6 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



kind. The three now seemed bent on de- 

 stroying the large leaf-nest, and attacked it 

 on all sides, but at first with a certain de- 

 gree of caution, doing more reconnoitering 

 than damage, and after about fifteen min- 

 utes, as if by common consent, they aban- 

 doned it. All three ran up the trunk, and 

 out on to a limb about four feet above the 

 nest, where they sat as if holding a council 

 of war. There seemed to be no disagree- 

 ment, for they returned to the attack ; one 

 took the top, another the bottom, and the 

 third one side, and the leaves began to fall 

 quite fast, when all of a sudden a large 

 gray squirrel jumped out and away, as if 

 for dear life, closely pursued by its deter- 

 mined enemies. I settled the diflflculty by 

 dropping the gray, and afterwards the 

 three red ones. E. T. Mack. 



A LARGE amount of brush was burned one 

 night in the vicinity of Providence, which 

 attracted birds from a swampy piece of 

 woods near by. The birds are reported as 

 flying into the flames in considerable num- 

 bers. Some were also attracted by the 

 lights^ in the houses close by, and flew at 

 the windows, and some being open, a few 

 birds entered and were caught. Five were 

 brought to us the next day, four of which 

 were alive, viz. : one scarlet tanager and 

 I three Connecticut warblers, one of the lat- 

 "^ .' ter having the adult plumage. The dead 

 bird was a Maryland yellow-throat. 



Reptiles and Batrachians of Rhode Island. 



BY HERMON C. BUMPUS. 



Number II. 

 CLASS — REPTILIA. 



I. Order — Testudinata. The mem- 

 bers of this order are recognized by the 

 following characters. Body protected above 

 and below by a bony armor, leaving the 

 head, neck, tail, and limbs free. Jaws are 

 unprovided with teeth, and resemble those 

 of birds. Limbs always four. 



1. Sphargis coriacea Linn. (Berma- 

 tochelys coriacea (Vandelli) Strauch Yar- 

 row's Check-List.) 



The Leather-back, or Trunk Turtle, is 

 both the largest and the most strange in 

 form of the Rhode Island Testudinata. A 



specimen in the Brown University Museum, 

 captured at Wood's Holl, measures six feet 

 in length, and weighed, when alive, over 

 one thousand pounds. It is at once distin- 

 guished b}' the seven longitudinal ridges 

 along the back, and by the absence of 

 scales ; the body as well as the limbs lack- 

 ing this protection. The toes are further 

 unprovided with claws. Though there is, 

 to my knowledge, no Rhode Island example 

 of this comparatively rare species on ex- 

 hibition, yet, from the fact that it has been 

 taken in neighboring waters, and is occa- 

 sionally seen by fishermen in our own, it is 

 only proper that it be included in the Rhode 

 Island fauna. The same is the case with 

 the two following forms : 



2. Thalassochelys caretta (Linn.) True. 

 {T. caouana Linn.) The Loggerhead 

 Turtle, though a southern form, has been 



I captured at Wood's Holl, and, it is hoped, 

 I will soon be found in Rhode Island waters. 



3. Chelonia myclas (Linn.) Schweigger. 

 The Green Turtle is occasionally captured 

 while asleep, its head resting on a lobster- 

 buoy, by the fishermen along the southern 

 shores of our state. This is the turtle 

 which is most used for food, and commands 

 a high price at the markets. A specimen, 

 selected by Prof. J. W. P. Jenks, as the 

 largest of a number corraled in Florida, 

 weighed upwards of one hundred and 

 twenty-five pounds. This species is distin- 

 guished from the Loggerhead by its green 

 color and small head. It is especially de- 

 sirable that specimens of our sea-turtles be 

 preserved for study. I know of no per- 

 manent examples in the state ; yet speci- 

 mens of the three above-mentioned species 

 must often be taken by fishermen. 



4. Chelydra serpentina (Linn.) Schweig- 

 ger. The Snapping Turtle is often cap- 

 tured along roadsides, while it is making its 

 journey from pond to pond. This form grows 

 to be the largest of our fresh-water turtles, 

 often reaching a length of three feet. A 

 specimen in the Brown Museum measures 

 three feet and two inches. The Snapping 

 differs from our other turtles not only in re- 

 spect to size, but in general form and struc- 

 ture. Generallj' elongated, with small and 

 comparatively soft shell (this is notably the 

 case with young specimens), tail provided 

 with a dorsal row of horny tubercles, and 

 the plastron reduced to a mere cross, this 



