OBSERVATIONS. 



75 



The larvse of the different species 

 of Libellala. These are exceedingly 

 destructive to them, thinning their 

 numbers very rapidly : 



Dytiscus marg'uialls, larva and 

 imago, a water beetle of great power 

 and ferocity : 



The NotonectidcE, or boat flies, a 

 curious race of aquatic insects : 



The Newts, (Triton yalustris and 

 Triton aquaticus) : 



Several fish as the Bearded Loach 

 [Gohitus barbatula), and the Stickle 

 back [Gasterosteus aculeatus). 



It is more than probable that the 

 attacks of these and other aquatic 

 foes, together with their land ene- 

 mies, so thin their numbers that not 

 one out one thousand of those young 

 frogs emerging from the egg in 

 spring ever reach their winter 

 quarters. 



Here is a powerful illustration of 

 that " st]'uggle for existence" which 

 is constantly going on among the 

 different races of organized beings 

 — animal and vegetable. Were it 

 not for the almost unbounded fer- 

 tility of the frog and toad they would 

 be totally exterminated in one year, 

 by the unceasing attacks of their 

 numerous terrestrial and aquatic 

 foes, hhould this fertility be check- 

 ed by any cause whatever, these 

 creatures, like their giant prototypes 

 of the Mesozoic and Cainozoic ages, 

 would soon be known only by their 

 remains. — J. Hepworth, Wakefield. 



Notes on Ornithology. 



NOKFOLK. 



Tawney Owl, [Strix alula.) — On 

 the 6th instant, a fine male was shot 

 at Moulton ; two young live speci- 

 mens have also been taken near 

 Norwich. 



King Ouzel, {Turdus torquatus.) — 

 A female was shot during the first 

 week in May. 



Great Spotted Woodpecker, (Picus 

 major,) — A male at Kirby, near 

 Bungay, on the 3rd ult. 



Wryneck, (Yunx torquilla.) — This 

 bird seems to be plentiful here this 

 season: I have noticed at least a 

 dozen specimens during the last 

 fortnight. 



Common Sandpiper, (Totanus Juj- 

 poleucos.) — Four specimens have been 

 captured lately in this locality. 



Green Sandpiper, (Totanus ochro- 

 pus.) — A specimen about five weeks 

 since near Ui^ton. 



Black Tern, (Sterna nigra.) — On 

 the 16th of May, an adult female 

 was shot at East Tuddenham. — T. 

 E. GuNN, Norwich, June 10th, 1864. 



The Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa 

 grisola) : — This bird is in this neigh- 

 bourhood called the " W^all-chat." 

 It is not a common bird in North 

 Yorkshire, and it was not until 

 1862 that I became acquainted with 

 it, never before 185 7 having had 

 a walled garden, with wall-trees. 

 In 1862 I found a nest on a branch 



