166 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



I recognised in the water a female specimen of the Great Warty 

 Newt, and several specimens of the Smooth Newt both male and 

 female. By means of a small hand-net we caught these, and have 

 them still in a small aquarium. From the same pond I obtained 

 the following week a male Warty Newt, and specimens of the 

 Palmated species. I knew the latter species was the Common Newt 

 in "heath" country, and as I had formerly found the other two 

 species I mentioned the find to Mr William Taylor, Lhanbryde. 

 He said that so far as he knew no record had been made of these 

 for the county of Elgin, and probably not even for the province 

 of Moray. He was hopeful of finding at least one of the above 

 species near Forres, as after he had described the size of the Newt 

 usually found here to the gardener at Darnaway Castle, the gardener 

 said he had seen larger ones, but had not kept any of them. So 

 far as I have read, I have seen no reference to the fact that when 

 handled Smooth Newts emit a slight cry, which I should find diffi- 

 cult to describe, as it is neither a grunt nor a squeal, and could 

 scarcely be called a croak, though quite distinct. They occasionally 

 lay their eggs in strings of four to six as well as singly, and the 

 former are not wrapped in leaves of water-weeds. I may add that, 

 so far as I have observed, the Warty Newts make no sound what- 

 ever, and I am not surprised, as they are much more sluggish than 

 their smaller relatives. I found the Smooth Newt before getting 

 one of the Palmate species from the same pond, but I had no 

 doubt as to the identity of the former when I saw it. The tapering 

 tail, the serrated crest, the greater length (3^ inches), and the hind 

 toes lobed, not webbed, marked it off clearly from the latter, and 

 these were emphasised when I had the males of both species side 

 by side. Alex. MacGregor, Forres. 



[The distribution of Newts in Scotland has not received much 

 attention, and our information bearing upon the subject is of a 

 very imperfect nature. The Editors hope that the publication 

 of Mr MacGregor's useful note will induce others to make 

 communications of a similar nature, and they will be pleased to 

 receive specimens for identification. Eds.] 



Greater Fork-beard in Clyde. A very fine male specimen of 

 the Greater Fork-beard (Phycis blennioides) was landed at Maidens 

 on 30th March last. It was caught on the lines to the north of 

 Arran. It was 28 inches in length, and weighed nearly 12 lbs. 

 It is perhaps a record for size. Mr Gray, who identified the fish, 

 says there is only one other recorded for the Clyde, and that a very 

 small one. Gib. Graham, Girvan. 



