrast. In West Jutland

the long undulations—wave following wave to the far horizon—
make a wide landscape, mysterious as the sea. Sometimes they
are checkered with unfenced fields, intersected by ribbons of
white road, and sprinkled with groups of low farm-buildings,
thatched and timbered, round which cluster a few small trees.
Sometimes they are clothed with the primitive brown heath,
varied by equally desolate ‘‘moser”’’ and “‘ kjcr,’* with their
swamp-pools, or by the sombre brushwood of the new fir-planta-
tions. The coast is a belt of yellow sand-hills (“‘ klitter’’), on
whose harbourless shores beat the tempest-driven waters of the
North Sea, and whose drifts ever threaten the dwindling crops
that a thrifty peasantry tries to rear under their landward
shelter.

But-on the eastern side of Jutland, and in Funen and Sea-
land, the land lies in wide sweeps of smiling pasture and corn-
land, with far-extending beech-woods of the tenderest green, with
still, meadow-bordered streams and lakes, with narrow firths
and straits whose waters gleam among the foliage, a succession
of idyllic pictures, until the one great city of the kingdom is
reached at its eastern extremity.

* In Northern England ‘‘mosses”’ and ‘‘ cars.”’
Zool. 4th ser. voi. XIV., March, 1910. - H

§2 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Denmark is also a country of great archeological interest,
whose remains of past ages are innumerable, and whose history
in ancient and modern times is full of romance. Here, too, the
visitor is amidst a friendly people, who are the more ready to
receive an Englishman as such. In my own experience the
only hindrance has been the language, for, though all more
highly educated Danes speak some English (and German), and
many are very familiar with our tongue, yet in remote places,
which a visitor interested in birds often reaches, he is apt to find
himself at a loss with the farmer or boatman or country inn-
keeper. At the most interesting spots I had, fortunately, the
company of Danish friends who spoke English well.

The avifauna of Denmark has great attraction for an English-
man, from the survival in its still extensive uncultivated lands
of so many species—Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Black Tern,
Rufi—which have ceased to nest in his own country. Until
recently its forests also sheltered many interesting birds of
prey—Sea-Hagle, Osprey, Kite, Buzzard, Goshawk, Peregrine
Falcon*—but now these have been largely exterminated in the
interests of game-preserving, and the many Raptores which in
Denmark still fall to the gun of the keeper are mainly migrants
from Scandinavia. In comparatively recent times the Cor-
morant, which here was a tree-builder, has ceased to breed. Of
Continental species which seldom or never breed in England
may also be observed in Denmark—the Icterine Warbler, Great
Reed-Warbler, Marsh-Warbler, Kastern Nightingale, White and
Blue-headed Wagtails, Little Owl, Wood-Sandpiper, Gull-billed
Tern (the only colonies in North Europe), Red-necked Grebe,
Little Gull (which here finds its western limit), and Turnstone,
the last two, however, but sparingly.t

On the other hand, our mountain and rock-breeding birds are
naturally, as residents, rare in or absent from Denmark. Such

* The Peregrine, however, was not common. The Common Buzzard is
still comparatively frequent. The Hobby also still breeds, and the Honey
Buzzard very sparingly. The Marsh Harrier, once common, is now very
scarce. For many of these details I am indebted to Hr. Winge’s articles
‘* Fortegnelse over Danmarks Fugle” in ‘D. O. F. Tidsskrift,’ 1906-07, and
‘* Danmarks Pattedyr og Fugle”’ in ‘ Danmarks Natur.’

+ It seems to be doubtful whether the Caspian Tern now nests.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARE. 83

are the Dipper, Ring-Ouzel, Grey Wagtail, Merlin, Curlew, and
Common Sandpiper ;* and though Denmark has an extensive
coast-line, the Guillemot, Razorbill, and Kittiwake. Other
Gulls content themselves with breeding-places in marshes and
gand-hills, and on remote islets in lakes and firths; Terns and
the smaller Plovers nest abundantly on the shores, and the
species of breeding Ducks are numerous, and their individuals
plentiful in favoured localities.

The following observations on birds in Denmark were made
during three visits to that country, in the early summers of
1907, 1908, and 1909. They relate principally to West Jutland,
but the writer also made some excursions in the neighbourhood
of Copenhagen. Though quite superficial t they may, as for
long not much on Denmark has appeared in ‘ The Zoologist,’ be
of sufficient interest for publication.

Esbjerg, the only Danish port of any importance on the
North Sea, is well known as a landing-place on the way to
Copenhagen by many British visitors, few of whom probably
spend any time on it. The new town, of bright and not un-
pleasing appearance, stands above a low but rather steep brow,
whose sandy slopes are partly planted with fir-trees, and on
which the high water-tower is a conspicuous landmark, over-
looking harbour and roadstead, and across the narrow strait the
shores of Fano (except the very small Mano, a little to the
south), the only North Sea island now belonging to Denmark.
Fano, about ten miles long and two or three wide at the most,
is not unlike the English island of Walney in position and
character, but it has, opposite Esbjerg, a good-sized little town
(Nordby), and near the south end a smaller village (Sdnderho).
On the west or North Sea side, overlooking a magnificent extent
of the smoothest, most level sand, is the watering-place of Fano
Bad, with its pretentious hotels and villas. The greater part
of the island consists of uncultivated sand-hills, much like those
of the Lancashire coast. These ‘‘ klitter,” in some places
planted with conifers, but usually covered with ling and dwarf
willow, crowberry, and sea-reed, with rose-heather in the marshy

** Of the first and the last two species a very few breed.
+ Even in ornithology I was only on holiday in Denmark, and enjoyed,
rather than investigated, its bird-life.
H 2

84 THE ZOOLOGIST.

hollows between, are bright in May with wild pansies and needle-
furze, and cheered by the song of innumerable Sky-Larks.
Here, on June 1st, 1908, I found a considerable colony of Her-
ring-Gulls breeding. The nests were chiefly placed on a some-
what flat piece of ground out of sight of the sea, and surrounded
by lumpy heights. Most were empty; some had one egg, and
there were broken egg-shells strewn about. The nests had
evidently been robbed systematically (the previous day had been
Sunday), and a man who came upon the scene resented my
presence among the birds. It appears that most of the ground
on which the Gulls nest is Government ‘‘ Plantage,”’ and this was
the overseer or one of his men, but he was appeased when he
found that I was not taking eggs. I was struck by the subdued
demeanour of the parent birds here, compared with the noisy
excitement shown at our own rock-colonies. My friend Hr. Klinge
tells me that the Danish Game Law allows Gulls’ eggs to be
taken until May 25th.

At the north-west corner of Fano is a beautiful expanse of
the whitest sand, without mixture of stones or vegetation, called
on the Danish Ordnance Map (Generalstabenskaart)* ‘‘ Soren
Jessens Sande,’ but most of the north end of the island con-
sists of a level sward, under the sand-hills, of considerable width,
beyond which are gravel-like banks formed of comminuted shells,
past which again the muddy tide-flats, which on the inner side
of Fano replace the hard sand of the open west, stretch far out
toward the lonely sand-cliffs of Skalling, on the other side of the
channel, low but steep, which are crowned by a white light-
house, and assume fantastic shapes in the mirage of a hot
afternoon. The sward (‘‘Gronningen’’) and the adjacent
banks and tide-flats are rich in bird-life. Lapwings, Oyster-
catchers, Dunlins, Redshanks, and Ringed Plovers nest on the
pasture, and on the flats outside are large numbers of all these
species, in many cases perhaps migratory flocks and parties on
their way further north. In 1908 I saw here also, on June 1st,
some thirty Bar-tailed Godwits, some quite grey, some with the
red nuptial plumage advanced. In various places on the north and
west of Fano, where the sward met the sand and became broken

* Finely executed and very cheap maps, rather confusing in the extreme
abundance of very delicate detail by which they depict the land surface.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARK. 85

up among it into little islets of turf, I met with a few Kentish
Plover, evidently breeding close at hand, but whether they had
not yet laid, or whether from inexperience I failed in knowledge
of the exact situation they preferred,* I was not able to locate a
nest with eggs. I found many hollows apparently prepared, and
the nests of Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers on the neigh-
bouring turf and gravel were easily found. A few Whimbrel
were also seen on the west coast. Off Gronningen a few medium-
sized Terns were evidently preparing to nest. (Hr. Klinge tells
me that Little Terns, which I do not remember seeing here, also
nest, and that the nests of the Kentish Plover, which are abun-
dant, and at the time I was there should have contained strongly
incubated eggs, are extremely difficult to find amid the small
shells which surround them.)

There is a famous decoy on Fan, on the eastern shore some-
what to the south, and a breeding colony of Black-headed Gulls,
neither of which I have seen.

On the great bird colonies of the Ringkjobing Fjord volumes
might be written. Picturesque descriptions of the locality are
to be found in Seebohm’s ‘ British Birds’ under ‘‘ Avocet’ and
‘‘ Black-tailed Godwit,”’ and in the appendix on Denmark to
Abel Chapman’s ‘ Wild Norway,’t and the never-to-be-forgotten
scenes of its bird-life, bewildering to eye and ear in their variety
and profusion, are well depicted by these authors. My visits
have been too hurried to permit of any but the most superficial
observation. The lands on which the principal breeding-places
are situated are State property, and strictly preserved by the
Danish Ministry of Agriculture, a step rendered necessary, it is
said, mainly by the depredations of English collectors and
dealers in former years. Every lover of birds will rejoice at the
protection now afforded, apparently with the best results, to so
wonderful a preserve.

The Fjord and its surroundings have changed often and
much, even within the period for which historical record is
available.t From an arm of the sea it has become a fresh-

* I was directed to the bird colonies on Fané by Hr. M. Klinge, of
Randers (formerly of Esbjerg).

+ See also A. C. Chapman in ‘ Ibis,’ 1894.
j For many topographical details about the Fjord I have consulted the

86 THE ZV0OLOGIST.

water lagoon, about twenty miles in length, shut in from the
North Sea by a narrow tongue of sand-hills, and emptying by a
very narrow and partly artificial outlet (Nymindegab) at its
south-west corner. Into its southern part projects a promontory,
about three miles long and one broad, called Tipperne (The
Tips).* This peninsula, little raised above the level of the
Fjord, and itself almost a dead level, is clothed with verdure of
the deepest green, almost without a flower (in May)t or a stone.
In places it is bordered by muddy reed-beds, and intersected by
channels of no great depth, while here and there on its surface
are very shallow sheets of water. The Fjord itself is very
shallow, never attaining twenty feet in depth. Much of it is
not over knee-deep, and for long distances a cart can be driven
through it. The depth, however, varies somewhat with the
state of the Fjord’s principal feeder, the Skjernaa, a sluggish
stream, which, flowing in many channels, enters it from the
east, and also with the condition of the outlet, which is liable to
be choked by sand from the outer sea.

On a fine day in May the landscapes of the Fjord are
charming in their lonely simplicity. The level tongue of Tip-
perne, freshly green, stretches far away amid shining waters,
across which, on the east, the low mainland shores are backed
by cultivated country, bare of trees, but sprinkled with small
farms, where the high white churches of Stavning and Velling
are conspicuous, and, far away to the north, the grouped houses
of the little market town of Ringkjobing, no longer a seaport
for vessels of any size. ‘To the west, all along the horizon, lies
the serrated line of the dunes on Holmslands Klit, the sand-spit
which parts the quiet broad from the North Sea. On Tipperne
itself there is hardly a sign of human occupation, but one sub-

interesting monograph of Dr. Rambusch, ‘ Studier over Ringkjébing Fjord,’
Copenhagen, 1900. A copy of this book was kindly sent me by my friend
Hr. A. Hansen, of Randers.

* I believe this name applies strictly only to the four extremities of the
peninsula, ‘Store Tip’’ and “ Lille Tip.”

+ Hr. Mentz (in Rambusch) says that the dominant constituent of this
green carpet is Juncus Gerardi (Harrilgres), associated with Agrostis alba
and Festuca rubra. Inthe late summer Aster tripoliwm flowers very pro-
fusely.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARK. 87

stantial wooden building near the north end is used by Govern-
ment employées, especially in summer, when the peninsula is
farmed for grazing. In winter multitudes of Swans, Geese, and
Ducks frequent the place.

I visited Tipperne from Tarm on May 25th, 1909, having,
through the good offices of the British Consulate, obtained a
pass from the Ministry. I cycled to North Bork, on the east
shore of the Fjord, with Hr. Hvass, of the Realskole at Tarm,
and Hr. Brink, who has an exhaustive knowledge of the bird-life _
of the neighbourhood. At Bork we got a boat to ferry us over
to the peninsula, and then made our way to its extreme point,
wandering over the even grass-land, and sometimes wading
through shallow channels which separated one ‘‘Pold”’ from
another, or outlying islets from what was, comparatively speak-
ing, mainland.

Over the grassy surface of Tipperne breed great numbers of
Lapwings, Ruffs, Redshanks, and Dunlins, and not a few Black-
tailed Godwits, the nests of all being on much the same kind of
eround, but those of Ruffs, Redshanks, and Dunlins better con-
cealed than the others. The nests of Ruffs and Godwits were
naturally most interesting to me; those of the former, like
Redshank’s, hidden in the more luxuriant tufts of herbage,
containing the four richly-marked eggs; while the four dull-
coloured eggs of the Godwits lay very open, the parents, which
at the nest are very wild and shy, flying high overhead, and
uttering their wild screaming notes.

On one of the driest parts of the peninsula were a good
many nests of Common Gull, usually with their complement of
three eggs, while a large colony of Black-headed Gulls centred
amid thick-growing water-plants, and other nests of the same
species were placed on an islet some distance out in the shallows,
easily reached by wading. Most of the nests of the Black-
headed Gull had recently been robbed, this being allowed to a
certain date, and they now frequently contained one egg only.
On the islet was a Pintail’s nest with eggs, and there also Terns
(a medium-sized species, probably macrura) were just com-
mencing to lay, while others had selected some little spots of
dry ground in a pond amid the grass of the mainland. In 1908
a large colony of Sandwich Terns had bred on open ground

88 THE ZOOLOGIST.

close to and even just overlapping the chief settlement of the
Black-headed Gulls. As usual with this species, they oceupied
a small area, where nests, or rather clutches of eggs, were
closely crowded. But in 1909 we did not find them, and I was
told that, like other Terns, they frequently shift the locality of
their breeding-cround. ~

A still more interesting species was the Gull-billed Tern,
large numbers of which, together with Avocets, occupied a
remote part of the open grass-land, the nests of the two species
being mixed all over the surface. At this time the nests of the
Tern had usually three eggs, those of the Avocet four. The
curious laughing cry of the large Gull-billed Tern, whose tail is
but slightly forked, is very characteristic, and so are its eggs,
which approximate somewhat in appearance to those of a Gull,
being more elongated in shape and more uniform in form and
colour than those of the Common and Arctic Tern. Mr. Chap-
man does not seem to have met with either this species or the
Sandwich Tern here in 1893, though he saw the latter and another
large Tern, which he failed to identify, on the outer sand-dunes.
Dr. Rambusch remarks that while the Sandwich Tern, in accord-
ance with its habits elsewhere, seeks its food on the North Sea
coast behind the Klit, S. anglica goes eastward and inland,
following the plough on the cultivated lands, like a Gull. The
nests of both Gull-billed Terns and Avocets were of a very
artless character, but other nests of the Avocet, on an artificial
strip* projecting into the Fjord, were much more substantial
structures. These curious and beautiful birds, so strangely
attenuated in form, with their pure black and white plumage,
shrill cry, and singular method of using their singularly-shaped
bills, were abundant on Tipperne, guarding their nests on the
grass, or wading with their long blue legs in the sunlit water of
the channels.

On the great shallow of Stavning Grund, about half a mile
from the middle of the eastern shore of the Fjord, the isolated
Klegbanken, about two miles long by a few hundred yards in
width, lies parallel with the mainland, from which, when the

* Such narrow dykes are constructed of sods for the purpose of reclaim-

ing the space between them, as has been done on Tipperne to a considerable
extent.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARK. 89

level of the water is low, it can be waded to. Klegbanken is
clothed with dense aquatic vegetation (especially Phragmites
communis, Scirpus Tabernemontant). On its east side there
is deep mud; on the west the ground is of a more sandy
character, so that it is easy to walk along the shallow outside
the vegetation.

On May 26th, 1909, I visited Klegbanken with Hr. Hvass,
of Tarm. From Tarm we went by train to Lem (passing Deib-
jerg, famous for the discoveries of prehistoric waggons in 1881
and 18838), and cycled thence to Halby, on the shore of the
lagoon opposite the bank. As far as Venner there was a fairly
good road, but the last mile or two from Venner to Halby was
extremely bad. When coming back we loitered too long at
Halby, enjoying the kindly hospitality of the ferryman, who
showed us a shorter track by which to return to Lem. At first
we rode easily on hard field paths, but darkness overtook us
among the ruts and sand-drifts of a terrible bye-road. My
friend seemed accustomed to this kind of going, but for consider-
able distances I was quite unable to ride, and finally we arrived
at Lem too late for the last train to Tarm. We found comfort-
able quarters for the night in the inn at Lem.

Though of less extent than Tipperne, Klegbanken is an even
more singular place. So low that from the mainland bank it is
scarcely noticeable, the green line grows upon the eye as you are
punted over the channel, until you land upon the tussocks which
rise from the mud, and are saluted by the screeching chorus of
the thousands of Black-headed Gulls which are the feature of
the islet, and whose nests are scattered or crowded almost all
over its surface. Klegbanken is also very rich in breeding
Ducks, Mallards, Shovelers, and Pintails, and Coots are nume-
rous. As we blundered through the boggy reed-beds every few
minutes we roused a Duck from its warmly-lined nest and full
clutch of eggs. A patch of reeds had recently been burnt, and
amid the blackened space was a nestful of Mallard’s eggs scorched
and cracked by the flames. Mallards seemed to me the most
numerous of the Ducks, but their nests were less concealed
than those of the Shovelers, which certainly were also abun-
dant. A nestful of small Duck’s eggs perhaps belonged to a
Garganey.

90 THE ZOOLOGIST.

_ At the north end were many Sandwich Terns, which, how-
ever, did not yet seem to be laying. I had not time to examine
a large colony of the Great Crested Grebe, which I was told
existed at the southern extremity. The most interesting of the
inhabitants of Klegbanken are the Little Gulls, a small colony
which has for some years nested here. Vegetation, according to
Dr. Rambusch, began to clothe the bank in 1880; in 1905 the
Little Gull was discovered breeding by Hr. R. Christensen, who
announced the find in the ‘ Transactions’ of the Naturhistorisk
Forening of Copenhagen (1905, pp. 245-249). In its nest and
eggs, aS in its appearance and habits, the Little Gull is a minia-
ture of the Black-headed, but the nests of the Little Gull here
were on ground more open, at least in May, than what the
Black-headed usually occupies, being flat, and covered only
with a thin growth of rushes. It is to be hoped that the pro-
tection here afforded to this charming little species may lead to
a further extension of its breeding-range in North-western
Kurope.

Some Gull-billed Terns breed on the more open part of
Klegbanken, and we saw some pairs of nesting Redshanks, more
than might have been expected from the nature of the ground;
one nest with eggs was placed deep among the tall reeds. On
the mud-flats were some immature Herring-Gulls, and a little
flock of Sanderlings in changing plumage. Klegbanken is said
to be entirely submerged in winter, and even in summer the
extent above water varies very considerably. The mud in the
shallows around it is full of large bowl-like hollows, which Dr.
Rambusch says are caused by the wallowing of the Wild Swans,
which, with Geese, Ducks, and waders, frequent the place in
winter in immense numbers.

Both on Tipperne and Klegbanken I saw a few Common
Sandpipers on migration.

The Skjernaa, as above mentioned, forms a delta, from the
point where, between the twin villages of Tarm and Skjern, it is
crossed by road and railway down to its outlet into the Fjord.
This is a wide level tract of marshy meadow, its many water-
channels bright, as they would be in England, with marsh-
marigold and cuckoo-flower. It is also rich in bird-life. God-
wits, Lapwings, Dunlins, Redshanks, and Ruffs nest on the

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARK. 91

flat expanse in considerable numbers.* There are also small
colonies of Black Tern. When in Skjernaadal on May 24th I
was too early to see their nests, but by the end of the first week
in June, as Hr. Brink informed me, eggs had been laid. The
nests are usually in very wet places, difficult of access. The
Great Snipe used to nest here also, but I do not know whether
it still continues to do so.

In a marshy hollow with thickets of willow, which the Bork
road crosses near Tarm, Hr. Brink pointed out a pair of the
Wood Sandpiper. This species nests not uncommonly in such
spots in this neighbourhood, and my friend told of a curious
mishap which lately occurred to a hatching bird. A boy in
jumping over the little stream landed right in the nest, killing
the Sandpiper, and breaking all the eggs but one, which was
brought to Hr. Brink, who kindly gave it to me. Hrr. Klinge
and Hansen say that the species nests in nearly all the mosses
from Ribe to Tarm. _

From Copenhagen a very interesting excursion may be made
to the island of Saltholm, about four miles long by one broad,
and at its nearest point some five miles from the city. Salt-
holm les in the Sound outside Amager, over which can be seen
from it the spires and domes of Copenhagen, while on the other
side are visible the smoky factory chimneys of Malmo, on the
Swedish coast. Saltholm is very low, only indicated from the
Amager shore by its houses and scanty trees. In winter it is
liable to submergence, but, unlike Tipperne and Klegbanken, it
has a floor of solid chalk, which sometimes comes to the surface,
and was formerly quarried. There are on the island two sets of
farm-buildings, one of them large and prosperous-looking, and it
is used by the people of Amager as a summer pasture for cattle
and horses. Most of it is covered with short, rich grass, which
becomes longer and coarser toward the south end, where it is
much broken by muddy pools and gullies, and ends at length in
an extraordinary labyrinth of stony islets extending far out into
the Sound, called Svaneklapperne. When first, in 1907, I
visited Copenhagen, I had some trouble in finding out how to
reach Saltholm, but was at last directed to Kastrup, the village

* Here Seebohm and Chapman found the Black-tailed Godwit breeding,
as described in ‘ British Birds,’ iii. p. 164, and ‘ Wild Norway,’ p. 307, &e.

92 i THE ZOOLOGIST.

on Amager opposite to the islet. I went there on the morning
of June 5th, and fortunately fell in with two residents of Kastrup
who spoke English, Hrr. Norregaard and Larsen, who kindly
offered. to accompany me, and arranged the hiring of a small
sailing-boat. We landed on a quay near the north end of Salt-
holm; on most parts of the shore the shallowness of the water
makes access difficult. At the large farm near the landing we
got a rude cart, in which we were driven to the southern
extremity, bumping over knolls, and plunging into muddy chan-
nels. Then we wandered far out into a wilderness of water,
boulders, and grass, with myriads of shrieking “‘ Hettemaager ”
overhead, amid which hovered the graceful forms of the lighter
Terns (S. hirundo), which share with them this nesting-ground.
On the higher knolls, covered with grass, wormwood, and sea-
lavender, were placed the nests of the Gulls, whose eggs at that
time were just hatching. As we left each green skerry, another
and yet another showed in front, each with its cloud of hovering
Gulls, and we were still far from the extremity when the advance
of time forced us to return to shore. On the rough grass-land
were many nests of Common Gulls with eggs, scattered rather
widely over the ground. I saw some Herring-Gulls overhead,
and though I found no nests, I find from the account in the
‘D. O. F. Tidsskrift’ that a few of this species breed on Salt-
holm. A few Sheld-drakes were visible, and many Oyster-
catchers, nesting on marshy ground and amid the shallow pools.
Ducks* flew to and fro, but I had no time to search for nests,
and did not on this occasion stumble on any; I believe I did
not reach their principal breeding-ground. Dunlins, Lapwings,
and Redshanks were abundant over the pastures, and we saw
several small parties of Ruffs, mostly seeming to have the “‘ ruff”
dark. There were Ringed Plovers near the north end of the
island, where there are sandy pools, and near here I saw also
one Turnstone. I learned afterwards that the latter species,
which breeds in but few Danish localities (little outlying islets),
is found nesting here in very small numbers.

On Saltholm, again, as on all the open lands of Denmark,

* The Pintail, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, and Garganey nest on Saltholm ;
also the Hider in small numbers (I did not see any), and the Red-breasted
Merganser (of which I saw a handsome drake).

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARK, 93

were Sky-Larks in profusion ; the air was filled with their never-
ceasing song, amidst the trilling of Dunlins, the squeaking of
Lapwings, the fluting of Redshanks, and the croaking and
screeching of the Common and Black-headed Gulls.

In spite of the inundations to which the island is liable, there
are large numbers of Hares on it. Some low mounds have been
raised as places of refuge for them, but the author of ‘ Danmarks
Land’ says that on New Year’s night, 1902, when Saltholm was
completely submerged, four hundred were drowned, others taking
to the buildings and even the trees in the little plantation.

The birds on Svaneklapperne are protected by a society for
bird protection, ‘‘ Svalen,” but it is said that on the main island
there is no adequate provision for their safety.

On June 11th, 1908, I made, with Hrr. Schioler, Christiani,
and Landmark, a visit to a locality of a very different nature—
that fine royal domain, the Dyrchave, to the north of the city.
Here, in a high tree, Hr. Christiani showed us the nest of Corvus
corax, which now is a very rare breeder in Denmark. Both the
parent birds were still at the spot, and flew about with the fierce
croaking so familiar at home; the site recalled the ancient con-
ditions of the nesting of the Raven in England. From the
nature of the Danish country, its formerly numerous breeding-
places there must have been principally in trees, but one is said
to have existed on the curious isolated crag Skarreklit, on the
north-west coast of Jutland. In another tree was a nest of the
Honey Buzzard, which had probably been robbed; the bark bore
marks of climbing-irons, and the tenants were not to be seen.
We had the pleasure of seeing and hearing a male of the little
Red-breasted Flycatcher, which Hr. Christiani had already
observed on a number of occasions, and which probably nested,
though no nest was found. The species is very scarce in Den-
mark. We heard also Ring-Doves and Stock-Doves, and saw a
number of Hooded Crows, the native crow of Denmark, which is
found in all woods. In the hollow trees of the ancient forest
nest, besides Stock-Doves, Jackdaws, Starlings, and Pied Fly-
catchers.

The low shores of Amager are a famous locality for migrating
shore-birds ; I was not there at a favourable season for observing
these, but noticed numbers of Oystercatchers, Redshanks, and

94 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Sheld-drakes. In the neighbourhood of Amager Felled, on dry,
hard, stony waste just beyond the last buildings of the city,
Hr. Christiani pointed out to me the three species of Ringed
Plover—Common, Little, and Kentish—all breeding on the same
ground. It would appear that birds must be comparatively un-
molested by the Danish boy, or the nesting of these Plovers in ~
numbers in such a locality, or that of the Ringed Plover and
Little Tern on the much-frequented beach near Esbjerg, could
scarcely continue. In an interesting article, illustrated from
photographs, in the Danish Ornithologists’ Union’s journal,
Hr. R. Christensen has described the nesting of the three
species of Plover on somewhat similar ground at Frederiksholm
Tileworks, on the opposite side of Kalvebodstrand from Amager
Feelled.

With Hr. §. Saxtorph, of Hilleréd, I visited the beautiful
Lyngby Skoy, in North Sealand, near Arresé, the largest Danish
inland lake. This wood contains, in lofty oak-trees, a consider-
able heronry, of which Hr. Saxtorph has for years made a
study ; also a rookery, not just so common a thing in Denmark
as in England.

Soborg Mose, near Copenhagen, though suburban villas are
gathering around it, is still a breeding-place of many marsh-
birds. A few Black Terns still nest there; there is a colony of
Black-headed Gulls, and Hr. N. Christiansen, in his list of
breeding species, includes the Red-necked Grebe and four species
of Duck; also the Great Reed- Warbler.

Looking from the high-road, which passes close to the end of
the moss, a casual eye would note only, among the cultivated
fields and scattered houses, a narrow hollow with dense vegeta-
tion deeply green. But on approaching the edge a close growth
of strong aquatic plants is seen to rise from water some four
feet deep, and from thick mud below, forming a most im-
penetrable cover.

The place is now strictly preserved by the owners a the
shooting rights, but in 1907 I made a voyage in a punt down the
broad central channel which drains the marsh. My boatman
was unwilling to leave this and push his boat into the tangle of
surrounding reed and sedge, so that I saw little of the bird-life
of the place; only the Reed-Buntings, Whinchats, and Yellow

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARK. 95

Wagtails which frequented its margins; a flight of a Duck now
and then to or from the cover; the many Reed-Warblers along
the channels, a chance Snipe rising from my feet on a grassy
knoll, a distant flock of Black-headed Gulls, and a few Black
Terns passing Swallow-like on the wing. We reached neither
the colony of Gulls nor that of Terns, which in the case of the
latter was a considerable disappointment.

Of Danish small birds, I have not much to say. Most of the
species familiar in the British lowlands are to be met with some-
what as at home. Chaffinches dominated in Dyrehaven, and,
with other English birds of wood and garden—F inches, Warblers,
and Thrushes—were abundant in such places as Christianslund
at Nyborg, and the beautiful belt of woodland which covers the
old fortification surrounding the pleasant town of Fredericia. I
heard the Wood-Warbler in Lyngby Skov and in Kongelund;
in Dyrehaven we failed to hear it on June 11th, probably on
account of the late date, for Hr. Schioler tells me it is common
there. The Nightingale (the Kastern species) is found in many
places about Copenhagen. Tree-Sparrows I saw in several
localities, including the suburbs of Copenhagen. Keed-Warblers
were abundant in suitable spots, as Tipperne, Klegbanken, and
Soborg, and Reed-Buntings frequent along the pools and ditches.
I saw a few Goldfinches; the species is more common in Den-
mark than in Britain. Everywhere on the open lands of West
Jutland and elsewhere the Sky-Lark, as already mentioned, was
abundant; in West Jutland the Corn-Bunting was also a con-
Spicuous bird. :

The White Wagtail and the Blue-headed Wastail were two
species of special interest to an Englishman as Continental forms
of familiar insular birds; the latter was especially frequent on
the damp meadow-lands of West Jutland, and on the levels of
Amager with the Whinchat, another common Danish bird.
Everywhere along the coast I met with a few Wheatears, but
never with a Stonechat (the latter is very uncommon in Den-
mark).

Common in every part of Denmark, and forcing itself on the
attention of the most careless, is the Icterine Warbler, with its
loud, cheerful, squeaking song and restless movements, frequent-
ing the trees by the roadside and the shrubs in the gardens of

96 THE Z00OLOGIST.

villas and cottages. Here and there I saw Red-backed Shrikes ;
there was one in the little isolated plantation on Saltholm. Swifts
and House-Martins inhabit the towns.

The Stork is a familiar and favourite bird in Denmark; I
once saw from the train a considerable flock in a meadow, and
observed the great nests in various places on farm-buildings and
houses in villages, principally in Jutland. Besides the above-
mentioned colony of Herons, single birds were seen occasionally
along streams and firths.

The only Golden Plover I have seen in Denmark was in full
nuptial plumage ina field on Amager on June 5th, 1909; the
species breeds sparingly on the heaths.

The following is a list of species observed by me in Denmark,
with their Danish names. It is probably somewhat incomplete,
as, having no intention of publishing, I did not always at the
time make a note of the commoner birds observed, and now find
no record, for instance, of Accipiter nisus, Regulus cristatus, some
of the commoner Tits, and Gallinula chloropus, which must
almost certainly have been seen :—

Turdus musicus (Song-Thrush) (nest). Sangdrossel.

T. merula (Blackbird). Solsort.

Saxicola enanthe (Wheatear) (nest, eggs). Stenpikker.
Pratincola rubetra (Whinchat) (nest, eggs). Bynkefugl.
Erithacus rubecula (Redbreast). Rodkjeelk.

Daulias philomela (Kastern Nightingale). Nattergal.
Sylvia cinerea (Whitethroat). Tornsanger.

S. hortensis (Garden- Warbler). Havesanger.
Phylloscopus trochilus (Willow-Warbler). Lovsanger.
P. sibilatriz (Wood-Warbler). Gron Lovsanger.
Hypolais icterina (Icterine Warbler). Gulbug.
Acrocephalus streperus (Reed-Warbler). Rorsanger.

A. palustris (Marsh-Warbler). Kjersanger.

A. phragmitis (Sedge- Warbler). Sivsanger.

Accentor modularis (Hedge-Sparrow). Jernspurv.
Parus major (Great Titmouse). Musvit.

P. ceruleus (Blue Titmouse). Blaameyjse.

Troglodytes parvulus (Wren). Gjerdesmutte.

Motacilla alba (White Wagtail). Hvid Vipstjert.

M. flava (Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail) (nest, eggs). Gul Vipstjert.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DENMARK. 97

Anthus pratensis (Meadow-Pipit). Engpiber.
A. trivialis (Tree-Pipit). Skovpiber.
Lanius collurio (Red-backed Shrike). Tornskade.
Muscicapa grisola (Spotted Flycatcher). Graa Fluesnapper.
M. atricapilla (Pied Flycatcher) (nest). Broget Fluesnapper.
M. parva (Red-breasted Flycatcher). Lille Fluesnapper.
Hirundo rustica (Swallow). Forstuesvale.
Chelidon urbica (Martin). Bysvale.
Cotile riparia (Sand-Martin). Digesvale.
Carduelis elegans (Goldfinch). Stillits.
Ingurinus chloris (Greenfinch). Svenske.
Passer domesticus (House-Sparrow) (nest). Spury.
P. montanus (Tree-Sparrow). Skovspurv.
Fringilla celebs (Chaffinch). Bogfinke.
Linota cannabrna (Linnet) (nest, eggs, young). Ivisk.
Hmberiza miliaria (Corn-Bunting). Bomlerke, Kornveerling.
H. crtrinella (Yellowhammer). Gulspurv.
EH. schemclus (Reed-Bunting). Rorspurv.
Sturnus vulgaris (Starling). Steer.
Pica rustica (Magpie). Skade.
Corvus monedula (Jackdaw). Allike.
C. cornix (Hooded Crow) (nest). Krage.
C. frugilegus (Rook) (nest, young). Raage.
C. coraz (Raven) (nest). Ravn.
Alauda arvensis (Sky-Lark) (nest, eggs). Leerke.
A. cristata (Crested Lark). Toplerke.
Cypselus apus (Swift). Mursvale.
Lynx torqulla (Wryneck).- Vendehals.
Cuculus canorus (Cuckoo). Gjég.
Pernis apiworus (Honey Buzzard) (nest). Hvepsevaage.
Tinnunculus alaudarvus (Kestrel). Taarnfalk.
Ardea cinerea (Heron) (nest). Hejre.
Cicoma alba (White Stork) (nest). Stork.
Tadorna cornuta (Common Sheld-drake). Grayvand.
Dafila acuta (Pintail) (nest, eggs, young). Spidsand.
Anas boscas (Wild Duck) (nest, eggs). Stokand.
Querquedula circia (Garganey) (nest, eggs). Atling.
Q. crecca (Common Teal). Krikand.
Spatula clypeata (Shoveler) (nest, eggs, young). Skeand.
Mergus serrator (Red-breasted Merganser). Toppet Skallesluger.
Columba palumbus (Ring-Dove). Ringdue.
4ool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., March, 1910. I

98 THE ZOOLOGIST.

C. enas (Stock-Dove). Huldue.

Phasianus colehicus (Pheasant). Fasan.

Perdix cinerea (Partridge). Agerhone.

Crex pratensis (Corn-Crake). Hngsnarre.

Fulica atra (Coot) (nest, eggs). Blishone.

Charadrius pluvialis (Golden Plover). Hyjejle.

Afgialitis cantiana (Kentish Plover). Hvidbrystet Preestekrave.

4H}, euronica (Little Ringed Plover). Lille Prestekrave.

AY. hiaticula (Ringed Plover) (nest, eggs, young). Prestekrave.

Vanellus vulgaris (Lapwing) (nest, eggs, young). Vibe.

Strepsilas iterpres (Turnstone). Stenvender.

Hematopus ostralegus (Oystercatcher) (nest, eggs, young). Strands-
kade.

Fecurvirostra avocetta (Avocet) (nest, eggs, young). Klyde.

Gallinago celestis (Common Snipe). Horsegj6g, Bekassine.

Tringa alpina (Dunlin) (nest, eggs). Ryle.

Machetes pugnax (Ruff) (nest, eggs). Brushane, Skoggerkok.

Calidris arenaria (Sanderling). Selning.

Tringoides hypoleucus (Common Sandpiper). Mudderklire.

Totanus glareola (Wood-Sandpiper). Tinksmed.

T. calidris (Redshank) (nest, eggs). Rédben.

Limosa lapponica (Bar-tailed Godwit). Kobbersneppe.

L. egocephala (Black-tailed Godwit) (nest, eggs, young). Stor Kob-
bersneppe, Rodvitte.

Numenius pheopus (Whimbrel). Lille Regnspove.

N. arquata (Curlew). Storspove.

Sterna macrura (Arctic Tern) (nest, eggs). Havterne, Kystterne.

S. fluviatilis (Common Tern) (nest, eggs).. Terne, Hetteterne.

S. minuta (Little Tern) (nest, eggs). Dvergterne.

S. anglica (Gull-billed Tern) (nest, eggs). Sandterne.

S. cantiaca (Sandwich Tern) (nest, eggs). Splitterne.

Hydrochelidon nigra (Black Tern). Moseterne.

Larus argentatus (Herring-Gull) (nest, eggs). Havmaage, Stormaage.

Li. canus (Common Gull) (nest, eggs). Stormmaage.

L. ridibundus (Black-headed Gull) (nest, eggs, young). Heettemaage.

L. nunutus (Little Gull) (nest, eggs). Dvergmaage.

Podicrpes cristatus (Great Crested Grebe) (nest). Stor Lappedykker.

In conclusion, I have to acknowledge the kind assistance of
Hrr. A. Christiani, of Copenhagen, and M. Klinge and A. Hansen,
of Randers, who have looked over my manuscript, and made
various suggestions and corrections.

G33)

SUMMER IN LLEYN, WITH SOME OTHER NOTES
ON THE BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT.

BytO. VovAenuin, Elo: S:

(Concluded from p. 50.)

Tue shores of Lleyn west of Llanbedrog, the muddy harbour
of Pwllheli and the long stretches of beach on either side of it
left behind, do not afford much breeding-ground for shore birds,
though a few Lesser Terns, Ringed Plovers, and Oystercatchers
may be seen in Abersoch and Aberdaron Bays and in Hell’s
Mouth ; the Oystercatchers, however, are more fond in summer
of the stacks and islands, on all of which I noticed them.
Aberdaron Bay has a sand and pebble beach of no great width,
but it is broken into by the village, and boasts only of a few
pairs of Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers ; the former have
nested there, but I never knew the eggs of the latter actually
found on the beach. That wide open bay called Hell’s Mouth
at first looks promising; but though at the eastern end under
the base of Pen Cilan the beach is wide, and there is a good
stretch of shingle, towards the west the shore narrows and the
beach beneath those low, torn and battered earthy cliffs which
is safe from the sea must be of small extent up to the end of the
bay, where the rocks of Craig du cut off the low shores, and the
empurpled heights of Rhiw spring so boldly in great steps above
the rocks and woods of this corner of the wide bay, and make it
the most beautiful spot on the coast of Lleyn. They are a
glorious sight, even on a grey rainy day, with changing lights,
when the heather, patched as it is with wide stretches of rich
green fern, looms out a fine deep purple, and the slopes are
brightened high up with a few sun-burnt pastures or a tiny
barley patch already yellowing, and one or two brilliant white
farmhouses. There was a flock of a dozen old and young Ringed
Plovers here; and a pair which were very anxious, evidently

r3

100 THE ZOOLOGIST.

about some small young ones. Throwing themselves about in
an altogether abandoned manner, lying down on their sides
with one wing flapping weakly in the air and its feathers blown
up by the wind, broken surely!’ The birds in fact were acting
the badly wounded bird to perfection. Often as we may have:
seen the performance, who can help pausing to look at it again,
wondering at this plain indication of thinking, or exhibition of
thoughtful intelligence! When a clutch of eggs is the treasure
it is enough to steal away quietly and unseen if possible. But
when there are downy young to be considered the case is
desperate ; the man must be got away somehow. So this must
run in the Plovers’ broad bullet heads. Let us pretend we are
broken-winged and helpless, so that he will think he has only to
make a quick run forward to secure one of us (we know he would
like to get hold of us).~ Struggle on a bit, lamely, and then
tumble down again. He is following. If he makes two or three
more rushes he will be led away a good distance. Now we have
got him to a safe distance; no need to do more. So we will
now go back, ‘‘pee-ep.” And with their quick glancing flight they
fly round us, and are again running over the pebbles not far
from where we first caught sight of them. Surely there is
reasoning power and thinking intelligence here? While sitting
weather-bound under the stern of the ‘Idea’ of Carnarvon,
thrown far up on this dangerous shore last winter, listening to
the heavy roar of the tide flowing in over the quicksands, I saw
three old Lesser Terns and half a dozen Oystercatchers. At the
end of summer, at all events, food for little waders is very
abundant on the sands. On hot sunny mornings near the tide
edge Sand-hoppers swarm, especially near Aberdaron; as you
walk along they jump up literally in thick clouds. There were
a few little waders there sometimes. Ringed Plovers, young
and old, a Sanderling, and a Dunlin or two, and also some
Common Sandpipers, both there and at other places, rocky and.
sandy. At night I used to hear all these and also Golden Plover
and Curlew. The last-named, like Peewits, were to be seen
feeding on the grassy cliff tops and in the fields among the
sheep.

Shearwaters, at this time of year at all events, when the
Mackerel are in, are to be seen abroad until well on into the

SUMMER IN LLEYN. 101

forenoon. A boatman told me on the 27th that numbers of
‘“‘ Mackerel Cocks’ were round his boat early in the morning ;
and the next day, about 8.30 a.m.—a calm, hot morning—some
little way off shore where the Mackerel-boats were, I saw
numbers passing up and down in parties of about a dozen.
They kept a straight course for some distance, flying just over
the surface. Now all flapped their wings together a few times,
then all skimmed again. Presently all the little groups gathered
in one place where they were very busy flying up and down and
settling on the sea and rising again; they made a long black
line on the sea and there must have been great numbers of them.
I got a downy young one out of a hole. A most lovely little
thing; the grey down which covers most of the bird—an inch
and a quarter long on the back—is of a beautiful silky texture
and of a darkish pearl-grey with almost a blue-grey tinge. The
arrangement of the white on the under parts is very pretty. It
is more than twenty years since my old friend the late Rev.
H. A. Macpherson called my attention to it. Writing on board
the s.s. ‘ Claymore’ on his way from spending a week on Higgs,
he sent me a sketch of a downy young one lying belly upwards.
But as the young bird seems to be little known even now, I will
complete the description of it here. The white starts at the
chin, is continued down the neck and breast in a broad band to
the upper part of the belly, here it divides, and, enclosing a
patch of grey, joins again at the end of the body. Beak lead
colour. Legs marked almost as in the old bird, but the colours
less distinct. The little fellow uttered a lively “chirp” with a
piping sound about it.

Almost all the Guillemots and Razorbills had left the cliff
on St. Tudwal’s with what young ones they managed to rear
despite the Herring-Gulls, which rob them heavily. There were
a good many on the sea between the islands. Of the few
Guillemots left on the cliff only one or two had young that we
could see (they are taken off when quite small). We also saw
three eggs. The few that breed on Ynys Gwylan fawr had left
the rocks, and were scattered over the sea a little way off; but
there must have been some late breeding birds on the ledges at
Pen Cilan, for when walking along the top I could hear the loud
“arrrr’’ come up sometimes. The Shag is now the bird of the

102 THE ZOOLOGIST.

rocky points jutting far out. Some Cormorants and Shags flew
out of the big cave on St. Tudwal’s as we passed in the boat,
but I did not see any late Shags’ nests. Some years ago I
mentioned seeing a pair of Red Grouse on the Rivals, and it
turns out that these mountains have long been known to
harbour the lar Mynydd. Writing of Trer Caeri and the Rivals,
Pennant says (‘ Tours,’ 1773-6), ‘The space on the top is an
irregular area; part is steep, part flat: in most parts covered
with heath, giving shelter to a few Red Grouse.” The Grouse
on Rhiw, if any remain, are said to be found about the north
or north-east end towards Sarn; at the other end the bell-
heather and dwarf gorse are so thick and close you can almost
walk on the top of them in places—too thick for cover; there is
little ling.

Apart from the late-breeding sea-birds, the end of July is a
bad season for the ornithologist ; but a little time then may be
spent profitably in confirming one’s impressions gained in spring
of the status of the ordinary small birds. I found nothing new
in that way. I saw the Red-backed Shrike again near Mynydd
Mawr. Rock Pipits were very numerous on the islands. Stone-
chats were numerous, and I noticed some on the bleak open
table top of Rhiw. The Grey Wagtail haunted its old breeding-
place in Porth Saint. The Nightjar (‘‘Troell,” the spinning-
wheel) bred on Rhiw this year, and I heard two “ turring”’ at
Abersoch. A Starling seemed to be breeding late, for I saw it
go down the chimney of the deserted building on St. Tudwal’s
island on the 24th. I was more than ever struck with the
extraordinary abundance of the Blackbird, even at the far end
of Lleyn, about Aberdaron. Walking from there to Careg (where
woodland birds become more abundant) we passed on the road-
side a long heap of very rotten farmyard manure, and flushed
from it from a dozen to fifteen Blackbirds. They had scratched
it down on to the road, just as if a score of strong yard hens
had been at work. It was not an uncommon thing to come
upon birds of the year skulking in ditches and little gullies and
so tame that they merely shuffled their wings and cried “ tuck,
tuck’? when you were close to them. House-Martins were local
and rather scarce, but Swallows were in average numbers.
They breed about almost any farm or deserted building. Down

SUMMER IN LLEYN. 103

on the north shore is a little sandy cove called Porth Oer, with
Maen Mellt, a light-coloured rock as its name denotes, lying a
bit off shore. A lonely spot, and not less lonely looking for a
half-ruined shed with high-walled prison-like yard, built years
ago to store boat-borne coal in when mining was tried here. A
pair of Swallows had found this out, and had a nest with half-
fledged young, and what appeared to be the first brood flying
about. Maen Mellt appeared to be sometimes wave-washed and
useless for birds. In the dreary-looking low earth cliffs of Hell’s
Mouth, torn and rent by the fierce winter storms, are some
bands of sand. Here some Sand-Martins were breeding; the big
fledged young hurriedly retreated from the mouth of a burrow
when I looked in. The holes were deep. When sitting to enjoy
the remarkable view to be had from the Cromlech at Cefn
Amlwch (well figured by Cliffe in ‘The Book of North Wales,’
1851), I saw a number of Wood-Pigeons coming out of a wood
on the hillside and going into the barley and oats near. The
view from the beautifully placed Cromlech is one of the best in
this part of Wales, and includes Holyhead with the South Stack,
the best view of the Rivals (all three heads), and the Bird-Rock
backed by them; on the other side is Snowdon, and, further
round, the Merioneth mountains. Carn Madryn, a fine isolated
hump, lies just in front. The Peregrine reared young at two
nesting-places near Aberdaron this year, and, as usual, nested
on Pen Cilan, about one hundred feet above the sea and sixty
feet from the top. The Barn Owl bred in a hole ina quarry close
to Aberdaron, so far in that the eggs could not be reached with
a stick, but Moles and Rats were raked out. On my way home
I saw from the train on the Afon Wen meres Coots, Dabchick,
Moorhen, four or five Teal and Redshanks. I have not been
able to find out whether the last-named breed there or not. I
heard one night at Abersoch what I am pretty sure was the
hooting of a Tawny Owl.

I could not get to Bardsey myself this year. The big cliff
looked as if it had been burnt brown by the fine weather. But
Mr. T. A. Coward, who was on the island from June 14th to
16th, most kindly handed over his notes to me, with permission
to make use of them. Mr. Coward saw six birds there which I
did not, viz. the Stonechat, Swift, Redshank, Lesser Black-

104 THE ZOOLOGIST.

backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, and Puffin. I had remarked
with surprise the absence of the Stonechat when I was on the
island. Mr. Coward saw a male in an excited state, and he felt
sure that there was a female and nest somewhere near. It is
common on the mainland. There were many Swifts about, but
the nesting-place (if any) was not found. They wheeled round
the mountain and high above the fields, but were not heard
screaming round the farms. Many Puffins were seen about in
the tideway close in-shore, and Mr. Coward suspected that some
were breeding, but could not find where. On the other hand,
they may have been fishing, and have belonged to the warrens
on Ynys Gwylan not far away. Had they been breeding, some
would most likely have been seen on the land at that date, or
coming into or leaving the cliff. The other three species were
probably stragglers. Mr. Coward also saw the Pied Wagtail
(which I believed I saw), an old and young ones hardly strong
enough to have flown from the mainland. But, on the other
hand, he did not see eleven of the species that I saw. Four of
these were probably stragglers, though it is possible the Common
Sandpiper may breed. But the other seven I found fairly well
established or represented, viz. Willow-Wren (a few), Spotted
Flycatcher (several about farm gardens), House-Martin (several,
but not breeding), Sand-Martin (a few), Goldfinch (a pair at
least, and I believe more), Chaffinch (fairly common), and
Cuckoo (several). And it is strange that they should have had
such a poor hold on the locality. It is hardly possible that
some of them at all events would be overlooked by so good an
observer. We neither of us saw any Skylarks, Robins, Yellow
Buntings, or Wrens, though I feel sure the last-named must be
present. As Mr. Coward was there later in the season than I
was (May 28rd to 24th) he found the Razorbill and Guillemot
deeper in the business of breeding, and reports at least a score
of pairs of the former, and at the same place (Hast-side) a long
line of Guillemots on whitewashed ledges, fifty or sixty pairs at
the lowest estimate, and he thinks more likely some hundreds.
The Peregrines were still in possession. He secured a few
Long-tailed Field Mice, a Common Shrew, and found the
Palmated Newt. ;

I paid a very short visit to Lleyn in 1906 (May 29th to

SUMMER IN LLEYN. 105

June 4th), and, as usual at that time of the year, was much
troubled with windy weather. Going out to St. Tudwal’s
Islands the evening I arrived, with the wind strong and gusty
from the west, we found the sea so rough, especially under the
larger island, that I really thought we should have been swamped,
and we at one time thought we should not be able to get back
that night; when we did, I had literally ‘‘ not a dry rag on me.”
This is the worst of the Lleyn coast in May, when every day is
precious to the bird-man. I suppose the examination of a clutch
of six eggs (the only one I have heard of) of the Rock Pipit
repaid me for a very unpleasant time. The nest was on a ledge
of rock sheltered by grass and other plants. It was made of
dead grass, and lined with finer grass and a little hair. The
eggs were of the dark type. I may here mention that, shortly
before, a clutch of (four) the beautiful pink variety of these eggs
had been taken in Lleyn (17th), and sent to me. This variety
is very rare. The wind was so bad when we were on the upper
part of the island that we could not investigate very fully. A
Herring-Gull’s nest contained two very pale stone-coloured eggs
with small well-defined spots. Peregrines had often been about
the islands lately, and I saw one of the birds the next day on
Penrhyn du. The Herring-Gulls on the cliffs about Pistyll Cim
had nearly all got three eggs. The day after I arrived at Aber-
daron, despite the surf which was plainly visible round the base
of the islands, I tried to reach Ynys Gwylan fawr and fach, but
the swell was too much for us. We landed one youth, who was
particularly active, on the big island. A few Razorbills were
breeding about a low overhung shelf, almost a shallow cave, and
very difficult to get at. Three-quarters of the way up is a huge
nearly horizontal crack or fissure in the black rock forming the
back of the cave; inside this the birds were breeding. The
youth, after creeping up the face of the rock lke an expanded
spider, crawled into the crack and brought out two eggs, reporting
others so far in he could not reach them. We got him on board
with difficulty ; and found it impossible to land anyone on the
small island. Two days after the wind was off shore at last, and
taking four men in case the wind got up (which it duly did), I
visited both islands. As I climbed to the top of the bigger one
I saw a pair of Carrion-Crows rise and fly out with the crowd of

106 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Gulls—an odd contrast in colour. We found the nest on an
overhung ledge of rock (near the south end, where the island is
very rugged) so detached from the rest as to make the nest very
difficult if not impossible to reach. With a stick, however, we
took the two fresh eggs it contained. The nest was a very
slight affair for a Crow, with no more than a bed of dead plants
and some cow-hair (which must have come from the mainland)
and wool. The eggs were small and curiously brown—quite
abnormal in fact. I am inclined to think that this pair were
very old birds, which had chosen this unusual place to nest in
thinking they would be sure of getting an easy living among
plenty of young Gulls and eggs. The date, too, was extra-
ordinarily late for fresh eggs, and might have been postponed
- for the same reason. I saw a great many Herring-Gulls’ nests
with two or three eggs; all seemed fresh or only slightly
incubated. An Oystercatcher’s nest with one egg was merely a
hollow in the black soil of a cornice of rock and turf. The cries
of this bird can be heard a long way off. One evening when I
was on the headland off which the islands lie, the Oystercatchers
thereon were for some reason very excited and noisy; their cries
sounded surprisingly loud, although they were three or four
furlongs from where I stood. Two Puffin’s eggs I tried were
one-third sat upon in one case, and incubation begun in the
other. There is a little grass on the outer island and much
‘‘spurrey”’ (i. e. seaside sandwort-spurrey or sea-sandwort,
Spergularia rubra marina, or Arenaria rubra marina), of which,
together with Cochlearia, Armeria, and grass, the Gulls’ nests
are chiefly built. There is a deep rift or chasm which nearly
separates one part of this island from the rest; the bottom lies
very cold and shaded and into this Seals are said to come. ‘The
Bardsey men have told me that in cold weather about Christmas,
when they are crossing, they hear the Seals making a great
noise round the islands, ‘‘ crying like children.’”” When we were
going out in the morning, and standing out rather to the west
of the islands, a Storm Petrel passed us flying towards the
land. I was again assured that a man quarrying stone on the
shores of the bay uncovered a small black bird sitting on one
white egg.

I found a good many Puffins breeding all along the mainland,

SUMMER IN LLEYN. 107

from the east side of Trwyn y Penrhyn as far as Ogof Lwyd,
and one or two Razorbills looked as if they were nesting in the
cliff near the latter—a deep narrow inlet—where some Herring-
Gulls sat on their nests. A pair or two of these seem to breed
on the bare stack near Ebot off the shore here, and I think
Oystercatchers too, but I did not go out to it. No sea birds
seem to breed on Maen Gwenonwy. There are sheep on it, and
I think you can get there by a causeway at low tide. A pair of
Great Black-backed Gulls this year had built a big thick nest of
scurvy-grass, grass, sea-pink, and spurrey on bare jagged rock.
It contained three eggs, one of which was pale blue with lilac
markings. Corn-Crakes were as common as usual, and one
night I could hear two calling at the same time. The Red-
backed Shrike inhabited one former haunt at least.

Drayton, in the ninth song of his “ Polyolbion,’
sently at the rivers of Lleyn :—

’

mocks

“Then further cause of speech the mighty Snowdon brake
Least, if their wat’ry kind should suff’red be too long,
The license that they took might do the mountains wrong.
For quickly he had found that strait’ned Point of Land,
Into the Irish Sea which puts its pow’rful hand,

Puff'd with their wat’ry praise, grew insolently proud,
And needs would have his Rills for Rivers be allow’d:
Short Darent,* near’st unto the utmost point of all

That th’ Isle of Gelin + greets, and Bardsey in her fall ;
And next to her the Sawe,{ the Gir,§ the Er,|| the May,41
Must Rivers be at least, should all the World gainsay.”

The Daron is a pleasant stream at all events, and thanks to
mills, although I can step across it here and there, it makes a
respectable trout stream, its trout remarkable, it seemed to me,
for the large size of the red spots on their sides. Salmon, too,
run up the little river in floods, and a 12 |b. fish has been taken.
The two high bridges in Aberdaron, which generally look absurd,
spanning duck-polluted shallows where the water would not
run into your boots, will, after heavy rain, hardly take the
flood water coming down. The Daron valley running down the
length of the far end of Lleyn for some distance starts shallow

* Darent = Daron. + Gelin = Gwylan.

} Sawe = Soch. § Gir = Penrhos.
|| Er = Erch. S|] May = Dwyfach.

1038 ‘THE ZOOLOGIST.

among the upland fields, where Peewits scream around you, and
after burrowing down deeply through the high ground which
overlooks the village, joins that of the Afon Mawr, and the
united streams, rippling through the pebbles of the little beach,
are lost in the surf-beaten sand. This little valley presents a
great contrast to the wind-swept high ground on each side, and
harbours birds which you might think you left behind when you
penetrated the promontory by the high road which runs down
its backbone. But its green meadows are often broken with
bramble and other bushes, and its sides clothed with gorse and
bramble and bracken and some shrubs. And near the fine old
house and mill called ‘“‘ Bodwrdda”’ it is even wooded with low
trees, chiefly ash, big enough to have Green Woodpeckers’ holes
in them, and for a Sparrow-Hawk to lay its eggs this year. One
afternoon I noticed no fewer than four Chiffchaffs in song about
the bushed sides of the valley. Linnets, Whitethroats, and
Yellow Buntings of course breed anywhere about the cliffs when
they are bushed; and indeed one ivied cliff a little way up the
cwm of the Afon Saint, with some brambles at the foot, was
inhabited by a Chiffchaff. But up the valley you find Mistletoe
Thrushes (called here Caseg y Drychin = Mare of the bad
weather), Song-Thrushes, not numerous in the rest of that
neighbourhood, Spotted Flycatchers, Greenfinches, Sedge- War-
blers, and Wood-Pigeons. There are Moorhens, too, and I put
a bird off her seven eggs in the grassy bank at the edge of the
stream. Nest, properly speaking, there was none, merely a hole
in the ground very slightly lined.

( 109 )

A PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE MANNER IN WHICH
THE OYSTERCATCHER (HA4MATOPUS OSTRA-
LEGUS) ATTACKS THE PURPLE-SHELL (PUR-
PURA LAPILLUS).

By J. M. Dewar.

Tue Oystercatcher feeds upon the contents of the Purple-
Shell to a limited extent it is true, yet sufficiently to justify its
inclusion among the forces which control the numbers of this
predatory mollusc. The opened shells which I have collected
yary from three-quarters of an inch to one inch in extreme
length from apex to base. The shells are detached from the
rock with apparent ease. The Oystercatcher passes or forces
its bill well under the shell, and by a quick lateral movement of
the head tips the shell over so that the aperture looks upwards.
In this position it is seized crosswise within the tips of the man-
dibles, and carried to a suitable place; it may be a little crack
in which the shell is laid lengthwise, or a slight hollow in the
rock, or very often a patch of firm sand. These advantages are
optional, and room to work in seems to be the main object.
Having set down the shell the Oystercatcher pushes its bill over
the outer lip in a downward direction, introducing into the aper-
ture the upper mandible alone. Through the point of the latter
it administers a number of hammer-like blows, or, resting the
point on the interior, a series of powerful thrusts, or pressing
firmly and continuously it moves its head slowly from side to
side, as if imparting a rolling motion to the shell in the direction
of its long axis. If the bird is successful, a fragment is displaced
from the under side of the shell. It is disc-shaped, and about a

quarter of an inch in diameter. The edge may be straight,
more usually it is bevelled inwards. The circular opening to
which the dise corresponds is divided into two parts by the
margin of the operculum, thus proving that the point of the
upper mandible is pushed into the angular recess between the
operculum and the inner wall. This marks the end of the first
stage, and frequently it is never reached, many of the shells
being strong enough to resist the efforts of the Oystercatcher.

110 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The rolling motion to which allusion has been made can be
demonstrated experimentally when the bill or other instrument
is introduced into the aperture as near the apex of the shell as
possible. The terminal portion rests in a vertical furrow, and
when the upper end is oscillated in the direction of the long axis
of the shell the latter rocks to and fro; as it rises on the apex
the part directly under the bill, being unsupported, is driven out
with moderate force in the typical form of a disc.

At the second stage the shell is turned over so that the
normal aperture looks downwards or to one side. The Oyster-
catcher picks up and drops the shell to make it roll until it
rests in the desired position. Usually one rolling is sufficient,
but it may have to be repeated once or twice. From its form
the shell can come to rest in one or other of two approximate
positions—with the abnormal opening looking upwards, or with
the aperture uppermost when the abnormal opening looks to one
particular side. It cannot face the other side, because the shell
will at once roll into its original position. When the abnormal
opening looks upwards—perhaps the more common result—the
Oystercatcher pushes its bill into the body whorl towards the
ground and the apex of the shell, and then lowers its head in
one swift, powerful movement. The outer lip appears to form
the fulcrum of the lever. By its inclination away from the axis
of the shell and by its sharp edge it resists the tendency of the
shell to revolve. ‘This resistance, however, must be increased
by the line of leverage being as much as possible in the long
axis of the shell. The methods applicable at the first stage may
be used instead of that just described. When the abnormal
opening looks to one side the Oystercatcher may employ that
method, but a considerable part of the leverage will be wasted
before the sharp edge of the outer lip bites the ground, and
generally the methods of the first stage are adopted, the upper
mandible alone passing through the abnormal opening, and
travelling as much as possible towards the ground and the apex
of the shell. Probably there is here an inclination towards the
continuous pressure and rocking mancuvre. ‘The result is
strikingly uniform. A second piece of shell is driven out on the
side of the first abnormal opening nearer the apex and further
from the aperture. Nearly twice the diameter of the first disc,

NOTE ON THE OYSTERCATCHER. 111

it is a semilune, the circumference of the circle of which it forms
part intersecting that of the first opening. The edge is either
straight or bevelled inwards. This second and larger portion is
found rarely in one piece. The greater part of the contents is
now accessible. The mollusc is removed piecemeal, each part
being seized and shaken from the shell in three or four mouth-
fuls. Just as the Oystercatcher may fail at the first stage, so
it may be unequal to the second. In this event it removes
through the first opening as much of the soft parts as are within
reach.

On sand the shell sinks under the force applied to it with an
inclination towards that side on which the force is greater, and
one can learn indirectly by which method the force was applied.
During the second stage a column of sand rises through the
aperture to the first opening, and, adhering to the flesh, obscures
much of it, or renders it distasteful. On the other hand, one
may suppose that the yielding sand diminishes the shock which
the bill has to sustain.

So far I have sketched what appears to be the general mode
of attack, and what is certainly its common result when the
attack is successful. The ideal result seems to be the extrusion
of a piece of shell, equal in area to that of the two discs, at the
first stage, so that the Oystercatcher can clear out the contents
of the shell with the minimum of trouble. The extruded por-
tion may be in one piece, or broken up into two or more
fragments. The gap formed in the shell is irregularly pear-
shaped or elliptical in outline, and does not show the symmetrical
dentation characteristic of the type. Sometimes the Oyster-
catcher, falling short of its ideal as it were, is content to make
the first small opening, and, without reversing the position of the
shell, to remove a portion of the soft parts by poking its bill in
from below.

As to the frequency with which the Oystercatcher attacks
the Purple-Shell, my own experience indicates that the act
occurs locally and very irregularly. Days pass, and no opened
shell is seen on the feeding-grounds; on single days I have
gathered eight or nine. A habit may be developed on parts of
the extended coast-line of this and other countries, but there are
reasons why it should not be. I happened to witness an Oyster-
catcher attack seven shells in succession. It failed to gain

112 THE ZOOLOGIST.

access to four of them. One, after being submitted to a second
bout of hammering, was picked up, shaken violently, even
passionately, and then thrown away. To have four failures
out of seven attempts is bad, and, though it is not truly repre-
sentative, yet the average must be high, much higher than with
Mussels, Limpets, &e. With these, if one may put it so, the
Oystercatcher has a reasonable prospect of success, provided
that it attends to what are presumably the conditions of success,
and it can satisfy its wants with great rapidity. On the other
hand, the Oystercatcher has no security whatever that it can
open a Purple-Shell, and the process is apt to be infinitely
tedious. ‘The seven shells in the example I have given were
dealt with in the space of about twenty minutes. In the same
time an Oystercatcher can account for seven times seven Mussels
with a fraction of the labour expended.

It may be noteworthy that the Oystercatcher appears in-
variably to carry the shell crosswise in the bill from the place
where it was found to the place where it is to be opened, and yet
holds it by the outer lip in making any subsequent movements.
The relation of the bill to the aperture and the margin of the
first opening during the application of force to the shell is
also a little obscure. It is clear—-in theory, at least—that if
the shell be held firmly the under side will be crushed and im-
paled in the soft parts which are generally refused in that con-
dition by the Oystercatcher. The evidence, however, both direct
and indirect, points the other way. When it is hammered the
shell does not rise with the bill between two successive blows,
and it appears to have a slight mobility independent of the
movements of the bill. The fragments are driven out and not
inwards, which, in consideration of the mechanical construction
of the shell, is by far the better plan. On the assumption that,
to produce the desired result, the shell must be held loosely, it
would seem simpler and more effective to put the point of the
whole bill inside the shell, but I have not been able to assure
myself that the Oystercatcher ever does so. At present, 1
suppose that the lower mandible is kept outside the shell for the
express purpose of preventing or arresting any tendency to
lateral movement. Aslongas the shell is rocked in the direction
of its length it is perfectly steady, but its behaviour is uncertain
whenever the movement takes the line of its shorter axis.

(EDs. *)

NOTES ON THE MAMMALS OF ISLAY.
By Haroup RussEwu.

So little is known about the exact distribution of mammals
in the Inner Hebrides that a few notes and observations on the
fauna of Islay may be worth recording. Having visited the
island on numerous occasions in the last twelve years, I at-
tempted, in August and September, 1909, to trap and identify
some of the smaller mammals. A reward offered for any Mice
(other than House-Mice) brought to me by school children
proved fairly successful. Foxes, Badgers, and Wild Cats are
unknown in Islay. I have found no trace of the existence of
Hedgehogs, Weasels, or Squirrels. Of all our small mammals,
Moles are most easily detected if present, and I am satisfied that
there are none in Islay.

Bats are fairly common, but I did not obtain any specimens,
and all that I saw on the wing appeared to belong to the common
small species, Vesperugo pipistrellus (Schreb.).

Common Surew (Sorex araneus).—I obtained three Shrews,
which I suspected belonged to this species, and Mr. Oldfield
Thomas, of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington,
was good enough to examine and name them for me. ‘The
measurements of the first one, freshly killed, were as follows :—
Head and body = 74 mm.; tail=38 mm. ; hind foot = 13 mm.
This, so far as I know, is the first time that S. araneus has been
identified from Islay. Messrs. J. A. Harvie-Brown and T. E.
Buckley (‘Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides,’
1892, p. 8) state that the Lesser Shrew (S. minutus) is the species
‘‘ which alone inhabits the Isles.’ This is certainly incorrect.
I did not obtain any Lesser Shrews, but have no reason to
believe that the two species do not exist together.

Sroats (Mustela erminea) appear to be fairly common, in
spite of much trapping by keepers. They undergo great variety of
seasonal variation. A collection of pure white skins made by

Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., March, 1910. — K

114 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the keepers of Islay House has been made into a handsome
sarment of ermine.

Orrers (Lutra vulgaris) are common, especially round the
coast. The keepers believe that they travel between Islay and
Jura, and seldom stay long in one place. There is a pure white
skin preserved at Islay House. It was got from an animal
killed a short time ago, and another white Otter was reported on
the Sorn last summer. It is said that there is a third preserved
at Kildalton House, which looks as though albinism was not
uncommon.

Common Seats (Phoca vitulina) are plentiful.

Grey Sxau (Halicherus gryphus).—I am told that a few pairs
of this large and rare Seal still breed on a spot that need not be
exactly specified. A short time ago a man named Macphee went
there in a boat, and carried off two young ones, intending to
rear and tame them. The enraged mother pursued the boat,
and put her flippers over the gunwale, which so terrified Mac-
phee that he let the little ones go. That these were young Grey
Seals is borne out by the fact that this took place in October,
when that species produces its offspring. Phoca vitulina breeds
in May or June.

Rep-DrEErR (Cervus elaphus).—There are two distinct herds of
Deer on the island. The first inhabits the large woods round
Islay House. The numbers are rigorously kept down by periodic
Deer-drives. The herd seldom falls below ten, and has, I am
told, sometimes reached thirty. Thesecond herd is much larger,
and inhabits the wilder and higher ground on the north-west
side of the island. It probably numbers several hundred. Mr.
Martin, of Dunlossit, told me that in 1908 twenty-six stags and
nine hinds were killed on his ground. The Islay herds are
frequently recruited by fresh blood from Jura, where there is a
well-known forest. The stags constantly swim across the Sound.

Fautow-DeeEr (C. dama) were introduced about a century ago
by the Campbells of Islay. The herd at onetime is said to have
numbered over five hundred. Now there are less than one hun-
dred, and the numbers are slowly decreasing. The Fallow-Deer
rarely if ever leave the Kildalton Woods.

Ror-DeeEr (Capreolus caprea) are apparently indigenous, but
not numerous. So farasIcan discover there are nonein the woods

NOTES ON THE MAMMALS OF ISLAY. 115

round Islay House, and not many in the woods round Kildalton
and Dunlossit. The increase of dogs, who destroy the helpless
fawns, is said to account for some of the decrease, but in-
breeding may also have something to do with it. So far as I
know no Roe-Deer have been introduced.

Lona-TaAILED Firup-Movusrt (Aprodemus sylvaticus). — This
Species appears to be fairly plentiful. I trapped several in
ordinary mouse-traps in the woods, and saw numbers of holes.

Hovsse-Movuse (Mus musculus) is plentiful, and so are Rats
(M. decumanus), wherever there are human habitations.

Water-Voie (Arvicola amphibia). — Messrs. Harvie-Brown
and Buckley mention this species as possibly existing in Islay,
but, as they suggest, the observer quoted was almost certainly
mistaken. I have looked carefully, when fishing, for any traces
without discovering them. At one spot on the Sorn I found a
colony of brown land Rats who frequented the water’s edge and
had made holes.

Firxip-Voue (Microtus agrestis).—A nest of three young Voles
was discovered in a rick and brought to me. The old ones
escaped. Mr. Oldfield Thomas named the young for me. The
nest I sent to Mr. Charles Rothschild, hoping that some rare
fleas might ~be bred from it, but I believe that nothing was
obtained. I saw no holes that gave the impression of belonging
to these Voles, and do not think they are common.

Common Hares (Lepus europeus) are not abundant. It is
said that they were originally introduced. This is the only Hare
in Islay.

Rassits (L. cuniculus) are exceedingly abundant both in the
woods and on the sand-hills round the coast. Hnormous num-
bers are killed annually. Black varieties are common.

116 THE ZOOLOGIST.

NOTES (AN DO WE PEs:

MAMMALIA.

“ Hardistrow,” a Name for the Shrew.—lI have recently noticed an
attempt to connect the name “ Hardistrow”’ (a name given to the
Shrew) with ‘ Harvest,” through the name “ Harvest-trow”’ given by
Jefferies. It may therefore be well to point out that there is no
connection between the two words. The form of this old name for
the Shrew in local use in Oxfordshire is ‘‘ Hardy-Shrew,’ or more
commonly ‘“ Hardy-Mouse.” It is a corruption of ‘“‘HErdshrew” or
‘‘Krdmouse,” and would of course be written ‘“‘ Ardymouse,” if it
were not for the English habit of putting in the letter ‘‘H’’ wherever
possible. ‘‘Erd”’ is derived by Professor Bell from the Anglo-Saxon
Horth= Earth ; but we may get nearer the sound of our local name
by comparing the Dutch word for earth, aarde. Uardyshrew or
Hardymouse means simply Earthshrew or Earthmouse, and is a very
appropriate name.—O. V. APLIN.

AVES.

Irregular Appearance of Blackbird. —It may be interesting to
place on record the fourth annual visit of the White-headed Black-
bird (Turdus merula) mentioned in ‘The Zoologist’ for 1908 (p. 312).
In July last I began to look out for him, but he did not arrive till
August 2nd. He remained as usual for a few days, and then dis-
appeared till the middle of September; from that date he remained,
and could be seen daily till early in November. At the time of his
final departure he was really a remarkable-looking bird, his head and
shoulders being snow-white, and the rest of his body jet-black. I can
only hope that he will be as secure in his other places of resort as he
is here. —R. H. Ramsspotuam (Elmhurst, Garstang).

Black-tailed Godwits in Cork Harbour.—LEarly last month (Feb-
ruary) a flock of eleven Black-tailed Godwits revisited the mud-banks
near Blackrock (the feeding-ground where they were seen by Mr.
W. B. Barrington last October), and at my request a specimen was
shot some days afterwards near Rochestown, about February 1oth.
This flock was evidently the same (the numbers being similar as those
of the flock seen in October), but had probably between dates changed
their haunts to some other part of the wide expanse of mud-banks of

\

NOTHS AND QUERIES. 117

that part of the Lee Estuary. It is, I believe, unusual for this species
to remain for any time where they may rest when on migration.
However, I think it may be assumed that this flock remained about
the harbour all through the winter. This species visits the east and
south coasts of Ireland much oftener than the west, where it is a very
rare visitor, and has come under my notice only on five occasions
during a period of forty years’ wildfowl shooting in the Moy Estuary,
Killala Bay. In May, 1863, I was shown a beautiful specimen in
summer plumage, shot on the tidal part of the Moy between Castle-
connor and Ballina. On Nov. 6th, 1876, I secured a bird in immature
plumage by a shot from my punt-gun, by the same shot obtaining
one Bar-tailed Godwit, thirteen Lapwings, and thirteen Redshanks.
On June 29th, 1878, I observed a pair in the beautiful summer
plumage among a flock of Bar-tailed Godwits on the sands near
Bartragh, none of the latter showing any red. On Sept. 3rd, 1881,
I was shown an immature bird, shot by a young friend on the sands
near Roserk Abbey. This is all the experience that I have had of
this species during my forty years’ punt-shooting, and shows what a
rare visitor it is to our west coast, where the Bar-tailed is so nume-
rous, and many of them remaining all through the summer, none
leaving the estuary sands for their arctic breeding-grounds.— RoBERT
WarREN (Ardnaree, Monkstown, Co. Cork).

Incubation and Fledging Periods in Birds. — As records of the
periods of development of nestlings are even less frequent than
records of incubation—although surely not of less interest—it may
perhaps be worth while to set down what scanty notes I have been
able to make on the subject during the last few seasons. Incubation
periods are included for the sake of completion, though these are no
doubt fairly well known, in the commoner species at all events :—

Period of Incubation. Fledging Period.

MistleRhrushe 22.t.2... 13-14 days...... 13-14 days
pong-Thrush -.....2..... UA, SEs Tae) ey a
a lae@kbirdems.ececccs sec OU es 8c 13=14;;
Wihitethroat 9......2.5.: WEES OTe ee A 1 te
Willow-Wren............ DIES Sh Sere ona ilk} =) Ae
Sedge-Warbler ......... ee Goode ISjsil4b
Hedge-Sparrow..... ... HN TGS eae ee. te =e
iD SPOR Ge eeme ee seesies TDS oP carte ame eD ?
IEsrol \Weyedienlll ao oweacoooen Ree ya BSc 13 ‘i
Spotted Flycatcher .... 13-14 ,, ...... 1183 a
Swallow: seseecees cstece Hill OMe eee GO}
Greeniinghie:eiess N= AS ie eee aes 1133 v

118 THE ZOOLOGIST.

. Period of Incubation. Fledging Period.

SUH WaT ean seaabennneancoe 12-13 days...... 21-22 days
MBS PIG Ps. sonnets a setee tT olS shy, vee. 29-30 __,,
@arrion=Crowmessseeees USS) Coe) Senses 35a
RUOO Kantee ss. aan eh areas IGT SAR ee yp l—ai0) 5.
Long-eared Owl......... PAS =BO)) 18h) 9 Gaodoo eae
Sparrow-Hawk ......... 30 =e eee 23-3 0a
Mioorhen) ss..seeeeeee =), One eee oe

As individual birds vary to some degree in commencement and
constancy of incubation, there is some slight difference in incubation
periods to be observed at times. For instance, two Song-Thrushes,
nesting close together in a shrubbery, commenced laying on the
same day, laid the same number of eggs, and yet one bird hatched its
brood at least twelve hours in advance of the other. Amongst
Passerines laying is very regular as a rule, one egg being deposited
each day until the clutch is complete. There are individual excep-
- tions, however. For example, I have known an instance of a Grey
Wagtail which laid two eggs of its clutch in regular course, missed
the third day, and laid again on the fourth and fifth. Hawks and
Owls are well known to lay only every second or third day. A
Partridge, whose nest was kept under daily observation from the
time it contained two eggs, took eighteen or nineteen days to com-
plete its clutch of sixteen eggs. It is an interesting fact that some
species of birds lay earlier in the day than others. Mistle- and Song-
Thrushes, for instance, do not lay as a rule earlier than 8 or 9 a.m.,
according to my observations, and I have known a Mistle-Thrush
delay until almost noon. MRooks also are late layers. Hedge-
Sparrows, on the other hand, seem to lay either during the night or
at daybreak. Swallows and Starlings are notable exceptions to the
average small bird in the period required by their young to fledge.
It is possible that young Starlings, if reared in an open nest, might
fly at as early an age as young Blackbirds or Thrushes, but young
Swallows have no impediment to prevent an early flight.—S. E.
Brock (Kirkliston, West Lothian).

Geng)

EDITORIAL GLEANINGS.

Last autumn we received a circular on ‘Swine Husbandry and
Bacon Production,’ by Mr. Loudon M. Douglas, Lecturer on the Meat
Industry, Edinbugh, and for want of space have been unable to refer
to it before in these pages. The following extracts are both economi-
cally important and zoologically interesting :—

“From day to day the evidence continues to accumulate showing
that the bacon markets of the world are hopelessly disorganized, and
that in so far as swine husbandry is concerned we are passing through
a critical time. It is, in fact, a curious state of affairs, and calls for
special comment not only from all who are interested in the prosperity
of agriculture, but from those also who are specially concerned with
securing steady markets in the provision trade. Apparently the
shortage began about the beginning of the present year (1909), and
has been more especially marked in the United Kingdom, but it exists
also in the United States, Canada, and Denmark, these being the
principal bacon-curing countries of the world. In the United States
the outlook is indeed a serious one, not only for that country itself,
but for the export trade. Actual records show, for example, that the
number of hogs packed on what is known as the Western Markets,
and which include Chicago, Kansas, South Omaha, St. Louis, Cincin-
nati, and other towns to the number of sixteen, as also smaller towns
in the same territories, exhibit a very considerable shortage as com-
pared with last year (1908). From March Ist to September 1st in
each year the figures were as follows :—

Number of pigs packed on Western Markets, U.S.A.

QOS a *. 12,975,000
WSS) > ec aM, eee ll 730,000
Shortage ... as -.. 1,240,000

“Naturally, under such circumstances, we turn to our home con-
ditions in order to see if anything is being done to avert the coming
famine, and at the very outset are met with the figures from the pre-
liminary statement just issued (1909) by the Board of Agriculture, in
which the numbers of live stock in the United Kingdom are given.
We find that there is a lamentable shortage of pigs as compared with
last year (1908). ‘The figures are as follows :—

120 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Agricultural Returns up to June 4th im each Year.

1909. 1908.
Sows kept for breeding ae ... 016,552 369,476
Other pigs Wee bo ; ... 2,064,335 2,454,006
Totals... ei ... 2,380,887 2,823,482

“These show a decrease of 52,924, or 14:32 of breeding sows as
compared the one year with the other, and a total decrease in the pig
supply of Great Britain of 442,595, or 15:7 per cent. In so far as
Ireland is concerneda very considerable shortage is also to be recorded
here, and unfortunately one of the items is a smaller number of breed-
ing sows of about 20,000.

‘Tt will thus be seen that we have reached a perilous condition
in so far as swine husbandry and bacon curing is concerned. The
demand for pig products goes on increasing from year to year, and it
seems difficult to understand why farmers do not endeavour to culti-
vate pigs to a greater extent. Year in and out they yield a larger
profit than any other live stock, inasmuch as they can be fed on food
which would otherwise be wasted. It is true that at the moment
feeding meal is dear, but even at the present price of 9s. per cwt.
there is a handsome profit in pig feeding. In ordinary times there is
a good profit with pigs fetching 42s. per cwt. dead weight. Such a
figure pays the farmer and pays the bacon curer. At the moment,
however, the dead weight of pigs is about sixpence per pound, and
in some markets rather more.”

“A miLuion birds have been slaughtered each year for several years
past in the Hawaiian Islands’ bird reservation by Japanese, according
to Captain F'. D. Walker, of the Government cutter ‘Thetis,’ which
effected a recent capture of Japanese on Midway Island. That
island, and all others in the group with the exception of Laysan, are
said to have lost practically all their once teeming bird population. é
There is no evidence of any marketing of birds’ skins and feathers in
Honolulu, says a despatch to the Toronto ‘Globe,’ the poacher’s spoils,
it is said, being sold by Osaka merchants in London, Paris, and New -
York. The bird poaching, it is believed, is handled direct from Japan.
Japanese schooners, ostensibly in the shark-fishing business, are fre-
quent callers in the bird island group, which stretches north-west from
Hawaii. Capt. Walker says the birds were so tame on all the islands
that they could be caught by hand. The poachers, he states, captured
them, cut off their wings, and left the helpless creatures to die a slow
death.” —Pall Mall Gazette, Feb. 18th, 1910.

348-4 hy XX : pp. Denes Bo. Hird gilt oe

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AUTOBIOGRAPHY & CORRESPONDENCE.
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With Portrait and Thirty Plates, and more than Eighty
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Ornithologica Notes from Denmar EE
Summer in Lleyn, with some other Notes on the Bird
Aplin, 99. ae
___ A Preliminary Note on the Manner in which the Ovatonuiehes Op a
ee legus) attacks the Purple-Shell (Purpura lapillus), J. M. ae 109 j

‘

Notes on the Mammals of Islay, Harold Russell, 113.
2 Norns aND QUERIES :—
Mammatta.—* Hardistrow,” a Name for the Shrew, O. V. Aplin, M6.

Aves.—Irregular Appearance of Blackbird, R H. Ramsbotham, 116. Blac

tailed Godwits in Cork Harbour, Rober Warren, 116. Incubation and

3 Fledging Periods in Birds, S. EH. Bnplls meee M
ae EDITORIAL GLEANINGS, 119-120.

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<a ea
Favs see

Zool. 1910.

Plate I.

LIGHTHOUSE.

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JkY-LARKS AND STARLINGS AT C

BEE ZOOLOGIST

No. 826.—April, 1910.

ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT FOR NORFOLK (1909).

By J. H. Gurney, F.Z.8.
(Assisted by other Norfolk Naturalists.)

(Puate I.)

Tue year 1909 had not any great surprises in store for the
ornithological enthusiast, but Norfolk obtained visits from a few
rare migrants, and our county, together with Suffolk, had its
share in the great irruption of Crossbills.

The passage of Crows, Rooks, and Woodcocks in March,
when the direction of their flight was northward and eastward,
was marked, but the autumn migration presented no features
calling for remark. Statistics and observations on the emigra-
tion of birds in spring are more needed than notes about their
immigration in the autumn, for we have plenty of the latter so
far as Norfolk and Suffolk are concerned, but exceedingly few of
the former.

The principal rarities to be registered have been the flock of
Black Brents in January, the Black-breasted Dipper in February,
the Avocets and Alpine Swift in July, the Ortolan Buntings in
September, and the Glossy Ibises in August and December. A
Stork was doubtfully reported in the Wash, but that and the
Flamingo and the Snow-Geese at Holkham may have been
purposely turned-out birds.

1909 will be known as the “‘ Crossbill year,” for the irrup-
tion of these strange gipsy rovers, if not the largest as yet

known, has at any rate been better recorded, with dates more
Zool, 4th ser. vol. XIV., April, 1910. L

122 THE ZOOLOGIST.

fully registered, both in British and in foreign journals, than
any which preceded it. The first-comers were for the most part
noted in places along the coast, and a few met their fate on
ships. But it was amongst the great belts of Scotch fir and
larch-wood in the south-west of Norfolk and the part of Suffolk
adjoining that the later flocks were found. Here they became
almost plentiful—particularly in the neighbourhood of Brandon,
Thetford, Swaffham, and Didlington—and their ranks evidently
continued to receive accessions up to Christmas, if not later.
Indeed, the great feature of the 1909 movement has been the
length of time it went on, in which it differed essentially from
the great migrations of other species of birds; yet I imagine
that these latest comers had worked their way to Norfolk by
stages from other parts of England. The Crossbill has been a
well-known Norfolk bird since the middle of the seventeenth
century, but in looking through the late Henry Stevenson’s
notes I can find no record of any irruption like the present one.
The last occasion when there was any number of these wanderers
was in 1898, but the numbers then fell far below what 1909 has
brought us.

The Luminous Owl.—Referring to the luminous Barn-Owl,
which gave rise to so much controversy, it may be mentioned
that it is still alive, or at any rate was so in February, and on the
same property where it was before, but is no longer so bright as
it was. Luminous Barn-Owls, I learn from Mr. L. Ternier, have
recently (December, 1909) made an appearance in Spain, where
two were seen.

I believe I said before that the figures which are employed
in these Notes for denoting the force of the wind, are the same as
used at the Meteorological Office. Force 2 is a gentle wind, force 4
a stiff breeze, force 6 a gale; but it has to be recollected that
readings on the sea-coast give a higher strength than the same
made inland. That anyone who wishes to study migration on
the East Coast must take the wind into account I feel more and
more convinced. It is a factor which has not been sufficiently
considered hitherto by those who note the direction in which
flights of birds are going. The rainfall for 1909 was 26°95 in.

I have to acknowledge the assistance of the Rev. M. C. Bird
and Mr. E. C. Arnold in drawing up the following Notes.

ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT FOR NORFOLK. 123

JANUARY.

The year opened with a mild day; the snowall gone. Beyond
the presence of a few Goosanders, a brace of Whooper Swans
seen by Mr. L. C. Farmer, and a Goldeneye at Hoveton, there
is not much in my note-book to record. On the 21st the frost
set in again, and on the 25th, with eleven degrees, a frozen-out
Swant was seen to fly over Keswick, probably only a Mute Swan.

9th.—Mr. Bird notes twelve Long-eared Owls seen, a Greater
Spotted Woodpecker, and a ‘‘trip”’ of Goldfinches, and two
days afterwards five Goldeneye Ducks in their handsome adult
plumage, which is only to be met with after Christmas.

19th.—During this month and the last days of December,
1908, Mr. F. Coburn, of Birmingham, obtained no fewer than
fourteen examples of the Pacific, or Black, Brent Goose (Bernicla
nigricans (Laur.) )—of which a figure is given in ‘ The Zoologist ’
for 1908 (Plate I1.)—from King’s Lynn, all of which had been
shot in the Wash, and were possibly members of one and the
same flock. Two of them were killed on Jan. 19th, and seven
more on the 26th. This is a valuable series, as Mr. Coburn has
now all grades from the first plumage without any white on the
neck up to adults of both sexes. He now considers that at all
ages and seasons, and in both sexes, the black or slaty-black
under parts are constant, and that after the first plumage there
is always a larger amount of white on the neck. He finds
females to be of a paler slaty black than males.

29th.—An adult Iceland Gull, shot on the Thurne, near
Yarmouth, as I learn from Mr. E. C. Saunders, who also informs
me that a younger one was killed near there on the 20th, but I
have not seen these.

FEBRUARY.

1st.—The Pied Wagtail returned to Keswick with its accus-
tomed regularity, and, as signs of spring, on the 4th the Sky-Lark
and Robin were in song at Brunstead.

10th.—A Black-breasted Dipper shot at Coltishall, where it
had been about for several days (8S. H. Long). Mr. Barclay
informs me that his keeper’s dog put up a Bittern when searching
a reed-bed at Hoveton for a wounded Duck. Of course it was
not shot; indeed, there is now a general desire among Broad-

owners to protect Bitterns.
L 2

124 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Marcu.

7th.—Mr. G. Jary reports nearly two hundred Wigeon on
Breydon Broad; migrants no doubt, probably travelling north.

11th.—N.E., 8. Rooks and Grey Crows migrating to the
north, i. e. against the wind, at Catfield (M. C. Bird).

18th.—S., 8. From 7.380 a.m. to 11 o’clock Grey Crows were
passing Northrepps, which is one mile from the sea, flying
towards the south-east and against the wind. This movement
seaward takes place every year as regularly as March comes
round. The same observer saw them again on the 28rd and
25th, and on April 1st, mingled as usual with Rooks and Jack-
daws. We know far less about the spring migration than we do
about the autumn immigration of birds, but about the Corvide
we do know something at this period.

19th.—§.S.E., 8. Sky three parts clouded, passing showers.

20th.—S.S.W., overcast and misty. A great number of
Sky-Larks and Starlings at Cromer Lighthouse, attracted in the
usual way by the light shining through the fog, in the rays of
which they fluttered around. Mr. Pender, the principal, tells
me that one hundred and forty-four Larks and four hundred
Starlings were taken at the lantern by his men, and that the
four stays of the flagstaff, which stands some twenty feet away
from the lighthouse, were simply packed with birds. So many
of them were there that the Starlings were sitting one upon
another on the stays, while a bunch on the top of the flagstaff
gave it the appearance of being surmounted by a large bowl.
There were also Plovers and Curlews flying round, but none of
these came in contact with the glass. A heap of the slain are
shown in the photograph (Plate I.). I believe the men make
them into pies.

21st.—W., overcast. Last night, as well as the night before,
Happisburgh Lighthouse, which is eleven miles from Cromer,
presented a similar spectacle, namely, a congregation of birds
which had lost their way in the fog. I learn from Mr. Gentry,
who is in charge, that the gallery around the lantern, as well as
the rails, was packed with Starlings, but no mention is made of
Larks. Lapwings and Curlews were also seen. All these birds
were probably on their way out to sea, and about to leave this
country for the summer.

ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT FOR NORFOLK. 125

27th.—W.N.W., 2. Nearly thirty Woodcocks flushed by the
gamekeeper at Northrepps, the most he ever remembers putting
up in a day; they probably came with the high north-west
wind (force 5) yesterday, and were waiting for a change before
passing the North Sea. They were not molested, and after
this year Woodcocks will be protected in Norfolk from Feb. 1st.

31st.—About this date a drake hybrid between the Nyroca
Duck and the Pochardt—a cross to which Bartlett gave the name
of Fulagula ferinotdes—was received by the Hon. E. §. Montagu
from near Potter Heigham.

APRIL.

18th.—S.W., 2. My only entry for April is that the first
Spoonbills, three in number—spring migrants, true to their
usual time of coming—were seen on the mud-flats of Breydon
Broad, where Mr. Jary had them in view off and on until the
29th, and carefully protected them from all roving gunners. On
one occasion they even had the temerity to alight on the Marine
Parade (A. Patterson), but no one violated their security. At
the same time one was seen at Cley by Mr. Pinchin.

May.

1st.—N.N.E., varying to N.W. Two more Spoonbills seen
by Jary, probably not the same as those which left Breydon
on the 29th.

6th.—A north-easterly gale, force 6. Mr. Jary writes :—
“This morning I counted one hundred and ninety-six Bar-tailed
Godwits and Grey Plover in one flock on the mud-flats ; wind
east, from which quarter it has been blowing for several days,
and very strong.” What effect the gale had at Cley and
Blakeney I was not informed, but inland Ruffs and Reeves felt
it, for Mr. Bird tells me that there were quite one hundred on
one of the Broads the following day, as well as a Greenshank,
an Oystercatcher, and some Cormorants. It is only to be ex-
pected that birds should be brought up in theircourse and detained
by a gale, which stops all their intended nocturnal progress over-
head, and consequently they descend to the muds and marshes,
and have to wait until it abates. The wind was still very high
on the 7th (K., 5) and 8th, and from the east. On the 8th the
Breydon watcher writes again :—‘‘ A great many birds here now,

126 THE ZOOLOGIST.

more Bar-tailed Godwits than I ever saw before, some Green-
shanks, seven Sheld-Ducks, scores of Whimbrel and Knot, and
plenty of Dunlin and Ringed Plover.’ These Godwits were
presumably the return passage of the unusual numbers regis-
tered as passing during the previous autumn (ef. Zool. 1909,
pp. 128, 128).

17th.—A Long-eared Owl squatting on the ground at Colney
was found to be covering a young one,+ which had had the ill-
luck to fall out of its nest in a spruce-fir hard by. On examina-
tion the nest was found to contain another nestling, which was
dead, but the one on the ground had been well cared for and was
nourished, a dead Thrush lying beside it for the next meal.

31st.— Cuckoo Notes.—About a quarter to eleven this morn-
ing a Cuckoo was calling loudly on a tall beech-tree by my
front door, with that peculiar bubbling intonation which is the
characteristic of a female. About forty yards away there stands
an ivy-clad garden-wall, and at 4 p.m. the coachman, whose
window overlooks it, saw a Cuckoo—no doubt the same one I
had heard—searching this wall. Several times she was seen to
hang on to the ivy, evidently peering into its interstices in
different places, and twice the coachman saw her alight on the
sround, as if giving up her search for the present. Meanwhile
the Pied-Wagtails, whose nest containing one egg was deftly
hidden in a recess in the ivy at the top of the wall, were looking
on, but whether with indignation or with simple curiosity it is
hard to say ; neither do we know whether the Cuckoo discovered
their nest, which was unusually well hidden.

June 1st.—The coachman, who at my request instituted a
watch, began taking observations from his window at 6 a.m., but
the Cuckoo was not seen to come to the ivy. There were two
Wagtail’s eggs in the nest when we looked into it at 9 a.m.

2nd.—Three Wasgtail’s eggs now in the nest.

3rd.—At 7 a.m. the coachman heard the Wagtails calling,
and at 9 a.m. the nest contained the expected Cuckoo’s egg,
as well as the three Wagtail’s eggs already mentioned, all four
bearing a close colour resemblance to one another. The
Cuckoo’s egg had probably been deposited in the nest between
6.30 a.m. and 7 a.m., and it was that which excited the Wag-
tails.

ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT FOR NORFOLK. 127

4th.—There are now four Wagtail’s eggs.

5th. —There are five Wagtail’s eggs.

6th.—Female Cuckoo heard about fifty yards from the nest
at 10.30 a.m.

7th.—Female Cuckoo heard at 4.30 p.m.

8th.—Nothing to record.

9th.—Harly this morning we found that two of the Wag-
tail’s eggs had been removed from the nest; they were gone at
8.45 a.m., there being then left in the nest three Wagtail’s eggs
and the Cuckoo’s egg. Nothing was seen or heard of the female
Cuckoo, but the coachman, once at least, detected the cry of the
male ‘‘ cuckooing”’ on the beech-tree near ; whether he was the
robber or whether the female Cuckoo took the eggs it is im-
possible to say. At any rate, one of the eggs was not carried
far away, for I found half its shell, yolkless and neatly divided,
suspended in the ivy some two feet below the Wagtail’s nest.

10th.—At 12.45 a.m. the female Cuckoo was calling about a
hundred yards from the nest.

11th.—The Cuckoo not heard.

12th.—The Cuckoo was on the beech-tree once at least.

13th, 14th, 15th.—The Cuckoo not heard, and on the 15th I
had to leave home.

16th.—Mr. Gerard Gurney found one of the Wagtail’s eggs
hatched, but the other eggs not sprung; it had been hatched
between 7.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. A Cuckoo flew over the wall
in the morning.

17th.—At 6.30 a.m. the coachman found that the Cuckoo’s
egs was hatched, and that a second Wagtail’s egg had been
hatched also. As this Cuckoo’s egg was laid on June 3rd its in-
cubation is proved to have been fourteen days. At 6.30 p.m.
the third Wagtail’s egg was also hatched.

18th.—Looking at 6.30 a.m. the coachman found that one of
the nestling Wagtails had been cast out of the nest, the age of
the young Cuckoo—which may or may not have done the work
of ejectment—being then twenty-four hours. At 9.380 a.m. a
second Wagtail was lying outside; both were dead, but it is
certain they had not been dead long, for their bodies were not
yet cold. At 11o0’clock the third Wagtail had been cast out, and
was lying about an inch from the nest, and still alive. That the

128 THE ZOOLOGIST.

young Cuckoo had thrown this one out is almost certain, though
no one saw it done. At 11.80 a.m. Mr. Gerard Gurney put back
the nestling Wagtail, which was still alive, into the nest, and
reported events as follows :—After ten minutes the young Cuckoo
began to get restless and to fidget, and soon tried to expel the
little Wagtail, working round and round the inside of the nest
by an active use of both legs and wings, but all its efforts were
unavailing, and it did not get the Wagtail out. The young
Cuckoo took repeated rests, even for as much as ten minutes at
a time, lying quite still with the Wagtail resting on its back,
but if the latter slipped a little the Cuckoo would move. The
young Wagtail had not been ejected up to 38 p.m., but at
4.30 p.m. it was again outside the nest, lying exactly where my
son had found it in the morning. Iam inclined to attribute its
expulsion to the parent Wagtails, as the young Cuckoo was
exhausted.
JUNE.

1st.—Under this date Mr. Bird sends me a curious instance
of a Brown Owl and a Kestrel having laid their eggs in opposite
sides of an old Pigeon-locker, which had been erected on a tree
in a Horsey osier-ground.

3rd.—A nestling Hawfincht picked up at Keswick, but,
although it seemed impossible that it could have flown many
yards, search failed to discover the nest.

18th.—Mr. Cresswell informs me of a Flamingo being seen
at Wolterton Creek, in the Wash, possibly one from the Zoolo-
gical Gardens, the escape of which was announced in April
(R. Pocock). A London newspaper also published the shooting
of one on Mersea Island, Essex, in September, and Mr. Louis
Ternier saw one on Noy. 30th in the bay of the Seine, which is
opposite the Isle of Wight. It is difficult to say where they may
have all come from ; the Duchess of Bedford has not lost any
lately, but other people may have done so. Mr. Ternier heard
of another killed in Vendée about November (‘ Revue Fr. d’Orni-
thologie,’ 1910, p. 153). Mr. W. A. Harding, who keeps Flam-
ingos, lost two in 1906 and one in 1907, but none in 1909.
There seems no reason why it should not visit us sometimes as
a migrant, being not uncommon in the South of France, where
I have seen it.

ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT FOR NORFOLK. 129

21st.—Migration of Crossbills.—The first intimation of the
creat Crossbill immigration having reached Norfolk came from
Mr. E. C. Saunders, who had one which had struck the tele-
graph-wires near Yarmouth on June 21st. No more were
reported during that month, but on July 8th the gardener at
Northrepps counted twelve on a spruce-fir. The following day
a male occurred at Stalham (Bird), and on the 10th the flock at
Northrepps had increased from twelve to sixteen. Although
constantly looking out for them, it was not until Sept. 22nd that
I obtained my first view of three feeding on a young larch-tree at
Northrepps. These soon disappeared, but on Oct. 26th the
same small plantation was visited by a much larger flock, my
gardener, whose attention was first attracted to them by their
notes, counting twenty-five. During November and December
a good many were seen in South-west Norfolk, where there is a
good deal of uncultivated country, and plenty of fir-trees. Near
Thetford they appear to have been almost common (W. G.
Clarke), while there were many in the neighbourhood of Swaff-
ham (E. T. Danberry), and at Didlington (Upcher), and some at
Castle Rising (Tracey). I watched a pair on Jan. 2nd at Thet-
ford. It is always an engaging sight to watch their parrot-
like ways. One of them detached a good-sized cone from a
young Scotch-fir, and flew with it in its beak from the fir-tree
on which it had been perched for several yards, but, again
alighting, began slowly pecking the cone
to pieces, holding it the while with one
or both feet, while its strong mandibles
brought point to point (though this I
was not near enough to distinguish)
prised off the scales. Its actions in
dealing with a cone display great mus-
cular strength, and there is hardly any
attitude which Crossbills are incapable
of assuming. After some minutes the
cone was dropped, and I picked up what
I believe to have been the same one, of
which Mr. Wilson has made a drawing. On examination it
-does not seem very dissimilar from a cone dealt with by a
Greater Spotted Woodpecker, which was drawn in a former

130 THE ZOOLOGIST.

paper (Zool. 1902, p. 95), and that also was off a Scotch-fir. On
Jan. 3lst they were again seen at Northrepps—a little flock
of five—but in a different wood from the others, and they were
soon on the wing. No more were detected in that parish until
March 2nd, when eight were seen by Burdett. Remarkable as
the great irruption has been, the most interesting fact connected
with it has been the breeding of four pairs at Thetford,* and
of seven pairs at Aldeburgh, on the coast of Suffolk (‘The
Field,’ March 5th, 1910), and that they also bred in other parts
of Norfolk is highly probable.

29th.—N.E., 2. Another Spoonbill on Breydon Broad, where
it remained until July 8th, and was again seen by the watcher
on the 22nd, 29th, and on Aug. 8rd and 8th.

JULY.

15th.—It is seldom a year passes without a visit from an
Avocet to Breydon tidal Broad, and accordingly one was seen
to-day (G. Jary). The watcher saw it again on the 18th and on
the 29th, and on Aug. 8rd, but on the 4th it had gone. On the
3th, however, it returned with two more, but he states that they
only stayed about two hours, for, it happening to be a very high
tide, there were soon no muds left for them to stand upon.
Perhaps it was the tide which had already flooded them off their
feeding-grounds in Holland. The watcher saw them flying away
to the eastward ; wind east, fog coming on.

25th.—Between the 25th and the 31st an Alpine Swift was
identified by Mr. Mussel-White on several occasions; it was
flying up and down the Cromer cliffs, just the same place where
one was seen in September, 1890. This species usually follows
coast-lines, which is perhaps the reason why it has only been once

obtained in Heligoland.
AvGuUST.

3rd.—Mr. Bird put a young Marsh-Harrier up from the sedge
adjoining one of the Broads, which he had every reason for
believing was a locally bred one. A pair of Montagu’s Harriers
probably nested at Hockwold Fen, where Mr. Upcher tells me
they were seen about during the summer, and two pairs had
eggs in Hast Norfolk, but no young. However, they maintain
their hold pretty well, and I was credibly informed of eight

* € British Birds,’ ili. pp. 302, 371.

ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT FOR NORFOLK. 131

being seen on one day in May, of which six were grey males. In
the Broad district, where they have undergone the chief persecu-
tion, I am glad to learn from Mr. Montagu that a scheme is on
foot for their protection, and none too soon.

13th.—Under this date one of our coast watchers, where
there is a Tern settlement, writes to my nephew, who is secre-
tary of the fund, giving a good account of the birds under
his charge. There are, he writes, still several Tern’s eggs left
unhatched, and not rotten ones either, as in some of them the
young ones can be heard inside; also there are several young of
the Common Tern about on the shore, which are still incapable
of flight, as well as young ones which can fly, besides a fine
show of adults of both this species and the Lesser Tern. A
satisfactory report showing what protection can do.

19th.—A young female Golden Oriole,+ a species which very
seldom comes to Norfolk now, shot at Cley, but not anywhere
near the sea. The explanation of the growing scarcity of this
beautiful migrant seems to be that those Orioles which used to
come to Hast Anglia were birds which had wintered in Spain,
Sicily, and Italy. Now these have all been shot, and those
which winter further south—that is, in Africa—do not travel as
far as England, their proper limit being the North of France.
The same reason explains the disappearance of the Hobby,
which is hardly ever seen in Norfolk now, and accounts as well
for the scarcity of the Hoopoe.

20th.—The irruption of Greater Spotted Woodpeckers reported
at Rossitton, in the Baltic (cf. ‘The Field’ of Sept. 11th), led
naturalists to expect them in England, but the number in Norfolk
has not been much in excess of their usual strength. The first
date to hand is ‘‘Northrepps, August 20th,” and another the
next day, and another at Hanworth. Mr. Pashley had onet
brought him which had been shot close to the sea by a man who
was digging for worms on the muds, and | watched anothert
which seemed to have just arrived. It is curious that among so
many migrations of this species we should never have met with
an instance of the Green Woodpecker crossing the sea, nor has it
been obtained in Heligoland.

28th.—No wind. ‘Two Glossy Ibises seen by the watcher on
Breydon Broad had gone the next day.

132 THE ZOOLOGIST.

SEPTEMBER.

11th.—Perplexing Autumnal Movements. — Among the rush
of small migrants last year the Ortolan Bunting was not in-
cluded, nor do I remember having heard of any since September,
1904, in Norfolk or Suffolk, but this has been made up for by
the presence of a small flock on our coast during the present
month of 1909. The first one was identified by Mr. F. Richards
on Sept. 11th, and others were seen at intervals up to the 28rd;
certainly eight or nine altogether were identified, and some shot.
Mr. EK. C. Arnold also thinks he saw a Little Bunting. Neither
species is rare in Heligoland, the Ortolan being in fact, accord-
ing to Gatke, quite a common bird on that wonderful island.
The north and south direction of the annual lines of migrating
Buntings and other small birds on the east coast of England,
which are alternately vernal and autumnal, are comprehensible
enough, but there are certain other movements of birds in
Norfolk during September and October of which the same cannot
be said, for they are not to be so easily understood. What I
refer to are coast movements, chiefly performed by small birds,
and which can only be held to be movements ruled by the wind.
These travelling bands of small birds—too much scattered to be
called flocks—are especially to be noticed on that part of the
coast of this county which hes between Wells and Hunstanton.
No doubt it is easier for Sky-Larks, Wheatears, Finches, Yellow-
hammers, and perhaps an Ortolan, &c., to fly slowly and by
short stages against a moderate wind than to remain stationary
where they are, and especially must it be easier for Martins
and Swallows, which perch but little. But these birds cannot
be called migrants in the usually understood sense of the word,
because more often than not they are going the wrong way—
that is to say, north—at a time of the year (September) when
they should be going south.

17th.—N.K., 1; fog in the morning. Mr. H.C. Arnold saw
several Sparrow-Hawks and Kestrels near the sea, which had
just come in, perhaps delayed by the fog. On the 20th I saw
four Sparrow-Hawkst in different places, and about the same
time Mr. Lowne had a Sparrow-Hawk and a Kestrel which had
been caught on ships. There are always arrivals of these two
species in September.

ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT FOR NORFOLK. 133

20th.—A Tawny Owlt found drowned in the stable-tank at
Northrepps. The reflection of the water may have caused the
accident, but I think it more likely that, having just arrived, it
went into the first dark corner it saw, with the intention of
roosting.

27th.—Two Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers seen at Sustead by
Mr. Davy, and one on the 25th at Aldborough. Mr. Dye received
a Water-Rail killed by the telegraph-wires in the middle of
Yarmouth.

30th.—Saw the first Grey Crow.t

OcTOBER.

1st.—A Hoopoe seen at Drayton (Berners).

2nd.—A young Scaup-Duck,t which fell winged to my shot
into a large pond, showed great powers of diving, and it was not
until the following day that the keeper retrieved it.

10th.—8.K., 2, with a strong upper current blowing from the
west. Flocks of Sky-Larkst coming in from the sea at Over-
strand, up to as late as 5 p.m., flying from the north, and they
were also noted by Mr. Dye at Yarmouth. It would have been
a good day for birds at the light-vessels.

11th.—High wind from §8.W. A Swift seen at Sherringham
by Sir Digby Pigott, and on the 13th the same, or another, was
picked up in Cromer churchyard by Mr. Barclay. Last year the
Swift was late in leaving (cf. Zool. p. 182), but these laggards
are not Norfolk birds, but travellers which have come from some
place further north. In 1872 I saw a Swift on Oct. 3rd, and in
1874 one on Oct. 14th—both near Cromer.

12th.—A Skua, probably Richardson’s Skua, was seen by
Mr. Bird at Wells, mobbing a Heron, which it made to drop its
prey, but the Skua did not attempt to secure it.

15th.—A Fork-tailed Petrel picked up at Yarmouth (Saunders).

Snow Geese.t—Towards the end of October, when the Pink-
footed Geese were arriving, according to custom, on the grass-
lands which form their favourite feeding-grounds at Holkam and
Burnham, it was seen that there were two white ones among
them, and subsequently a third stranger of a dusky lemon tint
was detected by Mr. A. Napier, who at once rightly concluded
that the white birds were SnowGeese. They were not very shy,

134 THE ZCOLOGIST.

and on several occasions Mr. Napier managed to crawl within a
hundred yards, so as to plainly see the black primaries every
time they unfolded or raised a wing. I was not so fortunate as
he had been, but thanks to his piloting on Dec. 1st we got on
that day within a quarter of a mile of the two white ones, and
when they rose with the whole flock of some five hundred Pink-
footed Geese from the grass on which they had been scattered it
was a sight to be remembered. At the beginning of January
the Snow Geese were joined by two more anomalous strangers,
described as being of a lemon tint in plumage, but up to the
time of going to press their identity had not been established.
The question is whether these Geese, as well as four Snow
Geese, recorded as being recently seen in Ireland (Zool. 1909,
p- 77), are wild ones, or whether they have not, as seems
probable, flown from Woburn, where the Duchess of Bedford
bred a good many, and allowed the young ones to fly un-
pinioned.
NovEMBER.

5th.—W.S.W., 2. To-day Rooks, Grey Crows, Jackdaws,
Starlings, a flock of one hundred and fifty Wood-Pigeons, Field-
fares, Redwings, and Lapwings—one flock of two hundred— were
seen arriving from over the sea by the gardener at Northrepps,
in an almost continuous stream from 6.50 a.m., when he went
out, to 8.15 a.m., after which the stream slackened, and there
were only stragglers. Probably the flight had been going on long
before he got up, for the birds which we see by day may not be a
thousandth part of what arrive before it is light, when we have
little or no cognizance of their flights overhead. It was rather
remarkable that three days afterwards, the weather being very
fine, Rooks were to be seen near Norwich, with settled purpose
going north, but it was against the wind, as was the direction of
those arriving in England on the Sth.

(18th.—Lanceolated Warbler shot in Lincolnshire. |

DECEMBER.
Ist.—W.S.W., 3. A very late Wheatear seen at Hccles-on-
the-Sea by Mr. Bird.* I have not before this had a later date for
the Wheatear than Nov. 2nd.

** Another on Jan. 3rd, 1910, at Twyford (C. Hamond).

ORNITHOLOGICAL. REPORT FOR NORFOLK, 135 —

2Qnd.—W.N.W., 3. A Glossy Ibis—probably the last survivor
of a flock whose deaths were recorded in Yorkshire, Ireland, and
elsewhere—shot between the River Bure and Breydon by a cow-
keeper (B. Dye). Also Mr. Saunders informs me he had a Little
Stint from Breydon, a very late date for it.

31st.—A Bittern heard ‘‘booming” by Mr. Bird.

VARIETIES OF PLUMAGE.

On Jan. 8th a cream-coloured Starling was seen by Miss
Buxton near Aylsham. On April 21st a brown Partridge of the
Perdix montana type was watched for some time in a field at
Sculthorpe by Mr. Hamond, which did not appear to have a
mate; it was near a pair of the ordinary colour. Another was
seen at Baudeswell on Dec. 31st (Walter). It has been lately
ascertained that this erythrism also occurs in the Grouse
(‘British Birds,’ iil. p. 842). On May 16th a pure white young
Hedge Accentor,t which could not have very long left its nest,
was caught by a prowling cat at Sprowston. On Sept. 6th
Mr. T. EK. Gunn received from Diss a white Pied-Wagtail,t+
immature, just showing a tinge of yellow on the cheeks and
crown. Atthesame time a similar one, probably from the same
nest, appeared at Sherringham, where it remained until the
14th, or later. I just missed seeing it by a few hours. On the
13th a pale variety of the male Wheatear+ was shot near the
sea by Mr. Richards. Almost the only colour which this bird
exhibited was a tint of slate-colour on the back and head, which
gave a cast of blue to its appearance when fresh. It was
mounted by Mr. Pashley, who also had a handsome pied one, +t
and a pied Brambling,t but the latter was a cage-bird. On
Dec. 31st a black-and-white Coot was among the slain at a Coot-
battue held on our largest Broad, as I understand from Mr.
Nudd, who states that the bag totalled six hundred, and four
Pochards.

Woop-Pigron DIPHTHERIA.

It does not seem that the disease in Wood-Pigeons resembling
diphtheria has by any means died out in Norfolk, for several
correspondents mention meeting with victims to it during the
winter months, but I did not hear of any being picked up in
the summer. One was picked up which had died in the act of

136 THE ZOOLOGIST.

drinking ; another was seen by Mr. R. Gurney to quit a tree,
and, after circling round once or twice, to fall dead in its flight ;
others were caught by the hand. No Stock-Doves are reported
as being affected, which perhaps favours the theory of the disease
having been brought here by migratory Pigeons.

Foop oF THE Barn-Owu.

Sept. 10th.—On climbing up to a Barn-Owl’s roost, where
they have bred in a barn of mine for several years, we found
a Mole among the customary pellets of mice-fur and bones. It
is seldom that Owls eat Moles, and this one had been ejected
whole, and only half-digested, as if the Owl had not liked it
overmuch. I have never kept any birds of prey, nocturnal or
diurnal, which would eat Moles if they could get anything better.
Needless to say there was no remains of game. A Norwich
gardener, in an essay written a few years ago, says :—‘‘ The
number of mice a pair of these Owls will destroy is almost in-
credible. . . . When the birds have young, their visits to their
nests are frequent. I have timed them on many occasions, and
found their visits averaged eight times per hour... .” Yet
some of our wooden-headed gamekeepers in Norfolk continue to
destroy this useful ally; but farmers know better than to kill
them, and no wonder when they get a hundred rats out of a
fifty-quarter wheat-stack, and field-mice which do more harm to
stacks than rats !

RED GRoUvsE.

An unsuccessful attempt to rear Grouse was made this sum-
mer by a gentleman at Lingwood; of eight young birds five
nearly reached adolescence, but just when they had begun to use
their wings they dropped off from some cause. A good avi-
culturist who has reared them says that if they are once allowed
access to heather they will neglect all other food for it.

(MIS Tam)

THE NESTING OF THE COMMON TERN AND BLACK-
HEADED GULL IN COLCHESTER HARBOUR.

By Tuomas Hepzpurn.

I was enabled during the early summer of 1909 to make
some extended observations on a mixed colony of Common
Terns (Sterna fluviatilis) and Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridi-
bundus) which were nesting in Colchester Harbour. I will not
define the position of the colony more closely.

Although I only located the colony last year (1909), I had
previously, in the late summer of 1907, seen a large mob of
Common Terns resting on the mud of one of the tidal creeks—
at a spot, as it turned out, not far from their nesting site. The
composition of the mob, adult birds and the young of the year
together, and the large number of individuals forming it,
suggested the members of a colony gathered together previous
to their autumn migration. During the summer of 1908 I made
notes of several individuals of the same species seen in various
localities of the estuaries of the Colne and Blackwater. But I
could obtain no information locally, either from fishermen or
shepherds, of any spot where they nested. This, however, I
found myself last spring by a careful-and systematic exploration
of the creeks and saltings of the neighbourhood in which I saw
the big mob in 1907. Even the gentleman to whose farm the
land on which the birds nested was attached was not aware
of their presence. Through his courtesy I was enabled to
pay many visits to the colony, and carry out some detailed
observations amongst the nesting birds during the summer
of 1909.

Their nesting site was situated entirely outside the marsh
walls. It was therefore subject to being submerged by the tide,
if ever the level attained was high enough. I have been told
that tides occasionally do cover the whole area, but during the

months of my observations—May, June, and July—no tide
Gool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., April, 1910. M

138 THE ZOOLOGIST.

came anywhere near doing so. There is a prevalent opinion
locally that the tides of the spring season are not on the average
so high as at other seasons of the year. And they are generally
spoken of by the country folk as ‘‘bird tides’—the name
assuming by implication that the tides are providentially arranged
so as to suit the exigencies of the birds sitting on the salt
marshes. As will be seen a little later from my notes, the birds
sometimes presume too much upon the clemency of the tides
towards their nesting operations.

The salt marsh in question might be described as an isosceles
triangle in shape, with its base abutting on the upland, and its
apex dividing two tidal creeks. The highest ground was on the
central and most seaward portion of the triangle. There was a
gradual sloping away at each side and at the base near the
upland. These lower parts were several times submerged by
the spring tides during the three months. But the central
tableland—as it might be called—was not. The whole variation
beween the highest and lowest levels of the marsh would not
exceed two feet. The lower margins were deeply intersected by
gutters, wide at their mouth, but diminishing as they wound
their way inland, until they vanished altogether before the
central part of the marsh was reached. These tortuous creeks
cut the margin of the triangle into hummocks, in a way charac-
teristic of many salt-marshes, which were covered all over their
tops by a thick growth of sea-purslane (Atriplex). The higher
sround was level and firm; but its surface was broken by
shallow basins and narrow channels, with flat bottoms and
steep edges, at the most nine inches deep, and three-parts filled
with water. This water was of course salt water, and there
were plenty of Crabs and Shrimps in some of them, proving
that the tide sometimes filled them. The central tableland
was thus divided into irregularly shaped areas of flat ground
overgrown with fine grass and a great profusion of thrift
(Armeria maritima) and sea-lavender (Statice). The sea-lavender
seemed to me to grow most on a slightly lower level of ground
than the thrift. It was chiefly on the thrift-bearing ground
that the Terns were nesting; that is, on the highest ground of
the whole area, and, therefore, the ground least likely to be
touched by the tide.

COMMON TERN AND BULACK-HEADED GULL. 139

I found the Gulls first of all nesting on the low margins of
the triangle, their nests being built amongst the long growth of
sea-purslane. But at the very beginning of their efforts at
nidification they met with disaster, the tide coming high enough
to cover the nests and wash out the eggs. I found these nests
on May 11th, one nest already having a full clutch of three
eggs, another two eggs; and perhaps a dozen more ready for
egos scattered over the purslane-covered hummocks. On this
occasion I saw about half a dozen Terns amongst the Gulls, but
could not find any of their nests. Between that date and
May 19th a tide had covered this low ground, leaving only a few
traces of the more substantially made Gulls’ nests, and all the
Gulls were scattered. But the Terns were then much more in
evidence—to the number of quite a hundred birds; and a care-
ful search all over the higher level of the triangle resulted in
the finding of two nests, one containing two eggs, and the other
one egg.

My next visit was on May 31st. The Terns had by then
made good progress. Fifteen nests were found—three with
single eggs, three with clutches of two, and nine with full
clutches of three eggs. The Black-headed Gulls were about the
marsh, but still showed no signs of nesting.

On June 7th I began a system of marking the nests by
means of white wooden pegs—such as are used to label seed
patches in a garden—stuck into the ground about a yard off the
nest, each peg with a reference number on it. I continued to
do this until I stopped my observations, and thus kept a more
or less complete record of each nest found. I marked fifteen
Terns’ nests in this way on June 7th. Between May 31st and
June 7th the Gulls had begun to nest, and I marked seven of
their nests on that date containing one and two eggs.

I paid weekly visits to the colony after that, with an extra
visit now and again, until July 20th. During that time I
marked fifty-one Common Terns’ nests, and thirty-five Black-
headed Gulls’ nests. The bulk of the Terns’ nests were all
marked by June 28th, although I found two nests unmarked
as late as July 12th, which might perhaps have been over-
looked earlier. The last of the Gulls’ nests were marked on
July 11th.

M 2

140 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The first Terns’ nests were hatched on June 14th; and
from then on a certain number hatched off weekly, approxi-
mately in the order in which I had numbered them, until on
July 20th there were only two of their nests left unhatched, the
two marked on July 12th. On July 5th several Gulls’ nests
were either hatched or hatching. On July 20th there were
still six of them unhatched.

My visits, with intervals of a week between them, were too
far apart to enable the period of incubation to be fixed accurately.
The only thing that can be said is that in neither bird did the
period exceed twenty-eight days. The observations pointed
rather to the period of close sitting being twenty or twenty-one
days after the complete clutch had been laid. In the case
of the Black-headed Gulls, in half a dozen instances the period
from the first egg of a clutch of three to the chipping of the
- egos came within twenty-eight days.

Out of the fifty-one Terns’ nests, there were thirty-six
clutches of three eggs, and fifteen clutches of two eggs. Out of
the thirty-five Gulls’ nests, twenty-five had clutches of three
egos, and nine had clutches of two eggs; while two nests had a
single egg, which eventually turned out to be addled.

The nests of both species were scattered over a considerable
area of ground ; those of the Terns being distributed in a series
of loosely connected clumps. That is to say, you would find
half a dozen Terns’ nests, with ten to fifteen feet separating
them; then a single nest, here and there, at quite distant
intervals; then another small collection quite close together.
The Gulls’ nests were in and out amongst those of the Terns,
sometimes quite close to them and to those of their own species;
but for the most part widely separated, and the bulk of them
forming a fringe round the outside of the area chiefly affected
by the Terns. The whole of the nesting site occupied by the
two species spread out to a length of a mile and a half, by a
width of half a mile.

The greater number of the Terns’ nests were made amongst
the fine grass and thrift. They were open nests, that is, with-
out any long vegetation overhanging their margins—with the
exception of two which were built in some tufts of purslane with
the stems overhanging the eggs, so much so as to suggest a Red-

COMMON TERN AND BLACK-HEADED GULL. 141

shank’s nest. The grass surrounding their nests always became
discoloured and withered, as sitting progressed, from contact
with the bird. Although there were a few nests with absolutely
no lining, the eggs being laid and incubated and hatched in a
slight depression of the ground and grass, the rule was a sub-
stantial pad of fine grass, plucked green, but drying afterwards,
with an occasional substratum of purslane stems and thrift
stems. LHxceptionally, purslane leaves were added on the top.
I took the material out of many of the nests after they were
hatched off, and it generally made a big double handful of dry
vegetable matter. This lining was accumulated gradually by
the sitting bird. In the majority of cases my notes record a
‘slight’ lining on the first finding of the nest; and a “‘ thick”
lining, or a “‘big pad,” on the visit a week later. This was
particularly noticeable after one wet week, when I found a
number of nests made up with fresh material on the top of
the old.

The Gulls chose spots for nesting as a rule amongst rather
long vegetation, either grass or purslane, which would admit of
a good-sized hollow being formed, in which the usual bulky nest
of stick and straw foundation could be built, finished off by a
well-formed cup, lined with finer materials. A variant on this
type was often built on bare ground, the foundation of bulky
material raising the cup several inches off the ground. The
building of the Gulls’ nests seemed to be completed before the
first ege was laid.

The nests of both species were used after the eggs were
hatched, either by the nestlings squatting in them, or possibly
by the parent bird brooding over its young, the nests becoming
spattered all round with limy excrement. The Gulls’ nests
had also distinct “‘pads’’ over their margins where the young
birds had been going in and out. In several instances there
were two of these pads to a nest, and then always opposite
each other.

There were a few abnormally coloured Tern’s eggs in the
colony. In one clutch of two the ground colour was a pale
green with olive markings. The bird to which these eggs
belonged had lined its nest with fresh green purslane leaves,
and the green ground colour of the eggs corresponded exactly in

142 THE ZOOLOGIST.

shade with the colour of the purslane. I looked upon this as
a coincidence only, and mention it simply to show how green
the eggs were. Another clutch of two eggs contained one of a
normal colour, the other a deep red resembling a handsome type
of Kestrel’s egg.

The nestling Terns, when just hatched, had the feet and the
base of the bill pale pink; the tip of the bill was black, with a
very pronounced white egg-tooth. The down on the upper part
of the body was a pale sandy colour with black stipplings. On
the under parts it was pure white, with the exception of the chin
and upper throat, which were quite black. As the chicks grew,
this black turned to brown and gradually diminished in area.
The down of the nestling Gulls was a much deeper shade of
colour than that of the Terns. Their bills and feet were dull
flesh colour, with a tinge of purple in it—something the colour
of hands “ blue with cold.”

Some of the nestling Terns died. I made notes of sixteen
deaths. The rain was responsible for a good many of them.
But more than half of the number came to their death by
drowning in the shallow pools with steep edges, which I
mentioned in the beginning of this article. The water in these
pools generally only reached to within six inches of the top of
the bank.- The nestlings having got into the water were unable
to get out over the steep six inches of bank. It looked quite
eerie to see a dead nestling Tern moving in jerky fashion across
a pool, until the mystery was explained by the discovery of a
Crab tugging at it. The nestling Gulls were more fortunate. I
marked a number of the nestlings of both species with the
aluminium rings issued by the proprietors of ‘ British Birds.’
Only one of the dead nestling Terns had a ring on. But the
only nestling Guil found dead was a marked bird, and the ring
had caused its death by becoming entangled with the materials
of the nest. Some young Shelducks came to grief amongst the
Gulls and Terns. Possibly their striking piebald down drew
too much attention to their presence. Four of them were lying
dead scattered through the colony on July 19th. Two Red-
shanks brought off their families successfully during the time I
was carrying out my observations, with their nests in close
proximity to those of some Terns.

COMMON TERN AND BLACK-HEADED GULL. 143

It was not possible to carry out any close observations of the
old birds at their nests without risk of keeping them off their
eggs too long. The approach for a considerable distance over
the bare salting was a sufficient warning tothem. At a distance
of nearly a mile from the actual nests individual birds would
already be screaming over one’s head. The Terns were generally
the first to arrive, but the Gulls would not be far behind. At
the distance of half a mile the sitting birds could be seen rising.
By the time I had worked my way through the colony to the far
end, the birds would have begun to settle again where I first
came amongst them. Watching through glasses from the
distant upland, with the sunshine striking on the white plumage
of the birds, it was easy to see that, even with no human being
to alarm them, they were avery restless community. There
was a continual coming and going of non-sitting birds; and
it seemed not a little quarrelling amongst those sitting on
the eggs.

One could not but be struck by the profusion of the one or
two species of flowering marsh-plants which grew on this
salting. The thrift was just beginning to open out when I
started marking the nests on June 7th. During the weeks that
followed there were acres pink with it. By July 4th the flowers
were past their prime. Then the sea-lavender was beginning
to open; and that would last well towards the end of August,
and tint just as large an area of the marsh with its purple.

144 “THE ZOOLOGIST.

HAVOC WROUGHT BY THE STARLING (STURNUS
VULGARIS).

By J. E. H. Keuso, M.D., M.B.O.U.

Prior to Dec. 20th, 1898, I always considered the Starling
not only harmless but useful to agriculture. However, on that
date a farmer told me he had a suspicion they were eating his
wheat. I shot a few, and found he was correct. On dissection
I discovered not a grain or two, which might have accidentally
been picked up with animal matter, but each Starling had a
number of grains inside. A year or two before this I found
Starlings would eat grain which had been scattered about to feed
Pheasants, also when shed on stubble, but was not aware they
would dig up and eat newly sown and sprouting wheat. In
December, 1899, I began to thoroughly investigate the matter,
and shot Starlings on wheat-fields, finding they always contained
grain. This wheat-eating (at least to any extent) appeared to
me a newly acquired habit, so I wrote an account of it to ‘The
Field,’ and received several replies, apparently from practical
farmers. I quote three :—

1st. ‘‘On only one occasion I have found hard wheat in a
Starling, and that was in a very hard winter when the threshing
machine stood in the rickyard (it had been threshing wheat),
and there came a deep snow. After a day or two I swept a path
to shoot Sparrows, and shot, amongst others, a Starling; it had
several grains of wheat inside, but birds would be hard pressed
for food, so it was not much to go by.” —WuiecorD.

2nd. Ernest D. Riper, Edgebolton, Shrewsbury, stated ‘that
Starlings did a great amount of damage to the wheat on his farm, —
and that of his neighbours, the previous autumn by stocking up
and eating the wheat just as the shoots were coming through
the ground. Although he had always protected the Starling for
the amount of good it did, on this occasion he was compelled to |
shoot at them for two days before they would leave the field

HAVOC WROUGHT BY THE STARLING. 145

alone. He opened many, and found wheat in them all, and the
field was covered with holes where the Starlings had been peck-
ing down to get at the grain. The only other instance of the
kind he knew was about ten years before during a sharp frost in
autumn.” |

3rd. Mr. Leno Cox, Pond Farm, Hemel Hempstead, stated
‘he farmed between five and six hundred acres of land, and in his
experience the Starling had been occasionally one of severe loss.
Whenever he had wheat sown rather late the Starling had done a
vast amount of damage, but the wheat that had been sown in
good time they had never meddled with. The mischief, he con-
tended, is done just as the blade is showing itself. The Starling
then makes a hole down the side of the blade, and squeezes the
pulp out of the seed. A few years before one of his outlying fields
had been completely ruined by Starlings, and had to be ploughed
and sown again in spring.”

In 1905 correspondence again started in ‘The Field’ re
damage done by Starlings. I should like to state here all my
observations were confined to Hayling Island, Hants.

Before December, 1898, I found Starlings fed on molluses,
worms, wireworms, leather-jackets, cockchafer-grubs, ticks,
beetles, spiders, and occasionally fruit, such as raspberries, figs,
cherries, sometimes pears. Since 1898, every year I find Star-
lings shot on wheat-fields—from the beginning of November to
about the middle of January, according to the season—con-
tain much wheat, but even during this time, when shot on
meadows or stubble, they contain insects and their larve, also
molluses.

On Hayling a few Starlings begin to eat the wheat immedi-
ately it ig sown; on the second day they appear in greater
numbers, and continue at frequent intervals to devour the grain
till the blade is just sprouting above the ground, then they leave
off. Contrary to the experience of one of the correspondents in
‘The Field,’ I find even when the wheat is sprouting they
swallow the whole grain, not the pulp alone. In frosty or very
wet weather they cease to attack the crop; in the former case
because they cannot reach it, in the latter probably from two
reasons—Ist, their insect-food is found more easily; 2nd, the
semi-liquid earth clogs their claws and impedes flight.

146 THE ZOOLOGIST.

SromacH CoNTENTS OF STARLINGS.

Nov. 14th, 1909, a field of wheat was sown; Nov. 16th it
was visited by a flock of between two and three hundred Star-
lings, which busily commenced feeding. A shot fired into them
accounted for seven. One of these contained 87 grains of wheat
(I think this amount excessive), one shell of Helicella caperata,
one shell of Paludestrina ventrosa, a triturated mass which
appeared to consist almost entirely of wheat; this mass weighed
46 grains, the separate grains of wheat, 32 grains ; total weight
of contents in one stomach, 78 grains.

Of the whole seven Starlings, the contents were 112 separate
crains of wheat; excluding the two small molluscs in the first
Starling mentioned, the rest contained four shells of Hygromia
hispida, five shells of Helicella caperata, one shell of Cochlicopa
lubrica, a few small beetles and elytra, and a mass of triturated
material apparently almost entirely wheat. ‘This triturated
mass, the few molluscs and beetles, weighed 112 grains, the
separate wheat-grains, 95 grains; total, 207 grains. The
112 grains, or rather separate grains of wheat, consumed by
the seven Starlings give an average of sixteen grains apiece, but
this takes no account of the large amount in the triturated
material found, which amount, I believe, represents far more
wheat than the 112 separate grains.

Sown wheat lies at an average depth of one and a half to two
inches, but the Starling finds no difficulty in reaching it so long
as there is no frost.

Dec. 29th, a single Starling, shot among Sparrows on a
barley-stubble, contained fourteen barley- and three wheat-
grains, a shell of Helicella caperata, four leather-jackets, and
three red ants; also five seeds of a weed, either dock or
plantain. This wheat-eating on the part of the Starling may
be accounted for by its vastly increased numbers of late years.
On Hayling since 1898 the Starling has increased enormously.
Strange to relate, these birds rarely attack oats or barley. How-
ever, taking the whole year round, the Starling does more good
than harm, I believe; but will this continue if he increases at
the rate he is doing at present ?

When studying the food of birds, one must take into con-
sideration that the trituration of animal matter will be a

HAVOC WROUGHT BY THE STARLING. 147

i IE Ears a Me SN tek Sot Pca

Newly-sown wheat, molluscs, and triturated material contained in
the stomachs of seven Starlings.

148 THE ZOOLOGIST.

speedier operation than is the case with cereals, and that as
digestion and absorption of the former, in the majority of cases,
takes place so much quicker in comparison, we must expect to
find insect remains, which can be identified only very shortly
after being swallowed. |

In ‘ Nature Notes,’ May, 1905, a writer, under the heading
‘‘ Starlings in Australia,” refers to the destruction of fruit
caused by the Starling in the Antipodes. These birds were the
descendants of British imported ones, and he goes on to say that
he hopes the Starling’s character will not suffer in consequence
in this country. I replied in the following number, pointing to
the damage done on Hayling. An extract from his reply (vide
‘‘ Starlings, are they Friends or Foes?’’) was as follows :—‘‘ The
amount of grain eaten by the Starling is very small, and it could
hardly be called granivorous.”’

Of course the Starling cannot be called “ granivorous,” but
I again want to emphasize the fact that this wheat-eating pro-
peusity must have begun in recent years. One correspondent,
in replying to my notes in ‘The Field,’ incidentally remarked
that Sky-Larks had ruined an eight-acre field of wheat. On
only one occasion have | found them doing damage, when in the
stomachs of two Larks shot near some offending Starlings wheat
was found; they had not swallowed the grain, only the pulp.

In the Supplement to the ‘Journal’ of the Board of Agri-
culture, vol. xv., Dec. 9th, 1908, the food of the Starling is
somewhat exhaustively gone into on page 57. It is reported
to eat, in Cheshire, beetles, molluscs, larve of moths, pupe,
flies, wireworms, ‘‘ daddy-longlegs,” their larve, worms, bread,
erass.

The following extracts refer to the few instances in which
cereals were found in the stomach contents :—

August, 1898, one immature female contained a few grains
of wheat. A male, Sept. 8th, 1903, two grains of undressed
wheat. Oct. 30th, 1900, many oat-glumes (? from horse-drop-
pings). Novy. 25th, 1904, two males (8,9,5 and 3,9, 6)—both
examples filled with equal proportions of vegetable matter and
insects; the former consisted of wheat, oats, glumes, and one
complete grain of the oat. November, 1904 (? sex), two grains
of wheat.

HAVOC WROUGHT BY THE STARLING. 149

The summary of the article states the result of the investiga-
tions, viz.: eleven contained insects of the injurious group ;
five, beneficial group; seven, indifferent group; five, wheat ;
two, oats; four, molluscs; five, grass.

Damaging young wheat crop: The two examples (Nos. 3, 9, 5,
3, 9, 6) were forwarded with the note that they were shot while
in the act of damaging a young wheat-field, but no trace of the
young plants was found among the stomach contents ; so that it
is highly probable that the birds had pulled up the plant in
order to reach the maggots or fly-larve which they were found
to contain.

On Hayling, of late years, they presumably devour wheat as
a food itself, not for any larve or maggots contained in it.

Mr. Beeston, of Havant, very kindly identified the molluscs
contained in the Starlings I shot.

The photograph I took shows the newly-sown wheat, molluscs,
and triturated material contained in the seven Starlings. Before
the photograph was taken of the 112 grains of wheat two were
lost, and of the molluscs the one shell of Cochlicona lubrica.

150 THE ZOOLOGIST.

A LOST BRITISH BIRD.
By Freperick J. Srusss.

Durine the Middle Ages England was the home of a White
Heron or Egret, of which no useful description appears to have
been handed down. Several of the earlier ornithologists referred
vaguely to it, but an unfortunate note by Dr. Fleming in 1828
seems to have driven the bird out of the thoughts of modern
students of the British avifauna. The following notes (which
in no way exhaust the subject), if not sufficient to reinstate the
species in natural history, may perhaps stimulate some other
student to turn his labours to the same end.

The tiresome, but in this case necessary, task of reviewing
the works of certain old ornithologists must be attended to first.
William Turner (1500-1568), in his ‘Avium Precipuarum,’ &c.
(A. H. Evan’s edition), after noticing the Common Heron, goes
on to say that there was another, the ‘‘ Alba, which was fair in
colour, . . . and brings forth young well.’”’ On the same bird
he remarks: ‘‘ Of this [the Common Heron] I have seen some
white, though they are rare, which differed from the aforesaid
in colour only. Furthermore, the white has been observed in
England to nest with the blue, and to bear offspring. Where-
fore it is clear that they are of the same species.”’ Subsequent
writers (Merrett, Muffett,* and Tunstall) mention a White Heron,
but the remarks of Francis Willughby are important, and need
to be given in full. I quote from Ray’s edition of the ‘‘ Ornitho-
loa COUishy Ds 70S) a=

‘‘The Great White Heron, Ardea alba major. This differs
from the Common Heron, 1 in magnitude, as being lesser than
that. 2 in the length of the tail. 3 in that it wants a crest. A
certain Englishman (saith Aldrovand) affirmed that he had seen
white Herons, though rarely, which neither in bigness of body
nor shape differed from the common Heron, but only in colour.
I suspect this Relator, whoever he was, was mistaken, account-
ing the bird in this article described by us as not to differ from

* *Health’s Improvement’ (1655). The following passage (p. 93) cannot
be known to a eritic of Merrett’s (‘ British Birds,’ ii. p. 161) :—‘‘ All the
Heronshaws (namely, the Black, white, criel-heronshaw, and the mire
dromble) though feeding somewhat better than the Byttor or Stork,” &c.;
and Muffett mentions the Spoonbill as ‘‘ Shovelard.”

A LOST BRITISH BIRD. 151

the common Heronshaw but only in colour. For Mr. Johnson,*
who hath seen the bird in England, puts it down for a distinct
kind in his Method of Birds communicated to us.” This corre-
spondent of Aldrovand was, as we now know, William Turner.
I desire to lay stress on the point that there was some doubt
whether or not this White Heron had a crest, but more will be
said later on this. That Willughby himself had no knowledge
of the bird is a matter of little importance, for he can only
speak of the Crane from hearsay; yet the abundance of this
species in England in former. times is beyond question. And
Tunstall classed together in an appendix of ‘ Aves raro in Brit-
taniam adventientes’ Crane, Eigrette, Great White Heron, Spoon-
bill, Crossbill, and even Brambling. It is also necessary to
quote the remarks of Pennant (‘ British Zoology,’ 2nd ed. vol. ii.).
Under the heading of Great White Heron (p. 845), after refer-
ring to Willughby and Turner, he speaks of the ‘“‘ Kerittes ” of
Leland as a smaller but crested bird ; and at p. 495 he prints the
bill of fare for the great feast at Cawood, in Yorkshire, on the
enthronization of Archbishop Neville in 1874 (cf. John Leland’s
‘ Britt. Collecteanea,’ vol. vi. pp. 2 et seq.). At this feast vast
quantities of game and other animals and birds were consumed.
There is no need to go into all the details of the hundreds of
Cranes, Bitterns, Herons, &c., that appeared at this orgy, and only
one item may be mentioned. It is ‘‘ Kgrittes, 1000.” Leland’s
figures, large as they are, were accepted by Pennant, who was
certainly not ignorant of the minor details of English history.
We now come to the time of Fleming’s unlucky comment.
In 1828, in a ‘ History of British Animals,’ he has the following
passage (p. 96) :—‘‘ Ardea garzetta, Temm. This is supposed to
be the species, a thousand individuals of which were served up
under the name Hgrittes at the feast of Neville in the reign of
'EdwardIV. It is possible, however, that the Lapwing may have
been referred to, as the commonest bird with a crest. On the
supposition that this Heron was the bird alluded to, it will be
difficult to account for the silence of Willughby and Ray in
regard to this species being a native of Britain.” As we have
seen, Willughby believed in a British species of White Heron,
but was not able to prove that it had, or had not, a crest—that it

* Johnson was a Yorkshireman, rather an interesting fact in connection
with Leland’s account of the Cawood Feast.

152 THE ZOOLOGIST.

was Ardea alba or A. garzetta. But the mischief was done. Selby
agreed with Fleming, and, later, Yarrell agreed with both these
writers, like them without making any independent enquiry, and
in his well-known work he dismisses the subject as follows :-—

‘“‘The oft-quoted passage from Pennant .. . is probably
founded on error. As suggested by Fleming, and followed by
Selby, the birds were no doubt Lapwings.” Yarrell’s opinion,
although it was founded on Fleming’s hasty and dogmatic
passage, is shared by every ornithologist of the present day ;
a footnote on p. 505 of Newton’s ‘ Dictionary of Birds’ summed
up one other aspect of the matter, but here the errors of a few
are used to condemn the writings of a correct many.

From works other than those of professed naturalists I have
succeeded in gathering a great deal of evidence showing that
about the time of Neville’s feast the Egret was both common
and well knownin England. Only a portion of the evidence can
be given here. In one of the MSS. of the Harleian Library
(Douce MS. 55 (date 1480), cf. Austin, Eng. Text Soc. p. 115)
will be found directions for killing, cooking, and carving the
Kigret: “‘ Egrett Rost. Breke an egrettes nekke, or cut the rofe
of hys mouthe, as of a crane . . . folde his legs as a bitore
[Bittern] .. . & rost hym.” A Crane was killed by cutting the
roof of the mouth and ‘‘lete him blede to deth.” Another
Harleian MS. (4016, date 1450) refers to this method of slaughter,
which was used on Curlews, Swans, Herons, and Bitterns:
“‘ Kutte in the rove of the mouthe toward the brayne enlonge.”’
John Russell, in his ‘Boke of Nurture’ (written 1460-70, printed
1867, EH. E. T. Soc.), mentions the Egret several times. He
tells how in ‘‘ Wodcok, Bitoure, Egret, Snyte, Curlew, and
Heyronsew’”’ the beaks must be broken by the carver, thus
suggesting that all were long and breakable. But he does not
mention this operation in speaking immediately afterwards of
the ‘‘ Feysaunt, Partriche, Plouer, and Lapewynk.” And, again
(line 539), the Egret is classed for another reason with Heyron-
sewe and Crane, while a few lines below he speaks of ‘‘ Bustard,
Betowre, Shovelar [Spoonbill], Wodcok, and Lapewynk.” Newton
cannot have been aware of this and several other works when he
stated that the Egret of the Middle Ages was nothing but the
Lapwing.

A LOST BRITISH. BIRD. 153

In 1508, and again in 1513,* Wynkyn de Worde, the famous
printer, published an anonymous ‘Boke on Kervynge.’ Here
again occurs ‘‘ Plouer or Lapwynge,” followed almost immediately
by “‘ Bytture, Heryt, and Heronsewe.” In those days they must
have been punctilious in their terminology (as people are even
now in some forms of sport), and some of the appropriate verbs
are very curious. For instance, one had not to use the word
“carve” at all. The actual term depended on the bird:
**Dysplaye a Crane’; ‘‘ Dysmembre a Heron”’; ‘‘ Vnioint a
Bytture”; ‘‘ Breke an Heret”’; ‘‘Mynce a Plouer,” &c.

It is worth noting, in de Worde’s volume, that an Egret has
to be carved as a Heron, while a Plover must be carved as a hen.
In the ‘‘ dysplaying”’ of a Crane the novice is warned to ‘‘ beware
of the trompe in her breast,” thus showing an acquaintance with
the remarkable coiled trachea present in no other British bird.
Indeed, all through these old books one detects the experience
and knowledge of the writers, and this knowledge appears also
in other books besides those relating to sport or the table.
Cotgrave, in his ‘ Dictionary’ (1611), translates the French
* Aisrette” to ‘a fowl like a Heron, but white; a criell or
dwarf Heron.” And one Peter Lewin, in a curious ‘Rhyming
Dictionary,’ first published in 1570, translates Egret to the
Latin Asterias [= Heron or Egret] ; and there are many other
references which, although carrying individually but little
weight, afford strong proof that the Egret was well known as a
sort of Heron to the writers of the fifteenth to the seventeenth
centuries.

One other work mentioning the Egret must not be passed
unnoticed, for it is of extraordinary interest to ornithologists,
although to-day practically unknown; I have never seen it
referred to in any book on birds. It is a MS. containing
elaborate directions for the proper government of a nobleman’s
house ; it is dated 1605, and was published in full by Sir Joseph
Banks in ‘ Archeologia,’ vol. xiii. pp. 815 et seq. This paper
includes unusually copious lists of game-birds and wildfowl in
their proper seasons. The Bustard is mentioned, and also the
Storck, Crayne, Shoveler, Ruffe, and Bittor. The Lapwing appears

** There was, I find, another edition of this rare work printed by E. Allde
(1590 ?). The word is here spelled ‘‘ Egript.”

Zool, 4th ser. vol. X1V., April, 1910. N

154 THE ZO0O0OLOGIST.

as ‘‘Lapwine.”* The bird now particularly under notice is here
mentioned under several different spellings—Herett, Herete, and
Egreate. It was in season in April and May, so there is no
wonder it became extinct. The reader will easily understand
that the author of this old MS. did not mean ‘‘ Lapwing’”’ when
he wrote “‘ Egret,” for both the birds were known to him, and
both are specified. I have not yet found the locality for this
nobleman’s house, but, judging from the list of birds available
for food, it was on the coast, and towards the north—very
possibly Northumberland, Durham, or Yorkshire. Some of the old
names are rather curious—-Pevette [Black-headed Gull], Jed-
cocke [Jack-Snipe], Cudberduce [Hider], Cullver [Pigeon], Elke
| Wild Swan], Crouces [Grouse], and Curlewiacke [Whimbrel].
This M§., like so many others of the period, mentions the
‘‘ Brewe.” I have been unable to find out what bird this is.
Dr. Furnivall (‘ Meals and Manners,’ H.E.T.S. p. 27) suggested
the Whimbrel, but there are two objections—the bird is in season
at the wrong time, and in the Banks MS. the Whimbrel is
actually mentioned as ‘‘ Curlew Jack,” still a frequent name in
the North of England. Perhaps I may make the suggestion
Glossy Ibis, or more probably one of the Godwits. Iam also in
the dark as to the meaning of the name ‘‘ Bayninges.”’ Were they
water birds addicted to plunging? Here occur the common items
‘Grete Byrdes,”’ and also the less usual ‘‘Smale Byrdes.” The
former could not have been very ‘“‘ great,” for in the ‘ Percy
Household’ Book they are priced at ‘‘ii1j a pennye,”’ Larks being
‘‘xij a pennye,”’ and Herons and Bitterns a shilling a piece ‘‘ so
they be good.” Strange to say, in the ‘ Percy Book,’ the price
of Sholardis [Spoonbills] was only half that of Herons.

It has been suggested to me that these old books may have
been translations of earlier French, Italian, or German works
on manners or cookery, and so must not be accepted as indices
to the bird-life of Kngland. I might as well add that I have
been carefully through all their lists of birds, mammals, and
fishes, and find no species that are common on the Continent
and unknown here, with the exception of the Egret—and this I

* Professor Skeat has shown that the second syllable in the modern word

has nothing to do with wing; the whole name is from the Anglo-Saxon
‘‘ Hleapewiuce’’—one who staggers or turns in flight.

A LOST BRITISH BIRD. 155

claim to have been a common English bird at the time.* It is
perfectly clear that this special literature was based on a British
fauna, the constituents of which were familiar to the various
writers. Fortunately we have even stronger evidence than that
provided by the cookery books, dictionaries, and works on sport.
The account of the Egrets at Neville’s famous feast is still under
a cloud, and it need not be used again.

But at the Coronation Feast of Henry IV. at Westminster,
Oct. 18th, 1899 (Harl. MS. 279 and 4016) we read that ‘‘ Cranys,
Byttures, and Egretez’”’ were served during the second and third
courses. Thirty-six years later, at a feast on the occasion of
the induction of Stafford to the Bishopric of Bath and Wells
(Sept. 16th, 1425), ‘“‘ Egrets’”’ were served, as were ‘‘ Heyroun,
Crane, Curlewe, Pety Curlewe, Plovers, Snytys, Gullys, Tele,
Fesauntes,” &c., and ‘‘ Hyrchouns’”’ [Hedgehogs] .

Lapwings, by that name (they were spoken of at times as
““Lapewynk” or “‘ Plouer’’), are not of frequent occurrence in
these old bills of fare. They may have been recorded as
Plover, but the present writer has elsewhere (‘ Naturalist,’ 1907,
pp. 310-11) given his reasons for believing that the Lapwing
has not always been a common bird in England, but has in-
creased with man. If it was, as Newton and others suggested,
that ‘‘Kgret”’ was the old English name for Lapwing, how is it
that so few thoroughly reliable proofs of the mistake have reached
us to-day ? The modern error is based on the obvious mistakes
of one or two theological writers of the Middle Ages; for all we
know to the contrary, the Lapwing was so rare to their minds
that they were unacquainted with its edible qualities, and so
made the “‘vpupa’’+ and ‘‘ Egettides”” mistakes referred to by
Newton. There is not the slightest room for doubt, after com-
paring the directions for killing, cooking, and carving the various
birds, that the ‘‘ Heret,” whatever it was, had much the same
shape, size, and structure as the Bittern and Heron, while the
Lapwing was much like a Plover or Partridge. The comparative
numbers served up provide us with no clue, for at a feast to
King Richard in 1387, on Sept. 28rd, although fifty Swans, two

* John Russell speaks of the Beaver, and how its tail had to be served
with green peas, but this interesting animal can be left for some future dis-
cussion, and the same remark can apply to the Stork.

+ Lewin (¢. c.) translates ‘‘ Lapwing” ‘“‘vpupa,” but he made no mistake
about ‘‘ Keret,”

156 THE ZOOLOGIST.

hundred Geese, one hundred and twenty Curlews, one hundred
and forty-four ‘‘ Brewes,’ twelve Cranes, and ‘‘ Wilde fowle
ynogh ”’ were provided, they could only get four ‘‘ Fesauntes” and
five ‘‘ Herons and Bitores.” So far as the wild birds are con-
cerned, these figures would be different at the present day. From
the fact that the cook had to kill the Hgrets, Cranes, Herons, and
Bitterns, and in some cases save the blood for making a sauce,
if would appear that these birds were caught alive and kept till
required. This view is supported by the Act quoted below.

The netting and snaring of Herons and other birds was, even
in 1508, a menace to the stock, and in that year a law was made
(19 Hen. VII. ec. 10, 11) forbidding the netting or trapping or the
killing of Herons except by hawk or longbow, under a penalty of
6s. 8d. What effect this Act had I cannot tell, but shortly
afterwards the native birds and their eggs had been systematically
harried ‘‘in such wyse that the brode of wyldefoulle is almost
therby wasted and consumed and dayly is lyke more and more
to wast and consume yf remedy be not therfore pvyded,” &c.
(25 Hen. VIII.c. 11). This wise law protected the eges of Crane,
Bustard, Bittern, Heron, Mallard, and other fowl; the Egret is
not mentioned, but it is by no means the only omission. This
Act contains the admission that formerly ‘‘ the King’s Household
and the houses of Noblemen and Prelates [{!] have been furnished
at reasonable prices, but now the birds are almost extinct.”

Unfortunately, an agitation ostensibly in favour of the wild-
fowlers led to a new Act (8 Ed. VI. c. 7) repealing or modifying
previous laws, and from this year we must date the beginning of
the end for many a British bird. The Hgret, as we are told by
those who have studied it in its southern home, is peculiarly
unsuspicious of mankind, and there is no doubt it would be one
of the very first to disappear. Ido not hesitate in thinking that
the bird was Ardea garzetta, and not A. alba. Wedo not know
enough to assume that it was an insular species with no living
representatives. A very few chance occurrences already give us
the privilege of adding the bird to our list, but I hope the foregoing
remarks will help to place it on a more dignified footing as a British
bird, ‘‘ once very common, but now, owing to persecution, quite
extinct in England.” Perhaps further study may settle the actual
species, for to quote Chaucer—and on birds too: ‘‘ Out of olde
bokes in good eith cometh al this newe science that men lere.”

(lu)

NOTES AND QUEBIES.

MAMMALTA.

Notes on the Mammals of Islay—Mr. Harold Russell is quite
right in that the late Mr. T. EH. Buckley and I were “incorrect” in
stating that ‘the Lesser Shrew is the species which alone inhabits
the Isles.” We now realize, what Mr. Russell tells us, that Sorex
araneus has been identified by Mr. Oldfield Thomas as occurring in
Islay. We ought to have said ‘‘up to the date of our writing
(v.e. May, 1892), Sorex minutus, which alone had been fownd in-
habiting the Isles,” &c. This, I think, would have more correctly
described what was then known of the distribution of this land
mammal. We find that the late Mr. Edward R. Alston, when he
wrote his ‘‘ Mammalia” for the ‘ Fauna of Scotland,’ prepared for the
Glasgow Nat. Hist. Soc.—and which we very fully quote in our
volume on the ‘ Outer Hebrides’ (pp. 1-7)—he at that time queried
the occurrence of either S. tetragonurus or S. minutus in the Isles of
the Inner Group of the Hebrides, but recorded the presence of S.
minutus both on the Mainland and in the Outer Hebrides—and,
indeed, founded two arguments on the Natural Dispersal of Land
Mammals in Great Britain—and, as regards Ireland and Scotland
especially, upou that and similar phenomena. As the Common
Shrew has only now been identified and recorded from Islay, there
still seems to be some difficulty in accounting for its natural occur-
rence there, if we accept Alston’s views of Dispersal.

As I am writing just now, I may mention also that a white Otter
(ante, p. 114) was preserved by the late Mr. Henry Evans, of Jura,
where I saw it in the hall of his Shooting Lodge at Small Isles, Jura.
It had been captured in Jura. — J. A. HArvir-Brown (Dunipace,
Larbert, Stirlingshire, N.B.).

P.S.—I would like to add that I hope all that was written so
long ago as 1888 and 1892 will not be considered as applicable to the
state of a changing fauna and the changed conditions of the present
time, knowing as we do howrapid are many changes in dispersal and
extension of species from numerous causes which may not have
existed a short twenty-five years ago.

Variety of the Mole. — On March 25th last I trapped in this
garden a male Mole weighing a little over 33 oz., and in very good
condition. It had a patch on the throat, a small patch on the fore-
head, and a large one on the lower belly of the orange-chestnut
sometimes seen much more largely developed on the under parts.

158 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The colour in this specimen was dull and dusky, and not the brilliant
shade we see in some examples, that on the throat being the lightest
and brightest. There was an obscure shade, or cast, of brown all
over the upper parts, but affecting only the outer surface of the fur.
I have never before met with the orange-bellied variety of the Mole
in this district. The buff or apricot variety has occurred several
times in Oxon, and a Mole-catcher told me he once caught one with
a white mark as big as a horse-bean on its head. —O. V. APLIN
(Bloxham, Oxon).

Lesser Shrew in Bedfordshire.—The first record of the Lesser Shrew
(Sorex minutus) being obtained in the county of Bedfordshire applies
to a specimen taken at Blunham on March 7th last. A tenant of mine
at the Old Mill House caught one in his pantry in a mouse-trap baited
with a raisin. Fortunately the specimen was sent on to me with a
request for the name of the “wee beastie.’—J. StsELE HLLiorT
(Dowles Manor, Shropshire).

AVES.

Late Departure of Chiffchaff.— On Jan. 13th last I saw and
watched for some minutes a Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus rufus) at
Buxted, Sussex; it was hopping about the sides of a stable-drain,
and taking the insects on the wing as they arose. I supposed this
bird to have been a late departure rather than an early arrival—
Rosert Morris (Uckfield, Sussex).

Chiffchaff in Hants.—I here heard and watched for some time a
Chiffchaff on March 15th. It was busy ‘“ chiffing’”’ about some tall
hazel and young ash.—T. A. Corton (The Mount, Bishopstoke, Hants).

Nesting of the Wren (Troglodytes parvulus). — Last year some
instances of —to me—an unusual choice of a nesting-site for this bird
came under my observation in this district. I refer to nests built in
holes in trees and walls; by holes I do not mean open places in
walls, &c., caused by the removal of a half brick or stone—Wrens
often choose such a position—but small cavities such as might be
occupied by hole-breeding birds, and where in the case of the Wren
the domed nest is necessarily dispensed with. One nest was formed
in a small hole in an ash-tree, the cavity was lined with moss
throughout, the entrance to the hole being built up from the inside
with moss closing up the aperture in the bark with the exception of
the usual small hole for access ; this was the only portion of the nest
visible, and there was no attempt at a dome or hood to the entrance
hole. Another nest was constructed in the top of a hollow tree-
stump serving as a gate-post. The hollow was more or less open at

NOTES AND QUERIES. 159

the top, so a dome was partly formed in this case. The entrance to
the cavity was a narrow vertical slit at the side; this was partly filled
up with moss from the inside as in the other instance. The nest
contained half-fledged young. In both these cases the contents of
the nest could not be reached by the hand, owing to the smallness of
the aperture and depth of the nest. Very little of the nesting mate-
rials was in view, the nest being practically built inside the hole.
More curious still was a nest I saw in Denbighshire in June, 1908.
It was built in a hole in a bare slate-built garden-wall overhung by
thick laurel-trees, and consequently in a very dark position. The
front of the nest, which was not domed owing to the confined space,
was set back six or seven inches from the face of the wall so that no
part of the nest was showing outside; the fact of the old birds
carrying food to the young betrayed the nest. Here again the hole
in the wall—a horizontal slii—was too small to insert the hand. I
may add that last year a Wren built in a hedge in my garden. The
nest was completed with the exception of the lining on March 20th,
and then apparently deserted; on June 7th, when I chanced to look
at the nest, the bird flew out, and it contained a full clutch of fresh
eggs. Mr. J. Steele Elliott records a somewhat similar case in ‘ The
Zoologist’ for 1905 (p. 141). As regards the habit of building super-
numerary nests, I do not believe that it is so universal as is generally
supposed, though it is undoubtedly of frequent occurrence. It may
be that the habit can be accounted for as being more an outlet for
superabundant energy—as is the case with some of the Weaver-birds
—than as serving any utilitarian purpose.—S. G. Cummines (Upton,
Chester).

Swan Marks.—It may be useful to call attention to ‘‘S’enssieult
les priviléges, ordonnances et statuts que les seigneurs ont sur la
riviére de Scarpe, pour visiter et marquer les cignes des marques
desdits seigneurs.”’ This paper, dated Aug. 18th, 1547, is illustrated
with ten figures of Swans, under each of which the mark on the bill
is described in full. It is preserved in the Archives de Flines, is
printed with other documents on pp. 318-322 of ‘Mémoires de la
Société Nationale des Sciences, de l’Agriculture et des Arts de Lille,’
Année 1850 (1851), under the title, ‘‘ Nouveaux Analectes ou Docu-
ments inédits...,’ by M. le Glay, and is thus completely buried
and lost sight of to those interested in Swan-nicks.—C. Davies
SHERBORN.

Reeve in Gloucestershire.—On Sept. Ist, 1909, a Reeve (Machetes
pugnax) was shot by Mr. Cook near Tetbury, about half a mile from

160 : THE ZOOLOGIST.

the Wiltshire border. I have been informed, on very good authority,
that two Snow Geese (Chen hyperboreus) were observed last January
for a fortnight or more on the Holkham estate. Both birds escaped,
although repeated efforts were made to shoot them. — CoLLINGwoop
Inaram (The Close, Tetbury, Glos.).

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

Life-history and Habits of the Salmon, Sea-trowt, Trout, and other
Freshwater Fish. By P. D. Mattocu. Adam & Charles Black.

Tuts beautifully illustrated book is one of the best contributions
to the life and habits of the Salmon that has yet appeared, and though
other fish are discussed it is the Salmon that holds the pride of place.
As Manager of the Tay Salmon Fisheries Company, Lid., Mr. Malloch
has used his opportunities well, and has obtained much first-hand
and original information by the experimental method. As remarked in
the Preface: ‘‘ Hitherto it was believed that Salmon smolts returned
as grilse the same year as they went down to the sea, but a study of
the smolt does not bear this out. Again, the writer shows that the
large Spring salmon, the small Spring salmon, and also the ‘ Summer
Run,’ are on their first return from the sea, and not from the kelt grilse
as many supposed. Hvidence is also given that the so-called Salmon
bull-trout is not a Trout, but a true Salmon which has spawned, and
consequently has become altered in appearance and white in the flesh.”
These facts alone would be sufficient to stamp the reputation of the
volume. Scale structure is fully treated and adequately illustrated,
and Mr. Malloch claims that by a study of the scales the age of a fish
can be arrived at. The Salmon disease, which first made its appear-
ance in the River Eden at Carlisle, and was noticed the following year
in the Tweed and the next year in the Tay, is fully described and illus-
trated, with all its repulsive details; ‘‘ during some seasons it 1s worse
than in others, and the colder the weather the worse it becomes.”

Mr. Malloch, writing on the Sea-trout (Salmo trutia), says that
after thirty years’ careful study, and the collection of all available in-
formation, he has come to the conclusion that the Sea-trout ‘is the
same fish as that which is called White trout, Bull-trout, Gray trout,
Peel, Sewin, Brith-dail, Salmon-trout, and many other names.” Of
the Brown trout (Salmo fario) he takes an equally synthetic view:
‘Many naturalists maintain that there are different species of Trout
in the British Islands—Loch Leven trout, Gillaroo trout, tidal
trout, and many others; but from a close study of all these trout for
the last forty years I have come to the conclusion that there is only
one species of Trout in Great Britain, and that in the different
varieties the differences are caused by the nature of the water in
which they are found and by the food they eat.”

This book is a real acquisition to the library of both the naturalist
and the angler.

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Gronomic Entomologist.
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The N esting of the Camon Been ad Black

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Norms aND QUERIES :—

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of the Mole, O. V. Aplin, 157. Lesser Shrew in Bedfordshire, J. Steele
Hilluott, 158.

Avzs.—Late Departure of Chiffchaff, Robert Morris, 158. Chiffchaff in Hantesi
T. A. Cotton, 158. Nesting of the Wren (Troglodytes parvulus), S. G.-
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- Gloucestershire, Collingwood Ingram, 159.

Notices oF New Books, 160.

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@, Zoologists can only echo the universal grief

for a great national loss.

Pe LZOOLOGIS TL

No. 827.—May, 1910.

THE FORMATION OF USELESS HABITS IN TWO
BRITISH NEWTS (MOLGE CRISTATA, Lavr.,
AND M. PALMATA, Scuner.), WITH OBSERVA-
TIONS ON THEIR GENERAL BEHAVIOUR.

By Bruce F. Cummrinas.

Part 1.

Tne experiments and observations detailed below were made
during the past year on two of the British species of Newt
(Molge cristata, Laur., and M. palmata, Schneid.). In studying
the formation of useless habits, I employed the labyrinth
method, putting the Newts through a simple structure made of
wood, and containing several choices between right and wrong.
The labyrinth was submerged in a shallow water-tank, contain-
ing a small percentage of salt in solution (under one per cent.).
A pinch of salt placed on a Newt’s back sends it into paroxysms,
ending in death, but the slight solution employed in the experi-
ments was found to exercise no deleterious influences, though it
brought about the required effect of general discomfort. In the
late summer and autumn, when the Newts were leaving the
water in preparation for the winter season, I was able to dis-
pense with the salt, as the water alone provided a sufficiently
strong stimulus to induce the animals to learn how to get out.

In each case the exit conducted the Newt out of the water in
the labyrinth to the place where it had been accustomed to live,

Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., May, 1910, fc)

162 THE ZOOLOGIST,

either to a pan of fresh water or to a vivarium. ‘This piece of
apparatus, though inexpensive, probably cannot be considered
so effective as the employment of a battery, whereby the animals
experimented on in a dry labyrinth are given a slight shock
every time they take a wrong turn, the motive employed being
the desire (only in the spring) to return to the water.

I
Fig. 1 gives the ground plan of the first labyrinth used. It
was made of wood, with the sides of each trough A, B, c 34 In.
high and sloping in, so as to prevent the Newts from climbing

Fest wolor Tank
eae

Fic. 1.—a = entrance, Trough a. Trough c slopes up from salt solution.
l, r = left and right apertures into fresh water.

up the sides. Hach animal was placed facing forwards at the
beginning of the trough a. Palmates were employed in all the
experiments except where it is specially stated to the contrary.
An interval of at least ten minutes was given between each trial
up to the end of trial 15, after which the interval was reduced
to five minutes.

Table 4* (p. 170) shows that the first Newt reduced the

* The times were reckoned from the moment the Newt began to move
in the entrance until its nose reached the top of the slope at the exit.

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 163

time occupied in traversing the labyrinth at the firet trial
from ten minutes to one minute twenty seconds in the 30th
trial. After this greater irregularity and an increase in time
are shown. The table must be supplemented by the following
observations: During the first few trials the Newt wandered
about the troughs aimlessly, eventually getting out by chance.
At the end of the 15th trial the delay at the ends of the troughs
where it ‘‘nosed”’ the barrier was less, and it had made a useless
habit of wandering up and down a. Having once entered B,
however, it walked to the end, and had formed a sure habit of
turning left and so back along the side and into c and out at the
exit. This behaviour was not owing to the fact that the animal

Fic. 2.—Diameter = 4 in.; greatest diameter of hole in each disk = 1 in.

merely followed the wall of the labyrinth all the way, as it
frequently turned from the left to the right corner, and vice versa,
at the end of B before finally going back by turning left. At the
end of the 31st trial the Newt learnt to turn directly into c
without going to the end of s, but it is interesting to observe
that the habit grew gradually, by a process of ‘‘accretion,” as
Dr. R. M. Yerkes has called it,* i.e. the distance that it went
beyond the opening to c towards the end of B became gradually
less and less. This process is shown in Fig. 1; the routes
* Yerkes, R. M.: ‘‘ Habit Formation in the Tortoise” (‘ Popular Science
Monthly,’ vol. lviii. p. 19). Ss

164 THE ZOOLOGIST.

plotted do not, of course, represent those followed in successive
trials.

As Iexpected, it never learnt to traverse the labyrinth per-
fectly, and up to the end of the 50th and last trial the Newt had
formed a useless habit of wandering up and down a before taking
the turn into B. A great deal of energy and time was wasted in
trying to get out by climbing up the sides of the trough. The
Newts always showed an astonishing persistence in this; its
relation to the forming of correct habits I shall mention later on.
What I wish particularly to emphasize is that throughout the
whole of my work I observed a strong tendency in the Newts to
form useless habits, from which no pleasurable results accrued.
In some instances, which I shall describe, the habits formed
were most elaborately wrong. In trials 10 to 19 the Newt made
a habit, on first walking up a, of entering the mouth of B for a
couple of inches, and then withdrawing again into a, and so on
to the end of it, where, after some delay, it used to turn to the
left down to the entrance barrier and up to the mouth of B again.
On entering it the second time it went on, and finally out at the
exit. Then, again, in trials 42 to 48, the Newt, when it had
reached a certain distance up c, always stopped and placed its
nose into the right angle formed by the floor and side of the
trough. But there was no gap in the join and no inequality which
could have produced a stereoscopic reflex.

All my results show the ability in the Newt to form rapidly
simple habits of turning right and left; thus, at the end of
fifteen trials this first Newt always turned to the left ins, and
from trials 20 to 38 it escaped by the left aperture of c with only
one exception. Occasionally it would walk up c on the right
side, but on reaching a point x (Fig. 1) it would walk right
across to the left, although it could have got out equally well by
turning right. Once it turned across from right to left too soon,
so that it struck into the left side of trough c instead of at
the exit. After a pause the turn to the left was accentuated, so
that it almost faced back toward s. Finally, with hesitation, it
went forwards and out as usual on the left. The animal pro-
bably did not cross from right to left simply because it saw the
opening on the other side—that would mean an intelligence far
too quick for the sluggish Newt—but the instant when to turn

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 165

was partly indicated by vague motor sensations, by a feeling that
it had got up as far as where it had been accustomed to turn,
when over on the left side. Sight cannot be entirely left out of
consideration, however, although it need not necessarily play
any part in helping the Newt to learn the labyrinth.

At the end of the 15th trial, when it had learnt to go around
to the left in B, I transposed the two troughs a ands. The
troughs were precisely alike except in length, and the Newt on
going to the end of a (in the B position) turned to the left; then
a short pause clearly indicated that it was puzzled by the greater
length of the opening into c from the end of a. It went on and
entered c, but had not gone far when it turned back. The reason
for the turning back may very well have been because it thought it
was still back in a (in its original position), and that c was B, for
I have already said that it had formed a habit when first entering
B of turning back. Such an illusion was caused by the difference
in length of Band a. The experiment also shows that the clue
which enabled it to know when to turn to the left at the end of a
trough, and to expect the mouth of c a little way back from the
end, was the sensation of having previously made a turn to the
right, i.e. from aintos. The Newt also ‘felt’? when it had
gone sufficiently far to meet with the opening into c.

A great deal of time was always wasted by the Newts through-
out the course of the experiments, as they invariably turned
round and ‘‘nosed”’ the barrier on being first introduced to the
labyrinth. On the surface, this behaviour looked exactly as if
they realized that they were being pushed through a hole into
a trough, and that they inferred from it the precise position of
the hole. Here, again, this would be assuming, I believe, too
much mental activity in the Newt, and, as a matter of fact, the
explanation lies in the well-marked withdrawing response which
the Newt gives when confronted with any unpleasant situation,
such as bright light, heat, or, as in this case, salt solution. They
instinctively shuffle back, and then make a volte-face.

lil:
Fig. 3 shows the next maze which was used—a very simple
structure, offering only one choice. Previously it was found that
if the labyrinth was fitted with two exits, one in each passage,

166 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and both equally negotiable by the Newts, they showed a slight
tendency to prefer to get out by the left one. Of thirty separate

QU

Fie. 3.—a = entrance to b = the labyrinth under water ; /= cul de sac,
r = sloping path leading up out of the water. The arrows indicate
Newt’s courses.
Newts tried in succession, eighteen got out on the left and twelve
on the right. The left, therefore, was made the cul de sac.
Great Crested Newts were used for this experiment. An
interval of ninety seconds only was given between each trial.

Taste 1. Newt, No. 1.

No. of Test. Time occupied. Route taken.

Tegel ce teeta OEMUN CO SeCy leeeeee Entered 7, back and about
a, and finally 7.

Des asus cota ate neat SD MTVIT a hs aicisterstc oO Oh

Diaconate one APIMIMe tS ouSCCe eeanee (Py Oly

Le Ac SSbE SAM ae DEMON AISe Cerone l a,a

ay pata nad ce heer ones Denied ONSCC.maaeeee 7

OURS: Sap CR oie ae SONSCG Ie cee cone l, a, ?

7 fe Neat) «hae Ve idobhaly PASSO, - Gonasc r

Bus. SRR SS See 22m. ‘O) SCC... 2% «eas r.

Os Cas Sah sa eat 2 mains suse Ca eee (bs Gis a

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS.

TaBLE 1.—(continued).

167

No. of Test. | Time occupied. Route taken.
ORR Nae 208 on, SOiseetae SMC soe t.
1k Se aaa ane DA SCCaa eee eee as

Interval of 20 min.

11D), eg CEP Sees aera 6 min. 84 sec. ...... Oy Ub; Ci
1S \y Bari eee ae ADUSOC A ces ok t.
eee EB 1 aaibay, WOO, sohsoo t.
WD PINE fates-ve-ccoiesioccts imams 2 OSGeo. ls Gy?
WO Geen See 2min..30 sec. ..:... ly Oh, WF
1 Tics cee aie ke ie SOESCC eee eee r.
1S) ep a ee DAESE Cy Eee r.
1S RSet 1 min. 11 sec || 1.
A): ceeace eee DAS SOCM AGE een nenine | 7.
Td ea a alia 1 min. 52 sec 1.
DORE acc ciis i nshaalg PAY RECra canes .
scoot eon saan, ZR eee ca acanee 1.
Pleo aah sie ee Gran See tee ei: ah Ue Oke Oe
TAD). aga ONE ee al yRranm gee, eeienlel ee ee bs Gis th: Oy Uy Ge to

This table shows that the Newt had formed a correct 7 habit
at the end of trial 17, and it is worth remarking that it always
oriented itself by ‘‘ nosing” the left corner, then turning con-
tinuously left to the right corner, and up the side into 7, and

so out.

The reason for the complete disintegration of the

habit at No. 24 was that it had started for the first time in that
trial to climb up the sides, and it apparently found the exercise
so stimulating that it continued todo nothing else afterwards !

No. of Test.

Taste 2. Newt, No. 2.
Time occupied. Route taken.
ANINUILAG OLSCOU oh se l, a, fr.
DE rials he eens von oe T.
Guiana enact wees Un Gls Oh, P
SORSECH cece T.
OPT wer ee eee t.
HO GOCranamereer ae eas tr.
DaSCCy sateen rT.
OSC CH tere sees ait r.

Interval of about twelve hours.

2mm. 29 sec. ...... r (after hesitation).
OSES oonnohoob pooHeUEE iP
PANSGXG,” 50 Ro OSRNO RDO MEG is

168 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Table 2 proves that No. 2 learnt the correct habit after
only three trials. No. 8 diminished its time and mistakes, but
had not formed a perfect habit after twelve trials. No 2, like
No. 1, did not go straight to 7, but around by the left from the
left of a.

Taste 38. Newt, No. 3.

No. of Test. Time occupied. Route taken.
i] iercseeet roreaeetter 1 $0193 Ul its BO SBE soasce | 7,1,a,7, 0,7, 0,l,a,7, 0,17, a, l,
|| Ghils Gh, l, @, ls Qgleal aa mange

DAS ee mas inet ae FEtoyp oats oe canes o8s0 cn. la, l,a,r.

Deo RUE catectemetral i min. j30)secn eaeees (OAPs

AS Mere Nae oN | (Guiana anes roak ecskanee l,a,7,a,l,a,l,a, 1, a,7-
DNA ees rte ge Wali igeednii..cen ome Yr.

Oleh. eee (leans Osecaeesees l,a,7.

Interval of about twelve hours.

Es lice cee Nee | > 790090 as ss clone an GleOnliG uaceae
LOPE IRE A AM URE AT A hed eo Eis(21 Cha MEM me oc .

Oi, Beceem eel teva wel main.29'secy ae... als aat
1 Oat eee re TA ss ASSOC ume. c anee Tr.
ASD vrei tet orcs Neer BONE: feces cues | 1,7.
HD SA MEAL ES SE RRMe Be Dime sharers l,a,l,a,?
Ea eee eon Wes PASTE Si BERNEE Anan See b On as
HA Ne A ac |ijceSUeTO TT felts oe pce aea eh | 0,010

Interval of ten hours.
115 ie ane eat SE ONE DMs a ok Banca LBRO ROR AGI L GIP.
MQ r as beremein inns DOISCC ile seater ack lr.
ITC RR AS 6 RAY SA Rae OMSECS Merce ee he
SS etemn Seca ateman out instantly ...... lukas
Interval of thirty minutes.

WO... cates td aan: TMA BOSCO near la, Bast, aalnanie

OAS. aeaiirccss aan AD ISOC; a iieaatenaaeis qT.

DLs en stratrsio «asic sate _ out instantly ...... is

IST ica Leesa MOOHSECs etiam ere eine | 1,7.

ies ole aici ares Se ee ul Ouse: sneer eee Ts

DAP ik, Camda daa ie Pal ONSEC HU alana: 1.

Interval of thirty minutes.

DAS TREN Make enn | 8 min. 3 sec. .......0. (POR UNG IO iP.

DO ieee «hes Sone es GONSCCK alc eee 1,

DAT ae TEE Ease bo QOISC.! es Sesser T.

Zs a Naat Bae cn | out instantly......... Tie

Table 3, giving the rest of the trials made with the at first
incorrigible No. 8, shows that it had formed a correct 7 habit at

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 169

No. 16, which became partially disintegrated after a thirty
minutes’ interval, but was very rapidly re-acquired. Three more
Great Cresteds were tested, the trials succeeding each other at the
same pace with periodic intervals. They all showed rapidity in
forming the simple r habit of movement, and equal rapidity in
losing it. Another was tested at intervals of fifteen minutes, and
at the end of twenty successive tests completely failed to form
any r habit.

The Newt’s capacities for forming simple movement habits
were also tested by putting them in salt solution contained in
narrow bottles with variously shaped necks. A glance at Fig. 4
shows that the trick to be learnt was a reversal of their position,
and then out at the top. The first bottle was learnt, on an

Fic. 4.—Height of each bottie = 6in. Diameter at the bottom =
33 in. to 4 in.

average, after three trials. The first trial always showed the
Newt persistently ‘‘nosing”’ the bottom. The second and third
usually saw the time reduced to its smallest limits. The time
occupied in the initial ‘‘ nosing’’ in No. 1 trial varied a great
deal, but rarely exceeded three minutes. It is all the more
surprising therefore to find that a certain male of M. cristata
nosed the bottom for forty minutes, after which more salt was
added, with the result that it shot out quickly. The second trial
occupied sixty-two seconds; No. 3, three minutes forty-five
seconds ; No. 4, twenty-five seconds; after which the time was
reduced, in two more trials, to the minimum. The fact that
this particular Newt was very thin and emaciated is suggestive.
The necked bottles made very little difference in the rapidity
with which the Newts learnt to reverse, the trick being acquired
in from five to six trials as a rule.

170 THE ZOOLOGIST.

In some cases the Newt, in the first trial, immediately got
out ; in others, it attempted to reverse at once, but was unable
until, after the practice of several trials, it had learnt to bend
its body circularly, or, as was the habit of some, to force them-
selves up straight without bending. Intervals of two minutes
were allowed between each trial; it was again seen that these
simple movements were readily lost after intervals of sixty,
forty-five, twenty, and ten minutes. I observed, however, that
the Newts showed unmistakable signs of the influence of their
previous training, although this more rapid re-acquirement
would not be shown on paper by giving the time records.

TABLE 4.
No. of Test. Time. | No. of Test. Time.
Ieper ce ete at eect 10 min DORR Nasi cecae 10 min
DESO ORASEEO HAGE ED 14 min. ede bite ee Be Acecods 4 min.
Biv cated in tae: Px soon, OO) Ree Ny — PPA boon so boaccoobc 8 min.
AURA CAR alley 3 min. 20 sec. Fs Paes Aah GARD 2, min.
ES Pasa ithe eR ge taut 30 sec. A Behe At Bese 2 min.
(CRANE eta aeien Ge 5 min. DS ECA ARN ies 3 min.
(sation tee nc reshat 13 min. 30 sec. DOs Baca Osh eae 3 min. 10 see.
SHOE Re DCE IES 4 min. 20 sec. OAT (ERRNO REPS tests 1 min. 30 sec.
1S UR aah atseatiea 6 min. D8 een eee 1 min. 10 see.
HO Ee ests Weile S a 10 min. 380 see. AD eve eens pyamralins 5 4 min. 30 sec.
Glial yt ROAR aed 4 min. 10 sec. SOS PA Le ae 1 min. 20 sec.
d LAS ease es aca 5 min. 50 sec. Slee ee ener 5 min. 40 sec.
Hs ae eae aps ee 14 min. ye Bae MR emis Aa 12 min.
5 Be eta MAR MR 5 min DOE eae EEL 8 min
LONE een ace eee 7 min. 20 sec. Bana Smeal 2, min.
LOS SeN i ene 2 min. 30 sec. BOR eT 7 min. 30 sec.
dy Rees es! ees 8 min. 30 sec. 36; AS eas 7 min.
116 ea Rs ae ea a 4 min. Dll cites eee 2 min. 30 sec
HO aero aN te. 4 min. 40 sec. OO sae canes 3 min.
THD

One form of labyrinth used was a spiral, which was placed
vertically in a large glass jar (see Fig. 2, p. 163). Table 5 gives
the particulars.

This labyrinth took advantage of the Newt’s ‘‘ nosing” in-
stinct, as all it had to do was to “‘ nose” the roof of each storey
until it hit the opening. The learning of the maze also involved
nothing but the Newt’s motor sensations and the sense of touch,

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. liga

as the senses of hearing, taste, and sight could be neglected,
especially the latter, because the light was made to play as
evenly as possible on all parts of the glassjar, and on more than
one occasion the Newts showed that they did not really see their
way up, for they would ‘‘ nose” along the roof to the very edge
of the opening in it, and then draw back again. WM. cristata was
the species used.

TaBue 5.
No. of Test. Time. Observations.
ik. ASTIN: rere creas tented Nosed in each storey.
2. 2 min. 30sec. ......
3. imnnvaOisecs >. 44.
Be 4: J0elNa\, Tponnas bpadaesd
5. Zu MIMS AONGEC. -ee-a- No nosing in ¢.
6. 3} Tanta 8) 1steleneeeon aos
(. AMANO "SCC. 2 ses
Ory Pe We rine ie). stoke an Pronounced nosing, especially in
6 and d.
its IRTNUTTN re sires lel eran Only nosed in 6.
12-20. | 1 min.30sec.4 min. Nosing only in 6 and d. Walked
15 sec. always to the left of the pillar inc.
In No. 19 it rose in right corner of
c, contrary to custom, but it crossed
over to left. The same thing oc-
curred in No. 20.
Zien Weraimt5 0) Secrs.2.55- Rose in right corner of c, and went to
| the right of pillar to the end of
No. 40.
25-31. | [min. 55 sec.—3 min In 6 went left of pillar, in c right, and
in d left. Nosing very reduced,
32. 2 min. 05 sec. ...... Delayed in 0, nosing, and went right.
Similarly in Nos. 33 and 34.
30. eri elop Sees. saan. In } went left, c-7 (right), d—/ (left).
Nosing in 0 and d.
36. 4 min. 44 gec. ...... In 6-7, c-r, d-r. Nosing badly.
37-40. | 1 min. 20sec.—4 min,| In 0-1, in cv, in d-l. Nosing less.
ORSCC) tapsaiwalse urge
Al. SEMI ers en aearae In b-l, in c-7, in d-r. Ind turned
as if for left, but fell into right
corner, and so around.
42, 3 min. 30 sec. ......| In 6-1, in c-l, in d-l. Nosing badly
every where.
43. SSIVENE Nes cette ad coe In 0-1, in c-l, in d-r. Nosing badly.

172 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Table 5 gives the results of an experiment with a Newt which
first of all was placed in the water of the jar when the labyrinth
was immediately slowly pressed down upon it into the jar. The
animal was placed facing directly away from the opening leading
from the lowest storey a to the next b. It would first begin to
nose the roof of the first storey, going round after a delay either
to the right or the left corner, where it would rise and immedi-
ately re-begin nosing in b. After at first a lengthy delay it
would nose around to the second opening, going either right or
left of the pillar. And so with the other storeys, the last one
leading it out into its vivarium home. The table shows that
the Newt at the end of the 25th test had formed an almost
perfect habit of climbing up through the spiral without making
any delays by persistently nosing at one place as previously.
Later, nosing set in again, in an acute form, perhaps the
result of fatigue and the consequent relaxation of inhibitive
control] of its instinctive stereoscopic nosing responses. The
trials lasted over four days, and fifteen minutes’ interval was
allowed between each trial. It should be understood that
the Newt never learnt to climb up the spiral, without any
nosing at all; it nosed its way all round the spiral, but showed
its capacity for learning and inhibiting by not wasting time
in nosing in one place only. It kept on the move in the
right direction.

The table also shows that the Newt early formed a fixed habit
of going to the left of the central pillar in c, and it is important
to observe that it was in ¢ that it first learnt to cease making
any delay through nosing. Further, it will be seen that in
general as the nosing becomes less in the three storeys, so fixed
habits crystallise out. For example, a left-right-left habit was
formed in the three succeeding storeys b, c, d, after delays had
been cut out. In 32 it nosed in b and went right. See also 36,
42; and, although it is not shown, the whole of the tests up to
about 20 gave no regular habits, right or left, in b and d, because
it was in these two storeys that the Newt delayed, always nosing
with a persistence which, if it had been intelligent, would have
been called ‘‘ determination,” but, being useless and unintelligent,
must be described only as ‘“‘ stubbornness.” These habits of
movement right or left are significant, for it is to be observed

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 173

that the animal could always attain its end equally well by
going either side of the pillar.

That the habits of turning had intimately insinuated them-
selves into the Newt’s nervous system was shown in trials 32, 33,
34, and 36, where the Newt turned according to habit, although
it had, at the beginning in b, made a wrong turn which, on
account of the structure of the labyrinth, was bound to alter
the circumstances of the other turns, in this instance leading
the Newt up into c on the right side instead of on the left. In
32, 33, and 34 also the d turn was correct as well. No habit,
however strong, seems to be able to form and permanently with-
stand the disintegrative effects of the strong nosing instinct.
Similarly with its impulsive side-climbing in the other laby-
rinth.

The times in the table do not signify much, as a Newt
would sluggishly traverse the spiral with no mistakes, while an
energetic control would invariably get through much quicker, yet
it made, of course, every mistake possible.

IV.

Other labyrinths were tried, but no Newts learnt them per-
manently, on account, as in the others, of the climbing pro-
pensities. Several Newts, however, presented interesting aspects
in their behaviour, and one, a Palmate, formed a useless habit,
lasting over a period of nine trials, of climbing up the side of the
corner of a trough, nosing the glass top over the trough (only
two inches up in this case), until it overbalanced itself and fell
into the exit trough, and so out. All this, and it might have
simply turned and got out in half the time! The same Newt,
over the same period of trials in the same labyrinth, formed two
other habits. In the first, it would always return to the mouth
of the first trough and retire again to the next, eventually
entering the first completely down to the entrance barrier, and
then going forward to the third trough (omitting the second),
out of which it fell, in somewhat the same way as in the last
trough already detailed.

The most remarkable case of the elaboration of useless habits
occurred in the labyrinth, Fig.5, which somewhat resembles the
labyrinth used by Dr. Yerkes for testing the learning powers of

174 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the Frog.* A male Palmate, in trials 16, 17, 18, entered 7, and
in pursuance of a curious habit (somewhat similar to what
occurred in other labyrinths with other Newts, as I have de-
scribed) withdrew when about two inches in. In Nos. 18 and 19
it had formed another habit of turning a complete circle to the
right when in J, starting from a position facing the blind end.
Finally, in 19, an additional habit was made of returning to 1
again, just after leaving it, when it had reached only half-way
down to the entrance barrier. In 20 all these useless habits
appeared en masse, as is indicated by the dotted line of the

Fic. 5.-—a = entrance to 6 = the labyrinth under water; 1 =cwl de sac;
7 = passage leading to c = slope from water up to vivarium; # = the
start of Newt’s route; y = the finish.

Newt’s route. In 21 the same course was made, with the elimina-
tion of the r habit, although it clearly hesitated, and made as if
to turn, but went on.

In the same labyrinth I obtained a good instance of the
struggle for existence of two distinct habits. A strong J, r habit
had been formed, in which the Newt climbed up in the J box at
a certain spot on its right side, so that, by climbing and moving

* Yerkes, R. M.: ‘Harvard Psychological Studies,’ vol. i.

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 175

slightly to the right, it was able to fall out and across the
entrance of r, into which it turned. The next day it merely
walked out of J, but on the left side, and inclined towards r be-
tween x and y in the figure. It did not turn into 7, but around
by a. The second trial, the same route was taken. I have no
record as to what happened on the third, but on the fourth it
went through the climbing process and fell out, and for the first
time immediately turned into r. Precisely the same thing
happened in the next trial, but afterwards the J, » gradually
gave way to the l,a,7. The ‘fall out’ appeared to revive the
habit of the day before, which a new habit finally overcame.

(To be continued.)

176 THE ZOOLOGIST.

AN OBSERVATIONAL DIARY on toe NUPTIAL HABITS
oF THE BLACKCOCK (THTRAO TETRIX) ww
SCANDINAVIA anp ENGLAND.

By Epmunp SeEtous.

(Part I]. Eneuanp.)

(Continued from p. 56.)

May 5th, 1908.—Arrived yesterday, and was driven to one
of the Blackcock leks, in the afternoon, by the keeper, who
arranged to call me at my lodging, at 3, the next morning. He
was late, however, so that we did not get to the place quite in
time. There were some four or five to half a dozen male birds
there, and as I came up, nowin a drizzling rain, I could see
them springing at one another. In getting into place, behind
one of several thinly scattered thorn-bushes, I probably dis-
turbed the birds, who went up, and flew to a little way off, but
as they returned, very shortly, and remained upon the open,
somewhat swampy, space chosen by them, for more than an
hour, seeming quite at their ease all the time, they could not, I
think, have been much alarmed, even when they went off. But
there was, now, no further fighting, or, indeed, any activity at
all, the birds merely standing quietly, without doing anything,
which I attribute, and hope may be attributed, to the rain,
which had come on more and more, nor was there any inter-
mission in it, till the meeting broke up. This morning, then,
was quite a failure.

May 6th.—Started off, in the dark, on my cycle, about 2.15.
Yesterday I had ridden the keeper’s horse, for half the way,
going turn and turn about with him, but pushing the cycle up
the long steep hill which has to be surmounted in order to get
to the place—on the side of a higher hill—was a different
matter. However, I was on the spot, and seated behind the
gorse-bush I had chosen, yesterday, some little time before 4,

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 177

and before any birds had come. It was about a quarter of an
hour later, and when the light was still very dim, that I began
to hear them, and, from the sounds, judged that a good many—
perhaps a dozen—cocks were assembled. Besides the peculiar
harsh grating note which seems so well fitted to express anger,
there was that soft, plaintive one which sounds quite opposite in
character, but is really far more its concomitant, since it is
generally, if not always, uttered when two birds stand opposite
one another, and seem on the point of engaging, though, whether
through nervousness, or lack of courage, it is seldom that they
actually do engage. Most noticeable, however, and continuous,
was the pretty, musical ‘“‘ whirbling” (as I have called it),
whether more subdued than when uttered in Scandinavia, under
exactly similar circumstances, I am not quite sure, but certainly
far more so than as the birds there produce it, when perched
amongst the fir-trees, for here on the moors trees of any kind are
wanting. Asit grew lighter, by degrees, I saw the white tails
of the cock birds flashing here and there, through the gloom,
and then the rich, deep black of the general plumage, against
which, like the wing-plumes of the Ostrich, they stood beauti-
fully out, till, at length, the whole bird, and all his actions,
became plainly visible. These consisted of advances, with
spread tail, towards one another, more or less swiftly, along
the ground, with occasional excited leaps into the air, just as,
last year, in Sweden, but here, as there, I saw nothing of that
sustained and exaggerated energy which upon some, though, as
I begin to think now, only exceptional occasions, renders this
performance so extraordinary a one.

It was aot till a good deal later, when the light of day had
properly asserted itself, that either hen birds began first to
appear upon the scene, or I first to notice them. These were
courted by the cocks in the same manner as described in my
notes of last year, but a new and interesting feature was now
present, or observable by me, for one hen would often chase
another furiously over the course, and, on at least one occasion,
two fought together, spreading out their tails and leaping at
each other, like more slightly made cocks. In the chase they
ran with great speed—much greater, it seemed to me, than I
have ever seen attained by a male—and, stretching their bodies

Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., May, 1910. P

178 THE ZOOLOGIST.

forward and upward, became much slighter- and thinner-looking.
I was lucky in, more than once, seeing the occasion and meaning
of such pursuits and flights. Thus, with wing lowered upon the
side towards her, and with his whole body tilted in the same
direction, with tail turned so as to show its full outline,
the white of it being splendidly conspicuous, and with lowered
bull-like head, a fine cock bird—though they were all fine—was
making little swelling runs, in curves, backwards and forwards,
about the object of his desire, who, on her part, would make a
funny little run, and then stop, then run and stop, again, and so
on, showing most plainly, as any actual observer, I think, must
have recognized, that she understood the significance of this
courtship well enough. At any moment she could, had she
pleased, have flown or run right away from it, but, thus moving,
and keeping, first, in one direction and then in another, within a
certain limited area, which was very conspicuous to me, she pre-
ferred to let it continue. All at once, another hen came into this
same area, and within a few yards of her, upon which, with
every sign of jealous rage, she precipitated herself upon this
conscious or unconscious rival, who, surrendering forthwith, fled
for life, and was chased right away, each bird exhibiting, as I
say, very great speed. Here then the very essence of the drama
was clearly unfolded before me. No hen bird could act, under
such circumstances, in so furiously aggressive a manner, and yet
be indifferent to the male’s advances, and this, if that strange
myth of the hen’s indifference* still survives, makes the observa-
tion here recorded a valuable one, nor, as I say, did it stand
alone. On the one or two occasions on which hen birds posi-
tively fought, I imagine that the cause was the same, without
similar yielding on the part of one of them, but I did not see
this with my own eyes. Nothing could show more plainly what
these meetings represent, for both sexes, than this combative
mood of the hens.

It was when one cock was courting a hen, and ys movements
of the latter brought him near to another, that a combat was

** Ido not, of course, mean that any hen bird may not, upon any occasion,
and for various good reasons—such as hunger, satiety, or a preference else-
where—be indifferent to this or that male—even the favoured one; but only
that the indifference of the female to masculine courtship, as such, is a myth.

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 179

most imminent. In such cases the first bird would rush out
towards the one approached, who, on his part, might advance to
meet him, or himself to court the hen; yet I witnessed only one
determined fight. Here the birds sprang at each other, with
fury, and the buffetings which they bestowed with their wings
made a loud noise. It, however, lasted but a short time, nor
were the general features of the campaign other than as in
Sweden, viz. much threatening and fronting one another, with
the curious plaintive-sounding cry, but mutual chariness in
beginning. I saw only one actual pairing (coition), but, except
that the hen gave voluntary signal for this, I did not catch the
circumstances that led up toit. The assembly-ground was only
some thirty or forty paces from where I sat, and looked down
upon it from a slight elevation. Except for some tufts of grass,
there was nothing to hide the birds, but much of the space was
quite open, and, on the whole, a better view could hardly have
been obtained.

May 7th.—-First ‘‘ whi-i-i-ish ” note at 8.80 a.m., followed
almost immediately by the plaintive ‘‘chirrer” one, and then
the whirble. I am, therefore, only just in time, having taken
my seat some five minutes before, when everything was still,
though I put up one bird as I walked over. For the rest, this
morning is but a repetition and confirmation of yesterday. The
hens are assiduously courted by the males, and they occasionally
fight, spreading out their tails when they do so, which are then
seen to have some white in them, as well as those of the cocks.
But this is confined to the tips of the feathers, which appear as
little white spots, running round the circumference of the fan—
at least the eye distinguishes no more. One hen also is some-
times chased away by another, which means, of course, that
there would be a fight did not this other flee. For the rest the
hens seem hard to win, and I only saw one case where a cock
was successful in his desires. A tuft of grass, indeed, hid the
actual sight of this from my view (as it may have done in other
cases), but there could be no mistaking the conduct of the hen,
when she emerged from behind it, consisting, as it did, of
several very satisfied little motions, ruffling and shaking the
feathers, and then a vigorous preening, of which there had

been no hint before, nor was it in the order of things.
: P2

180 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Though, as I say, the hens seem hard to win, yet they look
quite conscious of being courted, and the fact that, as a resultant
of this, pairing does, from time to time, take place, as well as
their jealousy of one another, is proof that they are not in-
different, although they may be nice. That they should be nice
does not appear to me to speak against, but rather for, the
hypothesis of natural selection, for as the males became all
more attractive, the hens should become more critical—the one
factor could not operate without the other. So, too, the hens
appear to be won by courting, and not by fighting. This was so
in the one case of coition observed by me this morning and
yesterday, for though, as I say, I did not happen to have my
eyes on those particular pairs, rather than others, just before it,
yet fighting even to a moderate extent must certainly, on so
confined a space, have caught my attention. Moreover, on the
whole, there is but little fighting amongst the cocks—at any
rate, if is not nearly so important a feature as seems to be
generally imagined. For the most part, the birds threaten
merely, and, even when they do close, it is but seldom that one
hears the loud flaps and buffets with the wings, that give evi-
dence of any considerable fight, nor do they last for any time
when one does hear them.

Though the cocks court the hens in a very business-like
manner, and, as one may say, patiently, yet they sometimes lose
patience, and make either a little run or a little spring at them.
I have seen one instance of the former and two of the latter, but
not once was the attempted ravishment, as it seemed to be,
successful. In the first instance, the hen ran, and, in the two
last, she flew away.

The monosyllabic, barking cry of the hen—like that of the
hen Capercailzie, but much less guttural—was a good deal in
evidence this morning.

May Sth.—Left the cottage at about 2, and was seated well
before 3.80, at which time everything was still as death. In ten
minutes or a quarter of an hour, the first notes of the cocks were
heard, and for a long time, as far as I could see or hear, they
were on the place by themselves, without any hen. They would
either stand, for some time, more or less quiet, or else whirbling ;
or, with a little jerk upwards, and flap of the wings, they would

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 181

bring out the angry ‘‘ whush,” or this jerk would be exaggerated
into a more or less high leap, which, again, would sometimes
pass into a short flight from one part of the arena to another.
Besides the above-mentioned actions, one bird would often
run at another, sometimes for nearly the whole length of the
sround, or two would so meet, and then stand fronting, and
threatening to leap at, one another, which, however, they but
seldom did, nor was there anything that really deserved the
name of a conflict. Here, again, we have something very
different from the popular idea of these things, which supposes
continual violent conflicts between rival males met to court and
fight. Instead—here as with the Ruffs—such conflicts are few
and far between, and, when they do take place, last but a very
short time—often not more than a few seconds. The birds seem
simply to lack the courage to fight. They come on with every
appearance of rage, then stop, face to face—almost always with
that peculiar note so different in sound and character—turn
about, stand with dilated feathers, and bent heads, side by side,
front one another again, make an abortive half-spring, think
better of it, and then separate, one or both returning from
whence they came. They do everything, in fact, but fight, but
in that they make a very tame and poor figure. Still, if they
actually do make a spar or so, it is with all the violence that
could be wished, but the flame that has leapt suddenly up expires
as suddenly. Now and again, indeed, there is a fight of some
twenty seconds or so—even perhaps a minute—and then it makes
a fine show. But, after all, what is it in itself compared to the
furies of Sparrows or Blackbirds, of a pair of Tits, or to those long
rancorous combats of the Redshanks or Kentish Plover which
I have witnessed and described?* It is only because of their
size and bold plumage that it makes a superior effect. Dress
them in drab and reduce them by half or a quarter, and there
would be little to say of it. I am speaking, of course, to the
extent of my observations, but it seems strange that those made
in Sweden and here should so tally, if they do not represent the
general rule. In Norway, too, it must be remembered—I shall
never forget it myself—that the very bird that made such a

* Of. * Observations tending to throw Light on the Theory of Sexual
Selection ”’ in ‘ Zoologist’ for June, 1906, &e.

182 THE ZOOLOGIST.

prodigiously warlike display slunk quietly away, a poor tame ©
thing, on the entry of another male into the arena.

It was some time, this morning, before I perceived first one,
and finally two hens, which were courted by the various cocks as"
they passed over the ground, in the usual way. ‘This led to
some furious rushes, and a spring or two, between bird and bird,
but even now there was nothing heroic. To the courting actions
which I have already described, another is now to be added—
which I also saw several times yesterday—the sinking down,
namely, of the male before the hen, and remaining so, for some
seconds, with wings slightly expanded and touching the ground
—the prostration, in fact, of the Ruff, but not so pronounced.
For the hens, they walked, warily, about amongst the males,
for the purpose, apparently—it is difficult to think of another
one—of being courted by them. From time to time one would
crouch before her admirer, but I only saw one case of actual
coition, and. it is significant that this took place in precisely the
same spot—behind the same tuft of grass—as it did yesterday ;
presumably, therefore, with the same male bird, since the latter,
on the whole, have their special places on the courting-ground.
Immediately afterwards two other cocks came rushing up in a
creat state of excitement, and the three swelled and bustled about
together, but here, too, there was no actual fighting—not even a
blow or two. Soon after this the hens left, and the business of
the morning seemed over, perhaps damped by the perpetual,
sharp, pelting rain. Most of the cocks, too, soon flew off. I had
never been able to count more than six, at one time, on the
ground, but as, when I rose to go, four more flew up, there
must really, 1 suppose, have been a greater number—perhaps
eight—but not, I think, more than that, together.

At 6 I met the keeper, by appointment, at the foot of the
hill, and went with him to be shown ‘‘a noted place” for the
assembling of Blackcocks, just off a long, lonely road over the
moors. It was another weary toil, almost all up hill as before—
(so that the cycle helps little except to come back)—and as far
again as I had come. Having got there I marked the place with
a small heap of stones, and purpose to come again to-morrow
before light, starting about 12.

(To be continued.)

( 188 )

NATURAL HISTORY RECORD BUREAU (1909) :
THE MUSEUM, CARLISLE.

By D. Losu THorpr & Linnmus HE. Hops, Keepers of the
Records.

In the report from this ‘‘ Bureau” for last year (1908) we
referred to the visits of a wild Whooper Swan to the River Eden,
and hazarded the opinion that this bird had not yet paired, and
that it would be interesting to see what might happen when that
important incident in the life of a bird took place. Wild Swans,
it is believed, pair for life, and for that reason we felt that if our
bird was a female, as we imagined, her mate would be induced
to follow her to her winter quarters. This has really happened,
and more, for the pair are accompanied by two more birds of the
same species—not a brood, but adult companions.

These four Wild Swans arrived on the Eden on the morning
of Dec. 24th (Christmas Eve), and were immediately reported by
the park-keeper, T. Hudson. Mr. D. Losh Thorpe saw four
Swans flying towards the river from the north-east at the hour
they were seen to arrive by the keeper—no doubt the four Wild
Swans.

The presence of four Wild Swans, or even of one, in such close
proximity to the haunts of men is, as we have said before, most
extraordinary, Wild Swans being amongst the shyest and most
suspicious of wild animals. Carlisle is indeed a favoured place,
the honour of entertaining such distinguished visitors being
afforded to few places ; such an occurrence has never before been
recorded in this country. Several other interesting occurrences
are reported during the past year.

Mr. D. Losh Thorpe records a bird new to Cumberland—the
Stone Curlew, or Great Plover. A bird of this species was seen
by him on the banks of the River Eden, at Caldew Foot, on the
morning of March 27th, 1909.

The date of the occurrence coincides with the arrival of the
species in the South of England this year. It was evidently a
bird which had over-reached the usual northward migration limit,
and was resting and refreshing itself by the river. It had gone

184 THE ZOOLOGIST.

later in the day, as a careful search failed to again reveal it.
The Stone Curlew is a most interesting bird ; we have kept it in
captivity, and have studied its habits in its breeding haunts in
Norfolk. It is not a common bird in Britain, and is extremely
restricted in its distribution in this country, there being only
a few favoured spots in the South of England where it is to be
found breeding.

Another extremely rare bird in the district (the Wryneck) was
killed by telegraph-wires near Drumburgh on June 27th, 1909.
James Smith, who dissected the bird, said it was a female, and
had evidently been nesting. The Wryneck has only been recorded
in two instances in Cumberland during the last fifty years, but
T. C. Heysham records it as breeding regularly near Carlisle in
his time.

A new bird has been added to the Westmorland list—the
Golden Oriole (Oriolus galbula). An immature male bird of this
species was picked up dead in the vicarage garden at Brathay,
near Windermere, on May 16th, 1909, and sent to the Carlisle
Museum by the Rey. T. H. Baines, who said it had been seen on
the previous day by his neighbour, Mr. Whitwell. Six degrees
of frost were registered on the night of May 15th, and this no
doubt was responsible for the death of the rare and delicate
straggler.

In the early part of the year (Jan. 2nd) a flock of Snow
Geese were reported to have been seen on the Solway. They
were flying west, and were seen near Annan by two gentlemen,
who had a good view of them as they flew close over the golf-
course. The visits of this Nearctic species to the Solway have
been few and of short duration; there has never been any
possibility of obtaining an example to fully authenticate their
occurrence. Wild Geese were again numerous on the Solway
marshes, and six species were reported on the Cumberland side,
i.e. Grey Lag, Bean, Pink-foot, White-fronted, Barnacle, and
Brent. The Grey Lag has been fairly numerous; in fact,
Mr. W. Nichol says that in his locality more Grey Lags than
any other species were killed, the next in point of numbers
being the Barnacle. The Pink-foot is, however, the predominant
Grey Goose, and the White-fronted the rarest. The Barnacle is
not quite so numerous as it was ten years ago.

NATURAL HISTORY RECORD BUREAU. 185

Two interesting Ducks were obtained on the Solway in early
winter, one being an adult male Garganey, a bird not often met
with on the Solway, in full eclipse plumage—an interesting stage
of plumage; the other an adult male Long-tailed Duck in full
winter dress. The latter species has occurred fairly regularly
on the Solway since 1884, but this is the first time it has been
obtained in this dress, and it is also noteworthy that the date
(Nov. 2nd) is extremely early for the assumption of the full
winter dress.

The summer visitors, as a whole, were much earlier in 1909
than in the preceding year, despite the cold spring and late
frosts which lasted into June. The first Wheatear, which is
our earliest migrant, was noted on March 25th, as against
April 4th of 1908. The Swallow was seen six days earlier, and
the Sand-Martin ten days earlier. The Willow-Warbler was
reported three weeks earlier than in 1908. The Cuckoo, Corn-
Crake, and Swift were each ten days earlier, and the Chiffchaff
eight. There is still much to learn respecting the migration
range of our summer visitors, and we do not yet know to what
extent local movement takes place amongst our resident birds.
It is, however, hoped that a system of marking birds by placing
an aluminium ring upon a leg with certain distinguishing marks
thereon, which has been commenced in many places, will throw
some light upon this subject.

We marked a number of birds last year in this way, and if
any birds should be found bearing a ring of this sort, we will be
pleased to have them sent on to us, with particulars of date and
place of capture. Our special mark on the rings is “‘Carlisle, ’09,”
and number.

There is little to report respecting Mammalia, but Mr. T.
Nichol, of Skinburness, came across a Hedgehog in the very act
of devouring the young birds in a Thrush’s nest. A female
Badger weighing twenty-four pounds was caught in a Rabbit-trap
near Longtown, and several others were seen or caught in North
Cumberland during the year. It is evidently holding its own
there. The Slowworm (Anguis fragilis) is not a common reptile
in the Carlisle district. One was taken at Aspatria on Aug. 18th.
and sent to the Museum by Mr. H. Thompson. The following are
a selection from the notes and records sent in to the Bureau :—

186 THE ZOOLOGIST.

1909.

January 2nd.—A flock of Snow Geese reported as seen near
Annan, on the Solway (Major S. Ferguson).

7th.—Mistle-Thrush heard singing near Windermere (W.E.B.
Dunlop). During January, Wild Geese, especially Bean, were
numerous; Mallard were very scarce (W. Nichol).

February 2nd.—Five Brent Geese seen near Silloth. They
were very shy (W. Nichol).

4th.—Song-Thrush heard singing near Windermere (W. E. B.
Dunlop).

11th.—Wild Geese, especially Pink-feet, numerous on Rock-
liffe Marsh, apparently over two thousand birds; amongst them
is a peculiarly light coloured example, presumably a pale variety
(Major S. Ferguson).

18th.—A Hawfinch was picked up in a garden at Great Corby.
It died a few days later (Mr. Telford).

28th.—The Whooper Swan has at last returned to its old
place on the River Eden. It is very late (J. B. Cairns).

March 17th.—Curlews passing over Carlisle (D. Losh Thorpe).

19th.—Two Pintails and twelve Bean Geese near Silloth
(W. Nichol).

20th.—Great Spotted Woodpecker seen near Carlisle ; Corn-
Bunting commencing to sing; large number of Sky-Larks pass-
ing over Carlisle on migration (T. L. Johnston). A dark, heavy,
misty night; a large number of birds passing over Carlisle on
migration. Heard notes of Curlew, Lapwing, Black-headed Gull,
and Sky-Lark. A Blackbird struck the high telegraph-wires in
Lowther Street (D. Losh Thorpe).

21st. —A flock of Redwings singing in Troutbeck Valley
(W. E. B. Dunlop). Large migration of birds continued over
Carlisle. Species noted were: Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-
backed Gull, Curlew, Lapwing, Ringed Plover, and Redshank.
Mild, misty night; wind S. and §.E. (T. L. Johnston & D. Losh
Thorpe).

22nd.—About two hundred Wigeon seen near Silloth (W.
Nichol). Badger trapped near Longtown (R. Davidson).

25th.—A Wheatear was seen at Silloth to-day (first record of
the season) (D. Losh Thorpe).

NATURAL HISTORY RECORD BUREAU. 187

27th.—Some Redshanks are frequenting a low-lying meadow
near Morton, Carlisle (T. Hutchinson). A Great Plover or
Stone Curlew was seen on the River Eden to-day near Caldew
Foot. This is the first record of a visit of this species to Cumber-
land (D. Losh Thorpe).

23th.— Wheatear seen at Silloth (W. Nichol).

31st.—Large number of Blackbirds on migration near Silloth
(W. Nichol). First Wheatear seen in Windermere district
(W. E. B. Dunlop).

April st.—Three pairs of Rooks have built their nests on
_ chimney-stacks of houses at Holme Head, Carlisle (R. Leighton).
A Knot in the aviary at Loshville is showing the first signs of
summer dress—a few red feathers on the head and neck (D. Losh
Thorpe).

4th.—Saw the first Wheatear to-day at Leegate (R. Mann).

5th.—Sand-Martin seen at Rickerby, Carlisle (W. Little).

6th.—Five Pintail Ducks seen at Silloth (W. Nichol). A
Swallow seen at Silloth to-day (D. Losh Thorpe).

8th.—A Sand-Martin seen at Silloth (J. J. Hodgkinson). Nine
Wigeon seen at Silloth (W. Nichol). Swallows seen at Crosby-
on-Hiden (W. H. Little). Willow-Warbler seen at Leegate (R.
Mann).

9th.—Chiffchaff seen and heard at Middle Gelt (T. L. John-
ston). Swallow seen at Crosby-on-Eden (K. Hodgson). Swallow
seen at Newcastleton (W. Roden).

10th. — House-Martins and Swallows at Caldew Foot (D.
Losh Thorpe). Swallows seen at Skinburness, Silloth (Ernest
Carr).

11th.—Highty to one hundred Wigeon on the Solway, near
Silloth (W. Nichol). Swallows, Sand-Martins, and House-Mar-
tins are on the Eden (D. Losh Thorpe).

12th.—About fifty Wigeon and thirty Bar-tailed Godwits are
near Silloth, on the Solway (W. Nichol). Swallow seen at
Scotby (Ernest Carr). Wheatear seen at Silloth (T. W. Sharp).

16th.—Two Swallows seen at Leegate (R. Mann). Willow-
Warbler seen at Cotehill, near Carlisle (W. H. Little).

17th.—A large flock of Fieldfares at Leegate (R. Mann).

18th.—House-Martins and Sand- Martins first seen at Winder-
mere (W. E. B. Dunlop).

188 THE ZOOLOGIST.

19th.—Corn-Crake first heard at Cargo, near Carlisle (T.
Robinson). Sandpiper seen at Wetheral, near Carlisle (I. L.
Johnston). Cuckoo heard at Penton (W. Roden). Willow-
Warbler heard first time this year in the Windermere district
(W. BE. B. Dunlop).

20th.—Cuckoo heard at Cargo, near Carlisle (I. Robinson).
Swallows arrived at Troutbeck, Windermere (W. E. B. Dunlop).
Corn-Crake heard at Morton, near Carlisle (T. Hutchinson).
Swift seen at Etterby, Carlisle (D. Losh Thorpe).

21st.—The Whooper Swan on the Eden appeared restless
(it had left the following day) (D. Losh Thorpe). A Redstart, !
also a Hawfinch, seen at Crosby-on-Eden (H. Hodgson). Cuckoo
heard at Leegate (R. Mann).

22nd.—Corn-Crake seen near Allonby. The Black-headed
Gulls are hard at work building; only saw one egg (Major S.
Ferguson).

23rd. — Corn-Crake heard at Penton (W. Roden). Yellow
Wagtail seen at Troutbeck, Windermere (W. E. B. Dunlop).

24th.—House-Martins arrived at Leegate (R. Mann). Red-
start seen near Windermere (W. EK. B. Dunlop).

25th.—Large number of Swifts arrived at Htterby Scaur, on
the Eden. ‘T'wo were seen on the 24th, and one on the 28rd
(D. Losh Thorpe). Tree-Pipit heard and seen at Leegate (R.
Mann). Cuckoo heard at Head’s Nook (G. B. Routledge).

26th.—Cuckoo heard at Knowefield, Carlisle (L. E. Hope).
Cuckoo heard at Troutbeck, Windermere (W. EK. B. Dunlop).
Cuckoos numerous at Leegate (R. Mann). Corn-Crake heard at
Leegate (R. Mann).

27th. — Large flock of Fieldfares at Crosby-on-Eden (E.
Hodgson). Grasshopper-Warbler heard at Leegate (R. Mann).

28th.—Whitethroat seen at Troutbeck, Windermere (W. E. B.
Dunlop).

29th.—Corn-Crake heard at Head’s Nook (G. B. Routledge).

May 1st.—Cuckoo seen at Curthwaite (Ernest Carr).

2nd.—Cuckoo heard at Crosby-on-Eden (EK. Hodgson). Some
Common Terns seen, and first Lesser Terns arrived on the
Solway to-day (W. Nichol).

3rd.—Pied Flycatcher seen at Brathay, Windermere (Rev.
T. H. Baines).

NATURAL HISTORY RECORD BUREAU. 189

4th.—Whinchat seen at Leegate (R. Mann).

5th.—Spotted Flycatchers seen at Annan (Major 8. Ferguson).

13th. — Willow-Warbler’s nest at Cotehill has five eggs
(W. H. Little).

16th.—Pair of Shovelers seen near Silloth (W. Nichol). A
Golden Oriole was picked up dead at Brathay, Windermere. It
is the first record of this bird for Westmorland. Six degrees of
frost the previous night had evidently been too much for this
delicate southern bird. It was a young male in the plumage of
the second year (Rev. T. H. Baines).

17th.—Young Ravens have left a nest to-day near Winder-
mere (W. E. B. Dunlop).

18th.—Found first Lesser Tern’s ege to-day, Solway (W.
Nichol). ;

19th.—Saw two Red-breasted Mergansers near Silloth (W.
Nichol). Hedgehog seen devouring young Thrushes in nest,
Silloth (T. Nichol).

20th.—Fawn-coloured variety of Starling picked up at Hayton
by T. W. Watson, Esq.; sent to the museum by H. S. Cartmel.

June 3rd.—T wo Curlew-Sandpipers in summer dress seen on
Easton Marsh, Drumburgh (Major S. Ferguson).

21st.—First young Swallow seen on the wing to-day at Lee-
gate (R. Mann).

27th.—Cuckoo heard (last date) near Carlisle (L. EH. Hope).

28th.—Common Tern’s nest, with eggs, on Solway (W.
Nichol).

July 8th.—Common Terns extremely numerous at Raven-
glass this year. On this date many of the young had hatched ;
we marked a number of these chicks by placing an aluminium
ring on their legs. The Sandwich Terns here have increased
sreatly, owing to the strict protection afforded them. In 1889
there were six eggs of this species laid there; this year there
were over four hundred (L. E. Hope).

12th.—Nine Bar-tailed Godwits in summer dress near Silloth
(W. Nichol). A young Jackdaw in brown plumage, a variety,
seen at Leegate. An old bird of the same variety seen several
times previously (R. Mann).

August 2nd.—A Willow-Warbler’s nest at Windermere con-
tained three half-fledged young (W. E. B. Dunlop).

190 THE ZOOLOGIST.

6th.—_ A Hawfinch in nest dress was picked up dead at
Skirsgill, near Penrith (H. Gandy).

8th.—A Spotted Flycatcher sitting on eggs at this date at
Ivegill, near Carlisle. These were subsequently reared, a late
brood (Rev. C. T. Phillips).

12th.—A Willow-Warbler singing to-day near Windermere
(W. E. B. Dunlop).

13th.—A young Buzzard left the eyrie to-day; very late
(W. E. B. Dunlop).

14th.—A male Garganey Duck in eclipse shot on Solway
(TI. Peal).

18th.—Slowworm caught at Aspatria (H. Thompson).

27th.—Little Stint seen at Silloth (W. Nichol). A Barn-
Owl seen in Carlisle (T. L. Johnston).

30th.—Black-tailed Godwit and a Greenshank near Silloth
(W. Nichol).

September 2nd.—A Barn-Owl’s nest with two young seen
to-day, Carlisle (IT. L. Johnston).

7th.—About twelve hundred Bar-tailed Godwits seen on
Solway (W. Nichol).

11th.—Flock of about forty Bean Geese on Solway (J. Back-
house).

12th.—Whitethroat last seen near Carlisle (L. HE. Hope).

15th.—A Spotted Redshank seen near Silloth (W. Nichol).

21st.—Sand-Martins last seen near Windermere (W. EH. B.
Dunlop).

24th. — Willow-Warbler and Whitethroat last seen near
Windermere (W. E. B. Dunlop).

27th.—Song-Thrush uttering fragments of song near Winder-
mere (W. E. B. Dunlop).

29th.—A few Barnacle Geese arrived on the Solway (T. L.
Johnston).

30th.—Wild Geese passing over Troutbeck Valley, Winder-
mere (W. E, B. Dunlop).

October 2nd.—A Little Stint seen to-day, also a Peregrine
Falcon, on the Solway (W. Nichol).

4th.—Swallows last seen at Windermere to-day (W. KE. B.
Dunlop). A Red-throated Diver, in ‘summer dress, near Silloth
(W. Nichol).

NATURAL HISTORY RECORD -.BUREAU. 191

6th. — Saw last House-Martins to-day near Windermere
(W. E. B. Dunlop).

8th.—Pair of Pintail Ducks seen to-day on Solway (W. Nichol).

10th.--Three Brent Geese seen on the Solway (W. Nichol).

17th.—Redwings seen for first time this season, Windermere
(W. E. B. Dunlop).

19th.—Bramblings seen to-day near Windermere (W. E. B.
Dunlop).

25th.—Skein of Wild Geese flying west over Stanwix (L. E.
Hope).

27th.—Purple Sandpiper seen near Silloth (W. Nichol).

28th.—Tlieldfares first seen to-day near Windermere (W.E.B.
Dunlop). Great Crested Grebe shot on Solway (T. L. Johnston).
Fourteen Grey Lag Geese seen on the Solway; also a second
‘‘oagole”’ of twelve (W. Nichol).

November 2nd.—A Long-tailed Duck, an adult male in full
winter dress, shot on the Solway near Gretna (J. Broatch).

38rd.—An immature Long-tailed Duck seen near Silloth
(W. Nichol).

12th.—Pied variety of Fieldfare seen at High Head Castle,
near Carlisle (J. B. Cairns).

13th.—Fifteen Grey Lag Geese seen near Silloth; about
sixty Pink-footed Geese at same time (W. Nichol).

17th.—A flock of Crossbills, including several old males in
red dress at Windermere. They stayed during the winter
(W. E. B. Dunlop). A Red-breasted Merganser on the Solway
to-day (W. Nichol).

26th.—Twelve Grey Lag Geese near Silloth (W. Nichol).

28th.—A Bat (Pipistrelle) flying to-day near Windermere
(W. E. B. Dunlop).

December 17th.— Small parties of two and four Brent Geese
on the Solway to-day (W. Nichol). Four Brent Geese seen on
the estuary of the River Wampool (T. Hutchinson).

21st.—Purple Sandpiper seen near Silloth (W. Nichol).

24th.—Four Whooper Swans arrived on the River Eden at
Carlisle, one being the bird which has paid us annual visits
since 1904. They are all adult birds, possibly two pairs. This
occurrence is one of the most extraordinary things in the whole
annals of British ornithology. Their arrival was reported by
the park keeper (T. Hudson).

192 THE ZOOLOGIST.

THE DRAGONFLIES OF SOUTH-WEST SURREY.
By Gorpon DAuLGuLiEsH.

LIBELLULID&.

Libellula quadrimaculata (Linn.).—This species I found in
considerable numbers in the parish of Thursley on a tract of
moorland known as Pudmoor, and I have never met with it
elsewhere in the surrounding country. During oviposition the
female constantly dips on the surface of the water and jerks her
abdomen under the water. Dragonflies, with perhaps one or
two exceptions, are essentially creatures of the sun, especially
the present species. About the middle of June (1909) I visited
the spot where I had seen these dragonflies the previous year.
The early morning had been cloudy with fitful breaks of sun-
shine. When I arrived heavy clouds obscured the sun, and I
walked to and fro over the ground searching for Libellula quadri-
maculata in vain; not one was to be seen. I was just giving up
the search as useless when out came the sun. Five minutes
after the whole place was alive with these Dragonflies, and I
can only suppose that previous to this they must have been
resting on the rushes in the centre of a large pond. Their
flight, like all the Libellulide, is swift, but does not exceed that
of L. depressa.

Libellula depressa (Linn.).—Extremely abundant everywhere.
There is hardly a pond, however small, that is not frequented
by one or more of these lovely insects. Males, I have found,
greatly exceed the females in number. Here, at any rate, it is
never found far from water. I know of no insect that can rival
this in powers of flight, and the only way to capture a specimen
is to wait one’s chance patiently, and strike quickly with the
net the moment it finishes its dashing flight and is hovering.
It is almost useless to attempt to catch 1t unawares when at
rest, for, like the proverbial weasel, it seems to sleep with ‘‘one
eye open.”

THE DRAGONFLIES OF SOUTH-WEST SURREY. 193

Orthetrum cerulescens (Fabr.).— This is decidedly a rare
species here, and hitherto I have only been able to take it twice,
once by Frensham great pond and on Pudmoor.

Sympetrum vulgatum (Linn.).—Frequently to be seen on the
sandy paths that run through the pine woods. It is one of the
species that seem to prefer shade to sun.

Cordulia enea (Linn.).— This Dragonfly I found in large
numbers over a pond in Thursley. Its flight is extremely swift ;
nevertheless, it is comparatively easy to catch any number of
them. I found that it had a regular route of flight, and would
keep flying round and round the edge of the pond. By waiting
quietly at a certain spot for it to come round, and striking just
at the right moment, I secured as many specimens as I wanted.
If missed, it does not return to the attack so characteristic of
L. depressa, but dashes off high up in the air, only to return
to its given route after a few minutes. It rarely settles like
depressa, but appears to be on the wing the whole day. I once
saw numbers of the small Agrion puella chase this species,
making repeated dashes at it as it hovered for a few seconds.

ASCHNIDA.

Both the 4ischna grandis (Linn.) and As. cyanea (Mull.) are
extremely abundant, and I have seen either one or the other
on the wing as late as the middle of October. Locally they
are known as ‘‘ horse-stingers.”

CALOPTERYGID.

Calopteryx virgo (Linn.).—This species, to my mind, is the
loveliest of all British insects, and I cannot conceive a sight
more pleasing than to see a group of them hovering over the
middle of a stream, and in their dancing flight putting one very
forcibly in mind of gnats; for they look very much like large
azure gnats. The habit of remaining in one particular spot is
remarkable, and I have seen one return to a particular twig to
rest times out of number. They have a decided preference for
running water, and, unlike most Dragonflies, prefer shade to
sun. Where thick trees and a tangle of brambles or bushes
overhang swift running shallow water, one is pretty certain of

Gool. 4th ser. vol. XIV , May, 1910. Q

194 THE ZOOLOGIST.

meeting with the graceful ‘‘ Demoiselle.” I have on two occa-
sions, however, taken it a long way from any water. Virgo is
subject to a considerable amount of variation. The female, as
a rule, has a white stigma on the fore wing, but frequently
this is absent altogether. The wings of the male are a deep
shining blue, and I once took a specimen with the left fore
wing almost white, though the others were of the normal
colour. This Dragonfly generally puts in a first appearance
the time the May-fly is ‘‘up.” This and the next species are
the only British Dragonflies that retain their brilliant lustre
when dead.

Calopteryx splendens (Harr.). — Unlike the last, this is
usually to be found either flying over or resting on the
rushes bordering still water. I have not found it nearly
so common as the last.

AGRIONIDE.

Erythromma naias (Hans.).—This I have found the rarest of |
Surrey Odonata, and have only taken it twice.

Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Sulz.).—When depositing its ova,
this Dragonfly alights boldly on the surface of the water and
remains thus motionless with outspread wings for some time.
Occasionally it is accompanied by the male insect. I have
found the under side of the thorax in this species often covered
with a parasitic mite resembling those common on the Dor
Beetle.

Lestes sponsa (Hans.), Agrion puella (Linn.), A. pulchellum
(Lind.), and Ischnura elegans (Lind.), are all very common,
frequently being found consorting together.

The above list must in no way be considered a complete one
of Surrey Dragonflies. Doubtless there are many others to be
added, but so far I have not been fortunate enough to come
across them.

If the wing of a Dragonfly be examined under a microscope
with a one-sixth objective, the nervures will be found to be
covered with curious protuberances resembling thorns (¢/.
‘Zoologist,’ 1908, pp. 458-9). I have often wondered as to
what could be the use of these ‘“‘ thorns,’ and at one time
thought they might act as a stiff support to the more delicate

THE DRAGONFLIES OF SOUTH-WEST SURREY. 195

portions of the wing,* and as an additional strength, helping the
Dragonfly to sustain its powerful flight. But this theory has
been considerably weakened owing to the fact that this thorn
structure is to be found on the wings of Agrionide, Caloptery-
gide, whose powers of flight are weak, and even the fragile
Hphemeride. So for the present its use must remain a doubtful
question.

Wishing to dissect the larva of a Libellula, to kill it I plunged
it into water at nearly boiling-point and left it immersed for
half a minute. When taken out, it recovered after a short time
and became as lively as ever. If the abdomen of a dead
Inbellula larva be slightly pressed, the ‘‘mask”’ shoots out
automatically.

*« Cf. “The Adaptions of Aquatic Insects to their Environments,” by

Gordon Dalgliesh. ‘Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society,’
November 15th, 1909.

196 THE ZOOLOGIST.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Common Shrew in Islay.—In his ‘“ Notes on the Mammals of
Islay,” published in ‘ The Zoologist’ (ante, p. 118), Mr. Harold Russell
records the capture of the Common Shrew (Sorex araneus) there in
1909, under the impression that the species has not previously been
identified from the island. Perhaps, therefore, I may be allowed to
draw attention to my record in the ‘Annals of Scottish Natural
History’ for April, 1905 (p. 116) of one caught in Islay the previous
year, which has escaped Mr. Russell’s notice. — Wintiam Evans
(Morningside Park, Edinburgh).

AVES.

Nesting of the Wren.—Mr. 8. G. Cummings’s instance of a Wren’s
nest which was built in March, left unlined, and not containing eggs
until June (ante, p. 159), reminds me of a very similar experience here
two years ago. In the middle of April a Wren was watched busily
constructing a nest under the roots of a tree overhanging the bank of
a burn. A month later (May 14th) a bird was flushed from this nest,
which was found to contain an incomplete clutch of eggs. What
interested me particularly in this case, however, was that the builder
was a male, and the nest, when ieft in April, was a typical “ cock’s
nest.” The bird’s sex was sufficiently attested by the frequent merry
song with which he beguiled his labours. Was Mr. Cummings’s nest
also built by a male bird? To my mind it has never been satis-
factorily shown that the purpose of the “cock’s nests” is to afford
roosting quarters for the grown-up young, although that is no doubt
frequently the result. Sometimes the original nursery continues to
be used as a dormitory after the nesting season is long over, aS was
the case in an instance last year, when a nest in which a family was
reared in late July was still occupied nightly by several birds up to
the end of November, and perhaps later. — 8. EH, Brock (Kirkliston,
West Lothian).

Avocets in Norfolk —The three Avocets which were mentioned as
having been seen on Breydon mud-flats by the watcher there on
July 8th, 1909 (ante, p. 130), probably went to Blakeney—which is
seventeen miles distant by the shore—when driven off by the high
tide, for three were seen at that place on the same day, as I learn

NOTES AND QUERIES. 197

from Mr. Quintin Gurney.
and I have no doubt passed on.

They were not molested at either place,

May I correct some mistakes I passed in my recent ‘“ Ornithological
Report for Norfolk”? On page 128, line 30, the word “ France ”
should be added; on page 131, line 13 from bottom, ‘“ Rossitton ”
should be ‘“ Rossitten,”’ the ornithological migration station in the
Baltic ; and on page 123, ‘‘ Warmer’ should be “ Farman.’’—J. H.
Gurney (Keswick Hall, Norwich).

f

y ‘all
Yer sh 6
a © ar ite ee ah : if nS i e 7
no - (i sas a | AS eee at * . ch —
4 meth = N eae iy: LS eee. 4s ee pa I
EM dia a intr Tee act de aes ee Mi MY ae) Sef pire Xe
SOAS EAG Ce Cet Bi eo aiet ef é ~
3 <i) R

r

INSECTA.

An Undetermined Species of
Stick-Insect found in Devonshire.
—A short time ago Mrs. M. F.
Arbuthnot, of Fairlawn, Paignton,
Devon, sent to the Natural History
Museum a species of the group
Phasnude, which had been found
in her garden on a climbing rose.
She added: ‘‘A winged one found
has escaped.” The winged insect
probably had no connection with
the specimen before me, as the
latter apparently belongs to the
apterous genus Macracantha, and
is possibly the female of the true
Bacillus geisovi of Kaup (Trans.
Zool. Soc. 1866, p. 578), from New
Zealand, which is certainly distinct
from the insect described by Hutton
under that name, and subsequently
re-named by him Acanthoderus
sutert. ‘The synonymy is given in
my ‘Synonymic Catalogue of Or-
thoptera’ (vol. i. p. 340). See also
Brunner yon Wattenwyl and J.
Redtenbacher, ‘ Die Insekten fami-
lie der Phasmiden’ (pp. 238, 239),
who also write the two species
under the name of dAcanthoderus
gersovit. There is a defective speci-
men of another closely allied species

198 THE ZOOLOGIST.

in the Natural History Museum from Stewart Island, apparently
distinct from any of those recognized by Hutton.—W. F. Kirpy.

Notes from South-west Hants.—In this neighbourhood the summer
of 1909 will be long remembered as a very disappointing period in the
pursuit of natural history objects, especially entomological; and the
winter following was none the less uncertain from an ornithological
point of view. The cold nights in July were very much against the
success of the moth collector, and most of the generally common
species of butterflies were restricted in numbers, except perhaps the
two whites—P. brassice and P. rape—the larve of which were all
too common upon the cabbage tribe, entirely destroying the crop in
some localities. Again, the past winter has been somewhat abnormal
both in weather and temperature ; Bats abroad in January, Blackbird
singing, and eggs and young Thrushes in February are not of frequent
occurrence even in our uncertain climate. Referring to the spring of
1909, we find the Swifts put in an appearance in very strong force
and unusually early, but later in the season scores perished with the
cold. Other members of the Swallow tribe were not so abundant as
usual, but a comparatively good number of the Nightjars were to be
seen and heard of an evening, and I am glad to say at the same time
the welcome ‘crake’ of the Land-Rail was occasionally detected ;
although once so common, this strange note had been very scarce, if
not entirely wanting hereabouts, of late years. Of the other summer
visitors, a fair sprinkling occurred—all except the Nightingale, whose
notes were much more scarce than usual; some three summers ago
the birds sang and might have nested in some of the gardens close to
Ringwood. Harly in June the migrating Hobby was not rare: I
knew of three being slaughtered within a fortnight, and possibly a
pair nested in a certain wood, as they frequented the same locality
throughout the summer, and yet I did not hear of any following the
Swallows, as they often do in their autumn migration. That the
Shoveler also bred in the valley of the Avon I have no doubt, as the
description of Ducks occasionally brought to me during the summer
could apply to none other than the male Shoveler, and as a more con-
clusive proof quite young birds were seen by one of the river keepers,
who also saw young Teal upon the water. Of course, it is not the
first time either species has nested in the locality, but it is interesting
to know they still do so, if rarely. The Redshank still continues to
visit us, perhaps in increasing numbers, and nests in localities where
a few years ago it was a stranger, its eggs being often sold as those

NOTES AND QUERIES. 199

of the Peewit; large flocks of the latter bird were seen passing to and
fro, but fewer nests than usual were found, and throughout the
summer and autumn I heard of but one Peregrine Falcon preying
upon the Plovers at any time, which was not the case in former years.
As the winter advanced, a large number of Golden Plover were seen
at times frequenting the same locality as the Peewits, but their stay
was not prolonged—possibly the flooded meadows were not agreeable
to them—and if settling upon a favoured spot in company with or
near their crested relatives, the two species invariably separated on
rising and flew in opposite directions.

At the end of September an immature female of the Honey
Buzzard was killed. It was in dark plumage, various shades of
brown predominating, especially upon its long and beautiful tail. Its
stomach was quite empty and body scantily nourished, but its
plumage was clean and bright, and not in the condition one often sees
in a lean, semi-starved creature. The river being in flood most of the
winter the conditions were unfavourable both for gun and rod. Teal
were scarce, and Wigeon only in fair quantity; Snipe were often
abundant, but no extraordinary ‘“‘bags’’ were made, and, although a
goodly number of Mallard were upon the water, only a few Pochard,
Tufted Duck, and Shovelers were seen or shot; whilst such species
as Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goosander, &c., were very rare or altogether
wanting. Indeed, on some parts of the river the wildfowl shooting
was almost abandoned, not so much from the recognized paucity of
birds as from the difficulty of getting near them, and in one sense
this was fortunate, as the mild open weather had induced many of
the Duck tribe to show signs of the coming duty of nesting—by
frequent squabbles amongst themselves, and pairs rising and flying
around the noisy group below—and it seems the height of folly when
creatures are killed at such a time. Unlike the reported abundance
of Wild Geese upon the east coast and in some parts of Ireland, very
few visited us, and were seen during two or three of the milder days
at the beginning of February flying over the inundated meadows, but
they soon disappeared, and were not seen again when the waters had
somewhat abated, and the weather was much more severe.

Several Bitterns frequented the same locality, and one if not two
were killed at distant points; but now more than formerly a better
state of feeling for the protection of this beautiful and interesting
species seems to prevail in many quarters, and quite rightly too, as
often the birds were killed just for the sake of “ killing something ” ;
and the same remark may be applied, with the same or greater force,

200 THE ZOOLOGIST.

to the most lovely of all our birds, vzz. the Kingfisher, which I am
glad to say has increased considerably during the past few years. It
is also interesting to know that a heronry in the neighbourhood is
still flourishing, notwithstanding the persecution accorded the grand
old birds if they wander far from their protected home. As to the
smaller winter visitors, I did not hear much of either Sisking or
Lesser Redpolls, but Bramblings and Crossbills were conspicuous at
times in suitable localities, the former foraging amongst the ‘“ beech-
mast,” and the latter favouring the ‘“conifers’’; both species are
rather uncertain in their visits, but generally occur in greater or
lesser numbers, the past winter being especially favourable, and yet I
have known of very few being shot; in fact, the only one was a
specimen a man described as ‘‘a red bird with a deformed bill, crossed
like the ‘nippers’ we formerly used for holding Hels.”

The river having overflowed its banks so often, the angling
successes have been few and far between. As usual, some fine Roach
and Perch were taken, and large Chub were to be had; but at the
opening of the Salmon season in February no fish was taken in the
upper parts of the river for several weeks, and very few since have
fallen to the lot of the most expert angler. I was told that a very
fair number ascended for spawning in November and December, but
few ‘‘fresh run”’ fish seem to have come very far up the stream for
the present; perhaps when the “ prawn”’ bait is used in May things
will be more promising. Several large Pike, ranging from 20 lb. and
upwards, were taken, and one angler told me he caught ten in one
day, the largest—which I saw—weighing 22 lb., and the next in
weight 18 1b., the rest were smaller, ranging from 3b. to 6 lb each.—
G. B. Corsin (Ringwood).

P.S.—Two fine female Badgers were captured, ai the end of
March, in a locality where only Foxes were suspected, and several of
the cream-coloured variety of the Mole have been met with, but I —
have not heard of or seen a Stoat in white or dappled coat the whole ~
season.—G. B. C.

3 ANOR - ORMEROD, LLDe

ee ~—6Gronomic Entomologist.
“AUTOBIOGRAPHY & CORRESPONDENCE.
Edited by ROBERT WALLACE.

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fin AQOLOGLS LF

No. 828.—June, 1910.

THE MECHANISM OF PLUMAGE IN WATER BIRDS.
By Frepericx J. Srupss.

Most observers are familiar with the power of certain birds
to alter the degree of their submergence in the water. It is
many years since the question was first discussed—by Atkinson
and Slaney in the second volume of ‘ The Zoologist,’ and by
Beverley Morris in the first volume of his ‘ Naturalist.’ Since
then other writers have published their views, without adding
anything to our knowledge, and the mystery is as deep to-day as
it was sixty years ago; so no apology seems necessary for this
further attempt to solve the puzzle.

At times the Moorhen—as I have myself frequently observed
—and almost certainly the Grebes, hold themselves beneath
water by grasping the stems of aquatic plants. It has been
denied that the Grebe has the power to so use its toes, but I have
several times seen this bird disappear from sight, and remain
hidden, under circumstances leaving no room for doubt that the
bird was keeping itself beneath the surface by clinging to the
vegetation, as a Moorhen will do. Before we state that a Grebe
cannot use its toes for grasping, we must consider the structure
of a bird’s foot, and the way it is used in the case of the Moor-
hen and other birds. Owing to the form of the joint between
the proximal phalanges and the tarso-metatarsus, the outer

digits, when the foot is closed, press in laterally towards the
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., June, 1910. R

202 THE ZOOLOGIST.

centre. The flexion of the toes is thus quite capable of provid-
ing sufficient lateral power to grasp small objects placed in the
extreme angle. It is easily tested in a dead bird, and freely used
by the Moorhen and its relatives when feeding on such sub-
stances as maize. Sometimes the hallux is used as a supple-
ment, but generally the grain is held tight either between
the second and third or the third and fourth digits. This is
by the way; I mention it because the point has escaped
notice, and the knowledge may be useful in a study of the
Grebes beneath water.

Yet it often happens that a bird, from a position indicative of
extreme buoyancy, will on alarm sink in the water until only the
top of the back and the head and neck are visible, and this at
times when the aid of such things as plants is out of the ques-
tion. In fact, with the birds of the genus Colymbus, grasping is
anatomically impossible, even did the foothold exist. The Red-
throated Diver, on occasion, swims as high in the water as a
Mallard; yet when alarmed it will sink until almost all the
body is below the surface. This is true, to a certain extent,
of all swimming birds. Even the surface-feeding Ducks (as
Slaney noticed) are able to submerge their bodies to an extra-
ordinary extent.

Without any further notice of facts that are common know-
ledge, an attempt can be made to solve the problem. It is merely
a question of specific gravity, and the methods by which this is
at the will of the bird. Gatke, in a well-known paper, attempted
to deal with the matter this way, but his essay was not a happy
one. For one thing, he guessed the bulk of a Great Northern
Diver to be about one cubic foot! He knew the weight of a foot
of North Sea water to be sixty pounds, and a very little trouble
would have shown him that the bulk of a big Great Northern
Diver was not the third of a foot.

I am enabled to give the exact bulk of a few typical water
birds. The cubic content of a Black-necked Grebe weighing ten
ounces was 25°3 in.—-roughly speaking, the sixtieth part of a
foot. A Little Grebe of six ounces had a bulk of 13in.; a Smew
of fifteen ounces, 35 in.; a Mallard of two pounds, 198 in. All
these calculations were made on clean dry birds, with the
“‘ feather film ’’—to coin a convenient term—unbroken. Students

MECHANISM OF PLUMAGE IN WATER BIRDS. 203

of physics will remember that the surface-film of water is ap-
preciably tenacious, and is with difficulty broken by a fine-
meshed fabric. The water-repelling property of the plumage
of such a bird as a Duck is attributed to the grease or oil on the
feathers. This I find to be by no means always the case; the
grease must play a very minor part indeed in the work of kéep-
ing the feathers dry. The experiment of washing the feathers
of a Duck in warm soda water, and afterwards with benzine, so
that all trace of oil is removed, proves that the power lies in the
actual structure of the feathers. The parts employed are the
cilia and barbicels normally, the modified barbules frequently,
and the hamuli (when present on the contour feathers) also
frequently. I may be allowed to point out that this use of these
feather elements has not before been noticed; and I think that
without their aid existence under present conditions would be
impossible to most birds.

I have termed this outer mesh of barbules, and the pile of
cilia, the ‘‘ feather film.”’ It is hardly correct to say that when
a bird gets wet the water penetrates the feathers; as a matter
of fact, it is the other way about—the feathers penetrate the
water! As long as the tough surface-film of the water remains
intact, the feathers will remain dry, and the fine pile of the
cilia and barbicels, only to be detected by the microscope, keeps
the water from the coarse touch of the harder parts of the
feathers.

Between this ‘‘ feather film”’ and the skin of the bird there is
a thick layer of air, varying in quantity according to circum-
stances. Ina clean and dry Black-necked Grebe I ascertained
it to be 4°8 cubic inches. In life this aerial envelope could have
been considerably increased at will. Each of the contour feathers
is provided with a separate apparatus of muscles, whereby it can
be held out at right angles or pressed close to the body. In the
first case the bird would appear round and fat, in the second
very slim, and there would be a corresponding change in the
extent of the air-envelope, and consequently of the buoyancy of
the bird. By adjusting the thickness of this layer of air be-
tween the “‘ feather film”’ and the epidermis the bird can alter
its specific gravity ; and here, I think, we have the answer to
the riddle.

R 2

204 THE ZOOLOGIST.

I have made a great number of careful observations, calcula-
tions, and experiments on various species of birds, but I hardly
think it necessary to take more than a single instance, and that
the Little Grebe. The Lathkill and several other of the neigh-
bouring Derbyshire streams provided admirable conditions for
making the necessary observations, and for checking the experi-
ences of other districts. When a family party dozing in the
middle of a pool was alarmed, they all disappeared below the sur-
face and remained submerged, with the exception of their heads
or bills. I was not able to be sure how they held themselves below
the water, but see no reason to doubt that use was being made
of the rank vegetation—probably by the inward pressure of the
flexed toes, as I have described. Yet this detail is not of great
importance.

In time, if reassured by the stillness of the intruder, the
Grebes would appear again, but very gently and unobtrusively,
and in a while they would take up their positions at the surface,
perhaps in the centre of the pool, away from the vegetation. It
was easy to watch the slow transition from a state of total sub-
mergence—so far as the body was concerned—to one where
the birds floated, balls of feathers, high on the water. Those
familiar with Grebes (or almost any other species of water birds)
must have noticed this occasional habit of floating nearly as
lightly as a Gull.

At each distant alarming sound the Little Brahe: would drop
suddenly deeper in the water, the degree in the change of draught
varying with the source of the alarm; and when danger seemed
imminent, and the birds dived, a preliminary drop in the water
indicated a sudden change in the specific gravity. The Moorhen
acts in the same way when alarmed, but this instinctive feather
adjustment, for another purpose, however, is seen most. prettily
in its relative, the Water-Rail; at each forward step, if only for
a couple of inches, the flank-feathers are automatically pressed
close to the sides, so that a cross section of the body would
give not a circle but along oval. This is connected with the
Rail’s miraculous facility for passing rapidly through tangled
herbage.

The following results of experiments and calculations made
on a freshly killed Little Grebe support the conclusions based on

MECHANISM OF PLUMAGE IN WATER BIRDS. 205

those made with other birds. The absolute specific gravity of
this specimen was ‘86. While dry and clean, with plumage
unruffled, and the aerial envelope kept as large as possible,
it was °66, and with the feathers carefully bound down with
fine yarn in as natural a manner as possible it was ‘84. The
actual loss of bulk between the two conditions—with feathers
held out and with them depressed—was 2°24 cubic inches. Of
course, the whole of this air is not available for lifting the
bird in the water, but I see no way of measuring the exact
amount of the effective air, and must be allowed to guess
that at least one full inch can be used. The increase in buoy-
ancy due to the addition of one cubic inch of air to a body
six ounces in weight must be very considerable, and quite
enough to cause the alterations in draught that we observe in
the living bird.

Some observers have thought that the air-sacs play a part in
the submergence of water birds. I cannot think this isso. In
a dead bird the amount of air in these rarely examined reservoirs
is very small, as may be seen by opening them under water, and
the structure of the body prevents the bird increasing this
quantity to any useful extent ; and, it will be remembered, the
volume of air would bear but a small proportion to that of the
aerial envelope outside the epidermis and within the ‘‘ feather
film.”” Observations seem to show that the syrinx of a Little
Grebe is too small to allow the escape of a sufficient quantity
of air to cause the sudden difference of draught in the alarmed
bird.

There are many minor points that will be noticed by a
thoughtful observer, but I do not think it is necessary to detail
them here. An alarmed bird lifts its heavy head and neck right
out of the water, thus destroying the large reservoir of air
round the crook of the neck, and throwing additional weight
on the floating body—just as an uplifted arm will press a
Swimmer deeper in the water. The actual shape of the bird
is also important, but I am sorry to say that I have not been
able to make any reliable experiments. When a diving Duck
is standing on the land (a Pochard was an excellent example)
it exhibits a broad and flat keel, and is obviously farther through
from side to side than when it is diving. This is an important

206 THE ZOOLOGIST.

item, for a flat-bottomed vessel floats higher than one of the
same weight with a deep and narrow body. Of course, the
Duck can alter the outward shape of its waterproof ‘‘ feather
film” at will.

I offer the above remarks as an attempt to solve a problem
that has for long puzzled ornithologists. I have explained how
a Grebe may use its clumsy toes, and how a Moorhen actually
does use them; indicated the use of the cilia and other feather
elements in keeping the plumages of all birds waterproof, and
showed that this power is not dependent on the grease. Finally,
I point out how the actual submergence of a swimming or
floating bird is due to the height of its specific gravity, and how
this is readily adjusted within the necessary limits by the volun-
tary act of the bird.

( 207 )

NOTES ON THE BREEDING OF THE GREAT TIT
(PARUS MAJOR, LInv.).

By C. Kinasury SIDDALL.

Tue usual time for the breeding of the Great Tit is from the
middle of April onwards. The pair under notice commenced to
build on the last day of April in a box which had been placed
for the purpose in an apple-tree. |

The nest was a typical one, composed of moss and a good
deal of red wool which had evidently been torn from an old mat.
It was warmly lined with wool and hair. Both birds took part
in building, and finished the nest on May 4th. The first egg
was laid on May Sth, and on the 12th the female began to sit on
a clutch of seven. She sat extremely closely, and often refused
to move when the box was opened. This was done very fre-
quently, in the hope of finding the male bird sitting. He was
never discovered doing so, and, indeed, visited the nest seldom in
the daytime during incubation, though he always roosted in the
box at night. He was not observed to carry food to the sitting
female during this period.

Some days before the young were hatched, a camera was
placed in position, with the result that the Great Tits became
accustomed to the sight of it, and photography (with a twenty-
foot shutter release) became a fairly easy matter. A hiding-
place was arranged, eighteen feet from the camera, from which
the exposures could be controlled, and with a pair of binoculars
any known species of larve could be readily recognized when the
parents came to the nest.

On May 24th seven young birds were safely hatched; in
appearance excessively ugly, the only covering on their other-
wise naked skins being a suspicion of down on their skulls and
shoulders. The legs and claws looked much too strong for the
rest of their bodies.

On the fourth day there was down on the dorsal tract, and
signs on the wings of the coming pen-feathers. On the sixth
day the bluish tinge was noticeable. The tail-feathers could not

208 THE ZOOLOGIST.

be seen until the tenth day. The first nestlings had their eyes
open on the eleventh day.

On the fifteenth day a curious incident oceurred—the female
laid an egg on the young birds! When twenty-one days old the
nestlings were fully feathered, and two days later they left
the nest.

On leaving the box the old birds usually carried out the
feeces of the young, and dropped them a short distance away ;
apparently the feces were never swallowed by the parents. It
is an interesting point to observe that, although the nest is kept

Youne GREAT Tits, Twenty-two Days OLD.

clean in this way, it is very full of vermin. Why do these
insect-eating birds leave these untouched? ‘The food carried
in to the nestlings consisted almost exclusively of small moth
larve.

About thirty yards from the nest there was a small spindle-
tree, which was at this time literally covered by the larve of the
Small Ermine Moth (Yponomeuta padella). For the first sixteen
days the Great Tits made no attempt to take these caterpillars.
Probably they were afraid of the web-like material which sur-
rounds the larve of this species.

NOTES ON THE BREEDING OF THE GREAT TIT. 209

On the seventeenth day the male bird was seen to be carrying
a grub which had not previously been observed. The camera-
shutter was released with a crash as he was about to enter the
box, and in his fright he dropped the caterpillar, which on
examination proved to be that of the Ermine Moth. Having
found they could take them with impunity, the Great Tits made
short work of these garden-pests, for, until the young left the
nest, the birds went backwards and forwards constantly between
the spindle-tree andthe box. On counting they were often found
to be paying four visits in five minutes. Frequently the female
would arrive with food before the male bird had left the box, and
vice versa. ;

An interesting difference in the behaviour of the sexes was
noted. The male bird invariably used the perch in front of the
box before entering. He would cling to it with his claws, while
he looked from side to side. In this position he was easy to
photograph. The female never used the perch; she would
alight on a branch in front of and a little above the box, and
would drop right in, merely touching the edge of the hole with
her feet as she entered. Several plates were exposed with the
same result, a view of her feet and tail being obtained each time.
Apparently it was not nervousness which accounted for this, as
the bough of the apple-tree she used to alight on was barely two
feet from the camera.

The larvee of the following insects were taken as food :—Small
Krmine Moth (Yponomeuta padella), Winter Moth (Cheimatobia
brumata), Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata), Cabbage Moth
(Barathra brassice), Sawfly sp. (Nematus ribesit). There were
three nests of Humble Bees (Bombus sp ) close at hand, but the
Great Tits made no attempt to take the bees. There is no
doubt that the birds will take any small larve as food, and the
species mentioned above happened to be the commonest avail-
able near the nest.

The Great Tits undoubtedly do much more good than harm
in an orchard or garden; the foregoing short list is composed
entirely of injurious insects, and the Small Ermine Moth in
particular is a most destructive species. It is rather curious to
note that no beetles or flies were taken, the explanation probably
being that more palatable food was plentiful.

210 THE ZOOLOGIST.

On June 17th the young birds left the nest. It will be thus
seen that five days were spent by the old birds in building the
nest, seven in laying, twelve in incubation, and twenty-three in
rearing the young. Contrary to expectation, the Great Tits did
not use the box for roosting at night after the nestlings left it.

On the day of flight the seven young were seen at intervals
following the parent birds from tree to tree. Food was still
carried to them, and it was a pretty sight to see them feed. On
June 21st two adults and five young Great Tits were seen, close
to the box, searching for food in the fruit-trees, and now the
young were making efforts to find their own food.

On June 26th the same numbers, and almost certainly the
same birds, were observed in the orchard, but after that date no
family of Great Tits was seen in company, although numbers of
young and adult birds were common through the summer. This
would rather point to the breaking up of the Great Tit family
much sooner after the nest is left than is the case with its
relation, the Long-tailed Tit (Acredula caudata). Families of
this species are known to keep together months after leaving
the nest.

It is perhaps worthy of note that the eggs in this nest were
left uncovered until the female began to sit; often the Great
Tits cover their eggs with feathers or wool when leaving the nest,
and continue to do so till the full clutch is laid and incubation
begins.

(uote *)

THE FORMATION OF USELESS HABITS IN TWO
BRITISH NEWTS (MOLGEH CRISTATA, Lavr.,
AND M. PALMATA, Scuneip.), WITH OBSERVA-
TIONS ON THEIR GENERAL BEHAVIOUR.

By Bruce F. Cummines.
(Concluded from p. 175.)

V.
My conclusions are :—

1. That Newts, in a labyrinth, rapidly acquire simple habits
of movement. Plasticity is shown, for these rapidly acquired
habits as rapidly disintegrate and become re-acquired, although
the acquiring of a habit takes longer than its re-acquirement,
after short intervals from about twenty minutes.

2. On account of the Newt’s plasticity, a simple habit can
be “‘forced”’ in a short space of time by frequency of stimulus.

3. The plasticity must again serve to account for the large
number and elaboration of useless habits formed, from which no
pleasurable result accrued.

4. A movement, once made, tends to be repeated. Apart
from useless habits, I observed throughout how frequently quite
insignificant and useless movements were carried out twice in
succession, or sometimes three times.

5. Motor sensations are chiefly used in learning the labyrinth.
It ‘‘ feels” the direction in which to turn (and in which it has
previously turned) through the effects of previous muscular
sensations. Touch also helps, but sight only a little.

6. The strong ‘‘ nosing” instinct or stereoscopic reflex can
be partially inhibited, and a perfect habit temporarily formed.

I have given in the preceding pages some of the most inte-
resting and the most typical examples of behaviour that I
observed. All the other experiments with the rest of the Newts
confirmed the conclusions above, but none of the animals, of
course, succeeded in learning the more complicated mazes per-

212 THE ZOOLOGIST.

fectly or permanently, for the same reason given for the others
—nosing and climbing impulses.

Wal:

It seems not improbable that the evolution of the capacity
for habit formation has taken the following stages :—

1. Where there is no modifiability of behaviour.

2. Where modifiability does exist, but in only a slight degree,
so that habits become formed only after a long period of
“‘stamping in.” On account of this protracted period of
‘‘ stamping in,” useless habits cannot be reduced, and therefore
correct habits are not formed, although roundabout methods
of solving the problems presented are adopted.

3. Where there is rapid modifiability, succeeded by a more
or less rapid reduction of useless habits. The very fact
of rapid modifiability makes reduction possible. But rapid
modifiability, in its inception, consists of the tendency mechani-
cally to repeat movements from which pleasure need not
necessarily result. Thus a large number of useless habits
would make their appearance, and the first solution of a problem
would be a very roundabout one. Subsequent experience would
reduce the number, and different animals, varying in intelligence,
would vary in the rapidity with which they were reduced.

4, Where a keener consciousness and a more acute intelli-
gence means rapid modifiability, but, more particularly, few
useless habits, as only movements ending in pleasure would
tend to be impressed on the nerve centres, and therefore to be
repeated. The relative intelligence of different animals in this
category would depend upon the rapidity of their perceptions of
those movements most conducive to pleasure, z.e. upon the
paucity of useless habits formed in the first instance.

5. Where, finally, modifiability is more or less immediate,
through the presence of the memory idea, absent in the others.

The first class is perhaps hypothetical, perhaps the Crab
belongs to the second, while the third class is represented by the
Newt, the fourth by the Pigeon, and the last by Man. All these
animals have had their learning powers tested. This course of
development would involve the formation of useless habits, not as
a freak of intelligence, but as a natural sequence in the order of

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 213

things. In an animal with a low intelligence, such as the Newt,
useless habits are very clearly demonstrated by the labyrinth
method, where, on account of the Newt’s plasticity, movements
tend to be repeated; useless habits are thus formed, and the first
solution of a labyrinth problem is a roundabout one. But there
is also reduction—the complement of rapid modifiability—so
that this animal, which has such blunt perceptions, is able by a
process of mechanically building up and then cutting down to
form a more or less perfect habit.

The examples of useless habits which I have given were all
extraordinary, and were described in order to show that there
does exist mechanical repetition of useless movements.

Prof. M. F. Washburn records* that in the case of some
Salamanders tested by her in a labyrinth, the animals never
learnt the maze properly, but formed many elaborately useless
habits. The motive employed was not satisfactory, and the
experiments were not therefore completed. It is, however, inte-
resting to note that the appearance of these elaborately useless
habits have been corroborated by my experiments with Newts.
Useless habits of a lesser degree have been also reported in other
animals.

What conclusion is to be drawn from a consideration of the
Newt's tendency to repeat movements is difficult to see. The
observations made on the Newt, especially when in the spiral
labyrinth, showed that movements undoubtedly tended to be
repeated, irrespective of consequences. The animal went con-
tinuously right or continuously left of the pillar, though both
were equally correct. It might be supposed, therefore, that the
repetition of these turns is largely mechanical, and only very
indirectly dependent upon conscious choice. If the Newt simply
chose the directions leading to pleasure, it should on the average
have gone alternately right and left of the pillar of the spiral.
In other labyrinths many useless habits were formed which led
only extremely indirectly to pleasure. It is possible that this
tendency under certain conditions to repeat movements indis-
criminately is mechanical. Such a mechanical tendency could
be acquired if useful. Its usefulness to the animals when in
a state of nature is quite inconceivable, and if mechanical,

* «The Animal Mind,’ p. 231,

214 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the movements must therefore be repeated through some un-
known and wholly adventitious nerve mechanism, which seems
impossible. The explanation of useless habits as they occur
in the Newt and other animals probably lies in the nervous
inertia of these animals. They prefer, when hard pressed as in a
labyrinth, to repeat an old movement rather than seek out new
and more appropriate ones. We can observe not an exactly
parallel but an analogous case where a man in a labyrinth, out
of which he had not found the way, would, in wandering up and
down the passages, form after a time little habits of movement
that would save him mental exertion.

Part 2.
Vile

In attempting to form an opinion on the general psychology
of the Newt, it is necessary to take into consideration the various
chapters in the story of its life. There is one which stands out
in particular, amid its general amphibian sluggishness, as proof
of an unexpected amount of nervous activity stored up in the
brain which only develops periodically—I mean its courtship
displays in the spring. In the Palmate, for example, the male
assiduously follows the female about, taking advantage of every
opportunity to display. Its display attitude is well known—
curved body, hollowed-out, cavernous side on the inside of the
curve, and the rapidly vibrating tail and caudal filament. The
whole aspect of the animal is one of extreme activity and nervous
tension, which, occurring as it does in a Newt, is thoroughly
surprising. This excitement expends itself along the easiest
line by travelling into the tail, which is so easily swept from
side to side, or vibrated. Most courtship displays can be
explained in the same way as a matter of accident. In the
case of the Great Crested Newt a gradation is found, leading up
to that which obtains in the Palmate. The Great Crested does
not bend the tail back flat along the side, and rapidly vibrate it ;
it merely waves the tail like a happy dog or an angry cat. Its
excitement is less than the little Palmate’s.

The handsome and distinguishing features of the male Palmate
all lie along the sides of the body, one or the other of which is
always turned towards the female during courtship displays. © It

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 215

is a curious fact—to sexual selectionists a very useful one—
which I do not think has been pointed out before, that—

1. The displays invariably take place at the front end of the
body of the female Newt where she can see them.

2. The tail is invariably vibrated on the side which is facing
the female. If, in the middle of a display, the female so moves
as to be able to see only the other side, the male stops vibrating
its tail, unbends it, and turns it round to the other side, where
the vibrations are re-begun.

That the Newt possibly recognizes the female only by sight is
shown by the following circumstances: I had in the same basin,
with healthy males and females, two unhealthy males, which
had developed only to a very slight degree the usual sexual
adornments. In fact, they looked very much like females. On
two occasions a male—a different one each time—came and
displayed before these males, which they obviously mistook for
females. As I shall emphasize later on, the frequency with
which Newts are deceived by appearances is a marked feature.
I have also watched ecstatic little males displaying to a female
while the latter was in the act of laying an egg.

The female remains quite passive throughout; if she is
willing to be fertilized, her willingness is indicated by a hypnotic
stare ; she remains motionless long enough for the male’s excite-
ment to reach its flood, when the spermatophore is dropped.
Whether the motion of the tail has any fascination for the
female it is difficult to say, but it is worth remembering that
Newts are exceedingly quick to observe motion, and are often
deluded into snapping at moving objects in mistake for food,
while other motions they will watch attentively for minutes at a
time. Whatever be the feelings of the female, no one can help
being astonished at the abounding energy and enthusiasm of the
little male. Ihave seen it, in a paroxysm of sexual excitement,
bend and vibrate its tail, hollow out its body, and lift the whole
of its hind quarters and legs off the ground, so that it assumed
the appearance of standing on its head. There is no such be-
haviour in the Toad or the Frog to compare precisely with this,
as the tetanic contraction of the muscles of the fore legs of the
Toad on the abdomen of the female, if roughly equivalent in the
amount of energy required, is not so spectacular as the Newt’s

216 THE ZOOLOGIST.

performances, and necessitates less mental activity and alert-
ness.
VILLI.

As to parental instinct, the Newts show a distinct advance
on the Frog and the Toad. In the Palmate Newt the leaf of a
water-plant is clasped by the hind feet of the female in the well-
known way, and after the deposition of the egg the leaf is bent
back and round the egg, and secured by a sticky gland secretion.
Such a mode of egg-laying means that a less number of eggs
can be laid, for, in the place of the mechanical reproduction of
a large number of eggs, we have the careful concealment of a
relatively few, 2.e. reproductive activity is in part turned over
into mental activity. It is shown on all hands by a study of
comparative psychology that our system of zoological classifica-
tion ig even more arbitrary than there was any reason to expect.
In placing the Bee, for example, in a position so far below the
Newt, zoologists are only taking into consideration one or two
morphological points, such as the occurrence in the Newt of a
backbone and in the Bee of a tracheal system. Yet it must be
admitted that from the wider standpoint of general but more
particularly nervous organization the Bee, albeit on a different
branch, stands as high on the Tree of Life as does the Newt. The
convenience of our classification is very great, but it is apt to
lend us a distorted view of the actual relations between different
animals. Because man has a backbone, we are too disposed to
think that any organism without one must be a ‘‘ lower animal.”
The brain of the Newt can only be considered higher than that
of the Bee in reference to its form, the mould in which it is cast.

xe

An account of the mental characteristics of the Newt would
be very incomplete which did not refer to its feeding habits and
its astonishing voracity. As a rule a Newt will not eat a dead
and motionless worm, not, I think, because it is dead, but
because it is motionless. I made a few observations on the
behaviour of some Great Crested Newts, when presented with
some dummy worms made of putty. If the dummies be motion-
less at the bottom of the pan, no notice is ever taken of them.
But if I took hold of the end of one by a forceps and waved it

USHLESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 217

about so as to imitate the motions of the worm, the attention of
the Newts was immediately called toit. A large female accepted
the dummy and the real worm in the following order :—Dummy,
worm, dummy, worm, dummy, worm, dummy, dummy, worm,
after which it refused dummy. The next day it went: dummy,
worm, after which dummy was refused. After it had been
offered dummy four more times it grew to take no interest in
it, its motions not attracting its attention in any way. A
real worm was then offered the animal, which it immediately
seized with avidity. A dummy was then offered again, and
it seized it quickly, but dropped it again, and after, although
it went on accepting the worms, it continued to refuse the
dummies.

The dummies were twice as big as the worms. The Newts
paused longer before snapping at a dummy than they did before
a worm, except in the above case, where it was quickly seized
and as quickly dropped. This shows that the Newts are able to
distinguish a difference between worms and dummies, but that
they are sufficiently deceived by appearances to be induced
eventually to snap and swallow. I found the same animals
would follow about a piece of bent wire, and one of them even
snapped at it, but this animal may have been more than usually
hungry. One of my Cresteds, after living in one of my pans for
six months, died of starvation, on account of an obstruction of
the rectum, which, on dissection, was shown to be caused by a
small quantity of earthy matter and seven caddis-worm cases,
with remains of their putrefied occupants. The earthy matter
was of the same material as the cases, and probably repre-
sented at least another caddis-worm case, making eight in
all. The rectum was distended to bursting point, and the
other organs displaced. The species of caddis-worm was a very
common one in the pond when the Newt was taken, at which
time it was first observed to be suffering from what I thought
was a tumour.

This is easily explained if we bear in mind the Newt’s
readiness to snap at moving objects. Palmates are great adepts
at snapping at almost microscopic organisms as they rush past.
Another Newt, which I tried, drove me to the conclusion that

either it was a mental wreck or else had developed a taste for
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., June, 1910. Ss

218 THE ZOOLOGIST.

putty! It snapped and swallowed a small piece six times in
succession, and snapped at it twice after, making eight in all,
after which it refused the dummy, although taking the worm.
The front legs are never used in feeding as in the Toad.

It is worth remarking that by some means or other the
Newts in a pan of water, which have not themselves noticed the
presence in the water of a worm, nevertheless frequently appear
to realize it immediately, as soon as another Newt has seized
the worm and given it the usual shake from side to side—a
useful instinct which prevents the coiling of the worm around
the Newt, and which is given also with dummies, but not with
animals other than worms. A sense of taste very probably
exists, as I have seen an empty Newt sometimes come up and
place its lips against those of another which had just swallowed
a worm, and afterwards show by its tendency to snap at its
comrades that it knew there had been food about.

xe

A Newt, on arriving at the edge of a square board raised above
the ground, as a rule stops and pauses before throwing itself
over. I discovered that at heights of 180 centimetres and
upwards the Great Crested generally refused to go over, after
hanging over the edge and looking down to the ground beneath,
which in all these experiments was covered with a dull brown
cloth. Some animals would go over at any height, others would
show great hesitation at the 180 centimetres, eventually slip-
ping over—it was difficult to tell whether by accident or inten-
tionally. If the Newts are in a hurry, or in a state of excitement,
they rush off at any height. Similarly with three Newts which
were extremely lethargic through hybernation. It is interesting
to observe that in the case of fifteen M. cristata, which, in the
beginning of September, were removed from water to a vivarium,
the heights at which they would throw themselves over the edge
of the board varied in inverse ratio as the length of time that
they had been removed from the water. After being in the dry
box for forty-eight hours, 60 centimetres was refused by nine to
six. After ninety-six hours only two went over. On the fifth
day five refused 6 centimetres. On the next day nine refused
15 centimetres, two refused it at the first trial (going over sub-

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 219

sequently), and only three went right over at the first time.
Several days later I found that three of the Newts refused to
leave the board, when it was placed on the floor of the room, so
that the height was only the thickness of the board, 7. e. 2 ctim.
2mm. One of the three perceived the edge when a couple of
centimetres away, and would draw back. However, when placed
immediately after on a piece of cork matting only 8 mm. thick,
they all three went over, but only after a pause of ten seconds in
two of the cases and eight in the other! The rest refused a
height of 15 ctim. by eight to two.

By experimenting with these Newts, when in this condition
of refusing low heights, I thought to be able to discover whether
they had any elementary power of judgment of height. The
results showed that they can recognize extremely low heights
(as might have been expected) up to between 5 and 8 ctim.

The Newts, in all the experiments, were tested singly and in
series. Below are some of the best instances in which a Newt
showed its disinclination to go over 180 ctim.

Singly: 1. 60 ctim. refused after pause of 75 seconds.

2. oe) ” ) 30 oe)
3. 20 ctim. ee Ss 30.78;;
4, a went over __,, LS nyo
5. ” oe) 9 20 99
6. ” ” ” 10 oe)
7. 60 ctim. 3h NS LOM gts
8. 180 ctim. refused repeatedly, walking on the

board for five minutes.
9. 60 ctim. went over after a pause of 50 seconds.

This shows how easily previous behaviour influences the
Newt, not, however, completely in the 180 ctim., although the

pause at the next drop of 60 ctim. was increased. Another
animal gave :—

1. 60 ctim., over after 30 seconds.
2. ” oe) 20 9
3. 90 ctim., over immediately.
4.180 ,, refused repeatedly.
5. 60 ,, over after 60 seconds.
s2

220 THE ZOOLOGIST.

‘In series: 80 ctim., thirteen went over and five refused.
80 ,, eleven refused and five went over.
30 =,, eleven went over and six refused.

If the animal is able to judge when it is as high as 180 ctim.,
as the evidence points, it probably does so by sight. All the
animals, if hesitating, spent their time in looking down and
around. At 180 ctim., perhaps, they are able to see nothing at
all beneath them. In the middle distances they can see the
floor, and therefore fling themselves over when in normal con-
dition, but no judgment is formed as to the varying height of
these middle distances. The low heights they are perhaps able
to see distinctly, and therefore to form an elementary judgment.

In such a slight power of judgment we see something upon
which the forces of evolution could act, if necessary. But the
fact of the matter is that, so far as I am able to understand the
Newt’s feeling by observing its outward actions, a fall of 180 ctim.,
even when repeated several times in immediate succession, has
no effect upon it, except perhaps a little temporary discomfort.

The hopping Frog has to take “‘ pot luck’’ as to where it is
* going to land itself, and there is, of course, no hesitation in that
animal in jumping over a precipice, if one got in its way. The
Toad, if it is crawling, is always brought to a standstill by the
edge of a board. It is curious to observe in this animal, and
more especially in the Newt, how frequently it went to the edge
of a board without realizing it until the non-contact stimulus of
one of its feet attracted its attention, and it immediately looked
down.

It has been shown* that land-dwelling Tortoises crawl over
30 ctim. without reluctance. Water Tortoises plunged off with-
out hesitation, but at a height of 90 ctim. hesitated slightly.
Amphibious Tortoises hesitated at 80 ctim., and at 90 ctim.
showed more hesitation and reluctance.

xe

The Newt, in both species, has a strong stereoscopic reflex.
It is surprising to observe the strength it is able to employ in

* Dr. Yerkes : ‘‘ Space Perception in Tortoises,” ‘Journal of Comparative
Neurology and Psychology,’ vol. xiv. p. 17.

USELESS HABITS IN TWO BRITISH NEWTS. 221

forcing itself under a flat stone. If, in the autumn, a few Newts
be left in a large box, which is perfectly empty, they will be
found in a very short time together in a large heap, each Newt
having come along and thrust itself in under another, until
those originally on the bottom of the box become raised to the
top of theheap. This observation probably explains the fact that
Snakes and Frogs have been found, during hybernation, around
each other in a mass.* Whether Newts hybernate sometimes in
this way I donot know. ‘The flat nose of the Newt never fails to
respond to the stimulus of contact with one surface applied to
another so as to leave a suitable crevice.

The tail is used efficaciously as a prehensile organ, but the
action of the tail resembles the stereoscopic reflex, as it is an
instinctive response to surface contact, for it is seen that, while
it apparently with intelligence hooks the tail around an object,
it shows in the matter of unhooking a remarkable absence of
intelligence. I have seen it struggling to walk forward in vain
for minutes at a time, simply because its tail was coiled around
an upright post. The fore legs are never used to hold food, and
can be only very roughly employed to scrape acid or other
stimulus from the head.

Newts, in captivity, soon lose their natural wariness. The
commotion at first caused among freshly captured Newts in a
tank when someone approaches soon ceases after a short period
of captivity.

The Newt’s persistency at all times strikes the observer, but
the use of such a descriptive term applied to the Newt is very
misleading, as it signifies conscious determination to overcome
a difficulty which it at least partially understands. The Newt’s
“* persistency” is a recurrence of the already mentioned tendency
to repeat an action over and over again. It is an expression of
the superiority of its bodily activity over the activity of its
cerebral cortex.

In its primary instincts—those of breeding and feeding—the
Newt has been shown to display a certain impetuosity which is
significant when compared with the usual monotony and sluggish-
ness of the Newt’s existence. But this very impetuosity—an

* Dr. Gerald Leighton’s ‘ British Serpents,’ p. 60.

222 THE ZOOLOGIST.

advance as it is on the Common Toad and Frog—only serves to
show the bluntness of its perceptions.

The mother-liquor, from which all distinctive traits of animal
intelligence crystallize out, is a combination of variety of experi-
ence and individual mental variation which are largely absent
in the Newt. Only a strong effort of the imagination, after a
careful, first-hand study of the behaviour of Newts, can conjure
up in our minds a comparatively truthful picture of the dreary
monotony and automatism of the life of the Newt as a whole.
Such a picture, it is needless to point out, is very different from
those glowing accounts of the romance of animal life presented to
an innocent public in many of our English magazines. There
is no harm in these stories if they are honestly given their
correct designation—fairy stories. But the pity is that their
authors palm them off as Natural History.

( 223 )

RECORDS OF SOME SCANDINAVIAN WOODLICE.
By Ricuarp §. Baenauu, F.L.S., F.E.S.

In June, 1909, I had to visit Norway on business, and took
the opportunity of extending my journey to Sweden and Den-
mark. Whilst most of my time was devoted to business matters,
I spent several happy hours collecting in the neighbourhood of
Bergen, Arendal, and Christiania, in Norway; Gothenburg,
Sweden ; and Copenhagen, Denmark, taking a Springtail and
two or three Thrips new to science. I casually met with a few
Woodlice, and as T'richoniscus roseus, Koch, and Armadillidium
nasatum, B.-L., have not before been recorded from Norway or
the latter from Denmark, whilst Haplophthalmus mengii, Zadd.,
Trichoniscus pygmeus, G. O. Sars, JT’. roseus, Koch, Philoscia
muscorum, Scop., and Porcellio dilatatus, Brandt,* are apparently
new to the Swedish fauna, it is necessary to put the following
on record. Had I been aware at the time that the Woodlice of
Sweden were not well-known, I should have made a special
collection in that group.

Haplophthalmus mengu, Zaddach.—Sweden: One specimen in
the public gardens at Gothenburg, June 28th, 1909. An addition
to the Swedish fauna.

H. danicus, B.-Lund.—Norway : One specimen in the Tiaen-
hayn Botanic Gardens, June 25th, 1909.

Trichoniscus pusillus, Brandt.—Norway : Common; Bergen,
Stend, Os, Egersund, Fevig, Arendal, Sandviken, and Christiania.
Sweden: Gothenburg. Denmark: Near Copenhagen.

T. roseus, Koch. —- Norway: In the hothouse behind the
Museum, Bergen, with Armadillidium nasatum and Porcellio dila-
tatus, June 19th, 1909. Sweden: Gothenburg, June 28th, 1909.
Apparently new to both these countries.

* A.M. Norman, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 7, iii. p. 78, January,
1899. I base my remarks upon a table printed in above paper written more
than ten years ago. It is quite possible that the Swedish species have
received some attention since then.

224 THE ZOOLOGIST.

T. pygmeus, G. O. Sars. — Sweden: Gothenburg, with T.
roseus. ‘This minute form is now known from Norway, Great
Britain and Ireland, Belgium, and Sweden.

Philoscia muscorum, Scop.—In some places plentiful amongst
rank herbage and under stones in moderately dry situations.
Norway: By the roadside between Fevig and Arendal, June
23rd, 1909. Sweden: Near Gothenburg. Prof. Sars has never
met with this usually common form in Norway, and records but
two specimens taken by the late Dr. Jensen; whilst it is appa-
rently not recorded from Sweden. I feel certain that I also saw
this species at Kgersund, Norway, but there is no note to that
effect in my note-book.

Oniscus asellus, Linn., and Porcellio scaber, Latr.—Common
in all the localities quoted for T’richoniscus pusillus.

Porcellio rathket, Brandt.— Denmark: Two specimens from
under the bark of a log in a field at Ordruge, near Copenhagen,
July ist, 1909.

P. dilatatus, Brandt. — Norway: A few specimens from hot-
houses at Bergen and at Christiania. Sweden: In the fern-
house of the Gardens at Gothenburg, June 28th, 1909. Only
three specimens are recorded by Prof. Sars from Norway, whilst
it is evidently not known from Sweden.

Metoponorthus pruinosus, Brandt. — Sweden: Gothenburg,
with P. dilatatus.

Armadillidium vulgare, Latr.—Denmark : One specimen from
Copenhagen.

A. nasatum, B.-Lund.—Norway : In hothouses at Bergen; a
few specimens only. Denmark: Several examples in one of
the hothouses of the Botanic Gardens, Copenhagen. A. nasatum
has recently been recorded in great profusion from hothouses in
various parts of the British Isles, whilst I have also recorded it
from Belgium in similar situations. These are the first records
from Norway and Denmark.

A. pictum, Brandt.—Norway: Several under the bark of an
old lime-tree at Bygdo, near Christiania, June 27th, 1909. This
species has not yet been recorded from the British Isles, but
will almost certainly be found when more attention has been
given to the group.

RECORDS OF SCANDINAVIAN WOODLICE. 225

Sinee Webb and Sillem’s ‘ British Woodlice’ was published
in 1906 a small band of workers have added considerably to our
knowledge of the distribution of known species, and have made
several interesting additions to the fauna, including T'richo-
niscus pygmeus, G. O. Sars (England, Scotland, and Ireland) ;
Armadillidium album, Dollfus (Devon) ; Eluma purpurascens,
Budde-Lund (Ireland); and four hothouse species new to science,
namely, T'richoniscus stebbingt, Patience (Scotland, England, and
Belgium), 7’. spinosus, Patience (Clyde), 7. linearis, Patience
(London), and Philoscia patiencet, Bagnall (London and Win-
laton).

226 THE ZOOLOGIST.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Stoats (?) attacking Lapwings.—At the end of November, 1909,
~and during the first week in December following, some mysterious
animal, supposed to be a Stoat, killed quite a number of Plovers
on Mr. Millard’s farm at Hethel (which adjoins a farm of mine near
Norwich). Mr. Millard picked up four Lapwings and two Golden
Plovers, and his ploughmen found thirteen more. All of them are
described as haying blood on the head, otherwise not a feather was
ruffled. The two last ones found, however, had been partially eaten
by some creature.—J. H. Gurney (Keswick Hall, Norwich).

AVES.

Large Clutch of Eggs in Nest of Mistle-Thrush.— Whilst walking
near the village of Hucklow, Derbyshire, on May 17th, I found a nest
of Turdus viscivorus containing six eggs. The nest was unusually
large, the eggs were in no way cramped for space, and all were of the
same type and well marked. In my eight years’ experience of the
birds of North Derbyshire I have never known of six eggs in a nest
of this species. I have occasionally found five eggs, but the usual
number for this bird appears to be four. The nest was situated
in the fork of an oak-tree.—J.S. Macponaup (Bretton Clough, Eyam,
near Sheffield).

Strange Nest of Blackbird.—I have read with interest in several
numbers of ‘The Zoologist’ accounts of peculiar nesting-sites of
several birds. I had one brought before my notice the other day,
which I think is worth recording. It was a Blackbird’s nest built in
a rhubarb-leaf, and the leaf was standing in its natural position. To
keep the nest secure the birds had pierced holes in the leaf, and woven
pieces of dry grass round the ribs of it. The nest was very roughly
made, there being no lining of fine grass as is usual with the Black-
bird, but just a rough lining of mud. It contained three eggs, which
were unmistakably those of a Blackbird, and not of a Thrush. It may
also be of interest to state that I saw a pair of Hobbies flying quite
close to me on May 22nd, and these are the first I have seen in this
neighbourhood.—A. W. Ecutt (Commercial Street, Newport, Mon.).

NOTES AND QUERIES. 227

Late Stay of the Fieldfare—On May 17th I observed a single
Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) flying over the Thanet Golf Course. The
weather was thick at the time, and the bird had evidently lost its way,
for it was calling repeatedly, and making in a southerly direction.
This is, I believe, the latest record for Kent.—CoLiinawoop INGRAM
(Westgate-on-Sea).

Observations on the Nesting of Rooks.—In ‘ The Zoologist’ for
1904 (p. 191) I contributed some observations on the efforts of a pair
of Rooks (Corvus frugilegus) to build a nest some little distance from
the main rookery. Several equally unsuccessful attempts have been
made in the meantime. This year, however, six pairs succeeded,
after a certain amount of hostility from the main body, in completing
their nests, and, as I could watch from my windows the old birds
sitting on the nests, I have little doubt that the full complement of
eggs was laid. For some reason which I am quite unable to explain,
not a single young bird has been reared in any of these nests. I began
to suspect some little time since that all was not well with the little
colony, as one or two of the nests appeared to be deserted, and I
examined the ground below to see whether I could find any traces of
their having been disturbed, but there appeared to be nothing un-
usual. Once or twice when the birds were sitting I noticed a number
of Rooks perched on the adjoining trees; they did not seem to be
oyer-friendly, but I did not witness any act of aggression. There has
been no failure of young birds in the large rookery; in fact, we have
shot more than usual. Following the previous destruction of nests
whenever an attempt has been made to establish an outlying colony,
the facts appear to be very extraordinary.—R. H. Ramssoruam (Hlm-
hurst, Garstang).

Stone Curlew (Gidicnemus scolopax) in Bedfordshire.—This bird
was observed by a friend and myself at Sandy on May 15th last. It
was frequenting an area of market-gardening land between the roads
leading to Everton and Potton, and what was formerly a portion of
Sandy Heath. At this date it was more probably a wanderer from
some other locality than a belated migrant resting on passage. Years
ago the Stone Curlew nested not uncommonly on the Downs on the
southern portion of the county, but the last nesting on record was
about 1890, when two young that had a quantity of down still adher-
ing to their feathers were shot between Luton and Dunstable. Since
then but two other county occurrences can be given of this bird—
one in 1894 was killed near Dunstable, and another, which I saw in
the taxidermist’s hands, had been killed from a ploughed field on

228 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Nov. 3rd, 1904, at Haynes. —J. Sterte Exuiorr (Dowles Manor,
Salop).

Sandwich Terns and White Wagtails in Ireland. — For several
years past, while residing at Moy View, Co. Sligo, I regularly kept a
record of the dates of the spring arrivals of the Sandwich Terns to
Killala Bay, and of the Motacilla alba to the island of Bartragh, but
having left Moy View and come to reside at Ardnaree, Monkstown,
Co. Cork, my friend Captain Kirkwood, of Bartragh House, has kindly
undertaken to regularly keep up the future record of dates, and I now
give some extracts of his notes for this season. To begin with the
Sandwich Terns: they were unusually late; none were observed
until April 27th and 28th, although some years ago I observed them
in the bay and estuary as early as March 20th. My records from 1851
show that there were twenty-one arrivals in March, wz.: 1852,
March 28rd; 1854, March 21st; 1856, March 20th; 1877, March 29th ;
1880, March 24th; 1881, March 31st; 1882, March 30th; 1885,
March 30th; 1886, March 25th; 1887, March 28th; 1889, March
19th ; 1890, March 15th ; 1891, March 28th ; 1892, March 27th ; 1893,
March 23rd; 1894, March 27th ; 1895, March 30th; 1897, March
22nd; 1898, March 31st; 1899, March 26th; 1907, March 24th. It
would be interesting to know (now that watchers have been placed at
the English breeding haunts) whether the Sandwich Terns arrive at
their breeding haunts as early as they do at their Irish haunts,
and being such early breeders that I have seen fully-fledged birds
with their parents on the estuary as early as June 23rd. The White
Wagtails visited Bartragh in unusually large numbers this season,
and, owing to the long continuance of north and north-westerly winds,
their resumption of their northern flight was delayed until a favour-
able change of wind to south permitted it. The first arrival of the
advance guard was headed by a pair seen on the Oth inst. ; after-
wards single birds began to drop in, and on the 8th a flock of five
birds was seen. Next day several more were observed, and on the
12th a flock of twenty-five birds; some of these left, but on the 14th
twenty-two were counted about the marshy pasture (their usual
haunt). However, as the wind was changing to the south, by the
19th only a solitary individual remained on the island. During the
migratory season, if the winds are blowing mildly from the south and
west, very few birds drop down on Bartragh to rest, but the strong
north and north-westerly winds always delay their northern flight, and
they then make Bartragh the resting-place until the wind favours.—
Rosert WARREN (Ardnaree, Monkstown, Co. Cork).

NOTES AND QUERIES. 229

Terns feeding upon Sticklebacks.—In some of the dykes in Holland
Sticklebacks abound. I repeatedly watched both Black and Common
Terns fishing for them and feeding upon them. —R. Forrune (5,
Grosvenor Terrace, Hast Parade, Harrogate).

Large Clutches of Eggs.—During a recent nesting excursion to
Holland, I saw an Avocet’s nest containing five eggs, a Godwit’s with
six eggs, and a Redshank’s with six eggs. The Godwit had four eggs
when we first found it, the additional two eggs being in the nest when
we visited it three days afterwards. The probabilities are, of course,
that two birds laid in the same nest, though this was not very appa-
rent, and there should be no reason for it, for upon the vast area of
polders nesting-places are of course abundant. On May 28th, in a
nesting-box at Harrogate, I found a Blue Tit sitting upon seventeen
eggs. This box is fixed in an oak-tree in the centre of a large wood,
and is about twenty-five feet from the ground. We have a few boxes
about, and they are all tenanted by Blue and Great Tits. A neigh-
bouring box contained a Great Tit’s nest with one egg, and the female
dead upon the nest, egg-bound.—R. Fortune (6, Grosvenor Terrace,
Hast Parade, Harrogate).

A Note on Bird-Life in the Spessart.—A few notes on the birds
observed during a journey on foot through this district, in the com-
pany of a German ornithologist, may be of interest. The notes were
made between March 24th and 28th, 1910, at which date some migra-
tion was apparently in progress. The Spessart, I should state, is a
forest district in the north-west corner of Bavaria, about thirty or
forty miles from north to south, and rather less from east to west.
It is bounded on three sides by the River Main, which makes a deep
bend. The forest consists of oaks, beeches, and conifers. The highest
points are about two thousand feet high, and are densely wooded.
The valley of the river is cultivated for a mile or two on either side of
the meadows, which abut on the swift gliding stream. Bird-life was
very abundant, though the total number of species was not large.
The most interesting and characteristic birds of the forest are probably
the Great Black Woodpecker, the Kite, and the Buzzard. But it will
be better to go through the list in order. There were a few Mistle-
Thrushes in the forest, and song-Thrushes were rather more nume-
rous; the last species, I was told, being only a summer visitor. Black-
birds were quite absent from the forest, but I saw a few in the village
gardens in the Main Valley. On the evening of March 27th I heard
the first Chiffchaff singing feebly at Wertheim, and on the two follow-
ing days, as we walked down the valley, they were singing in their

230 THE ZOOLOGIST.

hundreds. The weather was warm, and it seemed that migration was
proceeding northwards along the river. As might be expected, Tits
were most abundant in the woods. We saw vast numbers of Acre-
dula caudata, and Parus major, ater, palustris, and ceruleus, but no
Crested Tits, though they are said to be found. Nuthatches were not
uncommon. I saw a few Wrens. Wherever there were streams there
were White Wagtails (Motacilla alba). These are, of course, sum-
mer migrants, but had arrived in thousands, and were all, it seemed,
paired. Whether they were still moving northwards I had unfortu-
nately no means of discovering. I saw at some distance one pair of
yellowish birds which appeared to be M. melanope, but I did not
satisfactorily identify them. Greenfinches were tolerably abundant,
and we saw a few flocks of Goldfinches. The House-Sparrow was
strangely uncommon. We saw very few, and only, occasionally,
actually in villages. On the other hand, there were numbers of the
more delicately formed and attractive Tree-Sparrows in the old apple-
trees by the roadsides. I noted a few Linnets at one spot; also a
single female Bullfinch. Yellow Buntings were plentiful every-
where, and in the Main Valley, where there are some small reed-beds,
a few pairs of Reed-Buntings were to be seen. Starlings were
exceedingly abundant. In the forest there were large numbers of
Jays, but Magpies, which are so conspicuous in most parts of North
Germany, were absent. On the other hand, in four days I saw more
Carrion-Crows than, I think, I had seen inall my previous life. There
were thousands of them both in the forest and in the cultivated places.
They were all Corvus corone, and we saw no Hooded Crows among
them. Some were in pairs, but the majority in flocks of two hundred
to three hundred. The only birds that were more plentiful than
Crows were Chaffinches, of which we saw enormous flocks. Sky-
Larks were much less numerous than in the flat plains of North
Germany.

Before daylight one morning I recognized the unmistakable song
of the Crested Lark, and saw several on the waste land outside the
railway station at Hanau. This was the only place where I saw any.
The song is sweetly modulated but short and is uttered on the wing,
and also, as often as not, when the bird is perched on a roof.
Buzzards (Buteo vulgaris) seem to be tolerably plentiful in the district.
I am told that they are regarded as harmless, and are protected in
Germany. We saw several each day and heard their familiar squeals.
On the 27th we saw two Kites playing and swooping over the river
just outside the small town of Wertheim. Whilst so engaged, one

NOTES AND QUERIES. ~— 231

was attacked and severely buffeted by a Carrion Crow for no apparent
reason. It was strange that the huge bird of prey appeared quite
incapable of resenting the impertinence of the Crow. On the 28th,
about ten miles down the river, we saw three Kites together, and
watched them for a long time in the air and perching most con-
spicuously on bare trees above the road. The Kites were all Milvus
ictinus. It is possible that they may have been the same as those
seen the day before who were migrating by easy stages northwards.
These three Kites were in company of four Buzzards, and one had
the rare pleasure of seeing these fine Accipitres together on the wing
over one’s head. The form and flight of the Buzzard and Kite
on the wing are strikingly different, though both soar in easy curves
with motionless wings. Seen from underneath, the tail of the
Buzzard is short, square, and not forked. The wings are obtuse and
carried horizontally. The tail of the Kite is long, narrow, and most
distinctly forked. The wings are carried at an acuter angle over the
back when soaring than those of the Buzzard. The only other bird
of prey seen was a single Kestrel. We saw one Heron, and on
March 28th a single Stork, apparently just arrived at his old nest
and sitting as though feeling the cold. Green Woodpeckers abound,
and the bird is an ancient symbol of the Spessart. The Great Black
Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) seemed to be fairly plentiful, but very
shy. There can be few districts more accessible to the English ornitho-
logist who wishes to study this noble Picarian bird. The flight is
characterized by the dipping movement of the other Woodpeckers,
and the loud ringing cry has a roll and a deeper note than the
familiar ‘“ yaffler.” I should write it down: ‘“True-true-true,” &c.
We heard a number, but only succeeded in once getting a view of
the bird. In the forest were small numbers of Wood-Pigeons but no
large flocks; and I saw a party of half a dozen Stock-Doves drinking
in the evening at a brook. An ornithologist who explored the
Spessart in May and June when migration was complete and nesting
going on would no doubt be well rewarded. The best starting-point
is Aschaffenburg on a main line of railway. Excellent maps showing
marked footpaths through the forest can be got there——Haronp
RussEvu (16, Beaufort Gardens, London).

INSECTA.

Notes on Culex vexans (Meigen) and Osmylus fulvicephalus.—
On March 22nd last I found, in a pool formed by rain-water in
a wood, a number of larve of a species of gnat. These larve in

232 THE ZOOLOGIST.

no way appeared to me to differ from those of Culex pipiens, except
that they were very large, about 10 mm. long. I took about two
dozen or so of these larva home, which I confined in a vessel of
water. I thought at the time the early date was very much against
their being those of C. pipiens. All works on entomology I consulted
were unanimous in deciding that the breeding of this insect was in
early summer. The larve I had gradually diminished in numbers,
one by one, and disappeared. Query: Were the rest guilty of canni-
balism ? The remaining larve turned into_nymphs on May 18th,
and the perfect insect appeared on May 20th. This unusually long
period from larva to imago struck me as curious, so I sent to Mr.
Austen of the British Museum a tube containing larva, nymph, and
fly in spirit. He very kindly supplied me with the following infor-
mation :—‘‘ I write to say that the Mosquito larve and-pupz are not
those of Culex pipiens, but belong to the species known as Culex
vexans (Meigen), about which our knowledge is as yet very scanty.
Mr. C. O. Waterhouse found the larvee of this species ina large pond
at Brockenhurst, in the New Forest, at the end of March 22nd,
1905, so that March 22nd would not appear to be an unusually early
date for the larve; but whether the species passes through the
winter in the larval state I am unable to say. Curiously enough, all
the perfect insects bred by Mr. Waterhouse are males [mine were
also males], and apparently he failed to breed a single female. If
you are ever able to obtain females of C. verans, I should be glad of a
few specimens for our Collection. They should either be pinned on
fine pins, or, if dead, sent dry in a tube containing a few pieces of
cigarette or tissue paper in order to prevent the specimens from
being injured by shaking about. Your specimens certainly seem to
have been an unusually long time in reaching the perfect state ; this
was perhaps due to the lack of some necessary food material in the
water.’ (My specimens had pond water supplied to them.) It is
perhaps worth while to mention that last year I took here numbers
of another “New Forest insect,’ namely, Osmylus fulvicephalus,
which I sent to Mr. Kirby for the National Collection. Mr. Water-
house, in acknowledging these specimens, wrote to me that he had
only met with it in the New Forest, ‘but it is not a common one,
or at any rate it is very local.” In 1908 I saw numbers of these
insects at Watersmeet, in North Devon.—Gorpon DaueuressH (The
Cottage, Brook, Godalming, Survey).

( 283 )

NOTICES OF NEW _ BOOKS.

Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, dc. Being a
Summary of Assorr H. THayer’s Discoveries. By Guraup
H. TuHaver. New York: The Macmillan Co.

Tue ‘‘ obliteration’ theory of Mr. A. H. Thayer has been
enunciated by its author in several scientific papers, and so is
known to most students of philosophical zoology; the present
beautifully illustrated volume condenses previous advocacy, and
gives further evidence for the theory, thus presenting the whole
argument in its favour. That concealment by ‘obliteration ”
cannot very well be accepted as supporting the usual theory of
the purposes of animal disguises is clear from a paragraph in
the ‘‘ Introduction”’ by Mr. A. H. Thayer himself. He writes :—
“‘This discovery that patterns and utmost contrasts of color
(not to speak of appendages) on animals make wholly for their
‘obliteration,’ is a fatal blow to the various fheories that these
patterns exist mainly as nuptial dress, warning colors, mimicry
devices (i. ¢. mimicry of one species by another), &c., since these
are all attempts to explain an entirely false conception that
such patterns make their wearer conspicuous.’’ HKven in birds,
*‘changeable colors of all sorts strongly tend to conceal the
birds that wear them, and iridescence is extraordinarily potent
in this way. Its power is of two kinds, which are, however,
practicably inseparable in their working. First, it goes far
toward annulling the normal lights and shadows, with their
color-effects, of the surface on which it is placed; and, second,
its great and vivid versatility of color and shade almost in-
sures the ‘matching’ of some part of that surface with whatever
forms its background.”

These two extracts will more or less focus the Thayerian
argument, which must almost certainly greatly modify much
theory as regards present advanced mimicry and phases in

Zool, 4th ser. vol. XIV., June, 1910. T

234 THE ZOOLOGIST. .

animal coloration, for which a number of terms have now been
invented as though they were theological definitions. The theory
of Mr. Thayer describes a universal phenomenon which is more
consonant with a progressive evolution than the partial and
abrupt disguises predicated in the current teachings of mimicry.
All animals in a state of nature seek concealment from their
foes, in some form or another all have that protection, and the
‘‘ obliterative’ suggestion thus explains very much. In the
evolutionary process all animals must have also slowly acquired
a knowledge of the benefits arising from this obliterative pro-
tection, so that active concealment by animal volition should be
considered as a factor in this phenomenon, a course which will
strengthen rather than weaken its comprehension.

In Mr. Thayer’s description of the obliterative markings of
the Zebra we find no reference to Mr. Francis Galton, who, in
the ‘ Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa,’ pub-
lished in 1853 (chap. x.), not only discussed the ‘‘ bright colours
of skulking animals,” especially that of the Zebra, but may be
said to have been the first, in other words, to propound the
theory of “‘ obliterative coloration.”

The many and beautiful illustrations in this volume supple-
ment and explain the text.

The Vertebrate Fauna of Cheshire and Liverpool Bay. Edited by
T. A. Cowarp, F.Z.8. Witherby & Co.

Tue two beautiful volumes that comprise this last addition to
our knowledge of the local or county zoology of the British
Islands are edited and largely written by our old and well-known
contributor, Mr. T. A. Coward, who, with another valued con-
tributor, Mr. C. Oldham, are entirely answerable for the first
volume relating to the mammals and birds.

Of the mammals, we are told, forty-six species occur or
have occurred within recent years in Cheshire and its terri-
torial waters. ‘‘ Very little documentary evidence exists of the
recently extinct mammalian fauna, and owing to the absence
from Cheshire of limestone caverns, which have yielded a
rich harvest of remains of the Pleistocene Age in the neigh-

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 235

bouring counties of York, Derby, Denbigh, and Flint, our
knowledge of the more ancient fauna is slight.” The marine
mammalian fauna is not extensive owing to ‘‘ the short mileage
of the actual Cheshire coast, the shallowness of Liverpool Bay,
and the distance of the estuaries from the main route of
mieratory cetaceans and seals.’ The Bats are fully treated,
and much information derived from actual observation is given ;
this was to have been expected, for our authors, even in the
pages of ‘The Zoologist,’ have given frequent proof of their
local study of these animals. The account of the domesticated
herd of polled white Park Cattle kept at Somerford Park, near
Congleton, is fully illustrated, and contains many interesting
facts and figures.

‘““There is satisfactory evidence of the occurrence in a wild
state of two hundred and thirty-one species of birds in Cheshire
during the present and last centuries,” and since the publication
of the same authors’ ‘ Birds of Cheshire’ in 1900 several species
have been added to the county list. These comprise the Cirl
Bunting, Mealy Redpoll, Woodchat, Shore Lark, Shag, American
Blue-winged Teal, Kentish Plover, Schlegel’s Petrel, and Baillon’s
Crake. One hundred and twelve species breed, or bred until
recently, within the county boundaries. The Nightingale is
included on the grounds of greater probability. At the end of
April, 1896, we read that a Nightingale made its appearance in
a hanging wood at Oakwood Hall, on the bank of the Mersey,
the property then of a late resident, Ephraim Hallam. The
presence of the bird or birds attracted “large crowds,” and,
apprehensive of damage to his property, Ephraim Hallam gave
instructions that the Nightingale should be scared away. This
was done by the firing of blank cartridges—one beneath the tree
in which the bird was singing. ‘‘The male was neither seen nor
heard again, but it is not certain that the firing was responsible
for the silence, as two days later the gardener saw the hen with
food in her beak, and it appears probable that the eggs were
then hatched.”’

_ Vol. ii. opens with an account of ‘‘ The Dee as a Wildfowl
Resort,” by Mr. John A. Dockray. Itis the same old story of what
is called industrial civilization destroying the beauties of nature ;
adding to the mercantile wealth of a county by the obliteration

236 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of its natural charms. ‘‘ What must this estuary have been like
a hundred years ago? Can we picture it before railways existed
on either side, before any serious reclamation had taken place,
when there were no puffing, snorting tugs, with their shrill
whistles, in the tideway, no clanging steam-hammers or shrieking
‘devils’ at the unbuilt works, &c.—nothing, in short, to disturb
the solitude of those endless miles of flat, flat-marsh, and sand-
bank.” Perhaps in another two thousand years it may have
reverted back to its old condition, and the birds come to their
own again. Mr. Dockray’s contribution will comfort the soul of
the sportsman.

The ‘‘ Reptiles and Amphibians”’ are from the pens of Messrs.
Coward and Oldham, who have not a wide range in subject.
“Although two out of the three British Snakes, the two Lizards,
and the Blindworm occur or have occurred within recent years,
Cheshire hasaremarkably poor reptilian fauna; no single species
can be called common.”

Mr. James Johnstone has undertaken the enumeration of
“The Fishes of Cheshire and Liverpool Bay,” and he has
done more by giving an introduction to the physical conditions
of the Cheshire sea area, and of the systematic position of the
species. However, space forbids further extracts from a more
than usually important, interesting, and thorough piece of
zoological work.

Experiments on the Generation of Insects. By Francusco Rept,
of Arezzo. Translated by Mas Biantow. Chicago: The
Open Court Publishing Co.

Tue ‘ Ksperienze Intorno alla Generazione degl’ Insetti’ is
now seldom read, and, like its author, almost forgotten. The
book was published in 1668, and reached its fifth edition in 1688,
from which this translation has been made. A Latin version
appeared at Amsterdam in 1671, while Pouchet (1859) makes
mention of a French translation. We must put on the scientific
equipment of 1668 to understand what this publication really
meant at that time, and what the author dared to say at that
epoch, though he fought with the foils of Erasmus and escaped
persecution.

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 237

Francesco Redi was born in Arezzo, Tuscany, in 1626, sixteen
years after the publication of Galileo’s ‘Sydereus Nuncius,’ and
six years before his ‘ Dialogues on the Ptolemaic and Copernican
Systems,’ at a time ‘‘ when the twenty-century old authority of
Aristotle was still undiminished,” while Bruno, Campanella,
Varini, and Kepler—all critics of Aristotle—had made straighter
the way for Redi.

Redi was mentally brought up under the care of the Jesuit
Fathers, his parents were of the provincial nobility, and his
father was a well-known physician. Francesco became a power
at the Court of Ferdinand II., and of his son and successor, the
bigoted Cosimo III. Although Redi never lost the friendship of
the Jesuit Fathers, he effectually disposed of another Aristotelian
theory or acceptance—that of spontaneous generation in animal
life. This is his fame and the reputation of his work. He
commenced by simple experimental methods, first, with three
dead Snakes, which were placed in an open box to decay; and
we need not recapitulate the discovery of ‘‘ worms,” their subse-
quent pupal condition, and the ultimate emergence of flies.
Even then he began to believe that the worms were derived
directly from the droppings of flies, and was still more confirmed
in this belief by having observed that before the meat grew
wormy flies had hovered over it, of the same kind as those that
later bred in it; whilst he further stated: ‘‘Nor am I in
the least degree convinced by the authoritative statement of
Father Honoré Fabri, of the venerable Company of Jesus,
who asserts, in his book on the ‘Generation of Animals,’ that
flies always drop eggs and never worms.” It is clear that at
this time Redi was behind the outlook of Fabri, and had yet
much to learn.

The argument used by Redi against the ahontaieouss genera-
tion of bees is, of course, more or less vitiated by his confusion
of the drone-fly (Eristalis) with the bee (Apis), and he affirmed
against the opinion that bees originated in the flesh of bulls,
even though ‘the learned Father Honoré Fabri, whose famous
works will never be buried in the gloom of oblivion,” reiterates
this belief. But here our experimental observer was “‘ sharply
reminded” of the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Judges, con-
taining the observations of Samson on this matter. Of the

238 THE ZOOLOGIST.

opinions of other contemporary philosophers which must have
vexed the spirit of Redi, we read of Servius, the Grammarian,
who ‘‘turned everything topsy-turvy by asserting that drones
come from horses, hornets from mules, and wasps from asses.”
We have also a delightful account of one experiment made by
our reformer. ‘‘ Having had frequent proof that animals killed
by a snake’s bite, or by tobacco, which is a terrible poison, can
be eaten with impunity,” he gave some Pigeons killed by ‘‘ the
sting of the angry Scorpion’”’ to a poor man, ‘‘ who was over-
joyed, and ate them with great gusto, and they agreed with him
very well.”

Here we must leave Francesco Redi, and with no better
remembrance than his modest termination to his book, which
was addressed to Carlo Dati:—‘‘ In the meanwhile, be assured
that this letter or book, as you please to call it, has come to you
not for praise but for correction, which I heartily beg you to
give ; being well aware that— 3

‘My name unto the world is little known.’”’

The translation appears to be well done and expressed in
simple language, while the book may well be read as a descrip-
tion of the biological outlook of two hundred and fifty years ago.
Let us also modestly consider what may be the biological verdict
of our present-day conceptions two hundred and fifty years
hence.

The British Freshwater Rhizopoda and Heliozoa. By Jamus
Caso. Assisted by Joun Horxinson, F'.L.8., &. Ray
Society.

In our volume for 1906 we drew the reader’s attention to the
first volume of this monograph ; the second is now published,
and contains the second part of the Rhizopoda.

_ It is one of the merits of most monographs that they soon
become behind the time; they focus the knowledge to date,
arouse enthusiasm in new workers, and thus cause the publica-
tion of other work which should represent new material and
method, but which would never have appeared but for the earlier
volume. ‘The very first paragraph in the present volume is

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 239

illustrative: ‘‘ Owing to the discovery in Britain, since the first
volume of this monograph was published, of Arcellida belonging
to genera not then known to be represented in this country, the
list of British genera of the Arcellida on page 87 of voli. requires
revision.”

James Cash, the author of these volumes, appears to have
been one of those naturalists whose work is of the patient
character, and whose personality is unobtrusive. Mr. Hopkin-
son, in his history of the work, writes: —‘‘ In November, 1902,
amongst the letters written to our late Secretary, the Rev. Dr.
Wiltshire, I found one dated 8th July, 1902, commencing thus:
‘A life-long friend, Mr. James Cash of Manchester, has devoted
thirty years’ time, special knowledge, and enthusiasm to the
writing of a monograph on the Rhizopoda. He has also done
with his own hands an excellent and adequate equipment of
plates to illustrate the text, and, I speak as an old Quekett man,
these drawings are distinguished by an ideal measure of faithful-
ness to nature, loving care, and artistic beauty.’” The work
had been offered to two of our chief publishers of natural history
books, who, while expressing approval, would not undertake the
publication without the author would bear the whole financial
risk. Here, again, the Ray Society, by its publication of Mr.
Cash’s monograph, has proved itself a real patron in natural
history. The author, however, died somewhat suddenly in
1909, and to Mr. Hopkinson belongs the credit of not only
editing this work, but also compiling its extensive synonymy.

This second volume contains plates xvii. to xxxil., many of
which are coloured, besides numerous figures in the text.

Bulletin of Entomological Research. Issued by the Entomological
Research Committee (Tropical Africa), appointed by the
Colonial Office. Vol. i. part 1. Longmans, Green & Co.

TueERe can be no doubt that this newly appointed Research
Committee should effect quite a revolution in our knowledge of
the economic entomology of Tropical Africa. Under the presi-
dency of the Karl of Cromer an influential Committee has been
formed, some members of which are well-known economic

7

entomologists. The Scientific Secretary is Mr. Guy Marshall,
from whose knowledge and energy much may be. expected, and
he has edited the first number of the ‘ Bulletin,’ which contains
several papers of no inconsiderable importance.

When we consider the large amount of work that has been
done in this field by many workers at their own loss in time and
money, it is indeed cheering to find our Government at last
taking the matter in hand, and by State aid giving an impetus
to a study that is important to every civilized community, and
which has been raised to the highest consideration in the United
States of North America. In South Africa there are already
several State entomologists, distributed in the Cape Colony and
in the Transvaal, and the outlook is very different to what it
was in quite recent times, when President Kruger refused to
aid in the destruction of predatory locusts on the ground that
those insects had been sent by the Deity as a punishment
for the sins of the land.

240 THE ZOOLOGIST.

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THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 829.—July, 1910.

ON THE VALIDITY OF THE YELLOW-NECKED MOUSE
(MUS FLAVICOLLIS, Meucn.) TO RANK AS A
SPECIES, AND NOTES ON MUS SYLVATICUS.

By Gorpon DALGuigEsH.
(With Comments by J. G. Miuuats, F.Z.8.)

In a previous paper of mine (‘Zoologist,’ 1907, p. 300) I
pointed out my reasons for claiming Mus flavicollis as a valid
species. Since this was written, other important facts have
come to light which tend more than ever to strengthen this
supposition. The discussions and arguments that have been
propounded as to the qualifications necessary to determine
“What is a species?” are manifold, and the more one dips
into this intricate matter the more one seems to get hopelessly
bewildered. As far as can at present be seen, we always appear
to end at the point from which we first started. A case in point
might be cited with regard to the different races, species, or sub-
species of Colchican Pheasants. Some naturalists will regard
these all as separate species; others as merely local races or
subspecies. The former argue that the variations are constant
in each individual, so, on this account, they must stand as good
species. The latter, regarding them merely as subspecies, do
so because they observe all breed inter se with each other, and
the offspring of these are fertile. This in itself would be con-

Zool. 4th ser. vol. X1V., July, 1910. U

242 THE ZOOLOGIST.

clusive proof that there was only one Colchican Pheasant, and
the numerous phases of plumage were variations. Unfortunately,
this theory is completely upset by the fact that trwe mules or
hybrids, the offspring of undoubted separate species, are often
fertile. Thus, take two such totally distinct species of Ducks,
the Pintail (Dafila acuta) and the Mallard (Anas boscus). If
these be crossed, the result of such a union is fertile. These
hybrids in their turn then cross with either species, producing
offspring. Yet no one could possibly claim the Mallard and
Pintail as one species! This digression is necessary to explain
how hopelessly bewildering is the making of a species. It has
often surprised me when dealing with zoological problems to
find how little climate is taken into account in the attempt
to explain variations in different forms. But, again, climate
usually tends not one whit to alter a species found in totally
different quarters of the globe. One might go on ad infinitum
dividing and subdividing the different races of Salmonide, when
the results would be far from satisfactory. For my own part, I
see nothing very remarkable in Mus sylvaticus and Mus flavicollis
inhabiting the same area, though at this some people have
expressed surprise. What I maintain is: that Mus flavicollis
is gradually but surely in many places ousting Mus sylvaticus,
and establishing itself as a species. On the other hand, it is, in
some districts, either dying out or migrating to fresh quarters.
I am inclined to take the former view, for this reason. I have
picked up several dead and dying specimens of Mus flavicollis
(some of the latter were already ‘‘fly-blown’’), but have very
rarely seen a dead—natural death being the cause—Mus sylva-
ticus. In the year 1907 I never failed night after night to trap
half a dozen or more Yellow-necked Mice in my garden. During
1908 I never caught a single example, and this year—1910—
Yellow-necks are at a premium, for, up to the present date,
May 19th, I have only taken one. Barrett-Hamilton * has given
us an excellent monograph of Mus sylvaticus and its subspecies,
and, whether we all agree or not with his classification, this
must, for the present, remain our standard work on these Mice.
All who are interested in small mammalia would do well to read
the conclusions of this painstaking naturalist. My claims for

* Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1900.

VALIDITY OF THE YELLOW-NECKED MOUSE. 248

regarding flavicollis as a valid species were, as previously stated,
given in the paper referred to above. As to the further facts
which I regard as making the validity of Mus flavicollis as a species
more binding, I have received a communication from a well-
known naturalist, whose opinion should certainly carry weight.
He wrote to me as follows :—

“‘T am glad to find someone who has come to the same
opinion as myself as to De Winton’s Mouse (i.e. flavicollis) being
a species and not a variety of Mus sylvaticus. One of the
strongest facts is their difference in disposition and habits, and
in these characteristics they are as different as possible.

‘* Many consider, as I said before, that the Yellow-necked and
the Wood Mouse are only varieties of the same species. I do
not, for the following reasons :—

“*(1.) Mus sylvaticus is a gentle animal, easily tamed, good-
natured, so that many can be kept in a cage together and
no fighting takes place. Gentleness and kindness are their
characteristics.

**(2.) De Winton’s (i.e. flavicollis) is as savage as a Norway
Rat, rushing at the finger and biting in a moment. You cannot
keep two males together. They fight most savagely at once,
even when the season of rut is passed. They fight to the
death.

“(3.) You never see a Mouse with the long tail without it
being accompanied by the Yellow-neck’”’ (here this gentleman’s
and my experience coincide) “big ear and foot, and on no
occasion do you ever find a mixture of the characteristics of the
two species.*

“*(4.) If you put a female Wood Mouse with a buck Yellow-
neck he instantly attacks her, and will kill her if she is not
removed from the cage.

*“*(5.) If you are in a district where both occur, and you find
that Field Mice are invading your house and store-room, you
will trap five Yellow-necks to one sylvaticus, and the latter are
twenty times more numerous.

*“*(6.) In the autumn you may turn out fifteen or more
sylvaticus from one burrow, but who ever saw more than a male
and female and young come from a Yellow-neck’s burrow? I

* Vide Mr. Millais’s remarks below.
U2

244 THE ZOOLOGIST.

feel quite sure, judging by habit and disposition, that these two
Mice are of separate species. Also by the fact that you never
see a specimen where there is a mixture of the two character-
istics. I think I may speak with some authority on this subject,
as I always keep, and have done so all my life, a number of
the small mammals native of Britain.”

Here these interesting notes end, and, I thought, were fairly
conclusive until I had a letter from Mr. J. G. Millais. This
gentleman, at my request, very kindly read through this paper,
and wrote to me as follows :—

‘‘T agree with you in that flavicollis is a good species. Mus
flavicollis wintont is a subspecies. A slightly different island
form of the Continental one, and is, I think, our form of Mus
flavicollis. It is distinctly smaller and less richly coloured *
than those of Hungary, Bohemia, &c.

“ The large form of Mus sylvaticus from Shetland is just as
large as any wintont.

“T am convinced M. wintont and sylvaticus do not always
fight’’ (here Mr. Millais’s experience and my above correspon-
dent’s differ) ‘‘and kill each other, but frequently breed
together.t I have plenty of Mus wintoni (i.e. flavicollis) and
sylvaticus and the hybrid here in my garden. I agree with you
that what you call flavicollis, i.e. wintoni, is on the increase,
certainly in the southern counties.”

I consider myself most fortunate in having the opinion of
so great an authority as Mr. Millais, whose splendid volumes on
British mammals must, at any rate for years to come, stand
unrivalled. As a help to those who I earnestly wish would
try and work out the range of Mus flavicollis in Britain, I
give below a minute and detailed description of an adult and
typical jflavicollis, together with its synonymy and average
measurements.

Tor YELLOW-NECKED Movuss.

Mus flavicollis, Melchior, ‘Den danske Stats og Norges
Pattedyr,’ p. 99 (1834) ; De Winton, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1894, p. 441.
* T have an example from Gloucestershire which is one of the brightest

coloured flavicollis I have ever seen.
+ Personally I have long suspected this too.

VALIDITY OF THE YELLOW-NECKED MOUSE. 245

Mus sylvaticus typicus et Mus sylvaticus wintont et Mus sylvaticus
princeps,* Barrett-Hamilton, ‘Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1900,
pp. 404-6-8 (plate xxv. fig. 1). Mus flavicollis wintont, Millais,
in lit. (vide remarks above).

Description.—A fine and remarkably handsome Mouse, whose
general form does not differ from Mus sylvaticus, but easily
distinguished from it by the following important characters :—
Tail,t as a rule, exceeds, rarely equalling, head and body.
Size much larger than Mus sylvaticus. Upper parts a rich
yellow-brown, darkening towards the back into a well-marked
deep brown inclining to blackish, dorsal streak. Cheeks and
sides of body yellowish brown mixed with black, brown, and
golden hairs. A well-defined collar (or breast mark) and pen-
dant present, of a light yellow, varying considerably in size
(usually about 8mm. broad), in some specimens extending below
the front legs. In others, again, the breast band may take the
form of an irregular blotch completely covering the breast and
even extending to the belly. Throat, below the cheeks, and
belly pure white, showing no dark hairs whatever. This is
Separated from the above parts by a well-marked line of
demarcation. Under side of tail covered with white hairs.
Measurements (approximate) :—Head and body, 99mm. Tail,
100 t0 104 mm. Hind foot, 22mm. Har, 14to18 mm. Skull
considerably larger than that of sylvaticus.

_ Regarding our present knowledge of the range of Mus flavi-
collis as far as Britain is concerned, it seems local in its distri-
bution, but occurs commonly where it is found. Even in a
district where it is common it is restricted, I have found, to
certain areas. I have known one spot, about an acre in extent,
where I was pretty certain of finding these Mice.

Flavicollis, up to the present, is recorded from Hereford,
Northampton (De Winton), Suffolk (Tuck), Essex (Laver),
Gloucestershire (Jeffreys), Sussex (Millais), and Surrey (ipse et
Messrs. Mouritz and Dent). It doubtless occurs in many other

* Mus s. princeps I cannot regard otherwise than a fine and typical
Mus flavicollis.

+ For a full description see De Winton’s paper, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1894. This
volume may not be available to all naturalists, and for the convenience of
these I again describe it. aes

246 THE ZOOLOGIST.

counties only awaiting discovery there. Iam not aware of any
records from Scotland, Ireland, or the isles lying off Britain. A
specimen is said to have been taken in Jersey, but this was not
authenticated. Specimens of the Long-tailed Field Mouse type
from that island which I have seen were all sylvaticus, though
certainly of a richer colour than those of the mainland. I have
a flat skin of a sylvaticus Mouse from Jersey, which, in the
brightness of its pelage, very nearly rivals flavicollis. As I write
this, word has been brought to me that a number of flavicollis
were trapped in the cellar of a house in this neighbourhood
(Godalming), where they had attacked a store of potatoes.
Intelligent country people here easily discriminate between Mus
flavicollis and sylvaticus, one man having informed me that the
former were “‘ as large as young Rats.” Mus sylvaticus enjoys
a large share of popularity in the current zoological literature.
It has been studied perhaps more, or quite as much, as any other
British mammal. Its range includes nearly the whole of the
palearctic * area, reaching the confines of the Oriental region in
Gilgit ; that is to say, if the Mus arianus of Blanford is identical
with the present species. This Mouse, which is termed the
Persian Long-tailed Field Mouse in the ‘ Fauna of British India,’
is thought by later authorities to be merely a variety of Mus
sylvaticus of Kurope, perhaps hardly entitled to subspecific rank.
In many places throughout the vast palearctic area, Mus sylva-
ticus has, under varied climatic influences, formed many species,
races, or variations, whatever its numerous bibliographers choose
to term them. Being hardy and exceedingly prolific, it is not
hard to understand how this Mouse has won its way through
the enormous area it inhabits in the struggle for existence. Hven
on bleak, wave-surrounded St. Kilda it is found, having here
adopted a further variation from the type, and is thought by some
to be, if not specifically distinct, entitled to at least rank as a sub-
species, and has been named Mus hirtensis. Judging from the
plate of this Mouse (Proce. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1899, pl.ix.), the speci-
men figured appears to be a variety of flavicollis rather than sylva-
ticus. One of the most interesting problems in zoology is how an
island so remote from the mainland gets colonised by mammals.

* It is said that the only mammal indigenous to Iceland is Mus
sylvaticus.

VALIDITY OF THE YELLOW-NECKED MOUSE. 247

In many ways this can be accounted for geologically. Another
interesting fact is that these island races in the case of Mice
and Voles are often of a larger size than those of the mainland.
Within quite recent years we find a Vole on the Orkneys related
more or less to the Common Field Vole, a Vole on Guernsey
also of this type, two Bank Voles, one from Skomer Island and
the other on Jersey. All these exceed the mainland forms in
size. As mentioned above, Mice of the sylvaticus type are fre-
quently found in houses, and are also often found in granaries.
It is therefore not difficult to see how easily they could be im-
ported in sacks of corn or bales of hay to islands, where, in the
course of time, they would soon found colonies, and possibly
under different climatic influences the descendants diverge from
the type, forming at first a variety and then a species.

248 THE ZOOLOGIST.

AN OBSERVATIONAL DIARY on toe NUPTIAL HABITS
or tHE BLACKCOCK (TETRAO THETRIX) nN

SCANDINAVIA anno ENGLAND.
By Epmunp SEtous.

(Part II. ENnenanp.)

(Concluded from p. 182.)

May 9th.—Having some seven rough miles to go, with, but
seldom on my cycle, almost all up hill and with two very long
and steep ascents, I started before 1 o’clock from the sofa in my
sitting-room instead of going to bed. It rained and blew a good
deal as I crested the moor, but at last, after a hard toil through
the dusk, I got to the place, and some time after 3 got seated in
a deer-gap amidst a long hedge of beeches, surmounting a turf
wall, immediately facing the damp grassy space, dotted with
tussocks of long, coarse grass, and surrounded by the same,
which is, here, the birds’ meeting-place. I had not sat there
many minutes, and there was, as yet, no sign of its lightening,
when some half-dozen shadowy yet solid-looking forms, a little
blacker than the night, came whirling high over the hedge, and
sank down a little beyond it. As they did so, at once on all
sides, the shadows of the earth became musical with the various
notes of the birds, and long before I could see them with the
naked eye, I could, with the glasses, make out, in a dim black
world, the still blacker forms of the cocks. From their activity
there could be no doubt that some hens were there too, and, as
it lightened slowly, it became apparent that courtship was pro-
ceeding. This presented no very new point, but gradually it
impresses itself that the hens come to these places, where the
cocks assemble to wait for them, in order to be courted by the
latter, and to mate with this bird or that. This last—that is to
say, the actual coition—is attended with more difficulties than is
the case with the Ruffs, the tendency amongst which birds of

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 249

other and rival males to stand quietly by, whilst the object of
the one is effected, I have drawn attention to in a former paper.
Here, however, it is otherwise. The surrender of the female has
a violent effect upon non-favoured males, who run to interfere,
so that, were the meeting-ground no larger, in proportion to the
size of the birds, than is that of the Ruffs, it would be difficult
for matters ever to be carried to a conclusion. But this is not
the case. It greatly exceeds it in dimensions, and the males,
except when fighting, or (what is more frequent) offering to fight
one another, stand at a corresponding distance apart, so that
as the rite is, for the most part, quickly performed, it is not often
put a stop to by scandalized fellow-pretendants. Sometimes,
however, it is. For instance, in one case, this morning, two
cocks came rushing up, and, in a moment, all four birds were
entangled, as it were, ina heap. Yet even here, when the first
scrimmage was over, there was no good honest fighting, but only
rushings about.

This was the only actual mating that I saw, or, at least, can
remember, during the first and most active state of things, from
the first commencement, at or before dawn, to the time when
the hens, who were never many, had flown away, leaving some
twenty cocks onthe ground. It was not till after 5 that a single
hen again flew down upon it, her appearance producing a curious
scene of excitement. Hverywhere cock birds leaped into the air
with excited ‘‘kee-kees,”’ generally supplementing the leap with
a short flight of a yard or so, before again coming down. In
fact, the arrival of this one hen, upon an outside part of the
widely extended arena, produced a general commotion, all over it,
which began whilst she was still in the air. She now advanced
slowly into the arena, courted, as she went, by first one and then
another male, often by two or three together, seeming struck, all
the while, making those constant little, odd, jerky pauses to
which I have before alluded, but still going on, and thus, in spite
of some following her, passing gradually from one male to
another—for each has his own more especial domain like the
Ruffs. At length, however, one bird seemed more to her liking,
she paused more frequently, at length stood still, then crouched,
and coition was effected. Here, then, is choice and selection on
the part of the female bird. She came evidently for a certain

250 THE ZOOLOGIST.

purpose, having attained which she left; but had it been in-
different to her which male bird she received, she need not have
gone further than the first. The fact that she did shows that
the act which she sought was recommended to her, in varying
degrees, through the varying personal cynation of different males,
and as each one elaborately displayed the same points in his
plumage, before her, we must assume these—that is to say, the
sum total of each bird’s appearance—to have been the deter-
minants of her choice. It is strange, I think, that this should
ever have been thought strange.

Very few hens, as far as I could see, came to this assembly-
ground, though so numerously attended by the males. Ido not, .
in fact, remember seeing more than two together, and these once
fought, though in a minor degree. The meetings would appear
to be of the males, the hens attending them, merely from time
to time, which is what the Reeves do also, so that, in either case,
the supposed indifferent hen comes for a certain definite pur-
pose, thus taking the initiative quite as much as the male.*
Possibly the hens attend various meetings, but of the male
birds doing this, in order to fight at each (as has been stated),
I have seen no evidence, either here or in Sweden, for the
number is early made up, and then remains the same, or nearly
so, till the assembly disperses. Fighting, moreover, to go by
what I have as yet seen, is a very secondary matter. The males
do not come to fight, but to court the females, on whose attend-
ance they wait. Fighting is merely incidental, and there would
seem to be far less of it than is generally supposed.

I have remarked on the excited leaps into the air, from time
to time, of the males, with short flights from one part of the
sround to another. It is difficult to look upon these as in the
nature of a challenge to rival males, or as proceeding from
martial ardour. They were excited, in a special degree, by the
later arrival of a single hen, and would seem to spring primarily
from ordinary sexual emotion, though this is, no doubt, asso-
ciated with those of jealousy and rivalry. They are generalized
rather than specialized actions, and neither they, nor the far

* A Blackcock meeting-place is, in fact, a sort of Yashawari, where the

males stand, each in his place, and to which the hens come to walk about and
choose from amongst them.

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 251

more wonderful pas seul, into which they would seem to have
passed, have anything to do with the direct courting of the
female, so that any argument in disfavour of sexual selection
which has been based on this assumption is without any force
or relevancy. The ‘‘dance”’ or frenzy, in all its stages, would
seem to be merely an outlet for violent sexual excitation (pro-
visionally, at any rate I regard it as such), and has nothing to
do with the actual courtship, this being a serious, methodical
and business-like matter, having for its object the exhibition by
the male bird of his plumous and other adornments to the best
advantage before the female (which mere ‘‘ dancing ”’ or leaping
does not effect), and is performed in the same general way as by
the common, and other, species of pheasantry.

Not one, however, out of the twenty odd birds on this large
sround, nor out of the half-dozen or so at the smaller one, has
done anything approaching to the mad dance, or rather whirl-
wind, which I saw once enacted in Norway, whilst the Swedish
performances of this nature were not at all superior to these
-English ones. As, this, therefore, is only one out of more than
thirty male Blackcocks, it would certainly seem as though the
more finished performances of this kind—the ‘‘ war-dance”’ or
“dance”? par eacellence—were only exceptional. Why this
should be so, or why this exceptional development should ever
have come about, I do not know. One could understand birds,
in the prime of bodily vigour, being the best performers in this
kind, but many such should be included in the numbers which I
have now watched, and, moreover, the difference between the
mean and the zenith seems, here, unaccountably great.

May 10th, 11th, or 12th.—Was on spot at 2, the moon being
a little more than half. First voice of the night, or early dawn |
about 2.30—the Curlew’s quavering, melancholy cry. At 3.15,
in the earliest morning mist, and light, the first birds fly over
the hedge on to the assembly-ground, but for some minutes they
are silent. Then a Lark sings, and, a moment afterwards, the
concert opens—the angry ‘‘chu-way’’ notes preceding the
whirble as usual—and more birds now dash down. It is,
indeed, a wonderful volume of sound, and such as one can
hardly believe to be issuing from the throats, as I suppose, of
at most some twenty to two dozen birds. The curious harsh,

252 THE ZOOLOGIST.

strained ‘‘chu-whay-ays”’ rise strangely from a full chorus of
whirbling (a sound somewhat resembling the quick earnest
cooing of Dove-cot Pigeons, but louder, and with very much
more poetry in it), to both of which, and that other plaintive
note of full hostility, is added the whirr of wings, as one or
other of the excited birds, and often several together, leap into
the air, as also—but this is very occasional, and never lasts
more than a few seconds—the sounds of violent blows of wing
on wing, denoting an actual encounter. —

On account of the mistiness of the morning—wondrous
effects on the near and distant hills as it lightened—it was much
longer before I could see even the cock birds, either with or with-
out the glasses, and longer still before the form of a hen, here
and there, was discernible. These, as before, seemed very few
in number; I, in fact, do not clearly remember to have seen
more than two, on the ground, at once, nor did more than a
single one fly in, at a time, and this only twice or thrice—since
it lightened, of course, that is to say; how many may have
done so, and gone off, again, invisibly, I cannot say. I was
witness, this morning, of two coitions, though, of course on such
a large space, with so much of tufted grass upon its outer mar-
gin, in which several of the birds were, and especially whilst it
was still too dark for me to see, there may have been more. In
the first case, a hen walked right down over the ground, almost
from end to end, till she came to a certain bird, whom she, as it
were, by this, invited to court her. He did so, of course, on
which his nearest male neighbour came up and interfered.
There was a scuffle, of very short duration, between them, but
for the most part they merely got in each other’s way, so to
speak, strutting past and following one another. Then they fell
away, a little, each walking about importantly, eyeing the other,
and were thus occupied, and still at pretty close quarters, when
the hen, going quickly up to the one she had at first come to,
crouched, and coition was effected. The rival, however, at once
interfered—perhaps successfully—and the hen, running out
from the struggling birds, shortly flew away. In this case,
therefore, the hen seems certainly to have chosen a male, nor
was she diverted from this predilection, but asserted it a second
time, acting with decision and address. In the other instance I

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 253

have alluded to, the hen also went either up to, or within the
radius of, a certain male, the result being exactly similar, except
that, as the formal courtship was here less lengthy, there was no
occasion for a second manifestation of preference. Two hens,
therefore, have each had a will of their own, and fighting has
had nothing to do with either of the two cocks being the
favoured one.

Another hen was courted for a long time, and very asad
ously, by a cock, who certainly succeeded in driving several
other ones away, rushing out at them from the area in which
he revolved about the object of his desires, putting them to
flight or preventing their coming nearer, and then returning to
continue the courtship. But in spite of this, and the impressive
pains he took, though she often seemed to hesitate, yet this hen
never yielded during the considerable time that I watched the
drama, though she possibly may have done whilst I was watching
some other one. There was nothing, however, to suggest this,
and when she finally walked off the ground, she was followed and
courted, for some distance, by another bird before flying away,
from which I feel sure that she retired unconquered. This pair
of birds were on the part of the ground nearest to me, and I had
a fine view of the courtship. The cock went either on one side
of the hen, passing ahead as she walked, or else paraded half-
round and in front of her, and, either way, the white feathers of
his tail must have been very conspicuous—presented to her, as
it were, in a back view. Now, as I have seen the Pheasant
court, he makes no such wide circlings as this, and, as he
presents no particular view from behind, this is significant and
interesting. The particular courting actions were as I have
before described—slow, pompous, methodical—no leaps or
springs of any kind. Yet of these, though they never ap-
proached to that peculiar state of frenzy which I have only
once, myself, seen, there was no lack amongst the cocks, at
times, when they were not courting the hens. Observation
shows, therefore, that the latter are won, not by this, but by a
quite different form of display, specially adapted to set off the
beauty of the male’s plumage, point by point, or rather all
points together—scientifically, in short. For this alone, as a
spectacle, the female bird has eyes; mere uncouth violence,

254 THE ZOOLOGIST.

though effective enough for us, she does not appreciate. It
exhibits something, indeed, but that something has not grown
up along the lines of her feminine admiration, and if she con-
cerns herself with it at all, it is only, as I conjecture, with some
ulterior motive. Thus, this morning, whilst two cocks were at
blows, a hen, in all probability the subject of their rivalry, ran
in between them (as I have seen the female Redshanks or
Kentish Plover do), and appeared to offer one her assistance.
But if so—and the motive is otherwise obscure—this was pro-
bably only because she was partial to the bird she endeavoured
to help. Indeed, had the fighting in itself interested her, she
would not have endeavoured to put a stop to it, any more than
to the legitimate nuptial display, which I have not yet seen any
hen do.

Though, as I have said, the actual fighting of these Black-
cocks does not amount to much, and in point of duration is
nothing to that of a pair of male Coots or Redshanks, yet it
cannot be denied that the birds’ thoughts seem full of it—that
their spirit, at any rate, is martial in a high degree. Whilst
waiting for the hens, one or other of them will constantly run
over—often quite a long distance—to where another is standing,
which other will then advance to meet him, and the two will
stand threateningly, front to front, or walk pompously, side by
side, at a wary distance, and then come springs into the air,
with the angry challenging note that accompanies each—in fact,
there is a constant high militant bearing, a parade, as it were, of
readiness, an eager offence-seeking spirit, that seems to say,
‘‘T am for you, sir,” or ‘I do bite my thumb at you, sir.”’ But
what I say is that, whilst all this is going on, a pair of humble
Tits would be fiercely fighting, perhaps even to the death. Some
part of the spirit of display, merely, seems to have passed from
its proper sphere of courtship, and to clog what should here be
deeds. True it is that the springs are sometimes accompanied
(though not as yet very frequently) with sparring, pecking, and
buffeting with the wings. Nothing could be more vigorous than
all this, whilst it lasts, but it lasts, as a rule, for such a very
short period of time, whilst for once that even this comes of it,
a dozen times, perhaps, or more, nothing does—it begins and
ends in inflation, as though that dear bladder were too precious

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 255

to be burst in a fight. What one so seldom sees, yet what, with
all this, one has some right to expect, is a good set-to battle,
both whole-hearted and prolonged. The number of times that
these so martial-looking birds stand bill to bill, with every appear-
ance of being about to devour one another, yet do not devour
one another, or even fall-to, is remarkable, and as depressing for
the onlooker.

May 13th.—Was ensconced by a little after 2. The Curlews,
as usual, first greeted the dawning, and were followed some time
afterwards—3.12 by my watch—by the ‘“‘ chur-whais”’ and more
plaintive angry notes of the Blackcocks, after several had dashed
down, over the hedge, in thedarkness. It is not till a perceptible
time after this that the more musical whirbling, or rukling,
begins. My observations of this morning were not quite the
same as those made hitherto. Arrivals of hen birds began
as usual—so far, that is to say, as it was possible for me to see
them—vwith the first light, and seemed quite over, long before 5.
As usual, also, they were few, nor was I aware of more than two
on the ground at the same time—I should doubt if half a dozen
in all came down. This time, however, the hens were more than
usually ‘‘ coy, difficult and hard to please.” One that I watched
for quite a long time was most assiduously courted by one male,
in particular, who certainly was fairly successful in keeping the
sround to himself. But although the hen was plainly affected
by his advances, kept pausing—in fact, advanced only in a series
of little pauses, represented by sudden and, as it were, compelled
stops—and although, moreover, she several times, half or more
than half, crouched, yet, as he came up, she would always make
a little dash away, on which the whole tedious ceremony of
courtship on the one side, and nervous irresolution on the
other, would begin afresh. In short, the patient, long-enduring
assiduities of the beau, continued as they were with an ever-
increasing impressiveness and sense of the gravity of the position,
without any perception of its ludicrousness, made quite a
remarkable spectacle, and though the coy, or nervous, little lady
was never quite won by them, yet their effect upon her was
more interestingly significant than if she quickly had been, she
seeming, indeed, to be, all the while, under a spell, from which
she could never quite break away. ‘Then gradually she received

256 THE ZOOLOGIST.

more variety of attention, owing, partly, to the way in which
her more special admirer would leave her, to run fiercely out at
rival, though often quiescent, and almost indifferent, males, a
good way off, when, as she walked on, always in the same
nervous, hesitating way, she came within the sphere of other
more active suitors. One of these wooed her in a very much
swifter, brisker, more hurrying way, not nearly so measured or
pompous—but this seemed to take far less hold of her fancy,
and, in a word, after acting more or less in this way for a long
time, and disappointing, and well-nigh exhausting, the patience
of several males—but none more so, had he not been inexhaus-
tible, than the one I have specially mentioned—she at last flew
away without having been prevailed upon—for this was far more
the impression made upon me by her conduct than that of coquetry.
It was as though, amongst a number of magnets, the drawing
power of which was plainly, though variously, apparent, not one
was sufficiently powerful to draw quite effectively—and this was
my own reading of the drama.

Another courtship was interesting as giving rise to an
unmistakable exhibition of preference on the part of the hen
bird concerned. The latter had been courted by a certain male,
but another male had interfered with this, and was now courting
her himself, when, making a distinct double-back (by distinct I
mean that it was obviously intended) to her old wooer, by which
she as patently avoided his substitute, she immediately crouched
to him, a stratagem which, however, was only partly effective,
owing to the prompt interference of the jealous rival. Here,
then, was an evident instance of choice on the part of the
female.

Another hen was courted by several males, who, as is much
more the case with these birds than with Ruffs, mutually wrecked
each other’s chances of success. The most marked feature here
was the conduct of one particular cock, who, instead of courting
in the orthodox manner, resorted entirely to force. There were
some four or five attempts of this nature, from the last of which
the hen seemed only just able to free herself, when she, at once,
flew away. The attempts of this unruly male were always
resented and interfered with by the other ones, but he was
sometimes almost too quick for them, so that, had it not been

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 257

for the exertions of the hen-herself, he might possibly have been
successful. She, however, was not at all inclined to submit to
these rough methods.

Thus, continued observation does not show an absolute uni-
formity in the nuptial methods of the males. The one that I
have first mentioned seemed, from my own observations both
here and in Sweden, to go beyond the average of pomp and
solemnity in his wooing, and I was particularly struck by the
wide extent of his circlings, as being well adapted for a full hind,
as well as front and side, view. Another was altogether quicker
and brisker, nor were his circumambulations anything like so
wide or full—in fact, not a marked feature—his appearance, in
consequence, being not nearly so impressive, whilst a third
threw off form altogether, and resorted to force. The birds,
generally, however—all the rest except these last two—were far
more on the pattern of the extra formal one. Long before 5
everything was over, and no more hen birds had come to the lek.
Had I remained quiet perhaps they would have done, but I had
to rise and run about, being no longer able to endure the cold—

a cold which, though not freezing water, seemed to my sensa-
tions greater than that of Sweden, earlier in the year. Possibly
the dampness of these English moors, with their dreadful,
stealing, chill mists, may account for this—at any rate, I have
found it less bearable. I have been without my plaids, indeed,
but warmly clad in an ordinary way, and with a motor suit over
all—I may here say en passant, as perhaps of use, that double
trousers, shirts, &c., are, in my experience, warmer than the one,
with underclothing ; and the two methods are combinable.

Of one other successful courtship, I unluckily saw only the
end, and can, therefore, only say, in regard to it, that the same
hen had been courted, before, unsuccessfully, by various males ;
so that here, too, the evidence, though less complete, yet points
in the same direction.

To judge by what I have seen, the union of the sexes is,
owing to the strenuous interference of rival males, effected with
much greater difficulty in the case of the Blackcock than in that
of the Ruff. That curious forbearance on the part of the
unfavoured males of the latter species, even when quite close, is
here very much rarer, even if it exists; but any cock near, as a

Zool, 4th ser. vol. XIV., July, 1910. x

a

258 THE ZOOLOGIST.

rule, darts upon the offending one, and seizing him by the neck,
with his bill, drags him to the ground. When two or three
males are either courting the same hen, or near enough to
intervene, it all becomes one tumble, from which the hen
emerges, in sorry plight, and generally, then, flies away. Thus
what I have said in regard to the power and position of the
Reeve does not apply equally to the hen Blackcock, but though
she cannot, with such ease, give effect to her choice, it must still
be considered as the governing factor, since each male endeavours
to win it, and, failing to do so, must remain a celibate. This,
from what I have seen, should be the fate of many Ruffs—per-
haps the majority—and, if the numerical disparity of the sexes
is anything like what it appears to be, upon these courting-
erounds, it may be the same with the Blackcocks, even if the
hens are not, any more than the Reeves, confined to one husband.
My idea is that, in either case, a select number of the finest
males are, year by year, chosen—the taste of the various hens
often coinciding—so that the less ornate ones are gradually, as
it were, weeded out.

Even more than before, I have, this morning, been struck by
the sudden occasional outbreaks of leaping, accompanied with
shrill cries—the curious ‘‘ chu-whai,”’ strained, as it were, and
long drawn out—which, at one and the same time, affect the
whole assembly of males. As this has always happened when I
have seen a hen come down upon the lek, it may have been
caused, at other times, also, by one, that I did not observe,
flying by, or by her cry, at some distance—perhaps, for me, out
of earshot. Although such a sudden, general access of violent
springing and crying, with short flights, in some cases, from
place to place, over the ground—a sort of revival-scene—is, of
course, a very noticeable and arresting thing, making, in its
entirety, quite a fine spectacle, yet there is nothing in any
individual performance differing from what I have before de-
scribed, or more nearly approaching to the extraordinary,
frenzied dance, of protracted duration, accompanied by re-
peated and varying cries, generally referred to as if it were the
feature of these Blackcock assemblies, but of which I have only,
myself, seen one instance. Between this and these mere single
springs, with, generally, one loud “‘chu-whai,” there is certainly

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 259

a very great difference, as far as effect is concerned, yet it is but
of degree; the one is but a development of the other, as it
appears to me, a prolongation and accentuation of it, carried to
an extreme point. That it springs from strong excitement, for
which some active vent has become necessary, 1s plain enough,
and since brought thus strongly about by the mere flying in of
the hen—being most in evidence, moreover, during the breeding-
season—it must be considered as of a fundamentally sexual
character. Still, as it is not dependent, even in its highest
degree, on this cause,* it is very probably an expression of
martial ardour, also, that and amatory feelings being, of course,
intimately associated. But however this may be, it forms no
part of the actual wooing, by the male, of the female, which, as
seen, is of a totally different character, wherein the special
adornments of the one sex are specially displayed before the
other. Since, therefore, the ‘‘ war-dance,’’ as it has been called,
is not specially addressed to the female, that she pays no par-
ticular attention to it is nothing to the point, as an argument
against sexual selection, though its existence, side by side with
the other—that display to which she does pay attention—is, if
rightly considered, a very powerful argument for the truth of
that doctrine, since only one possible cause for the latter seems
now to be left.

May 14th.—This morning I went to the old, smaller place of
meeting, but have nothing to note, it being an extremely poor
affair. There were not more than four cock birds there, at any
time, no hens came, and nothing happened, till, finally, I was
discovered, which clinched the fiasco. As before, no bird flew
in till about 4.15, a full hour later than the others fly in to the
ereat gathering-place. On the following morning I was kept in
by the weather, it being both a tempest and pouring with rain.
I had, indeed, often emerged upon the dark moor-top, cycle in
one hand and umbrella in the other, but there is a limit to
everything.

May 16th.—Seated by 3. The melancholy, thin, quavering
ery of the Curlew. Then the Lark. First Blackcock down at
3.20. ‘*Chu-whais’’—faint at first—whirbling a few minutes

* The ‘dance’ that I saw in Norway was performed by one solitary
bird.

x2

260 THE ZOOLOGIST.

later—and this is always the case. Thus the first arrival was
some ten minutes after the usual time, and everything else, this
morning, both the actions and deportment of the birds, and the
diminished powers of their vocal performances, showed a waning
energy. But one hen came to stay; another may have flown in,
but, if so, soon went again, without being courted. One or two
other arrivals, that produced the springing and crying, though
not in so high a degree, were not hens, but cocks. The one hen
that stayed was courted in the usual manner, one would say
successfully, except that the numerous interferences, at the end,
seemed also to be successful. So uniformly is this the case that
it really seems surprising that fertile eggs should be laid by the
females of this species at all.

The above was the last observation which I had the oppor-
tunity of making before leaving England.

Having now made a faithful transcript of my notes, which, as
far as possible, were made on the spot, and shortly after the facts
referred to occurred,* I will endeavour to summarise the results.
Darwin was dependent for the facts upon which he based his
theory of sexual selection upon the observation of others. This,
though defective, in part, was correct, upon the whole, so that
his reasoning, which has never been shaken, rested upon a secure
basis. In regard to the Blackcock, he appears only to have been
told of the frantic part of the bird’s behaviour, and assuming,
in accordance apparently with the opinion of his informants,
that this was addressed to the hen, made his deductions, accord-
ingly, as part of the general case. Substituting for this frenzy,
whatever may be its origin, the very different kind of display
which I have described, I claim actually to have seen what
Darwin believed must take place, in this and other instances of
bird courtship. He said that all this great care and trouble
could not be taken by the male bird for nothing, but that the
female must be susceptible to, and yield to it. I have given

** The skeleton of the drama can generally be entered during some of
the entr’actes, and filled in on the fall of the curtain. A pencil may even
bring down an important fact or two flying, so to speak, and therein is
superior to any fountain or stylo. Ideas, too, one may keep pace with in the
rough, but their elaboration is for that most blissful of all hearths, the ionely
cottage-lodging one.

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 261

various cases where, in every way possible, the female showed
this susceptibility, and did, in fact, yield toit. Darwin urged also
that, as the plumage of the males had become gradually hand-
somer, as evidenced in various ways, the more ornate birds must
have been, in general, preferred by the females, in order to pro-
duce this result; that the hen was not, therefore, impressed
equally by all males alike, but exercised choice. As it appears
to me, I have shown that the hen Blackcock does, in very fact,
feel such preference, and exercise such choice, not by general
statements to that effect, wherein the conclusion arrived at, only,
is given, but not the specific facts which have led to its adoption
—the usual method—but by presenting the facts themselves, so
that the reader can test the validity of that conclusion, and form
his own upon the same data. Of course, if the hen birds choose
from amongst the males, and if the latter, as a consequence of
this, become handsomer, such choice must be determined by
their appearance; but I could not, here, as with the Reeves,
actually see the hens thus pick beauty out, since the cocks were
all of a feather, and, to my human eye, all looked equally hand-
some.

My observations, then, as I hold, show that the female Black-
cock is affected by the courting display of the male—sometimes
so strongly that one may correctly describe her as fascinated—
that she does yield to it, and not to force or martial prowess,
and that she exercises choice in regard to the various males.
They show also that, whilst being courted, she is extremely
jealous of any other hen that may approach, and will pursue
and fight with such, fiercely. Yet, at the same time, she is
often extremely hard to win, and will resist the charm of the
cock’s allurements, though exhibiting every sign of being
strongly impressed, and indeed fascinated by them. Why this
should be so I do not know, but the psychology revealed seems
more delicate and less simple, nearer to humanity, or more
human-seeming, than, even though accepting the doctrine of
sexual selection, one might have anticipated. The hens, also,
come to the place of meeting with the evident object of being
courted, and for that reason only. When the courtship has been
brought to a conclusion, either to their satisfaction or otherwise,
or should they tire of it, they fly away.

262 THE ZOOLOGIST.

As for the male Blackcocks, they assemble at a special place,
in order to court the hens, when they arrive, wait for them to
fly in, and court them, then, with as full knowledge of what they
mean, and what they expect, as a result of their actions, as could
be in the mind of the most wideawake human suitor. They are
full of rivalry and jealousy of one another, seem to have a fine
martial spirit, but, with all this, ‘“‘ protest’ very much more than
they fight. Tits, Sparrows, and other unconsidered small birds
are, in my opinion, much greater fighters, and a Coot might
well sneer at their cowardice. Here, too, as with the Ruffi—so it
appears to me—something is at work which is sapping the real
warlike mettle of the birds, and I believe this to be, in either
case, the more important part which display takes in securing
the favours of the hen. With birds, as with other animals, in-
cluding man, pugnacity must be founded upon utility of some
sort, so that if charm, in courtship, becomes more and more,
and prowess less and less, the former will come to be cultivated
at the expense of the latter.

Be this as it may, I personally have not yet seen a fight that
was both furious and long-continued—an experience which I
hardly know how to reconcile with what one hears and reads—
and, no more than in the case of the Ruff, does the hen bird
seem won by fighting. Even though a cock should succeed, by
rushings and short encounters, in keeping a champ lbre for
himself, he has yet to prepossess the hen, and this, apparently,
he can only do through the recognized formal display. Should
he—and here, perhaps, we have a solvent power—become engaged
with an adversary, for more than a few seconds, his place will be
taken, and, in any case, he cannot long delay rivalry, as the hen
keeps moving on amongst the various males. Thus his love of
combat, in so far as it may exist, is perpetually checked by his
desire to get back to the hen ; but having seen so many instances
where, with nothing to disturb them, two birds have seemed
simply afraid of each other, I am not quite so clear as are others
as to the extent to which it does exist. The weapon which is —
principally relied upon, by rival males, for defeating one another’s
designs, cannot properly be called fighting, and is, indeed, a
mean and inglorious one. I allude to those interferences which
take place upon the favoured suitor’s seeking to benefit from the

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 263

hen’s choice of himself, and which are so frequent and, appa-
rently, so successful that, as said before, one wonders how the
work of generation can go on. That it does, however, would
seem to show that such success is more apparent than real.

The most interesting and significant point in these secondary
sexual activities,* as one may call them, of the male Blackcock,
is, in my view, that they are of two distinct kinds, the formal
display before the female, both the object and effect of which are
perfectly apparent, and the totally different leaping or ‘‘ dancing,’
which, in its most accentuated form, is a highly extraordinary
spectacle, but which, as far as I have been able to observe, has
nothing to do with courtship proper, and has no special signi-
ficance for the female bird. If any general conclusion can be
drawn from the daily routine of the meeting-ground, as illus-
trated by the doings of over thirty male Blackcocks, upon as
many mornings, then this dance or frenzy, when really deserving
of the name, is a rare thing to see, but every bird indulges, from
time to time, in a few springs and flappings of the wings—
making, collectively, a striking spectacle—and it is obvious that
a gradual increase in the number, intensity, and rate of these
would add, more and more, to the strangeness of the exhibition
till it culminated, at last, in the full access or fury, wherein the
bird presents an appearance and utters sounds which it is im-
possible to give a sufficiently vivid idea of, either with pen,
tongue, or pencil. The two, therefore, are the same thing in
different degrees of development, the first or slighter degree
being what is ordinarily witnessed, and the last, or extreme one,
exceptional. Butis there any still lower platform, common to
the Galline generally, or to most, or many, of them, from which
the few exalted leaps of the male Blackcock—or even the single
one only—may have sprung? Now, when the cock crows, he
rears himself upwards, with a sudden jerk, stretching out his
neck, and standing, as it were, on tip-toe, whilst at the same
time he violently flaps his wings. The common Pheasant does
just the same thing, and so does the Blackcock also, when he
“chu-whais”’ merely, sitting in some tree in the neighbourhood
of the arena,t+ which he has not yet flown down into.

* In analogy with the ‘‘ secondary sexual characters” of Darwin.

| This can be well seen in Norway or Sweden, where the meetings are
held in open spaces in the midst of the fir-forests.

264 THE ZOOLOGIST.

In this generic action I see the small beginning out of which
the ‘‘dance”’ of the Blackcock has grown. The violent upward
jerk has been intensified into a spring—still accompanied with
the cry and flap of the wings*—which becomes, with some birds,
through repetition and acceleration, an extraordinary and frantic
performance. Probably its primary character of a defiance, or
challenge, to any rival male—as in the crow of the cock—is still
retained, but it does not appear to me likely that so violent a
pantomime would go, hand in hand, with an increased capacity
for actual fighting. More probably some of that energy, which
is now expended in the show of the things merely, formerly fed
the thing itseli—the banner is at the expense of the war.
Fighting, without gain, must be a detriment to the species,
inasmuch as individuals may be injured or even killed through
it, but, on the other hand, some vent for volcanic force is needed,
and the best would be one which was, at once, adequate and
harmless. Inasmuch, therefore, as the hen is won by beauty,
and not by bravery, this pageant, or pantomime, of the male
Blackcock may have been evolved in accordance with the above
principles. Be this as it may, however, it is neither addressed,
nor does it appear to be of interest, to the female bird, but, on
the other hand, a totally different and very elaborate form of
display, in which she is interested, and by which she is won, is
addressed to her, and to her alone.

How do the above facts affect the question of sexual selection ?
In my opinion, they speak, trumpet-tongued, in its favour, for
assuredly, were it superior “‘ vigour” alone that produced the
spring-tide antics of the male bird, together with his more
brilliant colouring—were they but a safety-valve for sexual and
martial excitement—then the Blackcock has this in those free
and tremendous activities which make no part of his nuptial
display to the hen.t MHere, indeed, is an outlet for super-

* See ante, p. 256.

+ No more than in the case of the Ruffs did I see any evidence of the
more ‘‘ vigorous” males being preferred. This idea seems to me quite
delusive. Vigour is not a special characteristic of the display, which is
pompous and somewhat staid in its character. How, then, is the hen to gain
her ideas about vigour? In the “dance” it might be different, but for this
she does not seem to care.

NUPTIAL HABITS OF THE BLACKCOCK. 265

abundant energy, called forth by the season, but something
more has evidently been required, and that something is the
not boisterous and formless but very careful and systematic
display, in which the cock bird exhibits all his chief points to
the hen. The fact that the latter here plays a quite indis-
pensable part, that the thing cannot go on without her, that she
is jealous, even to assault and battery, of other females, during
its continuance, and in every way gives the strongest evidence,
or rather proof, of its influence upon her, whilst paying, as far
as I can discover, no attention to the other, is surely immensely
suggestive —I would say, myself, conclusive. Thereis simply no
place for the display of the male Blackcock before the female, if
it be not for the purpose of winning her, and my notes show
it does win her.

266 THE ZOOLOGIST.

ON THE OCCURRENCE OF VIPERA BERUS IN
THE PYRENEES, NEAR SAN SEBASTIAN.

By Epwarp Britten.

For a long time considerable interest has been taken in the
Vipers of the Pyrenees, owing to their resemblance both to
V. berus and V. aspis, the former more properly belonging to
the North of France, the latter to the South. According to a
sreat authority (IF. Latasti), the Vipers of the French Pyrenees
are all referable to V. aspis. In North-west Spain, however,
V. berus reappears to the exclusion of V. aspis. The Spanish
V. berus has been regarded as constituting a distinct subspecies
(V. berus seoanei), on characters which Mr. Boulenger has shown
to be inconstant (cf. ‘ Zoologist,’ 1885, p. 378).

The writer has recently taken a specimen from the south-
west of the range which presents such a combination of the
characteristics of V. berus, V. seoanet, and V. aspis as to make it
at first somewhat difficult to classify, and to render its principal
features worth recording. Mr. Boulenger gives it as his opinion
that the snake should be regarded as a V. berus.

It is a female measuring 475 mm. It resembles V. berus
in general colour and markings, which are somewhat lighter
than in most females. Hach belly-plate is bordered by a clear
white line. The end of the snout is distinctly turned up, though
not to the same degree as in a typical V. aspis. The supra-
ocular shields are less prominent than in V. aspis, and more
than in V. berus; two complete rows of scales between eye
and labial shields on the right side and two incomplete such
rows on the left. Ventral plates 143, subcaudals 32 pairs.

In addition to the foregoing data it is significant that a small
specimen 200 mm. long, with 138 ventral plates and 29 sub-
caudals, was obtained in the same locality, and agrees in every
respect with a typical young V. berus. Incidentally the fact is
thereby established that V. berus occurs on the Spanish side of
the Pyrenees. It would be interesting to examine a number of
Vipers taken from the hills between Pau and San Sebastian, in
order to decide on the range of variation of the Vipers in the Pyre-
nees, and on the alterations which such aberrant specimens as the
one here noticed will necessitate in the definition of the species.

( 267 )

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Common Shrew on Scotch Islands. — With reference to recent
notes on the Common Shrew in Islay, I should like to say that, as far
as my information goes, although this Shrew is absent from Ireland,
Man, Lundy, the Outer Hebrides, and the Orkneys, in all of which
the Pigmy Shrew is alone found, it is common on many of the Inner
Hebrides, such as Islay and Jura, from both of which I have examined
specimens. Its presence on these islands, if not due to introduction,
may lead to a modification of Alston’s views on the origin of Scottish
and Irish mammals, but in view of the recent discoveries of new and
unexpected forms in other Scottish islands, such modification is
quite natural, and, indeed, inevitable.—G. E. H. Barrett-HAmMILTON
(Kilmanock House, Campile, Co. Wexford, Ireland).

Fauna of Lundy Island.—Since my paper on this subject appeared
in ‘The Zoologist’ (1909, p. 441), I have received another speci-
men of Sorex minutus from the island. Of the five Lundy Shrews
captured, four have proved to be S. manuwtus, and the fifth (thought
to be S. araneus) was not critically examined.—Bruce F. Cummines
(Barnstaple).

Weasels and Stoats hunting together.—I have never read of
Stoats and Weasels consorting together when in pursuit of prey,
and therefore the following account, observed closely by two eye-
witnesses, may prove of interest:—On June 14th this year (1910),
as my wife and I were sitting in the famous ‘‘ Valley of the Rocks,”
Lynton, North Devon, we saw a mixed pack of about fifteen Stoats
and Weasels emerge from the loose stones and rocks covering one of
the hillsides. In their actions they reminded us very much of hounds
hot on the scent. With noses close to the ground they scampered
in all directions, pausing every now and again to raise themselves on
their hind legs to look around. I imitated as nearly as possible the
squeal of a Rabbit in distress, a trick taught me by a keeper to
“draw” Stoats. On hearing this both animals exhibited symptoms
of excitement, and rushed towards the direction of the sound; but
on catching sight of our persons, which we were not able well

268 THE ZOOLOGIST.

to conceal, they turned back to continue their legitimate hunting.
Presently we espied what we thought was their quarry, a Rabbit,
sitting on a rock some half-dozen yards away from the hunters.
Much to our astonishment, the Weasels and Stoats took not the
slightest notice of this Rabbit, though coming in almost actual con-
tact with it, and extraordinary as it may seem, the Rabbit turned
on three of the Stoats, and drove them away. Twice or more this
was repeated. This behaviour on the part of the Rabbit could be
better understood had it been a mother defending her young, but the
size of the Rabbit, however, was strongly against this theory, as it
was not nearly full grown. The Rabbit, after it had driven its
enemies away, commenced to eat quite unconcerned, and the Stoats
and Weasels returned to their hunting. The piteous squeals of a
Rabbit presently told that some“of these bloodthirsty little animals
had been successful, and as we walked away we came upon a dying
Rabbit, about a quarter grown, breathing its last, with the usual tell-
tale bite behind the left ear. We did not catch a sight of the murderer,
our presence having no doubt caused it to retire pro tem.—GoRDON
Datewiess (Lynton, North Devon).

Common Seal on the Somerset Coast. — Whilst on a visit to
Weston-super-Mare, I saw in the shop of a local fishmonger (Coles
and Walter) a mounted specimen of the Common Seal (Phoca vitu-
lana), which, I was told, got stranded on the shore there, May 10th,
1906. It was killed with a knife. As this species rarely strays so
far south its occurrence is perhaps worth recording.—H. H. Forrest
(Shrewsbury).

Six Fetuses in a Whale (Balenoptera musculus).—It has not
been considered necessary to adduce further evidence as regards this
extraordinary instance of abundant procreation in the pages of ‘The
Annals,’ where it has already been noticed by Mr. R. C. Haldane,*
who obtained his information from the Norwegian whaling crews
working at his own station in Shetland. It seems to me, however, de-
sirable further to authenticate the record from information received as
near to the source as possible, as such frequently saves future trouble
and confusion. As the subject may scarcely be considered directly
associated with the Natural History Annals of Scotland, though with
a fairly interesting side-bearing upon a previous record in the Ann.
Scott. Nat. Hist.,+ which related to twin Whale foetuses—also con-
sidered by many whalers a rare occurrence—I believe the most
fitting place for such a record to be ‘ The Zoologist,’ and with that

* Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist. April, 1910. + Ibid.

NOTES AND QUERIES. 269

belief I venture to send the following evidence received from Mr.
T. H. Salvesen, of Leith, who kindly forwarded the translation.
The best Norse reference to the above fact (see Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist.
for April, 1910) will be found in the ‘ Norsk-Fisheritinde’ (‘Norwegian
Fishing Gazette’), p. 40, where the following notice in Norwegian
appears :—‘‘It is to be noted as a wonderful natural history occur-
rence, that upon the 10th July, 1909, a Finner-Whale was brought
into the station at Hellesfjord (Iceland), which had no less than six
(6) foetuses inside. Asis known, Whales do not usually have more
than one calf, although cases of two or three have frequently been
observed; a number such as six, therefore, caused considerable
notice, and the foetuses were carefully examined and measured. It
was ascertained that three of them had lengths of thirty-four inches,
one twenty inches, one eighteen inches, and one seventeen inches.
The authenticity of the report has been vouched for by several of the
station hands.” Mr. Salvesen, to whom, as I have said, I am obliged
for the above translation and extract, adds (a lit.) :—‘ I also noticed
a similar report in the ‘Morgenbladet’ (the ‘Scotsman’ of Norway),
and in ‘ Norges Sjofahrtstidende’ (the ‘Shipping Gazette’ of Norway),
so far as I can remember, in August, 1909. I have asked Capt. Bull
if he had further particulars to give, but he said there was nothing
more of interest. He had no camera nor spirits of wine at the
station.” This latter sentence was in reply to my enquiry as to
whether any of these small foetuses had been preserved. — J. A.
Harviz-Brown (Dunipace, Larbert, Stirlingshire, N.B.).

AVES.

A Curious Nesting Site.—On one of the rainy days in May last, a
farmer, on going to fetch his sou’wester hat from off a peg in one of
his cow-sheds, was surprised to find that the hat contained a nest in
the making. He then placed the hat back, and, after watching, saw
a Wren going in and out of the shed with material. The nest after
a while was finished, and soon contained eggs, and, although it was
frequently taken down to show to visitors, the birds never deserted it,
and managed to bring off their young ones successfully. — T. OWEN
(Pen Parc, Bangor, North Wales).

Lesser Redpoll at Hampstead.—I have found five nests of the
Lesser Redpoll (Linota rufescens) on the Heath here this year; two
were placed in oaks, two in hawthorns, and a fifth high up in a birch-
tree. The earliest date on which I found young birds ready to leave
the nest was on June 13th. This makes the third year running in

270 THE ZOOLOGIST.

which I have found nests of this bird here, and I mention the fact,
as in the only authoritative account of the Birds of Hampstead
(J. E. Harting in Lobley’s ‘ Hampstead Hill,’ 1889) the Lesser Red-
poll is recorded as occasionally being seen here in the autumn only,
and no instance is therein given of its having nested at Hampstead
up to that time.—H. Meyrick (The Mount, Hampstead).

Short-eared Owl Nesting in Essex.—Fourteen years ago I recorded
a nest of this interesting bird on Northey Island (Zool. 1896, p. 233).
For the last month or more we have constantly seen a pair of these
birds about on our meadows and marshes, and quite thought they
were nesting on our land, but my son, Lieut. T. M. Fitch, and one of
my daughters undertook an expedition of discovery when they were
at home, and located the nest in a marsh on an adjoining farm, Little
South House, half a mile away from Northey. The grass was being
cut in the adjoining marsh, and the next evening my son brought
back the mangled remains of four young Owls, and the driver of the
mower picked up four others in the nest. Mr. Ashcroft, tenant of
Little South House, was anxious they should be preserved, but his
man mowed over them with the machine inadvertently. The day
before yesterday (July 7th) my head horseman brought me a fully-
fledged young Owl—a little beauty—that he had caught while
ploughing in one of my fields; it was especially lively, but was
pinioned, and had a cut on the neck just above its wing. I sent
it back at once, and trust that it may live, but doubt if it will ever
fly; one old bird is still about every evening, but previously it was
very busy all day. At any rate, we can account for nine young ones,
but I fear the mother was killed with her family—Hpwarp A. Firon
(Brick House, Maldon).

Supposed Occurrence of the Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides fur-
catus) in Surrey.—A stuffed specimen of the Swallow-tailed Kite was
on exhibition at the Museum Congress of the South-Eastern Union
of Scientific Societies, held recently (June 8th to 11th) at Guildford.
I made enquiries about this bird, and the information I received from
the local taxidermists, Messrs. W. Bradden and Son, of North Street,
was that the skin was brought to them some ten years ago by a
cottager, who said that his father shot it some years previously at
Chiddingfold. The skin was in a deplorable condition, having evi-
dently been taken off the bird by some one who had no knowledge
of taxidermy, and this clearly shows on the bird now that it is set
up. The cottager was given a few shillings for the skin, and this was

NOTES AND QUERIES. 271

all the information I could obtain. Allusion is made in ‘ The Zoolo-
gist,’ 1897, pp. 270, 271, by Mr. W. Ruskin-Butterfield, Curator of
the Hastings Corporation Museum, to the specimen belonging to
Dr. Otho Travers, of St. Leonards-on-Sea, shot by his father,
Mr. O. W. Travers, it is believed at Mildenhall, in Suffolk, between
the years 1830-40; and Mr. G. W. Bradshaw, in the same volume
of ‘The Zoologist,’ p. 270, states that ‘this specimen was restored
by Mr. Bristow, of St. Leonards, and that Mr. Travers, who shot it,
told him it was eating a Partridge at the time.” The late Mr.
Howard Saunders, however, would not include the species in his
‘Manual of British Birds,’ and in his second edition, p. 338, he writes
that ‘An example of the American Swallow-tailed Kite (Hlanozdes
furcatus) was taken alive during a heavy thunderstorm near Hawes,
in Yorkshire, on Sept. 6th, 1805, but afterwards made its escape, and
there is ground for suspecting that it had previously been in confine-
ment. There are other records of the occurrence in Great Britain of
this chiefly Neo-tropical species, but none of these are, to my mind,
satisfactory, and the species has never occurred on the Continent.”’—
THOMAS PARKIN.

PERSONALIA.

“Presentation to Mr. C. 0. Waterhouse, 1.8.0.— On June 30th
Mr. Charles Owen Waterhouse, I.8.0., Assistant Keeper of Zoology
in the British Museum (Natural History), severed his official connec-
tion with the Museum, and the opportunity was taken of presenting
him with an illuminated address, signed by numerous members of
the Staff and others, including Dr. A. G. Butler; he was also the
recipient of a desk, a barometer, and a gold watch. The presentation
was made by Mr. L. Fletcher, Director of the Museum, who, in the
course of a short speech, pointed out that Mr. Waterhouse was
retiring from the service of the Trustees after a period of forty-four
years, a period of service only exceeded by one member of the Staff
of five hundred employed in the British Museum. Reference was
also made to the honour lately conferred on Mr. Waterhouse by the
King. Mr. Fletcher then read aloud the text of the address before
handing it to Mr. Waterhouse and presenting him with the other
donations. Mr. Waterhouse, in returning thanks, said how very
much he regretted leaving the Museum, where he had spent so many
years. He traced the growth of the Insect Room from the modest
dimensions of the former Insect Room at Bloomsbury to the fine
series of rooms at South Kensington to-day, extending along a frontage
of some three hundred feet, and hinted that some of those present

272 THE ZOOLOGIST.

might live to see the Insect Section become an entomological museum.
He added that the growth of accommodation for insect collections
was accompanied by the increased importance attaching to entomo-
logical science, on the perfection and advancement of which so much
depended. The entomologist was no longer an individual to be looked
down upon. Mr. Waterhouse concluded by saying that he would not
say ‘“‘ Good-bye,” as he hoped to be able to pay periodical visits to the
Museum in future. Dr. Butler made a few remarks in conclusion,
reminding those present how long he had been associated with Mr.
Waterhouse when he was at the Museum.—G. M-W.

Correction.—I regret I have to correct one or two slips in my
paper on “‘ The Formation of Useless Habits in Two British Newts.”’
Page 164, line 16 from bottom, page 172, line 23 from bottom,
‘““stereoscopic”’ should of course read stereotropic. Similarly in the
June issue, page 211, line 7 from bottom, page 220, line 2 from bottom,
page 221, line 13 from top. ‘Stereotropism” is a useful word coined
to denote direct motor response to surface stimulus. The frequent
use of a stereoscope with wild-life photographs must be made respon-
sible for the mistake.—Brucr F. Cummincs.

OBITUARY.
Win~uiAM HEARDER.

WE regret to hear of the death of our occasional contributor,
Mr. William Hearder, of Plymouth. The following extracts are
from a notice in the ‘ Western Daily Mercury’ of July 2nd :—

“Tt was as an expert in the craft of fishing that the late Mr.
Hearder was best known. For a large number of years he had
carried on business in Union Street, Plymouth, in succession to his
father, the firm of Hearder and Son having been established as far
back as 1770. He was one of the founders of the British Sea
Anglers’ Society, and wrote a good deal on the subject of sea and
river fishing in the neighbourhood of Plymouth. He was a regular
contributor to the ‘Fishing Gazette’ and the ‘ Western Daily Mer-
cury, and other journals. He was also the inventor of a large
number of fishing devices, some of which are manufactured by the
firm under patent rights. The late Mr. Soltau presented to Mr.
Hearder his famous collection of Trout flies peculiarly adapted for
Devon streams, and in recent years these patterns were manufactured
by Mr. Hearder, who styled them ‘Soltau’s pattern.’ The deceased
gentleman had quite a museum of fishing lures of various dates, and
was ever willing to explain to visitors the evolution of modern baits
from the oldest and most primitive patterns. He specially studied
for many years the perfection of the gear used for pier and jetty
fishing. His firm supplied the dredgers, trawls, and gear used by
the H.M.S. ‘Challenger ’ exploring expedition, the ‘ Alert,’ the ‘ Dis-
covery,’ and other expeditions. Mr. Hearder himself invented an
improved Otter-trawl among other things.”

His last contribution to these pages was in 1908, on a ‘“Sea-
mouse (Aphrodite aculeata) near Plymouth”’ (cf. ‘ Zoologist,’ 1908,
p. 470).

Gool. tth ser. vol. XIV., July. 1910, y

274 THE ZOOLOGIST.

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

The British Bird Book ; an Account of all the Birds, Nests, and
Eggs found in the British Isles. Hdited by F. B. Kirxman,
BAS Oxon. “Volo le TC rahe Ce Jacke

Ir may be asked, Why another book on British Birds? In
the present case the answer is a very satisfactory one, for this
publication is designed and promoted on advanced principles—in
fact, although descriptions and figures leave little to be desired
as means of identification, the main object is to study the birds
themselves as sentient creatures. We have travelled far since
the time of popular opinion that the song of birds was provided
for the delight of man, as the stars were placed in the firmament
to light his way by night. Even quite recently ornithology has
been envisaged by two new factors—photography rather than
the gun, and “‘ bird-watching ”’ in place of arm-chair conclusions,
while both of these have already produced, and are still pro-
ducing, a revolution in our knowledge of bird-life. In these
volumes we are promised a digest of bionomical records pub-
lished during many past years, read at the time, and often
subsequently forgotten; the pages of ‘The Zoologist’ alone will
afford an illuminative example. The work is to be published in
twelve sections or volumes, and the chapters often restricted to
a genus and treated by different writers.

A prominent feature in the volume now before us is the
supplementary chapter on ‘‘The Finches,” by that prince of
bird-watchers, Edmund Selous. Here we revel in original
observations, and as readers of ‘The Zoologist’ well know,
if Darwin’s theory of Sexual Selection is to be revived and
maintained, it will be largely owing to the work of its enthusi-
astic apostle, Mr. Selous, who seems to have accepted a mission
to prove and advocate it. His hardly earned facts would have
been gratefully received and used by Darwin himself had such a
personal synchronization been possible, but after all theories

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 275

are to be valued for their suggestive stimulus to future workers
rather than to be accepted as dogmas of an evolutionary creed.
In the study of organic evolution we might accept the foreword
of the ‘Hibbert Journal’: ‘‘ We stand for three positive truths:
that the Goal of thought is One; that thought, striving to
reach the Goal, must forever move; that in the conflict of
opinion the movement is furthered by which the many approach
the One.’’

It is announced that the complete work will contain two
hundred coloured plates, and many in monochrome. Those in
the present volume have reached a no inconsiderable standard
in excellence. Wedo not expect this publication to be absolutely
infallible—that is a literary impossibility—but it has certainly
apprehended a want in animal bionomics, and undertaken a
work of which the open door had long been disregarded. How
the scheme will be elaborated succeeding volumes will alone
prove; this one at least has laid a good foundation.

A Handbook of the Birds of Tasmania and its Dependencies. By
Frank Mervyn Lirrurr, M.A.O.U. Published by the
author at Launceston (65, High Street), Tasmania.

Tuts, which we believe is absolutely the first book to treat of
the birds of Tasmania as a whole, is written and published by
Mr. Littler at cost price, and for a few shillings, at his own risk
and initiative, and we trust that his enterprise will not entail the
usual results; it certainly does not deserve to do so. Some
two hundred and fourteen species are fully described, and also
the nests and eggs of the birds as well, with many useful and
interesting observations. The fauna has its distinctive pecu-
liarities. ‘‘ Of the species ‘ peculiar’ to the island, all save the
Lesser White-backed Magpie (Gymnorhina hyperleuca) are larger
than their nearest allies on the mainland. A number of species
lay four or even five eggs to the clutch, while the same species
or related ones on the continent of Australia lay but three.
There are also a number of structural differences in the nests of
several species as compared with those across the Strait, but
this point is not emphasized as much as the preceding ones, nor

276 THE ZOOLOGIST.

is it as important.” The Snipe (Gallinago australis), although
scattered over a wide area, is nowhere plentiful, and, as stated
by Colonel Legge some twenty-five years ago, is decreasing in
numbers. Theconditions, according to Mr. Littler, are now far
worse than they were then, and sportsmen complain that some
years they never see a Snipe. ‘‘ The whole thing is very
puzzling, for there are still a number of localities ideal in their
way for Snipe—localities where the birds would be very little
disturbed.” Wecould add numerous other bionomical facts of
equal interest if space permitted and we wished to pillage this
volume, a course, for both reasons, which we cannot pursue.
The illustrations are numerous and excellent; no longer the
artist’s set up of birds as seems to him befitting, but photographs
of nests and breeding haunts, taking us straight to nature and
away from the glass case and museum limitations. Mr. Littler
should feel quite satisfied with this faunistic contribution, and
doubtless his book will reach many ornithological shelves.

A Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera. By W.F. Wirpy. Vol. III.
Orthoptera Saltatoria (Locustide vel Acridiide). Published
by the Trustees of the British Museum.

Tus thick and most useful volume completes Mr. Kirby’s
general Catalogue of the Orthopterous Insects of the World, and
may be taken as the last of the official work of the author at the
British Museum, for Mr. Kirby has reached the age at which
the departmental guillotine gently severs official engagements,
and relegates its old servants into the well-earned retirement of
private life.

This Catalogue is written on the best moderate conservative
lines. All errors known to the author have been carefully cor-
rected, but no endeavour has been made to turn the subject
topsy-turvy by an unnecessary resuscitation of names long since
dead and buried, or by changing the classificatory arrangement
on personal idiosyncrasies as frequently seems the one thing
needful in some modern works of a similar nature. Mr. Kirby’s
great knowledge of entomological literature unusually equips
him for these compilations, and he is to be recognized as the
veteran writer of entomological catalogues on the synonymic

Bes

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 277

method. Errors there must be, and the lest catalogue is one in
which these are fewest; to break the ground is work of the
pioneer, as is largely the case with this publication, and it greatly
assists the student, and what is more, though of far less value,
gives scope and action to the uneasy soul of the critic. We
believe that these volumes will do as much for the study of the
Orthoptera as the same author’s ‘Synonymic Catalogue of
Diurnal Lepidoptera’ (published in 1871) did for those who
worked at exotic butterflies. But after all no one can properly
appraise the value of a catalogue till he has used and worked
with it for some period of time; reviews and criticisms on
these works when first published, often by writers unfamiliar
with the particular phase of animal life to which they refer,
must necessarily be very near the realm of bathos. That,
however, these three volumes of Mr. Kirby will maintain their
standard with orthopterous students is the conviction, at least,
of the writer of this notice.

278 _ THE ZOOLOGIST.

EDITORIAL GLEANINGS.

NationaL Brrp anp Mammat RESERVATIONS In ALASKA IN
CHARGE OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—Seven reser-
vations for the protection of birds and mammals in Alaska have been
set aside by executive order and placed in charge of the Department
of Agriculture. These reservations, created in February and March,
1909, comprise, with one exception, small islands at several points
along the coast of Alaska and in Bering Sea, as follows :—Bering Sea
Reservation: Saint Matthew, Hall,and Pinnacle Islands. Fire Island
Reservation: Near head of Cook Inlet. Tuxedni Reservation: Chisick
and Egg Islands, Cook Inlet. Saint Lazaria Reservation: Saint
Lazaria Island, Sitka Sound... Yukon Delta Reservation: Tundra of
the Yukon Delta. Pribilof Reservation: Walrus and Otter Islands,
Bering Sea. Bogoslof Reservation: Bogoslof Islands, Aleutian Archi-
pelago. Fire Island is the breeding ground of the Alaska Moose ; the
islands in Bering Sea contain rookeries of Sea-Lions, and all of the
reservations are important breeding grounds of Sea-birds or Ducks
and Geese. All of these species are protected by the Alaska Game
Law (35 Stat., 102), and the birds on the reservations are protected
by Act of Congress, signed THrEopoRE RoosEVELT, under date,
Feb. 27th, 1909.—(U.S. Dep. Agric. Bur. Biol. Surv., Circular No. 71,
1910.)

PRIVATE GAME PRESERVES AND THEIR FUTURE IN THE UNITED
Srares—Hstoricau.—The game preserve in the form of a Deer-park
as an adjunct to a private estate dates back to the earliest colonial
days. One of the first, if not the first, in America was located in
Maryland, on the eastern side of Chesapeake Bay, near its head.
Augustin Hermann, a cartographer, born at Prague, Bohemia, in
1608, came to Maryland in 1659, and surveyed and mapped the
province, a service for which he received a grant of land in Cecil
County. Here he founded, in 1661, the manor of Bohemia, and
among other attractions added ‘‘a large Deer-park, the walls of which
are still standing.”* In the descriptions of colonial estates, par-
ticularly those in Maryland and Virginia, frequent references may be
found to Deer-parks.

* Wilson, J. G., ‘A Maryland Manor,’ p. 15, 1890.

EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 279

amiivos Benjamin Tasker, the Governor of Maryland, on retiring
from office, laid out his country seat Belair, near Collington, Prince
George County, in true manorial style, and included in the improve-
ments a park for Deer.

Another celebrated estate in Maryland was that of Harewood, on
-Gunpowder River, near Baltimore, which about the year 1830 in-
cluded a Deer-park of some three hundred acres, where “two hun-
dred Deer may often be seen at a single view.’ Here experiments
“were made in introducing Pheasants, European Quail, and Red-legged
Partridges, but proved unsuccessful, owing chiefly to depredations of
poachers and natural enemies. Thirty years later, about 1858-59,
was established the Deer-park of Judge J. D. Caton, near Ottawa, Il.
This park, which originally comprised but forty acres and was after-
wards increased to two hundred, was the first of its kind in the
United States. It was established solely for the purpose of observing
and studying the various kinds of big game in a state of captivity.
Here the observations were made which formed the basis of the
owner’s well-known work on the Antelope and Deer of America.

The first game preserve belonging to an incorporated association
was that established by the Blooming Grove Park Association in
1871, for the purpose “ of preserving, importing, breeding, and propa-
gating game animals, birds, and fish, and of furnishing facilities to
the members for hunting, shooting, and fishing on its grounds.” One
of the important features wasa Deer-park. This venture was followed
a few years later by numerous other parks of various kinds, until
they now number several hundred.—(U.S. Dep. Agric. Bur. Biol.
Surv., Circular No. 72, 1910.)

Mr. James Drummond, in his “ Notes on Natural History in New
Zealand” (the ‘Lyttelton Times,’ June 4th, 1910), writes :—“ Omaui
is the name of an islet at the entrance to the New River Estuary, the
approach to the port of Invercargill. The part of the island which
faces the ocean and Stewart Island is comparatively flat, and is
entirely in the possession of Sea-gulls. The part which faces the
north and Invercargill is high, and is covered with veronicas, mosses,
lichens, and small tussock. This is the home of countless thousands
of Terns. They breed on the highest part, on the Riverton side, and
their breeding-place, according to the account supplied by a recent
visitor, is a sight that is worth seeing. He says that when he visited
the crags and picked his way amongst the eggs, he had the utmost
difficulty in avoiding trampling upon them. It is hardly correct to

280 THE ZOOLOGIST. z

say that there are nests, as the egg is nearly always laid on a flat
rock, under a tussock, or in a crevice of the rock. It is often-not
more than three inches from the edge of a crag, and it is surprising
that the eggs should escape being blown away in rough weather.
When the birds are disturbed they rise almost simultaneously, with a
continuous shrill call, and make a circuit in the air, presenting an
extraordinarily regular and drilled appearance. As they fly over the
visitor's head, he seems to be looking through a wonderful trans-
parency of snowy-white wings and reddish legs, relieved by shining
black heads. ‘It is hardly possible,’ the correspondent writes, ‘to
imagine a more strikingly beautiful sight.’”

Fish Kintep sy Licgutnine.—In these islands we seem to escape
the severe thunderstorms which work havoc in the larger areas of
Europe and America. The ‘Oesterreichische Fischerei- Zeitung ’
records two instances of the destruction of fish by lightning. At
Neuhaus, in Austria, a tank belonging to Count Czerninschen, and
containing about 15 ewt. of Carp, was struck by a thunderbolt, every
one of the fish being destroyed. The same thing occurred in a mill-
stream near Passau, where a large number of fish, including some
maguificent Pike, were killed by lightning.

The ‘ Deutsche Fischerei-Zeitung’ records a curious instance in
which a tree on the banks of a pond near Orsoy, on the Lower
Rhine, was struck by lightning. The pond happened to be in flood
at the time, and the whole of the ground surrounding the tree was
under water. A number of fish, weighing 20 lb. in all, were after-
wards found floating in its immediate neighbourhood. The cause of
death in every instance was rupture of the swimming bladder.—
(From the ‘ Fishing Gazette,’ Sept. 12th, 1908.)

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EPS IRDSNESTING & BIRD=SKINNING. A Complete

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On the Validity of the Yellow-necked Mouse (Mus ‘fasion Mel
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F.Z.S., 241. SD. Sa

Gf, An Observational Diary on the Nuptial Habits of the Blackcock (Letrao tetra) in

eg Scandinavia and England, Hdmund Selous, 248. ‘

‘ On the Occurrence of Vipera berus in the Pyrenees, near San Sebastian, SE

s Britten, 266.

By Notts AND QuERIES :— ;

Mammat1a.—Common Shrew on Scotch Islands, Major G. HE. H. Barrett- Hamil.
ton, 267. Fauna of Lundy Island, Bruce F. Cummings, 267. Weasels and
Stoats hunting together, Gordon Dalgliesh, 267. Common Seal on the
Somerset Coast, H. E. Forrest, 268. Six Foetuses in a Whale (Balenoptera
musculus), J. A. Harvie-Brown, 268.

Aves.—A Curious Nesting Site, 7. Owen, 269. Lesser Redpoll at Hampstead,

oS Ineut.-Col. H. Meyrick, 269. Short-eared Owl Nesting in Essex, Edward

A. Fitch, 270. Supposed Occurrence of the Swallow- tailed Kite (Elanoides
furcatus) in Surrey, Thomas Parkin, M.A., F.L.S., 270.

PERSONALIA. — Presentation to Mr. C. O. Waterhouse, I.S.0., G. M-W., 271.
Correction, Bruce F. Cummings, 272.

OxsituARy.—William Hearder, 2738..
Notices oF New Books, 274-277.
EDITORIAL GLEANINGS, 278-280.

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London: WEST, NEWMAN & CO., 54, Hatton (

THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 830.—August, 1910.

NOTES ON THE ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE,
1909.

By O. V. Apuin, F.L.S.

January 1st.—Slow thaw; snow wasting slowly. A number
of small birds reported picked up dead round ricks lately.

5th.—No Thrush song since frost set in at end of last year.

6th.—A. Nuthatch (now a rarity here) again frequents the old
plum-tree here to hammer food. Only a few nutshells under
the tree, but many acorn-shells. I heard it “ trilling”’ a few
days ago.

10th.—Great, Blue, and Coal-Tits are constantly visiting the
fat hung up for them, but the Marsh-Tit I never see. ‘The last-
named is a seed-eater or a “‘ nuttist,”’ and comes about my garden
a good deal in the autumn. In winter its favourite haunt is the
vicinity of beech-trees.

11th.—Blue Tit singing; Coal-Tit with spring note.

17th.—An ordinary snowdrop in bloom.

20th.—A Song-Thrush singing. Hardly any about since the
frost.

21st.—Received a Short-eared Owl, shot on the 19th, from a
_rushy meadow at Chadlington. Two Thrushes sang despite
the fog.

23rd.—Mr. Tyrrell reported later that great numbers of
Bramblings (consorting with Chaffinches, Greenfinches, and
Sparrows) were noticed this month at Deddington, Swerford,
South Newington, &c.

Zool. 4th ser. voi. XIV., August, 1910. Z

282 THE ZOOLOGIST.

28th.—Saw, at Mr. Bartlett’s, an immature male Merlin,
shot at Tusmore in the early autumn of last year. A Grey Crow
reported as seen recently at Sibford.

A Black-headed Gull and a Common Tern were, Mr. Tyrrell
tells me, shot on the canal near Banbury this month, and sent
to him to preserve.

A rather dry, cold month; hard frosts in the latter part.

February.—Spring flowers very backward.

4th.—Mistle-Thrush singing. Few Song-Thrushes about yet.

5th.—F lock of two or three hundred Bramblings and Chaf-
finches on a ploughed field at Mileomb. The former were in the
majority, and among them were a good many males with dark
heads and mantles and white rumps. Fieldfares and Redwings
continue rare.

6th.—During a long afternoon after the Basset hounds I did
not see one of those birds. A good many Song-Thrushes have
returned. Lark singing for first time since late autumn. A
flock of about a score of Corn-Buntings on north side of Wroxton,
where they are always to be found in the breeding season—a
most local bird.

9th.—Encouraged by a slight snow and rain, a Blackbird
sang. Hedge-Sparrow sings now.

10th.—Nuthatch feeding on fat.

14th.—I put twelve nuts in the Nuthatch-frame between
11 and 12 a.m., and found, at 3 p.m., that they had all been
taken. I think the birds hide most of them for future use when
they find a good supply.

15th.—Four Bullfinches in a plum-tree at the same time—
poor buds!

17th.—Crows go about quietly in pairs now, unless two pairs
come together. Chaffinches sang a little. Country very dry.

19th.—An Otter which has been about all the winter was
shot at Upper Grove Mill to-day.

20th.—Severe weather. A very large flock of small birds
comprised House- and Tree-Sparrows, Yellow Buntings and
Greenfinches, with a few Chaffinches and Bramblings.

21st.—The pair of Nuthatches we have here picked up from
the ground in front of my window a big handful of nuts in
less than a quarter of an hour; most, perhaps all, of these

ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 283

must have been hidden. They hide them in old thatched
roofs. -

22nd.—Very little song of any kind, except from the hardy
Hedge-Sparrow.

27th.—Frost and snow, but a Blackbird sang a little; no
Thrush song for some days. No Wren song all the cold weather
this month, and the Wrens I have seen look fluffed up and de-
jected. Although cheery and bright in the early part of a frost,
however severe, I doubt now if the Wren is a very hardy bird.
If the weather is cold it does not sing at this end of the winter,
and its habit of roosting in company in old nests and holes shows
that it feels the cold. A Herring-Gull shot at Somerton this
month (Tyrrell).

28th.—Milder. A Wren sang.

A very dry (less than half an inch of rain) and a cold month.
Frost on twenty-five days.

March 2nd.—The Hedge-Sparrow’s tarsi (male at all events)
now are a dull beefy-red, and it walks as well as hops.

3rd.—Lots of birds feeding outside the window. ‘The Green-
finches will pick up corn eagerly.

13th.—Spring flowers a complete failure so far. A T'urdus
nest partly built in a sheltered yew-hedge—a lot of old snow lies
on the north side of the shrubbery. Comparatively few Thrushes
about.

16th.—The high ground about Tadmarton Heath is still a
good deal covered with snow, and the hills at the back of Swal-
cliffe and all along towards Sibford Heath and Epwell are white.
A Peregrine flew over a belt of trees at the Highlands, a Rook
giving a grievous croak as it went over.

19th.—The first night without frost for weeks.

21st.—A Blackbird’s nest in the yew-hedge has one egg; the
other nest has been abandoned.

26th.—A little apricot-blossom.

30th.—Peewits on fallows.

Very cold up to the 19th. Frost on twenty-three days, and
- snow fell or lay on ground on seventeen days.

April 3rd.—Tawny Owl (breeding) hoots rarely now and then
in a soft tremulous way; not with the volley of high clear hoots

we hear on cold moonlit winter nights.
Z 2

284 THE ZOOLOGIST.

5th.—Brimstone Butterfly in garden. A late spring.

6th.—Two Chiffchaffs in song in Milcomb bushes. A new
Crow’s nest (five eggs on 27th). Country quite wintry looking.

7th.—A Swallow over the garden. Several Brimstone and
Tortoiseshell Butterflies have been seen, and I saw that a Tortoise
in a neighbour’s garden had emerged to-day.

8th.—Two Swallows together over garden, singing.

9th.—Hedges black, country wintry and dry. Greenfinch
singing.

10th.—Several Swallows.

16th.—Redstart. Magpie’s nest with five eggs.

19th.—Cuckoo noisy. Tree-Pipit. I never before saw Swal-
lows here im numbers so early.

20th.—House-Martin. Willow-Wren.

24th.—Lesser Whitethroat.

25th.—Song-Thrushes have suddenly begun building ; three,
if not four, nests have been put up in the garden during the last
day or two. Clutch of five Crow’s eggs brought in.

26th.—Blackeap.

27th.—Away until May1st. Clutch of three hard-sat Crow’s
egos brought in.

Frost on twelve days, snow on two; over two inches of rain
fell, chiefly in the latter part of the month.

May 1st.—A little snow and heavy rain.

2nd.—-A male Nightjar flew in the face of a man on a bicycle
between here and Banbury to-night, and was captured; I saw
it later.

4th.—Swifts.

8th.—A Quail (heard since 8rd and picked up on 6th) brought
from Adderbury (vide Zool. 1909, p. 469).

9th.—It was reported in the ‘ Oxford Times’ of the 22nd that
to-day three pairs of Redshanks were seen at the old spot below
Eynsham, and three Common and one Black Tern close to
Oxford.

11th.—Moths flew in at window at night. At 11 p.m., calm
and starlight, I heard Whimbrel passing over.

12th.—Cinnabar month. Fine warm month so far, and, as
it proved, May afforded the best weather of the year. Lett |
home until 27th.

|

ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. — 285

28th.—Young Starlings out of the nest.

June 2nd.—A Linnet has a nest (six eggs eventually) in an
Irish yew in the garden, so exposed that anyone passing on the
path can see the bird, and so insecurely fixed that it slipped
down on one side, and the young had great difficulty in keeping
in it until they were ready to leave. Five were reared.

5th.—Young Starlings now in considerable flocks, and frequent
oak-trees partly defoliated by caterpillars.

7th.—Turtle-Dove’s nest in hedge with two eggs was remark-
ably slight—only a few rootlets for lining, and the eggs showing
through very plainly. A Blackbird sang from the barn-roof
ridge, and often did so afterwards; but this is a new habit here.

13th.—Redstart has five eggs in a box. This bird has been
strangely scarce of late. ‘The young in the nest perished—
I think of starvation, in consequence of the most inclement
weather.

15th.—To Bampton, and on this and the next day made the
following notes :—I found that the Redshank had established
itself as a breeding species in this part of the Isis valley since I
was here last, and below Tadpole Bridge I saw two pairs and an
odd bird which probably had a mate not far off. They were, I
have no doubt, breeding, but the great seas of hay-grass would
make a search difficult. One pair seemed from their actions
to have young hidden in some hay-grass, but they themselves
usually settled in a rough thistle and rush-grown meadow on the
opposite bank, because it had been grazed and was bare; the
low flood-bank, too, was a favourite perch for them, and along it
they ran in an excited manner. Their familiar cries, “‘teur-y,
teur-y-leur,’ drew my attention first, and soon the birds were
flying overhead, ‘‘kipping”’ in an excited way, sometimes settling
to run a few steps; then into the air again, and flying round,
crying almost incessantly. These breeding Redshanks are a
great addition to the avifauna of the Isis valley. In this calm
sunny evening nothing could be prettier than their grey and
white plumage and red legs set against the full rich green of the
meadows, thickly bedecked with buttercups, of this lush, luxuriant
valley. Peewits were pretty common, feeding at the shelving
edges of the river, and there were already flocks in the grazed
meadows. Moorhens’ chuckles and Dabchicks’ rattling cries

286 THE ZOOLOGIST.

sounded from the thick, high growth which generally borders
both banks, and makes the river itself very private for the birds,
for boats are very infrequent on it. There are a few Wild Ducks
too, and Herons are often seen—one came close to me by mis-
take! I heard only one Corn-Crake in all those miles of hay-
grass. Reed-Warblers I noticed in three places in willows, and
not distributed evenly along the banks—though there are reeds
—like the Sedge-Warblers and Reed-Buntings. The Dabchick
must be quite numerous, to judge from their frequent cries, and
(although I had to propel as well as steer my boat, and the river
winds), I found three nests, two with single eggs, one covered
and the other (looking new-laid) not; the third nest had two
downy young just out, and two hatching eggs. Moorhens have
their nests on the inner side of this belt of rushes and other
water-plants—the iris and the great water-dock both very fine—
where they are easily seen froma boat. A row of pollard-willows
was inhabited by Tree-Sparrows, whose noisy, shrill cries caused
me to land and find a nest just being built, of rather green
materials. Carrion-Crows, sitting on a fence at a sluice-gate or
flying low over the grass top, are common in the valley, and no
doubt keep the wildfowl down. Quite a feature of Bampton
itself was the bunch of Swifts, which in the evening, and at
3 a.m. too, were swinging round, low down, the little open space
in the town, ‘‘ swee-ree’’-ing loudly.

17th.—News from Mr. Calvert of two Little Owls shot at
Witney last winter, and of one put out of a hollow tree at
Pudlicote on the 19th of last month.

19th.—Garden-Warblers had young just out of the nest;
the latter was just dry grass and a slight affair. Cuckoos and
Turtle-Doves common this year, and the former still in good
song. Mr. Noble tells me that in Hennerton meadows, close to
the river, he saw three adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls and two
Herring-Gulls fly over within sixty yards. It was early in the
month and blowing hard from S.E.; a curious time of the year
for adult Gulls to be inland.

24th.—My brother heard a Corn-Crake at Willscote Hill.

25th.—Not over 49° all day; wintry, dismal weather ; a cold
thick mist last night. Everything is overgrown and spoiling
for want of sun.

ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 287

29th.—Low part of village flooded.

30th.—Examined in the flesh a Little Bittern picked up at
Somerton (vide Zool. 1909, 468).

A cold, wet month, about four and a half inches of rain,
which fell on more than half the days of the month; wind
usually from N. and N.W.

July 1st.—Hay-meadows in the Cherwell Valley standing in
flood water—to be seen among the long grass. At the end of
June or early this month Mr. Calvert saw and heard ‘‘drumming”’
Snipe at Minster Lovell (vide Zool. 1907, 325).

9th.—Cuckoo heard for last time.

10th.—The decrease in the numbers of our breeding Starlings
is very apparent. Not one nest on these premises this year. It
was in the years 1902-3-4 that they reached their greatest
strength ; in one of those years every box big enough (even
within four or five feet of the ground) and every hole under the
thatched eaves of buildings was filled; and the new painting in
the yard ruined by them !

14th.—Starlings feeding young in nest in roof of the G.W.R.
station at Banbury: there has been no ‘‘run”’ on nesting-holes
this year, and this must without doubt have been a second
brood. It is too late to be a brood reared by a pair which had
merely lost their first eggs.

22nd.—Young Bullfinches just out of nest have a wheezy,
creaking ‘‘ peep.”

27th.—A great rain—nearly an inch.

29th.—Report of Red-backed Shrikes having bred in Ban-
bury Cemetery, and of the scarcity of Nightingales, Redstarts
(especially) about Swerford. All the Warblers and most of the
summer birds, except Swallows and Martins and Cuckoos and
Turtle-Doves, are very scarce. Redstarts have been remarkably
scarce for two or three years.

A cool and wet month, often windy. Wind generally in the
west, and nearly four inches of rain.

August 4th.—A female Red-backed Shrike close to Bloxham
Station.

7th.—Congregation of Martins and some Swallows on house
roof this morning.

8th.—Garden-Warbler sang; this garden has lately been

288 THE ZOOLOGIST.

full of them, eating the fruit. Thrushes have sung continuously
so far.

9th.—The bulk of the Swifts gone. The hottest day of
summer (77°) so far.

10th.—Saw four Swifts. I suppose their young ones were
starved, and so having none to rear they have gone early. I
never saw any number in the air together at the time the young
should have been on the wing.

12th.—Two Swifts. Thrush sang morning and evening. 81°.

14th.—House-Martins have had a good breeding season ;
there are many about.

15th.—Some fifty or sixty Starlings rose at once from my
gooseberry bushes! At 5 a.m. I heard Gulls calling as they
passed over, going west. 81° again. From the 8rd to the 17th,
when there was a great rain, we had the only summer weather.

25th.—Martins congregating on roof.

Nearly two inches of rain—on fifteen days. Wind generally
N.W. A late harvest, but most of the wheat cut by the end of
this month.

Birds have sung late this year. Blackbird occasionally down
to Aug. 3rd. Thrush continuously to the 15th. Greenfinch to
the 24th. Robins began to sing again about Aug. 11th.

September 1st.—Shooting delayed by standing oats, barley,
and beans. A flock of about a hundred Peewits in some thin
swedes.

3rd.—A great many Martins on the roof.

5th.—A Peacock Butterfly. A most fruitful year, but all
spoilt by bad weather.

8th.—News from Mr. Fowler of Hobbies seen nearly every
evening waiting for the Swallows going to roost in the osier-bed
at Kingham.

10th.—Report of three Land-Rails shot about Sibford Heath
on 7th. I strongly suspect that Dartford Warblers inhabit a
piece of scattered gorse near here. To-day I heard notes and
saw a bird, both of which appeared to right, but I had no glasses
and could not be sure.

15th.—No Pipits seen yet in the few roots I have walked.

16th.—Swallows with young in nest in stable.

17th.—Severe thunderstorm and heavy rain; extended over

ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 289

a good deal of the country and much damage done by lightning
and, in some parts, hail.

18th.—Report of two Land-Rails shot and another seen at
Milcomb on 14th. A small flock of Meadow-Pipits.

19th.—Starlings catching flies high in air. A diminution of
Swallows and Martins.

20th.—Flock of Mistle-Thrushes in grass field.

21st.—A big gathering of Martins and some Swallows.

22nd.— Brimstone Butterfly.

24th.—Several small charms of Goldfinches about thistly
fields on South Newington Hill. Lark singing.

25th.—A young Song-Thrush sang in an undertone.

26th.—Only a small gathering of Martins on roof; a lot
gone. Few Pipits seen yet. Not such a bad season for
Partridges here as in some districts. What birds we find are
big and strong, and there are some big coveys. We find no late
broods. Some birds must have bred early, and the young were
strong before the bad weather came. The later broods probably
all perished. Red-legged Partridges very scarce.

30th.—Cherwell Valley heavily flooded.

Over three inches of rain; fell on more than half the days
of the month. Wind chiefly north. A late and delayed harvest.

October 1st.—Long-eared Owl in spinney at South Newington
Hill. Mistle-Thrushes still in small flocks, but some screeching
about the hedges. Country deplorably wet. Corn rotting on
the ground.

17th.—About twenty Swallows and Martins over garden.

19th.—Brimstone Butterfly.

21st.—Some Pipits; on the move. No longer see many
Mistle-Thrushes about. Lots of barley and oats out.

24th.—A Blackbird has sung for some days in a low tone—
evidently a young bird. Part of village flooded.

27th.—Caterpillars have destroyed a great quantity of the
cabbage tribe lately. |

A very wet month; warm until the last week of the month
when frosts set in, and snow fell on 30th. Nearly three and a
half inches of rain, on twenty-seven days. §.W.

November 1st.—A good many Fieldfares and some passing
over. One Redwing.

290 THE ZOOLOGIST.

8th.—Much barley still out and some not cut.

10th.—Many Redwings. lLarks sang in first few days of
month ; silent now.

11th.—News of a Hobby shot at Hanwell in June.

12th.—Song-Thrush sang well this evening. This is the
opening of the usual spell of song, which would go on here all
winter if the season were very mild.

13th.—A Lark sang a very little.

14th.—Snow.

18th.—Wren still sings.

23rd.—A Nuthatch here; only one since February.

28th.—Song-Thrushes sing well, but not many here this
autumn.

A good deal of frosty weather this month from the 6th
onwards. Rain on thirteen days only amounted to about °70in.,
but air damp. Wind N.W.

December 8rd.—Enormous flocks of Starlings here now. A
great many Redwings, many Fieldfares, and swarms of Larks
and Finches on the stubbles.

4th.—The fruit on three or four plum-trees was not gathered,
or hardly any of it. Much of this now remains, brown and
shrivelled, on the trees, and affords food for Thrushes, &c.
Some damsons left on a tree have not yet been eaten. Green-
finches now feeding on the berries of Cotoneaster lelandi and the
hips of sweetbriars ; they will stay in the garden in numbers so
long as the latter last.

5th.—Aconite in flower, not quite turned up; the earliest I
ever saw. Snow on ground early.

7th.—Thrushes and Blackbirds eating the damsons.

10th.— From 9.30 a.m. for an hour (when I had to leave)
Fieldfares were passing over (W.N.W. to E.S.E.) in straggling
loose flocks of twenty or thirty to fifty or sixty, at short intervals,
and at their usual height. I did not go out until 9.30, so I do
not know how long the flight had been going on, nor how long
it lasted. But I found later a great many in flocks feeding in
the big hedges which are red with haws; and a lot of Redwings
too. There was a change to milder weather last night.

11th.—Wren sings sometimes, but the cold has practically
silenced the Thrushes.

ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 291

14th.—Mistle-Thrush sang a little.

18th.—Hedge-Sparrow sang for first time since summer.

22nd.—-Starlings feeding greedily on holly berries. Weather
frosty the last ten days or so, but changed to-day.

28th.—Very warm day. Two Larks sang about noon. Coal-
Tit with spring note for some days. ‘lhrushes nearly all gone.
A Redshank shot on the Cherwell close to Banbury, and sent to
me two days later. Bullfinches abundant this winter.

31st.—Mr. E. Tyrrell writes: ‘‘ Several flocks of Wild Geese
have been flying over here [Banbury] these last few days, flying
low down.’ ‘The very few Song-Thrushes we have left sing
a little.

Rain on twenty-four days, amounting to over three and a half
inches. Airdamp. Wind 8.W., but slight snow more than once,
and frost on ten days; the lowest temperature 20° on 21st.

The great immigration of Crossbills does not seem to have
affected this district, where we have few conifers. The following
records must be added to this report :—

Aug 5th. Flock of about twenty at Henley (? Berks), end
of August. A few at Reading (Berks). Nov. 5th. Flock of nine-
teen, Shotover, Oxford. Nov. 11th. Small flock, Cuddesdon.
Nov. 17th. Small flock flying over Oxford. (‘Science Gossip,’
December, 1909, p. 406.)

Flocks first seen at Cornwell on Sept. 2nd and onwards until
January, 1910, when their numbers appeared to decrease; the
last time they were seen was on February 16th. (I. W. Stowe,
‘British Birds,’ 1910, p. 332.)

But Mr. Fowler wrote on March 25th, 1910, that there were
still Crossbills at Cornwell, scattered about and possibly nesting.
A pair were believed to be nesting just behind Cornwell House.
Mr. Fowler had watched one, two or three days before, at work
on larch-cones close to Cornwell village, and others had been
seen (in lit.).

bo
2)
bo

THE ZOOLOGIST.

COMPARISONS OF OTOLITHS FOUND IN FISHES.
By Cotonet C. EH. SHEPHERD.

Facts in connection with otoliths are unfortunately not
recorded in sufficient numbers to make it possible to use such
facts for any deductions as to the uses of these stones being
made, even if it be eventually found that such deductions could
be made. It would be well then to record facts, as they become
known, connoting the life habits of a fish and its otolith, and to
compare, when possible, the size of these stones in different
fishes, more especially when their habits are similar, and even
when totally dissimilar. Again, the otolith, whilst maintaining
its family resemblance, is yet so different in different families
that this lends further interest to the subject.

In a former paper* it was pointed out that the size of the
fish establisked no corresponding rule that its otolith would be
larger or smaller than that of another fish of a different family,
but of a larger or smaller size. The Smelt, Osmerus eperlanus,
has a larger otolith (Plate I. fig. 18), though it is a smaller fish,
than that of Ausxis rochei, fig. 2, on the same plate. The plate
shows the otoliths, natural size.

This comparison as to the size of the otolith with the size of
the fish, although sufficiently obvious in the above-mentioned
case, hardly admits of definite accuracy, but is rather one that
strikes the eye when dissecting out an otolith—e.g. the otoliths
in Plate I. fig. 1, from a Pelamys sarda, which was 28 in. long,
and fig. 2 from an Auxis rochet that was 24 in. long, are, the
first comparatively and the second actually, smaller than the
otoliths of a Flying-fish (Exocetus pwcilopterus) that was about
S8in.long. It isin this manner that all the comparisons as to size
in this paper are made. As another contrast, we have those of
the Horse-Mackerel, Caranz trachurus (Plate I. fig. 7), and the
Bass, Morone labrax (Plate I. fig. 8); these fish have large otoliths,

* In ‘ Knowledge and Illustrated Scientific News,’ March, 1909.

Puate I.— Fig. 1. Pelamys sarda. 2. Auwis rochei. 8. Bramarati. 4. Blennius
gattorugine. 5. Gobius paganellus. 6. Hxocetus pecilopterus. 7. Caranx trachurus.
8. Morone labrax. 9. Beryx splendens. 10. Sebastes norvegicus. 11. Pagellus centro-
dontus. 12. Labrus maculatus. 13. Osmerus eperlanus. 14. Salmo salar. 15. Thy-
mallus yulgaris. 16. Cyprinus carpio. 17. Otolithus maculatus. 18. Plagioscion
surinamensis. 19. Arius gagora (half-set).

294 THE ZOOLOGIST.

but not so large as Beryx splendens (Plate I. fig. 9), or that of
Sebastes norvegicus (Plate I. fig. 10). The two former frequent the
estuaries of rivers and the coast, the two latter very deep waters,
Beryx splendens having been taken ata depth of over four hundred
fathoms. Again, in Plate Il. we may compare the otoliths of Syno-
dontis schal (fig. 3), and that of Allurichthys gronovii (fig. 4), both
fishes of the Siluroid family. The contrast in the size of the

Puate II. — Fig. 1. Lopholatilus chameleonticeps. 2. Simenchelys
parasiticus. 38. Synodontis schal. 4. Ailurichthys gronovw. 5. Polypterus
senegalus. 6. Lepidosteus osseus. 7. Hydrocyon brevis.

The above specimens were obtained by the courtesy of the Administration
of the National Museum, Washington, U.S.A. (fig. 1); H.S.H. the Prince of
Monaco (fig. 2); Mr. G. Boulenger, F.R.S. (figs. 3, 5, 7); Mr. W. Stuart
Cameron, of Demerara (fig. 4).

lapillus is very marked, and does not need the statement of the
weights, rather less than a quarter grain for the first against
three grains for the second, to emphasize it. The first fish also
had a much larger head, and was generally larger than the
second. It lived in the Nile; the second fish came from the sea
near Demerara, British Guiana. The above is a remarkable

COMPARISONS OF OTOLITHS. 295

contrast between a shallow fresh-water type and a deep sea-water
type. It is interesting to note that Alurichthys gronovu is
closely allied to Arius gagora, whose otolith is shown on Plate I.
ne. 19.

Beryx splendens lives in very deep waters, and Myripristis
murdjan, another of the Berycide, lives in water near the shore,
therefore much shallower, but it likewise has a large otolith.
Here, then, they follow a family type irrespective of the depth
at which they live. The more commonly known Flat-fishes
(the Pleuronectide) all have comparatively large otoliths, and
of other fishes that live on the bottom of the sea, the Weever
(Trachinus draco), Uranoscopus scaber, and the Gobies, each have
large otoliths. We have here several different kinds of fishes fre-
quenting the bed of the sea, and each supplied with a fairly large
otolith. For a comparison we must go to the Blenny family,
many of which live on the bed of the sea, yet they all have
small otoliths. Compare that from a Blennius gattorugine, Plate I.
fio. 4, with one from a Gobius paganellus, fig.5. These two fishes
varied but little in size; their mode of life is fairly similar on
the bed of the sea, yet the otolith of the Goby is manifestly
the larger of the two. The Cod (Gadus morrhua), living and
feeding near the bottom of the sea in deep water, has a large,
solid otolith, and so has the Tile-fish, Lopholatilus chameleonticeps
(Plate II. fig. 1), which lives at the bottom of the Gulf Stream,
hundreds of miles from the east coast of the United States of
America. The Scombride, the Mackerel family, living in the
surface strata of the deep sea where they find their prey, have
small otoliths. Plate I., figs. 1 and 2, show otoliths of this
family. The Sparide have, as a rule, large otoliths (one from
a Sea-Bream, Pagellus centrodontus, Plate 1., fig. 11, shows this) ;
the otolith from a Ballan Wrass, Labrus maculatus (Plate I.
fig. 12) is much smaller, and strikingly different in shape. The
two fishes, however, frequent much the same localities and
depths; both are littoral fishes.

Plate I., figs. 18, 14, 15, illustrates three different kinds of
otoliths from the family Salmonide. The first of the three (fiz. 13)
is the otolith of a Smelt (Osmerus eperlanus), fig. 14 shows that
of a Salmon (Salmo salar), and fig. 15 that of a Grayling (Thy-
mallus vulgaris). Their modes of life are different; the Smelt

296 THE ZOOLOGIST.

frequents salt waters, the Salmon spends its life alternately in
salt and in fresh water, whilst the Grayling lives in fresh water
only. Comparing the three, the fresh-water fish has the largest
otolith, but they are all fairly large.

Except with Arius gagora (Plate I. fig. 19), where it is on the
right, the big rounded stone, the lapillus is always on the left, the
asteriscus on the right, and the sagitta in the middle under the
other two. The upper set are always from the right half of the
head, and the lower set from the left side. In some cases the
smaller otoliths were not got, and consequently are not shown.

Except those on Plate I. (figs. 16 and 19), and those on Plate II.
(figs. 3, 4, 5, and 7), all the figures shown are examples of fish that
have the sagitta as the largest of the three otoliths, in any one
half ofthe skull ; the examples are all from Teleostean fishes, with
the exception of figs. 5 and 6 on Plate II. The exceptions are
(Plate I. fig. 16) taken from a Carp (Cyprinus carpio), an example
of the class of fish where the asteriscus is the largest otolith,* the
sagitta being represented by a rod-like stone; Plate I., fig. 19,
representing the otoliths of an Arius gagora, only those from one
side of the head are shown; a member of the large family of
Siluroid fishes illustrates the case where the lapillus is the
largest otolith—it is seen on the right in the plate; in these
fishes also the sagitta takes on the rod-like form. Figs. 3 and 4
on Plate II., both from Siluroid fishes, shows the same. In the
family of the Characinide we have another repetition ; itis shown
on Plate Il. fig. 7. In the otoliths from Polypterus senegalus
(Plate II. fig. 5) is shown the example of a fish which has the
asteriscus as the largest otolith, but in which the sagitta is not
rod-like. The same occurs with the otoliths of Calamichthys
calabaricus and Amia calva. In Lepidosteus osseus (Plate II.
fig. 6) the sagitta is the largest of the three otoliths. The above
four fishes are all of an early type; they are of the Ganoid order.
Three of them differ from the fourth in the manner noted.

On Plate I., figs. 17 and 18, are shown otoliths from two of the
Scienide; fig. 17 from Otolithus maculatus, a fish from the Indian
Ocean ; and fig. 18 from Plagioscion surinamensis, a fresh-water
Scienoid from British Guiana. Kach shows the granular con-

* This peculiarity of the. asteriscws and lapillus was described in the
paper on ‘“‘ The ‘ Asteriscus ’ in Fishes,” ‘ Zoologist’ (ante, p. 57).

COMPARISONS OF OTOLITHS. 297

eretions peculiar to the Scienide. A typical example of the
remarkable constancy in the same family of fishes of the charac-
teristics of the otoliths.

Fresh-water fishes, as represented by the Perch and the
Carp family, are all supplied with fairly large otoliths. The only
deep fresh-water fish obtained was the Lota vulgaris, a fresh-
water Gadoid fish; its otoliths, however, for its family, were
moderate in size.

A relation has been sought by comparing the power of vision
of a fish as deduced from the muscles attached to the eyeball with
their power of hearing, as deduced from the size of the otolith
resident in the organs of hearing. In many fishes the recti
muscles of the eyeball are attached to the skull at the back of
the eye, giving a short range of movement; this is seen in the
Gadide. In others, again, these muscles are long, and go
well back from the eyeball, resting in a long, narrow case parallel
to the basisphenoid, and divided from the brain-pan by a bony
septum ; this is seen in Pagrus auratus, Pelamys sarda, and
many others. Observations were made on sixty-seven different
species of fishes representing twenty-nine families, and by classi-
fying them we get—

| Hg
Size of Otoliths. | Large. Small. | Moderate.
Those having a long flexible muscle .... 12 20 6
a mF short, strong ,, a0 15 4 3
a ‘ moderately strong
muscle to the eye...... 4 3

The long recti muscles give a quickly mobile eye, and are
seen in the Scombride, which have typically small otoliths.
The short, strong muscles are seen in the Gadide, which have
large otoliths. Amongst the sixty-seven fishes above alluded to,
the number of those having long rectus muscles giving a mobile
eye and that have a small otolith exceeds those having a large
otolith by nearly two to one, but in those that have short,
strong muscles the number having large otoliths exceeds that of
those having small otoliths by nearly four to one. But that

quickness of sight makes up for dullness of hearing, or that
Zool, 4th ser. vol. XIV., August, 1910. QA

298 THE ZOOLOGIST.

more acute hearing follows because of the increased size of the
otolith, remains to be proved. In a paper on “ The Structure
and Functions of the Har of the Squeteague,”’ written by Pro-
fessor G. H. Parker, Ph.D., and published in the ‘ Bulletin of the
Bureau of Fishes,’ vol. xxviii. 1908, Washington, U.S.A., it seems
conclusively proved that in this fish the sagitta is essential to the
function of hearing. But, as said above, it remains to be proved
that better hearing follows in the case of a larger otolith.

All the foregoing remarks have dealt with the Teleostean
fishes only, i.e. those having a bony skeleton. The large
number of Elasmobranchii have to be considered. They are
fishes with a cartilaginous skeleton, and do not possess solid
otoliths ; the place of the stone is taken by ‘‘ otoconie,” or ear-
dust. The otoconie, like the otolith, consists of crystals of
carbonate of lime. ‘These cartilaginous skeletoned fishes
require to hear, as well as the bony framed ones. Why their
ear-membranes should contain dust instead of solid concretions
is a mystery, but the fact remains; and in this connection it
should be noted that the Sturgeon (Acipenser strurio) has both
otoconie and otoliths in its ear-membranes.

Only one specimen of otolith from a very deep-sea fish has
up to now been obtained for comment in this paper, and is shown
on Plate II. fig.2. It is from the head of a Simenchelys parasiticus
that was obtained from a depth of seven hundred and fifty-
eicht fathoms. The otolith, which is the left sagitta, is small for
the size of the fish. The right sagitta was damaged ; only a
fragment of it is seen.

( 299 )

THE VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF
INSECTS.

By A. H. Swinton.

(Continued from vol. xiii. p. 153.)

THE snowy pinnacles, blue gentians, and baskets of poet’s
narcissus that young girls bring down from the mountains are
the chief charms of Switzerland, but the last have faded when
the grasshopper concert begins. Foremost among the violinists
comes the largish, yellowish-brown Arcyptera fuscus, chequered
red and orange, and having the marginal and central areas of
its fore wings, or elytra, dilated and crossed with veins that
resemble the cords of a piano. This grasshopper Goureau found
in the thickets at Cologne ; I met with it in the crawling state at
Montreux early in August, 1892. It was playing its selections
at Geneva on the 15th, and hopping about at Chamonix on the
28th, when I was admiring the massive of Mont Blanc. It was
a warm day when I first heard the loud sound of its violin
resounding among the wild roses on the Saleve, and, wearied
with the ascent, it was pleasant to recline in the sylvan shade
and listen to its refreshing ‘‘dree-dree!”’ in the long and wiry
grass, mellowed by the echo into a croak indistinguishable from
that of the frogs and Cicadas; the females, whose wings do not
cover their portly bodies, bustled about as well as they were able,
and exposed their ear-cavities to drink in the cooling melody.
The smaller Stauroderus scalaris, a brown grasshopper with
black knees and black tips to its elytra, also known as morio,
inhabits the mountains of Northern and Central Europe. The
musical male has the discoidal and scapular areas of its fore
wings dilated with cross veins, and its bold notes “ tsin-tirra!”’
are quite startling in the deep silence of the pine-clad hills that
look down on Montreux, Chillon, and the placid lake; they make
you think your watch-chain has snapped. It is the only grass-

hopper I know that thrives in confinement; briskly moving its
2a 2

300 THE ZOOLOGIST.

crank-like legs from thirty-five to forty times, it would cause a
bird-like warbie to resound through my sleeping apartment at
the Villa Flora, where my relatives were staying, that resembled
the dirl of a circular saw, followed by scissor snippings; and it
rang the changes right and day in defiant response to the noise
of the carpenter’s plane, the hammering of the blacksmith, and
rumble of carriage wheels. It lived and merrily sang, making
its life an infancy, from June 18th until July 28th; the females
I met with on the mountains in September. Stenobothrus
lineatus has elytra slashed with velvet green; the discoidal or
central area in the male is glassy, with piano-string veins, and
at its extremity there is a dash resembling white paint; the
female has the fore edge white. It may be found on the Surrey
chalk downs; I saw a male at Guildford on July 12th, 1881, and
about that date they may be heard sounding out their long-sus-
tained ‘‘ tin-tin!”’ both at Guildford and at Reigate. On Aug. 6th,
18838, I discovered both sexes wandering among the escargots and
deadly nightshade at White Hill, further on. I then noticed
that when a male encountered a female it made a snapping
noise. The Omocestus viridulus, which may be recognized by the
brighter green splarge on its plain brownish elytra, takes its
delight in the grassy swamps of the New Forest, mottled over
with glandular sundews and downy Saint John’s wort, where,
on June 18th, 1882, I listened to the males drawing the fiddle-
bows of their hind legs to the tune of ‘‘ vree-vree!’’ as it were
the trickle of a rivulet. I have heard this music on the declivity
of Newland’s Corner, near Guildford, once the resort of pic-
nickers, and in the swamp surrounding Odiham Castle, which,
we are given to believe, in the days of Simon de Montfort, was
the resort of Cranes, or as likely as not of Herons. In the West
Highlands I have heard it on the small island of Little Cumbrae,
and on the mainland of Kintyre, which an examination of the
peat-bogs intimates was once covered with silver birch. In
August, 1876, I chanced to be staying with Scotch relatives at
Whitehouse, on West Loch, Tarbert, and I often wandered up
the course of a brook where Hrebia ethiops was fluttering about
among the water-dropwort, foxgloves, and honeysuckle. Here I
have sat down to listen to the green grasshoppers playing their
strathspeys and jigs many a time to while away the idle

VOCAL ¢& INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF INSECTS. 301

hours. The males came and performed for ten seconds and for
twenty-five seconds, as young cocks were wont to crow on the
dunghill, and when one waylaid a female on some sunny bank it
would approach its head to her hind body, and make brisk
music, which it varied with jerks of both hind legs, sounding
out *‘tit-tit!”’ a harsh, grating, and emphatic note; or at other
times it would go through a strange antic, kicking out its hind
legs like a horse. When coupled it was mindful to reply to the
overture of a comrade, and on alarm the male and female took a
flying leap. Having an inferior violin, this mueician cannot be
compared to the previous ones.

Other grasshoppers populate the hillock parched by the
summer sunshine. The ‘‘retetee!’’ of the red-shanked Omo-
cestus ventralis resounds merrily in autumn among the furze all
over Hurope, and I have a specimen found in September in
Cashmere, which only differs in the knees being less blackened.
In Norway I have met with snuff-coloured varieties whose orange
legs concealed them on the heather stained by the stagnant
swamp, and on the Swiss mountains, and around Nantes and
Turin I have met with the handsome black variety in which the
hues of burnt sienna and Vandyck one is wont to admire in the
Devonshire cows commingle. The red-legged grasshopper is a
wandering minstrel ; I have heard one play its ‘‘retetee!” like
the mellifluous warble of a brook, for more than twenty seconds,
and then, on unexpectedly encountering its rival, at once to
throw out a challenge of ‘“‘ whee-whee!” after which it lowered
its left leg to listen ; and then, presently meeting with a female
of a distinctly different species, it sounded ‘‘ thiph-thiph!” So
does the instrumentation of some sprightly opera with quips
and cranks ring the changes from grave to gay to express
unknown emotion. Grasshoppers are born musicians, and this
one has an excellent violin, for the wing areas on which the hind
legs strike are all dilated with cross-veins. The common Stauro-
derus biguttulus may at first sight be recognized by its soft and
downy breast and fore legs, for it is hairy, like Esau, and what
ladies would call a ‘‘cossetting creature.” Found all over
Europe in endless variety of subspecies, it is well named the
“Variable Grasshopper’; its sports are brown, green, and
ochreous. On sandy spots, such as the Calais flats and table-

302 THE ZOOLOGIST.

land at Valladolid, a yellow-green variety is seen, and in its
company there crawls a pale grey variety with a good deal of
dot and dash on the elytra. The prettiest sport I found enjoy-
ing the sunshine of Valladolid ; it had its legs and body coloured
a@ warm orange-red, and seemed some import of the tropics—a
flying nosegay, for the species has some power of flight. I saw
an individual attempting to fly on the Calais flats, and on
Sept. 20th, 1883, I noticed one taking a parachute leap on a
hedgebank at Guildford. On the islands of Guernsey and Herm
I have met with dwarfed males, and I have found pink specimens
often at the seaside, but sometimes inland, as at Guildford in
September, 1885, and on the Grande Saleve, at Geneva, in
August, 1892. These have the same resemblance to the ordinary
grasshopper that a boiled Lobster has to a live Lobster; I have —
noticed this change of colour in acorns. On the hills of Surrey
the cheery ‘‘ wree-wree!”’ ‘‘ wheep-wheep!”’ and ‘‘ reta-reta!”
of the Variable Grasshopper resounds from the end of June until
October brings the frost and damp. When the male begins its
music it moves its legs forward swiftly, giving from eleven to
twenty-one strokes over the glassy front edge of its elytra, and
then for five seconds the notes run together with a liquid trill
delightful to the imagination of the female, who sits sweltering
on a sunny bank with a leg lowered to expose an ear-cavity, and
interpret a language of flowers; sometimes, overpowered by the
languid breath of summer, the enamoured male gives six laconic
strokes, with a pause between each floating note, after which it
depresses a leg, the right most readily, to listen and await a
response; and should it then get none, it will leap forwards on
to a grass-stalk, crawl down it backwards, clean its head and its
antenne with its fore legs, and strike up again. Should a dazed
and sleepy rival come in its way it will leap on it, give it a bite,
and so elicit an angry response. But it is when celebrating the
requiem of summer that the music of the Variable Grasshopper
becomes asentiment. In October, 1876, I went to Calais on a visit
to cousins, the daughters of Thomas Hog, the editor of ‘ Trivet’s
Chronicle,’ and a brother-in-law of Frazer Tytler, the historian.
The year departed in smiles, while I daily perambulated the old
ramparts, watched the children and dragonflies at sport in the
gardens of the Frontsud, or walked on the jetty where the

VOCAL ¢ INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF INSECTS. 3038

painter Turner saw the packet-boats arrive. I recall that the
only time I ever saw Thomas Hog, paterfamilias, a little spare
man, he rapped his snuff-box, and astounded me by saying he
had once taken an oar and rowed the packet-boat from Calshot
to Southampton. In those days when becalmed mid Channel on
a voyage to Boulogne, it was the fashion to fish for Mackerel.
Often on my return, after seeing the prismatic beauty of a misty
sunset, I heard, in gloom of the evening, a fitful moan of grass-
hoppers where the dark soil at the seaward foot of the glacis
afforded them concealment, and instinctively understanding this
to be their epithalamium, I returned in the glow of noonday to
be present at their nuptials. As I drew near the scene of the
tourney, I heard a surging sound that resembled the drag of the
waves on some pebbly shore which when I approached arose like
the sound of a hasty shower, and melted on the ear like the
patter of aspens, the bubbling of water, and the remote warble
of nightingales. Then sitting down on the seaweed to under-
stand the ways of Liliput, I observed that it was the charms of
a corpulent female, so much in estimation in eastern lands, that
provoked the astounding chorus, for whenever she was espied by
a wandering male, he jerked his right leg forward with a sound
of ‘‘thirp-thirp!”’ and then the grasshopper bands around, one
and all, vied in celebrating her praise, the favoured beauty the
while retaining a leg lowered to revel in the adulation. When
a rival appeared the male, who was executing a solo, flew in his
face like an angry dog. On finding himself again alone he gave
a gentle stroke with his legs, producing but little noise, and,
leaping on the female, he gave her a quiet bite. This caused
her to hop off, whereupon he followed, and endeavoured to
engage her attention with a tune, until his patience being
exhausted, he swayed a leg forwards from one to five times,
producing a goose-like cackle, at which critical moment one of
those black Rove Beetles, known as the ‘‘ Devil’s Coach Horse,”
came on the scene with open jaws and cocked-up tail. That
autumn seems to have been favourable for the increase of grass-
hoppers, for when the stove was lit on Nov. 26th, and my lady
friends were working monograms and solving conundrums, I
took up the ‘Univers’ newspaper, and read a notice from the
south of Spain, which told of an alarming invasion of the

304 THE ZOOLOGIST.

country around Gibraltar, Jaen, and Xeres by Locusts, supposed
to have come from Africa.

The terminal joints of the antenne of a grasshopper are
pitted like the carapace of a Crab or Lobster, or the leaves of
thyme and rosemary, and these pores no doubt enable it to
inhale the manifold fragrance of the herbage, and distinguish
what is noxious and what is good for food. About seven of the
European grasshoppers have these joints dilated into a flapper,
recalling the knobs of a butterfly, and these take their delight
on sunny hills. The male of the minute Gomphocerus maculatus,
that has piano-string cross-veins on the central cell of its elytra,
rattles away like a Canary on hill and dale in Surrey. I have
watched it wandering among the tufted gentians and starry
yellow-wort on the declivity of Box Hill, perambulating the
heathery knolls of Norway where the cloudberries grow, and the
desolate lands of Brittany; on the height above Pallien, near
Treves, where there is a panorama of the valley of the Moselle,
I found one that was snuff-coloured. The Gomphocerus rufus,
which can be only distinguished from the Variable or Common
Grasshopper, which its varieties exactly resemble, by the knobs
on its antenne, I have met with on Box Hill, near Turin, and
at Montreux in September. One would imagine that it and the
Variable Grasshopper had a common ancestor. When the male
performs it vibrates its legs to and fro twenty-four times, and
gives ten strokes before the ‘‘ thiph-thiph!”’ that sounds for five
seconds is heard. When soliciting a female it moves its legs to
the tune of ‘‘ wuf-wuf!” As the elytra have not the piano-
strings invariably distinct, certain individuals must acquire
celebrity for their music, and, finding more readily a partner,
generation after generation will celebrate in louder and louder
tunes the balmy air of Surrey. The male of Gomphocerus
sibiricus, who has his fore tarsi clubbed in order to properly lay
hold of a wary female, on the alpine slope sounds out “‘ tray- —
tray!’’ You may hear it among the rhododendrons at Pont-
resina, on the Dent de Morcles, or Rocher de Naye.

Certain grasshoppers differ from the preceding in having
their thorax less pinched in like those tight stays that the
doctors consider so objectionable. The Chorthippus parallelus,
small and wiry, with brownish or greenish translucent elytra,

VOCAL ¢ INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF INSECTS. 305

and a sluggish semiapterous female, is at home on the Hamp-
shire heaths, where it enlivens the bare, sunny patches among
the scattered furze-bushes with its ‘‘thiph-thiph!’”’ I have met
with it in Spain in July, in Norway in August, and in Switzer-
land in September, where I sometimes heard its joyful music
arise after the warm sun had gone down on the Lake of Geneva.
Among the boleti-overgrown stumps and amber foliage of the
birches on the moor of Rannoch, where the males, and especially
the females, were blackened as with charcoal, I have heard its
melody as lateas Oct. 11th. The Cherthippus albomarginatus has
a gayer greenish yellow appearance ; the note of the male, ‘‘ whir-
hewee!” made by four strokes of the hind legs, is first heard
among the meadow-grass at Morges, on the shore of the Lake of
Geneva, in June, and when five seconds are gone he sounds out
again, often lowering the right leg to listen. When soliciting
the favours of his female he executes a harsh and imperative
“creech-creech!’’ by a skilful movement of both legs, or one
only. The Chorthippus dorsatus, larger, with puffed-out cheeks
and sienna brown in colour, I have found at the outset of July
living happily on the site of Whitlesea Moor, once the paradise
of the entomologist (where a man driving cows gave two jumps
to show how the water under the sod caused it to undulate), and
later on at Ramsgate. In August I have met with it on the
sandy soil of Leon, once the capital of Spain. Yersin says the
male sounds out ‘‘raytzin!”’ The Stenobothrus apterus? or S.
brachypterus ?, mottled with sienna and gamboge, I have seen on
the ascent above Montreux in September; like other alpine
semiapterous insects, it is no doubt a variety of some species
existing or extinct that passed its life in the valleys. A short
and efficient musical comb runs along the lower end of the
raised edge on the thigh of the male, and the somewhat feeble
‘“‘yee-ree!’’ given out by the puffed-out, glassy elytra most ap-
proaches the shrill of the crickets, but the performer who is not
absolutely sure of producing this admirable note sometimes
-contents himself with kicking up his hind legs. The males of
Stethophyma grossum, slim, hop-brown grasshoppers with yellow
and carmine stripes that populate the long grass at the side of
swamps in Central and Northern Europe, are said to sound
“ tze-tze!”’ when molested by means of the raised edge on their

306 THE ZCOLOGIST.

thighs, which is notched, but perhaps this is fancy. Mr. Kidd,
a son of Dr. Kidd, of Godalming, once sent me two of the grass-
hoppers supposed to be British, which he had received from
Mr. Barrett, who he made the acquaintance of when on a visit
to Haslemere. I then wrote to Mr. Barrett, but his memory
was at fault. Since I have heard from Mr. Bankes they may be
found in the New Forest. I have seen them and the Mecostethus
alliaceus on the banks of the Po; the latter, when they leap on
to a reed, crawl backwards, as if they were going down a ladder.
Once I saw a male trying or wishing to perform. It is supposed
that the males of the genus Preumora, with bodies inflated like
a soap-bubble, that inhabit the Transvaal, make a terrible
racket in the evening. I know little of South Africa, but I
remember, when riding up the Lion Mountain at the Cape to
see the silver trees, being tempted to dismount by some grass-
hoppers with coloured wings that I failed to catch.

(To be continued.)

( 307 )

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Greater Horseshoe Bat in Wiltshire—As far as I am aware the
Greater Horseshoe Bat has not been recorded from Wiltshire, although
it has occurred in the neighbouring counties of Gloucester, Somerset,
Dorset, and Hampshire. It will therefore be of interest to record the
fact that the Rev. J. H. Brown, of The Rectory, Great Cheverell,
Devizes, sent me a fresh specimen of this Bat, taken in the glebe
farm adjoining the Rectory, with a letter of June 29th, 1910. Accord-
ing to information supplied me by Mr. Brown there is at least a small
colony there. Not wanting the specimen, I sent it to the Dublin
Museum.—G. H. H. Barrett-Hamitton (Kilmanock House, Campile,
Co. Wexford).

Black Variety of the Water-Shrew in Suffolk.— On July 10th
I noticed a dead example of the black variety of the Water-Shrew
(Sorex remifer of Bell) lying on the gravel-path close to the church-
porch at Blaxhall, Suffolk. The nearest water is about half a mile
distant. As this is by no means a common animal in the county
perhaps the circumstance may be worth recording. —G. T. Ropr
(Blaxhall, Suffolk).

Albino Variety of Common Shrew.—It may be interesting to
record that I had given me (June 29th last) an albino variety of the
Common Shrew (S. avaneus). It appears to be a mature one. The
belly is practically pure white, the rest of body and head pale cream.
It was killed by haymakers at Dinton, about four miles from here.—
Epwin Houtis (The Museum, Aylesbury).

Albino Wood-Mouse in Montgomeryshire.—On Aug. Ist I received
from Mr. Vincent P. Lort a young albino Wood-Mouse (Mus sylvate-
cus) which had been caught alive in a hay-field at Llanllugan, Mont-
gomeryshire. So far as I can learn this is the first albino of the
species met with in Wales, though there is a buff-coloured specimen
(obtained in Cheshire) in the Chester Museum.— H. EH. Forrest
(Hillside, Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury).

308 THE ZOOLOGIST.

AVES.

The Nightingale (Daulias luscinia) in Lancashire: a New Record.
—I am pleased to be able definitely to record the Nightingale for the
county of Lancashire. Mr. W. Hardy, of Oldham, has just sent for
my inspection a mounted specimen, together with many particulars
relating to its origin. ‘ About forty years ago”’ the bird took up its
position in a small clough or wooded valley between Ashton-under-
Lyne and Oldham, in the south-east corner of the county. So many
people crowded to listen to it that the occupier of the land—a
Mr. Webb, of Dean Shut—had the bird trapped, afterwards giving it
to his neighbour, Mr. J. Hardy, the grandfather of my present corre-
spondent. The history of the specimen appears to be quite beyond
doubt. It is an adult with fresh plumage, showing no signs of
captivity ; nor have I been able to detect traces of either shot-holes
or blood-marks on the feathers. This last supports the statement
that the bird was trapped and not shot. Mr. Hardy cannot say
which was the exact locality, but it must be one of two small
cloughs tributary to the Medlock Valley between Parkbridge and
Bardsley, on the Oldham side of the river. The southernmost of
these is still very secluded, and not at all an unlikely place for the
species, judging from its superficial resemblance to many Nightingale
haunts that I have seen in other counties ; and in 1870 the district
would be far more suitable than it is to-day. I am pleased to say
that Mr. Hardy is presenting the specimen to the Oldham Museum.
It is not necessary here to discuss the many unsupported records
relating to the Nightingale in Lancashire. Mr. Mitchell mentions
the most likely in the introduction to his ‘ Birds of Lancashire,’ but
he does not include the species in his list. The latest account of the
birds of the county (‘Victoria History, Lancashire,’ vol. i. p. 192)
accepts the species, but the absence of any details of place, date, or
observer detracts from the record. Mr. James Arlosh, in a brief foot-
note to a general paper (Trans. Cumberland Assoc. Lit. and Science,
pt. v. (1879), p. 131), says that it visits each year Prestwich Clough,
near Manchester, but he gives no authority for his statement. The
Nightingale has occurred, and apparently nested, within ten miles of
the present Lancashire locality—at Romiley, in the neighbouring
county of Cheshire, and within fifteen miles at Strines, on the
Cheshire-Derbyshire border (cf. T. A. Coward, ‘ Vertebrate Fauna,
Cheshire,’ i. p. 132); but, so far as I know, this Oldham bird is the
only existing specimen from either Lancashire or Cheshire.—FREDK.
J. STUBBS.

NOTES AND QUERIES. B09

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) breeding in Merionethshire.
—On June 23rd I saw a male Red-backed Shrike (Lanzus collurio) on
the telegraph-wires by the railway near Arthog, Merionethshire. On
examining him with the field-glasses I found he had a grasshopper in
his bill. After a few minutes he was joined by the female bird, which
was carrying a small beetle. From the wires they flew into an oak-
tree, and there the male perched on the end of a dead bough, calling
harshly, and vigorously jerking his tail. Immediately below was a
thicket of seedling birches, varying in height from a few inches to ten
feet. Presently he dropped into this, and shortly afterwards was

Nest AND YOUNG OF RED-BACKED SHRIKE.

followed by his mate. On entering the bushes I heard the nestlings,
and after some searching came across the nest in a birch about nine
feet high. It was placed about five feet from the ground, and was,
as usual, large and not very neatly put together. Small twigs, bents,
coarse meadow-grasses, and sheep’s wool were the materials used for
the outside, and the nest was lined with hair and cotton-grass. The
latter grows in profusion on Arthog Bog, and I found the nests of
several other species lined with it. There were four young birds
apparently some ten days old, and one addled egg in the nest. The

310 THE ZOOLOGIST.

nestlings were generally of a buffish colour, the head being paler than
the body ; the under parts were distinctly spotted and barred, and
this became more noticeable before they left the nest. The tongue
and the inside of the mouth were orange-yellow in colour and un-
spotted. The flanges were pale yellow, and the upper mandible was
distinctly down-curved. There were no thorn-bushes near to the
nest, and I was unable to find any insects impaled on a gorse-bush
near by. The parent birds were very bold whenever the nest was
approached, and when I put up the camera to photograph the young
they moved from bough to bough, continually jerking their tails up
and down, and ‘‘chacking” in a most threatening manner. The
nestlings left the nest on June 29th. This Shrike used to breed in
some numbers in the Barmouth district, but is certainly less common
than was formerly the case.—C. KinasLEy SIDDALL.

Lesser Redpoll at Hampstead.—Since the publication of my note
on the breeding of the Lesser Redpoll here (ante, p. 269), I have found
two more nests, making seven in all this year, and quite half a dozen
more must have eluded my search. On one occasion I found a male
bird sitting on one of the above nests, and while so occupied he com-
menced his loud trilling note, which soon had the effect of bringing
up the female, who fed him on the nest, although I was standing
within two feet of it at the time.—C. H. Meyrick (The Mount,
Hampstead).

Mortality among House-Martins.—It would be interesting to know
in what other localities the House-Martin (Chelidon wrbica) has de-
creased as in this neighbourhood. During the first week in July I
picked up several dead ones in this and adjoining parishes, since when
I have kept careful observation on the species, and find its remaining
numbers are few indeed, while I fear the mortality has been a very
heavy one. From several other places in this county I hear of the
same scarcity. During June we had a prolonged spell of wet and cold
weather, and this may have affected their food-supply. On the other
hand, Swallows, Sand-Martins, and Swifts do not appear to have been
similarly affected, and the former at least have succeeded in providing
for full nests of young. That the House-Martin depends to an extent
on a different food-supply may account for such results.—J. STEELE-
Exuiotr (Dowles Manor, Shropshire).

An Account of a Ramble with the Birds in Anglesey and Carnar-
vonshire.— Our rambles in the interest of bird-life this year
commenced on the 24th day of March, on which date we cycled to

NOTES AND QUERIES. 311

Anglesey, a hilly district, where last year a pair of Buzzards bred.
We only saw one Buzzard, which was sailing high up above us,
mewing at times, but it soon disappeared from our view behind one
of the hills. Although the old eyrie had been repaired, the birds
never used it, but they brought off another brood somewhere in the
same district, as, during a period of three weeks of our visiting the
place, we only saw one of the birds, and then we noticed the pair
together again, from which we concluded that one had been engaged
in incubating. On Good Friday, my friends had the good fortune of
seeing six Buzzards together in the air, and they said that it was
wonderful to see them sailing and swooping after one another.
Also, whilst sitting down on the mountain side, partaking of lunch,
they watched a pair of Choughs feeding, and by the aid of a mono-
cular they could easily distinguish their red beaks and legs. A
Raven's nest containing two eggs was found, and a pair of Peregrine
Falcons were seen near to Llyn D., on Haster Monday. Going
up the Ogwen River on April 9th, we saw some Dippers and a pair
of Grey Wagtails, and amongst some climbing plant growing on a
young silver birch was a Long-tailed Tits’ nest with five eggs.
On April 15th the first arrival of the Swallow was noticed here.
Some Bullfinches, Chiffchaffs, two pairs of Grey Wagtails and a
Kingfisher were amongst some of the birds seen on the 17th on the
Cegin River. This latter bird bred in one of the banks of this river
last year, but, during the winter the bank was washed away, so we
did not come across their nesting-hole this season. There are two
Heronries close by this town (Bangor), which are flourishing on
account of their being well protected, and towards the end of March
the nests at one of them had eggs in, while some contained young.
Castle Rock in Red Wharfe Bay, Anglesey, is a home of the Stock-
Dove, and here on April 24th many eggs were seen laid in the rabbit
holes, and in some cases in crevices. Near to the Tubular Bridge
which spans the Menai Straits young Peewits were seen in a field,
and at the woods there were some Carrion-Crows and a Kestrel.
Just by the bridge, hearing a peculiar noise, we tried to locate it,
and found that it was uttered by Guillemots, which had flown on
to a stone ledge at the top of the bridge at a great height above
the water. Here I may mention that my friends at Conway found a
nest of a Long-eared Owl with three young birds, as well as nests
containing eggs of Carrion-Crows, Magpies, and Redshanks. Aber
is visited on May 4th, and in a hole in a tree are found two fully-
fledged young of the Tawny Owl, while the parent bird itself, which

312 THE ZOOLOGIST.

had been seen flying from out of the hole, had perched on a tree close
by, and it was not long before it was being mobbed by Carrion-
Crows. Some Ring-Ouzels, Wheatears, and a Woodpecker were
noticed, whilst just before returning a Redstart was seen. May 7th
we cycled to Penmon, but on arriving it started to rain so we did not
stay there very long. However, at the cliffs we saw a pair of
Peregrine Falcons and also five Gannets, but these latter do not
breed here. A colony of Kittiwakes breed here on Trwyn Dinmor,
and on this day they were flying together a little out at sea. We
again visited Penmon the following Saturday. As we neared our
destination we perceived a Stonechat flitting about some gorse
bushes, so we immediately dismounted and went in the direction of
the spot. When walking through the long grass we flushed a
Skylark from its nest containing three eggs. Soon the Stonechat was
joined by its mate (the hen), and together they were very excited at
our intrusion. After a long vain search for their nest, we came
across a young one hiding beneath the gorse. Just as we were on
the point of going for our bicycles, a bird alighted on the ground
not far off which puzzled us at first, but on getting closer we found
that it was a Yellow Wagtail. It was about six and a quarter inches
in length, with a much shorter tail than the others of its species,
this being dusky brown with the two outer feathers white; chin,
throat, and breast yellow; back, olive brown; wing coverts, dusky
brown; primaries and secondaries, dusky brown, the former being
edged and tipped with yellow, and the latter only being edged with
yellow. At length it flew off, and on following it we saw it in
company with another bird like itself, though a little brighter, and
this was probably its mate. Although the Yellow Wagtail has been
recorded as seen passing over the west of Anglesey, I think that this
is the only record of it having stayed in the county, for the pair were
again seen there about a fortnight later. They might possibly have
nested there, but although we searched carefully for the nest we
were not able to discover it. Proceeding on we passed by an
enclosed area where deer are kept, and on a pond within were a pair
of Sheld-Duck.

At the Priory Woods Jackdaws were seen going in and out of their
nesting-holes in the old trees. Now and then we heard the “ yaftle,
yattle ” of a Green Woodpecker, and although we came across many
nesting-holes of this species, we found that they were nearly all
occupied by Starlings. In a hole in one of the old trees we found a
nest of the Tree-Sparrow containing five eggs, and another one

NOTES AND QUERIES. 313

empty. When crossing the common towards the cliffs, we saw a
Meadow-Pipit rising from the bracken and grass-covered ground
ahead of us. On coming to the spot, we found the nest with its
three eggs after a little trouble, built beneath the friendly shelter of
a bracken leaf. The Kittiwakes had by to-day settled down, and
some of them had nests nearly ready. As we were lying down full
length on the top of the cliff, peering down, a bird flew from out of
a crevice in the rock about two yards below us. This was a Rock-
Pipit, and, after endeavouring to see into the nest, we found that it
contained four greyish rather long eggs. A Kestrel was seen leaving
a little cliff, but we could not discern any eggs on the grassy ledge
whence it flew.

Before leaving Penmon we found a single Oystercatcher’s egg,
laid in a scratching lined with sheep-dung as a substitute for pebbles.
One evening following this, we cycled to Llyn-Bodgylched. Here,
just as we arrived at the top of a little hillock in view of the lake,
the first birds that met our gaze were a pair of Coots, together with
their brood of six. The old birds immediately flew off, their tails
trailing the water in doing so, while the young scattered in all
directions into the rush. Next we found a nest with five eggs of a
Sedge- Warbler, which was very well hidden in the thick sedge. In
walking through the reeds, &c., we came across a brood of young
Wild Duck, but we did not get a long glimpse of them, as they soon
disappeared, and all we could see was the shaking of the reeds where
they were. A few Reed-Buntings were flying about, the cock birds
of which were very conspicuous with their black heads. At the
other end of the lake, a flock of Black-headed Gulls rose up from the
rush and kept screaming overhead. Thinking that they might have
nests, we waded out, but, alas! we could not go as far, so we could
not ascertain whether or not they had nests, but the place is very
suitable for them. On Whit-Monday my friend went to the moun-
tain, | myself going to Newborough in order to see the Merlins which
I knew bred there. Leaving my bicycle at a farmhouse I pushed
forward into the sand-dunes, and found that Wheatears abounded in
the place; but, although common, their nests were difficult to find.
In a marshy field near to the sea I watched a pair of Redshanks that
were flying noisily overhead, thinking that they might have a nest,
but from the noise they made and considering the time of the season,
T thought that most likely they had young. Saw a Cuckoo being
chased about by a pair of Meadow-Pipits, and on a river were some
few Sheld-Duck. At length I arrived at the spot where the Merlins

Gool. 4th ser. vol. X1V , August, 1910. 2B

314 THE ZO0O0OLOGIST.

had their nest last year, but now I could see no sign of them. How-
ever, I had not gone far from it when I heard a loud “kek, kek, kek,”
and there, sure enough, was the Merlin leaving a dune a little ahead
of me. This must have been the male bird on the look-out, for, when
I reached the dune, the other bird flew off from close by, and, on
rushing to the spot, I discovered the four beautiful red eggs laid in a
scratching lined with coarse grass. Meanwhile, my friend, who had
gone to the mountains, was spending the afternoon in trying to
locate a Peregrine’s eyrie, but although the birds would frequently
fly on to a whitewashed ledge, he could not make out where their
eyrie was situated, not even by the aid of binoculars. He also saw
a Raven’s nest containing five young, and a nest of a Ring-Ouzel
with two eggs. This Raven’s nest was the third that we knew of
this season, and I am glad to say that each one of them reared off a
brood—one of two, one of three, and this one of five. On June 7th I
went with the Friars School Field Club to Puffin Island, where a
most enjoyable time was obtained. Herring-Gulls, Lesser Black-
backs, two pairs Greater Black-backs, Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills,
Shag, Oystercatchers, Rock-Pipits, and a Wheatear were the birds
seen on the island, and some eggs and young of some of these species
were found. After having been on the island for about two hours,
news was brought that one of the boys had fallen over a cliff, and
was seriously injured, so everybody was obliged to return quickly to
the little steamer, and on our arrival at Bangor the unfortunate lad
was taken to the infirmary, where he is now rapidly recovering.
Knowing that the Nightjar occurred at the grounds near to the
Tubular Bridge, we visited there on July 15th, and began beating
about in the ferns. When we arrived at the other end of the field
we at last flushed the Nightjar, which flew noiselessly away from its
two eggs harmonizing so well with their surroundings. This was
the fourth year that we knew of for the bird to breed at this place,
and each time it had reared off a brood. Before leaving we found a
Kestrel’s scratching, situated in a hollow formed by the roots of an
oak-tree, growing outward from the top of a cliff, and in this were
laid four eggs. A few Corn-Buntings were seen perched on the
telegraph-wires, uttering forth their long-drawn note, and a White-
throat and a Tree-Pipit were flitting about a hedge. Aber was again
cycled to, and in going up the river we saw some Dippers and Wood-
_peckers, the latter flying hurriedly away from the trees, calling forth
their note. In a hole in a tree was found a nest containing five young
of a Redstart, and near by a nest with three eggs of a Spotted FEly-

NOTES AND QUERIES. 315

catcher. At a lake (the name of which is not known to me) in
Anglesey we accidentally came across a pair of Mute Swans with four
cygnets, and these could not possibly have been placed here, as the
district is very wild, and all the birds kept away from us. The last
two places visited were Llanferfechan and Bwrdd Arthur, in Anglesey,
by my friend alone, I myself being unable to accompany him. At
the former place he found eggs of Lesser Terns and Ringed Plover,
and at the latter place were a colony of Cormorants breeding. Before
concluding, I must mention that my constant companion referred
to is H. King, B.Sc., of Bangor—T. Owrn (Pen Parc, Bangor,
North Wales).

Notes on Nest-boxes.—During the past season we have had in
our nest-boxes, &c., the Robin (three nests in kettles), Great Tit,
Blue Tit (several nests of both), Creeper (behind a piece of wood
nailed to a birch), Tree-Sparrow (many), House-Sparrow, Starling,
Tawny Owl, Stock-Dove. For the first time for many years we have
had no Nuthatches, nor did any come to feed in the winter. One
box contained nine Tree-Sparrow’s eggs at the same time, but when
blown they proved to be a mixed lot, some being quite fresh, and
some stale. The Tawny Owls, which have bred in the church-tower
for the fourth year in succession, had four eggs, and took away two
young birds; but another pair, which nested in an old cask in our
grounds, reared four young from their four eggs. The hen in the
cask, a very fine reddish-brown bird, was very tame, and never once
left the nest or even moved when I put a ladder up. When the
owlets were about a week or ten days old, she would lie half on her
side at the far end of the cask with her family a few inches from
her, looking rather like an old Cat with her kittens, and the whole
group made one of the prettiest pictures of bird life I have ever seen.
The best bag I have seen in either nest was one of four Rats in the
one in the tower. Stock-Doves have not done well; more than one
clutch of eggs was destroyed, and a pair of young ones about the
size of Blackbirds were killed in the box. This I believe to have
been the work of Starlings. A pair of Blue Tits used an old House-
Martin’s nest on a neighbour’s house, where there has been a Martin
colony for years. They hatched out their brood, and seemed to be
on the best of terms with the Martins around them. Some men
hoeing wheat in the adjoining parish of Norton showed me a Snipe’s
nest in the middle of the field; probably the wet state of the
meadows had driven the birds to a higher and drier site.—Jun1an G.
Tuck (Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk).

316 THE ZOOLOGIST.

PERSONALIA.

Lieutenant Boyd Alexander.—We have at last heard definite
news of the way in which Lieutenant Boyd Alexander met his death.
The communication, which has come from Lieutenant Childers
Thompson, can only increase our sorrow at the general loss to our
country, and our sympathy with Lieutenant Boyd Alexander’s family.
There must be many who will be glad to know that a memorial to
the brothers Boyd and Claud Alexander, both of whom lost their
lives while engaged in exploration in Central Africa, will be erected
in their ancient parish church at Cranbrook, in Kent. Amongst the
subscribers to the fund are the Royal Geographical Society, the
Rifle Brigade, and the Scots Guards. As Boyd Alexander was a
contributor to ‘The Zoologist,’ some of your readers may be glad of
an opportunity of making a contribution to the Fund. Subscriptions
may be paid to the Alexander Memorial Fund, London County and
Westminster Bank, Cranbrook, Kent, or to myself.— Ww. Brut
(Cranbrook Vicarage, Kent).

THe ‘Bulletin of the Société Géographique de Paris’ pub-
lishes the following comments on the murder of Lieutenant Boyd
Alexander :—

“On April 2nd last the English explorer, Boyd Alexander, well
known for his important expeditions to Africa, was assassinated at
Nieri, about seventy miles to the north of Abeshir. No responsi-
bility devolves upon the French authorities for this tragic accident ;
not only did they warn Lieutenant Boyd Alexander of the dangers
he was running in trying to continue his journey towards the Hast,
but also formally begged him not to leave our stations. Being per-
suaded of the futility of these fears, the English traveller set out, so
to speak, surreptitiously. Some hours afterwards he was attacked
and killed. The unfortunate explorer was the victim of the disturbed
state of things created on our territory by natives under British
jurisdiction. Darfur, which belongs to England, is the last strong-
hold of the slave-raiders ; accordingly, finding their shameful traffic
menaced by the occupation of Wadai, which henceforth shuts off their
access to vast territories of our colonial empire, whence they used
to come to draw their supplies of human cattle, the men of Darfur
did not hesitate to proceed to attack our troops, and to raise the
people of Dar Guimer and Dar Tama against us. Documents seized
ati Abeshir leave no doubt as to their having practised such inter-
vention.

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 317

“This disturbed state of things is a consequence of the French
and English possessions in that part of Africa not being delimitated.
In the interests of general pacification, not less than those of geo-
graphy, let us hope that the delimitation will shortly be proceeded
with. The frontier indicated in the text of the Anglo-French Con-
vention of 1899 passes through unknown territories ; moreover, the
exact determination of the boundary will afford precious materials
for a knowledge of a very interesting portion of Africa.”—African
World, August 6th, 1910.

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

Birds of New York. Part I. ‘‘ Introductory Chapters: Water
Birds and Game Birds.” By Exon Howarp Haron. New
York State Education Department, Albany.

In 1844 the above department published a ‘‘ comprehensive
and finely illustrated treatise”? on the Birds of the State, pre-
pared by James E. De Kay, and now, after an interval of more
than sixty years, the present massive first instalment of a much
more exhaustive work is the subject of this notice. During the
interval between the two publications no fewer than one hundred
species of birds have been added to the State list, and the hope
is expressed that a principal function of the book will be to
further promote the protection of the birds themselves.

The introductory chapters are characteristic of the thorough
and complete manner in which details are worked out by our
American colleagues. The ‘‘ Life zones of New York State,” so
far as the avifauna is concerned, are exhaustively treated and
liberally illustrated. As regards the ever-increasing literature
on birds, the following remarks are very applicable :—‘“‘ The
author has been asked many times to name the best book for
the bird-student. This task is too difficult, for the requirements
of bird-students are as varied as the number of books. The
book is not of so much importance as the attitude of the student.
The author learned more from an old thumb-worn, imperfect
copy of ‘Ornithology,’ evidently compiled from the works of
early writers, principally Wilson, than he has from any exhaustive

318 THE ZOOLOGIST.

treatises of recent publication. He knew the coloured plates of
De Kay’s ‘ Birds of New York’ so well that the species therein
depicted were recognized at the first meeting in the field.” To
a large extent thisis the experience of most of us, but even then
it would scarcely be possible to find in an old publication the
data on bird migration which are given in the present work, while
the ‘county schedules”’ form a digest worthy of the admiration
of a statistician.

As stated on the title-page, only the Water Birds and Game
Birds find a place in this first instalment of the series, and
besides the numerous illustrations in the text there are no fewer
than forty-two coloured plates at the end of the volume. These
deserve special mention, as the artist, Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes,
contributes a foreword, ‘‘ Illustrator’s Note,’ an innovation that
might well be more generally followed, for as a rule we only see
the work of the artist, and know nothing of his opportunities or
limitations; his personality is too much behind the curtain.
Mr. Fuertes tells us that for accuracy the colours of birds, not
alone their feathers, must be taken from ‘“‘ actual specimens,
painted, in short, from living or fresh taken birds, before the
settling of the body fluids or the disintegration or absorption of
pigment could take place,” while the high colour is only attained
in adult birds and at the approach of the breeding season. For
the last ten years the compilation of these colour records has
been the most important part of the field-work of this con-
scientious zoological iconographer.

Not only may this quarto volume be a source of legitimate
satisfaction to the author and artist, but also to Dr. J. M. Clarke,
the Director of the Science Division of the New York State
iducation Department, to whose insistence this expensive work
has been adopted as a State liability.

(CFS)

EDITORIAL GLEANINGS.

Pror. W. F. Barrett, F.R.S., in an article on “ Creative Thought”’
(‘The Quest,’ vol. i. p. 616), has approached the philosophy of the
biological arena from the somewhat mystical standpoint. He writes :—
“May not a similar cause be at work in the many cases of protective
mimicry, as well as protective coloration, found in the animal king-
dom? If we accept the usual biological explanation of protective
mimicry, the long intermediate stages required by natural selection
would render the creature not less but more conspicuous among its
kind, and therefore expose it to greater danger of capture and less
chance of survival. In fact I am convinced that biologists have too
long closed their eyes to the psychic factor in evolution—the directive
power of the unconscious within the organism. Evolutionary pro-
cesses in nature are according to this view the expression of the
creative power of thought, using the term in the wider sense already
defined. But it is thought immanent, operative and transcendent,
within the orgamsm. And it is interesting here to recall the fact that
one hundred and fifty years ago, Swedenborg—who was a true seer
as well as a learned man of science—explicitly urged this very hypo-
thesis of an inherent directive force in the development of the forms
of life.* A century later E. von Hartmann, in his well-known work
the Philosophy of the Unconscious, developed much the same view,
only he rejects all anthropormorphic ideas, or any form of conscious-
ness or personality in the Supreme apart from nature, whereas
Swedenborg’s theology is the reverse of this. Von Hartmann with

*« «Thus in his Heonomy of the Animal Kingdom, § 275, he writes :—
‘We must acknowledge, if we think of causes and origins, that such a
directive or formative force is not without but within the chick or embryo;
and that it must exist within that substance that was first in the ovum, and
that has life or soul within it,’ &c. In fine he tells us ‘ the infinite is in the
finite, as in receptacles.’ Moreover, now that telepathy may be regarded as
a vera causa, every living cell in the organism (as Mr. Gerald Balfour has
conceived) is possibly in telepathic rapport with every other cell, and our
unitary consciousness may be the result of this rapport among the brain
cells. The wide philosophical implications of telepathy have not yet been
adequately discussed.”’

320 THE ZOOLOGIST.

great wealth of learning shows that in the phenomena of instinct
and of clairvoyance (which latter he states as did Schopenhaur, only
the ignorant reject) we have additional evidence of the operation of
the Unconscious in life.”

‘Ts it therefore illegitimate to assume that the Unconscious, the
psychic factor in evolution, is operative in the process of develop-
ment to bring about more perfect organs and higher types of life ?
It seems to me impossible to explain, e.g., the development of the
mammalian eye according to the usual method adopted by biologists.
It would take me too far aside from my present purpose to trace out
this argument ; I can only state after a prolonged study of the subject
of vision, that blind and fortuitous evolutionary forces, or endless
ages of natural selection, appear a more incredible hypothesis than
the assumption of unconscious thought, ever operative within the
organism, as the directive force in evolution.’”*

* «The bifocal eye of the Brazilian fish Anableps is inexplicable upon
a purely naturalistic theory. Mr. 'T. W. Rolieston, in his suggestive work
Parallel Paths, has referred to the Anableps’ eye, pp. 100 ff., and shows how
impossible it is for natural selection, laying hold of fortuitous variations, to
explain this remarkable organ.”

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Comparisons
herd, 292.
The Voeal and Instrumental Music of Insects, A. H. Swinton, 299, ue
Notes anD QuErins :— ; Lae
Mammatia.—Greater Horseshoe Bat in Wiltshire, Major G. E. H. Barre
Hamilton, 307. Black Variety of the Water-Shrew in Suffolk, G. T. Rop
307. Albino Variety of Common Shrew, Hdwin Hollis, 307. Albino Woo
Mouse in Montgomeryshire, H. E. Forrest, 307.
AvEs.—The Nightingale (Daulias lwscinia) in Lancashire: a New Record
Fredk. J. Stubbs, 8308. Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collwrio) breeding in ~
Merionethshire (with illustration), C. Kingsley Siddall, 309. Lesser Redpoll_
at Hampstead, Leewt.-Col. C. H. Meyrick, 310. Mortality among Honse-
Martins, J. Steele-Elliott, 310. An Account of a Ramble with the Birds i in 4
«Anglesey and Carnarvonshire, 7’. Owen, 310. Notes on Nest-boxes, Rev. 3
Julian G. Tuck, 315. ;
PERSONALIA. —lLieutenant Boyd Alexander, Wm. Bell, 316. f
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No. 831.—September, 1910.

NOTES FROM THE MILLPORT MARINE BIOLOGICAL
STATION.

By RicHarp Eumuirst, Superintendent.

On THE YAWNING OF FISHES.

Wuite watching the fish living in our Aquarium, I have
repeatedly observed them yawning, or at any rate perform an
action like yawning, consisting of a wide opening of the mouth,
slow expansion of the buccal cavity, erection of the gill-arches,
followed by a rapid expulsion of the indrawn water, most of
which is emitted from the mouth, although some certainly goes
through the gill-slits. This is often accompanied by a distinct
heaving of the pectoral region and erection of the pectoral fins,
and is quite different from the rapid movement of the operculum
and jaws which is used to remove a foreign object, such as a bit
of seaweed, from the gills. At first one would think that
yawning is only possible for an air-breathing vertebrate with
lungs. However, from numerous observations, I am led to
think that this action of fishes is a real yawn, and serves the
true physiological purpose of a yawn, 7.e. flushing the brain
with blood during periods of sluggishness. The conditions con-
ducive to yawning are a slight increase in the temperature of the
water and, I suppose, the accompanying diminution of oxygen.
For instance, on Saturday morning we flush a lot of water
through our tanks, and at midday leave the storage tank full.
Now, we usually use a tankful in twenty-four hours, but to
avoid pumping on Sunday we make the tankful last from

Zool, 4th ser. vol. XIV., September, 1910. 2¢

322 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Saturday midday to Monday morning. Now, as this tank full
of water is exposed to the sun on Saturday afternoon and all
Sunday, its temperature rises in summer to 6° or 8° F. above
that of the sea, and it is then that I have most often noticed
the fishes yawning. I find also that when any individual fish is
yawning frequently that the rate of its respiratory action is
slower than usual. By respiratory action I mean the intaking
of water at the mouth, and its emission through the gill-slits.
For instance, I find the average rate for a certain Plaice is
thirty-two per minute, and twice when yawning frequently it
was as low as twenty per minute. A Dab has an average of
about forty-two, and when yawning it was thirty-one. Some-
times, however, a fish yawns when the number of respiratory
actions per minute is above the average. Cod seem to average
about thirty-six per minute, whether yawning or not; I think
they yawn much oftener than any others.

Whether the psychological infectiousness of yawning holds
good among fishes I cannot say. I have certainly seen several
yawn frequently, oftener than I have seen one give a single
yawn. But this may be explained by the conditions conducive
to yawning affecting several of the fish. This action is so
suggestive that on seeing it I often start yawning myself. I find
that a dog yawning before one induces yawning, although I
cannot say that I have ever induced my dog or the fishes to
yawn by yawning at them, I suppose human beings are pro-
bably more susceptible to such influences than the lower
vertebrates. When several of a number of fish are yawning
frequently, if one does anything to attract their attention all
yawning ceases, e.g. if one performs actions as though going to
feed them, they become excited, as when feeding is going to take
place, swimming rapidly, following one, and making snapping
movements as though seizing food. (From this it is quite clear
that fish display an intelligent interest in what goes on outside
the tank.) This sudden activity is accompanied by an increased
rate of the respiratory action, which I suppose sets up a stronger
circulation of the blood, and in this way relieves the sluggishness
and its accompanied yawning.

The following list of the occurrence of yawning among
vertebrates may be of interest. In the tanks at Millport the

NOTES FROM MILLPORT BIOLOGICAL STATION. 3238

Cobbler (Cottus scorpius), Saithe (Gadus virens), Lythe (G. pol-
lachius), Cod (G. callarius), Ballan Wrasse (Labrus bergylta),
Goldsinny (Ctenolabrus rupestris), Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa),
Dab (P. limanda), Conger Eel (C. niger), and Skate (Raza clavata)
have all been seen yawning by Mr. A. Gray (late Curator), Mr.
J. Peden (Laboratory Attendant), various visitors, or myself.

Mr. G. A. Dunlop has observed the same action in Carp
(Cyprinus carpio), Roach (Leuciscus rutilus), and Rudd (L. ery-
throphthalmus) in aquaria at Warrington Museum. Professor
J. Graham Kerr has noticed a similar action in Lepidosiren.

Among reptiles and amphibians I have no written records,
but have a vivid impression of seeing a Lizard and Newts yawn;
I think the Common Frog and Grass Snake also. I seem, too,
to have seen a photograph of a yawning Crocodile.

Mr. Gray keeps a tame Kittiwake which often yawns in the
morning, just as fowls when first let out often yawn, stretch,
and flap their wings. Mr. C. Kirk tells me Owls yawn, and he
has published an excellent photograph of a young Carrion-Crow
(Corvus corone) yawning in ‘ Gowans’s Nature Books,’ No. 19,
p. 28. While working here in August, Mr. Dunlop saw a Lesser
Black-backed Gull yawn.

Dogs, Cats, and their relations in zoological gardens often
yawn. Iam told that Horses, Cattle, and Goats yawn, although
I personally never remember seeing them do so; I cannot find
any records of a rodent yawning.

Lirtorat Frepina Hasits oF somME Lanp-Birps.

During last autumn I frequently noticed Starlings feeding
between tide-marks, and later, during severe wintry weather,
Robins, Blackbirds, and Thrushes as well. The Starlings were
generally in small flocks of sixor more. During the spells of dry
weather this year (e. g. June Ist to 18th, rainfall -06 in.) numbers
of Starling families fed regularly between tide-marks. On June
10th and subsequent days I watched the young ones being fed.
The adults are expert shore-collectors, and catch Gammarus,
Idotea, Ligia, Littorina, &c., for the young birds, who sit about
the stones, and in turn follow the old bird to be fed; the
favoured individual displaying considerable excitement. Young
Jackdaws also frequent the shore, but they go about tips and

2c 2

524 THE ZOOLOGIST.

scavenge rather than collect animals. Old Blackbirds fed on the
shore, and also took food away with them.

It will be interesting to find out if land-birds ever become
infected with helminth or other parasites through feeding on
the shore. Miss M. V. Lebour has lately examined four Star-
lings for trematodes with no result. I find the Acanthocephalan,
Echinorhynchus cylindraceus, Schrank, is common in the Star-
ling, and also occurs in the Blackbird. I have observed stomach
contents as follows :—

Starling I. Nov. 1909. Gammarus, also beetle remains,
and tip refuse.
Bi dies BN Lacuna divaricata, Gammarus.
a Ill. June, 1910. Four Gammarus marinus.
ms DV s Six Littorina obtusata, two L. rudis,

G. marinus, G. locusta; also a
Thysanuran and a Lepidopteran

larva.
_ Vee Over fifty Gammarus, five beetles.
a8 VI. Aug. 1910. Ten L. rudis, over fifty Gammarus,
insect remains.
Se VITA a i One Rissoa cingillus, twenty Gam-

marus, and beetle remains.
A Vines i Six Gammarus, pips and bits of
apple-skin.
Blackbird, Nov. 1909. Lacuna divaricata.

This list shows that they feed much as the shore-birds do.
Last November a Purple Sandpiper contained sponge spicules
and some Gammarus, and a Redshank contained Idotea, L.
obtusata, and L. rudis. Among the weeds near high-water mark,
where the Starlings feed so abundantly on Gammarus, the Tur-
bellarian (Gunda ulve) is very common, yet they do not appear
to touch them.

( 325 )

VARIATIONS IN THE DENTITION OF HRINACEUS
HUROPAUS.

By Epwin Hous, F.Z.S.

My attention having been attracted to some curious variations
in the teeth of some Hedgehogs taken in the neighbourhood of
Exeter, I consulted several books, and found that they all give
as a characteristic the fact that H. europeus differs from the
other members of the Hrinaceide in having the third upper
incisors and canines single rooted, whereas in other species
these have two distinct roots.

The following extracts (from ‘Mammals Living and Extinct,’
Flower and Lydekker) bring out the above distinctions very
clearly. In writing of the Hrinaceide they say :—

‘The canine is very similar to the third incisor, and except
in HL. gunopens each of these teeth is inserted by two distinct
roots.’

** H. europeus is the most aberrant species, differing from all
the rest in the peculiarly shaped and single rooted third upper
incisor and canine.”

‘The Indian form, H. collaris, may be considered character-
istic of all the other species, the only important differences being
found in the variable size and position of the second upper pre-
molar, which is very small, external and deciduous in H. micropus
and pictus.”

To emphasize ne above points, they figure H.. collaris (p. 620,
fig. 280) and H. europeus (p. 620, fig. 285), both after ‘‘ Dobson,
Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1881.”

The specimens I had under observation appeared to show
characters placing them midway between F’. ewropeus and the
other species as above described. Thinking that this might
indicate that these were of a distinct local race peculiar to
Devonshire, I obtained further specimens from Sussex, North-
ampton, and Bucks, but found on examination that these pre-
sented the same peculiarities.

I give below a table showing the peculiarities of eleven skulls
which I have now before me :—

326 THE ZOOLOGIST.

| 2nd Premolars.
3rd Incisors. Canines. |
Right. Left.
il, IBGE ooaoosse Single rooted Double rooted | Rudimentary | Rudimentary
2 COs coosdoce do. do. | Absent Absent
Be COR eevee n= ese do. do. _ Normal Normal
4. Aylesbury .... do. do. | Absent lendos
|(Single rooted, but
§- Go: Bal do. | showing signs of fu- | Normal do.
sion of the two roots } |
6. Wellingborough do. doses: \eeudos do.
7. Horsham...... do. do. | do. do.
8. GVO. *Sooear | do. do. coe do.
9. Os wesc do. Double rooted | do. do.
10. dos) Teaxeeiax. | do. do. | Absent Absent
11. Wellingborough | do. Single rooted Normal Normal

It will be seen from the above table that only one specimen
(No. 11) conforms to the type as described. I have since, by the
courtesy of Mr. Oldfield Thomas, been allowed to inspect a con-
siderable number of skulls in the collection of the British
Museum (Natural History). I then found that a large propor-
tion, probably half, of the skulls had double rooted canines, one
having a single root on one side and double on the other, also
that several show variations in the size of the second upper
premolar. This tooth was in some cases extremely small and
crowded for space, but, so far as I observed, in no case entirely
absent, as in my specimens, Nos. 2 and 10.

Bearing in mind the third paragraph quoted above, I think
this variation of the second premolar, which can be traced
through all stages, from normal size to absence, is very inte-
resting, and probably points to H. europeus being in a state of
transition to a condition similar to that mentioned as occurring
in EH. micropus and pictus.

From the above observations it is evident that the teeth of
E. europeus are extremely variable, and that the fact of the in-
cisors being single or double rooted will no longer hold good as
distinguishing this species from all others.

It will be interesting to see whether the study of a larger
series of skulls will show any specimens with double rooted third
incisors ; if it does not do so, this may perhaps still be taken as
a distinguishing character, provided that the study of a large
series of skulls belonging to other species shows that in them the
third incisor is invariably double rooted.

(a2)

HUMBLE-BEES AND FOXGLOVES.
By Epmunp SEtovs.

Nor being an expert in the Hymenoptera, and having been
quite possibly (or even probably) mistaken in the correct scientific
names of some of the bees whose actions are here recorded, I
should like at the outset to point out that the interest of the
observations contained in the following notes lies, not in knowing
what bees do certain things, but what things certain bees do.
It is, of course, a very good thing to be sure of the species that
one is observing. One should always be so, if one can. Some-
times, however, one cannot, but that does not take away all
value from what one has seen, except in some special cases
where the identity of the species is all-important. Otherwise,
an anonymous fact in natural history is not less interesting, on
that account, than, in the domain of literature, an anonymous
novel, for instance, may be.

Whilst staying at Frendenstadt, in the Black Forest, during
the summer of 1907, I watched Humble-Bees visiting foxgloves,
over a certain limited area where these grew thickly, to the
exclusion of other flowers. The two species most frequently seen
here were Bombus hypnorum, and another large Humble-Bee
with a dusky, yellowish patch on the thorax, and a somewhat
long and curved abdomen, the specific identity of which I have
not been able to ascertain. The latter was much the commoner
of the two, and I have nothing further to record of it than that
it invariably, according to my observation, rifles the foxglove in
the ordinary manner, by which I mean that, in order to do so,
it first enters the mouth of the elongated sack or ‘‘ glove”’
formed by the conjoined petals. B. hypnorum also usually
enters the flowers, but individuals are to be seen which go,
apparently by preference, to the exposed green calyces from
which the blossom has dropped.

B. terrestris is less common there than with us. The first
individual I particularly noticed was visiting the exposed calyces,

328 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and before I had made any further study of its habits, my attention
was drawn to a quite small Black Bee (B. mastrucatus, according
to the nomenclature of the zoological department of the museum
at Stuttgart), which interested me by invariably going to the neck
or tube of the corolla, on the outside, and piercing it (as it
seemed) with its proboscis. Whether it really did so, however,
or only took advantage of a hole that had already been made
there, it was difficult to be certain of. In many cases the latter
plan was certainly adopted, but then it naturally would have
been, if the flower had been previously visited and pierced by
another bee.

The movements of this small bee were very quick, nor did it
stay long at any one spike of the foxglove, but soon darted away
from it to another, usually at some distance off. Moreover,
during the time that I was able to watch it at any one, it
was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to see the first actual
entry of the proboscis into the tube of the flower, or to make
sure, between the time of this happening and that of the bee
settling, that the tube had not been previously perforated. On
one point I soon satisfied myself, viz. that the bee did not first
bite a hole, and then insert its proboscis into it, which, armed
as it is with mandibles, and accustomed to use them, it might
have been expected to do.

Continuing my observations, I soon found that it was not
only the small Black Bee 1 have mentioned (B. mastrucatus)
that obtains the nectar or juice of the foxglove in this way, but
also B. terrestris, which I had before seen visiting the naked
ovaries, to the neglect of those still enclosed by the blossom. I
watched various individuals thus acting during the greater part
of an afternoon, and noticed that it was not every flower on
which they settled that they were able to perforate. In many
instances they would feel about with their proboscis, as though
seeking an aperture, and, failing to find it, fly to another one.
When I picked these flowers and examined them, I found that
they were intact, but the same bee, upon finding a hole in
another, would at once pass her proboscis through it. As, there-
fore, the bees do not use their mandibles, and must know that
they cannot of themselves pierce the tube of the corolla in any
other way, it seems evident that they consciously search for

=

HUMBLE-BEES AND FOXGLOVES. 329

such of these as have been pierced, passing the others by. They
never, in any case, enter the corolla in the orthodox manner,
after finding that it is not perforated—that is to say, I have
never seen one do so. The same remarks apply to B. mast-
rucatus.

Besides the above species of Humble-Bee there is another,
not very common, which I| have not been able to identify. It is
brown, like B. hypnorum, but not more than half the size even
of the smaller forms of this, between which and the larger there
is a considerable difference. It is also less furry than B. hyp-
norum, or than Humble-Bees generally, such fur as it has being
mostly on the thorax. This small bee seems never to enter the
foxglove, but settles, instead, as both B. hypnorum and B. terres-
tris sometimes do, on the naked capsules, after the blossoms
haye fallen, over the surface of which it passes its proboscis.
For some time I thought that the habits of this bee were in-
variable, since I never saw it either enter the cup of a foxglove,
or descend upon any part of the corolla, which it simply passed
by. One day, however, I found what appeared to me to be an
individual of this species inside a foxglove, in a drowsy or
lethargic condition, such as often overtakes Humble-Bees. On
taking it, out it fell to the ground, but, recovering, shortly, flew
off, and went directly to another blossom, on which it alighted,
and crawling to the base of the tube, outside, probed it through
a hole which I have now no doubt that it found there. For
some time after this I followed its movements, and saw that it
now always went to the naked ovaries, instead of either entering
or probing the cups, nor did it again alight on one of these.
From this, coupled with its appearance, I believe it to have been
the same small brown species that I had always before seen
acting in this manner, and never getting into the foxgloves.
Why, then, was it in one now? But for this apparent recovery
one might suppose that it had crawled there to die, and it would
be interesting to know how long afterward it really lived. Many
bees, at this time, seemed, in appearance, near to death,
whilst others had died actually, as the natural termination,
apparently, of the same lethargic state. Bees, however, can
have no idea of death, a matter not within the grasp of their
intelligence, so that it would not be that, but the state of health

330 THE ZOOLOGIST.

preceding it, which caused this bee to enter a foxglove against
its usual habits, if there was really a connection between the
two facts.

I made a similar observation in regard to B. terrestris, a
species which, whatever are its habits in England, may be
watched here, hour after hour and day after day, without ever
being seen to enter the cup of a foxglove—always either the per-
forated necks of the flower or the naked green calyces are
resorted to. This particular individual, however, when first
observed by me, was just crawling, in a state, as it seemed, of
great decrepitude, into one of the “‘gloves.’’ With the view of,
as far as possible, testing its object in doing so, I took out my
scissors, and snipped off a portion of the tube, longitudinally.
Almost immediately I saw the proboscis of the bee shoot out, to
an astonishing length, over the moist surface of the calyx thus
laid bare. This was a wonderful thing to look’ at through the
Coddington lens, which I could do now with perfect ease. The
proboscis was very long, and when it seemed that it could
stretch no farther, another and thinner portion darted out from
what had seemed the end of it, the tip of which was enlarged and
tripartite, having, as it were, three lips, which pressed upon the
exposed surface of the pistil or ovary of the flower. It then shot
back, and this process was repeated, at intervals, two or three
times, the instrument being, no doubt, employed, when I did not
see it, in searching some part of the calyx that had not been laid
bare. The bee, now, slowly and with great difficulty—in the
most decrepit manner imaginable—crawled out of the foxglove,
over another, and into the one next it, where, again, upon using
the scissors, I saw the proboscis at work. Then, coming out
once more, it just managed to get on to the mouth of another
blossom—a short one—where it clung, seeming to be on the
point of death.

Here, then, we have two instances of bees, not ordinarily in
the habit of entering foxgloves, doing so whilst in a state which,
whether it precedes death or not, is not, at any rate, a normal
one. In one of these cases, however, and therefore, presumably,
in the other also, not only has the bee entered the cups, but, as
we have seen, it has crawled up to their ends, and extracted the
Juices of the flower, as do those who habitually obtain them in

HUMBLE-BEES AND FOXGLOVKS. ~ 331

this way. It would seem, therefore, that there may be a curious
change in a bee’s life-habits, consequent upon the approach of a
lethargy which may or may not precede death. The primary
instinct or habit, however—that of extracting nectar from the
flower—remains unmodified, and supposing that this last bee
really was dying, then, so far from feeling or providing for its
approaching dissolution, we see it continuing at its work as long
as ever its strength will allow it to, and expending its last
energy either in rifling the flower it is in, or endeavouring to get
to another, in order to do so—a strong instance of ‘‘ the ruling
passion” being strong in death.

But why should there, now, be a change in the method of
rifling the flower? Although, as I have said, one may watch
bees that habitually do not enter foxgloves, for a very long time,
and for many days in succession, without seeing them do so, yet
it seems reasonable to conclude that this more obvious process,
which allows of every flower being ransacked, before its corolla
has either been shed or perforated, was the first one employed
by all species, and that the others represent departures from it.
If this be so, then it would appear that the lethargy, however
induced, under which a bee whose individual habits have thus
come to differ from its ancestral ones, is labouring, produces a
mental disturbance which, in some cases, may take the form of
a reversion to these earlier habits. If so, then we have here a
principle through which light might be thrown upon the course
of evolution, not only in bees, but also in some other in-
sects, or species, belonging to other divisions of the animal
kingdom.

I subsequently introduced a lethargic bee belonging to one of
the species, which does not habitually enter the flowers of the
foxglove, into one, on which she crawled painfully up it, and on
my cutting the base of the tube with the scissors, as before, I
saw her proboscis several times shot out, as in the former case.
She then came out, and I put her into several others, which she
each time vacated, and then, seeming to take a new lease of life
and energy, whirred her wings, and flew away. Watching her
movements, however, 1 saw that there was something peculiar
about them. She flew in an aimless and, as it were, confused
sort of way, mostly in circles, and faster than usual. In this

382 THE ZOOLOGIST.

manner she buzzed round some of the foxgloves, but without
alighting or siackening speed, to alight, then made a wide
circuit or two, high up, and, at last, flew right into the fir forest
surrounding these open spaces, which I have never before, if I
remember, seen a bee here do.

Thus it seems clear that, with the coming on of this drowsi-
ness, the psychology of the bee is affected, and though we may
not exactly see why, yet it is not inconceivable that such mental
disturbal may produce a reversion to past ancestral habits, in
which category entering the cup of the foxglove, in order to
extract the nectar, would fall, in the case of a bee that was not
accustomed to do this, if we suppose that such entry was the
primitive method adopted, and that the others of probing the
tube from without, or visiting those flowers only that had shed
their corollas, were deviations from it, subsequently arising. In
illness, and also in old age, the mind is often filled with the
memories of childhood, and though the reversion here is only to
one’s past, still it is a reversion, and may be governed by the
same laws as obtain in the other. Drowning, again, is appa-
rently attended by the same phenomenon. I am assuming, of
course, that the bee’s individual habits have always been the
same. Otherwise, the analogy offered by the above cases would
be much closer, if not exact.

As the bees do not either bite through the neck of the fox-
glove with their mandibles, or pierce it with their proboscis, to
what agency are the holes which they find ready-made there
attributable ? On several occasions I had noticed a small Longi-
corn, or Longicorn-like beetle, in this situation, and I thought,
though I could not be quite sure, that one of these was biting at
the neck of the foxglove, inside which he was. Longicorns, at
any rate, are, I believe, vegetarians, and as this one seems to
live largely on the foxglove, it is probable that it does so in a
double sense. Though small, this beetle is not so very small—
as large, perhaps, though the shape is different, as the house-fly
and there is at least one larger species whose habits appear to
be the same. Through the lens, the mandibles of both look
very well adapted for making these little holes in the walls of
flowers. They are long and sharply pointed, finely though

HUMBLE-BEES AND FOXGLOVES. 333

strongly made, and somewhat sickle-shaped. Thus, then, sup-
posing these beetles to be the makers of the holes in question,
we have, at least, three species of Humble-Bee taking ad-
vantage of their handiwork to insert their proboscis through
the basal part of the corolla of the foxglove, from without,
instead of entering it, which it does not appear to be their habit
to do.

Assuming that the ancestors of those bees that do not now
enter the foxglove flowers, in order to rifle them, were in the
habit of doing so, what, if any, has been the gain to the species,
through which this change of habit has been brought about ?
Saving of time is the only one that I can imagine, and certainly
a bee that descends directly on those parts of the flower where
the juices which she covets reside, can sooner obtain them than
one who comes down farther off, by the length of the long tunnel,
formed by the corolla, up which she has first to climb. But, on
the other hand, a bee which flies from one such tunnel to another,
looking for holes in them, through which it can thrust its pro-
boscis, which holes it does not always find, would seem to be
losing time; yet this is what I have seen many bees doing.
Here it would depend on how numerous such holes were, and, in
regard to this, they must have been fairly numerous, one would
think, for such a habit to have arisen at all. Still, though, here
and there, almost every foxglove seemed perforated, in this way,
over any large area, they formed, I believe, but a small minority.
Possibly the bee may be aided here by its eyesight, yet it
was common for them to settle on the necks of unperforated
tubes, from which they had to fly, bootless, away. These bees
certainly lost time, but they might, perhaps, more than make
up for this by a succession of successful alightments, of which I
also saw many instances.

Bees that search the foxgloves in this way, rifle, also, those
flowers which have lost their corollas, yet I have seen individuals
going so continuously from tube to tube, to probe them from
without, that one would not have supposed that they did anything
else, and this was particularly the case with one species, the
small black Humble-Bee, with a yellow-tipped abdomen—B. mort-
nucatus namely—which 1 have mentioned. I am not, indeed,
quite sure that the latter does not feed exclusively in this manner

334 THE ZOOLOGIST.

—I mean, of course, when visiting the foxglove. Even if we
suppose this bee to be very quick in noticing these small per-
forations in the neck of the corolla—which would not, however,
look so small to it—yet it has to miss a number of flowers,
whereas the bee who enters them can rifle every one. DB. terres-
tris, also, though alighting sometimes on the naked calyx, yet
certainly, through the same cause, misses a number of blossoms.
It would seem, therefore, that the change from the orthodox
way, as we may call it, of obtaining nectar from the foxglove, to
the ones we are considering, must represent a loss rather than
a gain of time, and this should make us doubt whether any such
change has taken place. Of course, if the proboscis of any of
these bees were not sufficiently long to be effectually employed
from within the tube, the whole philosophy of the matter would
be changed, and the possibility of any such evolution, as is here
imagined, be excluded, in their case. But howcan thisbe? The
part of the foxglove which has to be reached is the moist green
base, more or less swollen, of the pistil, and this does not
appear to be so tightly enclosed within the tube of the corolla
but that a bee, whose proboscis was not altogether abnormal,
might press up, so as to reach it, without undue difficulty.
Both B. mastrucatus and the small brown bee might, I think,
very well do this, and it is probably what that individual of the
latter species—the smaller of the two—that I found in one of the
‘‘oloves’’ was doing. JB. terrestris, in any case, which here
rarely enters the corolla, but either probes it from without or
licks the corolla-less pistils, can, as has been seen, with the
createst ease, put its proboscis to a like use within the tube.
Yet, in spite of its being under no physical disability of rifling
the foxglove in the ordinary manner (as in England), and though
it does occasionally do so, yet this bee, where I have watched it,
in the Black Forest, habitually obtains the nectar through per-
forations that have been previously made in the corolla, passing
by such as are not thus perforated. The presumption, I think,
is that it has changed its earlier habits in this respect, and, if so,
this is probably also the case with the two smaller kinds. Must
we therefore conclude that the change has been beneficial to the
species? This does not appear to me to be a necessary infer-
ence, and, were foxgloves the only flowers, one might rather

HUMBLE-BEES AND FOXGLOVES. B35

suppose the contrary, since the two species that search them,
most constantly, in the regular manner, are much more nume-
rous, where they abound, than those whose habits have been
modified. If no conclusion can be drawn from this circum-
stance, yet I am unable to see what gain can accrue, from such
a change, to the species, though it may mean less trouble to the
individual. But nations that have become effete on this principle
have not disappeared at once, and there should be ample time
to observe the deleterious variations in the habits of a species,
before these have cost it its life.

The above observations were made by me from August 18th
to 26th, and were confined to a particular patch of foxgloves in
that part of the Black Forest where I was staying. From
some earlier ones made in other and much smaller patches, it
has occurred to me that the flower-searching habits of the same
species of Bombus may differ locally, by which I mean in places
only a short distance apart. As the worker bees do not go a very
sreat way from the nest, and as the fertilized queen probably
does not do so either, this is not, in itself, less improbable than
that different dialects of a language—e. g. Norwegian—should
have grown up in valleys quite near to, but cut off, by high
intervening mountains, from, one another. In neither case can
the inhabitants of neighbouring districts intermix, which is the
condition above all requisite for divergence both of habit and
speech. Since, however, my previous observations were made,
casually, when my mind was occupied with another subject,
and were not noted down at the time, I only mention this
as a matter of possibility, which it might be worth while to
investigate.

I do not recall having ever, in England, seen a Humble-Bee
obtaining the nectar of the foxglove otherwise than by entering
the flower—but foxgloves are not common in England. Ag
Darwin, however, mentions bees being sometimes in such a
hurry to rifle flowers as to bite holes through their corollas, I
will here once more say that, to the best of my observation and
belief, these bees of the Schwarzwald never did so whilst search-
ing the foxglove beds. Not only did they leave such flowers as
were not already perforated, but such perforations as they
utilized, showed, by their discoloured edges, that they had not

336 THE ZOOLOGIST.

been made by themselves.* This, of course, would not exclude
the agency of a previous bee, but why should one individual
depend on another for what it could equally well do itself?
Moreover, the biting of a hole, by a bee, in any flower that it can
reach by entry, would appear to be a very doubtful method of
saving time. A previously perforated foxglove would, however,
enable it to save trouble, and in this we probably have the real
motive of action. By counting the number of foxglove flowers
searched, in a given time, by representatives of each method, it
would be possible, perhaps, to find out whether this saving of
trouble is synonymous with saving of time. Should it, however,
appear that the non-foxglove-entering bees worked less quickly
than the others, this would not quite settle the question, since
the factors of duration of labour and amount of rest required
would still remain to be considered. To wedge itself up one
narrow tube, after another, must certainly be greater labour for a
bee than flight between flower and flower; greater labour must
require a greater amount of relaxation from it, and I have seen
Humble-Bees, which were not in a lethargic condition, sitting,
for some while, motionless, as though resting.

** As bearing on this question, I may mention that various Humble-Bees
that I confined inside foxgloves, by tying up the mouth with cotton, remained
prisoners, for a long time, before they began to bite the corollas in order to
force their way out, which was such a labour to them that some on emerg-
ing lay, for a time, motionless, as if exhausted. This may not prove that
it is not their custom to bite through foxgloves, from without, but it does
not favour that view. There would, however, be nothing extraordinary in
the fact of bees that once bit their way into foxgloves having now become
dependent on the work of other insects, in this respect. Ants, now fed by
slave ants, once fed themselves, and can still do so to some extent, and (if I
am not mistaken) in differing degrees. In this connection the facts here
recorded become all the more interesting.

(3871.3

NOTES FROM YORKSHIRE.
By EK. P. ButrrerFrieup.

Quite recently Mr. J. W. Carter, F.H.S., of Bradford, sent
me a few dead bees (Bombus sp.) which he had picked up beneath
the blossoms of some lime-trees in Patterdale, in the Lake
District, all of which had neat holes in the thorax and abdomen,
from which the contents had been abstracted. About a year
ago a gamekeeper told me he had witnessed a similar occurrence
under an avenue of lime-trees in this district; all the bees which
he examined had apparently met with their death in a similar
manner to the specimens sent by Mr. Carter.

The late Mr. James Varley, of Huddersfield, recorded a similar
phenomenon in the ‘Naturalist,’ vol. ii. p.40. He mentions
having found hundreds of dead bees under lime-trees on his
way to Woodsome. These were sent to the late Mr. Frederick
Smith, of the British Museum, and he suggested the probability
of their having met with their death by the Red-backed Shrike,
which seems to have a partiality for bees.

The Red-backed Shrike is what might be considered practi-
cally absent from this district, and so cannot be responsible for
the cause of the deaths mentioned by the gamekeeper referred to
above. The more probable culprit, I think, will turn out to be
one of the Tit family, probably either the Blue or Great Tit,
both of which are found in abundance in this district.

There should be no great difficulty in ascertaining the cause
of such havoc among bees; that it is due to some species of bird
or birds I have little doubt, although it has been suggested that
dead bees found under lime-blossoms might have been poisoned,
and the perforation in their bodies been due to ants, &c.*

A friend of mine near Keighley has been wanting me now for
some time to pay a visit to a Starling roost near his residence.

* Six specimens of Bombus lucorwm from Gloucestershire were sent by
Dr. Giinther to the British Museum for identification. They had been
taking honey from Tilia petiolaria, the flowers of which attract them, and,
having apparently become stupefied, they had been attacked by wasps,

which had made holes in the thorax.—Ep.
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., September, 1910. 2D

338 THE ZOOLOGIST.

He informs me that every evening, not only thousands but
actually millions assemble, and have done for some time. Soon
after the young left their nest this season, I saw the largest
flock it has ever been my privilege to witness. Probably no
British bird has multiplied so rapidly within recent years as
this species, and wherever I have visited within a radius of ten
or twenty miles of this village (Wilsden) it is found to be chiefly
single-brooded. This is easily ascertainable where it breeds in
colonies. The Siberian form predominates here, and it would
be interesting to ascertain where this species is said to be double-
brooded, and whether it is the old English form. For some
reason there has been this year a relatively larger proportion of
late broods. One reason may be: they began to breed somewhat
earlier owing to the fine spell of weather in March. This might
have induced a few to attempt a second brood, but I should
think most of the late broods had their first nests destroyed.

On or about August 12th two boys told me they had found a
Snipe’s nest the previous day in a situation the least likely for
this species of any in the district. On account of the late date
and unlikely place for the nest of this bird, I thought the boys
must be mistaken. However, my informants were quite right.
I found it to be the nest of a Snipe with one egg in an advanced
stage of incubation. ‘The old bird flushed off when only within
a few feet from its nest. Probably it had had its first, and
possibly its second, nest destroyed.

Of late years hereabouts a shrub (Daphne) has been much
cultivated by gardeners, and its berries have a great attraction for
Greenfinches. They eat the seeds only, rejecting the pulpy
mass, and these birds, which are so shy at other times, will
come into our main streets and feed upon these berries within a
few feet of passengers. I have never seen any other species
of birds feeding upon these berries. This partiality of birds for
certain berries and other fruits is an interesting question. The
Bullfinch is a very rare breeding species in this neighbourhood,
but when the elderberries are ripe I can always count upon
seeing it. Ring-Ouzels are very fond of bilberries, and also
very partial to the berries of the mountain-ash, and come from
the moors in some numbers when these berries are ripe. Star-
lings and Mistle-Thrushes are both fond of rowan-berries.

‘(3389 )

NOTES AND QUERIES.

AVES.

Nightingale and Willow-Wren in Captivity. — I had recently a
great treat, being taken by a friend to see a collection of foreign
and British birds kept by a German working man in a small attic
over his workroom in a house in the town, and was surprised to see
all the birds in such perfect health and plumage, for they had only a
minimum of light and scarcely any sunshine. I was particularly
interested in a Nightingale kept for three years, and also a Willow-
Wren, lively and active, hopping about as if in its native haunts,
and so tame that both took wasp-grubs from the hand. There were
also a large number of rare and valuable foreign birds, all in fine
plumage and health, a pair of Hoopoes, and a pair of Grey Wagtails.
—Rosert WaRREN (Ardnaree, Monkstown, Co. Cork).

Albino House-Sparrow in Yorkshire-—On August 24th last Miss
Grimshaw, of Eden Place, Ackworth, in the West Riding of York-
shire, showed me a beautiful example of an albino House-Sparrow
(Passer domesticus) which had just previously been killed by her
cat. There was no colouring matter whatever in the plumage, tarsi,
toes, claws, or beak, which were pure white. The carcase was
fortunately not damaged, and the bird was sent to Mr. Cullingford,
of Durham, to preserve, and on dissection it was found to be a male.
—WatuteErR B. ArunpDEL (High Ackworth, Pontefract).

Late Eggs of Nightjar (Caprimulgus europeus): Was it a Second
Brood ?—The present abnormal summer, with its autumn-like days
and nights, may account for almost any irregularity we may observe
in the economy or occurrence of birds, insects, or plants, and I am
aware that the occasional double-broodedness of this peculiar
summer-loving bird is an open question ; consequently the following
note may be of interest :—On Aug. 15th I had two eggs sent me,
which had been picked up the day previously on exactly the same
spot where a pair of birds had been hatched and reared in the early
part of the season—I think in June. The two eggs in question were
perfectly fresh, the yolks were intact, and without the least indication
2D2

340 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of having been incubated, although one of the birds—presumably the
female—rose from the spot when approached. One of the eggs was
of a generally lighter colour, from the fact of the two shades of mark-
ings being very much paler than usual, as if the parent had lacked the
full amount of colouring pigment. Of course, I am not at all sure
that the two young birds and the eggs belonged to the same parents,
but I believe it is often observed that, like others of the Swallow kind,
this species, if undisturbed, will return more than once to the same
nesting-place, and, as the former hatching proved successful, a second
brood may have been anticipated from the same quarters; and, on
the other hand, it may have been only a coincidence, in which two
pairs of birds chose the same site for their home; but in either case
it seems to me somewhat strange that a bird should attempt to rear a
family so near to its departure to a warmer clime, where, if observa-
tion is correct, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, a forcible
proof that they love the land of their nativity, though they wander
far. From what I heard, the birds have been seen in some numbers
during the past season, and their “ gurglings” were very frequent,
notwithstanding the chilly evenings. With regard to late broods of
migrating species, we know that the instinct of migration is so strong
in the House-Martin that a nest of late young is sometimes left to
starve, if, indeed, the supposition of neglect is correct. Is it not
possible in such a case that the parents themselves have succumbed
to starvation, or have been ruthlessly slain ?—G. B. Corsin (Ring-
wood, Hants).

A Variety of the Gannet (Sula bassana).—Upon a recent visit to
the Bass Rock, I saw a very interesting and handsome variety of the
Gannet. The whole of the head and neck was of a rich dark buff
colour, the back thickly mottled with large crescent-shaped markings
of the same rich colour, and the wings were mottled with spots,
though not so large or so dark as those on the back. The primaries,
feet, legs, beak, and eyes were of normal colour. The bird was
mature, and had mated with one of the normal colour, and both were
mounting guard over their solitary young one. I obtained several
photographs of the bird. Out of the many thousands of birds
frequenting the Rock, this was the only one I saw which departed
in any way from the normal.—R. Forrune (5, Grosvenor Terrace,
Kagt Parade, Harrogate).

Early Building of Herons.—In some seasons Herons begin build-
ing very early. In 1896 they began building in a small wood at Moy
View, Co. Sligo, on January 15th, several pairs were hatching on

NOTES AND QUERIES. 341

February 1st, by the end of the month the young in the nests were
heard calling loudly and strongly for food, and by February 8th all in
that wood were apparently hatched. They generally begin building
in that locality in February, but January 15th was the earliest date
that has come under my notice since the birds came to the wood

over forty years ago. — Ropert Warren (Ardnaree, Monkstown,
Co. Cork).

Herons breeding twice in the Season.—lor many years, seeing
very young Herons in July and August, I was puzzled as to whether
these birds really reared two broods, or whether the late young birds
were the produce of parents that had lost their first clutch of eggs
or young by the nests being blown down during the March storms.
However, in May, 1896, my doubts were cleared. Within sixty
yards of Moy View Cottage, in the spring of 1896, a pair of Herons
built a nest in a tree alongside the path leading from the house to the
shore, and were daily under our notice while hatching and rearing
their young; these were fully fledged by the end of April. On May
7th we observed the old birds beginning to build a second nest in a
fir-tree in the garden about thirty yards from a bedroom window, but
the second day I was attracted by a great noise, as if the birds were
scolding or fighting. However, on going out to the garden, I found
that the young birds had followed the old ones to where they were at
the new nest, and the uproar was caused by the young ones per-
sistently following the old birds and calling for food, and by the
old birds scolding and driving the young ones away from the new
nest. So here the doubts as to a second brood were solved by seeing
the young of the first nest following and annoying their parents by
clamouring for food when they should have been feeding themselves.
—Ropert WarREN (Ardnaree, Monkstown, Co. Cork).

Correction.— Mr. Owen wishes to make a correction to his recent
communication, ‘‘ An Account of a Ramble with the Birds in Anglesey
and Carnarvonshire”’ (ante, p. 310). For ‘‘ Anglesey ”’ (top line, p. 311)
substitute “a small village in Carnarvonshire.”’

342 THE ZOOLOGIST.

NOTICES OF NEW- BOOKS. ~

The Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand; Reports on the Geo-
Physics, Geology, Zoology, and Botany, dc. Hdited by
Cuartes Cuinutron, M.A., D.Sc., &. Published by the
Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, Wellington, N.Z.
London: Dulau & Co., Ltd.

Tue scientifically unexplored islands of the world are be-
coming fewer, and the surface of the planet on which we live is
rapidly losing its secrets so far as fauna and flora are concerned.
The islands which have afforded the subject-matter for these
two truly biological volumes were till recently better known as
spots visited by whalers, or the inhospitable scenes of not a few
shipwrecks; owing, however, to the enterprise and incitement of
the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, and the wisdom of the
New Zealand Government, they have now been included in our
ever-increasing faunistic records by the work of a scientific
party landed on the Auckland and Campbell Islands during the
annual trip of the Government steamer ‘ Hinemoa’ in November,
1907.

This publication is a very thorough production, and an
ample historical Introduction is given, including ‘“‘The Dis-
covery of the Islands,’ by the Hon. R. McNab, and a detailed
account of ‘‘ The Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand and the
History of their Scientific Investigation,” by Dr. Charles Chilton,
the latter contribution being fully illustrated and intensely read-
able. As may be expected, the subject-matter of the two volumes
is the work of specialists, and is descriptive of the material
collected during the expedition. The insects collected by the
Campbell Island party were mostly Coleoptera and Diptera,
and we are told by Mr. Hudson that, ‘‘ owing to the prevailing
heavy winds, the insects at Campbell Island fly very little, and
unless they are captured whilst at rest on some plant it is

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 343

almost impossible to net them, as the wind picks them up the
moment they leave the flower, and whirls them away some ten
or twenty feet.” Major T. Broun, who has worked out the
Coleoptera, has formed the following conclusion :—‘‘ Assuming
that a considerable area of land formerly extended from the
Auckland Islands towards Patagonia, the New Zealand Islands
must have formed a portion of it.” Mr. H. R. Hogg, from a
study of the Arachnide, has formed a similar opinion :—‘‘ The
supposition of an ancient land-link between South America,
Australia, and Southern Africa is more or less of a necessity in
order to account for the present distribution of creatures which
it is difficult to believe could have reached their respective
habitats by any other means.”

Mr. H. R. Waite has dealt with the vertebrates. ‘‘ There are
no reptiles on the islands.” The mammalian fauna is small,
and represented by ‘‘species of cetaceans, by two kinds of
resident Seals, and occasional visitors or stragglers of the
order.”” The account of the birds is stated to be very in-
adequate for several reasons, one of which was a rule of the ex-
pedition that neither birds nor their eggs were to betaken. The
Albatrosses Diomedea exulans and D. regia and the Mollymawk
(D. melanophrys) breed on the islands, and some fine photo-
graphs of these birds and their nests are given. The “ Flight-
less Duck” (Nesonetta aucklandica) is rather misnamed, as,
according to Capt. Bollons, ‘‘ these ducks are able to fly for short
distances, and, as a matter of fact, they reach their nesting-
sites by this means.” The most interesting discussion in the
description of the fishes is the disinclination of Mr. Waite to
accept Galaxias brevipinnis as a marine species, as it is con-
sidered by some very high authorities. Dr. Chilton has fully
enumerated and described the Crustacea. One interesting fact
in this communication relates to the genus Parorchestia. The
male of P. sylvicola on the main islands of New Zealand is
very rare, nearly all the specimens captured being females; yet
in the three species of the genus found on the Auckland and
Campbell Islands the males appear to be almost as abundant as
the females.

The botanical and geological sections do not appertain to
our pages, and we have been unable to refer to the contributions

344 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of all the specialists in these volumes. Enough, however, has
surely been noticed to prove the importance to zoologists of the
results of this somewhat short but important expedition.

Life of Wilkam Macgillivray. By Wituiam Maceriivray, with
a scientific appreciation by Prof. J. ArtHur ‘T'Homson.
John Murray.

Ir is well that we should know more of the life of this de-
voted ornithologist, well described by Darwin as ‘“ the accurate
Macgillivray,” and the first half of the volume which is devoted
to biographical details gives us all the principal events com-
prised in a busy life, even if it does not present the personal
characteristics that lift a biography into a human document.
We can, however, glean much of the man himself in the narra-
tive of his work; his could have been no nebulous personality
to have drawn to his lectures so fine a judge of style and matter
in other fields as the late Prof. Blackie. Besides attempting to
found a permanent classification of birds on structural charac-
ters, he anticipated our modern bird-watchers. ‘‘ Much of his
holiday time was spent in watching, by night as well as by day,
the habits of birds, and he often concealed himself for many
hours continuously, now in some cave or rocky recess by the
shore, from which the variety of swimming birds could be most
readily seen, and again in some temporary shelter erected on
the higher cliffs, from which the Eagle, the Osprey, the Raven,
and other predatory birds could be closely observed.” His walk
from Aberdeen to London in order to see the British Museum
and other kindred institutions is a narrative of Scottish frugality
and endurance adorned by natural reflections and appreciations
of events and scenery which come not to every pedestrian.

Besides being an ornithologist, Prof. Thomson, in his appre-
ciation, acutely points out that Macgillivray was one of that
now almost extinct type—the all-round naturalist—that he was
a well-equipped geologist, botanist, and zoologist, and that ‘‘ he
taught all the three sciences with conspicuous success.” These
qualities must have made him appreciate the wide intellectual
purview of Alexander von Humboldt, whose published travels and
researches he condensed, a memorable classic, containing some

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 345

mistaken conclusions based on imperfect data but not on ignor-
ance of the knowledge of the day. Humboldt’s encyclopedic
attainments must have won the admiration of Macgillivray.

Hight illustrations of birds drawn by Macgillivray, and now
contained in the British Museum, are reproduced in this volume,
and add to its attraction./_Misprints appear to be few, though
in the preface we notice that Mr. Pycraft has had an extra
vowel added to his name. We have also been somewhat in doubt
as to the proper way to write the name of this great British
ornithologist. On the title-page it appears twice as ‘‘ Mac-
gillivray”’; throughout the volume it is written ‘“‘ MacGillivray.”
Rightly or wrongly, we have followed the title-page.

Faune des Mammuiferes d@ Europe. Par H.-L. Trovessarr.
Berlin: R. Friedlander & Sohn.

In his preface Prof. Trouessart compares the evolutionary
views of to-day with those of the immutability of species at the
time (1857) when Blasius published his ‘ Naturgeschichte der
Saugethiere Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Lander von
Mitteleuropa.’ At that time Blasius followed the doctrine of
Cuvier; to-day, in a similar undertaking, Trouessart writes as a
disciple of Darwin. Four principal divisions are recognized in
this fauna:—(1) ‘‘ La faune de ’EKurope Centrale, la moins
caractérisée de toutes, attendu qu'elle ne présente que les espéces
vulgaires, généralement répandues sur tout le Continent.” (2)
“‘La faune Arctique caractérisée par Ursus maritimus, Canis
lagopus, Gulo borealis, Lepus tumidus (ou variabilis), Rangifer
tarandus, Alce alces, &e. A VEpoque Glaciaire cette faune s’est
avancée jusqu’aux Pyrénées.” (3) ‘“‘La faune des Steppes
Asiatiques, caractérisée surtout par ses Rongeurs des genres
Citellus, Gerbillus, Cricetus, Cricetulus, Spalax, Dipodipus, Alac-
taga, Ochotona, &c.; cette faune, que vit encore dans le Sud-Hst
de la Russie, s’est avancée jusque dans le centre de |’ Kurope
pendant la période de sécheresse qui succede a l’Epoque Glaciaire,
et y a laissé des survivants, par exemple, Cricetus cricetus (le
Hamster).’’ (4) ‘“‘Enfin la faune Africaine ou Méditerranéenne,
caractérisée par Genetta vulgaris, Herpestes ichneumon, Canis

346 THE ZOOLOGIST.

aureus, Felis ocreata, Hystrix cristata, Lepus mediterraneus, &c.,
semble un résidu de la faune de l’Epoque Tertiaire.”

In the treatment of species a binomial and analytical method
is employed. The genus Mus is liberally treated, though M.
flavicollis, Melch., is not considered as distinct from M. sylvaticus,
as recently advocated by a writer in these pages. But all these
different representatives of Mus, whether regarded as species,
varietal or geographical forms, are clearly diagnosed and their
localities detailed. Difference of view on these questions seems
to be as clearly found among mammalogists as among other
zoological specialists, and will probably continue as the classi-
ficatory pendulum sways between the analytic and synthetic
foundations.

brof. Trouessart’s volume will sustain the reputation of its
writer ; it is published at a time when we believe other works
of a similar or somewhat similar character will also shortly
appear.

(> 347)

BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF
SCIENCE, SHEFFIELD, 1910.

ADDRESS TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SECTION.
By Professor G. C. Bourng, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., President of the Section.

In choosing a subject for the address with which it is my duty,
as President of this Section, to trouble you, I have found myself in
no small embarrassment. As one whose business it is to lecture and
give instruction in the details of comparative anatomy, and whose
published work, qualecunque sit, has been indited on typical and, as
men would now say, old-fashioned morphological lines, I seem to
stand self-condemned as a morphologist. For morphology, if I read
the signs of the times aright, is no longer in favour in this country,
and among a section of the zoological world has almost fallen into
disgrace. At all events, I have been very frankly assured that this
is the case by a large proportion of the young gentlemen whom it
has been my fate to examine during the past two years; and, as this
seems to be the opinion of the rising generation of English zoologists,
and as there are evident signs that their opinion is backed by an
influential section of their elders, I have thought that it might be of
some interest, and perhaps of some use, if I took this opportunity of
offering an apology for animal morphology.

It is a sound rule to begin with a definition of terms, so I will
first try to give a short answer to the question, ‘‘ What is morpho-
logy ?”’ and, when I have given a somewhat dogmatic answer, I will
try to deal in the course of this address with two further questions :
What has morphology done for zoological science in the past? What
remains for morphology to do in the future ?

To begin. with, then, what do we include under the term morpho-
logy? I must, first of all, protest against the frequent assumption
that we are bound by the definitions of C. F. Wolff or Goethe, or
even of Haeckel, and that we may not enlarge the limits of morpho-
logical study beyond those laid down by the fathers of this branch
of our science. We are not—at all events, we should not be—bound
by authority, and we owe no allegiance other than what reason
commends to causes and principles enunciated by our predecessors,
however eminent they may have been.

The term morphology, stripped of all the theoretical conceptions
that have clustered around it, means nothing more than the study
of form, and it is applicable to all branches of zoology in which the
relationships of animals are determined by reference to their form
and structure. Morphology, therefore, extends its sway not only
over the comparative anatomy of adult and recent animals, but also
over palzontology, comparative embryology, systematic zoology and
cytology, for all these branches of our science are occupied with the

348 THE ZOOLOGIST.

study of form. And in treating of form they have all, since the
acceptance of the doctrine of descent with modification, made use of
the same guiding principle—namely, that likeness of form is the
index to blood-relationship. It was the introduction of this principle
that revolutionized the methods of morphology fifty years ago, and
stimulated that vast output of morphological work which some
persons, erroneously as I think, regard as a departure from the line
of progress indicated by Darwin.

We may now ask, What has morphology done for the advance-
ment of zoological science since the publication of the ‘ Origin of
Species’? We need not stop to inquire what facts it has accu-
mulated: it is sufficiently obvious that it has added enormously to
our stock of concrete knowledge. We have rather to ask, What great
general principles has it established on so secure a basis that they
meet with universal acceptance at the hands of competent zoologists ?

It has doubtless been the object of morphology during the past
half-century to illustrate and confirm the Darwinian theory. How
far has it been successful? To answer this question we have to be
sure of what we mean when we speak of the Darwinian theory. I
think that we mean at least two things. (1) That the assemblage of
animal forms as we now see them, with all their diversities of form,
habit, and structure, is directly descended from a precedent and
somewhat different assemblage, and these in turn from a precedent
and more different assemblage, and so on down to remote periods
of geological time. Further, that throughout all these periods in-
heritance combined with changeability of structure have been the
factors operative in producing the differences between the successive
assemblages. (2) That the modifications of form which this theory
of evolution implies have been rejected or preserved and accumulated
by the action of Natural Selection.

As regards the first of these propositions, I think there can be no
doubt that morphology has done great service in establishing our
belief on a secure basis. The transmutation of animal forms in past
time cannot be proved directly; it can only be shown that, as a
theory, it has a much higher degree of probability than any other
that can be brought forward, and in order to establish the highest
possible degree of probability, it was necessary to demonstrate that
all anatomical, embryological, and paleontological facts were con-
sistent with it. We are apt to forget, nowadays, that there is no
a priort reason for regarding the resemblances and differences that
we observe in organic forms as something different in kind from the
analogous series of resemblances and differences that obtain in
inanimate objects. This was clearly pointed out by Fleeming Jenkin
in a very able and much-referred to article in the ‘North British
Review’ for June, 1867, and his argument from the a priort stand-
point has as much force to-day as when it was written forty-three
years ago. But it has lost almost all its force through the arguments
a postervort supplied by morphological science. Our belief in the
transmutation of animal organization in past time is founded very
largely upon our minute and intimate knowledge of the manifold
relations of structural form that obtain among adult animals; on our

BRITISH ASSOCIATION: ZOOLOGICAL ADDRESS. 349

precise knowledge of the steps by which these adult relations are
established during the development of different kinds of animals; on
our constantly increasing knowledge of the succession of animal
forms in past time; and, generally, on the conviction that all the
diverse forms of tissues, organs, and entire animals are but the
expression of an infinite number of variations of a single theme, that
theme being cell-division, multiplication, and differentiation. This
conviction grew but slowly in men’s minds. It was opposed to the
cherished beliefs of centuries, and morphology rendered a necessary
service when it spent all those years which have been described as
‘years in the wilderness”’ in accumulating such a mass of circum-
stantial evidence in favour of an evolutionary explanation of the
order of animate nature as to place the doctrine of descent with
modification on a secure foundation of fact. I do not believe that
this foundation could have been so securely laid in any other way,
and I hold that zoologists were actuated by a sound instinct in
working so largely on morphological lines for forty years after
Darwin wrote. For there was a large mass of fact and theory to be
remodelled and brought into harmony with the new ideas, and a still
larger vein of undiscovered fact to explore. The matter was difficult
and the pace could not be forced. Morphology, therefore, deserves
the credit of having done well in the past: the question remains,
What can it do in the future?

It is evident, I think, that it cannot do much in the way of
adding new truths and general principles to zoological science, nor
even much more that is useful in the verification of established
principles, without enlarging its scope and methods. Hitherto—or,
at any rate, until very recently—it has accepted certain guiding
principles on faith, and, without inquiring too closely into their
validity, has occupied itself with showing that, on the assumption
that these principles are true, the phenomena of animal structure,
development, and succession receive a reasonable explanation.

We have seen that the fundamental principles relied upon during
the last fifty years have been inheritance and variation. In every
inference drawn from the comparison of one kind of animal structure
with another, the morphologist founds himself on the assumption
that different degrees of similitude correspond more or less closely
to degrees of blood-relationship, and to-day there are probably few
persons who doubt that this assumption is valid. But we must not
forget that, before the publication of the ‘Origin of Species,’ it was
rejected by the most influential zoologists as an idle speculation,
and that it is imperilled by Mendelian experiments showing that
characters may be split up and reunited in different combinations in
the course of a few generations. We do not doubt the importance
of the principle of inheritance, but we are not quite so sure as we
were that close resemblances are due to close kinship and remoter
resemblances to remoter kinship.

The principle of variation asserts that like does not beget exactly
like, but something more or less different. For a long time morpho-
logists did not inquire too closely into the question how these
differences arose. They simply accepted it as a fact that they occur,

350 le THE ZOOLOGIST.

and that they are of sufficient frequency and magnitude, and that a
sufficient proportion of them lead in such directions that natural
selection can take advantage of them. Difficulties and objections
were raised, but morphology on the whole took little heed of them.
Remaining steadfast in its adherence to the principles laid down by
Darwin, it contented itself with piling up circumstantial evidence,
and met objection and criticism with an ingenious apologetic. In
brief, its labours have consisted in bringing fresh instances, and
especially such instances as seemed unconformable, under the rules,
and in perfecting a system of classification in illustration of the
rules. It is obvious, however, that, although this kind of study is
both useful and indispensable at a certain stage of scientific progress,
it does not help us to form new rules, and fails altogether if the old
rules are seriously called into question.

As a matter of fact, admitting that the old rules are valid, it has
become increasingly evident that they are not sufficient. Until a few
years ago morphologists were open to the reproach that, while they
studied form in all its variety and detail, they occupied themselves
too little —if, indeed, they could be said to occupy themselves at all—
with the question of how form is produced, and how, when certain
forms are established, they are caused to undergo change and give
rise to fresh forms. As Klebs has pointed out, the forms of animals
and plants were regarded as the expression of their inscrutable inner
nature, and the stages passed through in the development of the
individual were represented as the outcome of purely internal and
hidden laws. This defect seems to have been more distinctly realised
by botanical than by zoological morphologists, for Hofmeister, as
long ago as 1868, wrote that the most pressing and immediate aim
of the investigator was to discover to what extent external forces
acting on the organism are of importance in determining its form.

If morphology was to be anything more than a descriptive science,
if it was to progress any further in the discovery of the relations of
cause and effect, it was clear that it must alter its methods and follow
the course indicated by Hofmeister. And I submit that an inquiry
into the causes which produce alteration of form is as much the
province of, and is as fitly called, morphology as, let us say, a
discussion of the significance of the patterns of the molar teeth of
mammals or a disputation about the origin of the ccelomic cavities
of vertebrated and invertebrated animals.

There remains, therefore, a large field for morphology to explore.
Exploration has begun from several sides, and in some quarters has
made substantial progress. It will be of interest to consider how
much progress has been made along certain lines of research—we can-
not now follow all the lines—and to forecast, if possible, the direction
that this pioneer work will give to the morphology of the future.

I am not aware that morphologists have, until quite recently, had
any very clear concept of what may be expected to underlie form
and structure. Dealing, as they have dealt, almost exclusively with
things that can be seen or rendered visible by the microscope, they
have acquired the habit of thinking of the organism as made up of
organs, the organs of tissues, the tissues of cells, and the cells as

BRITISH ASSOCIATION: ZOOLOGICAL ADDRESS. 351

made up—of what? Of vital units of a lower order, as several very
distinguished biologists would have us believe; of physiological
units, of micelle, of determinants and biophors, or of pangenes; all
of them essentially morphological conceptions; the products of
imagination projected beyond the confines of the visible, yet always
restrained by having only one source of experience—namely, the
visible. One may give unstinted admiration to the brilliancy, and
even set a high value on the usefulness, of these attempts to give
formal representations of the genesis of organic structure, and yet
recognise that their chief utility has been to make us realise more
clearly the problems that have yet to be solved.

Stripped of all the verbiage that has accumulated about them, the
simple questions that lie immediately before us are: What are the
causes which produce changes in the forms of animals and plants ?
Are they purely internal, and, if so, are their laws discoverable? Or
are they partly or wholly external, 2nd, if so, how far can we find
relations of cause and effect between ascertained chemical and physical
phenomena and the structural responses of living beings ?

As an attempt to answer the last of these questions, we have the
recent researches of the experimental morphologists and embryo-
logists directed towards the very aim that Hofmeister proposed.
Originally founded by Roux, the school of experimental embryology
has outgrown its infancy and has developed into a vigorous youth.
It has produced some very remarkable results, which cannot fail to
exercise a lasting influence on the course of zoological studies. We
have learnt from it a number of positive facts, from which we may
draw very important conclusions, subversive of some of the most
cherished ideas of whilom morphologists. It has been proved by
experiment that very small changes in the chemical and physical
environment may and do produce specific form-changes in developing
organisms, and in such experiments the consequence follows so
regularly on the antecedent that we cannot doubt that we have true
relations of cause and effect. It is not the least interesting outcome
of these experiments that, as Loeb has remarked, it is as yet im-
possible to connect in a rational way the effects produced with the
causes which produced them, and it is also impossible to define in a
simple way the character of the change so produced. For example,
there is no obvious connection between the minute quantity of
sulphates present in sea-water and the number and position of the
characteristic calcareous spicules in the larva of a Sea-urchin. Yet
Herbst has shown that if the eggs of Sea-urchins are reared in sea-
water deprived of the needful sulphates (normally :26 per cent.
magnesium sulphate and ‘1 per cent. calcium sulphate), the number and
relative positions of these spicules are altered, and, in addition, changes
are produced in other organs, such as the gut and the ciliated bands.
Again, there is no obvious connection between the presence of a small
excess of magnesium chloride in sea-water and the development of
the paired optic vesicles. Yet Stockard, by adding magnesium chloride
to sea-water in the proportion of 6 grams of the former to 100 c.c. of the
latter, has produced specific effects on the eyes of developing embryos
of the Minnow (Fundulus heteroclitus): the optic vesicles, instead of

352 THE ZOOLOGIST.

being formed as a widely separated pair, were caused to approach the
median line, and in about fifty per cent. of the embryos experimented
upon the changes were so profound as to give rise to cyclopean
monsters. Many other instances might be cited of definite effects of
physical and chemical agencies on particular organs, and we are now
forced to admit that inherited tendencies may be completely over-
come by a minimal change in the environment. The nature of the
organism, therefore, is not all-important, since it yields readily to
influences which at one time we should have thought inadequate to
produce perceptible changes in it.

It is open to anyone to argue that, interesting As experiments of
this kind may be, they throw no light on the origin of permanent—
that is to say, inheritable—modifications of structure. It has for a
long time been a matter of common knowledge that individual plants
and animals react to their environment, but the modifications induced
by these reactions are somatic; the germ-plasm is not affected,
therefore the changes are not inherited, and no permanent effect is
produced in the characters of the race or species. It is true that no
evidence has yet been produced to show that form-changes as pro-
found as those that I have mentioned are transmitted to the offspring.
So far the experimenters have not been able to rear the modified
organisms beyond the larval stages, and so there are no offspring
to show whether cyclopean eyes or modified forms of spicules are in-
herited or not. Indeed, it is possible that the balance of organisation
of animals thus modified has been upset to such an extent that they
are incapable of growing into adults and reproducing their kind.

But evidence is beginning to accumulate which shows that external
conditions may produce changes in the germ-cells as well as in the
soma, and that such changes may be specific and of the same kind as
similarly produced somatic changes. Further, there is evidence that
such germinal changes are inherited—and, indeed, we should expect
them to be, because they are germinal.

The evidence on this subject is as yet meagre, but it is of good
quality and comes from more than one source.

There are the well-known experiments of Weismann, Standfuss,
Merrifield, and EH. Fischer on the modification of the colour patterns
on the wings of various Lepidoptera.

In the more northern forms of the fire-butterfly, Chrysophanus
(Polyommatus) phleas, the upper surfaces of the wings are of a
bright red-gold or copper colour with a narrow black margin, but in
Southern Europe the black tends to extend over the whole surface of
the wing, and may nearly obliterate the red-gold colour. By exposing
pupe of caterpillars collected at Naples to a temperature of 10° C.
Weismann obtained butterfles more golden than the Neapolitan, but
blacker than the ordinary German race, and conversely, by exposing
pupz of the German variety toa temperature of about 38° C., butter-
flies were obtained blacker than the German, but not so black as the
Neapolitan variety. Similar deviations from the normal standard
have been obtained by like means in various species of Vanessa by
Standfuss and Merrifield. Standfuss, working with the small tortoise-
shell butterfly (Vanessa wrtice), produced colour aberrations by sub-

BRITISH ASSOCIATION: ZOOLOGICAL ADDRESS. 3538

jecting the pup to cold, and found that some specimens reared under
normal conditions from the eggs produced by the aberrant forms
exhibited the same aberrations, but in a lesser degree. Weismann
obtained similar results with the same species. EH. Fischer obtained
parallel results with Arctva caja, a brightly coloured diurnal moth of
the family Bombycide. Pupex of this moth were exposed to a
temperature of 8° C., and some of the butterflies that emerged were
very dark-coloured aberrant forms. <A pair of these dark aberrants
were mated, and the female produced eggs, and from these larvee and
pupz were reared at a normal temperature. The progeny was for
the most part normal, but some few individuals exhibited the dark
colour of the parents, though in a less degree. The simple con-
clusions to be drawn from the results of these experiments is that a
proportion of the germ-cells of the animals experimented upon were
affected by the abnormal temperatures, and that the reaction of the
germ-cells was of the same kind as the reaction of the somatic cells
and produced similar results. As everybody knows, Weismann,
while admitting that the germ-cells were affected, would not admit
the simple explanation, but gave another complicated and, in my
opinion, wholly unsupported explanation of the phenomena.

In any case this series of experiments was on too small a scale,
and the separate experiments were not sufficiently carefully planned
to exclude the possibility of error. But no objection of this kind
can be urged against the careful and prolonged studies of Tower on
the evolution of chrysomelid beetles of the genus Leptinotarsa.
Leptinotarsa—hbetter known, perhaps, by the name Doryphora—is the
potato-beetle, which has spread from a centre in North Mexico south-
wards into the Isthmus of Panama and northwards over a great part
of the United States. It is divisible into a large number of species,
some of which are dominant and widely ranging ; others are restricted
to very small localities. The specific characters relied upon are
chiefly referable to the coloration and colour patterns of the epi-
cranium, pronotum, elytra, and under side of the abdominal segments.
In some species the specific markings are very constant, in others,
particularly in the common and wide-ranging L. decemlineata, they
vary to an extreme degree. As the potato-beetle is easily reared and
maintained in captivity, and produces two broods every year, it is a
particularly favourable subject for experimental investigation. Tower’s
experiments have extended over a period of eleven years, and he has
made a thorough study of the geographical distribution, dispersal,
habits, and natural history of the genus. The whole work appears
to have been carried out with the most scrupulous regard to scientific
accuracy, and the author is unusually cautious in drawing conclusions
and chary of offering hypothetical explanations of his results. I have
been greatly impressed by the large scale on which the experiments
have been conducted, by the methods used, by the care taken to
verify every result obtained, and by the great theoretical importance
of Tower’s conclusions. I can do no more now than allude to some
of the most remarkable of them.

After showing that there are good grounds for believing that

Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV.. September, 1910. 2E

354 THE ZOOLOGIST.

colour production in insects is dependent on the action of a group of
closely related enzymes, of which chitase, the agent which produces
hardening of chitin, is the most important, Tower demonstrates by a
series of well-planned experiments that colours are directly modified
by the action of external agencies—viz. temperature, humidity, food,
altitude, and light. Food chiefly affects the subhypodermal colours
of the larve, and does not enter much into account; the most im-
portant agents affecting the adult coloration being temperature and
humidity. A slight increase or a slight decrease of temperature or
humidity was found to stimulate the action of the colour-producing
enzymes, giving a tendency to melanism; but a large increase or
decrease of temperature or humidity was found to inhibit the action
of the enzymes, producing a strong tendency to albinism.

A set of experiments was undertaken to test the question whether
coloration changes induced by changed environmental conditions ~
were inherited, increased, or dropped in successive generations. These
experiments, carried on for ten lineal generations, showed that the
changed conditions immediately produced their maximum effect ;
that they were purely somatic and were not inherited, the progeny of
individuals which had been exposed to changed conditions through
several generations promptly reverting when returned to normal
conditions of environment. So far the results are confirmatory of
the well-established proposition that induced somatic changes are not
inheritable.

But it was found necessary to remove the individuals experi-
mented upon from the influence of changed conditions during the
periods of growth and maturation of the germ-cells. Potato-beetles
emerge from the pupa or from hibernation with the germ-cells in an
undeveloped condition, and the ova do not all undergo their develop- °
ment at once, but are matured in batches. The first batch matures
during the first few days following emergence, then follows an interval
of from four to ten days, after which the next batch of eggs is
matured, and soon. This fact made it possible to test the effect of
altered conditions on the maturing germ-cells by subjecting its
imagos to experimental conditions during the development of some
of the batches of ova and to normal conditions during the develop-
ment of other batches.

In one of the experiments four male and four female individuals
of L. decemlineata were subjected to very hot and dry conditions,
accompanied by low atmospheric pressure, during the development
and fertilization of the first three batches of eggs. Such conditions
had been found productive of albinic deviations in previous experi-
ments. As soon as the eggs were laid they were removed to normal
conditions, and the larvee and pup reared from them were kept in
normal conditions. Ninety-eight adult beetles were reared from these
batches of eggs, of which eighty-two exhibited the characters of an
albinie variety found in nature and described as a species under the
name pallida ; two exhibited the characters of another albinic species
named immaculothorax, and fourteen were unmodified decemlineata.
This gave a clear indication that the altered conditions had produced
modifications in the germ-cells which were expressed by colour

BRITISH ASSOCIATION: ZOOLOGICAL ADDRESS. 355

changes in the adult individuals reared from them. To prove that
the deviations were not inherent in the germ-plasm of the parents,
the latter were kept under normal conditions during the periods of
development and fertilization of the last two batches of eggs; the
larvee and pup reared from these eggs were similarly subjected to
normal conditions, and gaye rise to sixty-one unmodified decem-
lineata, which, when bred together, came true to type for three
generations. The decemlineata forms produced under experimental
conditions also came true to type when bred together. Of the
pallida forms produced by experimental conditions all but two males
were killed by a bacterial disease. These two were crossed with
normal decemlineata females, and the result was a typical Mendelian
segregation, as shown by the following table :—

2 § pallida x 2 2 decemlineata

Hybrids, decemlineata characters dominant

5 Ee Se B&
———
ages ae a
pallida decemlineata and hybrids
65,4 2 16 g.14 9°
NX
/ NG
Yi NX
pallida pallida decemlineata and hybrids
18 J, 23 9 hen @ 26 Sf, 28 2

This is a much more detailed experiment than those of Standfuss,
Merrifield, and Fisher, and it shows that the changes produced by the
action of altered conditions on the maturing germ-cells were definite
and discontinuous, and therefore of the nature of mutations in
De Vries’ sense.

In another experiment Tower reared three generations of decem-
lineata to test the purity of his stock. He found that they showed
no tendency to produce extreme variations under normal conditions.
From this pure stock seven males and seven females were chosen and
subjected during the maturation periods of the first two batches
of ova to hot and dry conditions. Four hundred and nine eggs
were laid, from which sixty-nine adults were reared, constituted as
follows :—

Twenty (129,89). j . apparently normal decemlineata.
Twenty-three (10 §,13 2?) . pallida.

Five (2 9,3 9) : : . iwmmaculothoracx.
Sixten(9g9,72) . -. . albida.

These constituted lot A.

The same seven pairs of parents subjected during the second half
of the reproductive period to normal conditions gave eight hundred
and forty eggs, fronv which were reared one hundred and twenty-

306 THE ZCOLOGIST.

three adults, all decemlineata.. These constituted lot B. The
decemlineata of lot A and lot B were reared side by side under
normal and exactly similar conditions. The results were striking.
From lot B normal progeny were reared up to the tenth generation,
and, as usual in the genus, two generations were produced in each
year. The decemlineata of lot A segregated into two lots in the
second generation. A! were normal in all respects, but A®, while
retaining the normal appearance of decemlineata, went through five
generations in a year, and this for three successive years, thus
exhibiting a remarkable physiological modification, and one without
parallel in nature, for no species of the genus Leptinotarsa are known
which produce more than two generations in the year. This experi-
ment is a sufficient refutation of Weismann’s argument that the in-
heritance of induced modifications in Vanessa urtice is only apparent,
the phenomena observed being due to the inheritance of two kinds of
determinants—one from dark-coloured forms which are phyletically
the oldest, and the other from more gaily coloured forms derived
from the darker forms. There is no evidence whatever that there
was ever a species or variety of potato-beetle that produced more
than two, or at the most, and then as an exception, three broods in
a year.

The modified albinic forms in this last experiment of Tower’s
were weakly; they were bred through two or three generations and
came true to type, but then died out. No hybridization experiments
were made with them, but in other similar experiments, which I have
not time to mention in detail, modified forms produced by the action
of changed conditions gave typical Mendelian characters when crossed
with unmodified decemlineata, thus proving that the induced charac-
ters were constant and heritable according to the regular laws.

I have thought it worth while to relate these experiments at some
length, because they seem to me to be very important, and because
they do not appear to have attracted the attention in this country
that they deserve.

They are confirmed to a very large extent by the experiments of
Professor Klebs on plants, the results of which were published this
summer in the Croonian Lecture on “ Alterations of the Development
and Forms of Plants as a Result of Environment.” As I have only a
short abstract of the Croonian Lecture to refer to, I cannot say much
on this subject for fear of misrepresenting the author; but, as far as
I can judge, his results are quite consistent with those of Tower.
Sempervivum funckw and S. acununatum were subjected to altered
conditions of light and nutrition, with the result that striking varia-
tions, such as the transformation of sepals into petals, of petals into
stamens, of stamens into petals and into carpels, were produced.
Experiments were made on Sempervivum acununatwmn, with the view
of answering the question whether such alterations of flowers can be
transmitted. The answer was in the affirmative. The seeds of
flowers artificially altered and self-fertilized gave rise to twenty-one
seedlings, among which four showed surprising deviations of floral
structure. In two of these seedlings all the flowers were greatly
altered, and presented some of the modifications of the mother plant,

BRITISH ASSOCIATION: ZOOLOGICAL ADDRESS. — 357

especially the transformation of stamens into petals. These experi-
ments are still in progress, and it would perhaps be premature to lay
too much stress upon them if it were not for the fact that they are so
completely confirmatory of the results obtained by similar methods in
the animal kingdom.

I submit to you that evidence is forthcoming that external con-
ditions may give rise to inheritable alterations of structure. Not,
however, as was once supposed, by producing specific changes in the
parental soma, which changes were reflected, so to speak, upon the
germ-cells. The new evidence confirms the distinctions drawn by
Weismann between somatic and germinal variations. It shows that
the former are not inherited, while the latter are; but it indicates
that the germ may be caused to vary by the action of external con-
ditions in such a manner as to produce specific changes in the progeny
resulting from it. It is no more possible at the present time to con-
nect rationally the action of external conditions on the germ-cells
with the specific results produced in the progeny than it is possible
to connect cause with effect in the experiments of Herbst and
Stockard; but, when we compare these two kinds of experiments,
we are no longer able to argue that it is inconceivable that such and
such conditions acting on the germ-plasm can produce such and such
effects in the next generation of adults. We must accept the
evidence that things which appeared inconceivable do in fact happen,
and in accepting this we remove a great obstacle from the path of
our inquiries, and gain a distinct step in our attempts to discover the
laws which determine the production of organic form and structure.

But such experiments as those which I have mentioned only deal
with one aspect of the problem. .They tell us about external con-
ditions and the effects that they are observed to produce upon the
organism. They give us no definite information about the internal
changes which, taken together, constitute the response of the
organism to external stimuli. As Darwin wrote, there are two
factors to be taken into account—the nature of the conditions and
the nature of the organism—and the latter is much the more im-
portant of the two. More important because the reactions of
animals and plants are manifold; but, on the whole, the changes in
the conditions are few and smallin amount. Morphology has not
succeeded in giving us any positive knowledge of the nature of the
organism, and in this matter we must turn for guidance to the
physiologists, and ask of them how far recent researches have re-
sulted in the discovery of factors competent to account for change of
structure. Perhaps the first step in this inquiry is to ask whether
there is any evidence of internal chemical changes analogous in their
operation to the external physical and chemical changes which we
have been dealing with.

There is a great deal of evidence, but it is extremely difficult to
bring it to a focus and to show its relevancy to the particular
problems that perplex the zoologist. Moreover, the evidence is of
so many different kinds, and each kind is so technical and complex,
that it would be absurd to attempt to deal with it at the end of an
address that has already been drawn out to sufficient length. But

358 THE 4ZOOLOGIST.

perhaps I may be allowed to allude to one or two generalisations
which appear to me-to be most suggestive.

We shall all agree that, at the bottom, production and change of
form is due to increase or diminution of the activities of groups of
cells, and we are aware that in the higher animals change of struc-
ture is not altogether a local affair, but carries with it certain conse-
quences in the nature of correlated changes in other parts of the
body. If we are to make any progress in the study of morphogeny,
we ought to have as exact ideas as possible as to what we mean
when we speak of the activities of cells and of correlation. On
these subjects physiology supplies us with ideas much more exact
than those derived from morphology.

It is, perhaps, too sweeping a generalisation to assert that the
life of any given animal is the expression of the sum of the activities
of the enzymes contained in it, but it seems well established that the
activities of cells are, if not wholly, at all events largely, the result
of the actions of the various kinds of enzymes held in combination
by their living protoplasm. These enzymes are highly susceptible
to the influence of physical and chemical media, and it is because of
this susceptibility that the organism responds to changes in the
environment, as is clearly illustrated in a particular case by Tower's
experiments on the production of colour changes in potato-beetles.
Bayliss and Starling have shown that in lower animals, protozoa
and sponges, in which no nervous system has been developed, the
response of the organism to the environment is effected by purely
chemical means. In protozoa, because of their small size, the
question of coadaptation of function hardly comes into question;
but in sponges, many of which are of large size, the mechanism of
coadaptation must also be almost exclusively chemical. Thus we
learn that the simplest and, by inference, the phyletically oldest
mechanism of reaction and co-ordination is a chemical mechanism.
In higher animals the necessity for rapid reaction to external and
internal stimuli has led to the development of a central and peri-
pheral nervous system, and as we ascend the scale of organisation,
this assumes a greater and greater importance as a co-ordinating
bond between the various organs and tissues of the body. But the
more primitive chemical bond persists, and is scarcely diminished in
importance, but only overshadowed by the more easily recognisable
reactions due to the working of the nervous system. In higher
animals we may recognise special chemical means whereby chemical
coadaptations are established and maintained at a normal level, or
under certain circumstances altered. These are the internal secre-
tions produced by sundry organs, whether by typical secretory
glands (in which case the internal secretion is something additional
and different from the external secretion), or by the so-called ductless
glands, such as the thyroid, the thymus, the adrenal bodies, or by
organs which cannot strictly be called glands—namely, the ovaries
and testes. All these produce chemical substances which, passing
into the blood or lymph, are distributed through the system, and
have the peculiar property of regulating or exciting the specific
functions of other organs. Not, however, of all the organs, for the

BRITISH ASSOCIATION: ZOOLOGICAL ADDRESS. 359

different internal secretions are more or less limited and local in their
effects : one affecting the activity of this and another the activity of
that kind of tissue or organ. Starling proposed the name hormones
for the internal secretions, because of their excitatory properties
(sepa, to stir up, to excite).

Hormones have been studied chiefly from the point of view of
their stimulating effect on the metabolism of various organs. From
the morphologist’s point of view, interest chiefly attaches to the
possibility of their regulating and promoting the production of form.
Tt might be expected ‘that they should be efficient agents in regulat-
ing form, for, if changes in structure are the result of the activities of
groups of cells, and the activities of cells are the results of the
activities of the enzymes which they contain, and if the activities of
the enzymes are regulated by the hormones, it follows that the last-
named must be the ultimate agents in the production of form. It is
difficult to obtain distinct evidence of this agency, but in some cases
at least the evidence is sufficiently clear. I will confine myself to the
effects of the hormones produced by the testes and ovaries. These
have been proved to be intimately connected with the development
of secondary sexual characters—such, for instance, as the character-
istic shape and size of the horns of the bull; the comb, wattles,
spurs, plumage colour, and spurs in poultry; the swelling on the
index finger of the male frog; the shape and size of the abdominal
segments of crabs. These are essentially morphological characters,
the results of increased local activity of cell-growth and differentia-
tion. As they are attributable to the simulating effect of the
hormone produced by the male organ in each species, they afford at
least one good instance of the production of a specific change of
form as the result of an internal chemical stimulus. We get here a
hint as to the nature of the chemical mechanism which excites and
correlates form and function in higher organisms; and, from what
has just been said, we perceive that this is the most primitive of all
the animal mechanisms. I submit that this is a step towards form-
ing a clear and concrete idea of the inner nature of the organism.
There is one point, and that a very important one, upon which we
are by no means clear. We do not know how far the hormones
themselves are liable to change, whether by the action of external
conditions or by the reciprocal action of the activities of the organs
to which they are related. It is at least conceivable that agencies
which produce chemical disturbances in the circulating fluids may
alter the chemical constitution of the hormones, and thus produce
far-reaching effects. The pathology of the thyroid gland gives some
ground for belief that such changes may be produced by the action
of external conditions. But, however this may be, the line of
reasoning that we have followed raises the expectation that a
chemical bond must exist between the functionally active organs of
the body and the germ-cells. For if, in the absence of a specialised
nervous system, the only possible regulating and coadapting mechan-
ism is a chemical mechanism, and u the specific activities of a cell
are dependent on the enzymes which it holds in combination, the
germ-cells of any given animal must be the depository of a stock of

360 THE ZOOLOGIST.

enzymes sufficient to insure the due succession of all its develop-
mental stages as well as of its adult structure and functions. And
as the number of blastomeres increases, and the need for co-ordination
of form and function arises, before ever the rudiments of a nervous
system are differentiated, it is necessary to assume that there is also
a stock of appropriate hormones to supply the chemical nexus
between the different parts of the embryo. The only alternative is
to suppose that they are synthesised as required in the course of
development. There are grave objections to this supposition. All
the evidence at our disposal goes to show that the potentialities of
germ-cells are determined at the close of the maturation divisions.
‘Following the physiological line of argument, it must be allowed that
in this connection ‘“‘ potentiality”? can mean nothing else than chemi-
cal constitution. If we admit this, we admit the validity of the
theory advanced by more than one physiologist, that heritable
“characters”’ or ‘tendencies’ must be identified with the enzymes
carried in the germ-cells. If this be a true representation of the
facts, and if the most fundamental and primitive bond between one
part of an organism and another is a chemical bond, it can hardly be
the case that germ-cells—which, enter alza, are the most primitive,
in the sense of being the least differentiated, cells in the body—
should be the only cells which are exempt from the chemical
influences which go to make up the co-ordinate life of the organism.
It would seem, therefore, that there is some theoretical justification
for the inheritance of induced modifications, provided that these are
of such a kind as to react chemically on the enzymes contained in
the germ-cells.

One further idea that suggests itself to me and I have done. Is
it possible that different kinds of enzymes exercise an inhibiting
influence on one another; that germ-cells are ‘“ undifferentiated ”
because they contain a large number of enzymes, none of which can
show their activities in the presence of others, and that what we call
“differentiation” consists in the segregation of the different kinds
into separate cells, or perhaps, prior to cell-formation, into different
parts of the fertilised ovum, giving rise to the phenomenon known to
us as prelocalisation? The idea is purely speculative; but, if it
could be shown to have any warrant, it would go far to assist us in
getting an understanding of the laws of the production of form.

I have been wandering in territories outside my own province,
and I shall certainly be told that I have lost my way. But my
thesis has been that morphology, if it is to make useful progress,
must come out of its reserves and explore new ground. To explore
is to tread unknown paths, and one is likely to lose one’s way in the
unknown. To stay at home in the environment of familiar ideas is
no doubt a safe course, but it does not make for advancement.
Morphology, I believe, has as great a future before it as it has a past
behind it, but it can only realise that future by leaving its old home,
with all its comfortable furniture of well-worn rules and methods,
and embarking on a journey, the first stages of which will certainly
be uncomfortable and the end is far to seek.

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Eh ZOOLOGIS T

No. 832.—October. 1910.

MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS.
By P. T. L. Dopswortn, F.Z.S.

To a student of Natural History nothing is perhaps more
interesting than to observe the display of mental and other
powers by animals. In many instances it is exceedingly difficult
to distinguish whether a particular action is the result of
instinct, or that of reason, and at the outset it will be as
well to understand clearly the difference between instinctive and
rational actions. ‘‘ Instinct,’ says Romanes, ‘“‘is a generic
term comprising all those faculties of mind which lead to the
conscious performance of actions that are adaptive in character,
but pursued without necessary knowledge of the relation between
the means employed and the ends attained. We must, how-
ever, remember that instinctive actions are very commonly
tempered with what Pierre Huber calls ‘a little dose of judg-
ment or reason.’ But although reason may thus in varying
degrees be blended with instinct, the distinction between the
two is sufficiently precise; for reason, in whatever degree pre-
sent, only acts upon a definite and often laboriously acquired
knowledge of the relation between means and ends. Moreover,
adjustive actions due to instinct are similarly performed by all
individuals of a species under the stimulus supplied by the same
appropriate circumstances, whereas adjustive actions due to
reason are variously performed by different individuals. Lastly,
instinctive actions are only performed under particular cireum-
stances which have been frequently experienced during the life-

4ool. 4th ser.vol. XIV., October, 1910. 2F

362 THE ZOOLOGIST,

history of the species, whereas rational actions are performed
under varied circumstances, and serve to meet novel exigencies
which may never before have occurred even in the life-history of
the individual.”

The chief feature that strikes one in observations of this
kind is the extraordinary amount of variability in the mental
capacities of animals belonging to the same species. This
phenomenon is particularly apparent in dogs. No two are
alike, and in individuality they differ as much as human
beings do.

For many years past I have been in the habit of attending
carefully to various characteristics displayed by dogs and other
animals, and by birds, and the result of my observations, as also
a few furnished by some friends and others, may, perhaps, be of
interest to a few readers.

At present I have two terriers—mother and daughter—and
it is astonishing to notice the great mental gulf that separates
them. The mother from a very early age exhibited a consider-
able amount of intelligence, more so than is generally observable
in others of the same species. She ‘‘took”’ to rats and guns
as a duck does to water, and seemed from the commencement
to know what was expected of her. The daughter, on the other
hand, had to be trained in both things, and here her instinct
did not even seem to help her.

While we are sitting at meals, the old dog frequently
scratches one’s arms to attract attention when she finds herself
being neglected ; and again, in order to have her back scratched,
she walks up. to one, whines, and then turns her head round
towards her back to indicate the part of her to which she wishes
to draw attention. She has a peculiarity which I have not
noticed in other dogs: When she has puppies, and they have
srown a few weeks old and are able to crawl about, she finds
that her milk is not sufficient to satisfy them, so she has a
hearty meal, and deliberately vomits it before them. She then
induces the pups to eat by pretending to eat the mess herself,
making a low whining noise the while to attract their notice.
The mother knows no doubt exactly when meat will not be
harmful to her family. I also observed that at this stage she
frequently brings bones and other tit-bits for her pups. But

MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS. 363

the most interesting example of intelligence is shown by these
dogs when they happen to discover a rat or a mouse in a place
which they cannot get at without help. I have a very vivid
recollection of the behaviour of one of the dogs on the first
occasion that she came to me for help. In this case a rat was
tracked to a large packing-case, which had been stored away in
an empty godown. For a long time I heard a good deal of
barking and whining going on, but took no notice of it. The
dog, on finding that nobody went to help her, rushed into my
room suddenly, and began to behave in a very unusual manner.
She repeatedly barked, rushed to the door, and then looked
round to see if I was following her. I did not at first grasp
what all this meant, and tried to pacify her, but as my efforts
proved fruitless, I got up and went after her. She ran on ahead,
and kept looking back anxiously to see if I followed. On two or
three occasions I stopped, but this seemed to excite her more.
Guided by her movements, I came to the box at last, and the
cause of the whole of this strange proceeding was, of course, at
once apparent. Since then these dogs have frequently repeated
this behaviour, and, to tease them, I have pretended to walk in
a wrong direction. It is really a most curious sight to watch
their efforts to try and set me right!

Among birds, crows are remarkable for their intelligence,
and many stories could be related in support of this state-
ment. Large cities, like Calcutta, Bombay, and others in India,
generally swarm with the grey-necked variety (Corvus splendens),
and from seeing how numerous their nests were (I once counted
five on a single tree on the Calcutta Maidan), it struck me that
these birds must experience considerable difficulty and trouble
in getting together materials for their large homes. My atten-
tion, however, was shortly afterwards directed by my friend,
Mr. Harrington, to their method of obtaining sticks. The pro-
cedure was as follows: A crow would select a dry twig, which
was still adhering to the branch, and endeavour to snap it with
its beak. If it did not readily yield to this force, the bird
deliberately flew against it from a slightly higher altitude, and
by the force of its momentum invariably severed the twig’s
connection with the branch. Before the stick had time to reach
the ground, other crows, who always seemed to be on the look-

2F 2

364 THE ZOOLOGIST.

out for such mishaps—the competition for materials being very
keen—would fly down after it, and then invariably ensued a
struggle for ownership.

I have often wondered whether it is reason or instinct that
guides Jungle Crows (Corvus macrorhynchus) to the nests and
young of small birds. It has been said that some schoolboys
have a genius for discovering hidden nests, and all observers in
India will agree that crows are in no way behind boys in this
respect. These birds are not usually to be seen searching
systematically for nests, as an odlogist has to do, and yet the
numbers of eggs destroyed by the former is something appalling.
They are doubtless to a very large extent guided to the spots by
the movements of the parent birds.

Crows apparently know that water has a softening effect,
as a couple of years ago I saw one of these birds frequently
bring a bone or dry piece of bread, drop it into a bucket
containing some water, let it soak for a little while, and then
eat it.

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to witness a curious
case of intelligence displayed by Short-billed Minivets (Peri-
crocotus brevirostris) when they found that their young were in
danger (vide ‘Journal of Natural History Society, Bombay,
vol. xx., No. 2). <A friend and myself were out egg-hunting,
and found a nest of this species on a Himalayan cedar.
When my man had climbed up the tree close to the nest,
the parent birds (as I afterwards discovered them to be) began
to behave in a most singular manner. They would turn
their tails inwards between their legs, spread out their wings,
and flutter down from a neighbouring tree on to the ground,
just as a young bird, which could scarcely fly, would do. I
at first thought that these birds were the young ones from some
other nest which might be close by, and began chasing them
about in order to catch them. As soon as I got close to one of
them, it would steady itself, and fly on to the branch of a neigh-
bouring tree, only to repeat the performance again. After
watching them for some time, and observing them closely, I
discovered to my astonishment that they were the parent birds!
Their object in behaving in this extraordinary manner apparently
was to entice us away from the spot by trying to delude us into

MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS. 365

the belief (as they undoubtedly did at first) that they were the
young birds from the nest.

My friend, Mr. T. G. Baldwin, has sent me the following very
interesting note, which I quote in extenso :—

“You have asked me to give you a few instances which I may
have observed of intelligence displayed by animals in the Sundar-
bans (Bengal), a place with which I have been acquainted for
many years. The tract is about 270 miles in length from east
to west, approximately 80 miles from north to south, and forms
a network of rivers and islands. The main rivers of the Sun-
darbans are very broad, and near the sea-face the banks are
miles apart. The big game to be found in this tract are Royal
Bengal tigers, rhinoceri, leopards, and spotted deer; the
common brown monkey is to be seen in great numbers. I may
mention that the rhinoceros, unlike that found in Purneah,
Assam, Nepal, and other places, has no horn, but there is a
growth of very stiff bristly hair where the horn should be.

‘“The sagacity of the Sundarban Tiger is very remarkable.
Having exploited, we will say, the whole of one of the islands or
churs, and finding that the deer and pigs have become conscious
of its presence, the tiger seeks fresh fields and pastures new to
sustain itself. While on this mission, it crosses from one island
to another. With apparent ease it will negotiate a small stream
in a single leap. But the sagacity of the animal is tested when
a broad river comes in the way. If the tiger happens to be
north, and wishes to travel in a southerly direction, it proceeds
to the water’s edge, and enters the stream ata sufficient distance
to feel the force of the current. (The rivers are all tidal.) If it
finds that the set of the tide is advantageous to its purpose, it
starts off, swimming and drifting till it reaches the opposite
shore. In one of my visits to the tract, I came upon a solitary
island, bounded on all sides by a vast expanse of water. I did
not expect to meet ‘stripes’ there, but the fresh pugs on the
soft soil clearly indicated its presence. I went in pursuit for
some distance, and was only prevented from going further by a
stream about fourteen feet wide, through which I did not care
to risk wading for fear of being caught in the jaws of a crocodile,
which is so abundant in these parts.

“ The ingenuity of the monkeys in this tract is marvellous.

366 THE ZOOLOGIST.

On one occasion a number of them were seen to come to the edge
of the stream, which separated them from an adjoining island.
The stream was quite twenty feet broad. The alacrity they dis-
played in devising and carrying out a plan to overcome what
appeared to be an unsurmountable obstacle was really wonderful,
and is well worth recounting. One of the two largest members of
the band firmly attached itself to a bough of a neighbouring
tree, and a certain number of the smaller ones linking them-
selves to it in succession formed, in less time than it takes to
relate, a chain. When this preliminary was completed, the other
large monkey attached itself to the end of the chain, and,
setting it into a swing with its hands, gradually developed a
momentum, which enabled it to grasp the bough of a tree on
the opposite bank. Those monkeys, including the very young
ones, who so far had remained idle on the bank, quickly passed
over the living bridge; then, at a peculiar signal, which all
seemed to understand, the large monkey, who formed the initial
link in the chain, released its grasp, and away they swung
safely across to the opposite side of the stream. ‘The calcula-
tions of these creatures were, I should say, as accurate as if
they had been determined by mathematics. They gauged the
breadth of the stream, and the exact number of them which it
would take to form a chain of sufficient length to stretch across.
This incident occurred at a river called the Booj Booja, at a
bend known as ‘Fiddler’s Elbow.’ What I have never been
able to ascertain is how these creatures manage to cross the
broad rivers. They certainly could never swim such distances ;
I fancy they must get hold of some floating tree or palm, and so
drift until it touches a bank, and then disembark.

‘While in quest of rhino, it is interesting to note how the
shikaris can indicate where the animals are to be found in the
jungles. One would think that these large, unwieldy creatures
would not be difficult to come up with when once their foot-
prints were found. But this is not the case. You may come
up with them in time, but owing to the very dense forest you
will probably pass them at a distance of 100 or 150 yards. The
shikaris are really the only persons who can locate them without
difficulty. They ignore the footprints, but every now and again
you will observe them halt and look up at the tops of the trees.

MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS. 367

On my inquiring of one the reason for this action, he replied :—
‘The gandar [native name for rhino| always likes the young
leaves of the garran.’ (This tree is used largely in Calcutta for
fuel, and is slender, and does not generally grow to a great
height.) Asked: ‘But how do they get to the top leaves?’
‘Very easily, sir,’ replied the shikari. ‘They take it by turns
to eat. One of them leans his huge body against the stem ; the
soil being soft the tree bends with its weight. If yet too high
for the young leaves to be got at by the others, the animal moves
his body higher up the trunk of the tree.’ ‘But, then, would
not the tree lie where it had been pressed down?’ ‘ Tempo-
rarily it does,’ replied the shikari, ‘but after a time the weight
of its roots brings it to an upright position again, and that
is why you see us always looking up at the tops of the trees to
see whether they have been nibbled at and broken off.’

“These animals are now very scarce; a great number of
them were destroyed in the cyclone of 1867. They are with
difficulty to be had except away up to the north. Prior to the
cyclone they were very numerous at the mouths of the Roy-
mangal and Molinchoo Rivers.”

My brother, Mr. Owen Dodsworth, of the Indian Forest De-
partment, was stationed for some time in the Sundarbans, and
informs me that the tigers in this tract know well the difference
between the ordinary boats and ‘“‘dingies’’ (dug-out canoes).
The latter are used by the wood-cutters, and while some were
about to land on one occasion in the forest a tiger sprang into
the dug-out, caught a man, and sprang back again to land with
him. Had these men used an ordinary boat it is probable that
the animal would not have molested them.

Birds sometimes show considerable intelligence in availing
themselves, during the breeding season, of the protection afforded
them by the more quarrelsome and powerful species. This is
notoriously the case with the larger Falcons, and ‘‘ their fellow-
tenants of a rock or a tree are not only safe from molestation,
but actually look to them for protection.” Some of the Dicruri
are exceedingly pugnacious during the breeding season, and
never allow crows, kites, et hoc genus omne, ever to approach
within their ‘‘ spheres of influence.” It is, therefore, not an
uncommon thing to find nests of the weaker species in close

368 THE ZOOLOGIST.

proximity to those of Drongos. Along this portion of the
Himalayas (Simla) the eggs and young of the Kokla Green
Pigeons (Sphenocercus sphenurus) suffer largely from the depre-
dations of Jungle Crows, and I have often found a nest of the
former placed within a few feet of one belonging to the Indian
Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus longicaudatus). The Koklas belonging
to the nest were allowed free access and regress to the tree, but
it was very different when a stranger showed himself in the
vicinity. In this particular instance that I happened to witness,
it was an unfortunate Black-throated Jay (Garrulus lanceolatus),
which unknowingly approached too close, and was handled so
severely by the Drongos that it soon had to make itself scarce.

Vultures are dull birds, and yet I have been assured on
excellent authority that on one occasion when a zealous odlogist
approached the nest of apparently a Gyps bengalensis, the old
bird refused to budge, and, to get rid of the intruder, vomited on
him! The sequel of the story is not known, but we may, I
think, safely assume that the old bird was left in peaceful
possession of her home.

One cannot help being struck with the extraordinary care
and judgment exhibited by a large majority of birds in the
selection of sites for their nests. When the proper time
approaches, a pair may frequently be seen examining branch
after branch with the minutest scrutiny; the examination
sometimes extending over a considerable period, and at other
times being only the work of a few hours. In a large number
of cases, it is not easy to say why a particular spot has been
chosen, when scores of other places, which to our way of
thinking are equally as good, have been rejected. Ants, lizards,
exposure to rain and wind, food supplies, &c., are no doubt
important factors, which must necessarily be taken into calcula-
tion, though these do not always appear to influence selection.
Concealment from possible enemies is of course the sine qua non
aimed at, but even this important precaution is not always
taken. Some nests are placed in exposed positions, and the
only reasonable conclusion to be drawn is that in their very
conspicuousness lies their safety.

Once a spot has been selected, building operations go on
with great activity; but in some instances, when a nest has

MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS. 369

been partially completed, the site is, for some reason or another,
found insecure, and a fresh one chosen; the materials from the
old nest being utilized freely for the new one. I have known of
an instance in which a pair of birds shifted their nest three
times in quick succession to various parts of a bush, but could
not ascertain the reason of this. JI examined the rejected sites
most minutely with a powerful magnifying-glass, but not an insect
of any kind was visible, and the rejected sites appeared to be
better sheltered from rain and wind than the one chosen last.
There must, however, have been some defect, and, in justice to
the wisdom of the birds, I must add that they successfully reared
their young.

The cleaning of the nests by most Passerine birds is purely
an instinctive action; but to realize fully the dangers which
would ensue from insanitary conditions, if the excreta of the
young were not carried away by the parent birds, one has only
to keep, for a few hours, a nest full of young Tits or Magpies.
In some species both parents help in cleaning the nest; while
in others I have noticed that this task is relegated only to the
hen. Ofcourse the pains taken by the old birds to drop the
excreta as far away as possible from the nest have the obvious
object of concealing all traces of their young from likely enemies.

Faint traces of what may be called forethought are sometimes
noticeable in dogs and birds. One of my terriers, when not
hungry, has a habit of concealing bones in holes in the ground,
and then covering them over with some mud. Whether she
ever remembers these places afterwards, when necessity arises,
and brings out the hidden treasures, I have been unable to
ascertain.

Various species of Magpies in confinement also exhibit this
habit of hiding scraps of food in nooks and corners of their cages.

We have often heard of dogs, which have been brought up
with cats, imitating the latter in some of their habits; but at
present I have a dog which has never in all her life been
privileged to associate with any members of the cat species, and
yet some of its actions are distinctly feline in character. For
instance, it has a habit of playing with a wounded bird, or half-
dead mouse, just as a cat does. And again, it licks its paws,
and frequently sits with its front legs bent inwards. When

370 THE ZOOLOGIST.

stalking after Squirrels or Sparrows feeding on the ground, its
actions and movements are very similar to those of a cat.

Some years ago I had a pair of Jackals (C. aureus), which
were brought up with the dogs of the house, and the former in
various ways learnt to imitate the latter. They would rush out
of the house after strangers just in the manner of dogs; hunt
in company with them; and once actually helved to kill a wild
cat! They would often come to the table for scraps, but never
got rid of that horrible habit of howling when they heard their
brethren outside.

Lovers of dogs should be able to throw some light on the
question whether the canine species ever suffers from the effects
of somnambulism. Some years ago I had a dog which would
often, while fast asleep, suddenly jump down from his bed, walk
about the room in a dazed sort of manner with half-closed eyes,
and quietly get back to bed again as if nothing unusual had
happened. During these midnight wanderings, I once or twice
made a noise by dropping a book on the floor, or clapping my
hands, and the dog certainly seemed to wake up and stare
about, just as a human being might be expected to do, if roused
suddenly out of a deep slumber.

I have frequently noticed that dogs, when dreaming, not
only bark in low tones, but keep moving their jaws as if they
were crunching something. A few twitches in the hind legs are
sometimes also noticeable.

Birds seldom appear to dream, but when they do, I have
occasionally noticed them opening and shutting their beaks.
Doves and pigeons frequently ‘‘coo”’ in the nights, but I have
never yet been able to ascertain properly whether they were
awake or dreaming.

Animals and birds are, without doubt, fully cognisant of the
great principle that ‘“‘in unity lies strength.”’ Most of us have
doubtless often observed that a dog, when single-handed, will
sometimes refuse to attack a wild cat, or other similar animal,
and yet how completely matters change if another dog is intro-
duced on the scene.

In this station (Simla) there seems to be an old standing
feud between the monkeys and crows, and when the latter are
breeding, the former make a great point of destroying as many

MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS. B71

eggs and young as they possibly can every year. When these
marauding excursions take place, two monkeys invariably take
the field, and while one keeps the crows employed, the other
slips off to the nest and quietly drops the contents on the
ground.

in the case of the ordinary House-sparrow (Passer domesticus)
I have frequently noticed that, not content with installing him-
self in a particular neighbourhood, and bringing up innumerable
families in quick succession, he forthwith proceeds to install
others of his fraternity in the same place, and when once esta-
blished, they jointly set to work and systematically drive away
all the other small birds from the vicinity. ‘‘ Live and let live”’
is a maxim quite foreign to the sparrow’s constitution, as every
odlogist knows. I have notes of several cases which have come
under observation of sparrows—not singly, but invariably in
numbers—having systematically bullied and driven away small
birds which intended nesting in the compound. A few years
ago a pair of Crested Black Tits (Lophophanes melanolophus)
decided to set up their home in one of the numerous crevices of
an old outhouse attached to my bungalow. I had never seen a
nest of this species before, and was, therefore, very interested
in their proceedings. The spot chosen was in a very convenient
situation for making observations, and for several days I spent
a large portion of my time in watching the progress of the
building operations. Some House-sparrows were also nesting
close by, and complete harmony seemingly prevailed among all
tenants. The tits’ nest was nearing completion, when suddenly
the sparrows began to show signs of prying into their neigh-
bours’ affairs, and would make several attempts to peep into
the nest. The peaceful tits seemed disposed to ignore these
intrusions, but the inquisitive attitude of their neighbours soon
developed into a more aggressive one. From peeps it came to
blows, and as soon as an unfortunate tit showed itself on the
scene, it was immediately chased away. After making several
attempts to regain the position, they eventually deserted the
nest, and shortly afterwards I saw a pair of sparrows installed
in peaceful possession! Superfluous to add that they had forth-
with to pay the extreme penalty of the law.

Take again the case of the common Red-headed Tits (dgi-

372 THE ZOOLOGIST.

thaliscus erythrocephalus), which invariably associate in small
parties, and as explained by Professor Newton, ‘‘it requires no
very abstruse reflection to perceive that the adoption of this
habit is one eminently conducive to the easy attainment of their
food, which is collected, as it were, into particular spots often
far apart, but where it does occur, occurring plentifully. Thus
a single titmouse searching alone might hunt for a whole day
without meeting with a sufficiency, while if a dozen are united
by the same motive it is hardly possible for the place in which
the food is lodged to escape their detection, and when discovered
a few call-notes from the lucky finder are enough to assemble
the whole company to share the feast. It is impossible to watch
a band of any species of titmouse, even for a few minutes,
without arriving at this conclusion. One tree after another is
visited by the active little rovers, and its branches examined ; if
nothing be forthcoming away goes the explorer to the next that
presents itself, merely giving utterance to the usual twitter that
serves to keep the body together. But if the object of search be
found, another kind of chirp is emitted, and the next moment
the several members of the band are flitting in succession to the
tree and eagerly engaged with the spoil.”

The following is an extract from my daily journal, and relates
to an account of an attack made by Red-billed Blue Magpies
(Urocissa occipitalis) on my climber :—

Keonthal State (Punjab), May 5th.—So far as I am aware
these birds never breed in company, and the large number of
nests so close to each other struck me as most peculiar; the
more so, as up to this we had only seen a couple of these birds
in the neighbourhood. . . . However, each nest was examined
in turn, but it was very different when the climber approached
the tenanted one. The whole hillside seemed suddenly to get
alive with these birds, and eight or nine of them appeared most
miraculously on the scene. Uttering their harsh cries, they
began making most furious dashes and pecks at the climber,
quite regardless of their safety. So determined did their attacks
become that at one time I thought we had lost the field. The
nearer the man approached the nest, the bolder did the birds
become. And their tactics were truly worthy of a Hannibal.
At one time formirg into separate parties, and attacking both

MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS. 373

from front and rear; now singly, now in a body, now on all
sides. All the climber could do was to get down with a whole
skin, and in spite of coaxings, threats, &c., nothing would
induce him to attempt the nest a second time. It was only
after I very reluctantly shot one of the plucky little fellows, and
drove away the rest, that we were able to examine the nest in
safety. . . . It was one of the most interesting sights that
I have ever witnessed in my life. And here, what is still more
interesting to an ornithologist is that, not only did the birds
belonging to the nest take part in its defence, but all the others
of the same species in the neighbourhood also joined in it.

That some animals and a few birds occasionally indulge in
practical jokes will, I think, be readily admitted. Take the case
of a dog which has been trained to bring balls or pieces of
sticks which are thrown in front of it. It will sometimes bring
the object and drop it in front of one, and just as its master
goes to pick it up, it will seize it, and run off with it.

A few years ago I had a small poodle, which was in the
habit of chasing and barking at monkeys. One day I saw a
large monkey catch it in his hands, give it a good shaking, and
then let it go. And again, I once saw a dog slapped in the face
by one of these animals.

Last year I happened to witness an amusing incident in
the ‘“‘Kden Gardens” in Calcutta. A large number of Flying
Foxes (Pteropus edwardsu) had taken up their abode on one
of the high trees growing on the sides of one of the avenues,
and the crows (C. splendens) spent a good deal of their time
daily in harassing these poor animals.‘ A crow would take
up a position on a branch from which a few foxes were
suspended, look at them in a most casual sort of way as if
no harm were intended, and having selected an unfortunate,
who was half asleep, peck at him most viciously three or four
times in quick succession. When he had roused all the foxes
on the branch to his complete satisfaction, he woulc suddenly
dart across to another branch, from which a few more of these
animals were suspended, and while passing, make a sudden
assault on one, who was probably in dreamland, and was thus
always taken unawares. Judging from the number of crows
taking part in this game, it seemed that they derived much

374 THE ZOOLOGIST.

enjoyment from this form of recreation. The Flying Foxes
doubtless had a very different opinion !

In the way of recreation, I have often noticed the Simla
Crows (C. machrorhynchus) sailing about in wide circles high up
in the air, and occasionally in the evenings indulging in a game
which looks very like ‘‘I’m the King of the castle” on the
lightning conductors of the Imperial Secretariat Buildings.

The common Kites (Milvus govinda), especially the young
birds, may often be seen playing with each other in the air.
One bird gets above the other, and then makes a swoop down-
wards, and is received by the lower one, which turns on its back
with its talons upwards, and so on, till both are lost in the azure
of the sky.

The only case of abnormal instinct which has come under
my observation is that of one of my terrier bitches bring-
ing up a pup which had lost its mother. Before the pup
was brought into the house, the bitch showed no signs whatever
which would lead one to suppose that she would shortly become
a mother, and yet, after allowing the pup to suckle her, in a few
days she developed a copious supply of milk in all her teats.

One of the most curious cases of aberrant instinct which I
have read about is that mentioned in Col. G. Marshall’s
‘Birds’ Nesting in India’ (Calcutta, 1877), on the authority of
Col. Tucker, R.E., the heroine this time being a Kite (J/ilvus
govinda) :—‘‘ Kites are not attractive birds, except for the
wonderful grace of their flight, and it is hard to imagine a
tender heart beneath their fierce but treacherous and withal
cowardly exteriors. In the month of January, in Lower Bengal,
when with the kites the breeding season is at its height, a
solitary female, over whom the instincts of the season evidently
had their sway, but who from some cause or other was unprovided
with a nest or eggs, appropriated an empty pill-box that had
been thrown on to the roof of a portico, and gathering some
sticks and straws round it in the corner of the roof to serve as a
nest, she commenced and carried on with admirable perseverance
a forlorn attempt to hatch it. When approached and driven
from her place, she would return to defend the beloved treasure,
dashing fiercely at the intruder. How long it would have taken
before her hopes of welcoming a young kite out of the pill-box

MENTAL POWERS OF ANIMALS. B75

would have been finally abandoned was not proved, for a heavy
storm of rain reduced it to a pulp, and in its place the egg of a
domestic fowl was put down, and on that the kite, now joined
by a male kite, who keeps careful guard over her, is still sitting.
The egg will be hatched in a few days, and the life of the
young chick, which will probably be short and adventurous, will
commence.”

A well-authenticated case of a dog acting as foster-mother to
a very young kitten has been kindly contributed to me by a
friend. The dog, a black-and-tan terrier, had a batch of pups,
which were given away after they were a fortnight or three weeks

old. Very shortly after this a tabby kitten was found in the
street by the gentleman’s children, who brought the little thing
home, and put it to the terrier’s teats, which had become
enlarged and swollen in consequence of a copious supply of
milk. The kitten, being in a starved condition, readily took to
its foster-mother, but the bitch at first resented the action. She
seemed, however, to appreciate the relief, but would not allow
the kitten to suck too long. Gradually she became accustomed
to it, and when her teats got full of milk she used to hunt up
the kitten and give her a feed. The illustration shows the
foster-mother feeding the kitten when about two months old.
The kitten grew up to full size, and used to join its foster-mother
in her chases after other cats !

Dogs and a few other animals, when rebuked, undoubtedly

376 THE ZOOLOGIST.

feel shame; and the germs of this idea appear to some extent to
exist in birds. All observers will admit that crows are seldom,
if ever, seen in copula, and when a pair dare to carry their
matrimonial endearments too far, the rest, as if aware of their
comrades’ indecent behaviour, invariably make it a duty of im-
mediately putting an end to all such public displays of affection.

‘‘As for the wing-drooping, tail-cocking strut,’ says Finn,
‘which the English rook indulges in during the breeding season,
any Calcutta crow who presumed to show off in such a way would
most likely be very soon taught that it was no ‘ matter for his
swellings, nor his turkey-cocks.’ This interference by crows
in each other’s domestic affairs is not confined to their own
community, but is extended to other birds which might happen
to misbehave themselves publicly. I have frequently noticed in
Calcutta that the crows invariably made it ‘a point of honour ’
of trying to stop the amorous displays on the part of kites, which
are notorious sinners in publishing their banns of marriage
more felino.”

( 377 )

IMPRESSIONS OF A NATURALIST ON THE WHITE
RIVER, TRANSVAAL.

By A. T. Cooxe.

Footprints.—Rising in the neighbourhood of that famous
landmark of the Eastern Transvaal, the prominent Spitz Kop—
a landmark which has guided so many transport-riders from
the coast at Delagoa Bay to the interior—the White River
pursues its way through an uninteresting, bushless country until
it reaches the White River Falls, where, tumbling in a double
cascade, 150 ft. in height, over huge rocks fringed with tropical
trees of every hue, it then becomes a series of foaming rapids
and deep pools, leaping and spraying as if rejoicing that it has
at length reached a mountainous and forest-covered country.

These falls are on the borders of my farm, and the last six
miles form one boundary. I love my river, every yard of it, the
rapids and the deep pools framed in a glistening white edge of
sand, and it is of this river I write, for along its banks I love
to wander—to trace the footprints of the lovely Antelopes, where
in the night time they come to the water’s edge to quench their
thirst. Here are the sharp-pointed Duiker* and Steenbok+ prints
as they seem to stroll alongside the water; the more business-
like marks of the Bushbuck,} who seems to come straight to the
water’s edge, doubtless turning anxious and alert glances every
way ere it lowers its stately head to drink, and even then it
has to watch the water, for one cruel snap from that “lurking
death” beneath, when its strength would little avail against the
tremendous pulling power of the Crocodile. But here the owner
of the footprints encountered no ill, straight down from the
bush were its tracks, the two fore feet close together as it
drank, and then straight back to the bush again. In the maze
of footprints, distinct and clear, can be noted what I have ever

* Cephalophus grimmi. | Raphicerus campestris.
| Tragelaphus scriptus var. sylvaticus.
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., October, 1910. 264

378 THE ZOOLOGIST.

called the lazy Reedbuck,* perhaps conscious that its title of
Royal game protects it from the great destroyer man. Then
there are the stealthy trails of the Antelope’s enemies, the claw-
like marks of the Crocodile, the scaly imprint of its body as it
rests awhile, and the Serpent-like impression of its long tail
dragged behind. But what is this distinct footprint? An
appeal to the native (who views my great interest in what to
him is so commonplace with the contempt he has for most of
white man’s ways) brings the indifferent answer, ‘‘ Ingwe, Baas.”’
So thisis a Leopardt afterits prey. 1 follow those marks for some
distance—here wide apart—and in fancy could imagine that cat-
like head lowered searching, advancing and then it stops—perhaps
to scratch itself or silently standing still to listen to some sound
that had stirred the stillness of the night—while a little further
on a narrow strip of water to be crossed entailed but a gentle
spring, for it could be clearly seen that it had no wish to wet its
paws. I follow on until a bed of reeds bury from my view any
further sign and caution compels me to climb up the rocky
banks. I saw ahead that the Leopard had continued its nightly
stroll beyond, until, pining for change, it must have turned
sharply into the bush, where fancy must leave it, but wonder-
ing whether it caused the night echoes to be awakened by the
frightened scream which is the prelude to its every meal.

The Water-Tortoises in their evening stroll leave quaint
parallel rows as curious as their course in aimless twistings in
and out, as if this their lighter element of air did make them
irresponsible as to their ways—perhaps due to the light-
heartedness of happiness, for out here on the sand they can
have little fear of enemies. Of a dark brown colour, entirely
encased in a coat of armour as hard above as it is beneath,
and that curious hinged door completely covering the opening
whence it withdraws its head on alarm. Surely it is safe! but
far from it. The vice-like jaws of the Crocodile close upon it,
crush and splinter its armour in fragments. LHjected, its body
must appear but a Shrimp-like morsel; surely not tasty, for
it has the power of emitting upon capture the most disagree-
able of odours, and the angler who finds he has unwittingly
caught a Tortoise on his hook is only too glad to wrench it out,

* Cervicapra arundinum. | Felis pardus.

A NATURALIST ON THE WHITE RIVER. 379

preferably with his boot, and to kick the Tortoise hastily back
to that element from which it should never emerge. Does he
in his nightly prowl ever encounter his brother of the rocks, the
Rock-Tortoise, and do they both share the same capacity of
abstaining from food for an incredible period ?

The stroll is ended, the White River discharges its burden
and the sorrows of its tragedies into the broader, deeper Crocodile
River, where nature continues the cruel war—those shuddering
reptiles with the iron jaws ever awaiting their prey. Only very
recently, some miles below, a traveller, resting from the glaring
heat of the tropical sun, observed a Crocodile on a rock, in
appearance an excrescence of the rock as it lay basking in the
fierce sunlight and still air, apparently asleep. It would have been
well had it slept, for two stately Impala Antelopes* step silently
from the bordering bush to the water’s edge, and as a cautious
elance around gives promise of safety, the ram enters the water.
Before he has reached the other side the enemy silently slips
off its rock,—making no noise, only a swirl upon the water,—and
this is quickly seen by the swimming Antelope, which seeks, at
desperate redoubled speed, to gain the safety of the shore, which
he reached. Scarce had his feet left the water when out rushed
the protruding and repulsive head of the Crocodile, and as quickly
withdrawn—too late, baffled. Surely some cry would be given by
the one who so narrowly escaped to his mate waiting on the
other bank; but the gazer saw the doe slowly enter and begin
to swim across. Anxiously her course was watched, and the
reaching of well-nigh the centre of the river gave hope, but
then, without warning, without a cry, high up out of the water
sprang the head, shoulders and fore legs, and as silently the
doomed animal disappeared beneath the waters; just a circling
swirl, closing like a pall, the little ripples ever-widening reaching
to the bank as if conveying one more message, one more warn-
ing of the tragedy and danger of the water to those that dwell

upon the land.
* Aepyceros melampus.

ho
lop)
bo

380 THE ZOOLOGIST.

THE EGRET IN BRITAIN.
By Frepericx J. STusss.

I sHoutp like to present a little more evidence bearing on
the question of the presence of an Egret in Britain in olden
times (cf. ‘ Zoologist,’ ante, p. 150). There need be no further
doubt as to the actual breeding of the bird, for 1 find it
mentioned in a most interesting ‘‘Act for the Preservation of
Grain,” passed in 1564 (8 Eliz. c. 15). This Act, itself only
temporary, revived portions of an earlier one of 1533, that was
only in operation for ten years; and both were aimed at the ‘‘ in-
numerable nombre of Rookes Crowes and Choughes”’ [Jackdaws]
that ‘‘do daily brede and increase throughout this Realme, which
Rookes Crowes and Choughes do yearly destroye devoure and
consume a wonderfull and mervellous greate quantitie of corne
and greyne,”’ &c. These two Acts command, under penalties,
the organized destruction of Rooks and Crows especially, and
are interesting as marking the probable origin of the pastime of
Rook shooting.

The 1564 Act ordered the destruction of many other creatures
besides Crows, and directed how their slayers were to be re-
warded. ‘‘ For every head of Martyn Hawk,* Fursekytte, Mold-
kytte, Buzzard, Schagg, or Ringtail 2d., and for every two of
their eggs ld. . . . For every head of Iron [Sea Eagle] or
Ospraye 4d.; for the head of . .. Kingsfisher; . . . Bull-
finch or other bird that devoureth the blowth of fruit 1d.”
‘‘ Kingsfisher,”’ it is worth noticing, is still in use in parts of
the north of England.

The Fox, Gray [Badger], Polecat, Wesell, Stote, Fayre bad
or wild Catte [?], Otter, Hedgehogges,+ Woodwall [Green Wood-
pecker], Stare, and many others were all game for this parish

* Hen Harrier, ‘Oiseau St. Martin,’ Buffon, i. p. 212.

+ Singular number ? cf. “3 hedge hodgs, 1s. 0d.” Accounts of Rochdale
Parish Church, 1648.

THE HGRET 1N BRITAIN. 381

net; but the Act did not allow the killing of Kite or Raven in
or within two miles of any city or town corporate, and care is
taken to point out ‘‘ that this Acte ... shall not give liberty to
any person ... to use any meane or engyn for the destruction
of any Crowes Rookes Chawghes or other vermin to the Dis-
turbance Lett or Destruccyon of the building or breeding of
any kinde of Hawkes, Herons, Egrytes, Paupers, Swannes, or
Shovelers, or to the hurte or destruction of any Doves or
Dove-houses, Deere, or Warren of Conyes.’ Stares were not
allowed to be taken from Dove-houses, but could be caught
elsewhere.

Here we get definite proof that in 1564 there was an
‘“‘Kigryte”’ worthy of special protection as a game bird in this
country, at a time when it was under repeated notice in con-
temporary literature as a bird of the Heron kind. It is hardly
likely that either the bird or the Act escaped the notice of
Francis Willughby; but it must not be forgotten that his work
was finished and published by another hand in 1576, four years
after his death; and this may be some explanation of the lack
of any more definite mention of the Egret in his ‘ Ornithology,’
although it hardly explains the silence of other writers.

To my mind a passage in Sir John Hawkin’s account of
Florida (‘‘ Hakluyt Soc.” 1878, p. 62) is very important. He
describes an ‘“‘ Keript”’ (the same spelling as that used in Allde’s
1590 edition of the ‘Boke of Kervynge’), “‘ which is all white
as the swanne, with legs like to an hearnshaw, and of bigness
accordingly, but it hath in her taile feathers of so fine a plume,
that it passeth the estridge his feather.” Surely this can only
imply that the Egret with which he and his readers were
best acquainted was not white, nor the size of a Heron, nor
adorned with plumes. Yet, according to some contemporary
writers, as I indicated in my first paper, this British Egret was
white, while Turner stated definitely that the white nested with
the blue and produced offspring; and, also, he detected slight
but distinct points of difference between the British bird and the
Italian Albardeola.

Have we here a hint of the phenomenon of dichromatism in
this extinct bird? All modern students of ornithology will be
familiar with the extraordinary variations found in certain

382 THE ZOOLOGIST.

species of North American Egrets (Stejneger, ‘Stand. N. H.,’ iv.
pp. 6-8; Sharpe, ‘Cat. B. B. M.,’ xxvi. p. 106, &¢.). In
Dichromanessa rufa there are two distinct phases, one normally
grey and the other pure white—not, it must be remembered,
merely pathological albinos; and it is only during recent years
that these two forms have ceased to be placed in different species
and even genera. I shall return to this question shortly.
William Harrison, best known for his authorship of a ‘ De-
scription of England’ appended to Holinshed’s ‘ Chronicles,’ has
a little to say about the wild life of his period (Book 8, c. 2,
1587 edition), and offers a list of the birds then breeding in this
country. He specifies, amongst many others, Crane, Bittern,
Wild and Tame Swan, Bustard, Doterell, Brant, Barnacle (which
he believed came from a shell), Wigeon, Oliet [Oystercatcher] ,
... ‘besides divers others whose names are to me utterly un-
known, and much more the taste of their flesh, wherewith I was
never acquainted.” He adds: ‘‘...as for Kgrets, Pawpers, and
such like, they are dailie brought unto us from beyond the sea,
as if all the foule of our own countrie would not suffice to satisfie
our delicate appetites.” It is clear that these birds simply
augmented the home supplies, and did not constitute them, for
the first edition of Harrison’s book was published in 1577, only
thirteen years after the Egret was expressly protected in England.
Where did our author get his information? The rest of his
book is obviously compiled from works that are still extant, and
all his items read familiarly to the student of medieval! litera-
ture; but perhaps this fragment on the importation of the Egret
is of his own personal knowledge, and so may not be found in
other works. As I have already shown, Egrets were killed by
the cook, and their blood was saved for the making of sauce.
Therefore, we must assume that these imported birds were
brought to England alive—indeed, with the methods of transport
at the disposal of the times they could hardly have been carried
dead and fresh for any distance. Where did these foreign Hegrets
come from? Southern Europe can be left out of consideration
altogether ; and so it is likely that this lost bird lived in some
other Northern European country besides England. It seems
to have enjoyed a long reputation as a table bird, for in the
time of Edward I. it headed the list of game birds with the

THE EGRET IN BRITAIN. 383

unusually high price of eighteenpence (Phipson, ‘Animal Lore
in Shakespeare’s Time’). We know that from century to
century the bird population of these islands fluctuated very
much, and this high price may not always have been attached
to the species.

In again leaving the subject I may summarize our know-
ledge as follows:—At the middle of the sixteenth century
England was the home of an Egret that was highly esteemed
for the table. It nested with us, and was protected by law; and
the same, or an allied species, inhabited an adjacent part of
the Continent, and was brought to this country alive for food.
Probably the bird was not altogether white, but exhibited two
distinct phases of colour, thus differing from any existing
Kuropean Eegrets or Herons, and resembling species now found
in America.

The position is still rather tantalizing, but I am sanguine
that in time the whole matter will be cleared up. The reckless
destruction of British wildfowl has for centuries been a matter
of common protest, both in Scotland and England (cf. parti-
cularly Jac. ii. c. 81 (1457); Mary (1551) c. 2, c. 15; Jac. vi.
(1600) c. 84; Jac. vil. (1685) c. 24). By certain Scots laws
the penalties for illegally killing wild birds were astonishingly
heavy—because of the ‘‘slaknes of the execution of former
acts.” ‘‘Heronis ... thair nestis eggis or birdis’’ were men-
tioned repeatedly, but I can find no evidence for the existence
of an Egret north of the Border. The Scot was just as eager
as the Englishman to get rid of his ‘‘ crawys and other foulys
of rief.”

384 THE ZOOLOGIST.

ON THE YAWNING OF FISHES AND OF OTHER
VERTEBRATES.

By ALFRED HENEAGE Cocks.

Mr. RicHarp Emuirst’s observations (ante, p. 821) ‘On
the Yawning of Fishes” and of other Vertebrates, though very
interesting, are surely not a new discovery. It is now fully
forty-six years since I set up some small fresh-water aquaria,
wherein in the course of time a considerable number of fish were
under observation, representative of about two dozen species,
and I have not infrequently seen fish yawn, but made no notes as
to which species were seen to do so, because it never occurred
to me until now, on reading Mr. Elmhirst’s remarks, that this
action was otherwise than a well-known habit common to most,
if not all, vertebrates.

My conviction is that all the two dozen or so species did
this, except perhaps Lamperns and Fringe-lipped Lamperns. I
have elsewhere seen various species of sea-fish yawn. For
several years previous to starting aquaria I must have been
aware that at least a few of the more familiar domestic mammals
yawn. During the years that have since passed I have seen so
many vertebrates of all classes and of so many orders yawn that
I cannot doubt that it is a general, even a universal, habit, and
there must be numbers of observers who have watched animals
in captivity, in the London and other zoological gardens, who
can easily cap my very imperfect recollections. It is natural to
suppose that animals in captivity (even in comparatively roomy
quarters) would yawn more frequently than those at liberty, and
at any rate one has with the former a better chance of observing
the act.

With regard to Birds, I venture to generalize, and to declare
my belief that there is no exception to the axiom that all birds
yawn. I know that many Reptiles and Batrachians vawn, and
it seems unlikely that there are any exceptions among these
classes also.

YAWNING OF FISHES AND OTHER VERTEBRATES. 385

While expecting that more perfect knowledge would show that
yawning is also universal among Mammals, I cannot recollect
ever having seen Cetaceans of any kind yawning when at the
surface of the sea, but that is no proof that they do not do so;
and is it physiologically impossible for mammals, however
thoroughly specialized for an aquatic life, to perform this action
under water? Some species of Cetaceans (and most likely all)
certainly appear to sleep under water more often than on the
surface. The Great Ant-eater would seem the most likely of all
mammals to be an exception to the general rule, but it would be
safer to assume that even it can yawn until the contrary is
proved; and the same may be said as to the Petromyzontide
among Fishes.

Of the mammals as to which Mr. Elmhirst expresses doubt,
Horses very commonly yawn (one of my farm-horses always
yawns directly he finds that he is being ‘‘shut out,” 7. e.
released, from the cart, plough, or other implement that he has
been dragging or assisting to drag); Asses, Cattle, Sheep, and
Pigs also yawn. Goats I cannot answer for, but there is not
the slightest reason why they should be exceptional. Among
rodents, as to which order Mr. Elmhirst can find no record,
domesticated Rabbits and Guinea-pigs yawn at any rate, and I
do not doubt that I have seen other rodents do so also.

Of the few species of wild mammals with which I am specially
familiar, most are certainly yawners; it seems unnecessary to
give a list, and I submit, with all deference, that it is superfluous
to publish a catalogue of the vertebrates that are seen to yawn,
but rather that any species (or family) should be noted which,
after having been kept under careful observation, has never
been detected doing so.

386 THE ZOOLOGIST.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LONDON BIRDS.
SUPPLEMENTARY TO List IN ‘THE Zoonoaist,’ 1909, pp. 15-16.

By Huexu Boyp Wart.

THE under-noted items of literature are additions to the
above-mentioned list, and fulfil the anticipation of amplification
expressed when it was published.

The area covered has been somewhat extended, but none of
the localities included has any less claim to be considered
London than has Richmond, which found admission into the
first list. If any further justification of this extension is re-
quired, it may be found in the likelihood that in a few years all
these districts are likely to be engirt by Greater London.

It should be stated that the naturalist columns of ‘The
Field’ have not been gone through. So many valuable and
original observations and notes on the topic are to be found
there that a subject-index would be necessary to do them justice
and make them adequately available. Neither have newspapers
been drawn upon, although original and informing contributions
are not unknown, such as the excellent article on ‘‘ Wild Birds
in London” in the ‘Times’ of March 27th, 1909; nor works
like Mrs. Evelyn. Cecil’s ‘London Parks and Gardens’ (1907),
where the information about birds is from other sources.

Mr. J. E. Harting has kindly read my list, and lam much
indebted to him for suggestions and information.

List UNDER AUTHORS.

1. Axerman, J. Y.: ‘‘ The Birds of London.” ‘The Zoologist,’
xlil. pp. 4702-8. London,1855. A few species noted in Central
London.

2. ALDRIDGE, W.: ‘A Gossip on the Birds of Norwood and
the Crystal Palace District, with thirteen full-page woodcuts.’
8vo. Upper Norwood, 1885.

3. Buytu, E.: ‘Qn the Species of Birds observed during
the last four years in the vicinity of Tooting, Surrey.” ‘Loudon’s

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LONDON BIRDS. 387

Mag. Nat. Hist.,’ ix. pp. 622-38. London, 1886. List of ninety-
seven species with many personal observations.

4. Buytu, K.: ‘‘ Observations on the Wild Fowl in St. James’s
Park.” ‘Loudon’s Mag. Nat. Hist.,’ xu. pp. 469-71. London,
1839.

5. CHIPPERFIELD, H.: ‘‘Birds of North-east London.”
‘Nature Notes,’ xi. pp. 70-4. Selborne Society, London, 1900.
Stoke Newington by Stamford Hill and Lea Marshes to Strat-
ford. Historical and personal narrative ; district said to include
“over one-third of the 384 British species.”

6. CoLLinewoop, Curupert: ‘‘ Birds in the Neighbourhood
of Blackheath in 1854.” ‘The Zoologist,’ xiii. pp. 4592-4.
London, 1855. Lists giving dates of commencement of songs
and dates of arrivals of summer migrants.

7. Do. and others: ‘‘The Fauna of Blackheath and its
Vicinity.” By the Geological Committee of the Greenwich
Natural History Club. 46 pp., 8vo. London, 1859. Contains
a list of birds.

8. CornisH, C. J.: ‘Bird Migration Down the Thames”
(observations at Chiswick) and ‘‘ Birds on Thames Reservoirs ”’
(Barnes Reservoir and also Wanstead Park). ‘Two articles
(pp. 65-9 and 218-23) in ‘The Naturalist on the Thames.”
Illustrated, 8vo. London, 1902.

9. Dixon, Cuarues: ‘The Bird Life of London.’ Illustrated,
336 pages, Svo. London, 1909. A book on the subject; covers
radius of fifteen miles from St. Paul’s. About 130 species
named, resident and visitant.

10. Haun, Kare M.: ‘Nature Rambles in London.’ Illu-
strated, xvil. and 325 pages, small 8vo. London, 1908. Bird
notes on pp. 5-8, 88-44 (including a list of 50 species “‘ said to
have been seen” in Regent’s Park), 61-5, 109-22, 206-13, 295-302.

11. Hartine, J. E.: ‘‘The Fere Nature of the London
Parks.” ‘Popular Science Review,’ New Series x., pp. 163-172.
London, 1879. Includes birds. [Reprinted in the author’s
‘Essays on Sport and Natural History,’ pp. 222-47, 8vo.
London, 1883.]

12. Do.: Articles in ‘The Field’ as follows :—1876 (April
22nd), “‘ London Rookeries”; 1885 (February 14th), ‘‘ Wood-
cocks in London”’; 1886 (May 8th), ‘‘Song-birds round London”;

388 THE ZO0OLOGIST.

1888 (January 14th), “‘ Bird-life in Kensington Gardens”; 1895
(March 9th), ‘‘Sea-gulls in London”; 1898, ... ‘‘ Ospreys
near London.”

13. Hows, Ernest Epear: ‘‘ Bird Life in the Vicinity of
South-east London.” ‘Nature Notes,’ xvii. pp. 21-6. Selborne
Society, London, 1907. Eltham and Plumstead district. (Over
70 species.)

14. Hussry, H.: ‘‘ Wildfowl in the London Waters.” ‘The
Zoologist,’ xviii. 1860, p. 6922, and xxii. 1864, pp. 9049-53.
St. James’s Park, the Serpentine, Round Pond, Kensington, and
Regent’s Park. Hight species of Duck.

15. Hurcuinson, M.: ‘‘ Arrival of Migrants” [at Blackheath].
‘The Zoologist,’ second series, 1. 1866, pp. 808-9. ‘‘ Arrival of
Summer Birds at Shooter’s Hill and Neighbourhood ”; l.c., i.
1867, pp. 814-9. ‘Birds on Blackheath”; J. c., 11. 1868,
pp. 1166-71. In spring of 1867, within a diameter of two miles,
above 50 species seen.

16. Jmennines, J.: ‘Ornithology of the Metropolis.” ‘ Lou-
don’s Mag. Nat. Hist.,’ ii. p. 264. London, 1829. Letter with
a few notes. 3

17. Jounson, WALTER: ‘ Battersea Park as a Centre for Nature
Study.’ Small 8vo. London, 1910. Chap. iv., “‘ Bird Life,”
pp. 29-48, enumerates wild birds and birds kept in confinement.

18. Kipp, Bensamin: ‘‘ The Birds of London,” with illustra-
tions by G.E. Lodge. ‘English Illustrated Magazine,’ October,
1891, pp. 38-45.

19. Lonpon County Counciu: ‘ Wild Birds Protection (Ad-
ministrative County of London) Order, 1909,’ 3 pages. Noted
here as something of a curiosity for the large number of birds
scheduled. Sixty-four are named, but as the generic English
name is frequently given, the species exceed this number.

20. MacpHerson, A. Houte: ‘‘ Notes on London Birds in
1909.” ‘The Selborne Magazine,’ xxi. pp. 65-7. London, 1910.
The latest of a series of notes published annually since 1891.
Of permanent value as continuous personal observations; mostly
in the West End parks.

21. Maxweu, Sir Herpert: ‘London Birds,’ section xxiii.
pp. 108-8, in ‘Memories of the Months,’ fifth series, 8vo.
London, 1909. Review article, with comments.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LONDON BIRDS. 389

22. Outve, Cuartes D.: ‘‘ The Birds of Wimbledon.’
‘Wimbledon and Merton Annual,’ 1904, pp. 99-119. Notes and
observations with list of 68 species, ‘‘ probably not complete.”

23. Owen, Prof. R.: ‘‘ Birds of Lincoln’s Inn Fields.”

24. Power, F. D.: ‘Ornithological Notes from a South
London Suburb, 1874-1909.’ 60 pages. London, 1910. Not
seen; only just published, Oct. 7th, 1910. by

25. Reap, Ropert H.: ‘The Birds of the Lower Brent
Valley.” ‘Report and Transactions of the HKaling Natural
Science Society ’ for 1896, pp. 1-28. Also issued as a separate
reprint, not dated. Annotated list of 197 species, 72 of which
nest or have nested within recent years. Largest list of any
district.

26. Russevyt, Haroup: ‘Birds in Kensington Gardens,
1897-8.” ‘The Zoologist,’ fourth series, iii. pp. 84-6. London,
1899. (27 species.)

27. Topp, Wiuuiam A.: ‘ Bird Notes from a London Suburb
for 1908.” ‘The Selborne Magazine,’ xx. pp. 214-8. London,
1909. The Thames at Putney. (27 species.)

28. Do.: ‘‘ Ornithological Observations in North-east Surrey,
1909.” ‘The Zoologist,’ fourth series, xiv. pp. 75-7. London,
1910. Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park, Barnes Common,
Putney Heath, and Barn Elm Reservoir. 148 species said to
have been recorded ; 115 seen within the last ten years.

29. Turner, Hy. J.: ‘‘ Aves (Birds), pp. 237-55 in part i1.,
Zoology, of ‘A Survey and Record of Woolwich and West Kent.
Containing Descriptions and Records ... in commemoration of
the Twelfth Annual Congress, 1907, of the South-Eastern Union
of Scientific Societies.’ 8vo. Woolwich, 1909. (176 species.)
Includes a note on local bird writings, published and MSS.

30. Vos, Grorce H.: ‘ Birds and their Nests and Eges found
in and near great Towns.’ Illustrated, 240 pages, 8vo. London
[not dated, but 1909]. Describes 52 species found near London,
and makes remarks on about as many more.

31. Wess, WitrreD Marx: ‘The Brent Valley Bird Sane-
tuary.” Illustrated, 14pp., 18mo. The Selborne Society, Brent
Valley Branch, 1907. 67 species observed, including 27 nesting
in a small and circumscribed area.

32. Wepster, A. D.: ‘Greenwich Park: its History and

390 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Associations.’ Illustrated, 8vo. Greenwich and London, 1902.
Contains observations and a list of 81 species found during six
years, 34 of which breed; pp. 46-9 and 50-1.

ADDENDUM.—CouNntTY AVI-FAUNAS.

Books dealing with the counties bordering on London contain
many observations from the district now under review, and a
note of these works is here given under the authors’ names.

1. Hartine, James Epmunp: ‘The Birds of Middlesex: a
Contribution to the Natural History of the County.’ Frontis-
piece, xvi. and 279 pages, crown Svo. London, 1866.

2. Curisty, Minuer: ‘The Birds of Essex: a Contribution
to the Natural History of the County.’ Illustrations, two plans
and a plate, 302 pages, 8vo. Chelmsford, 1890.

3. Bucxntun, Joun A.: ‘The Birds of Surrey.’ Llustrations
and a map, 374 pages, 8vo. London, 1900. .

4. Davis, W. J.: ‘The Birds of Kent.’ Illustration (one)
anda map. Dartford, 1907. Hast Kent almost entirely.

5. Batston, BR. J.. SHEPHERD, C. W., and Barrett, H.;
‘Notes on the Birds of Kent.’ Illustrations and a map,
455 pages, demy 8vo. London, 1907.

6. Ticznurst, Norman F.: ‘A History of the Birds of Kent.’
Illustrations and two maps, lvi. and 568 pages, square demy 8vo.
London, 1909.

( got

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Yawning of Rodents.—In his article on the ‘“‘ Yawning of Fishes,”
&e. (ante, p. 321), Mr. Elmhirst states that he can find no record of
rodents yawning. It may interest him to know that my Flemish
Rabbits, of which I have many, frequently, on rising from recumbent
positions, stretch themselves and yawn; and a very curious expres-
sion they assume.—CuHarLES H. Bryant (38, Montpelier Crescent,
Brighton).

AVES.

Habits of the Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus).— In September
last I had an unusually good opportunity of watching the habits of
two Choughs. The birds, probably a pair, were together on a grassy
level near the coast in one of the Inner Hebrides. With glasses I
could see their smallest actions. I noticed in particular that they
methodically turned over the dry pats of cow-dung with their beaks,
and searched underneath for insect food. When they had done this
they turned their attention to some thistles in seed and picked out
the down. This was not done, so far as I could see, to eat the seed,
but rather from curiosity or mischief. Occasionally one or possibly
both the birds (for they were not to be distinguished) would turn
and caress the other by scratching the back of its head with the
curved end of its bill. All these doings were characteristic of the
Corvide, and the form of the bill is admirably adapted for the
purposes of the bird. But when one considers the bright coral-red
of the beak and the feet, which are conspicuous at a distance, it is
impossible to see how this striking feature can be of service, or can
have been gained by natural selection acting on small variations.
It may be suggested that the red colour is a sudden mutation which
has not affected the welfare of the species materially. The Choughs
are undoubtedly birds doomed to gradual extermination, apparently
chiefly owing to the increase of Jackdaws in their haunts. Yet why
this should injuriously affect the Choughs is hard to discover, for
the two species are often seen together and apparently on amicable
terms.—Harotp RussEut (16, Beaufort Gardens, London).

392 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Late Eggs of Nightjar.—Mr. Corbin (ante, p. 339) asks whether
the Nightjar may be considered double-brooded, he having had sent
to him on August 15th two freshly laid eggs. Iam inclined to think
that the species is occasionally double-brooded, but this is not the
rule. C. ewropeus is by no means uncommon in this district, and if
the majority which visit it were to breed twice many more nests
would have to be found in August than is the case. For three nests
which are found in June not more than one is to be found in August.
Mr. Corbin says :—‘‘ The two eggs in question were perfectly fresh,
the yolks were intact, and without the least indication of having been
incubated, although one of the birds—presumably the female—rose
from the spot when approached.” I have never found the male bird
taking its turn in the act of incubation. Since the male is so diffe-
rent from the female, I think there can be no mistake in this matter.
In early September I was, with an under-gamekeeper, on the border
of Bingley Wood at dusk during one very cold evening, when a
Nightjar came very near to us, and settled down in a pasture and
began to feed upon insects, which it pecked from the grass—I thought
these were ‘‘ daddy-longlegs”’ (Tipula), but could not be certain. Two
years ago one of my sons found a nest which contained an egg almost
pure white. Some time ago a gamekeeper’s wife asked me, at the
instance of her husband, to examine something which he had found
in the wood, which I took to be a pellet of the Tawny Owl, con-
taining the head of a Hawfinch in a perfect condition. She archly
asked if I would still continue to defend the species as a compara-
tively harmless bird as I had previously done? The keeper in
question told me he had found the nest of a Robin with eight eggs—
an unusually large clutch; the largest number I ever found was one
with seven eggs. Five is about the average clutch here.— H. P.
BUTTERFIELD (Wilsden).

Kestrel mobbed by Starlings.—Recently I was walking along
with a few friends on an eminence overlooking a tributary of the
Aire in this neighbourhood, when our attention was attracted by a
phenomenon at a considerable distance above the earth, which was
a source of no little wonder and perplexity to all the party. The
object when first seen must have been nearly a mile away, and kept
appearing and disappearing as if by magic, and, as the object came more
within the field of vision, it became apparent that this protean sight
was due to a flock of birds, which as they came nearer were seen to
be Starlings accompanied by a Kestrel. Whenever the Kestrel began
to hover or make the slightest delay in its passage through the air,

NOTHS AND QUERIES. 393

the flock of birds would concentrate and swoop down, and thus
drive it away, this being repeated as far as could be seen. Hvery one
of the party expressed the opinion that it was the most interesting
sight of its kind he had ever witnessed. Mr. Fred Booth, of Saltaire,
records, in the ‘ Yorkshire Observer,’ that lately he saw a flock of
Swallows mobbing a Sparrow-Hawk near Bingley. On September
12th I noticed a Swallow’s nest in a pig-cote, which contained un-
fledged young. On inquiry I ascertained the young left the nest on
or about the 21st of that month, after which they lingered round the
place where they were reared for three or four days, and then dis-
appeared altogether. About this time they nearly all left the
district, although their food must have been nearly as abundant as
any time during the past summer. They were flying about Sher-
wood Forest on Saturday (September 24th) in some numbers, accom-
panied by House-Martins. I think it can be safely said that both
the Swallows and House-Martins are here double-brooded to a
large extent, but not the Sand-Martin. One would, however, be
inclined to think that the latter species is more likely to be double-
brooded than either of its two relatives. The Sand-Martin is decidedly
a more early arrival to this country than its allied species, but it is
no less true that it leaves earlier—H. P. BurtErFievp (Wilsden).

Great Crested Grebe Rearing Three Broods.—On Sept. 11th, on
the ponds in Richmond Park, I saw a pair of Great Crested Grebes
(Podicipes cristatus) with two recently hatched young ones. A keeper
with whom I entered into conversation informed me that it was the
third brood they had brought off this season.—R. Fortune (5, Gros-
venor Terrace, Hast Parade, Harrogate).

Records of Rare Birds.—On Aug. 1ldth, at Frensham Pond, in
Surrey, I was fortunate enough to see half a dozen Black Terns
hawking for insects over the water. They were mostly adults, and
very tame. There was one Common Tern with them, and a few
Black-headed Gulls. At the same place I watched a Spotted Fly-
catcher treating a moth much as a cat behaves with a mouse. It flew
with it to the top of a notice-board, and beat it or its own mandibles
several times on the wood, while the moth’s wings whirred audibly.
It then released it, but caught it again as it made for some furze. It
then let it go once more and recaptured it, after which the bird flew
away with it out of sight. On Sept. dth, at Cley, Norfolk, I saw a
Black-tailed Godwit, which passed quite close to me, the wind being
north-west at the time, after a gale during the night. On Sept. 20th
I had two good views of a Barred Warbler, once as it flew past me,

Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., October, 1910. 2H

394 THE ZOOLOGIST.

when it looked much like a large Spotted Flycatcher, and again while
it was seated ina hedge. It then, as the sun was on it, appeared a
very light bird. It possibly arrived with a Jack-Snipe, which I put
up from some long grass hard by. The wind was about north, and
it was a lovely day after rain in the night.—H. C. Arnozp (Hast-
bourne College).

Daphne-berries eaten by Birds.—Is the Daphne, the fruit of
which Mr. E. P. Butterfield says (ante, p. 338) has a great attraction
for Greenfinches, the D. mezereum, which bears purple fragrant flowers
in early spring and showy, glossy red berries at the end of summer ?
If so, I can name another bird which eats them, but swallows the
whole berry. For several years we have known that some bird took
them, and have been annoyed at the loss of a pretty ornament to the
garden, and also at getting no seedling plants, which come up round
the trees if the berries are allowed to fall naturally. This year, with
the help of my gardener (who is an observant man) and his boy, I
have found out one bird at least which eats the berries. The gardener
and his boy said it was a Whitethroat, and they watched it eating
the berries. I did not actually see the bird eat them, but I identified
the Warbler frequenting the spot where the berries were being taken
(on July 29th) as a Lesser Whitethroat. The Common Whitethroat
rarely comes into village gardens—being a bird of the wayside and
the bushed waste—but the Lesser Whitethroat is a regular garden
bird. The Greenfinches here, in late autumn and winter (when we
have numbers of them), subsist largely on the fruit of the sweet-
briar, of which plant there is a good deal in the garden. They are
also fond of the berries of the Cotoneaster Simonsii, and I have seen
as many as eight of them at once in a bush close to the dining-room
window steadily feeding on the fruit. Greenfinches and Hawfinches
feed in much the same way, mouthing the berries, or whatever their
food may be, and at such times are very quiet, and rather slow and
stolid in their ways, though the latter are very easily alarmed.
O. Y. Artin (Bloxham, Oxon).

Deyo IAM IE oy WANG

A Rare Variety of the Common Viper.—While staying with my
friend Mr. G. A. Macmillan in Danby Dale, not far from Whitby, I
picked up on a moorland track the mutilated body of a small snake,
apparently about afoot long. The small size of the vertebral column
proved it a young one, and the remains of the skin made it certain
that it was a Viper. This skin was of a dark bluish grey, with

NOTES AND QUERIES. 395

a rather broad band of black down the centre of the back, instead of
the usual zigzag. This puzzled me, but on referring to Dr. Leighton’s
‘ British Serpents ’ I find that a single specimen has been taken with
this same black stripe; it occurred at Ulverston, and was originally
recorded and figured by the Rey. H. A. Macpherson in his ‘ Fauna
of Lakeland,’ p. Ixxviii. The figure, which is reproduced in Dr.
Leighton’s book, exactly represents the appearance of my specimen,
except that the stripe is hardly so broad as in the latter. Another
curious thing about this discovery is that, as I am positively assured
by my friends in Danby, no one has ever found a Viper in these
moors south of the Hsk. There is a legend (to be found, if I recollect
right, in Canon Atkinson’s ‘ Forty Years in a Moorland Parish’) that
St. Hilda ordered all the Vipers to depart to the north of the Esk, and
turned all the recalcitrant ones into ammonites. I found, in fact, a
general indisposition to believe that my specimen was really a Viper,
but, as there could be no doubt about that, some consolation was found
in the fact that it was a dead one.-—W. WarbE Fow Ler (Kingham,
Chipping Norton).
INSECTA.

An Introduced Pest to Rhododendrons.—Quite recently specimens

were received from a grower of rhododendrons at Fulham of an

STEPHANITIS RHODODENDRI, Horv.

insect found infesting that plant, with a request for identification.
The insect belongs to the Rhynchota and the family Tingidide, and
is the Stephanitis rhododendii described by Dr. Horvath (Ann. Mus.
Hung. iii. p. 567 (1905)), and found on rhododendrons in Holland

396 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Dr. Horvath informs me that he considers it certain that the species
has been introduced into Europe, an opinion with which I entirely
agree. I, however, would go further, and conclude that it has been
introduced from India, it being well known that the headquarters
of the genus Rhododendron is in the Himalayan region, and four
species of Stephanitis are already recorded from British India. It
will almost certainly be found by other horticulturists on rhodo-
dendrons in this country, and is therefore worth recording and
figuring.—W. L. Distant.

Bees killed by Wasps.—Referring to my notes in ‘ The Zoologist ’
(ante, p. 337) regarding the finding of dead bees which had been
picked up by Mr. Carter beneath the blossoms of some lime-trees, a
few specimens of which had been kindly sent for my inspection,
Mr. Carter informed me quite recently that a person at Saltaire
has discovered that the perforations in the thorax were due to wasps,
thus confirming the footnote by the Editor, in which it is stated
that specimens of B. lucorum, which had been stupefied by the
flowers of lime-trees, and then attacked by wasps, which made per-
forations in the thorax, had been sent by Dr. Giinther to the British
Museum. I was, however, informed by Mr. Carter that the person at
Saltaire had climbed the lime-trees and actually witnessed the modus
operandi, from which I gathered that wasps in these cases first
sting the bees so as to stupefy them, after which they begin to
perforate the thorax, and in many cases the abdomen, for the purpose
of extracting their contents. I may say that we have kept wasp-
nests in our garden for many years, but I never witnessed a wasp
attack a bee (Bombus), although we made experiments with almost
all kinds of insects. Tywort-flowers are very attractive to both bees
and wasps, but I never saw the latter actually attack and kill bees,
although they would drive each other away.

With regard to the observations of Mr. Selous in ‘The Zoologist’
(ante, p. 327) on Humble-Bees in relation to the flowers of the fox-
glove, it does not seem difficult to conceive that it may be an ad-
vantage to bees which visit certain kinds of flowers, such as the
foxglove, to extract nectar from perforations at the base of the
corolla in preference to entering at its mouth. Those bees which
enter the flower by the latter method are more likely to become
stupefied than the former. It may be said en passant that anyone
who has even a casual acquaintance with our Bombi cannot but have
been driven to the conclusion that no little unproductiveness is
caused by such stupefaction.—H. P. ButrrerFieLp (Wilsden).

( 397 )

NOLS OL NEW BOOKS:

Foreign Birds for Cage and Aviary. By Artuur G. Burtimr,
Ph.D., &. “The Feathered World” Publishing Office.
Two vols.

Dr. Burter has the reputation of being an ardent and
successful aviculturist—in fact, as is well known to his friends,
he may be said for years past to have almost lived in his
aviaries. His experience has therefore been a personal acquisi-
tion, and as he is also acquainted with ornithological hterature,
these volumes contain many gleanings from foreign as well as
British authorities. In our younger days a well-thumbed guide
was Bechstein’s ‘Cage and Chamber-Birds,’ which appeared as
one of the volumes in “‘ Bohn’s Illustrated Library.” In more
recent times we have had ‘ Die Fremdlandischen Stubenvogel,’
by Dr. Russ, while the foundation of the Avicultural Society,
with the issue of its monthly magazine, has raised aviculture to
a distinct branch of ornithology. There was still more than
room for an adequate work on the subject, and little doubt can
be felt that Dr. Butler has supplied that demand.

It is probable that among humbler and less wealthy folk the
keeping of birds in captivity as treasured pets has diminished.
The birdcatcher is now much less in evidence; in our schoolboy
days he constituted a distinct item in most rural landscapes, and
our petty cash at that period was largely devoted to the purchase
of such rarities as the ‘‘ Kiss-me-dear Chaffinch,” the Song-
Thrush with the true wild note, the ‘‘ Aberdevine,” and other
treasures originally derived from the store-cages of these gentry.
On the other hand, the aviaries of the more financially blessed
have now supplanted the cages, often dungeons, of the poor, and
this perhaps should be considered no small gain. At that time
also foreign birds were to be more frequently seen, and too often
in contemptible cages, for sailors then brought home pets for their
friends, which also for themselves beguiled the long voyage and

398 THE ZOOLOGIST.

cheered the dreary forecastle. This practice has greatly fallen
in disuse ; sailing-ships will soon be but shadows, and rules are
more stringent on steamships.

Dr. Butler’s first volume is devoted to ‘‘ the smaller foreign
birds,”’ and the second volume to the larger species. In the two
volumes there are described ‘‘ about a thousand species of cage-
birds,’ with directions how to feed and how to house them ;
while the ornithological gleanings from other writers constitute
material for the production of another of those modern tractates
on natural history with which the printing presses now heave.
Before taking leave of these volumes we will give one extract :—

‘“‘Tt has often been incorrectly asserted, and Darwin has repeated
the error in his ‘Descent of Man,’ that ‘the power of song and
brilliant colours have rarely been both acquired by the males of the
same species.’ To those who have kept a great many species, it is well
known that many of the most gorgeously coloured birds sing remark-
ably well: amongst the Thrushes, the Blue Rock-Thrush is one of
the finest songsters, Leiothrix is a notoriously grand songster, several
of the gorgeous Tanagers sing sweetly, the flaming Virginian Cardinal
is an acknowledged vocalist of merit, and many of the brightly coloured
Finches sing excellently ; the Jcterrde (with their startling contrasts
of yellow, orange, scarlet with black and white) number not a few fine
singers in their ranks, the Fruit-suckers of the Hast (Chloropsis) are
fine performers, and we have one of the most brilliant of all lving
birds—the King Bird of Paradise —gifted with a love chant not unlike
that of the Skylark.”

This publication should find many constant readers in this

country. We wish we had had it with us when in South Africa.

Check-list of North American Birds. Prepared by a Committee
of the American Ornithologists’ Union. Third edition,
revised. New York: American Ornithologists’ Union.

Tue first edition of this List was published in 1886, and the
second (revised) in 1895. The changes in nomenclature from
the second edition are numerous, and are due, we are told,
mainly to two causes: ‘‘ The recent unprecedented activity in
bibliographic research, abroad as well as in America, and the
strict application of the law of priority. Many generic changes
have resulted from raising to generic rank various groups recog-
nized only as subgenera in the first and second editions of the
List. This is a welcome reform; a subgenus is frequently a

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 399

hindrance, for a genus itself is only a more or less imaginary
quantity used in classification, and valid by the useful purpose
it serves.

The classification is unchanged, though recognized as not
now reflecting current views. ‘‘ The fact, however, that present
systems of classification in ornithology are admittedly tentative,
and differ widely among themselves, it seemed best, from the
standpoint of convenience, to continue the old Check-list system
unchanged,” since the users of it are familiar with the present
order of arrangement. In the opinion of the Committee, however,
a slight modification of the system proposed by Dr. Hans Gadow
in 1892 would best reflect our present knowledge of the classi-
fication of birds. Few workers will cavil at these decisions, and
it makes for edification to again refer to the title-page, and read
the golden maxim: ‘‘ Zoological Nomenclature is a means, not
an end, of Zoological Science.”

Among other excellent features in this List is the mention
not only of the type of each genus, but the statement also of how
the type was determined, a matter frequently of vital importance
in these days of somewhat arbitrary identification. A reference
to the original description of each genus and species is given,
synonymy being wisely eschewed in a Check-list. Trinomial
designations are, however, not eschewed, and these, of course,
will be received by different workers in diverse appreciation.
The volume has been produced with much care and by an able
Committee; it will be valued by working ornithologists outside
the North American faunistic area.

A List of British Birds, showing at a glance the exact Status of
each Species. By W. R. Oaitvin-Grant. Witherby & Co.

Tuts Catalogue is devised for labelling specimens or for refer-
ence, and may prove a successor to the List published by the
late Mr. Saunders in 1907, which, as so many additions to the
British Avifauna have been made since then, ‘‘is now out of
date.” The classification commences with the Phasianide and
terminates with the Corvide. It is more than a mere list, the
descriptive notes as to the status of the rarer species alone lifting
it out of that category; while by a columnar process we are

&

400 THE ZOOLOGIST.

at once informed whether the species enumerated is :—‘‘1. Resi-
dent. Breeds. 2. Regular summer visitor. Breeds. 8. Regular
autumn, winter, or spring visitor. Does not breed. 4. Occa-
sional visitor. Used to breed. 5. Occasional visitor. Never
known to breed.” Being printed on one side of the paper only,
the convenience for scissors and labelling is self-evident.

An Account of the Alcyonarians collected by the Royal Indian
Marine Survey Ship, ‘ Investigator,’ in the Indian Ocean.
By J. Arruur THomson, M.A., &c., and J. J. Smpson,
M.A., &c.; with a Report on the Species of Dendro-
nephthya, by W. D. Henperson, B.Sc., &c. Printed by
Order of the Trustees of the Indian Museum, Calcutta.

Tue name of the ‘Investigator’ is now well known in the
records of Indian oceanic zoology, and the material that it has
been the means of bringing home for study is probably still far
from being exhausted. The present volume (i1.) is devoted to a
description of the Alcyonarians of the Littoral Area, and is a
continuation of a previous memoir (Thomson and Henderson,
1906) dealing with the Deep-Sea forms. In the Introduction we
are told that both Mr. Simpson and Dr. Henderson performed a
very considerable portion of this work during their tenure of
Carnegie Scholarships and Fellowships, and that the Carnegie —
Trustees have also defrayed the expense of drawing four of the
plates, and of the zinc-blocks made for the text-illustrations.

The general result as regards geographical distribution of
species is that a large number are common to the Indian Ocean,
and to such localities in the Pacific Ocean as Borneo, Sumatra,
Java, Sulu Sea, Arafura Sea, Banda, Japan, Formosa, Torres
Straits, and North-West Australia. This is analogous to the
distribution of some terrestrial families of the Insecta. The
collection includes 187 species (61 belonging to Dendronephthya
or Spongodes), 108 are new, and it has been found necessary to
establish four new genera. Besides the textual illustrations
there are nine plates, two of which are coloured.

In these days, when special studies are the most that can be
attempted by zoologists, to many the descriptions and illustra-
tions of these living forms will prove somewhat of a revelation.

FROM GURNEY AND JAGKSON'S LIST
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MAL UID: “ERSE.,

ORNITHOLOGIST ; PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY, “MARISCHAL con u
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BY WILLIAM MACGILLIVRAY,
Writer to the Signet; Author of ‘ Rob Lindsay and his School,’ &o.
With a Scientific Appreciation by Professor J. ARTHUR THOMSON.
With Illustrations. Deny Svo. 10s. 6d. net.

Professor MacGillivray was the most accomplished Onan of
his time in Britain, and one of the last of the all-round naturalists.
The numerous extracts from what remains of his manuseript journals
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full of human interest, and the representative selections from his
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where he learned and ignent

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.

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Zool.

Right half of SERRANUS GIGAS.

SERRANUS SCRIBA.
APOGON REX MULLORUM
CENTROPRISTES HEPATUS.

1
2
3.
4

THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 833.—November. 1910.

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN WOOD.
(WitH Map sHowi1ne Posttion oF Nests in 1910.)

By 8S. E. Brock.

Description of Wood.—The plantation with which the follow-
ing remarks deal is situated in the north-east of Linlithgowshire,
within a mile of the Midlothian border. It lies at an altitude of
rather less than 200 ft., is 25°999 acres in area, and is of very
mixed growth. Briefly described, the south and north-west
sections consist of thickly planted Scots-fir and spruce of con-
siderable age, shading the ground so closely that undergrowth
hardly survives except round the outskirts. The central and
eastern portions—which together include the larger part of the
whole wood—contain an irregular growth of young Scots-fir and
larch, chiefly the former, averaging 12-15 ft. in height. Round
the edge of the wood is a broad border of well-grown trees of
various species—elm, ash, oak, Spanish chestnut, &c.—together
with such bushes as elder and guelder-rose. To the north the
wood ends in a long narrow strip, mainly deciduous in growth.
A wide ride runs round the outer edge ; a narrower one extends
north and south through the centre; while a small burn flows
through from west to east. Main features of the undergrowth
are clumps of ferns of three species (Athyrium /filix-foemina,
Lastrea filiz-mas, and L. dilatata), and, in the more open parts,
clumps of Phalaris arundinacea—beloved of Whitethroats—and
beds of rose-bay (Hpilobium angustifolium).

Zool, 4th ser. vol. XIV., November, 1910, 21

402 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The fact that open spaces are scarce except in the vicinity of
the rides must be taken into account in considering the positions
of the nests.

Methods of Arrival and Departure.—In the case of the Willow-
Wren, as in most of our summer migrants, the male birds reach
the breeding-grounds in advance of the females. In this district
the first arrivals usually show themselves during the third week
in April, the average date being about the 19th of that month.
The filling-up of the area takes time, and is seldom complete—
even as regards the males—until May isin. The arrival of the
females commences about a fortnight after that of the earliest
males, and appears to extend, as a rule, over a shorter space of
time. In a favourable season the whole migration of both sexes
may be complete in about three weeks, but in a broken spring
this is otherwise. For example, in 1910, which had a par-
ticularly barren April, with an unusual prevalence of strong cold
north-west winds, the arrival of Willow-Wrens was exceptionally
irregular and protracted. Thus, while the first males reached
the wood on April 21st, only a third of the whole had settled
down by the end of the month, and the population did not
approach completion until May 8th—9th (there was evidence
elsewhere of males continuing to arrive as late as May 20th). A
close watch for females revealed none before May 15th, and the
bulk of them arrived with a rush between that date and the
18th. A table may make this arrival clearer :—

Male birds Male birds

Date. Wind. present in wood. ind. present in wood.
April 20 rece: Wie WIEN eodacpd0c05. — May 1 560000 N. Ww. modeente oo ©

pete banat N.W. strong ...... 3 Re sane Soo

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Wrens mostly arrived May 15-18.)

(The census of the wood was taken in the afternoons, as
through-passage males were frequently present in the early
hours of the day; almost invariably these had passed on by
midday.)

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN. WOOD. 403

The facts of departure from nesting-haunts are always more
difficult to grasp than those of arrival. It seems, however, that
many of the adult Willow-Wrens leave their breeding-grounds in
the end of July, and perhaps the only birds remaining are those
with late broods. This departure, however, is largely concealed
by the leisurely through-passage of the birds from further north.
Young birds commence to wander as soon as they are in-
dependent of their parents, and by mid-July, in a normal
season, many show themselves in gardens and other spots
hitherto strange to the species. Through-passage of northern
birds continues throughout August, but rapidly thins out in
September, and usually all have passed on by the end of that
month. :

Distribution of Pairs and Nests.—In 1910 the wood, which,
as already stated, is 25°999 acres in extent, held twenty-two
pairs of Willow-Wrens, and, in addition, what appeared to be
two unmated males. (The ‘‘ song-centres’’ of these two birds
are indicated in the map thus: XXIII, XXIV.)

That mateless birds occur, even amongst our small Passerines,
can scarcely be doubted. The fact, when it exists in such an
abundant species as the Willow- Wren, is not very easy to appre-
ciate, but in one or two other warblers, notably the Blackcap, I
yearly meet with instances. In this county—unlike its relative
the Garden-Warbler, which is generally, though sparingly, dis-
tributed—the Blackcap is local and somewhat irregular in appear-
ance. The fact that males are more abundant than females has
been repeatedly indicated by the arrival of scattered birds of the
former sex in spring, which settle down in suitable haunts for
some weeks, and, failing to procure mates, wander away into
fresh ground in June or early July, whereas those few which are
mated remain until August. The same phenomenon is to a
lesser extent apparent in the Garden-Warbler. It is probably
these wandering, unpaired birds which so frequently show them-
selves at curious times of the year in localities where none of the
species breed. Thus, I have records of solitary male Blackcaps
appearing in non-breeding spots in June 27th, July 2nd, July
3rd; Garden-Warblers on July 1st, July 7th; and Wood-Wrens
on June 20th, June 22nd.

Another local instance, somewhat similar to those of Black-
212

404 THE ZOOLOGIST,

cap and Garden-Warbler, is the Sedge-Warbler. In 1908, owing
to disaster during migration or other cause, there was a great
shortage in the number of Sedge-Warblers, and several nesting
areas, including the wood with which this article is specially
concerned, were entirely deserted by the species. No recovery
in numbers was apparent in 1909, but in the following spring
some of the former haunts began to fill up, and three males
settled in the wood. But only one of these obtained a mate and
nested, the other two remaining solitary throughout May and
into June, disappearing altogether in the latter month.

These three cases of Blackcap, Garden-Warbler, and Sedge-
Warbler seem to afford some evidence that the males are the
pioneers in the settling of new breeding areas. The fact that
the females follow them in smaller numbers is at least suggestive
of numerical inferiority in that sex.

Returning to the Willow-Wren. The accompanying map,
for the preparation of which I am indebted to my friend Mr.
R. M. Adam, shows the position of twenty-five nests, twenty-one
of which are first broods. It will be noticed that these nests
are somewhat irregularly distributed throughout the wood, more
so than the singing-posts of the males. This is to be partly
explained by the fact that, while the males show little preference
in the choice of their singing-posts, the females dislike dense
cover for their nests, and the latter are consequently placed in
whatever open spaces are readily accessible.

It is necessary here to say a few words on these singing-
posts and their relation to the nests. On reaching their breed-
ing-haunts the males soon settle down into regular beats, con-
fining their feeding-excursions within certain more or less definite
limits. The areas comprised within these limits have been
designated the ‘‘ territories’ of the birds, and the term is a con-
venient one, since such restricted areas do undoubtedly exist
amongst many of our summer birds. At the same time my
experience leads me to doubt whether too much stress has not
been laid on the precise and sharp demarcation of these terri-
tories. Speaking here solely of the Willow-Wren, it seems that
the facts are roughly as follows: In each territory there exists a
tree or group of trees chosen by the male as his headquarters,
and here a large proportion of his time is spent prior to the

405

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN WOOD.

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406 THE ZOOLOGIST.

arrival of the female; less during pairing-time ; again more
during incubation; and less during the rearing of the brood.
While these singing-posts—or “‘song-centres,” as they may be
called—are only exceptionally intruded upon by neighbouring
males, adjacent territories may overlap—that is to say, their
outlying parts may be common to two or even more males. This
mutual encroachment of different birds is most pronounced,
naturally, in woods thickly populated by the species. Further,
on the arrival of the females, the males extend their rounds
temporarily, visiting spots hitherto ignored, and, as will be
repeated presently, nests may be builtin such places. In short,
it would be quite impossible, without drawing too largely on
the imagination, to mark off in the map of this wood de-
finite boundaries dividing the individual territories from one
another.

From the nebulosity of the dividing lines it follows that
neighbouring birds frequently meet. When this happens, con-
flicts may take place, but quite as frequently the birds ignore
each other. Males are the more jealous, but on occasion I
have known the females attack and drive away others of
their sex.

The choice of the nesting-site appears to lie with the female,
and it may be pointed out that, of the twenty-one first broods in
the wood, in no instance was the nest situated immediately
beneath or beside the male’s song-centre; usually it was at
some considerable distance, and in a number of cases in ground
not previously included in the male’s beat. This latter fact,
perhaps, need not surprise one. There is nothing to show that
the female has any cognizance of what constitutes the limits of
her mate’s territory. Certain it is, at any rate, that she re-
peatedly passes beyond these limits, and in some cases nests
outside them. An interesting illustration of the latter case is
furnished by the three nests, Nos. 10,11, 12. Here an open
fern-grown piece of ground, nearly clear of trees, and sur-
rounded on all sides by thick growth, has been selected by three
different females for nesting-quarters, although none of the males
included this part within their territories. Two of the nests
were situated only thirteen yards apart. At the same time it
seems that in woods of thin growth the nests tend to be on the

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN WOOD. 407

average nearer the song-centres. No doubt in this respect, as
in others, environment is not without effect on the habits of
the birds.

It may, perhaps, be not altogether superfluous to give from
my notes one or two short extracts, selected as illustrating
different points in the relationship of neighbouring pairs of
birds :—

** May 20th, 11 a.m.: Watched Willow-Wren building. The
situation chosen for the nest is apparently outside the male’s
territory, since on all previous visits he was never observed to
approach nearer than a point some fifteen yards distant. To-
day, however, he was notably much more restless than usual,
being incessantly on the move, and frequently visiting spots
previously unknown to him. .. . A third bird (female ?), during
the half-hour I remained, was frequently feeding quietly within
a few yards of the nest. Though it could not but be visible to
the other birds, no attention was paid to it.

** May 21st, 3.30 p.m.: . . One bird, whose usual singing-post
is in a wild cherry-tree, was observed to fly straight into the fir-
clump, fifty yards away, which is the central point in the neigh-
bouring bird’s territory. Here it remained for some minutes,
singing quietly, and then returned without molestation.

“May 20th, 3.50 a.m.:.. . Once the male from the next
territory had penetrated almost to the quarry (the song-centre
of male No.I.). Male No. I. soon noticed him, and pursued him
instantly, chasing him for a long distance beyond his own
territory.

“May 24th, 3 p.m.: Two pairs of birds watched. The males
were frequently in close proximity to each other. On one occa-
sion they were singing in two neighbouring trees whose branches
interlaced. No jealousy shown. The female of pair No. I.
several times wandered into the territory of the other pair, and
once passed right through it to some unoccupied ground on the
other side. This bird was watched building her nest—which is
still unlined—in the top of a high bank within a few yards of the
favourite tree of male No. II. Male No. I. kept in fairly close
attendance on her, occasionally uttering the buzzing note, and
passing from tree to tree in sluggish flight.”’

408 THE ZCOLOGIST.
TaBLE or NEsts.
Approximate! Distance |
No. E Direction of | Distance from Date of | Date of
of Site. Opening. | from ‘‘ Song- nearest Laying. Fledging. | Clutch.
Nest. centre.” Nest. r |
1 | Side of grassy bank | west 15 yards | 115 yards | (May 30) | June 30 | 6
2 | Amongst dead grass-|south-east| 12 ,, 115 ,, + | (May 27) |June27 | 6
grown branches
3 | In long rough grass, | south Bp 197 ,, |Junel7 | (nest de- | (incom-
1 ft. above ground serted) | Plete)
4 | Side of grassy bank | west 16 ,, 45 ,, | (May 23) | June 22 | 5
5 | Base of fern-clump | east Aine vsts Ae June 2 July 2 6
6 “A Ke south 20 es AD aes May 25 June26 | 6
7 | Amongst dead leaves | south 25s, 42 ,, | (May 21) | June 22 7
8 | Amongst dead grass- | south-east| 24 _,, HS}. 5, May 26 June 28 6
grown branches
9 | In Phalaris clump south-west} 20 ,, BO) np May 27 June28 | 7
10 | Amongst long grass | north-west} 15 __,, 18 ,, | (May 28) | June27 | 5
11 | Base of fern-clump j|south-east| 30 ,, 13, _~=| June 4 July 4 5
12 50 50 north-west! 22 ,, IB (May 23) | June 25 y
13 | Amongst long grass |south-east| 19 ,, 10 ,, | (May 30) | June 30 6
14 | In Epilobium bed west Ae HO aeas May 27 June 26 6
15 | In nettle-bed east 13} | 55 BD) 55 May 24 (young de-| 8
stroyed)
16 | Amongst dead bran- | south Zonet G18} gp May 28 June 29 6
ches
17 | In Epilobium bed east TS) 56 BTS) on May 27 June 25 6
18 | In grassy ditch below | east BO) gs 71 ,, |May26 | June 26 5
bramble-bush
19 | Amongst dead grass- | west OB 36 50s (May 25) | June 25 6
grown branches |
20 a 5 east 2M EG 62 (June 17) | July 16 4
21 | In Phalaris clump north B10) 5g Aine May 24 June 26 7
22 | (Not discovered) 2 2 ? 2 y

(Laying-dates within brackets are approximate only, the nests
not being discovered before commencement of incubation. These
dates are somewhat later than usual, the season being a back-

ward one.
May 20th.)

The usual laying-time in this district is about

The two late nests, Nos. 8 and 20, may possibly have been

second attempts due to the first nests having been destroyed,
but I believe the more probable explanation to be that the females
in these cases were merely slower in attaining breeding condition
than their neighbours.

Willow-Wrens are successful beyond many birds in their
nesting. Of the twenty-one nests in a wood by no means inno-
cent of Stoat and Weasel, probably the most dangerous enemies
of ground-nesting birds, only two came to grief, one being robbed
when the young were half-grown, and the other deserted.

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN WOOD. 409

Addled eggs are less frequent in this species than in many
others. Only one egg out of one hundred and twenty failed to
hatch, and this exception was a dwarf specimen, the first-laid
egg of nest No. 14. Compare with Hedge-Sparrow or Yellow
Bunting. Whether there is any particular bias as to the direction
the nest should face is doubtful. In the foregoing list there
appears to be a tendency to avoidance of north, but in order to
decide the question it would be necessary to collect statistics of a
very much larger number of nests. Unfortunately this detail
has been neglected in previous years’ records.

After the fledging of the young the nests were taken to pieces
and their composition fully noted. These have been omitted
from the table to avoid a redundancy of details. Considerable
variation occurred. The following case (nest No. 15) may be
taken as representative, description commencing with exterior :
Few dead leaves; little moss and dry fern-fronds; much dry
grass, coarser at first, and of finer materials in inside cup, which
is also much more closely interwoven; lining of a few horse-
hairs, rootlets, and one hundred and twenty feathers, mainly
Pheasant’s. Dead leaves, moss, and fern-fronds are nct always
used, and the lining of horsehair and rootlets may likewise be
absent. The feather lining is not always quite distinct from the
grass material, 2. e. the bird, after having commenced the lining,
may add further grasses amongst the feathers. The quantity of
feathers used varied between fifty and two hundred and twenty
in number. Eleven nests had a predominance of Pheasant’s
feathers ; six showed preference for those of Ring-Doves; the
remainder were more varied.

The commonest clutch is six. Thus there are: 1 four,
4 fives, 10 sixes, 4 sevens, 1 eight; while the clutches of the
four second broods were 3, 3, 4, 4 respectively. The size of
clutch in birds is sometimes a little loosely stated. Most autho-
rities give the Willow-Wren’s clutch as six to nine or five to
eight. But four is not a rare clutch, and three is found now
and then—even with first broods. There can be little doubt
that in this matter as in many others there is considerable local
difference, and detailed lists of clutches from each county in
Britain—if we had them—could not fail to be of considerable
interest from several aspects. To be of real service, however,

410 THE ZOOLOGIST.

such lists would require to include a large number of nests, and
also to extend over a series of years, since it seems that—
whether the cause be directly climatic, or through the food-
supply*—there is variation in different seasons.

It seems probable that in the Willow-Wren, as in so many
other birds, the same nesting-haunts are resorted to in successive
seasons by the same individuals, and this no doubt applies to
both sexes. Where different pairs breed in such close proximity,
as in the present species, evidence is somewhat difficult to collect.
The best instance in the wood is perhaps that of pair No. 19. In
1908 this pair nested in a small spruce-bush, about two feet
from the ground. The following year (1909) the nest was built
amongst some prostrate grass-grown dead branches, twenty yards
away from that of the previous season. The 1910 site was
within eight yards of the 1909 one, in a similar situation, and,
most interesting of all, the second brood was reared in the 1908
nest in the little spruce-tree, which, owing to its sheltered posi-
tion, had remained practically intact for two years. It was
used by the bird without any repair beyond the addition of a
few fresh feathers in the lining. This adaptation of an old nest
in the Willow-Wren is unique in my experience. It is perhaps
reasonable to assume that one female was responsible for all
three nests. Although only eight first broods and five second
broods were located in the wood in 1909, it may be worth while
to state their relationship to 1910 nests. Excluding the instance
just cited, the facts are :—

Of seven first nests in 1909, five were within fifty yards of
1910 sites (first nests): 5, 6, 40, 40, 48 yards respec-
tively.

Of five second nests in 1909, four were within fifty yards of
1910 sites (first nests): same spot, 2, 30, 49 respectively.

The remaining two first nests and one second nest were at
creater distances.

General Habits.—Broadly speaking, male Willow- Wrens may
be said to pass through four stages after their arrival in their
breeding-haunts, each stage being marked by characteristic
behaviour. There is, first of all, the period previous to the

* Age is another probable factor, not necessarily constant in its applica-
tion, since the proportion of young breeding birds may vary yearly.

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN WOOD. 411

arrival of the females ; secondly, the period between the latter’s
arrival and the commencement of incubation ; thirdly, the in-
terval during incubation ; and, lastly, the extent of time between
the hatching of the young and their becoming independent of
their parents.

During the first period—that previous to the arrival of the
females, which may extend from a fortnight to nearly a month,
as in 1910—the life of the males is a systematic and regular one.
Commencing their song in the morning a little before sunrise
(one of the last birds to do so, being frequently an hour later
than such early birds as Sky-Lark or Song-Thrush), they sing
most persistently and regularly for the first hour or two, feeding
little, and spending the greater part of the time in the ‘‘ song-
centre.” They are decidedly more sedentary than later in the
day, frequently remaining motionless on a twig for several seconds
together, only their heads moving restlessly. The songs are
loud, and uttered with the utmost regularity, with pauses between
of about ten seconds in duration. As the day advances they
begin to feed with greater freedom, and extend their excursions,
but still exhibit distinct preference for one particular part of
their territory. Fights with neighbouring birds are frequent,
though seldom very earnest, usually consisting merely of an
aerial twirl or two, accompanied by a little menacing bill-snap-
ping; during these encounters snatches of the song may be
uttered in a low tone.

On the arrival of the females the commencement of the
second stage in the male’s year is evidenced by a marked change
in behaviour. In place of the comparatively sedentary habit,
and loud, regularly uttered song distinctive of the previous
period in the early hours of the day, an extreme restlessness
becomes apparent, and the song is now low in tone and very
irregular in utterance, whole minutes together of silence some-
times elapsing. For the time being the song-centre is almost
entirely deserted, and incessant wandering over a wide area
becomes characteristic, this wandering frequently taking the
male beyond what has hitherto been the confines of his beat.
It is at this time, too, that a low ‘‘cheep, cheep” begins to be
uttered between the songs, and this feature becomes more
prominent as the days elapse. He follows the female at varying

412 THRE ZOOLOGIST.

distances, his body and wings occasionally shivering with sup-
pressed excitement, and now and then, on approaching her very
closely, he utters a strange trilling or ‘‘ buzzing’? note—impos-
sible of translation—waving his wings gently. At other times he
will dart at her, and pursue her with lightning speed through the
trees. Again, after remaining for a few seconds on an upper
bough in a motionless and curiously constrained attitude, he
will float downwards towards the female with slow-flapping
wings—a, dainty performance, which lives in the memory., The
female is much less demonstrative, the only sign of emotion
being an occasional shiver of the wings.

Although much more frequent and energetic during the first
hours of daylight, these ‘‘courting” habits are commonly in
evidence in modified form during the day. I have witnessed
them as late as 5 p.m.

Coition, her readiness for which the female signifies by a
sentle waving motion of the wings, takes place at various times
of the day, most frequently, apparently, in early morning, but
at times late in the afternoon. In two pairs of birds this year
(1910) it was first noticed three and two days respectively before
the laying of the first egg. Probably each egg requires separate
fertilization, although it is a matter of very great difficulty to
obtain complete evidence in wild birds. It is certain, at any
rate, that more than one pairing may take place; I have noticed
coition in species representative of such widely different families
as Willow-Wren, Moorhen, and Long-eared Owl, after part of
the clutch had been deposited.

Nest-building devolves entirely on the female. I have at
least never yet seen the male take any share in the work. While
it is in progress he pays only irregular attention to his mate,
pursuing her playfully on occasion, but frequently wandering
some distance away from her. Restlessness and excitability still
mark him however. Materials are usually fetched from only a
short distance, and the hen frequently gets into the habit of
visiting certain spots in search of them, even giving herself un-
necessary trouble to do so. The rate of construction appears to
depend largely on the physical condition of the female, and in
some cases is very rapid, building proceeding at intervals all
day, and nests may contain the first egg within six days from

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN WOOD. 413

the date of the commencement of building. Egg-laying seems
to take place usually from 4 to 6 a.m., the birds leaving their
nests again before 9 o’clock. There are exceptions, however.
For instance, one bird (No. 18) did not lay her first egg until
after 10 a.m.; the second was deposited before that hour on the
succeeding day; and the third between 10 and 11 a.m. on the
third day. One egg is laid each day. As the eggs increase in
number the birds begin to sit for longer periods, and incubation
may commence before the full clutch is deposited. In this
respect there is great variation, some birds incubating from the
fourth or fifth egg, others waiting until the clutch is complete,
and, exceptionally, even a day longer. The hatching of the
young, consequently, may extend over a day or two.

During the laying of the eggs, and before incubation has
commenced, the male continues to pay considerable, though
intermittent, attention to the female. His behaviour, however,
undergoes some slight modification. His excitement decreases,
he becomes more sedentary, and his song, although still low in
tone, is uttered more frequently and is unusually prolonged, the
‘““cheep’’ note being almost invariably interpolated. On the
female going on to lay, he escorts her to the nest, and then,
deprived of her stimulating presence, he shows a tendency to
revert to his old habits of the period previous to her arrival.
He returns to his old ‘‘song-centre” and resumes his customary
mode of life; the song becomes louder and more normal, the
“cheep” note being comparatively little uttered. This note,
however, persists with some males throughout the summer; the
mental attitude underlying it is difficult to appreciate.

With the commencement of incubation, the third stage in
the male’s year, already foreshadowed during laying-time, comes
into being. The habits of this period are largely a repetition of
those of the first. The “‘song-centre’’ regains its ascendency,
and from that point of vantage the old excursions round the area
recommence, varied by indeterminate tussles with other males.
IT have not observed them feed their mates during incubation ;
they may do so exceptionally, however, since I have seen them
carry food to the female as she sat brooding newly hatched
young. (It is in fact dangerous to generalize; no two birds
behave exactly alike throughout the season.) They rarely go

414 THE ZOOLOGIST.

near the nests, only chasing the females playfully when the
latter are on their short feeding-excursions.

The hens sit very constantly, only leaving their nests for a
few minutes in search of food at various times of the day, but
apparently chiefly in early morning and again about sunset.
Incubation lasts twelve to thirteen days, the young spending
thirteen to fourteen in the nest. These are average periods;
here again there are differences, sometimes puzzling, between
neighbouring nests—in one case, nearly fifteen days were required
for incubation. The shortest time spent in the nest by broods
is twelve days, but thirteen or fourteen is more common. If
disturbed, they are able to flutter out when only nine or ten days
old. When the young are still only a day or two old much time
is spent brooding them, the female feeding them once or twice,
and then covering them for a considerable interval before going
off for a fresh supply of food. These intervals of brooding
decrease in extent day by day, and cease finally when the young
are about eight days old. At this stage, too, the female no
longer broods them by night, and roosts elsewhere; but this
may be merely a question of room—six or seven nearly fledged
Willow-Wrens in a nest are alesson in tight packing! With the
hatching of the young the male normally enters on his fourth
stage. He takes, as a rule, a fair share in the rearing of the
family, and less time is consequently passed in the “‘song-centre.”’
The song, however, continues practically unabated, being re-
peatedly uttered while the bird’s bill is full of caterpillars. Some
males commence to assist their mates as soon as the young are
hatched; others ignore the latter for some days. In one case
the male only tardily realized his duties when the young were
nine days old. The following notes, referring to nest No. 8,
when the young were three days old, may be taken as typical of
that stage; here the male had not yet taken any notice of the
young birds, though he did so a little later on :—

‘‘June 16th, 11.50 to 12.50 p.m. :—11.50, female on nest;
11.55, female left nest; fed young 11.58, 12.0, 12.10, and then
brooded until 12.20; fed young again 12.23, 12.26, 12.29, 12.32,
12.36, and then brooded until 12.45; had not returned by 12.50.
Thus in the hour she fed the young eight times, and brooded
them for intervals of ten and nine minutes.”

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN WOOD. 415

Another record, referring to nest No. 16, when the young
were a few days older (six days old) :—

“June 21st, 10 to 11 a.m.:—10.1, male fed young; 10.2,
female fed and then brooded; 10.5, male fed; 10.9, male fed;
10.10, female left nest; 10.11, female fed; 10.12, male fed;
10.17, female fed; 10.28, male fed; 10.24, female fed; 10.25,
male fed ; 10.27, male fed; 10.28, female fed and then brooded ;
10.29, male fed; 10.30, female left nest; 10.80, male fed;
10.31, female fed and then brooded; 10.82, male fed; 10.37,
male fed; 10.37, female left nest; 10.88, both fed; 10.39, female
fed; 10.40, male fed; 10.42, female fed; 10.48, female fed ;
10.45, female fed and then brooded; 10.47, male fed; 10.58,
female left nest.” Summarizing: the male fed the young
fourteen times in the hour; the female fed them eleven times,
and brooded for four intervals of eight, two, six, and thirteen
minutes.

A very large proportion of the food brought to the young
consists of insect-larve. The quantity destroyed must be
enormous; a rough calculation showed that the young broods
in this wood, when nearly fledged, must have consumed a
minimum of something like 7500 larve per day! It is an
interesting fact that after the young have left the nest, larve
form a much smaller proportion of their food, the imagos of
Diptera, and apparently certain Heteroptera (Psallus, Phytocoris,
&¢.), becoming the chief resource. The second broods are also
fed principally on Diptera, both before and after leaving the
nest. This change of food, however, may be merely a local
phenomenon, due to increase or decrease in certain forms of
food. The fledged young remain in charge of the female—the
male takes less interest in them—for some ten days after quitting
the nest. The first day or two of this period is spent in the
vicinity of the deserted nursery, but as the young gather strength
and confidence, they soon begin to wander into new ground, the
female accompanying them. Soon they become quite capable
of feeding themselves, picking insects off the leaves and spring-
ing after those on the wing with the skill of a Flycatcher.
Towards the end of the ten days, the old bird ceases altogether
to act as food-provider, and becomes merely the sentinel of the
family, ever watchful for sign of danger. By the middle of July

416 THE ZOOLOGIST.

many of the young birds, recognizable by their yellow plumage
and immature call-note, leave the place of their birth altogether,
wandering leisurely southwards.

Judging from the systematic observation of the last two
years in this wood, it would appear that the local proportion of
Willow-Wrens having second broods is about fifteen to twenty
per cent. In 1910 there were four second nests, from three of
which broods were reared, one having the eggs destroyed. (These
nests belonged to pairs Nos. 4, 18, 19, 22; they are indicated in
the map thus A.) The intervals between the fledging of the first
broods and the commencement of laying for the second clutch
were, in three of the cases, approximately ten, fifteen, and eight
days respectively; the sites being seventeen, twenty, and fifty-
five yards distant from the first nests. As already stated, the
food of the second broods, both while in the nest and after
leaving it, consists chiefly of Diptera in the mature form—a
decided contrast to that of the first broods. Another point of
distinction is that the males frequently take no share whatever
in the feeding of these late families. This was the case in all
three second broods reared in 1910, although in each instance
the males had taken their share with the earlier families. The
explanation appeared to be that they had by that date (late July)
already departed from the locality, leaving their more dutiful
mates to their own resources. In the previous season, however,
when the broods were a week earlier, the males in some cases
assisted in their rearing, so that there is no invariable rule in
the matter. The rate of feeding is decidedly more rapid with
these second broods. Thus while first broods, when nearly
fledged, are fed (by both parents) from fifteen to thirty times in
the hour, second broods at the same stage of development—even
when tended by the female alone—are fed at the rate of thirty-
five to fifty times per hour. One bird was observed to feed her ~
young seventy times in that period—an astonishing performance,
the more so that it took place in an exposed locality during half
a gale of wind. This increased activity is no doubt chiefly due
to the greater abundance of food in late July, but the desire of
the birds to set out on their southward journey is probably a
contributory cause, making them restless and eager in their work.

The vocabulary of Willow-Wrens is an unusually limited one.

THE WILLOW-WRENS OF A LOTHIAN WOOD. 417

Apart from the song, the principal notes are: the ‘‘ pooee”’ call
and alarm-note (chiefly used as the latter); the buzzing-note of
the male during pairing-time; the ‘“‘ cheep”’ note introduced on
certain occasions between the songs. Other notes are uttered,
but are less well-marked. Frequently a distinct difference
between the call-notes of male and female in particular pairs
can be detected, but I have been unable to satisfy myself whether
this distinction is a sexual one, or merely individual. The note
of the young on first leaving the nest is a very hoarse imitation
of the “‘ pooee”’ of their parents, and suffices to distinguish them
for some time. The song usually wanes in July, and ceases
between the middle of that month and early August. In some
seasons, however, the break is hardly perceptible.* A few young
males commence to sing in late July or early August, but the
bulk of the autumn song, which extends into September, pro-
ceeds, I believe, from the old males, which after their moult are
little less yellow than the young, and therefore not easily dis-
tinguished. I judge rather from the comparative excellence of
the song. Once, and once only, I have heard a female try to
sing. This was in May, during pairing-time, and appeared to
be the outcome of sexual excitement ; the song was very feeble,
consisting merely of a few stammering notes, uttered very simi-
larly to the very earliest efforts of the young males in autumn.

In August, among the roaming, playful, inquisitive bands of
old and young, a recurrence of the buzzing-note of the courting
season is repeatedly to be heard during early morning and
forenoon. The birds uttering it appear to be mostly, if not
entirely, old males. The accompanying song is low, but com-
plete in utterance and prolonged; while the ‘“‘cheep”’ note is
also occasionally emitted. Indeed, except for the comparative
absence of excitement, the bird’s bearing is strongly reminiscent
of that shown in May, about egg-laying time. This behaviour
is interesting, showing apparent analogy to the autumn displays
of such birds as Black Grouse.

* The break is longest in dry and warm seasons; shortest in wet and
cool ones.

Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV. November, 1910. 2K

418 THE ZOOLOGIST.

PHARYNGEAL TEETH OF FISHES.
By CononeL C. EH. SuepHerp (Indian Army).
(Puate IT.)

Tuer teeth of fishes, whether those visible on a cursory
examination of the external characteristics of a fish, or those in
the anterior part of the buccal cavity on the vomer, the palatine
and pterygoid bones, and on the tongue, furnishing important
data for the identification of a fish, have in all works on fishes
received a good deal of notice, and are usually fully remarked
on. But there is another set in the mouths of most Teleostean
fishes that also deserves attention, but which, as a rule, has re-
ceived very little notice. Thisis the set of the pharyngeal teeth,
which, except in the case of the families comprising Wrasses and
Carps, have received but scant and more often no attention.
Anyone interested in this question can verify the importance of
these teeth for himself by a short visit to the British Museum of
Natural History at South Kensington. Here, by inspecting the
show-case devoted to the anatomy of fishes in the small alcove off
the Central Hall, the pharyngeal teeth of the Cod, Pike, Amia
calva, Ballan Wrasse, and the formidable pharyngeal teeth of the
Sunfish (Orthagoriscus mola) can be seen. In the large room set
apart for fishes, by looking up into the mouths of the skeleton
specimens of Sciena aquila, Bagarius yarrellii, and Lates nilo-
ticus the pharyngeal teeth may be seen, and those of the
Angler (Lophius piscatorius) can be studied. In a case, but
separated from the skull, the very curious pharyngeal teeth of
Pseudoscarus muricatus can be seen, and are well deserving of
attention.

Pharyngeal teeth may be either villiform, which are very ©
fine teeth, feeling almost like a smooth file to the finger; or
cardiform, which are much stouter with a backward curve to
them—this kind of tooth runs up to a comparatively large size,

PHARYNGEAL TEETH OF FISHES. 419

as in the Sunfish. Or the pharyngeal teeth may be crushing
teeth of a granular form, as in the Wrasses (Labride) ; or molayri-
form, set on stalks, and biting against a horny pad, as in the
Carp family (Cyprinide) ; or of a pavement-like structure, as in
the Pseudoscarus muricatus; or setiform, like bristles, as in the
Black Pomfret (Stromateus niger).

The external teeth and those in the anterior part of the
mouth are adapted for seizing the fishes’ prey. The pharyngeal
teeth are, probably, the principal masticatory organs; in the
Carp family (Cyprinide) they undoubtedly are. Some Teleostean
fishes, e.g. the Twait Shad (Clupea jfinta), are devoid of any
pharyngeal teeth. Fish that prey on other fishes and that
swallow them whole would have the action of their gastric juices
much facilitated for the process of digestion, if the scales of the
swallowed fish were scarified and torn by the pharyngeal teeth,
as they must be in the process of swallowing, rather than if the fish
arrived in the stomach with its scaly covering intact ; while fish
that live wholly or partially on crustaceans, which may be called
*‘ the staff of life” for fishes, can give them a scrunch in passing
through their pharynx that must loosen the shell of the crusta-
cean and facilitate digestion. ‘The Wrasses (Labride) that feed
on shell-fish have their granular teeth in the upper and lower
pharyngeals adapted to crush the shell, they not being provided
with teeth in the front part of the mouth for this work, as is
the case in the Sea Bream family (Sparide). The Carp (Cyprinus
carpio), a vegetarian, finds its molariform teeth most useful for
the masticating of its food, as do no doubt the rest of this family.
The pharyngeal teeth also help largely in working the food down
into the esophagus, especially in those fish that have strongly
cardiform teeth; and as the pharyngeal teeth are surrounded
and embedded in mucous membrane, they probably, by their
lacerating the skin of the prey, enable a fish to get a taste of
what he is eating, a pleasure that fishes are not generally
credited with enjoying.

To form a correct notion of the pharyngeal teeth and their
place in the mouth, it would be well to get a general idea of the
anatomy of this part. The accompanying diagram may help to
impress on the mind the names and general situation of the
bones. It is typical of the left half of a fish’s gullet.

2x2

420 THE ZOOLOGIST.

There are four gill or branchial arches that bear gills; the
fifth branchial arch is stunted, bears no gills, but is furnished
with teeth. The first three branchial arches, counting from the
outside, are each composed of three bones—the hypo-, the
cerato-, and the epibranchials. In the fourth arch the hypo-
branchial is absent. The first branchial arch terminates in a

DraGRAM sHoWwING LEFT BrancHIAL ARCHES AND BONES CONNECTED THEREWITH.

~-->7>->--- 5th branchial arch, which
bears no gills, is dwarfed,
and called the lower pharyn-.

LOWER /\ , geal bone.
PHARYNGEAL fv PS
2 °Y 0S Phe ee ie 4th branchial arch; the hypo-

fj
AD -e- ae-
EE vi branchial is absent.
AT
EX --- a 7 > = =-/- 3rd branchiallarchy

GAS:
BRANGH/IALS.

3 ¢
RSLS ADA Sen ae 2nd branchial arch.
(HY

1st branchial arch with a small
bone at the top ‘‘a”’ called
the upper epibranchial of
the first branchial arch.

-. Bones bearing pharyngeal
teeth.

The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th branchial arches all bear gills.

small bone that helps in the attachment to the base of the skull,
it is called the upper epibranchial of the first branchial arch.
The second, third, and fourth arches terminate in the epi-
pharyngeal bones, which carry teeth. The outermost arch is
the longest, and they decrease in size inwardly; the hypo-
branchials are connected with the basibranchials—they and the
ceratobranchials form, as it were, the floor of the gullet; the
epibranchials curve upwards and meet together at the base of the
skull, forming, with the epipharyngeal bones, the upper part
and back of the gullet, the epipharyngeal bones being one above
the other, with that on the fourth branchial arch as the lowest.
The fifth arch, the lower pharyngeal bones, with its teeth, is on
the lower part of the floor of the gullet, and in advance of the
cesophagus. The above is approximately a description of the

PHARYNGEAL TEETH OF FISHES. 421

general scheme in the anatomy of a fish’s gullet. It is subject
to modifications in different cases, which will be noticed, if
important, when treating of different fishes where such occur.

The branchial arches on their concave surface carry the gill-
rakers, horny protuberances, often like the teeth of a rake, but
in some forms they may be teeth-bearing tubercles more or less
prominent, or the tubercles may simply be rough. These gill-
rakers are provided to prevent solid particles that might injure
the gills being carried into them; in some cases they form a
perfect sieve, in others but a very inefficient one. The horny
rake-like teeth, which are often denticulated, are generally on
the outer side of the first branchial arch, and the tubercle forms
on the inside of this and on the inside and outside of the second
and third branchial arches, and the outside of the fourth. In
some fishes the rake-like gill-rakers are on all the branchial
arches. No account of the teeth in the pharynx of a fish would
be complete without noting the teeth that in many cases bristle
on the tubercles, or that line the inner side of the rake-like
protuberances. In the following descriptions, therefore, the gill-
rakers and the teeth on them will be noted, as well as those on
the pharyngeal bones themselves, and also the teeth that are
found along the surface of the epibranchials, yet distinct from
those on the epipharyngeal bones.

SERRANUS aicas. Dusky Perch (Couch). Plate II., fig. 1.

This fish is occasionally caught in British waters. The de-
tailed description of pharyngeal teeth may well begin with this
fish, for it possesses a perfect armoury of sharp teeth in the
posterior part of its mouth, as can be seen in the illustration.
On the first branchial arch the gill-rakers are short and stout ;
there are sixteen of them from the angle of the cerato- and epi-
branchial towards the end of the hypobranchial, and nine along
the epibranchial on the outer face of this arch. They all bear
teeth on the inner side. The one at the angle is the longest, and
has twenty sharp cardiform teeth on it; its length is contained
about seven times in the length of the cerato- and hypo-branchial
of this arch. There are teeth bearing tubercles on the inner
face of this arch, which along the cerato- and hypo-branchial
correspond with the position of the outer gill-rakers. There are

422 THE ZOOLOGIST.

tubercles also along the epibranchial portion of this arch. The
second and third arches have, on each side, tubercles bearing
teeth ; the fourth has them on the outer side. All these teeth
are cardiform. The upper surface of the lower pharyngeal
bones have a long, roughly diamond-shaped patch of villiform
teeth, with a double row of strong conical-shaped, pointed teeth
along the edge nearest the swallow. The lower pharyngeal
teeth are seen near the centre of the illustration. The upper
pharyngeal teeth consist of a long narrow patch at the top of
the second epibranchial, two patches on the third epibranchial,
and two patches on the fourth epibranchial. These latter four
patches look like two on a cursory examination; it is only by
working the bones that the division in them is realized. All are
studded with strong cardiform teeth. By counting the teeth on
some of the gill-rakers and on the tubercles, and taking an
average of the teeth and the number of tubercles, and counting
the upper and lower pharyngeal teeth as carefully as possible, a
very moderate estimate would give the number of teeth in the
inner mouth of this fish as three thousand two hundred. There
are probably more.

SERRANUS scRriBa. Plate II., fig. 2.

The gullet of this fish is a small-size replica of that of the
preceding fish; the gill-rakers are modelled in the same way. On
the outer side the first branchial arch has fourteen gill-rakers from
the angle of the cerato- and epi-branchial to the end of its hypo-
branchial, and six along the epibranchial. The one at the angle
is the longest, and about the same length as the gill just under
it; the gill-rakers diminish in length in both directions as they
get away from the longest one, till the further ones become flat
tubercles. They all bear minute cardiform teeth on the inner
face. There are tubercles on the inside of the first arch which
bear teeth. The second and third arches inside and outside and
the fourth arch on its outside aspect are studded with tubercles
bearing small teeth. The upper pharyngeal bones bear villi-
form teeth, interspersed with some cardiform teeth. The lower
pharyngeals carry villiform teeth, with a V-shaped row of
conical upright teeth along the inside edge of the teeth-bearing
plate, the apex of the V being towards the tongue. This illus-

PHARYNGHAL TEETH OF FISHES. 423

tration shows the curious case of a fish, not one of the Pleuwro-
nectide, with a crooked mouth. It will be noticed that the left
side of the fish is not symmetrical with the right, the branchial
arches are stouter, and the teeth-bearing plate of the fourth
arch, the lowest of the upper pharyngeal teeth showing on the
left side, is malformed and outof shape. This is due to a natural
deformity.
APOGON REX MULLORUM. Plate IL., fig. 3.

A small-sized representative of the Serranine, has on the
first branchial arch twelve gill-rakers from the angle towards the
tongue, and four up the epibranchial. These bear minute teeth
_ on their inner faces, and diminish in size as they get away from
the angle of the branchial arch. There are tubercles on the
inner side of this arch. The second and third arches have
tubereles on each side, the fourth has them only on the outer
side. These tubercles bear minute teeth. The upper pharyngeals
have villiform teeth, with some cardiform ones along the upper
part, the disc bearing them attached to the third branchial arch
being larger than the other two. The lower pharyngeals bear
villiform teeth in two patches of a triangular shape.

CENTROPRISTES HEPATUS. Plate IL, fig. 4.

Another small representative of the Serranine. The first
branchial arch has twelve gill-rakers from the angle forward, and
five along the epibranchial along the outer side. These carry
teeth. The inside of the first arch has tubercles. The second
and third arches carry tubercles on the inner and outer sides,
and the fourth on its outer side. The upper and lower
pharyngeal bones carry villiform teeth. The teeth on the lower
pharyngeals seem to join each side in the middle; there is not
that distinct middle separation line that is noticeable in the
Apogon rez mullorum at this part.

MoRONE LABRAX.

This fish frequents the coast of England in the summer, and
is known to fishermen as the ‘‘ Bass.” The first branchial arch
of the specimen illustrated has thirteen gill-rakers on the left
side, whilst the right side has fourteen, in the length from the
angle to the end of the hypobranchial. There are ten on the

494 THE ZOOLOGIST.

outside of the epibranchial. There are long horny gill-rakers in
the middle portion of the branchial arch, the length of the
longest being about one-fourth of the length of the cerato- and
hypo-branchial combined. The gill-rakers dwindle in length
from the angle each way, the last ones being short, but they do

MoRONE LABRAX.

not become tubercles. All these gill-rakers carry fine villiform
teeth on their inner side. On the inner side of the first arch
there are distinct tubercles covered with fine villiform teeth.
The second and third arches on each side of them, and the

PHARYNGEAL THETH OF FISHES. 425

fourth on its outer aspect, carry distinct tubercles with similar
teeth. On the inner side of the fourth arch there are very
small tubercles. The lower pharyngeals carry two leaf-shaped
patches of villiform teeth, with a row of cardiform ones along the
edge at the back and in the middle, and a few others close to the
back edge. Where the second arch hypobranchials join the
basibranchials there is a patch of villiform teeth on each side,
showing very faintly in the illustration. Between the junction
of the second and third hypobranchials with the basibranchials
on each side, but in the centre of the mouth, there is a patch of
villiform teeth, roughly circular in shape, but divided down the
centre. The upper pharyngeal teeth are strong villiform teeth,
arranged in five patches—two elongated ones along the epi-
branchials of the second arch, a roughly four-sided patch on the
pharyngeal bone at the end of the third epibranchial, with a
smaller patch on the outer side along the arch-bone, and a
roughly circular patch on the pharyngeal bone at the end of
the fourth epibranchial. The ‘‘ Bass,’ according to Couch, feeds
on smaller fish, crustaceans, and seaweeds.

426 THE ZOOLOGIST.

THE VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF
INSECTS.

By A. H. Swinton.
(Continued from p. 306.)

I nEMEMBER, when in the Island of Mauritius, being presented
with a live stick-insect, which, much to my astonishment, sud-
denly expanded its fan-folded wings with a silken rustle and
seemed to leap out of the window. Mr Wood-Mason asserted
that one—a Pterinoxylus—made a sound by rubbing a rasp on the
costal vein of its wings across their diminutive covers, which
was augmented by a tale spot. Hntombed in the coal-fields, the
stick-insects, grasshoppers, and cockroaches seem to blend with
the dragon-flies and stone-flies. Nowadays Corydalis cornuta
looks like the ghost of a bygone insect with jaws, and the ant-
lions only retain them in their youth. A bit of wing belonging
to the Corydalis brogniarti of Audouin, that dwelt among the
gigantic horsetails of Colebrookdale, I once suggested to Dr.
Henry Woodward had traces of a circular musical comb, but
later on a scientist pronounced this to be the mark of the
fracture in the claystone nodule that enclosed it; while, from
the nature of their inhabitants, it remains more than probable
that these early swamps resounded with the savage shrill of
insect instrumentation.

The caddis-flies, again, blend with the scaly china-marks,
bagworms, and clothes-moths, the Acentropus niveus found in
some English ponds being a connecting-link. Among the moths
that spin cocoons a few have bladders under their wings that
resemble the drums of the Cicadas, and it is said they elicit
sounds from these by rubbing them with their hind legs, but
they have not any very conspicuous ear-cavities. They are
possessed by the males of two rosy-flushed tiger-moths of the
Mediterranean seaboard (Cymbalophora pudica and C. ertzent).
De Villiers compared the sound made by the former, when flying

VOCAL ¢ INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF INSECTS. 427

in the evening twilight, to the ‘‘tic-tac”’ of the needles of the
housewife engaged in knitting stockings, and whenever I rub a
hind leg of a desiccated specimen of the latter from a Jerusalem
garden over the striations at the front edge of the bladder where
the femur is wont to rest, I hear a noise like that made by the
old black indiarubber when wetted; so, after being affrighted by
the clatter of the Pheasant on the wing in a country lane, I can
quite believe the assertion of De Villiers; both moth and bird
seem sonorous. It is said the large ‘‘ yellow tiger” (Pericallia
matronula), rarely met with in the woods of Europe, possesses
these balloons ; they are just visible in the “‘ Jersey tiger”? and
the ‘‘ scarlet tiger’? of our fenlands, but the common tiger
moth that has caused an uproar which has been evident through
a closed door is without them; it has good claws, and I have
heard it scratch. They seem, indeed, to indicate a bygone
relationship of the Chelonide, whose caterpillars feed on low
plants, to the lichen-bred Lithoside, for the pretty flesh-coloured
Miltochrista miniata that frequents the forest ferns has them
faintly developed, and so has Gnophria rubricollis that flutters
among the foliage. Those of the orange black-speckled Setina,
met with in woods of Europe and Northern Asia, are far more
conspicuous, and shine like spectacle-glasses; when Guenée
held Setina aurita in his fingers, he declares that he heard it
make a ticking like a watch, and a beating like a ‘‘death-watch”’
beetle. They may be found in the woods above Montreux,
where they do not appear to be very common.

Mr. Henry Edwards, who passed his youth on the London
stage, and later in life sat down to write a book on North
American butterflies, has recorded his experience of the sounds
made by Lepidoptera in the second volume of ‘ insect Life.’
Among other recollections, he tells us, when resting one day
during the heat of the noonday sun under the shade of an
acacia in the Plenty Ranges, some twenty miles remote from the
bustle of the opulent town of Melbourne, how he was suddenly
aroused from his reveries by the ‘‘ whiz-whiz!” of two or
three Hecatesia fenestrata, lovely orange-and-black moths, which
were going in the fashion of the Swifts on the sidelong fling
adown a woodland vista. On his return to America he
heard the identical sound arise from a swarm of the Alypia

428 THE ZO00LOGIST.

octomaculata, members of an allied tribe, whose caterpillars
destroy the grape-vines, and he felt confident that on both
occasions he detected the clubbed antenne playing the tattoo
on the wings like drum-sticks. An idea here arises whether
the tale spots on the wings of certain large falcate winged
moths are not adapted to produce a social buzz; a school-
boy once told me he had made his kite buzz, but then he
had cut a hole init. Many stout-bodied moths whose cater-
pillars are cocoon-spinners, when they desire a partner, com-
mence a vigorous wing-beating ; the same rattle is heard when
they are pumping in air to inflate their bodies for flight.

The ‘‘ green silver lines” must be of lineage old, for their
caterpillars construct the boat-shaped cocoons of the species of
Nola, by some placed in the Lithosiide, as do those of some
ereen moths which resemble the Tortricina in appearance.
Forms that link the Tortricina, Pyralidina, and Bombycina
are naturally ancestral; in one of the table-cases of the Mar-
seilles Museum a tertiary moth with banded wings was to be
seen. The fore wings of Hylophila prasinana have a sonorous
pucker and a flap with a callosity that catches on the side-piece
of the abdomen with a click, but as the moth executes its
‘“scritch-scritch!”’ when flying, it would seem as if the callosity
caught at the root of the veins of the hind wing. Mr. Kirby
says this inhabitant of the oak-wood is common in Kurope and
Siberia. A specimen possessed by the British Museum used to
be labelled ‘‘ Australia.’”’ Some years the beating-stick brings
it down plentifully in the New Forest, but as far as I know its
twitter or squeak has only been heard in the north of our island.
The Rev. Mr. Morris saw a large shoal of these moths flying and
squeaking above the top of an old-fashioned hedge in a grassy
lane at Stoke Court, and those seen by Mr. Headworth on June
4th in a wood at Gateshead, in Durham, were whirling franti-
cally around one another in a waltz with a reiterated bird-like
twitter, and a male that was captured squeaked on in delight
until it was boxed. Dr. Buchanan White, on May 28th, heard
a solitary male disconsolately squeaking as it gyrated around a
small oak in Perthshire, and another later the same evening doing
likewise, which looks as if there were a newly emerged female
embowered in the silence. Those I saw come fluttering down in

VOCAL ¢& INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF INSECTS. 429

the thicket of sapling oaks on the banks of Loch Fyne after dusk
were toying in the fashion of the Swallows on the china plate,
and one, or both, was clicking its make-believe kisses. We could
imagine these moths are not deaf; they possess ventral cavities
at the junction of the abdomen and thorax that may be adapted
for audition. By nature indolent, somnolent, and apathetic, it
is surprising they have so much life in them. If the birds learnt
to sing beside the pebbly brook, they are surely trying to imitate
the chirpings of the verdant, vernal groves, which poets assure
us “are ever full of song and full of love.”

Many of the males of the lichen-dappled, mouse-coloured
Noctuina, branded with their family heraldry of iines, kidney,
orb, and dart, are consummate dandies, with an extensible fan
on a fleshy arm at the base of the hind body, which, when it
expands, scatters on the dusky air a fragrance of turpentine or
the vinaigrette. From the information afforded by Mr. F. N.
Pierce, in his laborious work on the genitalia of the Noctuide,
added to my own very partial investigations, I conclude these
hair-pencils are possessed by the male of the quadrifid Mania
maura, sometimes called the ‘‘ old lady,” that flies, dismal and
black, into the apartment that overlooks the willows ; by that of
the ‘‘angle shades” (Phlogophora meticulosa), whose green cater-
pillar eats the garden fennel, and by those of the ‘sharks ”
(Cuculliia verbasci and umbratica), that hide in the herbage.
They are possessed by the males of the ‘‘ wainscots,’’ veiny,
straw-coloured, or purplish, that, when the twilight darkens, are
all on a flutter over the flowering grasses of the marshland;
those of Leucania conigera, lithargyrta, littoralis, vitellina, pallens,
albipuncta, l-album, straminea, extranea, obsoleta, and congrua are
all provided with them, as are those of their near of kin, Nona-
gria dissoluta, Caradrina brevilinea, and others. One of this
sroup, Leucania loreyi, is widely distributed; they rarely have
the Noctuina pattern distinct. Scent-fans at the base of the
abdomen are possessed by the males of certain moths, some-
times a canary-colour, that fly to lights in shady. avenues ;
those of Orthosia aurago and flavage, ypsilon, lota, macilenta, and
pistacina ; and the males of Caradriua subtusa and Conistra ery-
throcephala thus secure a partner. So, too, do the males of a group
coloured like the bark of the tree-trunks on which they slumber

430 THE ZOOLOGIST.

in our parks during the day ; they are possessed by the males of
the ‘‘ grey daggers,”’ Acronycta tridens and psi, and by those of the
brown Hadena rurea, basilinea, polyodon, satura, ophiogramma,
hepatica, unanimis and scolopacina, Melanchra brassice and persi-
cari@; by those of Aporophyla nigra, Dipterygia pinastri, and
Aplecta nebulosa. Mr. Pierce finds that the male of the minute
Miana furuncula, whose caterpillar feeds in the stems of the Festuca
arundinacea, has these scent-fans, which suggests their use, was
discovered in the fens, where the Nonagria, ancestral forms of the
straw-coloured group, as would appear, in like manner emerge
from the stems of reeds and bulrushes. The plumes of Lamphygma
exigua, as portrayed by Mr. Pierce, are found at the extremity of
the hind body unusually developed ; they are inconspicuous or
absent, according to the same authority, from the flat-bodied
Noctuide, the ‘‘ darts” and ‘‘ yellow underwings”’ that fly out
of hayricks; and I have not noticed that the night moths:
with lichen-mottled wings possess them; if the sweetly pretty
‘peach blossom ”’ has also scented puffs, they may extend to the
Notodontide. ‘“‘ Swifts”’ and a large number of the Geometers,
the world over, carry their fans on their hind legs, and the
‘‘coloured underwings,”’ placed among the night-fliers, have
them on the second pair. I conclude it is from its habit of
thrusting these forward when at rest on the elms and willows
that Catocala concwmbens, whose dainty pink renders it con-
spicuous among the North American “‘ red underwings,” has been
said to have them on its front ones. Ought not its name to be
pronounced ‘‘ concubens’’? I have recently found that Melipolis
sinualis, 2 North American moth, has scent-fans continued in
pockets on its second pair of legs. Other Noctuina, especially
those of the genus Plusia, are adorned with a metallic glitter of
spangles, but as all the moths have a more or less visible ear-
cavity, with cells, drums, and attached ganglia on either side at
the base of the abdomen, it would not be surprising to hear that
they held sweet converse. An American entomologist says of Cato-
cala parta, one of the ‘‘ red underwings’’ frequenting the willows
of Iowa at the close of the summer, “‘ that it is the wariest of the
genus, resting usually head up, hearing well, and taking flight
at the snapping of leaves under foot.” I quote from the ‘Ento-
mological News’ of Philadephia for January, 1909; and I might

VOCAL &¢ INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF INSECTS. 431

mention that Mr. J. J. Fountain lately observed, in the ‘ Country-
side,’ that, when crossing at nightfall a meadow near Birming-
ham, he was surprised by a clicking sound, and suddenly found
himself surrounded by the mustachioed males of Heliophobus
popularis, that flew low over the grass where a newly emerged
“feathered gothic’? was holding its wings over its back and
sounding the timbrel for a gathering. On examination I can
only imagine the sound might have been made by the pucker at
the base of the fore wing, but that Orthosia flavago makes a
similar clicking, as stated, is astonishing. It was believed that
Indian ants, provoked with a straw, began to hiss, until a
question arose whether the sound was not made by their feet, as
the boots of soldiers resound when a sudden halt is shouted.
The music of many insects is simply the din of a file with a
chitinous resonance, recalling the rasping of a blacksmith’s
forge. I have never heard a spider emit any sound, but Mr.
Wood-Mason has told the Entomological Society how Mygale
stridulans, dislodged from a bamboo clump in Assam, on being
attacked by his cat, elevated its head and threw its chelicere
into rapid motion, when certain chitinous, club-shaped rods,
arranged comb-like on the inner surface of the basal joints of
the palpi, grating on the outer surface of their penultimate joint,
made an alarming whistle, recalling the muttering of an old man
who has lost his teeth. Mr. Wood-Mason mentioned at the time
that he had also a musical scorpion preserved in a bottle of
spirit. The mouse-like squeak of the ‘‘ death’s-head moth” is
somewhat similar in causation. Along the south-eastern coast
of England, as on the lands of Brittany, Acherontia atropos, some
seasons, is not uncommon, and its large green caterpillar is then
commonly found when the potato plots are dug up. In 1865,
1868, 1878, and 1885, according to Mr. Richard South, it was
unusually plentiful in the British Islands ; 1867, 1878, and 18838
were corresponding years of most and fewest sun-spots, when the
atmosphere was perturbed. According to my father’s pocket-
books, 1867 was fine, but the autumn was stormy in Hampshire ;
1878 was a succession of thunderstorms —I do not remember
such a summer except the one of 1883. The summer of 1865
was also sultry but changeable. During 1885, as the year
previous, the cholera was prevalent in India and the South

432 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of Kurope. May was again cold, and the warm and humid
summer in Surrey was productive of roses. Strange to say,
this clumsy creature is sometimes seen flying out in the
Channel. At the commencement of May, 1878 and 1882, in-
dividuals that had probably hybernated were taken on the
coasts of Devon and Antrim. It is conjectured the ‘‘boanerge”’
squeaks in order to terrify the bees when it enters their hives
to steal the honey, itself being deaf or dull of hearing, and
inasmuch as the piping of the queen is understood to be a
signal to swarm, and it is the custom to din on pots and pans
when her colonists cluster around her on the horse-chestnut
flowers, it is to be supposed that the bees who must hear, and
who might perceive no evil omen in a skull and cross-bones,
would quake with terror; invariably when it is disturbed it
squeaks, but this would not hoax an Owl that feeds on mice.
Still, this is not the only objection, for when the male moth
squeaks it inflates its abdomen, and expands two yellow fans on
either side into a star, which, like a composite flower, shed
around their musky fragrance of jasmine or tuberose, comparable
to that emitted by the feather tufts of the Catopsilia butterflies.
At such times the ‘‘ death’s-head’’ has a remote resemblance to
a large puff-ball. The alarming sound, according to Dr. Landois,
is produced by the short tongue that it rubs along a striation in
a groove that will be found at the base of the palpi, much as a
scythe is whetted on the stone, for he discovered, when the palpi
were removed, the moth could squeak no longer ; and Mr. Joseph
Anderson says, in the ‘ Entomologist,’ that he is certain it is by
the tongue that the squeaking is produced, for when he pressed

it the noise ceased.
(To be continued.)

(dee)

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

A Sheep-killing Horse.—One of the cart-horses on a farm here
has lately developed an intense dislike to sheep, and savagely attacks
these animals when he can get at them. On two occasions he has
succeeded in killing his victim, and would in all probability have de-
stroyed a third, had he not been driven off by the shepherd. He goes
at them with extreme fury, striking with his fore legs, biting, kicking,
and kneeling upon them. Apart from his strange antipathy for
sheep, this horse (a gelding of about seven or eight years old) is a
quiet, good-tempered, tractable animal. As is well known, many
mares running with their foals show great dislike to dogs, and the
same may be said of cows, ewes, and sows when their respective
offspring are young. The close affinity between wolf and dog, how-
ever, seems sufficient to account for this. But that the sight of an
inoffensive herbivorous animal of comparatively small size should
have the effect of exciting the rage of an otherwise amiable and
well-conducted horse is hard to understand.—G. T. Ropr (Blaxhall,

Suffolk).

Additional Notes on Mus flavicollis, Melch.—On Oct. 31st last
I trapped a fine female of Mus flavicollis in a house cupboard set
apart for household stores. The invading of man’s habitation (ante,
p. 243) by this mouse is not without significance, and tends to
urge a still further claim for its establishment as a good species.
True it is that there are many reports on record of M. sylvaticus
being taken in houses. Many such reports have been conveyed to
me, but on careful investigation all the captures reported were flavi-
collis, and not sylvaticus, though without doubt sylvaticus does
occur at times in houses. Should anyone sufficiently interested in
the matter of the house-loving proclivities of flavicollis wish to in-
vestigate the truth of this, let him lay down a few traps where
potatoes or other ‘‘root’”’ vegetables have been stored in a cellar, and
should flavicollis occur in his neighbourhood he is almost certain to
trap it there. It may be that in course of time our domiciles will

Gool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., November, 1910. DD) th

434 THE ZOOLOGIST.

produce a fine and large species of house-mouse evolved from de-
scendants of the Yellow-necked Field-Mouse. It is said, and pro-
bably with truth, that the House-mouse (Mws musculus) originally
came from Asia, and in course of time spread its way throughout the
world wherever man has gone. This mouse under various climatic
influences has so diverged from the type that its many variations
have received specific names, as Mus gentilis, Brantz., M. muralis,
Bar.-Ham., M. flavescens, Fisher, &c. On the North Bull, Dublin
Bay, there is to be found a house-mouse which, contrary to M. flavi-
collis, has forsaken man’s habitation to lead a feral life (Journ. Linn.
Soc., Zool., vol. xxvi. pp. 465, 473). In the directions given to nume-
rous collectors of natural history specimens, all small mammals are
wanted except those taken in houses. If, as we see to be the case in
our British field-mice, other species take to a semi-domestie life, it
wlll behove the collector of the future to give his attention as much
to the house as to the field whilst engaged in trapping small mam-
mals. I have in my possession a M. mvuscwlws mouse, which I took
in a farm-building, so remarkable in colour—a bright yellowish fawn
—that had it been taken abroad would certainly have led to a
suspicion of its being a new species. The measurements of the
house-trapped flavicollis mentioned above were: Head and body,
100 mm. ; tail, 111 mm.; hind foot, 12 mm.; ear, 14 mm.—GorDoN
DaueuiesH (Midhurst, Sussex).

Intelligence of a Squirrel.—Referring to Mr. Dodsworth’s article
(ante, p. 361) on ‘“‘ Mental Powers of Animals,” I may mention that
in 1908, when passing a group of pine-trees in Bingley Wood, one of
which contained a nest which could not have been long built, and
thinking possibly it might be a Squirrel’s drey, I gave the bole of the
tree a vigorous kick, and afterwards I took hold of the tree with both
hands and gave it a most violent shake, when in a few moments a
Squirrel fell almost at my feet in a state of trepidation. Both of us
for some moments were facing each other and motionless, after which
I made a pretence of seizing it, but never for a moment thought of
touching the animal, since I remember very well a person in North
Yorkshire who once seized one under similar circumstances, and was
bitten in a most vicious manner. The Squirrel no sooner saw me
spring towards it than it made for a birch-tree forming part of a
group which thinned out and ended in a solitary tree ona heath. I
followed close after, shaking the trees in its rear, thus forcing it
forward towards the solitary tree. This I did with success until the
Squirrel was nearing the tree in question, when it at once appeared

NOTES AND QUERIES. j 435

to realize its position. It took but some moments to grasp the
situation, when it determined to make back to the pine-trees ; this,
however, I prevented by severely shaking the birch-trees, but do as I
would the Squirrel would not be forced to the solitary tvee, and when
I bent down to pick up a piece of peat to throw, the effect of which,
I thought, would force it into the isolated position, it took advantage
of this psychological moment to return to the clump of pine-trees
from which it had been driven.—E. P. Burterrieip (Wilsden).

P.S.—Correction.—On page 396 (ante), for tywort flowers read
jigwort flowers. This error occurs fourteen lines from bottom of
page.—H. P. B.

Yawning of Rodents.—I have a White Rat (Mus rattws) which I
have often observed yawning.—EuizaserH Russevu (16, Beaufort
Gardens, S.W.).

AVES.

Kestrel and Starlings. — Although the following circumstance
may have no real connection with Mr. Butterfield’s experience (ante,
p-. 392), it has perhaps some interest of its own. On Oct. 19th of
last year, near Havering, in Essex, I watched an adult male Kestrel
harassing a flock of between two and three hundred Starlings. The
latter birds were on the wing, and packed into an extraordinarily
dense mass ; they manceuvred in perfect silence, and appeared per-
fectly self-possessed and free from panic. The hawk was flying
above and slightly behind the flock, and whenever a Starling became
separated by a foot or so from its companions he made a vicious
plunge at the isolated bird. This happened several times, and in
each case the threatened Starling uttered a short note of alarm and
turned into the ranks of the main body, while the hawk-took up its
former position. The flock drifted in an aimless course across the
fields, accompanied by the vigilant and determined enemy, until each
became invisible against the dark background of a distant wood. In
less than a minute the Starlings returned, settled amongst a herd of
cattle, and commenced to feed as though nothing out of the ordinary
had occurred. I never saw the Kestrel again, and did not learn that
any of its attempts had succeeded. In districts where the smaller
Mammalia are scarce, and where the absence or scarcity of trees or
bushes favours the operations of hawks, such birds as Redwings and
Thrushes form the staple food of the Kestrel, and I am inclined to
believe that such large birds as Mistle-Thrushes or Fieldfares are taken,
for I have often found the feathers of the latter birds at times and in

436 THE ZOOLOGIST.

places that suggested the work of the Kestrel and not the Sparrow-
Hawk. Ihave seen the two smaller species pursued and killed by
Kestrels on many occasions. At the end of July, on the moors near
Selborne, in Hampshire, I found the remains of a full-grown young
Cuckoo under circumstances that left little room for doubt that the
slayer had been a bird of prey and not a mammal. Cuckoos, one
would imagine, ought to be rather free from the attentions of hawks.
—FReEDK. J. STUBBs.

Rare American Teal in Co. Cork.—On Sept. 9th a fine specimen
of a female American Blue-winged Teal was shot near Rostellan by
Mr. B. Wise, of Maryland. It was exhibited at the meeting of the
British Ornithologists’ Club on October 17th, but, though agreeing
as to the identity of the bird, 2 doubt was cast on its being a wild-
reared bird, because Blue-winged Teal had been bred at Winslow,
although no one had heard of any escapes from that collection. It
might thus appear that the Club has come to the conclusion that no
rare bird obtained in future will be looked on, without doubt, as a
wild visitor while any of the same species are kept in captivity.—
RoBERT WARREN (Ardnaree, Monkstown, Co. Cork).

AVICULTURE.

The Crossbill in Captivity—‘The Zoologist’ for 1906 (p. 189)
contains a few notes of mine on a tame Crossbill in our possession.
We succeeded in keeping him till October 31st last, when he died. I
noticed that for a week or two previously he seemed to lose strength,
and to be unable to pull his fir-cones to pieces, but he fed well on
seed to the last. He had certainly been caged for more than six
years, and possibly longer, as when I first saw him in July, 1904, he
was in mature yellow-green plumage. Two days after we lost him I
saw another in a bird-shop in Ipswich, which was said to have come
over from Belgium, and brought him home. The new-comer is at
present in perfect health and plumage (yellow-green, like the other),
and if he affords us half the pleasure and amusement we derived from
our lost pet ‘‘Gyp,”’ I shall not regret the investment. During the
great immigration of Crossbills last winter I had several opportunities
of watching these birds feeding here on larches, and it is most in-
teresting to see the same quaint attitudes in a tame bird, for no bird
becomes more familiar in confinement than the Crossbill, or more
ready to respond to kindness and attention—Junian G. Tuck (Tos-
tock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk),

( 437

INO MIG TS OLE WU YY BOK S).

Reptiles of the World. By Raymonp L. Dirmars. Sir Isaac
Pitman & Sons, Ltd.

A prescription of the reptiles at present found living on this
planet is practically but a roll-call of survivors of the great
reptilian era before the domination of Homo; to understand
what that reptilian fauna was like when in its pride of place,
the paleontologist must be consulted. We cannot ascribe the
fall of this vast reptilian fauna to the sole action of man, though
his hand falls heavy on the existing representatives of to-day.
Thus we are again told of the Hawk’s-Bill Turtle, continually
hunted for the ‘‘tortoise”’-shell obtained from its carapace.
‘‘The shields are removed from the shell by heating it, when
they commence to peel, and are assisted in the process by
the operator. As the operation often involves a living reptile,
the martyred creature is turned loose afterwards, for the belief is
hat it grows a new coat of shields.”” The Diamond-Back Terrapin
(Malacoclemmys palustris), ‘‘ one of the requisites in making up a
champagne dinner, and consequently a valuable and well-known
market delicacy,” has a market demand that we read ‘‘ threatens
early extinction.” The Tuatera was in comparatively recent
years abundant on the larger islands of New Zealand. Dimin-
ished by various causes, ‘‘ they are diligently hunted for scientific
institutions, and not many years will pass before the last Tuatera
to remain in the flesh will repose within a museum jar.” It
should be here mentioned that Mr. Ditmars in this book, though
following in the main Dr. Boulenger’s system of classification,
popularly divides the Chelonians into three groups :—

Tortoises.—The strictly terrestrial species.

Turtles.—The semi-aquatic and marine species.

Terrapins.—Those hard-shelled, fresh-water species that are

edible and have a recognized market value.

A great deal of personal observation by the author himself is

recorded in these pages, and this not only derived from captives

438 THE ZOOLOGIST.

in the New York Zoological Park, but also from many of the
creatures in their natural haunts. There is also very much
valuable advice as to the treatment of reptiles in captivity, a
subject of much difficulty, as most of us will bear witness who have
travelled and endeavoured to keep these creatures. A coloured
frontispiece and nearly two hundred illustrations from photo-
graphs taken by the author are not only a great assistance to the
student, but give us the individuality of each species as only
photography can disclose.

Mr. Ditmars has some pertinent remarks on the phenomenon
of change of coloration in certain Lizards :—

“Tt is a mistake to imagine the colour changes to be strictly in
line of protection to the lizard in immediately conforming to the
colours of surfaces on which the animal rests. A specimen capable
of exhibiting all phases of coloration between a dull brown to an
emerald-green may for some time rest upon a dead tree-trunk, and be
clad in a suit of conspicuous steel-grey; from this hue it may trans-
form into a livid green; a few minutes later it may jump among the
leaves and shrubbery, where it takes on an almost blackish hue. . .
Who can blame certain romantic authors for elaborating upon such
an admirable point as the ‘power’ displayed by a dull brown lizard to
jump upon a leaf and transform into a leafy green, thence upon a tree-
trunk, where it immediately turns brown again, and from there, pos-
sibly, upon a gorgeous flower, where the reptile assumes a hue to
match the richly-coloured petals?”

We notice that Mr. Ditmars, as regards the King Cobra, or
Snake-eating Cobra (Naja bungarus = Ophiophagus elaps), states
that it attains the great length, for a poisonous snake, of twelve
feet. The writer of this notice, however, more than forty years
ago, obtained and skinned a specimen in the Malay Peninsula
which was afterwards identified and measured by Dr. Gunther.
Its length was 13 ft. 2 in. (cf. Zool. 1875, p. 4625).

A Monograph of the British Nudibranchiate Mollusca. Part VIII.
(Supplementary). Figures by the late JosHua ALDER and
Aupany Hancock, and others. Text by Sir Cuartes Exior,
M.A., D.C.L., &e. Ray Society.

Tis Supplement to the ‘Monograph on the British Nudi-
branchiata,’ by Alder and Hancock, will be welcomed by all
naturalists, whilst the introductory sections give probably the

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. =. 439

best general account of these creatures which has yet been
written. We refer more particularly to this portion of the
publication because it can be read with interest and profit by
all zoologists, even if they possess no special knowledge them-
selves of the Nudibranchiate Mollusca. It embraces such sub-
jects as Variation and Distribution, Bionomics, Embryology and
Larval Stage, and Anatomy. In present speculative and theo-
retical suggestions—and they are valuable and stimulating—
such records as these, referring to animal life not usually dealt
with in evolutionary discussions, are of the very utmost import-
ance, and will be found to be both qualitative and confirmatory
on many disputed views.

Colour variation appears to be most striking in Nudibranchs.
The range of colours comprises red, yellow, pink, brown, and
grey of many shades, purple, slatey-blue, sage-green, and perhaps
others. ‘‘In a series of specimens received from the Isle of
Man slate-colour and greyish-blue predominate. At Plymouth
red and yellow, though not universal, are very common. ... .
At Plymouth many marine animals as well as seaweeds are
reddish.” Both adult and young Nudibranchs appear and dis-
appear suddenly in considerable quantities, especially before
spawning and after hatching. Alder and Hancock were disposed
to disbelieve in these migrations, but Sir Charles Eliot considers
‘‘there ig a good deal of evidence for their occurrence. It is
not known how they are performed, but as creeping is an
extremely slow process, it is possible that the animals make use
of currents in which to suspend themselves.” As regards pro-
tective resemblance, Nudibranchs frequently escape notice be-
cause their colour and to some extent their shape fit in with
their surroundings, and, as Sir Charles Eliot remarks, ‘‘ Of the
reality of this phenomenon no one can doubt who has collected
them in the tropics.” But he also qualifies some suggestions on
this subject. He says :—

“These resemblances are striking, and clearly cannot be dis-
advantageous to the molluscs, but still I think that much of the
language used about protective coloration, as if the animals were
made to look like their surroundings by some special power either in
themselves or external, is too anthropomorphic. It underestimates

the importance of one commonplace factor in the situation, namely,
that the two objects which resemble one another (such as the Nudi-

440 THE ZOOLOGIST.

branch and the sponge or seaweed) have been associated and exposed
to the same influences for unnumbered ages. Thus, whatever may
be the causes which tend to give a sponge a certain appearance, they
must also affect the Dorid which lives on the sponge, at least so far
as they are external and concerned with water, temperature, and
general surroundings.”

In a footnote it also stated—

“that not only do Dorids resemble sponges (where the resemblance
is advantageous to the Dorids), but also sponges resemble Dorids
(where no such advantage to the sponge is clear).”’

We are still in the wood of speculation !

There is as an appendix a useful bibliography of books and
papers dealing with the Nudibranchiata of the Atlantic (including
the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas), which have been pub-
lished since the completion of Alder and Hancock’s Monograph
in 1855, and there are eight beautifully coloured plates.

A History of British Mammals. By Gerautp HE. H. Barrerr-
Hamitton, B.A., F.Z.8., &. Gurney & Jackson.

Tae first part of Barrett-Hamilton’s British Mammals has
now appeared ; it has been much anticipated, and, we are told,
‘‘its author has had its production before him for over twenty
years.” It is announced that the work will consist of three
sections, dealing respectively with the Bats, the Land Mammals,
and the Marine Mammals.

It is impossible to give from this part alone any adequate notice
of the publication, as even the General Introduction to Bats is
unfinished, and announced to be completed in parts ii. to vi.
No one, however, can miss the recognition of its thoroughness
in treatment and its wealth in reference. We must await the
completion of a section before attempting to more fully review it.

ay
dy

: Section II. coe ae i
iicirated by Two Hundred Coloured Drawings of British Birds ‘ata
their Eggs, and numerous Photographs of their Nests. It will give
careful Descriptions of the Birds, and a more complete Account of
their Habits than has ever yet been attempted. Hditor—F. B.
KIRKHAM, B.A. Oxon.
Contributors—J. L: Bonuotz, M.A.; Wiiu1Am Farren; Rey. F.C. RB.
JourDAIN, M.A. Oxon: Epmunp Setous; A. L.THomson; Miss H. L.
TurnER. Artists—G. EH. Conus, H. Gronvoxup, G. EH. Lopes, A. W.
SEABY, Miss W. Austen, and others. Photographers—Dr. FE. E.
DanteL, Wm. Farren, Riney Fortunes, C. J. Kine, H. L. Turner,
_ Tue Eprrtor, and others.

In 12 Sections at 10s. 6d. net per Section, and 4 Volumes, buckram,
gilt tops, 86s. per volume.

There is also an Edition de Luxe of 350 copies, signed and numbered in 12 Sections |
at 24s. per Section net, and in 4 Volumes, half-morocco, gilt edges, at £4 4s. net
per volume. :

“Tt may be asked, Why another book on British Birds? In the present case the
answer is a very satisfactory one, for this publication is designed and promoted on
adyanced principles—in fact, although descriptions and figures leave little to be
desired as means of identification, the main object is to study the birds themselves
as sentient creatures.’’—Zoologist.

* Hveryone will acknowledge the beauty of these drawings of bird life.

The bird-lover will find information here for which he might otherwise have to
search through the whole literature of the subject.””—Pall Mall Gazette.

“The most sumptuous book of British birds that has appeared for many years.”’
Daily News.

London: T. C. & E. C. JACK, 16, Henrietta Street, W.C.

LANTERN SLIDES IN NATURAL COLOURS.

“LEPIDOPTERA & LARVA A SPECIALITY.
Photos from Life.

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3 THESE SLIDES CAN BE MADE FROM ANY SPECIMEN OR COLOURED DRAWING.

_ The dazzling brilliancy of colouring of the Tropical Birds and
Insects are reproduced in these Slides as pure as the more delicate
; shades which predominate among the British.

For List apply to—
CHARLES D. HEAD, 1, Hollybrook Terrace, Howth Road, DUBLIN.

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ey "The ayillery- Wace of a ” Lothian Wood (with
series ee 8. #. Brock, 401.

The nen and. Ticieumenint Musie of Teens SA SER: Sone 426.
Nores anp Quuries:— 8
Mammata.—A Sheep-killing Horse, G. 7’. Rope, 438. Additional Noel on.
flavicollis, Melch., Gordon Dalgliesh, 433. Intelligence of a Squirrel, B wa
Butterfield, 484. "Yawning of Rodents, Elizabeth Russell, 435. sft
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ZPHE ZLOOLOGIST

No. 834.—December, 1910.

RECENT WORK ON THE INHERITANCE OF
ACQUIRED CHARACTERS.

By W. B. Aurxanper, B.A., King’s College, Cambridge.

Ir has long been known that a change in the environment
may produce a definite effect on the structure of many animals,
and until Weissman pointed out the theoretical objections to the
possibility of such effects being inherited, it had been thought
unnecessary to actually prove that this took place.

Since this difficulty has been generally admitted, the onus of
proof rests with those who believe in the inheritance of acquired
characters, and it must be admitted that nothing sufficiently
satisfactory in the way of evidence has been adduced to shake
the disbelief in such inheritance.

Certain recent work, nevertheless, suggests that, however
great may be the theoretical improbability of the inheritance of
acquired characters, the results of experiment cannot be inter-
preted on any other supposition.

The work of Tower on Leptinotarsa, the Colorado potato-
beetle, has recently been brought prominently before the zoolo-
gical world by Professor Bourne in his Presidential Address to
Section D of the British Association at Sheffield. As this
Address appeared in ‘ The Zoologist’ (ante, p. 347), it will not be
necessary to describe Tower’s results in detail. He found that
he could produce melanie varieties of the beetles by subjecting
‘them to a slight increase or decrease of temperature during the
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV., December, 1910. 2M

442, THE ZOOLOGIST.

pupal stage. Albinic varieties were produced by subjecting the
pupee to a more considerable increase or decrease of temperature.
Such changes were not inherited. But if the altered tempera-
ture was maintained during the adult stage some of the offspring
were found to be similar to their parents. This effect was traced
to the action of the environment on the germ-cells themselves
during their maturation. For, if normal beetles were placed in
changed conditions during the maturation of some of their eggs,
and put back into normal conditions during the maturation of
others, the adults arising from the first batch of eggs showed
aberrations, whilst those from the second did not. The aberra-
tions produced by the action of the changed environment on the
maturing germ-cells were inherited completely—that is to say,
individuals exhibiting such variations bred true in normal con-
ditions, and when crossed with the parent form a typical
Mendelian segregation occurred in the second generation, in
each case the original form acting as a dominant to the variety.
Now, if these beetles had been kept constantly in a changed
environment, it would have appeared that the aberrations in-
duced in the first generation by the environment had been
inherited in the next generation; whereas, in reality, in the first
generation the variation is merely a fluctuation, in the second it
is of the nature of a mutation. When once the germ-plasm has
been changed, it is natural that every individual resulting from
that germ-plasm should show the same change, and this is
exactly what Tower found.

We cannot, therefore, claim that these experiments support
the inheritance of acquired characters, as at first sight they
appear to do. On the contrary, acquired characters (i.e.
characters produced in the somatic cells) are never inherited.
For the changes to be inherited, it is necessary to directly
influence the germ-cells.

The experiments of Standfuss on Vanessa urtice, which were
confirmed by Weissman, and those of Fischer on Arctia caja,
yielded results which must be briefly considered. Fischer, for
instance, found that by exposing the pupe to a temperature of
8° C. acertain number of dark aberrant moths resulted. When
a pair of these were mated and their eggs reared under normal
conditions a certain number of the offspring were dark, but not

INHERITANCE OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERS. 443

so dark as their parents. Standfuss and Weissman found that
Vanessa urtice behaved in a similar way.

It is possible to bring these results into line with those of
Tower, if we assume that in Lepidoptera the germ-plasm can be
influenced even in the pupal stage, but the action on the germ-
cell in this case does not influence the colour of the adult
so much as the action on the pupa. We cannot, therefore,
claim these investigations as a proof of the inheritance of
acquired characters.

It is quite different, however, with the work of P. Kammerer
on Salamanders and on Alytes, the results of which have been
published in the ‘ Archiv. fur Entwickelungs-Mechanik,’ Bd. xvii.
(1904), Bd. xxv. (1907), and Bd. xxviii. (1909). I propose,
therefore, to give a longer account of Kammerer’s work, especi-
ally as, so far as [ am aware, no such account has appeared in
English up to the present time.

Two species of Salamander occur in Central Kurope. The
ordinary lowland Salamander is the Spotted Salamander (S.
maculosa), whilst in mountainous regions it is replaced by the
Black Salamander (S. atra).

The Spotted Salamander is black, with irreguiar large yellow
markings on the back and limbs. This combination of yellow
and black is a typical warning coloration, and indicates that the
animal is poisonous. The female carries the eggs in her uterus
for ten months, and in May enters the water, generally at night,
and gives birth to from a few to fifty young, fifteen being about
the average number. The young are surrounded by the ege-
membrane, which either bursts before or shortly after expulsion.
The new-born Salamanders have three pairs of long external
sills, a long tail furnished with a broad dorsal and ventral fin,
and four limbs, although these are small. The total length is
about 25 mm. orilin. Their general colour is blackish, with a
metallic golden and greenish lustre. They are very active, and
at once eat dead or living animal matter. During the first six
or eight weeks they assume a row of dark spots on the sides;
these spots enlarge, and the whole skin becomes darker. Yellow
spots appear next, first above the eyes and on the thighs, later
upon the back; the ground colour at the same time becomes
black. The metamorphosis is very gradual; the tail-fin

2M 2

444 THE ZOO0LOGIST.

diminishes first, but the gills grow until shortly before the little
creatures leave the water.

The Black Salamander differs from the Spotted Salamander
in its uniform black colour and smaller size. It is restricted to
the Alps at from 2000 ft. to as much as 9000 ft. elevation, living
near waterfalls, or in other damp and cool situations. The most
interesting feature of the species is that it produces only two
young at a time. These are nourished at the expense of the
partly developed eggs in the uterus, and they undergo their
whole metamorphosis before they are born. Their development
is divided by Schwalbe into three stages :—

(1) Still enclosed within its own follicle the embryo lives on
its own yolk.

(2) Free within the vitelline mass, which is the product of
the other eggs, the larva feeds by taking this in at the mouth.

(3) After the vitelline mass is absorbed, the embryo obtains
its nutriment from the wall of the uterus by means of gills
10 to 12 mm. in length.

These two species of Salamandra are thus at once distin-
suished by their colour, habitat, and reproductive habits. Yet
even in Nature they approach one another more than has been
indicated so far. For the abortive eggs in the uterus increase
in number in S. maculosa with increasing elevation of the habitat,
the embryos decreasing in number and attaining a later stage
of development before birth. The same process can take place
in situations other than mountain districts if the conditions are
unfavourable.

At the lower limit of S. atra an increase in the number of
embryos may occur, three or four being produced at a birth,
whilst the abortive embryos do not break up so early to form the
vitelline mass. In the lower habitats of S. atra examples with
small whitish spots are not infrequent. The yellow spots of
S. maculosa are most complete in regard to number, size, and
brightness of colouring in warm, moist localities on a clay soil, and
diminish in size, number, and brilliance with increasing eleva-
tion of the habitat. These facts suggested to Kammerer the

attempt to convert one species into the other, an attempt which
has been to some extent successful.

If the embryos of Salamandra atra are liberated from the

INHERITANCE OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERS. 445

uterus and placed in water, they cast off their richly vascular
long red gills and regenerate in their place stouter branched
gills like those of the larve of S. maculosa. Moreover, if females
of S. atra are collected from the lower habitats and kept in warm
conditions they often naturally deposit their young in the water
in the larval stage, and these young are usually more than two
in number. On the other hand, females of S. maculosa, which
are deprived of the opportunity of depositing their young in the
water, detain them tc their final metamorphosis in the uterus.
The nourishment in this case is exactly similar to that which
normally takes place in S. atra, only a few embryos surviving,
the rest breaking down to form a vitelline mass. These intra-
uterine embryos differ from the normal free-swimming larve at
the same age in their possession of long vascular gills. Their
tail-fins are very small, and they retain their primary dark
colour.

After metamorphosis these animals are still distinguished
from normal S. maculosa of the same age by their smaller size
and the lesser number of the yellow spots on the black back-
sround. Young S. maculosa, however reared, if kept on black
earth at a low temperature and with little moisture, exhibit a
preponderance of the black ground colour at the expense of the
yellow spots. On the other hand, if young S. atra are kept
on a clayey soil at a relatively high temperature and in a
nearly saturated atmosphere, smali whitish points appear on the
skin, which sometimes expand into small yellow spots.

Salamandra maculosa can also be modified in the opposite
direction, and become truly oviparous. This occurs if the female
is stroked, or if she is kept in a completely saturated atmosphere,
or if she is placed suddenly in ice-cold water. If the same in-
dividual is treated in this manner for several spawning periods,
she eventually acquires the habit of laying her eggs early, even if
the stimulus is not applied. From eggs obtained in this way
the larve do not emerge for about a fortnight, and when hatched
only possess the anterior pair of limbs, though the posterior
appear the following day.

Under the same influences Salamandra atra can be got to
produce her larve in the water in the larval stage, and then
sives birth to from three to nine at a time instead of two. If

446 THE ZOOLOGIST,

the stimuli are applied for several spawning periods in succession
this method of reproduction becomes habitual in the individual,
and occurs without further stimulation. The larve thus pro-
duced are coffee-brown or grey (instead of black), striped with
darker bands. Their movements are much more intelligent
than those of larve at the same stage which have been cut out of
the uterus by an operation, and the gills become adapted for
aquatic respiration much more rapidly. Moreover, they at once
begin to feed on small aquatic animals. These larve, when
they reach the sexually mature stage, in their turn produce
aquatic larval forms even in the first spawning period, and it is
found that the stimuli necessary to produce this result need not
be so large in amount as was the case in their parents.

Exactly similar results are obtained with the young produced
in the adult stage by S. maculosa. At the first spawning period
they only produce one young Salamander in each uterus in the
method normal for S. atra—that is, if the original experimental
conditions are continued. Even if these conditions are not con-
tinued, they show the influence of their origin, though to a less
extent. For they either produce relatively advanced larve in
the water, which possess long uterine gills and metamorphose
after a few days, or they produce larve on the land which have
rudimentary gills, and are incapable of living in deep water.
These land larve in a few days metamorphose to adult Sala-
manders, which from their small size and uniform black pigment
might readily be taken for the young of S.atra. It thus appears
that in every case an inheritance of the acquired developmental
characters has taken place.

In a more recent paper Kammerer has published the results
of a similar series of experiments on Alytes obstetricans, the
Midwife Toad. The habits of this species in the wild state are quite
unusual. It propagates itself on land, and lays from eighteen
to eighty-six heavily-yolked eggs in a long chain; this chain is
drawn out from the cloaca of the female by the male during the
act of copulation, and at the same time he wraps them round his
thighs. The gelatinous envelope of the eggs is very sticky, and
attaches them to his legs, and by subsequent shrinking the band
is drawn tight. While the male is in charge of the eggs he for-
sakes his usual habits, and diligently seeks for water in which

INHERITANCE OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERS. 447

he cau at intervals dip his legs, and if the eggs are kept wet
enough the embryos eventually emerge into the water, biting
their way out of the egg-shells by their horny beaks. Their
post-embryonic development lasts more than a year.

Now, if Alytes is kept at a temperature of from 25° to 30° C.,
the male draws the eggs out of the cloaca of the female, but does
not wind them round his legs. If this happens on land the ad-
hesion is prevented by the rapid drying up of the jelly, but it more
often happens in the water, since the heat causes the Toads to
forsake their usual habits and cool themselves in the water, and
here the adhesion is prevented by the rapid swelling of the jelly.
The movements of the embryo inside the egg are sufficient to
effect the disruption of the membrane, which is macerated by this
swelling in the water, and the embryos escape after two weeks
at a very early stage with a yolk-sac still attached to them, and
long delicate, vascular embryonic gills. These gills are soon
replaced by others adapted for respiration in the water. The
post-embryonic development only lasts three to four months,
and the resulting Toads are exceptionally large.

After a time the adults become accustomed to copulating in
the water, and seek it for the purpose even when kept in normal
conditions. They then produce from ninety to one hundred and
fifteen small eggs with little yolk. This is soon absorbed, and
the embryos, impelled by hunger, jerk violently about till they
break out of the egg. Since they are not encumbered by a yolk-
sac, as were those of earlier broods, they can swim freely at once,
and to this end their tail-fins are distinctly broader than in the
tadpoles derived from earlier broods. The gills also become
more readily adapted to aquatic respiration. The Toads derived
from the earlier broods reared in the water lay their eggs on land
in the normal fashion if the experimental conditions are relaxed.
Those derived from the later broods, however, after spawning in
the water has become habitual, show that they inherit this
tendency by always spawning there, even without continuance
of the conditions.

If the high temperature is still maintained, the eggs produced
by this second generation are still smaller and more numerous
than in those of the first, and if the process is still continued the
larve in the fourth generation are darkly pigmented instead of

448 THE ZOOLOGIST.

colourless, have a broad tail-fin, and have three pairs of gills
instead of one, these being already adapted for aquatic respira-
tion when the larva hatches.

Sexually mature males in the third generation have rough
callosities on the ball of the thumb, and in the fourth generation
these are coloured black. In addition these males have hyper-
trophy of the muscles of the fore-arm. These two effects are
evidently correlated with the extra difficulty experienced by the
male in holding the female during the copulatory process, owing
to her skin being wet and slippery in the water.

To return to the eggs laid on land and abandoned by the
male. If they are kept on damp, cool soil they develop nor-
mally, but if the temperature is kept high they develop more
rapidly, and if they are prevented from hatching at the proper
time by only giving them the minimum amount of moisture
very large eggs are obtained, in which the embryos remain for
Six or seven weeks, and when hatched are already 20 mm. long.
If they are also kept in a feeble light giant eggs are formed in
which the embryos remain for ten weeks, reaching a length of
31 mm., and possessing the hind pair of legs. The remaining
process of development only takes about five months, and the
adults produced are distinguished by their dwarf size. These
dwarf Toads only produce sixteen to nineteen eggs, from which,
if the experimental conditions are discontinued, larve emerge -
after about seven weeks. They are 21 mm. in length, and have
undifferentiated stumps as rudiments of the hind limbs. If the
experimental conditions are continued, the larve hatch out at an
even more advanced stage than in the previous generation.

Larve from the original land-eggs, or from those in which
the embryos have been retained for an extra long period, can
live several weeks on damp earth instead of in the water. Their
integument becomes thickened, and they develop epidermal
glands and lungs; also the tail-fin diminishes, and the muscles
of the limbs strengthened. They have to be placed in the water
to undergo the metamorphosis, but this takes place in a very
short time, the resulting adults being very much dwarfed. If
the conditions are relaxed in the next generation, these induced
modifications are almost lost, though the lungs are better deve-
loped than usual, and metamorphosis occurs earlier. If the

INHERITANCE OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERS. 449

conditions are maintained, a further increase occurs in all
the adaptive characters, and the larve can live even longer
on land.

By prematurely opening the eggs laid in the water, and keep-
ing the embryos in a poor light in a large quantity of cold water
with a small food-supply, an Alytes larva was produced which
remained for four years and eight months in the larval state,
and produced eighteen eggs, which were artificially fertilized
with the sperm of a normal male. The larve reared from these
eggs under normal conditions were distinguished by the long
persistence of the external gills, and after two and three-quarter
years showed no signs of preparation for the metamorphosis.

Toads kept at a temperature below 17° C. take two years to
become sexually mature. If kept above 25° C., this occurs in
one year. Offspring of the latter in normal conditions became
mature in a year and a half.

Now these results cannot be explained by a direct action of
the environment on the germ-cells ; for in most cases very little
if any effect seems to be produced in the offspring so long as it
is necessary to keep the parents in abnormal conditions to get
them to change their spawning habits. As soon, however, as
the changed habits have been acquired by the parents—that is
to say, a8 soon as the parents can be replaced in normal con-
ditions—then inheritance of these changed habits appears to
occur.

We know that in such animals as change colour to adapt
themselves to their environment the change is brought about,
not directly by the action of the altered environment on the
chromatophores of the skin, but indirectly by way of the nervous
system. It is often supposed that the action may once have
been a direct one, but that the perfection of the nervous system
has led to its interposition in the process. Of course, the
nervous system is not so directly connected with the germ-
plasm as it is with the pigment-cells in the skin, but is it not
possible that changes in the nervous system may affect the
germ-cells? And there can be no doubt that a change in the
characteristic habits of an animal is in some way correlated
with a change in its nervous system.

In this connection it is interesting to notice that the chief

450 THE ZOOLOGIST.

series of experiments on the inheritance of mutilations and
diseases were those of Brown-Séquard on Guinea-pigs. His
experiments consisted in performing various operations on the
nervous systems of these animals, and noting the effects pro-
duced. He found that in a number of cases such effects
were inherited by some of the descendants of the diseased
animals.

Brown-Séquard’s work is now discredited, since subsequent
workers have failed to confirm his results, though it is probable
that no one else has during thirty years reared so many thou-
sand Guinea-pigs as he did.

Until someone else has repeated Kammerer’s work it is
probable that such remarkable results will be regarded with
some suspicion by orthodox zoologists, but the experiments
are described so fully and accompanied by such clear figures
that they ought surely to make us pause before absolutely deny-
ing the possibility of the inheritance of acquired characters.

(145)

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH
FOR 1910.

By ArtHuR H. PAttERsoN.

Tur year 1910 provided me with no extraordinary ichthyo-
logical novelties, the only two items of more than ordinary
interest being the discovery of a species of Bonito, which,
so far as I can ascertain, has not before been recorded for
the Hast Coast; certainly it is quite new to my own locality.
The occurrence of the Velvet Crab is also worthy of note, as
haying made its appearance in local waters, and for the first
time has found its name on the Norfolk list of species. These
will be noted in chronological order.

On January 13th Mr. F. C. Cook, of Lowestoft, brought me
two examples of Jago’s Goldsinny (Ctenolabrus rupestris), which
he had obtained on the previous day from one of the shrimp-

JAGO’S GOLDSINNY.

trawlers fishing just outside that port. This fish, since my dis-
covery of it off Yarmouth in June, 1906, has not infrequently
been taken in shrimp-nets. I am inclined to regard it, at
present, as one of the most numerous of the Labride visiting
Norfolk waters. A third specimen from a shrimp-net on
August 9th.

A plentiful inshoring of Sand Dabs (Pleuronectes limanda)

452 THE ZOOLOGIST.

occurred in March. On the 21st the shrimpers netted hundreds,
one man on the 22nd having a ‘‘maund”’ (a fish-basket) full of
them. They were in size little longer than a man’s hand.

Ballan Wrasse (Labrus maculatus): A small example taken
on April 11th.

On April 21st I saw a Smeared Dab (P. microcephalus), about
103 in. in length, with the fins surrounding it perfectly white,
including the tail. The shopman obliged me by turning over
some others on the slab, and we discovered two more almost
identical in the peculiarities which characterised the first. I
have no doubt they were varieties from the same brood, all being
of exactly the same dimensions, and taken simultaneously. I
have noticed this tendency to similarity in other instances, one
curious ‘‘sport’’ having been accompanied by undoubted rela-
tives.
A Ruffe (Acerina vulgaris), drawn down-river on an ebb-tide,
was taken alive on Breydon on May 5th.

Obtained a double Flounder (coloured on both sides) on
May 20th.

The Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), I have no doubt, is an
annual visitant to our Norfolk and Suffolk rivers, ascending
for the purpose of spawning. It does not often come under
notice, although on rare occasions some numbers have been
recorded. On May 28rda fine female was taken in a small trawl-
net at the entrance of Breydon. I cooked this fish, but found
the flesh dry and very beef-like in texture, and of a flavour that
might have been a combination of Salmonand Skate. The eggs,
which were imbedded in a blue-coloured tissue, were small and
exceedingly numerous. Another was taken on the 24th, and two
others subsequently. Great local prejudice exists with regard to
the use of this fish as food.

Day (‘British Fishes’) speaks of two varieties of the Cod—
the dark sort, taken off the Dogger, and the yellower kind, met
with off the north of Scotland. I saw, in May, an almost
black example with a light lateral line ; the head and body
seemed more slenderly built than in the typical Cod. I am
much inclined to regard this fish as a hybrid between the Cod
and Cole-fish, but it was too large an example to purchase for
purposes of further investigation.

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH. 453

A fifteen-inch Scomber concolor—a whole blue-backed Mackerel
without stripings—brought in on May 28th. Two or three
Scribbled Mackerel (S. scomber var. scriptus) were met with
during the progress of the fishing.

On June 8th a small schoolboy interested in Sticklebacks, as
are most urchins, brought to me a large pickle-bottle in which
were a number of very tiny Three-spined Sticklebacks. The
boy had found the nest and carefully placed it in the bottle,
judicicusly adding some vegetable matter from the ditch, while
the water was beautifully clean, although for some time un-
changed. We could discern minute fish not more than a
quarter of an inch in length happily swimming about in their
small prison birthplace.

I had shown to me on June 9th a very fine example of
Sebastes norvegicus. It weighed when full 173 lb., and when
empty 14lb. It was taken in the trawl, but no definite locality
was obtainable.

An Kel was observed in trouble in a ditch at Belton, a few
miles south of Yarmouth. A gardener, who saw it making
queer antics in an evident endeavour to rid itself of something,
shot it, when he discovered the body of a Water-Vole fast in the
fish’s gullet.

Breydon was alive with ‘“‘ whitebait”’ (Herring-fry) on the
morning of July 380th. I was much interested for some time in
watching a Heron standing beside a drain most industriously
and adroitly snapping up these lively little fishes.

A very pretty example of a variegated Brill, 14 in. in length,
came under my notice. The ground-work of the upper sur-
face was white, but the tail and round the eyes exhibited
the normal colouring, and nine spots were regularly dotted
around the fish, four on each side, and one on the lateral line
an inch or two off the tail. These spots were about the size of
a florin.

An incursion of small Pollack (Gadus pollachius) noticeable
during the third week in September ; they were about the size of
an average Mackerel.

September 24th: Saw a fine Porbeagle Shark (Lamna cornu-
bica) on the fish-wharf, just landed from a fishing-boat. Length,
nine feet.

454 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Flounders coloured on both sides are by no means rare—all-
white Flounders are rare. One was shown me on October 6th,
seven inches in length; there was only a faint narrow brown
ring around each eye. The upper surface was entirely devoid of
spiny excrescences, and as smooth as porcelain.

My best find for the year was Pelamys sarda. When stroll-
ing to the harbour-mouth on the afternoon of October 30th—a
wild dreary day, with a keen wind from the north-east, and with
a great quantity of wreckage strewn along the shore—I noticed
among other half-putrid fishes a Mackerel-like specimen from
whose sides all the skin, save a little near the back, had been
abraded by sea-water and the surf that had tumbled it to the
tide-mark. I noticed at once its greater girth around the
middle, and suspected it to be a Bonito of some sort, which

PELAMYS SARDA.

impression was strengthened by the rows of pronounced teeth,
which were much larger and more conspicuous than in the
Mackerel. I regretted having left my knife at home; and also
the want of some newspaper to wrap it in. Roughly measuring
it at seventeen inches, I left it. My rest at night was much dis-
turbed by my disappointment at leaving it behind, and I was up
before daylight on the following morning, when I hurriedly
trudged to the harbour-mouth, where I was fortunate in re-
discovering it just before the tide had reached it. The Hooded
Crows had already been at it, apparently intending to finish the
disembowelling they had begun on the previous day. I whipped
out a table-knife with which I had armed myself, and was soon
on my homeward journey with the head in my pocket. On
reaching home I washed and put it into formalin, despatching
it at night to Dr. Boulenger, who very kindly at once confirmed

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH. 455

my identification, assuring me it was the Pelamid, which is
known also as the Belted Bonito, or the Short-finned Tunny.
So far as I can trace, it is new to the Hast Anglian coast.

It is more than probable that Day’s illustration (‘ British
Fishes,’ vol. i. pl. 38) is, so far as markings go, a correct repre-
sentation of the species. it is, however, to my mind, a trifle too
slender when compared with my example, as is Couch’s figure, the
markings of which do not correspond with Day’s drawing. Yar-
rell’s drawings of the Bonitos are to me confused and unsatis-
factory. Iregret the condition of my specimen, which, although
so knocked about, could not have been dead more than three or
four days. The Hooded Crows that had forestalled me in the
discovery had already started disembowelling it, evidently de-
ciding that it was not too far gone for their liking.

Hlated by my ‘‘find” of October 30th, I was tempted to
renew my visit to the harbour-mouth on November 12th, when,
to my great surprise, lying among a few starfishes, weeds, and
crabs drawn up at the tide-mark, I observed a large Mackerel-
like head with pronounced teeth, and immediately recognized it
as that of Pelamys sarda. In this case the body had been either
cut or broken off, probably the latter, and it was in such a
condition of decay as to warrant my belief that it had been
netted avery short time after, or more likely contemporary with,
my first example. The eye-sockets contained only the eye-
casings, and the smell was rancid, my fingers retaining this
pungent odour after a good washing. My opinion is that a
small party of these Bonitos had attached themselves to the
Mackerel shoals, and had come to grief in the meshes of the
nets ; their more acutely angled heads and stouter bodies, with
their greater weight, had no doubt caused them to fall out and
sink to the bottom. Ido not think any fisherman, who could
hardly help noticing some slight difference in them from their
commoner brethren, would throw overboard such distinguished-
looking fishes. In size and appearance, excepting advanced
decay, both heads were exactly akin.

There have been considerable numbers of the Sead (Tra-
churus trachurus), or Horse-Mackerel, of a size not exceeding
the Herrings themselves, taken in the herring-nets during the
months of October and November. Their presence has been

456 THE ZOOLOGIST.

much remarked on by fish-buyers at the wharf, as the fishermen,
who now ‘“‘cran” out their takes instead of counting them,
throw them into the baskets promiscuously with Whitings,
small Mackerel, and the like, on the principle of all going to
make up bulk.

The first Sprats sent up from Suffolk appeared on the fish-
mongers’ slabs on November 4th.

When strolling by the beach to the harbour-mouth on
November 6th, I observed many dead and decaying Mackerel
and Herrings which had been thrown up by the tide. Several
Picked Dogfishes, averaging two feet in length, were also stranded,
with some one-pound Whitings. All of these were undoubtedly
fish that had fallen from the nets. I also found two Guillemots,
which in all probability had also met with their demise in the
meshes of the herring-nets. It has been observed that many of
the Mackerel have been bitten this year by Dogfish.

Garfish plentiful with the Mackerel in October and November.

The Herring fishery up to the time of writing has been a
sadly disappointing one; a succession of boisterous storms,
following quickly on one another, has marred the prospects of
fisher-folk, and those who follow them. Only once or twice
has there seemed anything like a full wharf. Gales have come
on so suddenly and unexpectedly after the nets have been
‘shot’ at sea that it has been impossible to haul them, and
much damage through entanglement and breakage has resulted.
To my mind the catching power is now vastly too great (thanks
to company-mongering and greed for dividends) for the neces-
sarily restricted area to which the spawning shoals resort. I
hope I am in error, but in my opinion there is a danger of
scaring and breaking up the “ schools,” and that some day—and
maybe it is not far distant—the harvest of the Herrings will not
be so remunerative as of late years. There is no close-season ;
the grounds are worked every day in the week (save in very bad
weather), Sundays included, and in my estimation the restless
turmoil of a throbbing steam fleet crowding there must have a
detrimental effect. These opinions may be speculative, but
those who prophesied a few years ago that reckless, unscientific
trawling would destroy the feeding-grounds of the deep-sea
fishes this side the Dogger, although then laughed at, lived

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH. 457

to see the decay of once prosperous deep-sea ventures. A fleet of
handsome trawlers still sail out of Lowestoft, but the same adjec-
tive may not be truthfully used when their gains are mentioned.

Up to the middle of November the huge number of buyers
and others who follow the Herring fishery had great cause for
grumbling. Fish were scarce, and realized big prices. Boat-
owners had reason to mourn great losses of nets and precious
nights; and those who labour ashore—fish-house hands, Scotch
girls who gut the Herrings, and many others—had far too much
idle time on their hands.

The Herrings would seem to have been “ spotty,” 7. ¢. un-
evenly distributed. One boat, fishing off Cromer, for a night’s
work secured but three crans; a boat not far off made a catch
of 150 crans. Big prices have been made, fresh Herrings often
making 38s., overdays 35s., salted 32s., per cran. One boat
brought in, on November 14th, 220 crans for three nights’
fishing, making £300 of her catch. Up to November 15th the
season’s total was 28,340 lasts, as against 37,732 lasts for a
corresponding period last year. A last of Herrings is 13,200;
there are ten crans in a last. That the local authorities do not
share my pessimistic forebodings is very evident by the Port and
Haven Commissioners setting about to obtain powers to add to
the existing accommodation by making a dock of about sixteen
acres in extent, capable of finding room for some three hundred
or four hundred more fishing-boats. The congestion in the
harbour has led to a great outcry among the fishing fraternity.
The number of local fishing-boats numbers, roughly, three
hundred; from Scotch and other ports, six hundred.

With regard to the summer Mackerel fishery, 1 have not
many details. Mr. Jay, assistant wharf-master, gives me the
figures for 1910 (the season lasting from April to August) as
follow :—Forty-five vessels, lasts 278 = 1,780,000 fish. This
compares favourably with that of 1909, when forty-seven boats
accounted for 256 lasts = 1,560,000 Mackerel. A considerable
number of Mackerel have been taken during the autumnal
Herring fishing.

Off Yarmouth, during the autumn, some tolerable catches of
Codlings of four pounds each and upwards have on three or four
occasions been taken in five or six fathoms of water, just beyond

Zool. 4th ser. vol. XIV. December, 1910. 2N

=

458 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the breakers, after spells of unsettled weather, by sea-anglers
more plucky than those who kept to the piers, and who had to be
content with occasional takes of small Whitings in shallower
waters.

From Mr. T. G. Robson, piermaster, Claremont Pier, Lowes-
toft, I have received the following information, which, now that
sea-angling has become a national pastime, is of some little
interest :—‘‘ Owing to the prevalence of easterly winds in October
and the beginning of November, sport has not been so good as
usual, our best week’s total being only 8652 fish, as follows:
Whitings, 8047 ; Codling, 562; Dabs, &c., 483—this was during
the week ending October 30th. During the corresponding week
of last year, by rod and line, the number of Whitings taken was
16,288 ; Codlings, 149; Dabs, &c., 95.”

Mr. Robson states the largest Codfish taken so far this season
‘was one weighing 293 lb., caught from a boat; the largest taken
from the pier weighing 16 lb. 20z. A Dab of 2 lb. 6 oz. was
taken from a boat, and a Whiting from the pier 1 lb. 80z. One
‘of the Lowestoft boatmen, fishing with a long line, secured in
a single haul on November 4th twenty Cods, each over 20 lb.,
twenty over 15 lb., and twelve about 7 lb.

Mr. F. C. Cook, of Lowestoft, who is interested in the fishes
of his neighbourhood, has provided me with the following items
from notes made by him during the past year:--On February
22nd he observed the tail of a fish protruding from the mouth of
a Thornback Ray, which, on pulling out, he discovered to be a
Dab six inches in length. He noted that the Five-bearded
Rockling was numerously taken in April by the shrimpers.

Heaps of Dogfishes (Acanthias vulgaris) were exposed for
sale on the Lowestoft Wharf on May 27th, June 16th, and
one or two other dates. Evidently there is a sale for them
or the fishermen would not bring them in. Mackerel were
observed to be much Dog-bitten in June. A Dogfish was noticed
in the herring-dock eagerly pursuing ‘‘ whitebait.”

Flounders numerous in the basins in September ; among a
large catch, to one rod, was a 2 lb. example. A 6 it. Porbeagle
Shark on September 20th. A Cod caught on a rod off Lowestoft
late in October, weighing 293 lb. Some good catches of Sprats
netted off South Lowestoft, second week in November.

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH. 459

To Mr. Robert Beazor, senr., fish-merchant, who spends
most of his time on the fish-wharf, I am again indebted for
some interesting notes. He writes :—_

“Crabs and Lobsters: These begin to make their appear-
ance on the wharf immediately after Christmas, and in barrels,
forwarded by rail from Scotland; these contain from six to
eight score. The supply this year was scarcer, frequent and
continuous winds not admitting of the catchers going after
them. The same causes often prevented the Cromer, Runton,
and Sheringham catchers from going to overhaul or work their
‘pots’; the take of Norfolk Lobsters was in consequence a short
one. During July and beginning of August these ‘ fish’ go into
the sand to re-shell, the Crabs somewhat earlier, when supplies
are very short. This year has been notable for the rather large
numbers of fine Lobsters landed by the trawling smacks fishing
in the neighbourhood of Cromer ‘wold,’ many running from
3 lb. to 7 |b.

*“ Smelts: Smelting commenced early in the year. The first
taken was in the third week in March, and continued up to the
end of September. It was a very poor season owing to the
prevalence of easterly winds and turbulent weather. The
greatest number I had in one day was between four and five
thousand. Big catches were the exception. Very few Sea-
Trout and Grey Mullet were captured in the smelt-nets, and
hardly any along the coast, owing to the same conditions.

“Mackerel have been abundant on the coast all the year;
our midsummer ‘voyage’ was a record one for the numbers of
fish landed. Sea-Trout in some years have come into my hands
from the mackerel-nets in scores, averaging from 3 lb. to 13 lb.
each, but this year they were conspicuously absent, as were Red
Mullet [Surmullet], only three of the latter having been taken to
my personal knowledge.

‘*The midsummer Herring fishery was a complete failure,
and so I think it likely to be so long as the Fishery Board per-
mit spring Herring fishing. I consider there ought to be a
close-time on this coast from Christmas to June.

‘Our autumn fishing up to the present has been backward
owing tobad weather. Prices have been abnormally high. We
have about one thousand vessels fishing from this port, over

2nN2

460 THE ZOOLOGIST.

six hundred of them Scotch and three hundred Yarmouth boats,
now mostly steamers. The old sailing craft are becoming things
of the past, owners having a great difficulty in securing crews to
man them. Mackerel have been very freely taken with the
Herrings, as have ‘ Horse-Mackerel,’ which have been over-
abundant.

‘You ask me about Salmon caught at sea. I know of one
of about 16 lb, being landed here in 1907 or 1908 by a steam
trawler, that had been taken in the trawl-net, and another
brought in by a steam drifter of 123 lb. weight, which had rolled
itself up in the herring-nets.”

Among the more interesting crustaceans that have come
to hand may be mentioned a Sowerby’s Hippolyte (Hippolyte
spinus), a small, sturdy species with an extraordinary develop-
ment of the rostrum, which reminds one of a cock’s comb; so
conspicuous is the little fellow, and so rarely found by our
shrimpers, that its appearance is almost always noted by them
when it occurs.

In May I secured a large pincer-claw of an Edible Crab with
but one chela, and this the free-moving one, which, having no

MALFORMED PINCER-CLAWS.

opposing point to close against, entirely precluded the possibility
of this half nipper being of any use to its owner. On July
25th a large pincer-claw of the same species was handed to me

SOME FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH. 461

by a vendor of Crabs. It had an extra fixed chela protruding
from the under side, at right angles to the under fixed chela
(see fig.).

On August 14th I examined a Whelk with two opercula; the
most extraordinary mollusc I ever saw, which, vulgarly speaking,
was absolutely two-headed.

In August an undoubted occurrence of the Velvet Fiddler-
Crab (Portunus puber) was noted by a shrimper, the specimen
being saved for me by its captor until it became offensive. I
was on my holidays at the time, hence it did not come into my
hands. Fortunately another—a fine male example—was taken
in a shrimp-net, and was brought home alive by the shrimper,
from whom I received it next day. It had been placed in a
bucket of water on a top shelf in his shop, but had died during
the night, and its colours had much deteriorated. This is an
interesting addition to the fauna of Kast Norfolk.

On December 38rd, owing to the unsettled state of the weather,
almost all the Yarmouth boats were in port. Several crans of
exceedingly fine Herrings which were landed from one of the
boats realized the exceptional price of 49s. 6d. per cran, equiva-
lent to 10s. per hundred! Most of the Scotch boats had gone
home by this date.

462 THE ZOOLOGIST.

THE COLOUR OF THE KINGFISHER.
By Frepx. J. Stusss.

JupDGING from the published remarks of British ornithologists,
few people can be aware that the brilliant feathers on the back
of the common Kingfisher vary from a deep ultramarine to pale
straw colour, and that they alter strictly according to the con-
ditions of light. Generally speaking, the bird is ultramarine
when between the eye and the light; cobalt in the open air by
almost every light, or in a room with good windows; green when
the observer is between the bird and the source of hight; and
straw- yellow when the feathers are viewed at an extremely small
angle, the observer being between the light and the bird.

There is considerable variation due to age and sex, and
feathers from different parts of the body vary in intensity of
colour, but they all behave exactly the same under similar
conditions of light. The dorsal plumes nearest the tail are
often the brightest and the bluest, but by arranging the bird in
a suitable light they will be seen to change through green to a
dull yellow—and, as I shall show presently, to a rich reddish
brown.

Poets, presumably, draw their inspirations and ideas from
birds seen in the field, and this explains why they are almost
unanimous in speaking of the “‘ sapphire blue” of the Halcyon.
The artist in paint is not so lucky, for however well he may
know the living Kingfisher, there is always a risk that he will
fall into the error of making a careful study of a green Kingfisher
in a dark case in some museum, and working this into the fore-
cround of his picture. One frequently meets with instances of
an indoor Kingfisher painted in an open-air picture; but, I
remember, the bird appears in appropriate tints in a famous
picture by Sir J. EH. Millais. The descriptions published by
ornithologists are one and all vague—at any rate, I have not
read an exact description. Even Dr. R. B. Sharpe, who knew

THE COLOUR OF THE KINGFISHER. 463

the Kingfishers very well, and William Macgillivray, who was
the possessor of an extraordinarily sagacious eye, both describe
the plumage of Alcedo ispida in a manner that is not precise.

What is the true colour of the Kingfisher? One is almost
safe in saying it has none at all, for the blue parts of the feathers
are colourless and transparent. Blue pigment has not been
discovered in any bird, and green only in the small group of the
Musophagide. Very few naturalists have investigated the nature
of these unpigmented brilliant feathers. Professor Victor Fatio
appears to have been the first, and his paper and plates (Mem.
Soc. Phys. Hist. Nat., Genéve, xvili. 1866) are very good. Yet
he has one or two errors, and while describing the structure of
the feathers (chiefly in the Indian Blue-bird, Irena puella), he
offers no explanation of the cause of their blue colour. Some
sixteen years later Dr. Hans Gadow examined the feathers of a
number of birds, and described (P. Z. S. 1882) the blue ones
of an Ant Thrush (Pitta moluccensis = P. cyanoptera). After
noticing a series of ridges in the feathers of both Pitta and
Cereba, he suggested the theory of ‘“‘ Gitterfarben,” or grating
colours, to explain the blue of feathers. It may be stated at
once that such ridges do not occur in the Kingfisher, although
they are said to do so in other birds. Dr. Gadow was mistaken
in saying that by transmitted light a blue feather is always the
colour of its pigment; and there are one or two other points of
error, such as stating that the colour is the combination of
structure and pigment (which does not hold good for the King-
fisher), and in stating that the structural layer always overlies
the pigment acting in combination with it (cf. also Newton's
‘Dictionary of Birds,’ p. 96).

Further consideration of the matter may therefore be advis-
able; but the difficulties attending the study of the minute
structure of feathers are so many that I have had to confine my
chief attention to the Kingfisher, and therefore I cannot speak
definitely of many other birds. The following remarks apply,
except. where the contrary is expressly stated, to the blue
feathers from the back of the common British Kingfisher.

I trust that the accompanying diagram will save me some
verbal explanation. It figures, partly in section, a small portion
of a single barb orramus. The ventral or lower surface consists

464 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of cellular ceratin or feather substance slightly pigmented with
melanin. From this pigmented part arise the scanty barbules,
which are also charged with melanin, although never appearing
blue. Springing from the lower inner surface is a single stratum
of polyhedral cells. Fatio, who was the first to describe this

=

23
iat ty
a,

important element of blue feathers, employed the word émail,
and used the happy term les plumes émailles for all blue or green
feathers; all who have examined the feathers of the Kingfisher
under the microscope must have remarked their resemblance to
fine enamel. Around and above these polyhedral cells there is
a strong tubular and transparent sheath, which is, as the
diagram shows, simply a prolongation of the sides of the pig-
mented lower part of the barb.

These cells are alone the source of the blue of the Kingfisher.
With care, the pigmented portion of the barb may be cut en-
tirely away, without any appreciable difference to the brillianey
of the feather. This clearly proves that pigment is not always
an essential item of blue feathers. In the Kingfisher, as in
every other bird that I have examined, the transparent outer
sheath may also be removed without affecting the blue colour
beneath ; in the above bird the sheath is colourless, but in the
green feathers of some Parrots it is clear yellow. Here, again,

my experience has never agreed with Dr. Gadow’s statement

—

THE COLOUR OF THE KINGFISHER. 465

that the yellow pigment in green feathers always underlies the
structural layer. The inner surface of the sheath is often
(perhaps invariably) marked out in hollows corresponding ex-
actly in shape with the caps of the cells below. There is a strong
probability that these serve as tiny lenses, and increase the
brilliancy of the parts below.

A single example of the polyhedral cells Tagen now be examined
in detail. It is about one-thousandth of an inch in breadth,
and rather more in height. Its inferior wall or floor is formed
by the upper part of the pigmented base of the barb, and the
vertical walls are perfectly smooth, transparent, and colourless.
The cell is empty, and the coloured nucleus figured by Fatio
does not exist in fact.

None of the feather elements so far considered have any part
in the production of the blue colour. The pigmented parts of
the barb, the transparent sheath, and the vertical cell-walls may
all be removed without destroying the blue. This is only pro-
duced by the tops or caps of the polyhedral cells. In spite of
the fact that these objects rarely exceed °025 mm. in length, it
is comparatively easy to separate one of the caps, and to arrange
it for examination under the high powers of a microscope.

Even by means of a good hand-lens this tiny plate of ceratin
is seen to be brilliantly blue. Under the compound microscope,
using the highest power possible with incident light, the surface
is seen to be finely granular, without the slightest trace of the
ridges seen by Dr. Gadow in Pitta. I am unable to see the
shape of these grains or wrinkles, but in the aggregate they look
like the roe of a fish. The largest of them are plainly less than
the one-fifty-thousandth of an inch apart, for I have counted
forty separate cells in the length of a millimetre of barb, and
estimated far more than this number of grains across a single
cell top.

This plate of ceratin is not flat, but slightly conical (or
patelloid), especially in the centre of the barb. In manipulation
the apex may be pushed down into the middle of the ceil, and
so be rather misleading. Under a proper light it is all over
brilliantly blue, and the colour and structure are the same on both
surfaces. This highly important fact can be seen by mounting
a single cap very firmly between two thin cover-glasses and

466 THE ZOOLOGIST.

examining from both sides. The blue is only seen by reflected
or incident light; by transmitted light the cap is a rich orange-
brown, with no trace of blue. It is figured as the cell nucleus
by Fatio, and described as the pigment by Gadow. Collectively,
the cell-caps give the rich brown colour we see when we look
through a Kinefisher’s feather (especially slightly diagonally) at
a strong light. The following striking experiment proves this
orange—and sometimes blue—cap to be neither a coloured
nucleus nor a pigmented cell-wall.

When a single cap (or, better still, a connected series) is
mounted dry and examined by incident light, the blue colour
can only be described as a glare. If we allow a drop of a mixture
of xylol and Canada balsam to flow down the slide, the very
instant it reaches the cell-cap the brilliant light is snapped off
as suddenly and as completely as in the switching off of an
electric lamp ; and the most delicate adjustment of the micro-
scope fails to reveal any further trace of the fragment of feather.
By transmitted light, by which the cap resembles a flake of
orange shellac, the xylol and balsam act in causing an oblitera-
tion almost as complete. When the fluid reaches it, the rich
orange vanishes instantaneously, and all that remains is a thin
and only just visible plate of perfectly transparent ceratin.
Sometimes the disappearance is complete, and the cap is not
seen again; but previous treatment with some such substance
as fuchsin enables it to be kept always in view.

This experiment paves the way for a solution of the problem
of the blue colour in the Kingfisher and many other birds. it
is clear that the colour is not due to pigment, either directly (as
yellow is produced in a Canary) or indirectly, as Dr. Gadow has
said. The absence of strie—and above all the behaviour of the
colour under different arrangements of the light—enables us
to dismiss the suggestion of ‘‘ Gitterfarben.” Leaving out of.
account polarization colours, which are impossible in feathers,
we have but three remaining explanations to consider. The first
is prismatic colour. If the grains on the surfaces of the cell-caps
are prisms, we should certainly see under the microscope at
least the sparks of some other colour besides blue—the tiny
gleams of yellowish white are from a known source that it is not
necessary to explain here. The case of the Helectus, presently.

THE COLOUR OF THE KINGFISHER. 467

to be described, hardly agrees with a prismatic solution. Many
animal colours, especially in molluscs and insects, are due to
thin plates; and probably many metallic bird colours are formed
in the same manner.*

The microscopical appearance of the surfaces of the cell-caps,
their behaviour in various media, and the fact that no other
colour but blue is produced, leads us to dismiss the question of
thin plate or interference colours in the feathers of the King-
fisher; but the greatest objection is to be mentioned later.

We have thus disposed of every explanation except one, and
that is the theory of the production of blue by the reflection of
light from small particles, and of orange or red by the trans-
mission of light through small particles. I suppose everybody
has noticed the bright blue colour of the smoke from a wood
fire when seen against a dark background of woodland or moun-
tain; seen against the bright sky, the smoke is no longer blue
but orange. It is the same with a mixture of milk and water,
where the minute globules of fat reflect a blue colour but trans-
mit orange—for the fluid is decidedly yellow when held to the
light. The blue of the human eye is said to be due to the effect
of light on the particles in the substance of the iris; and it is
well known to physicists that blue may be produced by con-
densing various gases, or more simply by dropping an alcoholic
solution of mastic into a vessel of pure water. Yet we get the
phenomenon on the grandest scale almost daily in the blue of
the sky. By reflected light the colour is pure blue, but as the
sun sinks to the horizon we see the atmosphere by transmitted
light, and it-is then orange. This is hardly the place to describe
matters that are treated at length in every elementary book on
light, but a couple of lines or so may be given. In white light
the red waves are twice as big as the blue. When light impinges
on a collection of tiny points a great deal is reflected intact as
white light, but many of the red waves get broken up into

* T know this is not the usually accepted explanation of the metallic
tints of feathers. If we take a blue feather from the neck of a Peacock, and
cautiously wipe it with a solution of caustic potash, with the effect of
thinning the outer layers of ceratin, the range of green and blue tints gives
way to one of bronze-browns and reds. I cannot see how this fits in with
the prismatic explanation; and there are other serious objections.

468 ; THE ZOOLOGIST.

smaller waves, and thus we get a light that is lacking in long
red waves, and overburdened with short blue waves. By trans-
mitted light the opposite effect is produced, and an excess of red
comes through to the eye.

Every observation made on blue feathers supports this theory
of the ‘‘colour of small particles.”” The disappearance of the
light and colour in xylol and balsam is due to the fact that the
fluid sets up optical continuity ; and the cap becomes, so far as
its individual effect on light is concerned, a part of the balsam.
We cannot easily order the experiment, but it sometimes happens
when dealing with fragments of feathers that the balsam reaches
only a single surface of the cap (as when the cell is still intact,
but the outer sheath of the barb removed); and in this case
there is only a marked diminution of the colour, and not com-
plete disappearance.

I now come to some of the strongest points in support of the
theory. LHclectus polychlorus,* a wonderful Parrot found only in
the Papuan Islands, shows a strange dissimilarity in the colours
of the sexes. The male is almost entirely a brilliant and nearly
optically pure green, with small areas of blue and scarlet. The
female is largely bright red, diversified with very slight washes
of blue and yellow. Roughly speaking, the male is all green
and the female all red. Krukenberg has studied the actual
pigments of the feathers of Hclectus, and shows that these are
the same in both sexes, although the general effect is so different.
The pigments number only three, and are melanin (black), araroth
(red), and zoofulvin (yellow).

A feather from the back of the male is green. The barb
consists of a solid core pigmented with black, a single layer of
cells with bright blue caps—exactly the same as those in the
Kingfisher-—and an outer transparent sheath tinted with the
yellow zoofulvin. Here again the colour does not agree with
Dr. Gadow’s statements, for the underlying melanin has nothing
to do with either the blue or the green (as may easily be tested
by slicing the barb with a sharp knife), and the zoofulvin, which
turns the blue colour of the cell-caps into green, is obviously

** Perhaps this may be particularized as EH. roratus for the male and

FE. cardinalis for the female, but my remarks doubtless hold good for the
other forms of this Parrot.

THE COLOUR OF THE KINGFISHER. 469

above and not below the structural layer. Viewed from the
inside, the barb of the green Helectus is exactly the colour of
that of the Kingfisher, i.e. a fine azure blue. Nor is this all,
for the blue of the female is produced in the same way, and the
purple is due to the barbules and part of the barb being tinted
with araroth; here the red does not overlie the cells, but shows
on each side of the layer. The above facts simplify the question
of the colouring of the sexes in this interesting Parrot, but
cannot be further discussed here.

In several other green and blue birds these granulated cell-
caps are present. The common Amazon Parrot (Chrysotis) is an
accessible example. I have examined thoroughly the feathers
of but a small number of birds; but I may as well say that I
have never examined a blue, green, or purple feather (I do not
now refer to ‘‘ metallic” feathers) without finding the colour to
be produced by the granular tops of the special cells I have
described, but always as blue, modified by red pigment in the
purple feathers, and by yellow in the green ones. It must not
be forgotten that many apparently blue feathers are really grey.
For instance, the blue feathers on the wing of the Shoveller are
black, with a fine line of white along the centre of each barb.
This is the method of blue production in many birds, but such
feathers are never ‘‘ enamelled.’ In a similar manner, green is
formed by a combination of zoofulvin and melanin, as in the
Green Woodpecker.

What do these facts suggest? I read it that the bird can
only produce blue or blue compounds in this single manner. If
blue is required, the protecting outer sheath is colourless; if
green, it is tinted with yellow; and if purple, a line of blue
modifies the colour of a feather pigmented with red. Dark blue,
as in the tail of the Kingfisher, or in the feathers of many other
birds, is caused by narrow lines of blue-producing cells with wide
and black interspaces. I need hardly say that were the colours
due to prisms, or to thin plates, the overlying pigment would
be unnecessary. Yet, as we see, the base of these colours
is always the sky-blue reflected from the caps of elaborately
fashioned cells.

Perhaps I may summarize, then, that the blue colour of the
Kingfisher is not due to pigments; nor, as Dr. Gadow suggests,

470 THE ZOOLOGIST.

to striz acting as diffraction gratings—which would, of course,
only display colour in fixed directions of light; nor is the colour
due to tiny prisms, nor to thin plates. I trust that I have
succeeded in showing that it is due entirely to the effect of light
reflected from a vast number of tiny projections on the surface
of the wall of a special cell, and is quite independent of any
pigment.

All that remains now is to return to the first question of the
varying colours of the plumage of the Kingfisher. When we see
only reflected light, the feathers are pure blue; but when a large
part of the light is reflected from the back of the barb, and of
course transmitted through the cap of the cell as orange, this
colour turns the blue into a dusky green, and in certain aspects
it may even be the only light striking the eye, so that the
feathers appear straw-coloured. It frequently happens that a
Kingfisher is more brilliant by artificial light than it is by day-
light—a curious state of affairs. The explanation is very simple.
The light is so weak that only a small proportion is sent back
through the cell-caps as orange light, and so we get the blue
colour unmixed and brilliant. In brilliant old male birds very
little transmitted light penetrates the caps, and so the blue is
purer than it is in immature or female Kingfishers.

Gears)

NOTES AND” OUR RIES:

MAMMALIA.

A Local Race of Light-coloured Mice.— Mr. Gordon Dalgliesh
(ante, p. 434), in writing of Mus flavicollis and other mice, says :-—
“‘T have in my possession a M. musculus mouse, which I took in a
farm-building, so remarkable in colour—a bright yellowish fawn—
that had it been taken abroad would certainly have led to a suspicion
of its being a new species.” An almost similar experience befell me
last year. I had heard of a peculiar light-coloured race of mice that
inhabited a solitary farm at the head of an isolated valley (The Wash-
burn) lying between vast expanses of high moors, and far away from
contact with other human habitations. Through the medium of a
friend I obtained a specimen in May, 1909, but far too “ gamey”’ for
any hope of preserving it. It was a female—adult, but slightly
undersized—and of a fawn or sandy colour throughout. Coming
from a virgin district, the specimen was interesting to me, and
suggested possibilities ; but I had my suspicions, and I instituted an
inquiry through my friend to ascertain if any tame white or parti-
coloured mice had ever been kept at this farm. Later my friend
replied :—‘‘ You have, I think, diagnosed the case exactly... . I
found that at one time one of the family used to keep ‘ white’ mice.”
Whether these light-coloured mice are the direct descendants of the
‘tame’ mice, or whether these latter have interbred with wild Mus
musculus, it would be difficult to say now. But that they appear to
have succeeded in producing a local race of fawn-coloured mice is, I
think, worthy of record. An analogous case amongst rabbits is
developing at present on some of the islands of the Farne group, viz.
on “The Brownsman”’ and on ‘The Farne.”” The bird-watchers there
have liberated some of the Belgian “‘hare”’ breed of rabbits, which are
interbreeding with the ordinary British wild rabbit, itself formerly
introduced into these islands, I am told. The result is that the
greater proportion of the rabbits there to-day are of a distinct type—
fawn-coloured, but of a lighter shade underneath.— H. B. Boot
(Ben Rhydding, Yorks).

AVES.

An Albino Bunting.—The word ‘“ Bunting”’ must be understood
here in a generic sense, for the bird in question was so perfect
an albino that Lam unable to say whether it was, or rather is (for no
one wishes to shoot it), a Yellowhammer or a Reed-Bunting. A
Corn-Bunting it certainly is not. The movement of the tail proved
it to be a Bunting, and a careful examination with a binocular when

472 THE ZOOLOGIST.

it was busy with the seeds of the willow-herb suggested to me that
it is probably a Yellowhammer. It has been haunting willows and
sedges by the side of the railway like a Reed- Bunting, but there were
Yellowhammers as well as Reed-Buntings about the same place. I |
could not catch any note that might have helped to decide the
species. There is not a coloured feather in it, and it is, on a sunny
morning, a most beautiful object. An albino Bunting of any species is,
T imagine, a rarity — W. WarDE Fow er (Kingham, Chipping Norton).

Crossbill nesting in Bedfordshire —On May 6th a friend and my-
self found in one of the pine woods at Sutton what was evidently the
nest of the Crossbill; it had by some means become dislodged, and
was lying upon the ground under the trees. Several Crossbills were
seen at the time, and two males in full song were heard in this planta-
tion previously. On May 8th, in a Scotch fir-plantation known as
‘“‘Cesar’s Camp,” at Sandy, we saw a pair with young; the latter had
recently left the nest, and we watched the old birds return to feed
them from time to time. My attention was first directed to this
family party by the variation in the notes of the birds.—J. StEErnH
Exuurorr (Dowles Manor, Salop).

A Variety of the Gannet (Sula bassana).— The variety of the
Gannet described by Mr. R. Fortune (ante, p. 340) is, I imagine, the
first variety of this species ever recorded; moreover, it is doubly
interesting, because it belongs to a very different class from the
albinisms and melanisms which are from time to time reported
among all birds. There is also an account of it in ‘ British Birds’
(iv. p. 153), with a very good photograph by Mr. Jasper Atkinson,
done from the bird as it sits on a rock beside two of the normal
colour, with one of which it was believed to have paired. This is a
lusus nature which is hardly explicable by the ordinary laws of
variation in plumage ; to account for it we may perhaps suppose an
abnormal intensifying of the buff head and occiput, which is worn
by the Gannet in its adult livery. If that be the solution, the buff
pigment has not only spread over the entire head and neck and part
of the wings, but has turned to a darker colour. There is another
and, I think, more probable explanation of this strange freak. It
may be a last year’s bird still retaining some of its immature
plumage, though now faded and altered so much as to be unrecog-
nisable. But against this theory it is to be remembered that a
young Gannet’s plumage is black, not brown, and another point is
that the dark plumage is always lost on the head and neck first, the
lower back and tail being the last part to change.—J. H. GurNEy
(Keswick Hall, Norwich).

Rouen

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< Recent Work ie Inheritance ee f Acquived Chacon Ww
. 441.

Some Fish-notes from Great Vermouth for 1910 (with Mlustr

_ s Patterson, 451.
The Colour of the Kingfisher (with aaa Fredk. J. Stubbs, 462. -
Nores aND QUERIES :—
Mammatta.—A Local Race of Light- colatfed Mice, H. B. Booth, a1. :
Aves.—An Albino Bunting, W. Warde Fowler, 471. Crossbill nesting in eae
fordshire, J. Steele Hlliott, a A Variety of Gannet (Sula “bassana); %
J. H. Gurney, 472. ; i.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM A SOUTH LONDON
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