266 CORRESPONDENCE GOSSIP. 



remains of the famous Pterodactyle have been found. There may be 

 found Ammonites, Belemnites, Spongia, Pentacrinus, Gryllus, 

 Libellula, Archaeoniscus, Unio, Cyrena, Cardium, Trigonia, Ostrea, 

 Gryphsea, Pecten, Nermaoa, Nautilus, and Pleurotomaria. In the 

 limestone caverns of Derbyshire have been found the remains of the 

 hippopotamus, horse, deer, bear, hyaena, and the elephant of our own 

 valleys. I hope that these few remarks will be of some service to my 

 brother Midland geologists. — J. W. Williams, Wesley College, Sheffield. 



Ornithological Notes. — Podiceps cristatus, Picus major, Falco pere- 



grinus, etc. — About the middle of September a Great Crested Grebe 

 was picked up in a field at Priors' Marston, Warwickshire, about 200 

 yards from the brook. Although unable to fly, I could not find that it 

 was injured in any way : probably it was exhausted. It proved to be a 

 male bird, in perhaps its second year, as the occipital crest and the ruff 

 were not fully developed. Two specimens of the Great Spotted 

 Woodpecker have been procured in the neighboured this year : the 

 first, an old male, was killed in Farborough Park ; the other, in the 

 plumage of the doubtful species, P. medius, at Bicester. I hear that 

 two pairs of this bird frequent the first-mentioned locality. On the 

 10th inst. I saw at the local birdstuffer's a skin of a Peregrine Falcon, 

 which had been received that morning from Byfield, Northants. 

 Whilst in pursuit of some wild ducks on the reservoir there it 

 dashed itself against a telegraph wire, and fell to the ground ; a man 

 who saw it picked the bird up and placed it in a cage ; he, however, 

 attempted to feed it on " barley meal," and, of course, it died. Swifts 

 were with us for a very long period this season. They arrived early, 

 May 2nd, and stayed unusually late. They generally depart by the 

 middle of August, but this year I noticed them in small numbers and 

 screaming loudly on the 22nd, about a dozen on the 25th, a very few 

 on the 27th, and two on the 30th. No more were seen till Septem- 

 ber 11th, when we saw a single bird. There were young House 

 Martins in a nest in Banbury, on the 10th inst., a very late date. — 

 Oliveh V. Aplin, Banbury, October, 1881. 



The Hanhbuch der Zoologie by Prof. Claus will shortly be 

 published by Messrs. Sonnenschein and Co., the adaptation for English 

 readers being made by Mr. Adam Sedgwick, of Trinity College, 

 Cambridge. Professor Claus has prepared nearly 600 drawings for 

 this edition. 



Birmingham Philosophical Society.— The second part of Vol. II. 

 of the Transactions of this Society has just been published, and 

 contains most of the papers read before the members during the 

 Session 1880-1. 



The Annual Conversazione of the Birmingham Natural History 

 and Microscopical Society will be held in the Town Hall, Birmingham, 

 on Wednesday evening, November 16th. 



Naturalists' Diary. — A correspondent says: "I often wonder that 

 the Editors of the " Midland Naturalist," or some of the London Diary 

 publishers, do not bring out a Naturalists' Diary." If a sufficient 

 number of the readers of this magazine will express their desire to be 

 supplied with such a publication, there shall be no avoidable delay in 

 issuing a really useful one at the lowest possible price. Communica- 

 tions on the subject will be gladly received. 



