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jiaturr. 451 



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claws. It frequents shady places and stag- 

 nant waters ; lives principally on insects ; 

 and is perfectly innoxious. 



The COMMON WATER-NEWT (Triton 

 aqunticus) is much smaller than the preced- 

 !!).', being only about three inches and a 

 half in length. The dorsal crest of this ani- 

 mal is remarkably transparent, so that when 

 viewed with a lens of even moderately mag- 

 nifying power, it exhibits very distinctly 

 the ramifications of the blood-vessels dis- 

 persed through it ; but if examined by the 

 microscope, it shows, in the most distinct 

 and beautiful manner, the rapid circulation 

 of the blood, the particles of which, in this 

 animal, as well as in the rest of the Amphi- 

 bia, are of an oval form, not round, as in 

 the Mammalia. The general colour is not 

 very different from that of the preceding ; 

 varying, however, sometimes in the course 

 of the same day, according to the tempera- 

 ture of the weather, &c. The Water-Newt 

 breeds in the early part of the spring, depo- 

 siting small cluster? ">f spawn, from which 

 are soon hatched the larvae or young, which, 

 for a considerable period, are furnished with 

 a triple pair of ramified branchial fins or 

 processes on each side the neck. These 

 parts, after having served their temporary 

 purpose of assisting the respiration of the 

 animal during its growing state, are gra- 

 dually obliterated. The Water-Newts fre- 

 uently cast their skins ; and are remark- 

 " '.e for a high degree of reproductive power. 



NIGGER. A name given by the Cornish 

 fishermen to a species of IloJotfmria. It is 

 sometimes also called " Cotton Spinner." 

 [See HOLOTHURIA.] The word Nigger is also 

 a local name for the larva of the Saw-fly, 

 (Tenthredo) so destructive to the turnip crop. 



NIGHT-HAWK. (Chordeite Virginia- 

 mis.) This beautiful Passerine bird, belong- 

 ing to the family CaprimuJgidce, is eight 

 inches and a half long, the expanded wings 

 being twenty inches. It appears in Jamaica 

 about the beginning of April, and is sup- 

 posed by Mr. P. II. Gosse to winter in 

 Central America. This gentleman iuforms 

 his readers, in his valuable and interesting 

 work, entitled ' The Birds of Jamaica,' that 

 the manners and voice of this species are so 

 superior as to force themselves upon our at- 

 tention. "About an hour before the sun 

 sets," he observes, we hear a loud, abrupt, 

 and rapid repetition of four or five syllables 

 in the air above our heads, resembling the 

 sounds, piramidig, or gf me a bit, or perhaps 

 still more, wittawitawit. On looking up we 

 pee some two or three birds, exceedingly like 

 swallows in figure and flight, but considerably 

 larger, with a conspicuous white spot on each 

 wing. * * * Like them the Piramidig is 

 pursuing flying insects ; and though the prey, 

 from its great height, and probably its mi- 

 nute size, is invisible from the earth, we may 

 very often observe that it is captured, by a 

 sudden arresting of the career, and by the 

 swift zigzag dodgings, or almost stationary 

 flutterings that ensue. * * * It is when the 

 afternoon rains of the season have descended 

 plentifully, that these birds are most nume- 



rous and most vociferous ; and they con- 

 tinue to fly till the twilight is beginning to 

 lade into darkness. After this, they appear 

 for the most part to retire, and the strange 

 and startling voices, that before were sound- 

 ing all around and above us, are rarely heard 

 by the most attentive listening. Early in 

 the morning, before the gray dawn has peeped 

 over the mountain, I have heard great num- 

 bers of these birds flying low, and hawking 

 to and fro. Their cries were uttered in rapid 

 succession, and resounded from all parts of 

 the air, though it was too dark to distinguish 

 even such as were apparently in near proxi- 

 mity. Now and again, the hollow booming 

 sound, like blowing into the bunghole of a 

 barrel, produced at the moment of perpen- 

 dicular descent, as described by Wilson, fell 

 on my ear." 



Whither the Piramidig retires after its 

 twilight evolutions are performed, or where 

 it dwells by day, Mr. Gosse says he has little 

 evidence. He remarks that " these birds are 

 usuallysolitary, except inasmuch that several 

 hawking over the same circumscribed region, 

 must often come into close proximity ; but 

 this seems, in general, neither sought nor 

 avoided ; each swoops on its own course, 

 regardless of its momentary neighbour. 

 Yet the tender passion sets aside even the 

 most recluse solitariness in any animal ; and 

 to this I attribute it that now and then I 

 have seen one Pirimadig following another 

 in close and pertinacious pursuit, ever and 

 anon uttering its singular cry, and evidently 

 desiring to come into contact with, but not 

 to strike or hurt its coy companion. I would 

 not assert from hence that the nuptials of 

 this species are performed upon the wing, 

 because the premises are too slight to decide 

 so important a fact ; but it is known that it 

 is so with the European Swift, a bird whose 

 manners greatly resemble those of our Night 

 Hawk." 



In some parts of Jamaica this bird bears 

 the appellation of " Turtle-dove ; " but 

 more often, and with more propriety, that 

 of "Mosquito-hawk." In one which Mr. 

 Gosse shot in its evening career, and after- 

 wards dissected, the stomach was stuffed with 

 an amazing number of insects, consisting 

 chiefly of small beetles of the genus Bostri- 

 chus, of which alone there were about two 

 hundred. 



NIGHTINGALE. (Philvmela Ivscinia.) 

 Whether poets have contributed most to the 

 popular celebrity of the Nightingale, or the 

 aspirants to poetic fame have been most 

 indebted to this delightful songster for 

 affording them an inexhaustible theme for 

 their laudations, is not exactly within the 

 province of natural history to determine : 

 we will therefore not trespass on a subject 

 BO puzzling and profound, but at once pro- 

 ceed to describe this " tenant of the grove," 

 which Milton apostrophised as 



' Sweet bird, that shunn'st the noise of folly, 

 Most musical, most melancholy 1 " 



Though so universally esteemed for its 

 vocal powers, the Nightingale cannot boast 

 of the variety or the richness of its plumage. 



