RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



23 



ture simple, ovate ; peristone incomplete ; 

 columella straight, not plaited ; operculum 

 horny, sub-spiral. Seven species inhabit 

 New P^ngland, two of which have been 

 found in Rhode Island. 



35. TURBONILLA INTERRUPTA, TOTTEN. 



Shell small, slender and pointed, pale 

 brownish wiiite, glossy ; surface reticulated 

 b}' twenty-five to thirt}' blunt ribs, crossed 

 by fourteen revolving lines, which are inter- 

 rupted b}' the ribs ; on the lower portion of 

 the body whorl the ribs vanish, but the fine 

 revolving lines remain uninterrupted ; 

 whorls eight to ten, a little convex ; suture 

 well defined ; aperture one sixth the length 

 of the shell, ovate, angular behind ; outer 

 lip simple and sharp ; inner lip slightly 

 everted. Length, ^ inch ; breadth, -^\ inch. 



This beautiful little species was first dis- 

 covered b3' Colonel Totten, in Newport har- 

 bor, R. I., and described by him in Silli- 

 man' s Journal ., xxviii., 352, 1835, under the 

 name of Turritella interrupta. It has since 

 been found in various localities from Cape 

 Cod to South Carolina. It is not common 

 anywhere. I have found but six specimens 

 in Rhode Island in over twenty' years. It 

 is more abundant in Vineyard Sound and 

 Buzzard's Bay than in any other known lo- 

 cality. Obtained by dredging in three to 

 ten fathoms. 



36. TaRBONILLA ELEGANS, VeRRILL. 



This new species was discovered in Vine- 

 yard Sound, on a shell}- bottom in eight to 

 ten fathoms, by Prof. A. E. Verrill and Mr. 

 S. I. Smith, during the dredging expedition 

 of 1871. Mention is made of the species 

 in the March number of SiUiman's Joxrnal 

 for 1872, and a quite length}' description in 

 the April number, page 282. It resembles 

 the preceding species, but is not as slen- 

 der and the whorls are more rounded. The 

 color of the shell is light yellowish ; whorls 

 ten ; spire acute. Length -f-^\j inch ; breadth 

 j^. I have never seen the species, but it 

 is mentioned in Cat. Mar. Moll., 538, 1882, 

 as having been found in Long Island Sound, 

 off New Haven, and in Narragansett Ba}'. 

 Of the other New England species referred 

 to above, Turbonilla nivea, Stimpson, in- 

 habits the Maine coast. T. equalis, Say, 

 Vineyard Sound. T. Emertonii, same lo- 

 cality, and Verrill's new species, costulata, 



areolata, stricta, etc., off New Haven, Conn., 

 and Vineyard Sound. Perhaps some of 

 these ma}- eventually be found in Rhode 

 Island. 



Genus Odostomia, Fleming. 



The genus Odostomia diflfers from Turbo- 

 nilla principally Ijy having smooth shells, 

 instead of being ribbed, a less number of 

 whorls, and in having a tooth or fold upon 

 the columella. The species are numerous, 

 distribution universal, from high watermark 

 to forty fathoms. I emphasize this word 

 high., as authorities say i'oiv water, etc., and 

 will explain my reason for saying this in the 

 next chapter. 



Four species of Odostomia have been 

 found, and seven are liable to be collected 

 in Rhode Island, descriptions of which will 

 be given. 



(To he continued.) 



The Color of Birds' Eyes. 



I have been mucli interested in your notes 

 on the color of birds' eyes. You give that of 

 the California woodpecker as white ; a friend 

 in California who sent me mine, wrote that 

 the eye was pink. 



Two specimens of the pileolated wood- 

 pecker had red eyes, and I once mounted a 

 fine Z sheldrake, who had eyes nearly black ; 

 also, a 9 long-tailed duck, whose eyes were 

 certainly white. I once saw an avocet in 

 full plumage with eyes nearly black, though 

 I believe they are usually red. I observe 

 that some taxidermists use brown and others 

 blue eyes in the English jay. AVhat is right ? 

 I should suppose brown, judging by the rest 

 of the family, though the Guiards jay does 

 have blue. E. J. Smith. 



We have invited observers to report to 

 us upon this important subject, and shall 

 be glad to publish any new notes. — Ed. 



/ Early in November a Snowy Owl was 

 captured at Newport. This is the only one 

 reported to us. 



The winter thus far has been character- 

 ized by few winter visitors from the North. 

 Several parties in Maine, New Hampshire, 

 Vermont, and New Brunswick report taking 

 Hawk Owls, from five to a dozen individuals 

 each. 



