NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 157 
who would be well and accurately informed will of course 
consult both volumes. 
Did space permit we should like to give a few extracts from 
the narrative of the voyage, which in many respects is highly 
interesting. 
The distance at sea to which land birds and insects some- 
times wander is very curious, and was often noticed by Dr. 
Coppinger. On the 25th September, when 155 miles west of 
Cape Finisterre, and during a fresh easterly breeze, a Sparrow- 
hawk settled on the rigging and was captured. On the 4th 
October a Swallow appeared and flew for some time round the 
ship. The nearest land at that time was the island of Porto 
Santo, 254 miles distant. On the 22nd November, when a 
hundred miles from the Brazilian coast, and in almost the 
latitude of Rio, great numbers of moths appeared hovering about 
the ship and settling on the rigging. Sphinx moths were par- 
ticularly conspicuous, and later in the day several butterflies 
appeared. No less than seventeen species were captured, of 
which fourteen were moths and the rest butterflies. 
The haunts of the Magellan Sea Otter, Lutra felina, are 
described, p. 58. It is stated to be abundant about the brackish 
lagoons in the islands, where its ‘‘ runs” were found to be strewn 
with the shells of a large spiny crab, Lithodes antarctica, its 
principal food. Dr. Coppinger has seen a Magellan Otter rise 
to the surface with one of these hideous crabs in its mouth—an 
unpalatable morsel, one would suppose, being armed all over 
with strong spines. 
That remarkable bird, the petro or ‘‘ Loggerhead’”’ 
(Tachyeres cinereus, Gmelin, Anas brachypterus, Latham), is of 
course noticed as being one of the commonest wildfowl in the 
Straits of Magellan. The chief peculiarity of this bird is the 
shortness and unusually small size of the wings, which, not 
having sufficient power to raise the body, serve only to propel it 
along rather than through the water, and are used like the 
paddles of a steam-vessel. Aided by these and its strong broad 
webbed feet, it moves with astonishing velocity. Its speed has 
been estimated at from twelve to fifteen miles an hour. The 
peculiar form of the wing and the short rigid feathers which 
cover it, together with the power this bird possesses of remaining 
a considerable time under water, constitute a striking link 
