26 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



parts of Scotland. We have records of its appearance from 

 Pomona, in Orkney; from the Island of Lewis (Stornoway) ; 

 and from the Scottish mainland from the extreme north 

 to the Sol way on the west, and the Tweed on the east. 

 Usually single individuals are notified, but a few small 

 parties have been seen. The dates range from early 

 November, but most of the birds have come under notice 

 since the new year set in. 



In the Glasgow Naturalist published last November a 

 faunal paper of some interest appears (pp. 7-32) from the 

 pen of Mr Alexander Ross. It is entitled " The Birds of 

 Islay," and contains a list, with full details, of 145 species. 

 The paper embodies the results of several years' observations, 

 but previously published records are also noted. 



Professor W. C. MTntosh has published, in the January 

 number of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, a 

 further instalment of his interesting " Notes from the Gatty 

 Marine Laboratory, St Andrews." The paper occupies thirty- 

 four pages (pp. 77-1 10), and is illustrated by two Plates. The 

 first section is devoted to an account of the ventral furrows 

 of the Lesser Rorqual {Balcznoptera rostratd). The nature 

 of these furrows in a specimen stranded at Crail, on the 

 Forth, is described in great detail, and the animal figured 

 on Plate V. It differs from examples described by Sir 

 William Turner and others, and is possibly an abnormal 

 specimen. The description " leaves about half the series 

 (to the right) untouched, but it will suffice to indicate that, 

 whilst there is truly a parallelism in the ridges, the con- 

 dition is more complex " owing to some of the ridges 

 splitting into two. In later sections of this paper two 

 families of British Marine Worms, the Amphictenidse and 

 the Ampharetidae, are dealt with. The various species are 

 fully described, and their distribution round the British coasts 

 indicated. A new species of the latter family is described 

 under the name of Melinella inacd/ijft, but no locality is 

 given. 



The 27th Annual Report of the Liverpool Marine 

 Biology Committee, issued in December, is devoted to an 

 interesting account of the Marine Biological Station at 



