1867.] 139 [Brewer. 



of a lasso, then, laid upon some branches, he could be carried to the 

 camp. He appeared to suffer much from his wounds ; his barkino-s 

 were rather plaintive than furious. 



M. Berthiol had him shut up in a hut, where he is still in captivity. 

 He roars now every time any one approaches him, and retires into a 

 corner. Although grievously wounded, they do not despaii- of sav- 

 ing him. He eats well, but still crawls about on all foui-s ; his hair 

 bristles with rage whenever a negro enters the hut. His food has 

 to be left for him at a distance. White men do not seem to make him 

 furious as the negi-oes do. Therefore M. Berthiol thinks it may not be 

 impossible to save, and even to tame him. 



Tliis singular preference of the gorilla for whites rather than blacks 

 occurs in more than one animal. 



The lion, in particular, seems to make a very mai-ked distinction 

 between whites and blacks. The Africans themselves recognize it in 

 the precautions which they take in defending themselves ; he would 

 throw himself upon a negro, where he would retire from a white man 

 without doing him the least harm. Perhaps they have good reason to 

 distrust a European, whose power they have learnt to their cost. 



Dr. Brewer made some remarks on the wood-warblers 

 {DendroiccB) of North America. 



This genus was now supposed to contain twenty-two species — two 

 of which are, however, of doubtful distinctness. At least one half of 

 these are migratory birds, known only to most as birds of passage, 

 making brief visits in spring and autumn, and passing their summere 

 north of latitude 44°, and their wintei-s in the West Indies, Mexico 

 and Central America. These birds blend, in a very remarkable de- 

 gree, the habits of the Certhm^ or Creepers, with those of the true 

 Muscicapce, or Fly-catchers. In some species these habits are equally 

 blended and alternate, as occasion seems to prompt. Some are almost 

 entirely Creepers in habit, others almost exclusively Fly-catchers. 

 Only one of these is known to be at all terrestrial in habit, by choice. 

 This is the Yellow Red-poll Warbler, Dendroica palmarum. Two 

 other warblers, either driven by necessity, or tempted by opportunity, 

 feed on, or near the gi-ound, the D. coronata and D. discolor; but these 

 instances are rare, and in the former bird the act of necessity is so 

 awkwardly done as to betray its being unnatural. The other is no 

 real exception, as it feeds, not on the ground, but only very near it, 

 catching small insects on the Aving. 



These, as well as other eccentricities of the Dendroicce, appear to be 

 in some degree influenced by the circumstances of their food. Two 

 yeai-s since a paii* of D. canadensis ajipeared, in the middle of Febru- 



