papular iBicttanarg at &mmat?tt Mature. 545 



puscular beetle wings by, on which it sallies 

 out, and having captured it with its cavern- 

 ous and viscid mouth, returns immediately 

 to its station. Mr. Swainson appears to 

 consider that the stiff bristles with which 

 many Caprimulyidoe are armed have a 

 manifest relation to the size and power of 

 their prey, beetles and large moths, while 

 these appendages are not needed in the 

 swallows, their prey consisting of ' little soft 

 insects.' But here is a species, whose prey 

 is the hardest and most rigid beetles, of large 

 size, and often set with formidable horns, 

 which has no true rictal bristles at all. 

 * * * I have seen that which serves this 

 bird for a nest: it is simply a round fiat 

 mat, about five inches wide, and little more 

 than one thick, composed of the fibrous 

 plant called Old Man's Beard (TilU.tnd.-iM 

 wsneowZes.) It was found on the ground on 

 a spot whence the Potoo bird had just risen. 

 This bird is a permanent inhabitant of 

 Jamaica ; it is common in the lowlands of the 

 south side, and probably is generally dis- 

 tributed in the island : it is found also in 

 Brazil." Gosse's Bvrda of Jamaica. 



POTOROO. [See KANGAROO RAT.] 



POTTO. (Cercoleptes caudivolvus.) A 

 singular quadruped of South America, re- 

 sembling the Lemurs somewhat in its struc- 

 ture and aspect, but closely allied to the 

 COATIMONDI (A'asua), and, like it, con- 

 sequently belonging to the order Curnivora. 

 It has short round ears ; short nose ; a 

 tongue of great length ; a large prehensile 

 tail ; and eats like a squirrel, holding the 

 food iu its hands. It is a nocturnal ani- 

 mal ; climbs like a Lemur, with agility ; 

 and is said to be a great destroyer of wild 

 bees' nests. In captivity it is very mild, 

 and climbs about the chairs, &c. in a room, 

 if suffered to go at large. [See KINKAJOU.] 



POUNDSTONE [also called QUOIT- 

 STo.N'ii.l A local name, in Oxfordshire and 

 the adjacent counties, for a fossil found in 

 the Oolite, belonging to the Sea-eggs or 

 Ecluitldte. The dairy-women iu these coun- 



ties frequently use them as pound weights : 

 hence the name. 



PRAIRIE DOG. (Arctomys Ludovicia- 

 ntts.) [See MARMOT.] 



PRATINCOLE. (Glarcola.) A genus of 

 birds allied to the Plovers. They are cha- 

 racterized by a short, hard, convex bill, 

 curved for upwards of half its length, and 

 compressed towards the point ; legs feathered 

 nearly to the knee ; toes, three before and 

 one behind ; claws long, and drawn to a fine 

 point ; wings very large, the first quill-fea- 

 ther the longest 5 tail more or less forked. 

 Length upwards of nine inches. In Mr. 

 Gould's ' Birds of Europe,' he observes that 

 the genus Glareola appears to be strictly con- 

 fined to the Old World, no Transatlantic ex- 

 ample having ever been discovered. It may 

 be said to be truly a native of the eastern 

 provinces of Europe on the Asiatic borders, 

 and especially Hungary, where wide tracts 

 of morass and flat lands, abounding in lakes 

 both fresh and saline, and traversed by 



mighty rivers, afford it food and security. 

 It is also abundant in Western Tartary. In 

 England it is only an occasional visitor, but 

 in Germany, France, and Italy, it is a bird 

 of periodical occurrence. " With the long 

 wings and forked tail of the swallow," says 

 Mr. Gould, "the Pratincole possesses that 

 rapidity and power of flight for which the 

 bird is so remarkable. It takes its food, 

 which consists of insects, and especially such 

 as frequent marshes and the borders of rivers, 

 while on the wing, darting along in the chase 

 with the rapidity of an arrow ; nor is it less 

 distinguishable for celerity on the ground, 

 and often catches its prey as it nimbly runs 

 along. This elegant and graceful bird in- 

 cubates iu the concealment afforded by reeds, 

 osiers, and tall herbage, laying three or four 

 white eggs." A few mouths ago we had the 

 pleasure of seeing specimens of this curious 

 bird, brought alive to the Zoological Gardens 

 by Mr. Fraser. They seemed to be moping 

 and unhappy. 



PRAWN. (Palcemon serratus.-) A crusta- 

 ceous animal ; a species ofMacroura, or Long- 

 tailed Decapod, well known, and esteemed 

 as an agreeable article of food. The species 

 ordinarily sold in the fish-shops is the Pa- 

 liKtnon serratus. It is generally about three 

 inches long, and of a pale red colour, which 

 is brightest in the antennae, and especially in 

 the swimmeret of the tail. Its frontal spine 

 extends beyond the peduncle of the middle 

 antenna: : it is curved upwards at the tip, 

 with seven or eight spines above, and five 

 beneath. They are taken on many parts of 

 the British coasts, but are by no means so 

 abundant as Shrimps. Some of the exotic 

 species acquire a very large size. [See PA- 



PRION. A genus of oceanic birds, belong- 

 ing to the ProcMaridx or Petrel kind. 

 They are distinguished by a strong, stout, 

 and wide bill, very much depressed, the 



upper mandible convex on the sides, ter- 

 minated by a compressed hook ; the edges 

 furnished internally with cartilaginous la- 



PBTRBI,. (PI 



IU3.) 



melUe ; nostrils opening by two distinct 

 orifices, and disposed in the form of a short 

 tube. No hind toe, but in place of it a very 

 small claw. In a letter addressed by Mr. 

 Gould to the Zoological Society, dated Van 

 Diemen's Land, May 10. 1839, several in- 

 teresting particulars are detailed relative to 

 oceanic birds observed by him on his voyage. 



3 A3 



