9432 Sucklers — Birds. 



in all wild cats, is short and bushy, with a black lip, and striped, as is the rest of the 

 body, with black. It was stuffed by Mr. Tucker, of Exeter, in whose shop I saw it. 

 — J. L. Langdon Fulford ; Woodbury, near Exeter, December 24, 1864. 



Singing Mouse. — I havejusl seen a phenomenon in the Natural History line which 

 is entirely new to rae. A person of my acquaintance has lately captured a mouse 

 which, instead of squeaking like its fellows, spends its time in singing. He tells me 

 that for some time past he had, when all was quiet, heard a subdued singing noise in 

 his house, which at first greatly puzzled him ; but, some friend having informed him 

 that mice sometimes sing, he kept a strict watch, and one night was rewarded by 

 seeing a small mouse sitting outside its hole, and singing away to its heart's content: 

 he set a trap and soon caught it, and has now had it in captivity about eleven days, 

 and its voice is as good as ever. I first saw the mouse about two evenings ago ; it was 

 then curled up in its bed : on his disturbing it I could hear a low chirping, such as 

 is frequently made by young birds in a nest, but presently the sound began to increase, 

 until it could be heard all over the room ; the mouse then came out and sang for about 

 ten minutes, when a sudden fright drove it into its nest. The song is very pleasing, 

 although rather monotonous ; it somewhat resembles the lower notes of a nightingale, 

 but of course it never reaches those rich deep tones for which that bird is noted. The 

 mouse seemed fully to appreciate the fact that he was singing in public, as he kept 

 standing on his hind legs and raising himself up as his lower notes grew louder, very 

 much as you may have observed a canary or nightingale. — Howard Fry ; Ashford, 

 Kent, December 22, 1864. 



[Singing mice have been great favourites with the exhibitors of curiosities for 

 many years, and a particular account of murine individuals gifted in this way has on 

 several occasions appeared in the 'Zoologist;' see particularly pp. 288, 2474, 2475 

 and 5591 : the facts are not only beyond question, but have supplied the substantial 

 evidence of a good income to several of the fortunate owners of these musical pheno- 

 mena. On more than one occasion I have had the privilege of observing the perform- 

 ance very carefully, and have arrived at the conclusion that the performers were 

 afflicted with some lung disease, perhaps tubercular phthisis, or that infirmity which in 

 horses is called " whistling," an accomplishment, I am assured, not tending to enhance 

 the value of a horse as it does that of a mouse. — E. Newman.'] 



Early Copulation of the Kestrel. — Is it not peculiar for the kestrel to copulate so 

 early as the 6th of November? To-day two hawks appeared to me as if fighting in 

 the air: they at last fell behind a wall : by creeping up I could look over at them 

 without being seen, though not three feet from them. I have no hesitation in stating 

 that they were copulating. The whole time the female uttered a low, pleasing cry. — 

 H. Blake-Knox ; Dalkey, Co. Dublin, November 6, 1864. 



Habits of the Water Ouzel — As the history of this most interesting bird has hardly 

 yet been fully worked out, the following notes, from daily observation, may perhaps be 

 of interest to some of your readers. The water ouzel, or dipper (Cinclus aquaticus), is 

 generally solitary in its habits, one, or at most a pair, haunting a part of the stream, 

 and allowing no interlopers to poach on their preserves ; in summer, however, the 

 young brood accompany their parents for some time. Often the dipper may be ob- 

 served to sit oa one stone for several minutes at a time, constantly dipping its entire 



