The Zoologist — December, 18G0. 527 



knot; and in October a pair of longtailed duclcs, the male having the very long tail- 

 feathers and all the appearance of a full dress bird: in November a male of the great 

 Dorlhern diver and a male of the blaclithroated diver ; these birds have all the beautiful 

 markings of the mature birds. In April, 1866, a pair of black terns was also shot on 

 the estuary; in May a full dress male of the redthroated diver, in adult plumage, was 

 captured— the bird appeared incapable of flight; on the I9lh of September a flock of 

 about fifty phalaropes made their appearance on the Thurlston Ley, several of which 

 I shot: they appear to have been driven on this coast by the south-easterly winds. — 

 Henry NichoUs,jun. ; Kingsbridge, South Devon, October 24, 1866. 



Lizards devouring their own Species.— I am sorry to say that I am ignorant enough 

 not to know if it is a common thing for lizards to kill and eat others of their own 

 species, and I have no books at hand to consult; but during six years' residence in 

 various parts of India I have never seen a case of it until the present time, although 

 my servants say that both snakes and lizards are in the habit of doing so. Last night, 

 while silting at dinner, I heard a slight flapping noise behind me, and on looking 

 round I saw a lizard on the wall, with a smaller one of the same sort in his mouth. 

 He had got it firmly by the head, and was dashiug its body against the wall at intervals 

 of a few moments. This went on for about five minutes, during which time the victim 

 was writhing and kicking most violently. I then saw that he was beginning to swallow 

 it, and in about five minutes more only about an inch of the tail was left visible ; he 

 then took alarm and ran away a few feet. I was anxious to examine the captor, and 

 cut him across the back with a whip. He dropped on the floor, but got up again, and 

 managed to get through a door into another room. He was about five inches long 

 and the victim about two inches and a half long; but the latter was very thin indeed, 

 while the other was very large and stout for his length. They were both of the species 

 found in houses, more or less, all through India. Their food is, generally speaking, 

 flies and mosquitoes, but I have seen them kill and eat very large spiders and insects 

 of the grasshopper tribe. — Francis Eagle; 41sl [the Welch) Light Regiment, Agra.— 

 From the ' Field ' Newspaper. 



Rare Crabs at Penzance. — I took yesterday the minute porcelain crab (Portunus 

 longicornis), two specimens ; the scaly galathea (Galathea sguamifera) ; the circle, 

 fronted swimming crab {Portunus arcuatus), seventeen specimens of all sizes. These 

 were all taken in about seven fathoms water, after several days' heavy weather. It is 

 remarkable of P. arcuatus that I bad a similar catch of this crab (which is rare here) 

 in October, 1865, and I had a single specimen shortly afterwards in the same month. 

 These three occasions are the only times at which I have taken this crab. — Thomas 

 Cornish; Penzance, October 19, 1866. 



Ravages of White Ants. — In a report of a late Meeting of the Entomological 

 Society, there is an account of the ravages of the white ant in St. Helena, by Mr. 

 Edgar Layard, who asked for information, and as the experience of one who has lived 

 in a country more or less infested throughout its whole extent by these destructive 

 insects may be useful, I venture to supply one or two hints. As to the walls, mixing 



