THE RING OUZEL IN CAPTIVITY. 23*J 



the Terrapins, and lastly, the Land Tortoises. Some of the 

 snakes and serpents are frequently found in fresh water, where 

 they are inimical to fish ; while in the seas of hot climates are the 

 venomous Water-snakes (Hydrojihidce) : these have a laterally 

 flattened tail, lead an aquatic life, and live mostly on fish. Croco- 

 diles and Alligators abound in the fresh and brackish waters of 

 hot countries, and are large consumers of fish, but the form best 

 adapted for this pursuit is perhaps the Gavial of India, which 

 often attains to twenty feet in length, and is a resident throughout 

 the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mahanuddi rivers. The 

 Gavial possesses a long and slender snout, with a narrow mouth ; 

 tbey toss captured fish into the air, and as they descend catch 

 them and swallow them head first. 



Among birds, as is well known, not only are the swimming 

 ones, as the Gannets, Cormorants, Gulls, and Terns, of our coast 

 largely destructive to sea-fish, but the last two extend their range 

 to inland waters, where, however, the Dabchicks, Coots, Moor- 

 hens, Herons, &c, assist in depopulating fisheries. 



Among mammals the Whale and Seal fisheries are of great 

 importance commercially. The Cetacea, or Whales, Dolphins, and 

 Porpoises, themselves destroy immense quantities of fish. So 

 also do the semi-aquatic or amphibious Seals ; while the Otter in 

 fresh and brackish waters is a large fish-consumer, although in 

 the East it appears mostly to prefer Frogs. 



THE RING OUZEL IN CAPTIVITY. 



By J. Ffolliott Darling. 



On the 25th of May, 1882, while on a fishing excursion at 

 Lough Talt, among the Ox Mountains (Co. Mayo), I took a nest 

 of the Ring Ouzel, Turdus torquatus, having been attracted to the 

 place by seeing the birds flying about near the top of a steep 

 mountain overhanging the lake. After watching them for an 

 hour (the male flying around me, screeching all the time), I 

 succeeded in marking the hen bird to the nest, which was placed 

 in the most precipitous part of the mountain, near the top, and 

 was on a small ledge in a cliff. 



The nest was composed of much the same materials as that 



