April, 1902] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



85 



from view, preserving its features of colour, form, and 

 brilliame apparentlv unohanfjed to the last. 



The width of theshaft I judifed to be between T and 1"', 

 and it appeared to l>e rounded off at its summit in a some- 

 what Irt-ush-like formation. So stron-i: was the impression 

 it gave me of Injini; a true solar appendage that 1 eould 

 not help wondenug if we were, in fact, enjoying a vision 

 of the "Corona," coloured by diffraction in the earth's 

 atmosphere. Later in the evening there was a faint but 

 unmistakable appearance of the Zodiacal Light. 



It would be interesting to know if any record was 

 obtained at Greenwich Observatory or elsewhere, on the 

 «jlh inst., of any unusual terrestrial-magnetic activity, or 

 of anv solar outbursts. 



The magniticent group of sun-spots, of which the above 

 sketch was made on the Mth inst., was nearing the central 

 meridian at the time. 



A large number of people in Bradfield observed the 

 phenomenon independently ; and all agree as to the form 

 and colour of the light, "and also as to its unwavering 

 persistence till the moment of its disappearance below the 

 horizon. 

 The Red House, Cath.veine O. Stevens. 



Bradfield, Berks, 



li»02, March 7. 

 [Two groups of six)ts, both in high northern latitude. 

 Were crossing the disc of the sun on March 6. The 

 precedmg grouj) was on the central meridian on March 8 ; 

 the following group, which Miss Stevens has represented, 

 and which was much the larger of the two, crossed the 

 central meridian at daybreak on March 8. There was a 

 very slight disturbance of the magnets on March 11 at 

 4 p.m. — E. Walter M.\cnder ] 



BT^ITlStt 



ornithologVca^- 



a Ny 



- NOTES: 



Cniiducied hlj W. P. Ptcraft, A.L.S., F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 



Chakoes of Plumage in ttje Mallard (Anas boscasi. 

 — At the meetini: of the British Ornithologists' Club, held 

 on the 19th February, 1902, Mr. J. G. Millais exhibited a 

 very beautiful series of specimens of the Mallard, to 

 illustrate the changes of plumage undergone by this 

 species from the first ap])earance of the feathers to the 

 fully adult dress, and during the remarkable " eclipse " of 

 the adult male. In addition to a large series of skins, a 

 nural)er of plates, which will illustrate his forthcoming 

 work, were also exhibited. Many of the facts brought for- 

 ward by the author api>ear to be new, and are certainly of 

 very great importance to the student of moulting birds. 

 They promise, furthermore, to throw considerable light 

 on the vexed question of the nature of colour changes in 

 fully developed feathers. 



A Puzzling Parrot. — At the meeting of the Ornitho- 

 logists' Club, above referred to, the Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild exhibited a very remarkable variety of Eclecttis 

 rotatiis. It had the back, right wing and right side of the 

 head and neck maroon-crimson, most of the feathers 

 edged with green, the left wing and left side green with 

 maroon-red bases to the feathers, whilst the feathers of 

 the breast and abdomen were indiscriminately coloured 

 green and purplish blue. In spite of the mixture of 

 colours the general appearance was red on the right and 

 green on the left side of the bird. It was suggested that 

 this peculiar coloration was to be attributed, either to 

 hermaphroditism or to one-sided erythrism. Unfortunately 

 onlv the skin of the bird came into Mr. Rothschild's 

 possession, and no examination of the reproductive organs 

 appears to have been made. This skin had been brought 

 to Makassar by Mr. Van Duvienbode's traders, and was 

 said to have been obtained in Northern Halniahcra. 



Peacock and Guinea-fowl Hybrid. — The Field, 

 February 15th, contains a short account, together with a 

 photogi-aph, of a hybrid between a White Peacock and a 

 Guinea-hen, now iii the possession of the Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild. '• The head and neck are incontrovertible 

 evidence of the peacock sire, whose white plumage is 

 shown in the primarie of the wings. The rest of the 

 plumage is that of the female parent, the guinea-fowl." 

 This is an exceedingly interesting cross, and so far, we 

 believe, the first of its 'kind on record. 



Allen's GalUnah (Forph;iriola allenij (The Field, February 8tli, 

 1902).— On Xew fear's clay a .specimen of this rare bird was captured 

 alive at sea on a fishing boat off Hopton, near Great Yarmouth. It 

 is an African species, and although it has occurred more than once 

 in Italy and Sicily, it does not seem to have been recorded for Great 

 Britain before. 



A White Snipe (Gallinago ccel'estisj (The Field, Marcli 1st, 

 1902).— A white variety of this species has recently been shot in 

 Ireland — near Killeshandra. 



The yfaU-Creeper (Tichodroma muraria). — Oniithologists may be 

 glad to know that a Wall-Creeper is now to be seen in the insect 

 house at the Zoological Gardens, London, and appears to be thriving. 

 This is tlie first time that this bird has been exhibited in the Society's 

 Gardens. 



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

 or photographs, should be forwarded to W. P. Pycr.\ft, at the 

 Xatural Histoni Museum, Cromwell Road, London, S.W. 



Astronomical. — A new determination of the effective 

 temperature of the sun which has been made by Dr. W. E. 

 Wilson, F.R.S., gives the value 6863° C. (absolute), after 

 making allowances for absorption in the atmospheres of 

 both earth and sun. By the expression " effective 

 temperature " is meant that uniform temperature which 

 the sun would have to possess if it had au emissive power 

 equal to [unity, at the same time giving out the same 

 amount of radiant energy as at present. 



^ An interesting feature of the solar eclipse of May 18th, 

 1901, was a disturbance of the coronal structure in the 



