446 



KNOWLEDGE. 



NOVKMBF.R, 1911. 



proposal is made in the course of a short article " On the 

 linglish and other Green Woodpeckers " in the current 

 number of British Birds (V. page 125). where the authority 

 above named distinguishes briefly five forms within Europe 

 alone. These are: — 



1. Piciis viridis I'iridis L. Hirds from Scandinavia, 



the greater part of Russia, and north-eastern Germany 

 (east Prussia). 



2. Picus viridis pinctoniiu iRrehm.l Central I'uropean 



birds. 



3. The new name given above for English birds. 



4. Picus x'iridis /ico/i((.s subsp. nov.. another new name: 



given to Italian birds. 



5. Picus viridis sharpci. Spanish birds. 



Such is the transformation proposed in the present names of 

 Gcciiiiis 'ciridis (Linn.), and G. sJiarpii, Saunders, for the 

 Green Woodpecker. 



THE GREAT BUSTARD IN NORFOLK IN 1900-1.— 

 The recent death of Mr. .Alexander Williams, of Jerez de la 

 Frontera. Spain, has given occasion to TIic Field (Kith 

 September. 1911) to recall his connection with the attempt to 

 re-introduce this species [Of is tarda) into one of its old haunts 

 in England. Mr. Williams collected in Spain skxteen (^reat 

 Bustards, and sent them to England, in the year 1900. when they 

 were turned out at Elveden. Suffolk, Lord \\'alsingham and 

 Lord Iveagh assisting in the project to re-establish the birds as 

 breeders. Some of the birds did manage to nest, and The 

 Field publishes a unique photograph of a nest in Norfolk. 

 The experiment was not in the end successful, the birds 

 surviving only for a limited period, some being killed in 

 a wanton manner and others straying and being lost. 



The native British race became extinct probably in 183S. 

 when two birds were killed near Swafl'ham in Norfolk. In 

 eai-lier times the species occurred in the champaign parts of 

 Britain from East Lothian to Dorset, and being the largest in 

 size of our land-birds must have been a conspicuous figure. 



A photograph of a recent Spanish nest can be seen in Col. 

 Verner's book '' My Life amongst the Wild Birds in Spain."' 



ANOTHER NEW BRITISH BIRD— THE SLI-:NDER- 

 BILLED CURLEW. — The list of occasional bird-visitors to 

 the Bi'itish Isles continues steadily to receive additions, the 

 last reported being the Slender-billed Curlew, Xiiineiiius 

 tcnuirostris Vieill.. obtained towards the end of September. 

 1910. on Romney Marsh, near Brookland. Kent. Out of a 

 small flock occurring there, three were shot, one of which is 

 figured in British Birds for October. 1911. i\'.. page 1J4I. 

 with a brief account of the species by Mr. M. J. Nicoll. It 

 winters in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and 

 breeds in Western Siberia. It has lieen met with rarely in 

 Heligoland, Germany. Holland, Belgium and northern France, 

 but not hitherto in Britain. 



THE FULMAR'S BREEDING RANGE.— The Fulmar 

 Petrel (Fulinarus glacialis) is one of our native birds which, 

 happily, is spreading as a nesting species within the United 

 Kingdom. The latest new breeding localities reported are in 

 Ireland, on the northern coast of Mavo and on a cliff in Ulster. 

 (The Irish Naturalist. 1911. pages 148, 149-152, 152-154). 

 The original breeding station in the British Isles is St. Kilda, 

 and this was for long the only one place so known. Since 

 1878, birds have been nesting in F"oula, Shetland, and they 

 are now known in several localities in Shetland and also in 

 the Orkneys, where they first occurred as breeders in 

 1891. The first nests on the Scottish mainland were probably 

 in 1897, and some three different places there are reported to 

 be now frequented. Scottish islands on which the species has 

 within recent years commenced to nest arc Handa, Barra. the 

 I'l.annan Isles. Fair Isle, and North Rona. It seems justifi- 

 able to assume that this expansion means an actual increase 

 in the total numbers of the bird. 



TWEED BIRDS.— The latest volume published in the fine 

 series of the '" Vertebrate Fauna of Scotland " is from the 

 pen of .Mr. .\. H. Evans, and entitled '" .\ F;iuna of Tweed " 



(Edinburgh, 1911). It surveys the romantic region of the 

 Eastern Borders, including part of Northern Northumberland, 

 and the Fame Islands. The varied natural features of this 

 extensive district — islands, sea-shore, coast-lauds, lowlands, 

 valleys, glens, moors and hills up to the altitude of The 

 Cheviot (2676 feet) — secure an oriiis fairly representati\'e of 

 our native birds, ;dthough perhaps not so numerous in species, 

 as might be anticipated. Some two hundred and sixty-fi\e 

 different kinds (including eleven whose occurrence in the area 

 requires veinficationt are dealt with in the .\ves section of the 

 work (pages 52-2461. The accounts given of the (jrasshopper- 

 Warbler. Pied Flycatcher, Great Spotted Woodpecker. Barn 

 and Short-Eared Owls, Shoveler, Stock-Dove and Pallas's 

 Sand-Grouse may be singled out as particularly full of 

 information and interest. 



BIRD-OF-PARADISE SINGING.— Mr. Walter Good- 

 fellow made the observation, when in Dutch New Guinea last 

 year with the British Ornithologists' Union Expedition, that 

 the King Bird-of-Paradise possesses a song which is sufficiently 

 melodious to command attention even were it to be heard 

 along with that of other birds recognized or classed as song- 

 birds. The songs of the natives of the country on the 

 Mimika River have a remarkable resemblance to this bird's 

 notes, and in\ari.ably end with the loud calls which it gives. 

 These may sometimes be heard from the birds kept in the 

 Zoological Gardens. London. 



TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM AND CARRIER- 



PIGE(JNS. — In finding their way birds of passage are said 

 to be influenced by the magnetic meridian, and M. A. 

 Thauzies, a French specialist in carrier-pigeons, has given 

 some interesting information respecting their perception of 

 terrestrial-magnetic currents. -\t last year's Geneva Interna- 

 tional Congress of Psychologists he gave an account of his 

 twenty-three years experience and observation, which have 

 brought him to the conclusion that the sense of direction in 

 these birds is influenced by such currents. 



.\s instances, on 22nd July. 1906, and ISth .-Vugust, 1907, the 

 results of numerous flights by carrier-pigeons were very bad. 

 Pigeon-fanciers, meteorologists and astronomers who were con- 

 sulted, could give no explanation. Marchaud, a specialist iu 

 electro-magneto research, found a solution by ascertaining 

 that on these two days an exceptional electric tension of the 

 atmosphere manifested itself in magnetic storms. Such 

 observations accord with the fact discovered by pigeon - 

 fanciers, that, with the great increase of wireless telegraphy, 

 much less reliance can be placed on carrier-pigeons. (See 

 " Sense of Direction in .Animals and the Magnetic Meridian." 

 bv Dr. K. Endriss, translated by L. R. S. Tonialiu. from 

 Dr. Jaeger's " Monatsblatt "I. 



PMUTUGRAPHY. 



L(_)W POWER PHOTOMICROGRAPHY F(^R 

 NWTURALISTS. — The ordinary photographer for the most 

 part is concerned with images which are very considerably less 

 than the objects, though at times he may do copying work up 

 to " same size," or life size. The photomicrographist, in turn, is 

 chiefly occupied with such magnifications as 50, 100, 500, or 

 1,000, or even 10.000 diameters in rare cases. But between 

 these two useful fields of work is a large region where 

 magnifications of 2, J, 4, and so on, up to, say, 10 diameters is 

 of peculiar interest to the naturaUst. In a word, what the 

 naturalist in the field can see with au ordinary pocket magnifier 

 or Coddington he would like to be able to record perm;inently 

 by means of photography with the minimum expenditure of 

 labour and outlay for special apparatus. 



Having made a considerable number of experiments iu this 

 low magnification region I propose to set forth in detail some of 

 those aids which are easily home-made and have proved useful 

 and practical. It is here assumed that the worker pos.sesses 

 an ordinary field, or bellows camera, lens, and tripod, and is 

 familiar with the usual procedure of negative-making. 



Figure 1 shows a ipiite simple and cfi'ective expedient !ny 



