110 MB 8ELBT ON THE PERNIS APIYORtrS. 



hair-trown, with bars of a deeper colour. Tlie skin I foimd to be 

 tough and thick. Upon opening the body, the craw and stomach 

 were found filled with wasps, as well full-grown as in the nymph and 

 grub state ; no remains or feathers of birds, or bones and fur of mam- 

 malia were to be seen, so that, at this season at least, its food would 

 ajipear to consist entirely of insects, and particularly the hymenoptera 

 and their larvse. The trunk and gently curved bill, as well as the 

 straight claws of this bird, shew its departure from the typical 

 Falconidse, and its decreased predatorial habits. It was in tolerable 

 condition, though not in the fat state of the individual killed at 

 Thrunton, and described by the Honourable Mr Liddell in the Trans- 

 actions of the Northumberland Natural History Society. While aKve, 

 it shewed no irascibility of disposition, and did not attempt to strike 

 with its talons, and made no outcry. It was infested with that un- 

 pleasant looking parasite Sippomya vindis, several specimens of which 

 were secured. 



I have also to notice a beautiful specimen of the Yunx torquilla 

 (wry-neck) shot by our associate Captain Mitford on the 1st of Septem- 

 ber, near Lucker. It was seen by him, threading in various directions 

 a thickset hedge, and frequently exhibited the gesticulations and 

 twistings of the head and neck peculiar to this pretty bird. It was in 

 high condition, and loaded with fat, and, upon dissection, proved a 

 female. The stomach was filled with ants, of the species Formica fiisca, 

 Steph. ? mixed with their pupse : no other insects, or food of a different 

 kind, was observable. The tongue of this bird, as in the woodpecker 

 tribe, is extensile, and, except the tip, in the form of a cylindrical 

 sheath, composed of elastic rings ; it is kept moistened with a gluey 

 saliva, secreted by large and appropriate glands ; and, as in that 

 family, the fumee of the os hyoides are greatly prolonged, and after 

 extending down to the nape of the neck, are then bent upwards, and, 

 crossing over the crown of the head, above the orbit of each eye, are 

 brought in contact immediately above the base of the bill. 



The wry-neck is a very rare bird in this district, and this is the second 

 instance only of my having met with it north of Morpeth. In the 

 spring, when it first arrives, it is easily recognised by its loud and 

 piercing cry, which somewhat resembles that of some of the small 

 Falconidee. It breeds in the holes of trees ; but its soft fan-Kke tail 

 shews that its scansorial powers are confined, and that its zygodactyle 

 feet, like those of the cuckoo, are rather calculated for firm prehension 

 in certain attitudes, and when the centre of gravity is frequently 

 thrown considerably forwards, than for ascending the trunks or arms 

 of trees. 



