1]8 REPORT— 1873. 



studying tliem; their tameness in the absence of fireaims brought them readilywithin 

 the range of the eye or telescope. A list prepared in 1844 by Dr. FaiTar, late of 

 Bradford, formerly of Barnsley, vras placed in my hands, also an account of York- 

 shire birds, drawn up in the same year by Thomas Allis, of York, including notices 

 from Hugh Eeid, Bird-stuffer, Doncaster ; Plenry Denny, late Curator of the Philo- 

 sophical Hall, Leeds; William Eddison, Huddersfield ; John Heppenstall (father 

 and son), of Sheifield ; A. H. Strickland ; E. Leyland, Halifax ; S. Gibson, Hebden 

 Bridge ; and the Rev. F. O. Monis, who has observed in all the three Bidings of 

 York. The Bev. F. 0. Morris and T. Allis are the only survivors of these pains- 

 taking naturalists. From the above sources of information we may get an idea of 

 the birds noticed in the West Biding within the recollection of living observers 

 and in present times. 



We may form an estimate of them thus. Taking the ' Zoologist's' List, compiled 

 from Yarrell, of resident birds, migrants, and occasional visitants — out of 29 raptorial 

 birds On that list, we have had 23 recorded ; of 1.35 insessorial birds, 91 ; of 13 raso- 

 rial birds, 10 have been recorded : thus of 177 generally designated Land Birds, we 

 have had 124 ; of G4 grallatorial birds, 43 ; of 90 natatorial birds, -57 have been re- 

 corded : thus of 154 wading or swimming birds we have a total of 100. 



Another mode of showing the comparative numbers strikes us. Take the List in 

 Mr. Harting's excellent 'Ornithological Handbook of Besidents and Migrants,' 

 separated by him from the List of rare and accidental visitors to Great Britain, 

 The species there enumerated are : — of raptorial birds 20, of insessorial 105, of raso- 

 rial 12, of grallatorial 64, of natatorial 90 — making totals of land birds 137, of 

 water birds 124, totals of both divisions 261. Here is shown a greater proportion 

 for the West Riding, 224 (including a few on the List of rare or accidental visitors) 

 having been recorded out of the 201 considered as British birds. This is a large 

 number considering the wanton extermination to which many of the feathered 

 tribes are doomed. It shows the capabilities this Biding possesses to gratify the 

 field ornithologist, which would be greatly increased if half the care were taken in 

 preservingourpersecutedbirds, after the manner otWaterton and other landowneTS 

 following to some extent in his steps, as there is excess of zeal manifested to capture 

 or destroy every rare bird that visits or resides within the limits of this extensive 

 Biding. Our county presents great variety in physical formation, from the Pennine 

 range of Moimtain-limestone and Millstone-grit west, over the Coal-formation with 

 undulating slopes, valleys, streams, canals, pools, line woodlands, and noble parks, 

 over the Magnesian limestone to the Lias, Oolite, and Chalk cliffs of the East and 

 North Biding, which (though not within the limits to which this paper is confined) 

 afford suitable breeding-haunts and places of resort to many birds which frequently 

 favour the inland parts of Y'orkshire with their presence. 



On a new Insect Iclovginr/ to tlic Family Eplictncriclae, vjith Notes on tlie 

 Natural History of that Family. By E. MacLachlan, F.L.S. 



The author gave an account of a new species of the family recently received from 

 Canterburj', Kew Zealand, remarkable for its abdomen, which was very robust, and 

 the seventh to the ninth segments had broad, horny, acute, wing-like expansions 

 on each side, so that this part of the body resembled that of some Myriopod or 

 Crustacean. He proposed for it the name Oniscijjaster WalefieJdi , after its captor, 

 Mr. C. M. Wakefield. Although the earlier stages were unknown, he considered 

 it probable that the abdominal formation was reproduced in the imago ; and hence 

 the latter might be looked upon as a degraded form. A somewhat analogous ab- 

 dominal structure was to be seen in the immature condition of the American 

 Batisca ohesn, as demonstrated by Walsh, though this latter possessed an enormous 

 tboracic development, forming a carapace under which the rudimentai-y wings were 

 concealed. And in connexion with this, the author alluded to the so-called 

 crustaceous genus Prosojnstoma of Latreille, which the French entomologists 

 MM. Joly, father and son, had recently asserted, with much appearance of truth, 

 18 the immature condition of an insect of this gi'oup, they having found decided 

 indications of tracheal respiration in it. 



