5 1 4 Short Communications : — 



when it was found that he was as proud of viewing his own 

 image as his congener: and, to prevent his meeting a similar 

 fate, he was not allowed access to the grounds. 



The above anecdote was communicated by the baron him- 

 self, on his last visit to London, to the narrator. — J. B. 

 London, June 28. 1833. 



We are without proof whether the Narcissuses, or pea- 

 cocks, stayed at the glass to admire the semblance of their 

 own persons, or in the hope of adding the peacock pictured 

 therein to their list of friends or list of enemies. Very fami^ 

 liar is the fact, that a game cock may, without much difficulty, 

 be excited to defy and peck at the semblance of himself in a 

 looking-glass. The instance which I have seen of this fact 

 was shown me, one evening, in a room, by candlelight. — J.D. 



Enmity between the White Swan and the Black Swan. (p. 1 39. 

 278.) — Sir J. Byerley has, in p. 139., described the aversion 

 evinced by a widowed male black swan from a " most beautiful 

 white female swan," that had been procured to console him. 

 In the Mirror, vol. x. p. 318., is an interesting and well told 

 account of two white swans killing a solitary black one that 

 had been placed with them on the water in the Regent's Park. 

 The two whites pursued the black one " with the greatest 

 ferocity, and one of them succeeded in grasping the black 

 one's neck between its mandibles, and then shook it violently. 

 The black swan with difficulty extricated itself from this mur- 

 derous grasp, hurried on shore, tottered from the water's 

 edge a few paces, and fell, to die. Its death appeared to be 

 attended with great agony ; it stretched its neck in the air, 

 fluttered its wings, and attempted to rise from the ground : 

 after about five minutes of suffering it made a last effort to rise, 

 and fell dead with outstretched neck and wings. Its foes never 

 left the water in pursuit, but continued sailing with every 

 feather on end, up and down towards the spot where their 

 victim fell, and seemingly proud of their conquest." — : James 

 Fennell. London,, April, 1833. t \\\ b 



The Egyptian Goose (A^nas a?gyptiaca). (Vol. V. p. 565., 

 Vol. VI. p. 12.) — Three individuals of this beautiful bird 

 were killed at Campsie, about seven miles from Glasgow, in 

 the month of November, 1832. A gamekeeper, who had not 

 seen such birds before, killed two of them, which proved to be 

 females, but the male escaped. He was sent back to the same 

 place, to watch the return of the male, who soon appeared, in 

 search for his companions, and was also shot. From the 

 extremely perfect state of their plumage, it is not probable that 

 they had escaped from confinement ; but it is more likely that 

 they had been wandering about for a considerable period. — 

 John Scolder, M.D. Glasgow, July 25. 1833. 



