THE ZooLtocistT—Marcu, 1872. 2995 
Razorbills, &e., picked up on the Coast of Cornwall.—The south-eastern 
shores of Cornwall have been covered with the dead bodies of various birds 
during the present month. In a walk of about a mile last week I numbered 
no less than sixty-nine dead bodies of razorbills, in various stages of decay, 
some of them very recent, whilst most of them were so far gone that it 
would have been difficult to recognise them were it not for their bills; but 
there could be no doubt of their identity. This state of things I know 
extends for upwards of ten miles; and when we consider the great numbers 
that have been carried away for the purpose of making plumes for ladies’ 
hats, and others that did not come ashore, I think we may safely conclude 
that thousands of the above-named species of birds have perished in this 
immediate neighbourhood within a fortnight; and if such has been the case 
in other parts of England, how vast must have been the mortality amongst 
them! During the same walk I also found eight guillemots, four gulls and 
a gannet. I do not know how to account for this destruction amongst sea- 
birds, as the bodies do not appear so much emaciated as to lead one to 
suppose they died from starvation ; yet, on the other hand, there are reasons 
to suppose, from the great tameness of other sea-birds, that such was the 
case, as on Tuesday last a gannet was seen on the rocks near here, which 
allowed a young man to approach sufficiently near it to enable him to knock 
it down with a stone: it was brought to me, and I found it in excellent 
plumage, but very thin in flesh. I have also heard from fishermen that 
whilst out on the fishing-ground the gulls will come up close to the boats 
and take garbage from their hands: I believe this to be authentic.— 
Stephen Clogg; Looe, February 20, 1872. 
[This morning (February 21st) I met a man going over London Bridge 
with a clothes-basket full of razorbills; he could not, or would not, tell me 
how he came by them, but, by the blood on their plumage, I think they had 
come by a violent death— EHdward Newman.] 
Pomarine Skuas in Torbay.—In my note on the above (Zool. S. 8. 2946) 
I made a slight error, in consequence of misunderstanding the information 
which was given me. The adult specimen there mentioned I now find was 
killed in Torbay some years since. The four killed on the 26th of October 
last were, two in the first and two in the second year’s plumage. This 
correction is not very important, but I am desirous of making it for the sake 
of accuracy.—J. H. Gurney. 
Frogs and Spiders.—In my “ Jottings on Snakes” I mentioned the fact 
that frogs had been known to catch birds, and I gave several instances which 
had come to my notice. This evening I was looking through Mr. Block- 
manu’s translation of the ‘ Ain-i-Akbari,’ by Abul Fazl-i-Allami, which gives 
an account of the great Akbar, and amongst the sports in which that 
