March, 1908.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



63 



Our knowledge of the vertebrate zoology of Egypt has 

 been largely augmented by the appearance of the handsome 

 and spleudidlv illustrated volume ou the Mammalia by 

 the late Dr. J. Anderson and Mr. W. E. de Winton. 

 The manuscript was left in a forward, although incomplete, 

 state at the (leath of the author, and to Mr. de Winton 

 was assigned the task of revising, completing, and preparing 

 it for press. How great and how difficult has been his 

 share of the task, only those who have been to some 

 extent behind the scenes are in a position to fully realise. 

 Needless to say these difficulties have been overcome, and 

 the work in its present form will long remain the standard 

 authority on the subject. Thanks to the practice of 

 issuing " preliminary notes," no new species, and only a 

 single new race are named in the volume. Many revisions 

 in nomenclature, for all of which Mr. de Winton seems to 

 be responsible, are, however, made, and must apparently be 

 adopted by future writers. The beauty and number of 

 the coloured yjlates form a special feature of the work. The 

 thanks of all naturalists are due to Mrs. Anderson for 

 having arranged that the labours of her late husband 

 should not be lost to the worM. 



Much interest attaches to the description, by Professor 

 J. C. Ewart of Edinburgh, of a breed of pony from 

 Iceland, the Faroes, and some of the Western Hebrides, 

 characterised by the absence of callosities on the hind- 

 legs and the sparse hairing of the base of the tail. The 

 colour is yellow-dun, with black points, a dark stripe 

 down the back, and traces of striping on the face and 

 limbs. This breed, for which the name Equiis cabaUus 

 celti'ciin (why " Celtic " ?) is proposed, is regarded by its 

 desci'iber as the descendant of the horse domesticated by 

 the inhabitants of Western Europe during the palaeolithic 

 age. Prof. Ewart also discusses the nature of the callosities, 

 or warts, oa the limbs of the horse-tribe, and comes to the 

 conclusion that they are remnants of foot-pads, and have 

 nothing to do with glands. He even goes so far as to 

 correlate the fore-callosity with the supplemental pad on 

 the fore-foot of a dog, while the hinder pair he identifies 

 with the posterior pad on the foot of the Australian 

 banded anteater {Mijrmrcohiu>!). 



We are glad to learn that Mr. de Winton has been 

 appointed Acting Superintendent of the Zoological 

 Society's Gardens, Regent's Park, in the room of Mr. C. 

 Bartlett, retired. Mr. de Winton has already commenced 

 operations on the unsightly bank by the canal where the 

 Japanese and some other deer were formerly kept, and the 

 work promises to be a great improvement. The deer liave 

 been removed to more suitable enclosures. Doubtless 

 other alterations will be undertaken when time and other 

 ci rcumstances penuit. 



Bvitisl) #rntrt)ological Notes. 



CoHdiicted hi/ Habry F. Witheuby, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 



The Mighations of the Fifldfahe. — Attention has 

 been drawn in the columns of Knowledge, from time to 

 time, to Mr. VV. Eagle Clarke's valuable work on the 

 migrations of British birds. At the 1902 nicoting of the 

 British Association the Bird Migration Committee's report 

 consisted of summaries by Mr. Clarke of the migratory 

 movements of the Fieldfare and the Lapwing. In former 

 summaries (viz., those of the migrations of the Song Thrush, 

 White Wagt:iil, Syklark and Swallow) the lighthouse 

 returns for the years of the special enquiry (1SS0-18S7), 

 supplemented by records published in various journals, 

 formed the chief material upon which his conclusions were 



based, but last year Mr. Clarke made use of additional 

 records obtained from the south coast light stations, while 

 he himself spent a mouth afc the Eddystone Lighthouse. 

 The following is a brief abstract of Mr. Clarke's summary 

 of the migrations of the Fieldfare as observed in the 

 British Islands. 1 hope nest month to give similar par- 

 ticulars of those of the Lapwing. 



The FiELBFAHEs which visit the British Islands breed in 

 Norway and Sweden, and there is no evidence to show that 

 any individuals from the small colonies in various parts of 

 Central Europe come to our .shores. Compared to those 

 of the Song Thrush the British migrations of this species 

 are simple, and are typical of (1) a winter visitor to our 

 islands from north-western Europe, and (2) of a bird of 

 passage e« ro«/?^ from and to its northern summer home 

 and southern winter-quarters. There are in addition 

 local winter movements due to climatic conditions. 



Autumn immigrations-. — The Fieldfare seldom quits its 

 summer home until October. There are annual arrivals 

 of comparatively small numbers iu the prior half of 

 October, but the first of the great autumnal immigrations 

 is not to be expected until after the middle of the month. 

 They continue to arrive until mid-November. The main 

 immigration is on the east coast. In some seasons the birds 

 arrive by a series of pronounced movements, while in 

 others a single "rush" is recorded. These great immi- 

 grations often extend from the Shetlands to the Wash. 

 When only a single " rush " has been recorded, it has been 

 followed or preceded by (or both) a steady influx covering 

 the ordinary period of the autumnal incoming. After 

 their arrival on the coast the Fieldfares soon find their 

 way to accustomed winter quarters, including those in the 

 western districts. A migration of lesser extent passes 

 down the west coast of Scotland, the Outer Hebridean 

 branch of this stream reaching the north of Ireland. These 

 western movements are not performed simultaneously 

 with those on the east coast, and the birds probably reach 

 and pass down our Atlantic seaboard by an overland route. 

 The Fieldfares, however, which regularly travel south by 

 way of the Outer Hebrides seem to reach that far western 

 route by way of the Faroes — a remarkable fact because 

 these birds are not found in Iceland. 



Autumn Passu (je and Emigration. — An autumn passage 

 to winter quarters beyond the British Isles is chiefly 

 observed on our east coast, and immediately follows the 

 immigrations of the latter half of October and the first 

 half of November. A number of the immigrants observed 

 on the west coast also proceed southwards. 



Winter Movements and Emigration. — On the advent of 

 snow and cold the Fieldfares quit the higher ^rounds and 

 seek the lowlands, the coast and the south. In seasons of 

 exceptional cold, vast numbers of Fieldfares, in company 

 with other birds, pass southwards, as well as westw-ards to 

 Devon and Cornwall, and also many cross the Channel to 

 south-western Europe. But, unlike some other birds, thev 

 do not cross St. George's Channel to Ireland from the 

 south-east. These migrations depend entirely upon the 

 weather. A small number of Fieldfares winter in Southern 

 Scandinavia, and sometimes some of these are driven south- 

 wards and appear in Shetland and Orkney. 



Spring Immigration from the South. — Towards the end 

 of March, throughout April, and sometimes down to the 

 early days of May, the Fieldfares which have wintered in 

 or retreated to countries south of Great Britain return 

 northwards. 



Spring Passage and Emigral ion. — The departure north- 

 wards of the Fieldfares which have wintered with us and 

 of those birds of passage just mentioned does not commence 

 until early in April, and generally lasts until the first week 

 in May, but is sometimes prolonged into the middle of 



