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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



novel to see a creature voiding its excrement by 

 its head, the tentacles standing out, and the mouth 

 so much distended, together with the heaving and 

 contortion of the creature, as ring after ring of the 

 piece of worm passed upwards and outwards, that I 

 could not help smiling at the very grotesque 

 and singular appearance of the slug under the cir- 

 cumstances. — G. B. 



ISIames of the Missel-Thrush. — Tn answer to a 

 correspondent who wishes for some little informa- 

 tion relative to the Missel-thrusli, I beg to send 

 the following: — First, in answer to the question 

 " Whether the name Thrice-cock is to be found in 

 print, and if so, in what book ? " Mr. Garner, 

 JF.L.S., Stoke-upon-Trent, in his " History of 

 Staffordshire," page 274, speaks of the Tardus 

 viscivonis as known by the various names of 

 missel-thrush, sprite, storm-cock, and thrice-cock, 

 but gives no reason why the latter name is applied, 

 as it usually is, in most of the midland counties. 

 Mary Howitt, in her book of "Birds and Their 

 Nests," speaks of Turdus viscivorus as known by 

 different names, in different parts of the country, 

 viz., missel-thrush, storm-cock, thrice-cock, and in 

 Wales as Pen-y-lhnjn, which means the head or 

 master of the coppice. The missel-thrush is the 

 largest of our British song-birds ; it remains with us 

 through the year, not beicg migratory, excepting 

 in so far as it moves off in considerable flocks into 

 Herefordshire and Monmouthshire for the sake of 

 the mistletoe, which abounds in the orchards there, 

 on the viscous berries of which it delights to feed ; 

 ■whence it has obtained its familiar name of missel, 

 or mistletoe-thrush. It is the earliest harbinger 

 of spring, the first singer of the new year ; its clear, 

 rich voice may be heard often amidst wild winds 

 and winterly storms'; whence also its familiar name, 

 storm-cock. In the midland counties it is called 

 thrice-cock ; but why, I know not. A pair of 

 missel-thrushes build annually in the plautation 

 adjoining our house ; and on approaching their nest 

 after tliey have young ones, the parent birds attack 

 all intruders in the most savage, determined 

 manner, uttering a loud, screaming noise, very like 

 a shriek, as an expression of their displeasure. At 

 other times they are a shy bird, and almost unap- 

 proachable. Nor do you ever see them near the 

 house ; but in the early spring, while they are 

 breeding, their nest is built in the fork of a tree, 

 near houses and in towns. I shall be very glad 

 if others will take notice of your correspondent's 

 inquiry, and afford all the information they can in 

 answer to his query relative to the derivation of 

 Thrice-cock. — Elizabeth Edioards. 



Missel-Thkush. — In answer to " R.R.R.'s " 

 letter, concerning the "Missel-thrush" being 

 called "Thrice-cock" in certain of the midland 

 counties of England, I liave never heard the name 

 before, and do not know whether it is to be found 

 in print; but I think it is very likely so called from 

 the resemblance which its peculiar cry has to the 

 word thrice. — /. L. J. 



The Missel-Thrush. — Your correspondent 

 " B.R.R." \yill find the Missel-thrush called Thrice- 

 cock in the index of provincial names at the end of 

 Johns' " British Birds in their Haunts ; " but in 

 the body of the work no explanation of the term is 

 given. In Johns' excellent work there is a far 

 larger coUeetion of local names of birds than in any 

 work in the language, but, singularly enough, a 

 name by which the missel-thiush is generally 



known in Westmorland and Yorkshire is not 

 given ; viz., Jer Cock. — /. S. Metcalfe. 



CuRious_ Place por a Chrysalis. — I have in 

 my possession a portion of an umbrella-handle, in 

 the very heart of which is a pupa, or rather the 

 shell of one. The owner — to whose kindness I am 

 indebted for it— whilst talking one day to a friend, 

 leaned somewhat heavily on his umbrella and broke 

 it in half, thus discovering the strange occupant. 

 The holes made by the larva in the stick, which is 

 oak, had been carefully stopped up, rendering any 

 emergence from its " living tomb " impossible. 1 

 presume the chrysalis is that of the Leopard Moth 

 {Zeuzera tssculi). — Joseph Anderson, jun. 



Songs of Birds. — I should esteem it a favour if 

 some one of your contributors could describe the 

 respective songs of the nightingale and blackcap, 

 so as to make it possible to distinguish between 

 them. It is certain that the two are to a great 

 extent popularly confounded. May I also ask for 

 the title of some good book descriptive of the 

 songs of British birds ?— P. 



Cossus LiGNiPERDA. — In the paper by Mr. 

 Spicer in last month's number (p. 130), there is an 

 erroneous statement respecting this insect. He 

 saj's : "Pliny's cossus was also an oak-borer, 

 which the goat-moth is not." Certainly the moth 

 may not be an oak-borer, but its larva most de- 

 cidedly is. In this locality I know of one tree 

 which has been killed by this larva, and another 

 close to it that contains, at this time, dozens of the 

 caterpillar of various ages. — E. [B. Kemp-Welch, 

 Bournemouth. 



Swans and Cygnets.— This evening, as I was 

 walking by the Thames between Windsor and 

 Staines, I saw two swans — one having two cygnets 

 on its back between the wings, and another on the 

 tail. Is it usual foi* swans thus to carry their 

 young ? They were going up stream, so that was 

 most likely the cause, the young ones probably not 

 being strong enough to swim against the current. — 

 /. H. Alchln. 



Pood of the Snake.— Query— Does the snake 

 swallow toads as well as frogs ? During a ramble 

 in August, I surprised a large snake and half-grown 

 toad together near a wall. On my approach the 

 snake glided off, and disappeared in a hole of the 

 wall, leaving the toad behind, which appeared 

 stupefied, fascinated, paralyzed, and never stirred a 

 limb, though its hind-legs were stretched out on 

 each side in the most unnatural manner. The 

 whole front part of the body, and part of the back, 

 was smeared with a slimy fluid, as if it had been 

 swallowed thus far. The poor toad remained fixed 

 in the same position for some time, but at length, 

 as if it were collecting its faculties, it moved a little, 

 and then slowly crawled a short distance ofi". To all 

 appearance, the snake had attempted to swallow 

 the toad, but had rejected it as an unpalatable 

 morsel, or perhaps my sudden appearance pre- 

 vented the snake's ideas from being fully carried 

 out. — W. H. Warner, Kingston, Abingdon. 



Starling. — A pair of starlings build every year 

 in the side of this house, and rear fine broods of 

 cackling young. The old birds work most industri- 

 ously, especially towards the evening, to satisfy 

 the appetites of the nestlings. Watch in hand, one 

 night I noted the time elapsing between the visits 



