280 Notes and Comments. 
distantly related kinds of pigeons be crossed, and if the eggs 
be taken away as fast as they are laid (so as to induce the pair 
to continue to lay fertile eggs), then in the spring both eggs 
of a clutch will usually develop into males, while in the autumn 
both will usually develop into females. In the transition period 
the first egg of the clutch usually develops into a male, and the 
second into a female. 
BIRD MIGRATION AT SCARBOROUGH. 
_ In British Birds for August is a record of unusual migration 
of Sea-Birds at Scarborough. The writer during the last week 
of June and the first week of July was daily on the Marine Drive 
and Piers, and on each occasion there were ‘ thousands of 
Guillemots, in small parties, numbering from half a dozen 
individuals up to 40 or 50 together. A steady stream of such 
flocks were passing all day ur.til dusk, and almost all going 
in. the same directior, very few returning south, and these 
mostly single birds. Smaller numbers of Razorbills, Puffins, 
Kittiwakes and Herring-Gulls were also noticable, and all 
proceeding steadily northwards. This migration was still con- 
tinuing on July 16th, when many birds were passing, although 
not in such numbers as previously.’ 
CHANGES IN COLEOPTERA FAUNA, 
In The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine for August, Mr. 
G. B. Walsh gives some “ Observations on Some of the Causes 
determining the Survival and Extinction of Insects, with 
special reference to the Coleoptera.’ He explains the geological 
features and the physiographical changes which have taken 
place in the vicinity of the Humber, Tees, Wear and Tyne, 
which are the areas dealt with in his notes. He compares 
the present and past faunas of the Yorkshire Wolds, the 
Holderness marshes, and so on. We hardly agree with him 
however, in assuming that if coast erosion goes on at its present 
rate ‘ it will be only a comparatively short time to the complete 
disappearance of Spurn Point, with its rich store of sea-coast 
and sand-hill species.” As a matter of fact, the more the coast 
is eroded the more Spurn grows, as it is made up of material 
washed from the cliffs. Spurn has considerably extended 
during the past century. 
¢ 
20) (—————= 
In sending reports of the animals and plants observed on the ex- 
cursions of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, etc., will our contributors 
kindly note that it is not desirable to give lists of common species of 
general distribution. There is always much more material to print than 
we can find room for in the journal, and it is a pity to occupy space with 
information of this kind. As far as possible the lists should be confined. 
to new records for the districts visited, unless, of course, there is some 
special reason for mentioning the species. 
Naturalist, 
