277 



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The followiTig remarks on the paper of 0. S. Eound Esq., in the last number of "The Natu- 

 ralist," on the "Wagtails, are offered, should no one more competent than I am, deem it neces- 

 sary to comment on it: — That Mr. 11. has misapplied the name 3IotaciUa Alha to the Pied Wag- 

 tail M. Yarrellu of modern authors is quite evident, altogether overlooking the iact that that 

 name has been more appi-opriately given to the now White Wagtail ; a description and coloured 

 figure of which he will find by the Rev. F. 0. Morris, in his excellent History of British Birds, 

 as well as by ' other ornithologists. I agree with him that we have not a bird of more ele- 

 gant form or graceful action, but I cannot agree with him when he says, that the hen is to 

 be distinguished from the cock by having a white chin, for I have examined a great number 

 of specimens, both male and female, and I am convinced the only diff'erence in the summer 

 plumage consists in the male having blacker markings, whilst in the winter (if Mr. R. is 

 correct) all the old birds become females, as in the winter plumage they have all white chins, 

 the young birds retaining their sombre grey plumage until the spring after their birth. Mr. 

 R. also denies that the Pied Wagtail is endowed with anything more than a "high chirrup, 

 and beyond this he has no song;" if he should ever visit this part of the world in the spring 

 of the year, I am certain he will be gratified by having opportunities of hearing a sweetly 

 warbled song (with which I have been frequently delighted) from many a Cornish Wagtail, who, 

 I believe, are not more highly gifted than others of their English brethren. In other respects 

 the description correctly applies to the Pied Wagtail. Mr. R. further says there are two other 

 kinds of Wagtails known in England, the M. Boarula, and the M. Flava; whilst Mr. Morris 

 enumerates five distinct kinds, (of the correctness of which there can be no doubt,) giving 

 coloured figures of each,— i!f. YarrelUi, M. Alba, M. Flava, M. Sulphurea, and 31. Neglccta; 

 yet Mr. R., because he had "never seen a nest of the noiv M. Sulphurea, or the bird itself in 

 any number," doubts its identity, supposing it to be a "mixed kind," until he had "oppor- 

 tunities of meeting with the like parties of the Gray Wagtails, old birds and their broods, as in 

 the case of the common Water Wagtail."* This is I think being rather over cautious, for 

 surely we ought to put some faith in the statements of the many excellent ornithologists, 

 who have had opportunities of seeing the various kinds of Wagtails, and so accurately describing 

 them. It is true I have never seen a specimen of the M. Alba or the M. Xeglecta, although 

 the former is not uncommon, the latter is much more rare, both east and west of us, on the 

 coasts of Devon and Cornwall; and I have been constantly on the look out for them for many 

 years past, yet I have sufficient faith to believe such men as Messrs. Rodd and Gatcombe, 

 when they tell us they frequcmtly procure them. Still I am one of those who doubt the 

 propriety of adding a new bird to the British Fauna from a specimen or two being found straying 

 to these parts. Throughout this paper I have used the specific names, as given in the Rev. 

 F. 0. Morris's work, now publishing, which I have no doubt must become a standard work, 

 and will lead to a more regular system of nomenclature in ornithology, for the want of which 

 Mr. Round appears partly to have erred. — Stephex Clogg, East Looe, October l'2th., 1853. 



l^rnrrrMngs nf Inrirtici 



Scarborough I'hihsophieal and Archmological Society. Meeting, Monday, June 27th., 1853. — 

 Du. MuiiUAY, one of the Vice-Presidents, in the chair. 



The Chairman read the following paper "On a specimen of Squalus Spinosus, lately cap- 

 tured a few miles off Scarborough, with some observations on the Squalus Angelus": — "A Shark 

 remarkable as a rare visitor of the British shores, the Squalus Spinosus, or Spinous Shark, and 

 of very uncommon magnitude, was captured by some of our fishermen, last week, in our bay, 

 and as before mentioned, was of unusual size, being upwards of eleven feet in length, by eight 

 feet five inches in girth, and three feet nine inches in depth, and in weight about one thou- 

 sand two hundred pounds. The extraordinary bulk of the fish in proportion to the length, is 

 very striking and characteristic of this species; -and another distinction is offered by the skin 

 being sprinkled over with strong bent sharp bony spines, arising from broad circular bases, im- 

 perfectly radiated and semi-transparent. The colour of the skin leaden grey, somewhat paler 



• I have never met with them in snch parties, miless immediately after the breeding season, before 

 the yomig are cajmble of caring for themselves, after which they are only to be found singly or ia pairs. 



