388 Scientific Intelligence — Zoology. 



veys the same idea of opprobrium which attaches to the English word 

 " tinker," and for this reason holds a prominent place among the 

 abusive epithets interchanged in coUoq^uial altercations. — Charles M. 

 MacRae. 



ZOOLOGY. 



6. On the Skulls of adult and aged Male and Female Chimpanzees. 

 — Zoological Society, Feb. 22. — W. Yarrell, V.-P. in the Chair. 

 Professor Owen read a paper on the skulls of adult and aged male 

 and female Chimpanzees from the Gaboon River, much exceeding in 

 size, and specifically distinct from the previously known Troglodytes 

 niger. The existence of this formidable animal in that district was 

 first made known to Professor Owen by Dr Savage, in a letter, dated 

 April 22, 1847, which contained drawings of two skulls obtained by 

 him in that locality ; and Professor Owen therefore proposes to 

 call it Troglodytes Savagei. The skulls which formed the subject 

 of the paper, were placed in Professor Owen's hands by Mr Stutch- 

 bury of Bristol, who obtained them through the assistance of Cap- 

 tain G. Wagstafl', who visited the Gaboon during the past summer. 

 Professor Owen entered into a minute comparison of the correspond- 

 ing parts of T. Savagei and T. niger, and carefully established the 

 characters, which prove a true specific difference between them — ob- 

 serving that some scepticism might be expected from naturalists who 

 had not been able to realise those differences by the actual compa- 

 rison of specimens ; but he felt no doubt but that, as was the case 

 of the Pithccus morio, more extended knowledge of the new species 

 would confirm the validity of its distinction. In size, the T. Savagei 

 excels even the great orang, the skull of the oldest male measuring 

 ILV inches in length. — AthencBum, No. 1062, p. 246, March 4, 

 1848. 



7. Voices of Birds. — The voices of birds appear to me (the notion 

 may be merely imaginative) a special adaptation to their localities 

 and habits. Almost all the birds that haunt our coasts, and with 

 the exception, perhaps, of the Anatidac or ducks, have a low melan- 

 choly wail, clear and melodious, but still wild, that appears to be 

 admirably in keeping with the loneliness of the spots they inhabit. 

 Before us lies the wide waste of waters, with here and there a heavy 

 lagging sail, which seems to mock the very idea of life and bustle ; 

 around us spreads an unbroken extent of low marshy land, where no 

 trees i-ear their heads, and where the rush and the sainfoin alone 

 may grow. How beautifully in unison with such a scene is the clear 

 shrill whistle of the curlew and plover, and the wild, hoarse voice of 

 the gull ! It makes sadness pleasingly sad, and desolation more de- 

 solate, to listen to such sounds amidst such scenery. Who would 

 like to hear them in the neighbourhood of his dwelling, for which 

 the busy chirp of the sparrow, the twittering of the swallow, and the 

 loud clear accents of the danger-defying chanticleer arc so well at- 



