Birds, S^c. 7317 



tbis note. The phalarope is a bird to be numbered with the bustard, a bird of yore ; 

 it shuns alike the close relationship of man and the tiller's plough. — 5. P. Saville ; 

 Dover House, Union Road, Cambridge {late Jesus Terrace), December H, 1860. 



Occurrence of the Longtailed Duck (Anas glacialis) near Tregolhnan, Cornwall. — 

 A fine, well-conditioned specimen of this rare duck (in these parts) was sent yesterday 

 for preservation. The early appearance of this arctic duck seems to forebode hard 

 weather in the North. I have never known but one other specimen of this duck 

 before in this neighbourhood, and that was in nearly the same state of plumage as the 

 present, without the long tail-feathers, the upper parts more or less umber-brown, with 

 a similar patch on each side of the neck. — Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, Novem- 

 ber 10, 1860. 



The Little Gull (Larus minutus) shot at Eastbourne, Sussex. — On Thursday, the 

 6th of December, 1860, a fisherman residing here shot a pretty specimen of this gull, 

 which I saw in the flesh and examined. Unfortunately it did not come into my 

 possession. It weighed nearly four ounces, measured 1 \\ inches, and from tip to tip 

 of extended wings nearly 26 inches. — John Dutlon ; South Street, Eastbourne, De- 

 cember 17, 1860. 



Breeding of a Penguin called the Rock-hopper (Aptenodytes chrysocome) in the 

 Falkland Islands. — Tho Falkland Islands' rock-hopper (so called from its jumping 

 from rock to rock) comes up from the sea about the middle of October, and lays the 

 first week in November. Like the other penguins, they return to the same breeding- 

 grounds. These are situated on high cliffy slopes near the sea, and with a fresh-water 

 stream running near, in which the birds constantly wash themselves. They are also, 

 like the gentoos, continually going to and returning from the salt water. The space 

 occupied by some of the breeding-places is nearly 500 yards long by about 60 broad, 

 and their eggs lie so close together that it is almost impossible to waJk through with- 

 out breaking some of them. I have often wondered, on disturbing these birds and 

 driving them away from their eggs, how, on their return, they would pick out their 

 own among so many hundreds. Yet this they do, walking back straight to their eggs, 

 and getting them between their legs with the utmost care, fixing them in the bare 

 space between the feathers in the centre of the lower part of their belly, and gradually 

 lowering themselves till their breasts touch the ground, the male bird of each pair 

 standing upright alongside of the female. — ' Ibis,' ii. 337. 



Rare Fishes occurring at Weston-super-Mare. — Amongst a host of other small fry 

 the following fish have been obtained by me since the end of June, from the shrimp 

 and other nets, at Weston-super-Mare, in the Bristol Channel : — 



White Goby (Gobius alhus). One specimen. Two other gobies, diflFering from 

 those figured in Yarrell's ' History of British Fishes,' one probably Gobius auratus. 



Argentine {Scopelus Humboldtii). Seven specimens. 



Clupea macrocephala, iStt/'ainson. One specimen. 



Long Flounder (Platessa elongata). Two specimens. 



Anglesea Morris {Leptocephalus Morrisii). Four specimens. 



? {Leptocephalus F ?). One specimen. This differs in so many 



respects from the Anglesea Morris that Cuvther examination will, I think, prove it to be 

 a distinct species. 



