September 1, 1898.1 



KNOWLEDGE, 



203 



Lesser BL.\rK-BACKED Gulls on the Exe. — On April 

 13th I watched a small flock of Lesser Black-backed Gulls 

 resting on the shingle outside our lawn wall at low water. 

 They were mostly immature birds of last year, but there 

 were a few adults among them. This gull is by no means 

 common on the Exe, and this is the first time I have ever 

 observed a flock of this species on the river. — W. S. M. 

 D'Urban. 



Peregrines ant. Herring Gulls. — On March 12th, while 

 watching the Peregrine Falcons at Beachy Head, I was 

 surprised to see these birds chased by Herring Gulls ; yet 

 immediately afterwards 1 found the body of a Herring Gull 

 which had evidently been struck down by a Peregrine. — 

 C. J. Wilson, 21, Earlsfield Road, S.W. 



On a lli/hnd Thrush found in Sorwaq {Tardus iliacus x Turdus 

 pilaris). By R. CoUett (Tiis. Jiilv, lS9S,'pp. 317-319). -Prof. Collett 

 here describes a specimen of a bird whicli be believes to be a hybrid 

 belween a Redwing and a Fieldfare. The bird was snared in Faaberg, 

 Norway, on December 11th, 1897, together with some examples of 

 the Fieldfare. Prof. Collett diagnoses the specimen as follows : — 

 "Size, half way between those of T. pilaris and T. iliacus ; eye-stripe 

 broad, of a buffy white ; upper parts most like those of T. pilaris ; 

 rump, greyisli brown, somewhat lighter than the back. Lower parts 

 most like those of T. iliacus ; the side spots somewhat triangular ; 

 under wing-coverts, rusty red mixed witli pale red.' A similar 

 specimen was caught near Stockholm on February 12th, 1859, and is 

 still preserved in the Riks Museum, Stockholm. 



/(•eland Gull in Couiifi/ Sligo m Summer {Irish Naturalist, A.\xgast, 

 189S, p. 20J) — Mr. Robert Warren observed a bird of this species on 

 July 18th feeding in company with some Herring Gulls in a field. 

 At about a distance of ten yards, an! with the aid of field glasses 

 Mr. Warren made the bird out to be an immature one. This is only 

 the second time the Iceland Ci-ull has been observed in Ireland in 

 summer. 



All contributions to the column, either in the tea;/ of notes 

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

 at 1, Eliot Place, Blackheath, Kent, 



[The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions or 

 Btatements of correspondents.] 



' THE "QXAGGA. " 

 To the Editors of Knowledge. 



Sirs, — In your May number, on page 138, Mr. R. 

 Lydekker calls the quagga an extinct animal. He says : 

 Zebras " and the now extinct quagga." He is mistaken. 

 At the moment of writing, the skin of a quagga is in the 

 backyard being salted and preserved. The quagga was 

 shot one month ago between Zwazieland and the Portu- 

 guese territory from a troop of four. Signs of larger 

 troops were seen then and there. Hunters report still 

 larger herds more to the north. 



H. W. M. Lagerwey, ll.d. 



Johannesburg, June 29th, 1S98. 



[In reference to the above, it is a well-known fact that 

 the name " quagga " is now commonly applied in South 

 Africa to Burchell's zebra {E'/uus burchelli), although it 

 properly belongs to the apparently extinct E. quagga, which 

 is a very different animal. — E. L.J 



PHOTOGRAPHIXG THROUGH A FLY'S EYE. 

 To the Editors of Knowledge. 



Sirs, — If any readers of Knowledge wish to try Mr. 

 F. W. Saxby's interesting experiment, but are unable to 

 get " eye-lenses " (and dragon flies do not flourish in 

 towns), I have a good number of the cast nymph skins of 

 the dragon fly, Ana.c formosus, which I will very gladly 

 send to anyone who cares to send an address. The cornea 



is facetted, hyaline, and, moreover, has the advantage of 

 being already almost perfectly clear. Arthur East. 



Southleigh Vicarage, Witney, Oxen. 



r ORIOXIS AXD S AND U CORON.E. 

 To the Editors of Knowledge. 



Sirs, — A maximum of U Orionia was computed for 

 March 28th, 1898. It is an interesting star, and the past 

 apparition increased the desire to know more about it. 

 Being near the zenith most of the time, the opportunities 

 were more favourable for its observation than for other 

 stars. 



It appeared to be on February 11th at about ninth 

 magnitude, and from that day forward as follows ; — 



Feb. 22 

 „ 27 



7-8 

 7-6 

 7-4 



Feb. 28 ... 

 Mar. 2, 4, 5 



,. 13, 15, 16 



„ 19 



„ 20 (max.) 

 „ 24 ... 



„ 26 



„ 31 ... . 



April 1, 2 



„ 6,7,9 

 ,. 14, 16, 19 

 .. 24 



„ 26 



„ 27 



„ 28 



,, 28. 29 

 May 1 ... 



7 



Lost behind trees. 

 Except on a few nights 

 the seeing was imsteady, 

 and the light -curve ir- 

 regular. 

 Comparisons were made with the D.M. stars in the 

 field or close by. 



When S Coronse rose clear of the eastern city 

 vapour and smoke on March 13th it seemed to be at 

 its brightest, 6'7 magnitude ; this apparition was 

 four days after the 



S and U Coronse. 



7-3 

 7-2 

 6-8 

 6-0 

 5-9 

 5-9 

 6-1 

 6-3 

 6-4 

 6-5 

 66 

 6-8 

 71 

 6-7 

 6-8 

 6-7 

 6-6 

 6-8 

 715 



Comparisons were made with the D.M. stars in the field 



