64 zoologist's calendar. 



better by seeing the way clear all around them : their agita- 

 tion generally lasts on them about a fortnight ; sometimes 

 more, and sometimes less : in the spring it seems strongest 

 on them ; at that season they will sometimes flutter about the 

 whole of the night, and sleep a great part of the day." 



Perhaps your correspondent may, during his observations 

 on this singular bird, have discovered some explanation of 

 the curious fact mentioned by Prof. Rennie, in his edition 

 of Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary, — that, in many in- 

 stances, the female cuckoo cannot possibly have sat upon the 

 nest so as to have deposited her egg therein in the ordinary 

 manner. According to Le Vaillant one of the African cuckoos 

 places its egg in the nest with its bill. Audubon says, in his 

 account of the Chuck- Will's- Widow [Caprimulgus Caroli- 

 nensis), that if its eggs are disturbed it immediately trans- 

 ports them in its mouth to some other spot. He was him- 

 self once a witness of this fact. This evidence proves that 

 birds do sometimes remove their eggs in this manner. 



M. 



ZOOLOGIST S CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY. 



Quadrupeds. — Several species of Bats (Plecotus auritus, 

 Vesper tilio murinus, fyc.) begin to revive from their torpid 

 state. The Mole (Talpa europcea) makes a nest chiefly 

 composed of moss. 



Birds. — The Rook (Corvus frugilegus) and the Raven 

 (Corvus Corax) begin to build. The Goldfinch (Fringilla 

 Carduelis), the Yellow-hammer (Emberiza Citrinella), the 

 Sky-lark (Alauda arvensis), the Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), 

 all improve considerably in song. Partridges (Perdix cinerea) 

 pair. Hens (Phasianus Gallus) sit. House Pigeons ( Colurnha 

 domestica) breed. Missel Thrushes pair. 



Insects, &c. — The following may be occasionally met with 

 in the course of this month. Brimstone Butterfly (Papilio 

 Rhamni), the Primrose Butterfly (Gonopteryx Rhamni), 

 the February Carpet Moth (Jplocera ccesiata), the Spring 

 Usher Moth iAnisopteryx leucophearia), the Meal Worm 

 Beetle (Tenebrio Molitor), the Bacon Beetle (Dermestes 

 lardanius), and the Ditch Beetle (Hydrophilus caraboides) . 



