as to the occurrence of the siskin, in summer, in Ireland.—John Robert Kinahan; Donnybrook, near Dublin, July 24, 1852. Occurrence of the Blue-throated Warbler (Sylvia Suecica) in South Devon.—About the 15th of last September, Mr. Buller shot a specimen of the blue-throated warbler in a furze-brake near Whimple, South Devon.-T. L. Powys; Lilford Hall, Northants, October 9, 1852. Carrier Pigeons." Sir John Ross took with him four carrier pigeons belonging to a lady residing in Ayrshire, intending to liberate two of them when the state of the ice rendered it necessary for him to lay his vessels up for the winter, and the other two when he discovered Sir John Franklin. A pigeon made its appearance at the dove cote in Ayrshire on the 13th of October, which the lady recognized by marks and circumstances that left no doubt on her mind of its being one of the younger pair presented by her to Sir John. It carried no billet; but there were indications, in the loss of feathers on the breast, of one having been torn from under its wing. Though it is known that the speed of pigeons is equal to 100 miles an hour, the distance from Melville Island to Ayrshire, being in a direct line about 2,400 miles, is so great, that evidence of the bird having been sent off about the 10th of October must be had, before that we can well believe that no mistake was made in the identification of the individual that came to the dove-cote. Sir John's letters from Lancaster Sound mention that when he wrote he had the pigeons on board." — From Sir John Richardson's 'Journal of a Boat-voyage through Rupert's Land and the Arctic Sea,' vol. ii. p. 157. Carrier Pigeons.—“ Next-indeed we should say before the balloons-as a means of communication, came carrier pigeons. When first proposed, in 1850, many people laughed at the idea of a bird doing any service in such a cause; and may be, might have laughed yet, had not a carrier pigeon, despatched by Capt. Sir John Ross, from his winter quarters in 1850, actually reached its home, near Ayr, in Scotland, in five days. In our Expedition none of these birds had been taken; but on board the 'Felix' Sir John Ross had a couple of brace. I plead guilty, myself, to having joined in the laugh at the poor creatures, when, with feathers in a half-moulted state, I heard it proposed to despatch them from Beechey Island, in 74o N. and 929 W., to the meridian of Greenwich and 56o N. latitude, even though they were slung to a balloon for a part of the journey. At any rate it was done, I think, on the 6th of October, 1850, from Assistance Harbour. Two birds, duly freighted with intelligence, and notes from the married men, were put in a basket, which was attached to a balloon in such a manner that, after combustion of a certain quantity of match, the carrier pigeons would be launched into the air to commence their flight. The idea being that they would fetch some of the whaling vessels about the mouth of Hudson's Straits; at least so I heard. The wind was then blowing fresh from the north-west, and the temperature below zero. When we in the squadron off Griffith's Island heard of the departure of the mail, the opinion prevalent was that the birds would be frozen to death. We were mistaken; for, in about 120 hours, one of these birds, as verified by the lady to whom it had originally belonged, reached her home, and flew to the nest in which it had been hatched in the pigeon-house. It had, however, by some means or other, shaken itself clear of the packet entrusted to its charge. This marvellous flight of 3,000 miles is the longest on record; but, of course, we are unable to say for what portion of the distance the bird was carried by the balloon, and when or where liberated; that depending upon the strength and direction of the gale in which the balloon was carried along." - From Lieut. Sherard Osborn's ' Stray Leaves from an Arctic Journal, p. 174. Hybrid Grouse.—I have lately acquired a specimen of grouse having an appearance of hybridism from two of the finest species of game birds in the country. It came, with other game, to Mr. Muirhead, game-dealer, Manchester, from the moors near the Marquis of Breadalbane's estate, Perthshire, a locality enumerated by the late Professor Macgillivray as one of the few places where the capercailzie may yet be found in a semi-naturalized state. The specimen possesses many characteristics which confirm its parental descent from a male of the black grouse (Tetrao Tetrix) and a female of the capercailzie (T. Urogallus), although in its general appearance it would be looked upon as a variety of the black cock, mottled over with white and brown; yet, upon a closer examination, the superior strength of its feet, and large black bill, together with the peculiar markings of the plumage, give sufficient proofs of its consanguinity to the capercailzie. The plumage, with the exception of the tail, has none of the glossy blue-black hue of the ordinary specimens of the black cock; the head, neck, and breast are mottled and barred with reddish brown and black; the throat is barred with black and white; the back is dull black and brown, with white, irregularly-shaped marks; the belly, and as far as the vent, is dull black, with spots of white tipping the feathers down the centre, just as they are found on the belly of the male capercailzie; the wings are brown and dull black, with numerous small bars and spots of white, but without the white lower wing-coverts of the black cock; a tuft of white feathers at the shoulders, under the wings freckled with brown and black; the flanks over the thighs, vent, and under tail-coverts barred with dull black and white, as in the capercailzie; the tail is not fully developed, and in its present state is an anomalous mixture of the differently-shaped tails of its parents; the feathers are glossy black, four in the centre and the two outer ones two inches and a half longer than the others, the centre ones rounded and shaped more like the tail of the capercailzie than those of the black cock, but the two outer feathers, as well as two others only half grown, have a tendency to curve outwards, just as the four outward tail-feathers do in the black cock; the feathers on the legs are freckled with black and white; the legs are strong, and the claws have larger pectinations than in the ordinary black game; the bill is strong and black; and in size the bird altogether exceeds the black game, but yet is not so large as the female capercailzie. If it had been fortunate enough to have escaped the gun till the month of February next, it would have been a finer and a more richly-marked bird.—John Plant; Salford Royal Museum, October 5, 1852. Occurrence of the Pratincole (Glareola torquata) in Devonshire. — On the 7th of September, 1851, my friend W. W. Buller, Esq., saw two collared pratincoles on the Warren, a large sand-bank at the mouth of the river Exe, South Devon. They appeared very tame, occasionally alighting on the sand, on which their movements very much resembled those of the ring dotterel. Their manner of flight was very much like that of the swallow.-T. L. Powys; Lilford Hall, Northants, October 9, 1852. "The Biter bit. As Mr. Wm. Mills was going over his farm" (in Upper Beeding, Sussex), "some few days since, he observed something white in one of the ditches, which appeared at first sight to be the clothes of a female, but on approaching it he found it to be a large heron, standing on its feet with its wings projecting and the head under water. Wondering what could fix it in such a curious position, he, by the aid of his walking-stick, drew it to the bank, when he found a large eel hanging from its mouth, which weighed 1 lb. 7 oz. The bird, most likely a young one, had evidently attempted to swallow the fish, some inches of which were down its throat, but from its great weight and strength perhaps its tail entwined some of the flags, so that it drew the bird's head under water until it was suffocated; the eel was not able to extricate itself, for it also was dead. Had it been an old bird, it would have shown more sagacity, and first landed such a prize before it had attempted to swallow it."From the 'Sussex Express' of Saturday, October 30, 1852. Curious Death of a Dab-chick, or Little Grebe, (Podiceps minor).—A specimen of the little grebe was picked up dead by the side of the river at Witchingham, apparently choked in an attempt to swallow a bull-head or miller's thumb (Cottus Gobio), as the spines at the end of the gills of the fish were sticking in the dabchick's throat.-L. H. Irby; Saham, Norfolk, November 1, 1852. Food of the Black-headed Gull, (Larus ridibundus). As Mr. Gurney has mentioned the mouse-catching propensities of the black-headed gulls at Scoulton (Zool. 3563), it may be worth adding that I have often seen them hawking after cockchafers late in the evening. I proved this by shooting one and examining it.—Id. Note on the American and Indian Darters in Captivity; and on the known Species of the Genus Plotus. — The Rev. A. C. Smith, in his second paper on the curious occurrence of the Plotus Anhinga near Poole (Zool. 3654), quotes an interesting extract from a communication by Mr. Waterton, in which that gentleman states he has never heard of this bird having been bred up tame. It may therefore be worth while to call attention to the very full account of the habits of this species, as observed in North America, given by the late Mr. Audubon in his 'Ornithological Biography' (iv. 136), wherein that gentleman mentions two distinct instances in which these birds had been successfully brought up from the nest, and subsequently kept in a state of domestication with considerable facility. I have also been informed that the Indian species (probably Plotus melanogaster) has been similarly tamed by Mr. Blyth, of Calcutta, and has been found to exhibit considerable docility and familiarity. As Mr. Smith, in his first paper (Zool. 3601), speaks doubtfully of there being more than two species of the genus Plotus, it may be desirable to add that four distinct species are recognized in Messrs. Gray and Mitchell's ‘Genera of Birds,' a work which is of most deservedly high authority in such matters. These species are: — 1. Plotus Anhinga, (P. melanogaster, B. y. of Latham); limited to the American continent, and figured by Audubon, pl. 316, and by several other authors also. 2. Plotus melanogaster; figured in Pennant's 'Indian Zoology,' pl. 12. Probably exclusively Asiatic, but its geographical boundaries, as far as I am aware, have not yet been well defined. It occurs in India, and is also included in Dr. Horsfield's 'Catalogue of the Birds of Java,' and is mentioned by Latham as being found in Ceylon. 3. Plotus Congensis, (also called P. Levaillantii and P. rufus); figured in Buffon's 'Planches Enluminées,' pl. 107, and in Temminck's 'Planches Coloriées,' pl. 380. This is the African species, but M. Temminck states that he has also received specimens from the Indian Archipelago. 4. Plotus Nova-Hollandiæ; figured in Gould's 'Birds of Australia,' and in Gray's Genera, and is apparently limited to the Australian continent. —J. H. Gurney; Easton, Norfolk, November 3, 1852. 66 Sporting by Steam.--On Wednesday, September 29, as the express train of the Morayshire Railway was crossing the Loch of Spynie, the funnel of the engine struck and killed a bird of the species called the northern diver, which was flying with a fish in its bill. On the bird being secured, it was found to measure from the tip of the tail to the beak 3 feet, and from wing to wing 4 feet 4 inches. Its prey was of goodly size, being nearly 10 inches in length."- Elgin Courant,' October 1, 1852. [I have seen the animals above alluded to. They are the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax Carbo), principally known as "The Scarf,” and a flounder (Platessa Flesus), most likely from the locality. The bird is well stuffed and set up by the engine-dri ver as a trophy; the fish is replaced in the position in which it was first seen, with little more than the tail visible, between the extended mandibles of the cormorant, so that the species could not with certainty be determined at a glance. G. Gordon; Birnie, by Elgin, October, 1852.] - Occurrence of the Gannet (Sula Bassana) in Cambridgeshire. A fine adult specimen of this bird was shot last week in Fulbourn Fields, Cambridgeshire. — Fredk. Bond; Kingsbury, September 26, 1852. Occurrence of the Egyptian Goose (Chenalopex Egyptiacus, Gould) in Cambridgeshire. A fine adult specimen of this bird was likewise shot last week in Fulbourn Fields. It might have escaped from some place, but he was in the most beautiful and perfect condition, and showed no marks of having been in confinement.—Id. Singular Capture of the Porbeagle Shark, (Lamna Cornubica, Flem.) — On the morning of Friday, October 15, two of these huge denizens of the deep were killed in the Moray Firth-one in Lossiemouth Bay, and the other off Port Gordon, some ten or twelve miles distant from each other. They were caught much about the same hour, and what is most singular, by the same means, namely, by no stronger engine than the common haddock-line. These sharks, which in neither locality were seen to be accompanied by others of the same species, had most likely been snatching some of the fish from the hooks for their breakfast, and in their evolutions had got a fold or two of the line twisted round their tails, which, from their consistence and construction, are most likely to be thus entangled. To the no little amazement of the fishermen, they saw their buoys flitting about and disappearing in a style which no drifting of the boat or fouling of the line on the bottom could account for. By and by they became aware that some large animal was attached to the frail thread - for a thread it was compared with the strength of the fish; and in both cases there were, as in angling with a large salmon, much play and sport, and a long run, which at last exhausted the sharks, when they were pulled by the tail to the boats. The Port Gordon specimen measured 7 feet 2 inches in length, and 4 feet 2 inches in girth at the thickest part. It was soon cut up, and, save some of the fins and the back-bone, was speedily entombed in the mussel-midden, whence one side was caused to be excavated for identification of the species some days afterwards. The one got in Lossiemouth Bay was exhibited in Elgin and in some of the adjacent towns. It measured a foot more in length than the other, and was in all respects the larger animal of the two. Geo. Gordon; Manse of Birnie, by Elgin, N. B., November 8, 1852. Notes on the Distribution of Insects in Geographical Regions. The resemblance of the productions of mountains from the bases to the summits to those of the hemispheres from the equator to the poles, or to some shorter and intermediate space, has often been remarked; and the numerous elevations of land present an equal number of more or less perfect images of each hemisphere. The valley of each river, from its source to the sea, comprising the valleys of its tributaries, may form a natural division in the geographical distribution of creatures, and the aquatic species have generally the most extensive range along its course. The valleys near each other, and of small extent, and of mostly similar productions, may be grouped together, and those of the tributaries of the largest streams may form subdivisions in the descriptions of these regions. The following list contains the names of some of the principal river-valleys, omitting those of the British Isles: I. NORTHERN OCEAN VALLEYS. 1. Tora valley 2. Alten II. NORTH SEA VALLEYS. 3. Glommen 4. Odderan 5. Clara 6. Scheld 7. Ems 8. Rhine 9. Weser 10. Elbe III. BALTIC VALLEYS. 11. Oder 12. Vistula 13. Memel 14. Dvina IV. GULF OF BOTHNIA VALLEYS. 15. Ljusna 16. Indals 17. Angermanna 18. Windel 30. Petchora 31. Obe 32. Genesei 33. Piasina 34. Khatanga 35. Anabarsk 36. Olia 37. Olensk 38. Lena 39. Lana 40. Anabara 41. Indigurca 42. Kolima VIII. SEA OF KAMTCHATKA Valleys. 43. Anadir 44. Apuka 45. Kamtchatka IX. SEA OF OKOTSK VALLEYS. 46. Talovka 47. Kova 19. Pitea 20. Lulea 21. Tornea V. GULF OF FINLAND VALLEYS. 22. Volga VI. WHITE SEA VALLEYS. 23. Onega 24. Dvina 25. Meyen VII. EAST ARCTIC OCEAN VALLEYS, 26. Olia 27. Tudejesko 28. Kolima 29. Anadir 48. Okota 49. Ouda 50. Amoor X. YELLOW SEA VALLEYS. 52. Yangtsu-Kiang XI. CHINESE SEA VALLEYS. 54. Hong 55. Sang-Koi 56. Min 57. Camboja XII. GULF of Siam Valleys. 58. Menam 59. Sulwein 60. Irawaddy |