Birds, 57 



John Harrop, son of the sub-curator of the Manchester 

 Museum of Natural History, was, on Oct. 18. 1833, passing 

 through the Manchester fish and game market, he was struck 

 with the appearance of a bird among a number of larks. He 

 obtained it, and it turns out to be Plectrophanes lapponica. 

 Mr. Harrop, on dissecting it, could not determine whether it 

 was a female or a young male ; he thought it the latter. On 

 comparing it with the figure in Fmina Boreali- Americana, 

 1 should say that the figure is highly coloured; while the 

 colours of the specimen are more brilliant than those in Wil- 

 son's figure. The specimen is now in the Museum of the 

 Manchester Natural History Society. The bird was taken 

 near Preston, in this county. 



While writing, I would ask T. K. (VI. 519.) to examine 

 the works of Messrs. Harrop. — J. O. Manchester, Nov. 11. 



Crossing and Lengthening in the Mandibles of Birds ; Re~ 

 marks on the Causes of, and Conditions observable in, (III. 402. ; 

 VI. 517.) — In the numerous instances which have fallen 

 under my observation, it has always appeared to me that 

 excess of nutriment has been the principal, if not the sole, 

 cause ; as in every case the individuals have been in good 

 plump condition. Monstrosities of this kind, consequentl}', are 

 much more common among birds in captivity than birds in a 

 state of nature : and it may be generally observed, particu- 

 larly in soft-billed birds, that the under mandible is more 

 subject to grow out than the upper. I have repeatedly 

 noticed this in the redstart and robin, and have now, in 

 confinement a pied water-wagtail, in which I find it necessary 

 to cut off, every three or four weeks, nearly a quarter of an 

 inch of horny substance at the extremity of the under man- 

 dible. In a twite (Linaria montana), also, which I possess, 

 the lower mandible grows out still more rapidly than in the 

 wagtail, and has continued to do so for upwards of a twelve- 

 month ; though the upper one has ever retained its natural 

 form. In the bullfinch and in the oxeye I have known the 

 upper mandible to increase, and not the under ; but these are 

 the only instances. The goldfinch and the siskin are very 

 apt to have both mandibles grow out ; one of the former, in 

 my possession, has, at this time, its bill nearly half as long 

 again as it ought to be, but the mandibles do not cross. An old 

 favourite siskin, which I long kept in confinement, was a per- 

 fect Loxia in this respect, and its mandibles became, in time, 

 so much decussated, as seriously to inconvenience the bird. 

 While removing the excrescence, I chanced, unfortunately, to 

 pass the knife rather too deep ; and, though the wound was so 

 small as to be scarcely visible, the poor little creature bled to 

 death. I mention this as a caution to others who may find it 



