244 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



possibilities of observation when armed with a good glass, 

 a note-book, and a stock of patience ; (2) the bird's appear- 

 ance, especially the nature of the crest ; (3) its annual 



history ; (4) some descriptions of common scenes of court- 

 ship ; (5) the relations of the sexes ; and (6) a general 

 discussion upon the significance of the courtship actions. 

 The second part contains likewise six sections, which give 

 a large amount of detail supplementing Part I., together 

 with a list of papers which should be consulted. The two 

 plates show several of the extraordinary attitudes assumed 

 by the courting birds. 



An account of the bird-lice of the genus Docophorus found 

 on British Auks has been recently published by the Rev. 

 James Waterston. 1 From the sub-heading of this paper 

 (marked " A ") it is evident that this is only the first instal- 

 ment. It deals with the question of hosts, gives practical 

 hints on collecting, and includes some interesting remarks 

 on parasitism, normal and otherwise. For the purposes of 

 this investigation, over 1000 specimens of Docophorus were 

 examined, obtained from forty-four hosts. Seven species in 

 all were taken, and upon analysis of the results it was found 

 (1) that each of the five British species of Auks has a species 

 of DocopJiorus peculiar to itself, at least within the British 

 area ; (2) the species of DocopJiorus usually attach themselves 

 either to a group or a genus of birds, not necessarily to one 

 host species, and the fact given under (1) would indicate 

 that the five hosts are each of a separate genus ; (3) 

 " stragglers," or accidental occurrences, are also met with, 

 which offer points of interest. 



1 Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc, vol. xix., No. 6, pp. 149-158 (Sept. 1914)- 



