136 A. GILES PTJXIEE ON THE EITEE EIB. 



Of crustaceans, the crayfish or crawfish, Astacus fluviatilis, is 

 frequently met with at all parts of the Kib, and is especially 

 abundant near Latchford. 



Of animals, fertB nakirce, there are twelve species, as follow : 

 mice, hedgehogs, squirrels, barn-rats, water-rats, foxes, hares, rab- 

 bits, badgers, stoats, weasels, and canes, the last three belonging to 

 the family of the 31tistelid(s — and the different species have received 

 the distinguishing names of Mustela Erminea, Mustela vulgaris, and 

 Mastela nivalis.'^ The ferret, Mudela Furo, is also found in the 

 valley, but in a state of captivity, and must therefore not be 

 reckoned amongst the indigenous natives of the valley. 



Lastly, in enumerating those members of the feathered tribe 

 which have at different times been met with in this valley, it 

 seems to me that I shall do well not to give a list of ordinary 

 British birds, but to confine myself to game-birds, water-fowl, and 

 birds of prey. Of game-birds there are but five species — the com- 

 mon and the red-legged partridge, the pheasant, the quail, and the 

 land-rail ; of water-fowl and marsh birds there are eleven species, 

 as will be seen by the following list : water-rail, moorhen, Idng- 

 fisher, woodcoclj, snipe, wild goose, wild duck, teal, heron, swan, 

 and common gull ; of birds of prey there are seven species — one 

 raptor, the kestrel-hawk, or Falco tmntmcidus, and six Insessores, 

 all belonging to the family of the Corvidre, namely the carrion- 

 crow ( C'orvus Corone), the hooded or Royston crow ( Corvus Comix), 

 the rook {^Corvus f rug ilegics), the jay {Garrulus glandarius), the 

 mugpie ( Corvus Pica), and lastly the jackdaw ( Corvus Munedula). I 

 may add with regard to the above list of birds that the common gull 

 has only once been seen in the valley, and was no doubt blown so far 

 inland from the coast of Essex in stormy weather ; in two seasons 

 wild ducks have bred, and for seveial years in succession a pair of 

 swans, believed to have flown over from Brocket Hall, thirteen 

 miles distant, have brought up a family of cygnets in Youngsbury 

 Park. 



These brief notes on the Natural History of the Valley of the 

 Rib I must now bring to a close, and can only wish that fuller 

 details and greater knowledge of the subject had made them more 

 interesting, and therefore more worthy of acceptance by the Society. 



* It should, perhnps, be mentioned that iluxtela nivalis is not strictly a species 

 but a white variety of Mnstda vulgaris, and that " cane" is a local name more 

 often applied to the female weasel than, as here, to the white variety. — Ed. 



