TWO RARE WOODLICE IN SCOTLAND 139 



4th, and 5th are seen, those of segments 1 and 2 being 

 small and t concealed beneath the pleural plate of the last 

 segment of the mesosome. 



The tuberculations are subject to considerable variation, 

 a fact not generally known. From the south coast of 

 England I have seen examples in which they stand out as 

 clearly defined, miniature, knob-like excrescences. From 

 other localities I have specimens in which they are not 

 nearly so prominent as those in Triclwniscus roseus, whilst 

 in others they are only visible on the segments of the 

 mesosome after considerable preparation. 



The question naturally arises whether or not we have a 

 third British species, in which the tuberculations are smaller 

 than in H. danicus and the pleural plates of the first 

 mesosomatic segment rather different in shape. The 

 examination of further material will alone decide this very 

 interesting point. 



It may be of interest to point out that of the 36 British 

 species of terrestrial Isopoda, 21 have been recorded as 

 occurring in Scotland, 33 in England, 12 in Wales, and 25 

 in Ireland. 



Birds under Fire. The following notes were made at the 

 Front by a young Scottish officer, and they have been kindly 

 forwarded to us for use in this magazine. " On our way forward 

 we halted beside a river, waiting for darkness to fall, close to which 

 was some marshy ground. A number of Coots were swimming 

 about in the river indulging in a fight on their own account, in their 

 well-known fashion, and paying little attention to the shells which 

 were falling close to them. But for the sound of the guns one could 

 have imagined one's self lying on Arthur's Seat watching a Coots' 

 fight on Duddingston. When the battle was at its fiercest a 

 number of Partridges and Hares were observed running about No 

 Man's Land scared almost to death, and in a wood, close at hand, 

 a pair of Magpies were building their nest. Suddenly a shell struck 

 the foot of the tree sending tree and nest high into the air. We 

 heard the Cuckoo on the 25th and the 28th April." 



