Birds. 7431 



mouse, T would refer Mr. Gostliug to Macgillivray, vol. ii. p. 15, showing that the 

 respiratory organs of quadrupeds are very differently formed from those of birds ; for 

 instance, he says, " In the Mammalia a muscular expansion, named the diaphragm, is 

 a principal agent in respiration,'' &c. "In birds, however, there is no diaphragm, 

 properly so called," &c. " The lungs are comparatively small, and not so expansile 

 as in quadrupeds," &c. I am ready to admit that swallows may have been discovered 

 in cliffs, shafts of mines, hollow trees, or in other situations, early in December, or even 

 towards Christmas ; but that the birds so found were not in a torpid but in a 

 dying state. Should any one doubt this, let him by all means endeavour to procure 

 specimens between the 25th of December and the 25th of March, and should they 

 prove to be healthy birds, let the fact be announced in the ' Zoologist,' so that the 

 most sceptical of modern ornithologists may be converted to the faith of his fore- 

 fathers. — Henry Hadjield ; Ventnor, Isle of Wight, March 4, 1861. 



[I do not perceive the advantage of reviving the " hybernation-of-swallows" hypo- 

 thesis : we know that a swallow could cross the channel in five minutes ; we know that it 

 could remain on the wing as many hours ; we know that a swallow cannot exist here 

 during winter, when it cannot obtain food; we also know that it can and does exist in 

 the warmer climate of Africa, where food is abundant. Why do we require any 

 hypothesis for the disappearance of the swallows? that the swallow should thus fly to 

 its natural food seems to be as simple a sequilur as that fowls should run when called 

 to the barley that is scattered for them. The larger question, "What impulse directs 

 the swallow to its food, invariably guiding it in the right direction?" is far more 

 worthy the attention of the philosopher. — Edward Ntivman.'] 



The Jackdaw and the Mouse. — An acquaintance of mine here, a barber, once kept 

 a jackdaw, which, he tells me, was very fond of mice. His shop consisted of two 

 rooms, back and front. The former of these was the jackdaw's abode. Amongst other 

 things in it at the time referred to was an old shovel, with a rend about the middle 

 lying against the wall. One day my friend observed a mouse on the floor. The jack- 

 daw also eyed it, and instantly made a spring, but, unlike our domestic favourite, fell 

 far short of the mark. Mousie of course ran for it, but soon reappeared. This time 

 however, the hird seemed not to notice it until within a few feet, when another dart 

 was made, but failed as before. My friend was now obliged to leave the room to 

 wait upon a customer. On his return he saw the mouse, but not the jackdaw. Where 

 was he ? Once or twice he thought he saw the bird's white eye peeping from a cer- 

 tain place, but he was not quite sure. Mousie, however, approaching this spot rather 

 closely, put an end to all conjecture ; for, sure enough, out came the bird's head 

 through the hole in the shovel, and nailed the " wee timorous beastie !" After parading 

 about in triumph for some time, with the mouse dangling in his bill, he gulped it 

 to the utter amazement of his master. — Thomas Edivard ; Banff, February 19 1861. 



Young of the Lyre Bird. — In the month of October, J 858, the nest of a lyre bird 

 was found in the densely-wooded ranges near the sources of the river Yarra-Yarra. 

 It contained a>,bird, which seemed at first to be an old one in a sickly condition as it 

 did not attempt to escape, but it was soon discovered to be a young bird of very large 

 size as compared with its helplessness. When taken out of the nest it screamed 

 loudly, the note being high, and sounding like " tcbing-tching.'' In a short time the 

 mother bird, attracted by the call, arrived, and, notwithstanding the proverbial shyness 

 of the species, flew within a few feet of its young, and tried in vain to deliver it from 

 captivity by flapping her wings, and making various rapid motions in different directions 



