The Zoologist— March, 1868. 1129 



around each eye, and a very slight sprinkle on the cheeks. I have never had one 

 before, and I inquired of an old gamekeeper, of more than forty years' standing, who 

 tells me he never saw one during his long experience. A rather curious circumstance 

 took place whilst I was skinning the stoat : I happened to cut one of the glands which 

 secrete the very pungent matter so disagreeable in animals of this class; my dog, on 

 coming into the room where I was at work, became very excited, running around the 

 room as fast as he could go, at the same time giving tongue as if he had been in full 

 pursuit of vermin. — Stephen Clogg ; Looe, February 15, 1868. 



Gray Hare in Suffolk. — About the 12lh of last January a beautiful variety of the 

 common hare, a female, was killed on the Rendlesham estate near Wangford, in 

 Suffolk, the whole surface of its coat being of a silver grayish hue, suffused with a 

 pale reddish tinge on the head, ears, neck and flanks. — T. E. Gunn ; 21, Regent 

 Street, Norwich. 



Do Cats kill Squirrels P — In the January number of the 'Zoologist' (S. S. 1057) 

 I noticed an inquiry, " Is it not unusual for cats to kill squirrels?" In rather a wild 

 district, in the western part of the county of Durham, I have seen a cat go out into the 

 woods before breakfast, and soon return with a squirrel in its mouth ; and the person 

 to whom the cat belonged assured me that it was a frequent practice of this one to 

 hunt them, and that both squirrels and rabbits often fell victims to its foraging pro- 

 pensities. The house was situate in the midst of a wood, which accounted for the cat's 

 often possessing much more of the wild cat nature than her more domesticated cousins 

 of the town. — Eliza Barclay; Blackwell, Darlington, February 4, 1868. 



Badger in Lincolnshire. — These animals, notwithstanding the breaking up of 

 many of their old haunts, and the constant persecution of gamekeepers, &c, are still 

 found in two or three localities in North Lincolnshire. Two of these animals have 

 lately come under my notice. One, a male, was captured alive ; the other, a remark- 

 ably large and fat female, and suckling at the time of her capture, was brought into 

 Grimsby by some poachers about the 20th of January, and sold to a bird-preserver : 

 from the circumstances of its capture this man could not learn the exact locality where 

 it was taken : it is the largest I have ever examined, weighing four stone nine pounds. 

 The following are the dimensions taken at the time : — 



Length from tip of nose to end of tail, including hair - 3 feet 3 iuches. 

 „ of tail, including hair ----- 8£ „ 



of head -.----- 7 



„ of middle claw - - - - - - U inch. 



Girth behind shoulders - - - - - - 2 feet 2 inches. 



„ of fore leg _.----- 6„ 



—John Cordeaux ; Great Cotes, Vlceby, Lincolnshire. 



Birds of Stirlingshire.— Being at present engaged in collecting materials for a 

 small work on the birds of Stirlingshire, I should feel deeply grateful to any of the 

 correspondents of the 'Zoologist' if they would let me know of any occurrences of 

 our rarer birds in that county, with any particulars of their capture, &c. As I have 

 hitherto had some difficulty in finding many works from which to compile, I should also 

 be much obliged to any one who would direct my attention to any such. The 

 SECOND -SERIES — VOL. III. P 



