THE ZooLocist—Ocrorer, 1876. 5115 
possesses the two animals, in Glasgow, and he told me that “ nothing came 
of it,” contrary to the expectations at one time entertained: the female 
would not receive the advances of the male.—J. 4. Harvie Brown ; Duni- 
pace House, Larbert, N. B. 
Bats hawking for Flies at Noonday.—On Sunday, the 13th of August,— 
almost the hottest day we had,—two bats continued hawking for flies, 
during divine service, between the hours of eleven and twelve.—C. Matthew 
Prior ; The Avenue, Bedford. 
[The circumstance is not so unusual as our correspondent seems to 
suppose. Numerous instances of bats flying by day have been recorded 
from time to time.—Ep.] 
The Exeter Albert Memorial Museum.—When in Exeter the other day 
I visited (as I always do when I find myself in the capital of Devon) the 
excellent Albert Memorial Museum, and found—what I always find—great 
progress and improvement. I have never yet had the pleasure of seeing 
the Norwich Museum, with its rich collection of raptorial birds, but I should 
say neither the Norwich Museum nor any other provincial institution of 
the kind can be better than that at Exeter. Too great praise cannot be 
awarded to the indefatigable Curator and Secretary, Mr. D’Urban, for what 
he has done with the money and the materials placed at his disposal. The 
Museum seems to be popular with the townspeople, as it well may, and on 
a market-day it is so crowded that it is difficult to move about, I was 
pleased to see that Mr. D’Urban is getting together a collection of local 
birds. Unless local Museums confine themselves to the local F auna they 
are only the source of confusion; but they are of great value and of 
immense assistance to a naturalist studying a district, when they receive 
only specimens obtained within its limits. An omnium gatherum collection 
of birds and animals, some British, some foreign, is of use perhaps for the 
unscientific to gape at, but it vexes the eyes of those who would prefer to 
see what the neighbourhood can produce. Let the local birds, &c., be kept 
apart; and then (as is done at Exeter) let characteristic types of foreign 
birds be ranged, for the information of those who would wish to see how 
the Fauna of other countries differs from their own. Let me beg any 
reader of the ‘ Zoologist’ who finds himself with a spare hour at Exeter to 
visit the Museum: he will be well repaid.—Murray A. Matheu ; Bishop's 
Lydeard. 
The Time of Day at which Birds lay their Eggs,—Mr. Cordeaux (Zool. 
S. 8. 4983) asks, “Can any one tell me at what time during the twenty-four 
hours the egg is deposited by birds?” Quoting Dr. Saxby, he says, “ Careful 
observation of twenty different species of our insessorial birds has enabled 
me to ascertain the fact that, as a general rule, they lay their eggs between 
