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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



in the Solenhofen slates, has been found at Pappen- 

 heim, near Solenhofen. It is said to be much more 

 perfect than the former, and that the head is pre- 

 served. In the original specimen, parts of the head 

 were missing. Some geologists have long been of 

 opinion that this fossil bird or reptile (for the type is 

 so intemiediate that it is difficult to say which it is) 

 must have had teeth implanted in the mandibles. 



The New Fossil Tertiary Bird. — The new 

 species of fossil bird, called LitJiornis eimiimis, to 

 which we referred in our last number, is believed by 

 Professor Owen to have had enormous wings, and to 

 have been closely allied to, but larger than, the 

 albatross. 



Geology of Plymouth. — In my sketch of the 

 Geology of Plymouth (Science-Gossip, August, 

 p. 170), I inadvertently committed Mr. Champer- 

 nowne to an opinion which he never has held. In 

 the sentence, "It is quite possible that the southern 

 margin of the Plymouth limestone may be a faulted 

 one, as siigocstcd to mc by Mi: Champerncnvne,'''' the 

 words here marked in italics should be erased. — 

 H. B. Woodward. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Peregrine Falcon, &c. — However much it is 

 against my inclination to refer to books to assist me 

 to solve the question in dispute, or, in fact, to pass an 

 opinion at all upon the specific distinction of birds 

 which I have never observed in their native wilds, 

 still I will, as requested by Mr. Dealy, give the 

 opinion of several trustworthy writers of recent date 

 upon this subject. In the first place Dr. Elliott 

 Coues, in his "Birds of the North-west," says : "The 

 American Duck-hawk appears to have been first 

 separated from the Old World Peregrine by Prince 

 Bonaparte in 1838 ; but no characters were, to my 

 knowledge, then ascribed to it, and it is very doubt- 

 ful that any exist." It may be presumed that this 

 autlior was misled by a then supposed, but since 

 proved groundless, difference in the nidification ; 

 more likely, however, he proceeded upon some theory 

 respecting geographical distribution. The name has, 

 however, been very generally adopted, even by those 

 who have demurred against it. One of the highest 

 authorities on birds of prey. Dr. Schlegel, states, 

 after examination of various examples from North and 

 South America and Mexico, that " le Faucoii comnnin 

 de I'Amerique ne differe en aucune fa9on du notre." 

 Such is nearly my own view ; and even Bonaparte, in 

 1850, confesses that his ana t tun is " forsan a F. 

 (Y'ww//;?/ spec, baud diversus." .... Of the Aus- 

 tralian F. mclanoi^enys Dr. Schlegel has remarked : 

 " La variete accidentelle foncee de I'Australie . . . . 

 ne merite pas meme le nom de conspecies." As to the 

 Duck-hawk "retiring to swamps, &c.," Mr. Allen 

 states (writing in 1864) that ]\Ir. Bennett took the 

 eggs of the Duck-hawk upon Mount Tom, Mass., 

 U.S.A., and secured the female bird. I will quote a 

 few of the remarks made by Mr. Allen. " Ten days 

 later he made another visit, and, creeping carefully to 

 the summit of the cliff, at a point near the eyrie 

 already spoken of, he saw the female, on looking over 

 the cliff, sitting on the nest, and but five or six yards 

 distant. She eyed him fiercely for an instant, and 



then, scrambling from the nest to the edge of the 

 narrow shelf supporting it, launched into the air. In 

 a twinkling Mr. Bennett's unerring aim sent her 

 tumbling dead at the foot of the precipice several 

 hundred feet below. The nest contained four eggs, 

 which were soon safely secured, and the body of the 

 female was obtained from the foot of the cliff." There 

 is another matter to which I would call Mr. Dealy's 

 attention— his recent assumed discovery of the Red 

 Grouse perching upon trees, — if he will allow hini- 

 self to remember that we were once discussing this 

 matter, and that I informed him of this peculiar 

 habit, which he has now published as his cum dis- 

 coz'ciy. I claim no merit for the so-called discovery, 

 which, I have no doubt, many of the readers of 

 Science-Gossip have repeatedly observed ; but I 

 cannot allow a person to claim honour which he has 

 not earned by any of his own researches. As I have 

 now endeavoured to reply fully to Mr. Dealy's 

 remarks, I ask him to kindly express an opinion upon 

 my own, as I previously wished. (See Science- 

 Gossip, July I, 1877.) By the way, will Mr. Dealy 

 kindly inform me from what authority he has received 

 the information respecting the numerous clutches of 

 eggs in one sparrow-hawk's ntsil— Charles Dixon, 

 Heeley, near Sheffield. 



Peregrine. — I was particularly pleased with July 

 number of Science-Gossip, inasmuch as Mr. South- 

 well's paragraph referring to the Peregrine entirely 

 clears up, as it now stands, everything concerning/'. 

 peregrinus and F. anatwn ; and I might say with 

 the Hon. Secretary of the Norwich Naturalists' 

 Society, "I too am content to accept the opinion of 

 modern ornithologists " as to the identity of the t\yo 

 above-named birds. Although the assertion of Wil- 

 son regarding the so-called Duck-hawk always strik- 

 ing its prey to the ground may be strong, I do not 

 consider the expression too strong, as he adds : "The 

 circumstance of the hawk's never canying off the 

 duck on striking it, has given rise to the belief of that 

 service being performed by means of the breast, 

 which vulgar opinion has armed with a projecting 

 bone." It would be interesting to know the grounds 

 on which Gould based his opinion as to the distinction 

 of these two birds. I candidly admit that, under the 

 information brought to light by Mr. Southwell, I was 

 using a very wide expression -when I said that the 

 Peregrine never " built " its nest on trees, — always on 

 rocks." I see also that "Old Bushman," in his "Ten 

 Years in Sweden," says that the Peregrine constructs 

 I its eyry on trees ; whether in a s^\•amp or on the wikl 

 ! lonely sides of these rocky fells, he leaves us to con- 

 I jecture. The fact of the Peregrine breeding on trees 

 I in Europe is not confined to North Germany alone, 

 and I have little doubt that, if properly inquired into, 

 1 it would be found that it, at times, nestled on trees in 

 I various other parts of Europe. My heartiest thanks 

 ' are due to the editor for the kindness and forbearance 

 he has shown in allowing this discussion to take place, 

 I as it has been productive of much good, and has 

 I called opinions out of obscurity where they have long 

 lain dormant. — r. W. Dealy, Sheffield. 



The Red-legged Partridge. — I have in my 



collection an egg of the above, taken in May of this 



I year, a few miles from here (Ripon, Yorkshire). I 



: should like to know if any of the readers of Science- 



i Gossip have ever known or heard tell of the Red-leg 



breeding so far north as this before, there being no 



i preserves of this species anywhere near, at least not 



to my knowledge. I have not heard of them being 



preserved out of Norfolk. I can only set it down as 



being some bird or birds which, have strayed away, 



I have made inauiries, but have never heard of 



as 



mquines. 



