no sooner did he catch sight of me, than he commenced half running half flying towards me, making that remarkable trumpet-sound he was in the habit of doing when pleased, and walked the remainder of the distance by my side. He knew all the servants and labourers, never molesting them, whilst every stranger, whether gentle or simple, equestrian or pedestrian, he invariably attacked if he could, especially any ragged person: he was rather the terror of our visitors, as he would frequently, like a watch-dog, dispute the entrance with them: he knew every member of the family at a considerable distance, whether on foot or on horseback, and would frequently leave the water to come and meet us, or walk by our side talking all the time. He was lord of his own domain, and especially jealous of any animal approaching its banks, generally taking the trouble to swim from the furthest end to drive them away: he was so well known by cows and horses that they generally decamped on his approach. In the spring of the year he required little or no feeding, finding sufficient sustenance on the tadpoles and other water animals abundant at that season; he would eat any kind of grain, and was particularly fond of bread, which he would eat out of our hands: he was as sociable as a dog and nearly as attached: whenever the entrance-gate was left open he would make his way up to the house; he always found out which room ́we were sitting in, and would call under the windows and peep in, and would not be satisfied without having something given to him; he would then lie down under them, seemingly satisfied if he could be near us. In the summer time, when the doors were open, he would frequently walk into the house, and even round the breakfast-table. Often when my mother was amusing herself at her flower-beds, he would see her, come up from the water, wait at the gate to be let in, and then come up and lie down close to her. Never so happy as when near us, he would sit under the windows or on the steps for hours if allowed, and each year increased his attachment and sagacity. After being with us upwards of six years, to our great distress-on coming down to breakfast one morning-we discovered poor Dan standing upon the steps of the front door, with his head and neck covered with blood, the skin under his lower mandible being torn from the bone and hanging down, as was his tongue, from having nothing to support it. The first thing we thought of was to sew the skin on again, in the hope of its adhering to the bone, but neither this or other endeavours to effect a cure succeeded, and the poor bird was in danger of being starved to death, as he had not the power of swallowing, even if he got the food into his mouth, having no use of his tongue. We were very loath to sign his death-warrant, and yet could think of no means of saving him, when one of the servants proposed the carpenter's making a wooden bill for him: we acted on the suggestion, and had one made with holes drilled in it, and corresponding ones through the horny substance of his mandible, and fastened it on with wire: this contrivance answered admirably; he was able to eat as usual, and began to recover his good looks, but nothing would induce him, from the time of his accident, to remain on the water at night; he always came up to the house towards evening to go to rest, and was most persevering in his endeavours to obtain an entrance into his bed-place, and if he failed one way he would try another; occasionally he would call under our sitting-room windows to be let in: in the morning he quietly marched down to the water quite contentedly. What caused the accident we could never discover, and can only suppose it to have been done by a stoat or polecat, as he had been seen more than once attacking the former, which were very numerous. The wooden bill answered remarkably well for two or three months, when the wire by which it was fastened became corroded, and it dropped off: it had unfor tunately been secured with brass or steel wire, instead of gold or silver: had it been done with either of the latter, in all probability poor Dan might yet have been alive, if not to tell his tale to have shown his wonderful cure; but as it was we did not like putting him again to the pain of drilling fresh holes in his mandible, as the old ones were worn through; and though we kept him many days, in hopes that he might get accustomed to the loss of his false bill, and be able to feed himself, we found him totally unable to do so as he was getting weaker and weaker, from want of sustenance, we were most reluctantly obliged to destroy this attached and sagacious creature, having had him nearly seven years. On measuring him after his death we found him Round the body (but when in good condition, as previous to his accident, he must have measured far more) ft. in. 8 0 4 10 2 7 -Ellen Webley Parry; Treforgan, near Cardigan, December 22, 1847. Occurrence of Bewick's Swan (Cygnus Bewickii) in Wexford Harbour.-On the 1st of 2nd month, 1844, I had an opportunity of examining a fresh specimen of this bird, obtained in our harbour. There were three or four of them in company.-Joseph Poole; Killiane, Wexford. Note on the Bimaculated Duck (Anas glocitans).-I beg to send you a drawing on the block, of the female bimaculated duck which came into the possession of Mr. Tomes at the beginning of last year, and of which a description, with some observations by him, will be found in the 'Zoologist' (Zool. 1698). The evidence in favour of and against the supposed hybridism of this duck has been so accurately stated by Mr. Tomes, that it is unnecessary to add anything upon this subject. I may, however, state my conviction that it is a distinct species. It should be also noticed, with reference to Mr. Selby's description of the colour of the legs of the bimaculated duck, which he states to be orange, that in the specimen in question, the bill and legs precisely resembled in colour those of the common teal, being of a bluish gray.-William R. Fisher; Cambridge, February 3, 1848. Enquiry respecting the Characters which distinguish the Young of the Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) from the Young of the Glaucous Gull (L. glaucus).—I shall feel much obliged to any of the readers of the Zoologist' who will point out a difference whereby the young of the great black-backed gull may be distinguished from the young of the glaucous gull. On examining a young gull, 27 inches in length, and comparing it carefully with the descriptions in Yarrell and Gould, I am totally unable to decide to which of these two species it should be referred: indeed I may say that in the adult birds I can find no difference but that of colour.-D. C. Burlingham; Lynn, 1st mo. 28th, 1848. Occurrence of the Red-throated Diver (Colymbus septentrionalis) at Worcester.— Since my last note, dated December 15th, 1847 (Zool. 1969), I am informed by a gentleman, in whose accuracy I have entire confidence, that two more specimens of the red-throated diver have been procured in the Severn, in this immediate locality.-— W. W. Cooper; Claines, near Worcester, February 8, 1848. Occurrence of the Great Shearwater (Puffinus Anglorum) near Robin Hood's Bay. -Through the attention of Mr. Graham, of York, I have been enabled to procure a very fine specimen of the great shearwater, which was taken alive in a fishing-net, near Robin Hood's Bay, in this county. It fell into the hands of a bird-stuffer at Pickering, of whom Mr. Graham purchased it.—W. M. E. Milner ; Nunappleton, Tadcaster, February 5, 1848. Notice of Ornithological Occurrences in Norfolk, for January, 1848.—Several more specimens of the waxwing have been taken during this month, especially towards the latter part of it, and chiefly in the vicinity of the coast. An adult male goosander occurred at Yarmouth early in this month, for a notice of which we are indebted to W. F. Wratislaw Bird, Esq. An adult male of the black-throated diver, in winter plumage, was shot about the middle of the month, in the river Wensum, at Taverham, which, being nearly twenty miles in a straight line from the sea, is rather an inland locality for this species. The occurrence of a pair of barnacle geese at Salthouse, and the unusually early appearance of the red-necked grebe at Surlingham, on the 26th instant, may also be mentioned. A white variety of the blue titmouse has been observed at Northrepps, in company with other individuals of the usual colour: It is not very common, we believe, for this species to be affected by such variations.— J. H. Gurney, William R. Fisher; January, 1848. Frog at a great Elevation in Inverness-shire.—I found an adult specimen of the frog (Rana temporaria), at the elevation of 2600 feet, on Mealfourvenie; and near the same spot a numerous progeny of tadpoles, in some black pools or tarns. Have these reptiles ever been found at a greater elevation?—Archibald Hepburn; Whittingham, 1847. Snake in the Hole of a Sand Martin.-Our gamekeeper's boy was told to procure some sand martin's eggs for my brother's collection. He put his hand into a hole, and a large snake crawled out; it had probably gone there to feed on the young birds. I have seen one of these snakes when killed contain two frogs, the uppermost of which was still alive, and I hope was too wise again to put himself in the way of being swallowed.-H. T. Frere; Aylsham. Capture of a Snake in a Mole-trap.-About three years ago my mole-catcher · brought me a snake, upwards of thirty inches long, which he had taken in one of his common wooden traps. The situation where it was caught was at the bottom of the park, by the river-side (the Wansbeck), where water-rats considerably abound, and there is no doubt that the snake had been pursuing the rat in his underground run when caught. The mole-catcher, who was a very.old man, told me he had heard of a similar circumstance, but had never previously in his practice met with the like occurrence. The snake was caught about three inches from the head. Until this animal was so caught, it had not been suspected that water-rats had enemies of this description.-J. Cookson; Meldon Park, near Morpeth, Northumberland, February 7, 1848. The Great Sea-Serpent.-" I, the undersigned, Joseph Woodward, captain of the Adamant schooner, of Hingham, being on my route from Penobscot to Hingham, steering W.N.W., and being about ten leagues from the coast, perceived, last Sunday, at 2 p. m., something on the surface of the water, which seemed to me to be of the size of a large boat. Supposing that it might be part of a wreck of a ship, I approached it, but when I was within a few yards of it, it appeared, to my great surprise, and that of my whole crew, that it was a monstrous serpent. When I approached nearer it coiled itself up, instantly uncoiling itself again, and withdrew with extreme rapidity. On my approaching again it coiled itself up a second time, and placed itself at the distance of 60 feet at the most from the bow of the ship. I had one of my guns loaded with a cannon-ball and musket-bullets. I fired at the head of the mon He re ster; my crew and myself distinctly heard the ball and bullets strike against his body, from which they rebounded as if they had struck against a rock. The serpent shook his head and tail in an extraordinary manner, and advanced towards the ship with open jaws. I had caused the cannon to be reloaded, and pointed it at his throat; but he had come so near that all the crew were seized with terror, and we thought only of getting out of his way: he almost touched the vessel, and had not I tacked as I did he would certainly have come on board. He dived; but in a moment we saw him appear again, with his head on one side of the vessel and his tail on the other, as if he was going to lift us up and upset us. However, we did not feel any shock. mained five hours near us, only going backward and forward. The fears with which he at first inspired us having subsided, we were able to examine him attentively. I estimate that his length is at least twice that of my schooner, that is to say, 130 feet; his head is full 12 or 14; the diameter of the body, below the neck, is not less than 6 feet; the size of the head is in proportion to that of the body.. He is of a blackish colour; his ear-holes are about 12 feet from the extremity of his head. In short, the whole has a terrible look. When he coils himself up, he places his tail in such a manner that it aids bim in darting forward with great force: he moves in all directions with the greatest facility and astonishing rapidity." [The foregoing statement was formally signed and sworn to at Hingham, by Captain Woodward, on the 12th of May.-E. N.] Extraordinary Habit of the Shanny or Shan (Blennius Pholis).—" The little fish which forms the subject of these remarks is in the possession of Francis Ross, Esq., Topsham, Devon, and I had an opportunity of seeing it whilst staying with him during the summer. It has been the subject of many learned discussions, and the Royal Cork Cuvierian Society gave it the lead in their Proceedings for the season. I send you a verbatim copy of my relative's remark, and I doubt not it will not only prove interesting to the naturalist, but to many others. “A specimen of this fish was brought to me on the 3rd of June. On placing it in a glass vessel of sea water, it appeared perfectly quiet for some hours, but at length became restless, and made frequent attempts to throw itself out of the water. It then occurred to me, that on a former occasion, when by the sea-side, I had a gatteruginous blenny, in a vessel with some actinia and serpulæ, which regularly passed a portion of its time on a stone; I therefore placed one in the glass. The Blennius Pholis immediately leaped on it completely out of the water. It therefore appears that these changes are necessary to its existence. On going to the front of the house, I perceived that it was near low water. Knowing that it would flow till ten o'clock that night, I watched the movements of my little captive, and as the clock struck had the gratification of seeing it plunge again into its natural element. It has now been more than five months in my possession, and has proved throughout that period a regular and correct tide-indicator. I was well aware that these fish are constantly left by the receding tide on the rocks, remaining concealed in small basins or holes, under the weed, till the returning flood: still I was not prepared to see a fish voluntarily quit the water, and pass so large a portion of its existence in a different element, and by instinct alone time its change of position so exactly. A great diversity of colours and markings have been observed by collectors to exist in the blenny: this, I have ascertained, is occasioned by the situation in which they are taken. Whilst in the water the colours are less strongly marked: the fish is then a pale yellowish brown, with the blotches indistinct; but after being a short time exposed to, and inhaling atmospheric air, the colour changes to a deeper brown, and the markings become nearly black, with a regular series of white spots above and following the course of the lateral line. I have noticed that it has a power of altering its position on the stone with great facility, by means of its pectoral and ventral fins. At times it reclines on its side; at others it is perfectly erect, resting on its broad pectorals, and turning its head from side to side. The specimen is small, being about 3 inches in length: it will take crumbs of bread and small earth-worms, two or three a day being sufficient: it continues in good health, and has become so familiar as to take its food from my hand, and if he is not attended to will dash the water about to let me know he is on the look out for his bit of meat or rice. “N. B. Blennius Pholis of Linneus, Cuvier and others; order Acanthopterygii ; family Gobiada or Gobies; generally small, of little or no value as food, found on most of the rocky coasts of our island.'"-Henry Greatwood; Usk, October 11, 1847, (extracted from the Monmouthshire Merlin.') Voracity of the Trout.-An article in the Zoologist' (Zool. 1649), on the habits of the trout in Lake Huron, reminds me of the habits of a trout in a small basin in my garden, in which I keep a few gold and silver fish. Some years since I had about half a dozen of these fish in the basin, about two or three inches long. My boys had caught some trout in the brook, and must needs turn them into the basin with the gold-fish. For about a week matters went on very peaceably; at last one gold-fish |