184 



HARDVVICKE'S SC IENC E-G S SIP. 



[Aug. 1, 1870. 



to different families presenting the same anomaly. 

 None of these insects having hitherto been made the 

 subject of anatomical study, I examined the nervous 

 systems of five, the only ones I was able to procure in 

 sufficient quantities for the purpose ; indeed many of 

 the species are so minute, that it is impossible to 

 dissect them. These five species are all coleopte- 

 rous, viz : — Aphrenops Leschenaultii,AdelopsPyrenceus, 

 Pholemon Querilhaci, Claviger Duoalii, and Langelan- 

 dia anophthalmia. In every one of these the organ 

 of sight is entirely wanting, and its annihilation has 

 also involved the destruction of the optic nerve, 

 and even a portion of the nervous centre ; for the 

 cerebroid ganglia, in lieu of forming a mass of 

 matter disposed transversely in the head, take the 

 form of two elongated nearly parallel bodies. This 

 form of ganglia recalls the same organs in certain 

 larvae, which are also blind, but of which the complete 

 insect possesses eyes." 



From this description it would seem that the 

 phenomenon is a case of arrested development. 



Havre. ' W. W. Spicee. 



ZOOLOGY. 



The Carrier Pigeox. — With respect to Sir 

 John Ross's pigeons, as far as I can recollect, he 

 dispatched a young pair on the 6th or 7th of 

 October, 1850, from Assistance Bay, a little to the 

 west of Wellington Sound ; and on the 13th of 

 October a pigeon made its appearance at the dove- 

 cot in Ayrshire, from whence Sir John had the two 

 pairs of pigeons which he took out. The distance 

 direct between the two places is about 2,000 miles. 

 The dovecot was under repair at this time, and the 

 pigeons belonging to it had been removed, but the 

 servants of the house were struck with the ap- 

 pearance and motions of this stranger. After a 

 short stay, it went to the pigeon-house of a neigh- 

 bouring proprietor, where it was caught and sent 

 back to the lady who originally owned it. She at 

 once recognized it as one of those which she had 

 given to Sir John lloss ; but, to put the matter to 

 the test, it was carried into the pigeon-house, when, 

 out of many niches, it directly went to the one in 

 which it had been hatched. No doubt remained 

 in the mind of the lady of the identity of the bird - 

 By what extraordinary power did this interesting 

 bird find its way, and by what route did it come? — 

 Yarrell, History of British Birds . 



Bird Notes.— Spending a few days in the country 

 in a house with a thatched roof, in which the birds 

 had for some years been undisturbed, I had oppor- 

 tunities of observing something of the habits of the 

 Swift and Starling, a note of which may, perhaps, 

 interest your readers. All the nests of the Swift, 

 which I examined, had each three eggs, one of them 



a shade smaller, and a little less pointed than the 

 other two. Is this common ? The general opinion, 

 I believe, is, thatthe Swift lays only twoeggs. Sitting 

 under a shady sycamore immediately in front of the 

 house, late in the evening, I noticed that the birds 

 left their nests for an airing, or, perhaps, for food, 

 and, as I remained perfectly still, they circled round 

 me quite close — so close, that I sometimes fancied 

 they touched me with their wings. Some of the 

 birds— males I fancy— made a prolonged sharp 

 quivering noise with their wings in descending, 

 which recalled the " bleat " of the Snipe ; lasting 

 a shorter time, as Swifts fly so much more rapidly 

 than Snipe, but as distinctly marked in tone. Does 

 this tend to throw any light on the vexed question 

 as to the mode in which the peculiar bleat of the 

 Snipe is produced ? I have myself no doubt that it 

 is made by the wings, as it is never heard except 

 when the bird is on the wing and descending, and 

 in a slanting position. The Starlings carried some- 

 thing in their bills, not only when entering the nest 

 to feed their young, but also when leaving it, which 

 they let fall at some distance. On examination this 

 was found to be the droppings of the young birds> 

 which they carried to a distance, and thus kept the 

 nests clean. It is generally supposed that the 

 Missel Thrush banishes the Song Thrush. I did 

 not find this to be the case. One Song Thrush had 

 a nest in the ivy, another in the hedge, close by ; in 

 a forked branch was a nest of the Missel Thrush : 

 they seemed in no way, so far as I was able to 

 observe, to interfere with one another. There was 

 certainly no visible hostility on the one side, or token 

 of fear on the other. In the adjoining planting, 

 where Song Thrushes are plentiful, there were at 

 least five nests of the Missel Thrush this spring. — 

 /. A. Kerr, Donegore, co. Antrim. 



AGRorniLA sulphura.lis (Spotted Sulphur).— A 

 single specimen of this rare little Noctua flew in 

 to our lamp on the 22nd of June ; it was in very 

 fine condition, apparently just out of the chrysalis. 

 — H. C. Leslie, Erith. 



The Greater Spotted Woodpecker {Picas 

 major, Linnreus). — I purchased a young bird of this 

 species last year ; it was kind enough to be reared 

 without difficulty, and to live in the same cage on 

 pretty peaceable terms with several other birds, 

 both hard and soft-billed. It moulted in November, 

 had three or four fits, but pulled safely through and 

 came out in fine male feather. His friendliness to 

 the birds who already had possession of the cage 

 was quite satisfactory, but when a new one was in- 

 troduced he always demanded the toll of a mouth- 

 ful of feathers. He seemed to dislike brown birds 

 most, and pecked a poor Woodlark so severely that 

 it died in consequence. I have since made a point 

 of removing him for a time to another cage on such 



