158 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[July, 1903. 



■would occur at about uiuety yards depth, is it conceivable 

 that the}- could resist the effect of ten times the latter 

 pressure, or iiin(>ty atmospheres ? Moreover, does it seem 

 j)Ossil)le that a whale, whose body is only slightly heavier 

 than water at ordinary pressure, could exert the muscular 

 force necessary to projicl that body to a dejjth of a 

 thousand yards ? 



Whether the author has so strono; a case in his con- 

 tention that whales never sleep, demands further con- 

 sideration. One of the arguments in favour of tlie 

 constant wakefulness of cetaceans is that individuals will 

 follow a ship for days, which they could not well do while 

 asleep. Another is that whales— except occasionally a 

 right whale or a sperm whale — are not found floating 

 motionless on the surface, and reasons are given against 

 the theory that they sleep at the bottom. But, it may be 

 urged, if whales never sleep, they must have food at night, 

 and be able to catch it, and what then becomes of the 

 argument that they cannot capture prey in the dark ocean 

 abysses? Moreover, it is diificult to imagine that an 

 animal with such a highly organised brain as a whale can 

 exist permanently without sleeping, esjjecially when we 

 remember that fishes sleep. 



A very important work on the morphology of the 

 mammalian brain — especially that of lemurs, both recent 

 and fossil — has appeared in the Traiii-acti'ms of the 

 Linnsean Society. The author. Dr. G. Elliot Smith, 

 has for several years devoted special attention to this 

 subject, and in this memoir summarises the general results 

 of his investigations. One point was the determination of 

 the fundamental i)lan of mammaliiUi brain-structure; a 

 task of very great diificulty owing to the maze of con- 

 volutions of various types which have been superadded in 

 tlie different orders. Especial interest attaches to the 

 author's conclusions with regard to the affinities of 

 the lemurs. The intimate connection between these 

 animals and the monkeys and apes indicated by palsonto- 

 logical discoveries in Madagascar is fully borne out by 

 Dr. Smith's investigations. It appears, however, that 

 while the lemurs originally advanced a considerable dis- 

 tance along the general line of evolution of the Primates, 

 they subsequently degraded ; a fact which accounts for 

 the wide divergence of the modern representatives of the 

 two groups. 



The restoration of a most extraordinary reptile — namely 

 Emholopliorus dollovianus, from the Pemiian strata of 

 Texas— is attempted l)y Mr. E. C. Case in the February 

 nuuiber of the Journal of Geology. The peculiarity of the 

 creature is that the vertebrse carry very tall vertical spines, 

 which in the nuddle of the back are equal in length to the 

 entire trunk, and nearly double the height from the ground 

 to the bai-k-bone. That this bony framework carried a 

 thin covering of skin, and was thus something like an 

 enormous back-fin, may be considered certain ; but the use 

 of s'.ich a remarkable structure has yet to be explained. 



In the April number of the Proceedinys of the Zoological 

 Society the Eevd. F. Jourdaiu draws attention to the 

 circumstance that the second instance of the occurrence of 

 Bechstein's Ijat (Myotis bechdeiiii) in Britain was recorded 

 in the ZoohnjUt for 1888, on the evidence of a capture in 

 the New Forest in 1886. Consequently the announcement 

 made in the P. Z. 8. for 1901 of the second occurrence of 

 the sjaecies in Britain should really have been the third. 



In a recent issue of the Annals and Magazine of Natural 

 History Mr. G. A. Boulenger adduces reasons to show that 

 flat fishes, instead of being allies vi the co<l family, are 

 really related to the John Dory. From the shape of the 

 latter fish this is a much more ])robable sujspositiou. 



lovittsl) C^rntti^ological Notes. 



Conducted hy Uarry F. Witherbv, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 



Orri'thological Nofes for Norfolk for 1!)02, wiOi References to 

 some Occurrences m other Counties. By .T. 11. Gurnev, F.z.s. 

 (Zoologist, April, 1903, pp. 121-138).— Mr. Gurney here gives his 

 usual yearly intcrestinf; notes on the birds of Enst Anplia. The 

 iiutiimn of 1902 seems to have been ebieflv remarkable for a large 

 migration of KooVs throughout Oetober. The following rarities were 

 recorded from Norfolk during the year, viz.: Scops. Owl — .Vpril ; 

 Roseate Tern — May and June; Caspian Tern — July; Roller, Aquatic 

 Warbler, and Barred Warbler — September; Lesser Grey Shrike and 

 Porpliyris— October ; Glossy Ibis— IS'oTeniber ; and Little Bustard — 

 necember. Mr. Gurney can unfortunately give us no good account 

 of the Great Bustards which were imported and turned down in 

 Norfolk in 190O. 



On the Position occiipiei bi/ the Legs of Birds during Fiiqht. By 

 G. E. H. Barrett- Hamilton (Zoologist, April, 1903, pp. 139-140).— 

 It appears from this interesting article that whereas most jiasserine 

 birds carry their legs bent forward in flight, other birds carry them 

 jjointing backwards, while some birds sucli as Kites and Gulls and 

 certain Hawks, liave the power of varying the position of their legs 

 without interfering with their Hight. Capt. Barrett-Hamilton is of 

 opinion that in many birds, and especially in those with short tails, 

 the legs are of great and constant assistance in flight. 



The Birds of N.W. Wales and the opposite Counties of Ireland. 

 By H. E. Forrest (Zoologist, May, 1903, pp. 176-181). -Mr. Forrest 

 here compares the avifauna of Merioneth, Carnarvon and Anglesey to 

 that of Dublin and Wicklow. The result is that most of the summer 

 migrants occurring in Wales are very rare or absent from Ireland, 

 while the resident birds are also very different in the two areas. For 

 instance, the Marsh Tit, Nuthatch and Tawny Owl, although common 

 in the Welsh counties are unknown in Ireland, and the Sparrow, 

 Carrion Crow, Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker are of 

 rare occurrence iu the Irish counties. On the other liand the Siskin, 

 Crossbill and Hooded Crow are more common in Ireland. 



The Status of the Goldfinch in Britain (Zoologist, April, 1903, 

 p. 152; May, 1903, p. 190). — Observers from various counties here 

 continue to record their observations upon the status of the Goldfinch. 



On the T'ariation of the Bean Goose. By Einar Lonnberg, C.M z.s. 

 {Zoologist, May, 1903, pp. 164^169) - In thii article the author 

 details his examination of a number of specimens of the Bean Goose, 

 and gives evidence for the conclusion that the characters used by 

 Mr. Erohawk {see Knowledge, 1902, p. 251) are too variable to 

 warrant the separation of the Bean Goose into two species (Anser 

 segdum and A. arvenisj. 



All contributions to the column, either in the way of notes 

 or photographs, should be forwarded to Harry F. Witherby, 



at the Office o/ Knowledge, 32(5, Iliijh Holborn, London, 



♦- 



j^oticg g of B oofeg. 



"A M.vNUAL OF Pal.kakctic Birds." By H. E. Dresser, 

 1M..S., F.z.s. Part I. Published by the Author at 'i, Hanover 

 Square, W. 12s. 6d. net. — This is the first part of a work long 

 expected by ornithologists. The second and concluding part, 

 we believe, is to be published very shortly. The work is 

 practically an abridgment of Mr. Dresser's well-known " Birds 

 of Europe." It is very conveniently arranged, and much infor- 

 mation is given in a very small space. After a brief synouomy 

 a description of the species is given, and iu this Mr. Dresser 

 has been wise in giving as far as possible the points in which 

 one species differs from its nearest ally rather than a long and 

 detailed description. "We are then given the range of the 

 species, and a few words about its habits and nest and eggs. 

 The book will be found to be very useful to ornithologists, and 

 especially to those that travel, but Mr. Dresser seems to have 

 relied to a great extent on his e.^celleut work in the " Birds of 

 Europe," and has not brought bis ])resent Manual consistently 

 up to date. The range of the various species dealt with is thus 

 sometimes rather incomplete, and although Mr. Dresser has 

 admitted many sub-species, he has also omitted many which, in 

 our opinion, are as qualified to rank as distinct races as many of 

 those which he has admitted (c-.v., Prhiia gracilin lepida, Aryya 

 butt'ini. Paras iui/uhrix duhius). 



But Mr. Dresser's JIauual is not intended for the systematist. 

 To the traveller it will certainly be of much use, although wc 

 wish that the author had directed attention to many more 

 geographical vatiations than he has done. 



