THE ZooLocist—DEcEMEER, 1872. 3339 
Peculiarities of Whitefronted Goose.—October 19. I purchased to-day, 
at a poulterer’s shop near Liverpool, a whitefronted goose. The feathers 
round the base of the bill, usually white, are of a bright orange colour, as 
dark as the legs. There is also a peculiarity about the middle claw of each 
foot which is new to me: they are broader than the other claws, which is 
caused by their being flattened, and their inside edges much sharpened. It 
is probable that this is a wise provision for the bird for scratching itself and 
keeping itself free from insects.—H, Durnford ; 1, Stanley Road, Waterloo, 
Liverpool. 
Polish Swan.—November 1. There is a swan in our market to-day whose 
legs and webs are of a light slate-gray ; the knob at the base of the bill is 
large, and there is no doubt the bird is an old male mute swan. I mention 
this to show that the legs of Cygnus Olor are sometimes of a colour which 
is said only to belong to the so-called “ Polish swan.” I have noticed 
exactly the same thing two or three times before. The bird came from 
Scotland with other wildfowl.—dZd. 
Seaup Ducks in September.—September 21. I observed to-day a small 
flock of fifteen or twenty scaup ducks at the mouth of the Mersey. Is not 
this early for these birds ?—Id. 
Dark Variety of Richardson’s Skua.—A Richardson's skua was shot on 
the Cheshire coast, about the 22nd of September, remarkable for its dark 
plumage. It is of an uniform dark dusky brown, which causes it from a 
short distance to look black, with the exception of the lesser wing-coverts, 
which are dark reddish brown. Beak and legs lead-colour; webs yellowish 
white at the base; remainder black. It is a bird of the year.—Id. 
Herrings and Mackerel in Brighton Aquarium.—We have had the same 
mackerel alive in the tanks for nearly three months, and we have now a 
shoal of herrings which have been in for over three weeks, and are in 
splendid condition; and herrings and mackerel have never until now been 
maintained in tanks. The mackerel and herrings may be seen careering 
about the tanks, feeding frecly. The latter are a very attractive spalliaels, 
their motions are so easy, rapid and graceful: their silvery scales glitter like 
burnished armour in the sun, and they are very beautiful. Mackerel, 
herrings, and such wild denizens of the deep, when first put in ordinary 
tanks, usually go into a panic, and rush to and fro, knocking themselves 
about against the rock and glass, so as to either kill themselves outright or 
to so damage themselves that they do not recover; and as to feeding, they 
do not seem to have any notion of it. This was just the case with the 
mackerel when we first tried them; they killed themselves in their panics. 
The Chairman (Mr. Somes) wrote to me and asked what was to be done. 
