The Scottish Naturalist. 315 



rabbit. On my approaching the object the crows flew off to a 

 safe distance, when to my surprise I found a Sparrow-hawk with 

 its talons grasping a newly killed partridge ; so that the crows 

 were in the most persistent manner disputing possession of the 

 game with the hawk, which ' had in turn to deliver up the 

 coveted tit-bit to myself. I noticed that although the crows 

 were most anxious for the prize, they did not attack simultane- 

 ously; but took it in turn to assault the hawk, which most 

 reluctantly had to beat a retreat." 



Hoodie v. Shepherd's Dog. — Mr. John Ferguson writes, 

 March 8th, 1876: — "When coming from Swinton the other 

 day, I witnessed a rather amusing exhibition of pugnacity on 

 the part of a common "Hooded Crow' (Corvus comix), not 

 far from Mount Pleasant. One of these birds was picking up 

 some garbage from the road, when a shepherd's dog, which 

 was passing at the time, halted quite close to it, and surveyed 

 it for a minute with a puzzled and rather suspicious air. 

 Whether the dog had never seen a pied crow before, and may 

 therefore be presumed to have felt a scientific interest in the 

 individual in question, or whether he had theftuous designs 

 upon the crow's meal, is uncertain. The bird apparently came 

 to the latter conclusion, for it speedily put itself in fighting 

 attitude, and the dog thinking no doubt that in this case dis- 

 cretion was the better part of valour immediately turned tail 

 and scampered off. His plucky antagonist watched his retreat 

 for a moment, and then, with a triumphant croak, took wing 

 and quickly disappeared." 



Cecidomyia Persicariae, L. — The larva, which is found in 

 the leaves of Polygonum amphibium is orange coloured, and its 

 presence occasions the margins of the leaves to roll inwards. 

 Sometimes the roll is on both leaf-margins, and then the leaf 

 acquires a fantastic twist, and looks as if contorted by a cater- 

 pillar. There are three or four larvae in each roll. The rolls 

 are pale green and crimson, making the affected leaves very 

 conspicuous. I observed it at Turvielaws, Northumberland ; 

 at the side of the loch in Holy Island in June ; near Tyningham 

 and Beltonford, East Lothian, July 14th. Mr. Walker, Dip!. 

 Brit. iii. p. 79, describes the fly from a German source, but it 

 is questionable if the perfect insect has been observed in 

 Britain. It is only one line long. 



Cecidomyia Till,*:, Schr. ? — This has a gall very different 

 from the minute mite-gall infesting the leaves. It is oval, round, 



