228 Food of the Badger, — Hybrid Birds. 



aware, greatly to his amusement, that the poor fox was a 

 most woful example of the biter bit : for these large muscles 

 before mentioned, when left by the tide, often lie with their 

 shells open ; and the fox, seduced, probably, by the tempting 

 smell, had, in an evil hour, allowed himself to take a foretaste 

 of his delicious prey by licking the muscle through the open- 

 ing, when it had suddenly closed, and held him fast by the 

 tongue ; and it is extremely probable that, had he not met his 

 death from Murdoch's gun, he would have been drowned by 

 the no less merciless tide. — W. L* 



What is the usual Food of' the Badger ? — I suspect that he 

 makes free with the nests of the ground wasp (Fespa vul- 

 garis). On Sept. 14. 1834, during a forenoon's walk, I 

 found many of these nests dug up, and the combs scattered 

 about ; but none left that contained maggots (larvae). This I 

 suspect to be the doings of the badger. I have often seen 

 the nests of the wild bee treated in the same manner, and 

 had thought it the work of boys ; I now suspect that this 

 also is often done by the badger. — W. L. [" The badger, 

 Lesser informs us, will eat beetles ; and its kinsman the 

 bear has the character of being very fond of ants and of 

 honey ; which last is also said to be a favourite article with 

 the fox, who has sometimes the audacity to overturn bee- 

 hives, and even to attack wasps' nests, in search of it: he 

 will also eat beetles." {Kirby and Spence, incidentally, in 

 Introduction to Entomology, i. 277.)] 



Birds. — Have Hybrid Birds ever been produced from Parents 

 in a wild State ? (p. 198.) — The following addition, by Mr. 

 Blyth, to his footnote in p. 199., has been received too late for 

 insertion there : — 



I have, since writing the above [the footnote in p. 199.], 

 met with the following passage in M. Temminck's description 

 of the ikfotacilla lugubris : — " J'ai acquis la certitude que, dans 

 nos contrees occidentales, cette espece s'accouple avec la ber- 

 geronette grise" (M. alba L.), "etproduitdes individus tapires 

 de noir et de cendre clair ; serait-ce a cause qu'elle ne trouve 

 pas toujours a s'unir avec des individus de son espece ? Quoi- 

 qu'il en soit, le fait est certain, il me semble produit par les 

 memes causes qui paraissent influer sur l'accouplement de la 

 corneille noire avec la corneille mantelee, dont on ne trouve 

 des exemples que la ou l'une de ces especes est peu nom- 

 breuse ou se montre accidentellement." (Manuel tfOrnitholo- 

 gie, torn. i. in loco.) Such a statement as this, however, 

 requires to be supported by the positive testimony which direct 

 observation alone can afford, before it can be considered indis- 

 putable, however high the authority on which it rests. It is, 



