166 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



distinct species. The Starling received the name of Stiirnus 

 farocnsis from Feilden (9), but is rightly regarded as a sub- 

 species by Hartert (10). It is larger in size than the type, 

 and has a longer and stouter bill. The Wren was described 

 by Fischer (11) as Troglodytes horealis, and is also larger 

 than the ordinary European form, has coarser feet, a larger 

 and stouter bill, and certain slight peculiarities in colour. 



It will be noted that the main characters of these birds are 

 analogous to those of the Fasroese mice, namely, larger size 

 and a general tendency to greater robustness — characters 

 which are, indeed, typical of the northern representatives of 

 many animals. 



[Note by Mr Nelson Annan dale. 



Both Mr Marshall and I were struck by a peculiarity in 

 the living specimens which does not appear either in the 

 skins or in those preserved in spirit, viz., the large develop- 

 ment and mobility of the soft parts of the nose. It almost 

 seemed as though the species were on the way to evolve 

 something of the nature of a proboscis. 



The mice on Naalsoe stay during the summer in the fields 

 and on the cliffs, occasionally entering the cellars and out- 

 houses in which dried meat and fish are stored. In winter 

 they come into the houses. Our specimens were all trapped 

 in cellars and outhouses. 



Thorshavn people, to whom I showed fresh specimens of 

 the Naalsoe mice, all agreed that the mice they were familiar 

 with in the town were very much smaller. At first they 

 said that our specimens from the other island must be young 

 rats, though they were surprised that rats should occur on 

 Naalsoe. The Brown Eat {M^ts decumanus) is common in 

 Thorshavn. It appears to keep mice out of the houses in 

 summer entirely, but they are said to come in in large 

 numbers during the winter. There would, of course, be far 

 less opportunity for a race of mice becoming isolated in a 

 port like Thorshavn, which is frequently visited by foreign 

 ships, than on a little island like Naalsoe. A single speci- 

 men of the Brown Rat was lately brought over accidentally 



