1872. j CAI'T. H. PAIN ON THE HABITS OF THE EARED SEALS. 681 



June 4, 1872. 



Prof. Flower, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair. 



Mr. G. Dawson Rowley, F.Z.S., exhibited a specimen of the North- 

 American Zonotriehia albicollis, which had been taken alive in a clap- 

 net on the 22nd of March, 1872, at Beven Dean, near Brighton, by 

 a man catching Yellow-hammers (Emberiza citrinella), with which 

 the Zonotriehia was in company. One previous occurrence of this 

 species in Great Britain had been already recorded in the Society's 

 'Proceedings' for 1870 (p. 52). 



Mr. Sclater exhibited the " American Cuckoo killed in Ireland," 

 which had been referred by Mr. Blake-Knox (Zoologist, 1872, 

 p. 2943) to the Yellow-billed Coccyzus (C. americamis), and by Lord 

 Clermont subsequently (Zool. p. 3022) to the Black-billed species 

 (C. erythrophthalmus), and remarked that there could be no question 

 of the latter determination being correct. 



The only previously recorded occurrence of this species in Europe 

 was that of a specimen killed in Italy some years ago*. 



The Secretary read the following extracts from a letter addressed 

 by Capt. Henry Pain, of the S.S. « Scanderia,' to Mr. F. Coleman of 

 the Falkland-Islands Company, containing remarks on the habits of 

 the Sea-lion (Otaria jubata) and the Fur-Seal of the Falklands (O. 

 falklandica) : — 



" Of course you know there are many kinds of Seal in the South 

 Seas— more than are generally known, 'for at different times I have 

 seen animals that neither I nor any one else on board had seen before ; 

 but the principal are the Sea-lion, Sea-elephant, Sea-leopard, and 

 the Fur-Seal which /call the Sea-fox. 



" The Sea-lion attains its full growth at nine years, and annually 

 comes back to the place it was born to breed and to shed its hair. 

 The former operation occurs between the 25th of December and the 

 15th of January, the latter in April and May. The Lions commence 

 to arrive at their 'rookery' in November to wait for the females, 

 who do not haul up until within two or three days of pupping ; they 

 are fatter at this time than at any other, and have to take in a'quan- 

 tity of ballast to keep them down, without which they could not dive 

 to catch fish. I have opened them at this time, and found in a pouch 

 they have inside upwards of twenty-five pounds of stones, some as 

 large as a goose-egg. As they get thin they have the power of 

 throwing these stones up, retaining only a sufficient quantity to keep 

 them from coming up too freely to the surface. 



" They are very savage in the breeding-season, and are continually 



*| ee B ? 1 i, e - *•/• 9"- ■"• P- 4 57 (1858); De Selys-Longchamps, Ibis, 1870, 

 p. 452; and Salvador!, Fauna d'ltalia, Uccelli, p. 42 (1871)7 



