Zodogical Sodeiij/, 305 



to the origin of the tail is 2 feet C inches ; th-at of the tail, 1 foot 6 

 inches; that of tire ears, 4 inches; and the height may be about 1 foot 

 4 or 5 inches. The animal agrees with the common European and 

 American Foa^es, (C Vulpes and C.fulvus,) in the black marks on 

 the backs of the ears, and in front of the hind and fore legs. The 

 ooat consists of long close rich fur, as line as that of any of the Ame- 

 rican varieties, and of infinitely more brilliant and varied colours. It 

 consists of two sorts of hair, an interior of a very fine cottony tex- 

 tare, and a,n external of a long«ilky nature, but perfectly pliant, and, 

 like the fur of the Sable, lying almost equally smooth in any direc- 

 tion. The inner fur is of a smoky blue or brown colour along the 

 back, as is likewise the basal half of the outer silky hair, which, up to 

 t^is point, is of the same soft cottony texture as th-e interior fur; it 

 then assumes its harsher silky character, is marked with a broad 

 whitish yellow ring, and terminated by a lonff point of a deep bay 

 colour. Hence, along the whole upper surface of the head, neck, 

 and back, the uniform colour is unmixed deep and brilliant red. On 

 the sides of the neck, on the throat, ribs and flanks, is pure white, 

 changing to light smoky blue on the last-named parts. The outer 

 hair of the hips and thighs is tipt with grey instead of red, which 

 gives these parts a hoary appearance, and this colour predominates 

 on all the ujjper parts of the Society's two specimens, in which the 

 fur is moreover much shorter and coarser, and the colours less bril- 

 liant and varied than in Mr. Royle's. The wdiok under surface of 

 the body is of a smoky brown colour, without any intermixture of 

 long silky hairs. The external colours of the body arc, therefore, 

 bright bay on the back, yellowish red on the sides of the body, 

 white on the sides of the neck, hoary grey on the hips, and smoky 

 brown on the throat, breast, and belly. The ears are pretty large 

 and elliptical, their outer surface black; a stripe of the same colour 

 runs down the front of the legs, both fore and hind ; the soles of the 

 feet are thickly covered with hair of a yellowish brown colour, ex- 

 cept the balls of the toes, which are naked. The brush i« large and 

 well finished, of the same colour as the body throughout the greater 

 part of its length, and terminated by a large white point. 



Mr. Gray related a series of facts in reference to the habits of a 

 Cuckoo, which appeared to prove that the female, though she leaves 

 the eggs to be hatched by another bird, sometimes at least takes 

 care of the young bird and feeds it after it leaves its nest, and teaches 

 it to fly. They may exphun how they are taught to migrate. 



He also expressed same doubt respecting the eggs of Ciickcos be- 

 ing laid in the nest of Granivorous birds, and stated an instance 

 where a chicken had been hatched under a Pigeon, that the Pigeon 

 neglected it when it found that it would not eat the soaked peas, and 

 eventually ejected it from its nest. 



Mr. Gray then exhibited and explained a peculiarity in the struc- 

 ture of the ligaments of bivalve shells, and pointed out the pecu- 

 liarity of some mactraceous shells which had this part, contrary to 

 the general structures, inclosed in the cartilage pit, observing that 

 this structure was found in his genus Gnathodon, and in a new genus. 



Third Series. Vol. 10- No. 61. April 1837. 2 11 



