232 



'i^ llrtrosjirrt. 



Note on the Stoat and Weasel. — In page 138 of "The Naturalist," J. M. Jones, Esq. mentions 

 having shot a White Weasel, (Mustela vulgaris.,) and appends an accurate description of a fre- 

 quent appearance of tlie Stoat, (M. Ermmea,) which is at all times readily distinguished by 

 its tail ending in a black brush ; whilst its congener, the AVeasel, has it invariably short, tapering 

 to' a point, and brown; such at least has been the case with all the numerous specimens of each 

 brought to me during a twenty-five years' practice of Taxidermy ; and although the Stoat is fre- 

 quently white, or patched brown and white, all the Weasels ha\'e been uniformly marked, 

 differing only in shade, except one, which had a white collar round its neck, and white fore, 

 legs. This shews a great permanency of colour in the one species, whilst the other so frequently 

 changes, even in our climate, and in the absence of any admeasui-ement to decide, induces a 

 belief that the specimen above-mentioned must have been a Stoat. — Clement Jacksok. 



€\]i i^mmi. 



On the sea shore betwixt Peterhead and Fraserburgh, and near to a place called Ratteray, a 

 number of Terns, about the size of the common species, breed every sxmimer. On an island 

 in the Loch of Strathbeg, in the same locality, a number are also known to nestle in company 

 with the Black-headed Gull, {Larus ridibundus.) Both appear, that is at a distance, to be very 

 like each other; but those that frequent the sea shore only scrape a hole in the sand, into which 

 the female deposits her eggs, without the least attempt at forming a nest; whereas those that 

 breed on the island build a regular nest, similar to, and with the same sort of materials, a^ 

 that of the Gull already mentioned, but of course not near so large. The eggs of those tha 

 breed on the island appear to me to be somewhat less than those that do so on the sands. Both 

 species, that is if they are distinct, breed at the same time. Now will any of the readers of 

 "The Naturalist" be kind enough to inform me, either through its pages or by post, if these Terns 

 are the same? and if so, the reason why the one party should build a house for their future 

 progeny, whilst the others do not ? Or why the one should affect a grassy island, and the other 

 the bare sand on the beach, as there is on either ample room for all and to spare? It might 

 also be that some kind-hearted reader, who may be better informed on the subject than myself, 

 will take the trouble to intimate if Palinurus quadricornis be often found in our seas, and if 

 so, in what localities? — Thomas Edward, 16, High-Street, Banff, August 16th., 1853. 



Could your correspondent, Mr. Brown, who so obligingly answered my questions in "The 

 Naturalist" for last month, increase my obligations to him by informing me in what particulars 

 the eggs of the "Lapwing" and those of the "Goldeu Plover" differ? — H. S., Kichmond, York- 

 shire, June 8th., 1853, 



Without being able to account for the difference in colour and markings of the chrysalides of 

 the Swallow-tail Butterfly, described by the Rev. F. 0. Morris, (see "The Naturalist," vol. iii., 

 page 160,) I may mention having had caterpillars of the Red Underwing Moth, {Catocala nupta,) 

 which greatly differed from each other in appearance. It is now some few years since I met 

 with them, and in describing them from memory, I may not be able to give a perfectly accurate 

 description of them, though I do not imagine I shall err very materially. I am confident that 

 the difference between them was as great as there will appear to have been from the description 

 I am about to give ; it was so great that I could not have believed it possible that they belonged 

 to the same species; that they did, however, I had the most conclusive evidence, having kept 

 them till they passed through the chrysalis state, and into that of the perfect insect. As nearly 

 as I can recollect, one of the caterpillars was of a greyish brown colour, without stt-ipes, but 

 having a flesh-coloured tubercle on the back about the middle ; the other was of a much darker 

 ground colour, with reddish stripes, and without any kind of tubercle. This species is very 

 abundant in this locality, from the profusion of willows growing here, upon the leaves of which 

 the caterpillars feed. I once caught seven specimens of the perfect insect in my hat at one 

 sweep, as they were hovering in the twilight round the trunk of an elm ; upon the saccharine 

 matter, contained in the sap of which, they seem to feed, as Butterflies and Sphinges do upon 

 the nectar of flowers. Both caterpillars and chrysalides of many Lepidopterous Insects vary in 

 size in the two sexes, but do they also vary in colour and markings from this 

 Stone, Brighthampton, July 20th., 1853, 



