24 



KNOWLEDGE. 



January, 1913. 



was created in 1889 by Michaelsen, and contained four 

 authentic species and four which were doubtful. Another 

 species was added in 1899 by Bretscher. In 1900, when 

 " Das Tierreich " was published, the number recorded was 

 five, with four doubtful forms. 

 During the next decade some 

 progress was made, eight new 

 species being added, and four 

 definitely recorded as British. In 

 1911 Friend described H. perpu- 

 silla, and added one or two others 

 to the British list. The present 

 paper gives an enumeration of no 

 fewer than nineteen species, 

 eighteen of which are found in 

 England and one in Ireland. 

 Of these, seven new to science 

 were found at Hastings in Decem- 

 ber last, and three have been 

 found in Nottingham during the 

 present year. Descriptions, with 

 figures, are given of H. marina, 

 H. curiosa, H. arenicola, H. 



heterotropa, H. attenuata, H. fridericoides, H. variata, 

 H. triloba and H. fragilis, all new to science. The paper 

 closes with a carefully prepared 

 table, by means of which the 

 various species can most readily 

 be distinguished. 



An abstract of a paper by Mr. 

 James Murray, F.R.S.E., on African 

 Tardigrada was read. This paper 

 adds thirteen species to the list of 

 African Tardigrada, twelve were 

 described in the author's previous 

 paper, and Daday added a new 

 species, M. tetronyx. There are 

 now twenty-six species recorded 

 for Africa, eighteen for tropical 

 Africa, and seventeen for South 

 Africa. Nine of these were first 

 discovered in Africa, and only one 

 of them (E. perarmatus) has been 

 found outside that continent. Our 

 knowledge is still too incomplete 

 to allow of any useful study of 

 the origin and distribution of 

 the African Tardipode fauna. 

 Amended and fuller descriptions 

 are given of E. africanus and 

 M. crassidius. Only one new 

 species is described, M. allani, 

 but there are figured varieties of 

 E. crassispinosus, E. duboisi, and 

 hupelatidioides which are prob- 

 ably of specific value, to which I 



j?ive no names. In the present state of the group it is well to 

 be cautious in making new species, till our knowledge is 

 Consolidated in some 

 monographic work. ^^m^^^bb^^^^^^^^h^^^m 



INSECT INTEL- 

 LIGENCE. — At a 

 meeting of the Royal 

 Microscopical Society 

 on December 18th 

 Mr. Frederick Enock, 

 under this title, des- 

 cribed how a wood- H 

 boring wasp brought 

 no less than twenty- 

 seven examples of 

 the rarest British 



"Daddy-longlegs" (imperialis — of which Mr. Enock had only 

 taken one in forty years) and in order to get them into its 

 burrow, cut off the six legs and the two wings close to the body. 



Figure 23 



Figure 24. 



Figure 25. 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



By Wilfred Mark Webb, F.L.S. 



THE CUCKOO. — As an instance of the interesting infor- 

 mation which one can sometimes 

 glean from a catalogue one may 

 mention that of Major Proctor's 

 collection of birds' eggs recently 

 sold by Mr. Stevens. That the 

 cuckoo chooses a nest of the same 

 species of bird in which to deposit 

 its eggs is shown by two eggs evi- 

 dently laid by the same individual, 

 one taken from a Reed Warbler's 

 nest on May 31st, 1907, and the 

 other from that of the same species 

 in the same place (Twy ford, Berks) 

 six days later. That the Cuckoo 

 deposits two eggs in the same nest 

 was shown by that of a Hedge 

 Sparrow found at Dean, in Hamp- 

 shire, on May 31st, 1893. Another 

 Cuckoo's egg in the collection was 



found by Major Proctor in a Blackbird's nest at Torquay 



in 1889. 



THE RECOVERY OF 

 MARKED BIRDS.— In British 

 Birds for December a report on 

 marked birds that have been re- 

 covered, is given. In many cases 

 the specimens were recaptured in 

 the same place. One or two of the 

 instances of birds that havetravelled 

 a considerable distance we may 

 give. A Linnet marked by Mr. 

 Masefield at Cheadle, Staffordshire, 

 as a nestling, was caught at 

 Wellington, Salop, on September 

 25th in the same year. A Pied 

 Wagtail, marked by Mr. Ford- 

 Lindsay at Pett, Sussex, on June 

 20th, 1912, was recovered at 

 Blaye, Gironde, France, on Octo- 

 ber 6th. A Whinchat and some 

 Cormorants, Common Terns and 

 Little Terns also went to France. 

 A Lapwing, marked by Lord Lucas 

 in Yorkshire on June 19th, 1912, 

 was recovered in Portugal in 

 November of the same year. 



THE DARTFORD WARBLER 

 IN IRELAND. — Mr. R. If. 

 Barrington.in The Irish Naturalist 

 for December, records the occur- 

 rence of the Dartford Warbler in 

 Ireland, a female having been caught at the Tuskar Lighthouse, 

 Countv Wexford, by Mr. A. O'Leary, the light-keeper, on 



October 27th. The 

 Dartford Warbler is 

 looked upon as a 

 resident in England, 

 and was said in 1880 

 not to be uncommon 

 on furzy ground in 

 the Land's End dis- 

 trict. Mr. Barrington 

 thinks that if a pair 

 had arrived in County 

 Wexford, where furze 

 is more prevalent 

 than any Irish, or 

 probably English, 

 county, a colony might have been established ; that is to say, 

 were the birds lucky enough to escape being killed by a 

 collector or some other misguided person. 



Figure 26. 



