THE EDINBURGH 



JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



AND OF 



THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



SEPTEMBER, 1837- 



ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. — THE GALEOPITHECI OR FLYING-CATS, 



The Galeopitheci form a small genus of ihe family of Cheiroptera, which is the first 

 of the order Carnivora, and are especially remarkable for having the skin of the sides 

 extended into a kind of hairy membrane, which stretches from the head to the tail, in- 

 cluding the extremities or hmbs. Their body is rather elongated and slender, the 

 head small and pointed, the legs strong, the fingers furnished with large hooked claws, 

 the ears short and rather rounded, the tail of moderate length. They are nocturnal 

 animals, live chiefly on fruits, suspend themselves to trees by the hind feet in the 

 same manner as Bats, climb with great agility, and descend, from branch to branch 

 with the aid of their expanded membranes. Their native country is the Indian Ar- 

 chipelago, but their manners are very imperfectly known. 



Fig. 1. The Common Flyjng-Cat {G. volens) is the only species of which we 

 ;iave a distinct knowledge. It is about the size of a domestic Cat, light red above 

 and below, inhabits the Moluccas and other Islands of the Indian seas, climbs on trees, 

 and emits a disagreeable odour, like that of the Fox. 



Fig. 2. Female. The female is similar to the male, but variegated with grey on 

 the upper parts. 



Y\(^. 3. Young. The young is brownish, variegated with grey and pale reddish, 

 the extremities spotted with whitish. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. THE BEE-EATERS. MEROPS. 



The genus Merops is composed of a considerable number of species, remarkable for 

 their vivid colours, slender body, long pointed wings, elongated, tapering, and arched 

 bill, and small feet, of which the anterior toes are united for a great part of their 

 length. They are generally distributed in the warm and temperate regions of the 

 old continent, live on insects, which they pursue in open flight, in the manner of 

 Swallows, and form their nests in holes in the ground, like the Kingfishers, to which 

 they are otherwise allied. 



Fig. 1. The Javanese Bee-eater (A/. Javanicus) inhabits Java and other 

 Islands of the Indian Archipelago. It is light green above, with a lilac patch on the 

 throat, the ear-coverts black, the secondary quills, tail, and rump, light blue. 



Fig. 2. The Superb Bee-eater (3/. superhus) is of a beautiful deep red, with 

 the head and rump light blue. 



Fig. 3. The Red-headed Bee-eater (M. erythrocephalus). Green above, 

 reddish white beneath, the throat yellow, the upper part of the head bright red. A 

 native of India. 



Fig. 4. The Indian Bee-eater {M. viridis). Light green, with the throat 

 blue. It occurs in various parts of India. 



Fig. 5. The Red-winged Bee-eater (M erythropterus). Green above, the 

 throat yellow, a crimson patch on the breast. 



Fig. 6. The Blue-headed Bee-eater (il/. cceruleocephalus). Of a beautiful 

 rose colour, the head blue, tinged with green. 



Nest of the Kingfisher. — A friend of mine, says R. P. Allington, Swinhope 

 House, Lincolnshire, while fishing in a small trout stream, near Louth, called the 

 Crake, in the early part of June, observed a Kingfisher, with a fish in its mouth, 

 flying several times near his hat with a whirring noise. He watched it until it en- 

 tered a hole in the bank, the entrance to which was strewed with fish bones. On 

 ligging into the hole (which commenced low down in the bank, and ran upwards in 

 I slanting direction for about two feet), he found the nest, containing seven youn"^ 

 iirds just hatched. The bottom of the nest was excessively thick, and mixed up with 

 small bones of the Stickleback. Its structure, excepting the mixture of fish bones, 

 Nas not very unlike that of a Thrush. It crumbled to pieces on being touched, and 

 t could procure no portion worth preserving. Near the nest was another hole, which 

 lad all the appearance of having been the Kingfisher's last year's residence, the bones 

 it the entrance being dry and crumbly ; but in this the parent bird again commenced 

 aying, and on opening the nest six eggs were found on the fragments of the structure. 

 They were white and beautifully transparent, showing the yolk through, which gave 

 .hem an mkish hue at the larger end. I have now in my collection one of the eggs, 

 vhich, though so transparent, I was surprised to find thicker and stronger than the 

 enerality of eggs, and rounder in its form, the circumference being two inches and 

 half, the length eight tenths of an inch. — Naturalist j No. 11. 



BRITISH BIRDS, — NO. V. 



The Peregrine Falcok, Falco peregrinvsy is the largest British species of its 

 genus, except the Iceland or Jer Falcon, which, however, is of extremely rare occur- 

 rence with us, its favorite abode being the arctic regions of both continents. In the 

 olden times it was held in the highest estimation for falconry, for although the species 

 just mentioned was considered superior, the Peregrine was much more easily obtained, 

 and being possessed of great docility, courage, and energy, afforded prime sport to 

 the nobles, who alone were permitted to fosier these " generous " birds, which were 

 preserved by legislative enactments. As in other species of this family, the female is 

 much superior in size to the male, and was used for the larger sorts of game, as He- 

 rons, Geese and Ducks, while the latter, usually named a Tiercelet, on account of 

 its beino- often a third less, was flown at Grouse and Partridges. The male gene- 

 rally measures 16 inches in length, while the space between the lips of its extended 

 win<^s is 36. The corresponding dimensions of the female are 22 and 45 inches. 



In form this species is full and robust, its neck rather short, its head lai-ge and 

 round. The bill is shortish, thick, and strong, the upper mandible with a trigonal, 

 acute, hooked point, and a strong process or tooth on either side. The legs are 

 robust and short, the tarsi feathered more than half-way down ; the toes strong, the 

 second and fourth nearly equal, the first shortest, the third very long; the claws long, 

 tapering, rather compressed, and very acute. The plumage is compact on the upper 

 parts, softer on the lower ; the wings very long, pointed, and when closed, reaching 

 to within an inch of the end of the tail, which is slightly rounded. The bill is pale 

 blue, with a bluish-black tip, the cere oil-green, the feet yellow, the claws black. 

 The o-eneral colour of the upper parts is dark bluish-grey, the head blackish, the 

 lower parts white, the breast transversely spotted with dusky. In the female the 

 upper parts are tinged with brown, the lower are yellowish-white, with larger spots. 

 In young birds the back is blackish-brown, the breast pale yellowish-red, with broad 

 lon"^itudinal spots. In all stages there is a large dark-brown or blackish patch on the 

 side of the head or cheek. 



The direct flight of the Peregrine Falcon, which is extremely rapid, is performed 

 by quick beats of the half-extended wings, and is very similar to that of the domestic 

 pigeon. When proceeding in haste from its breeding place or roosting station towards 

 a distant part of the country, it very seldom sails, or moves forward at intervals with 

 extended wings ; but when sauntering as it were about its retreat, it employs both 

 modes of flight, as it also does in common with many other hawks, when searching 

 for its prey ; yet it is hardly ever seen to float along in circles, as Eagles, Buzzards, 

 and Harriers are wont to do, but performs its short gyrations as if in haste^ and the 

 moment an opportunity occurs, comes down upon its prey, either in a curved sweep, 

 or like a stone falling from the air. 



Its food consists of birds of moderate size, such as Red Grouse, Partridges, Plovers, 

 Ducks, Auks, Guillemots, and small Gulls, which it pursues in open flight, or pounces 

 upon by perpendicular descent. It also sometimes attacks small quadrupeds, such as 

 Rabbits and Hares. Poultry are very rarely molested by this Falcon, which is by no 

 means so ready to visit the farm-yard or its vicinity as several other species of the 

 family. In raising birds from the water, should they prove too heavy, it sometimes 

 drops them, and sets out in quest of others ; yet it is capable of carrying a weight 

 nearly equal to its own, and in the nest of one on the Bass Rock was found a Black 

 Grouse, which had been borne from a distance of several miles. 



Although a very shy and vigilant bird, it sometimes ventures to come into more 

 immediate proximity to Man than is prudent. Mr Audubon states, that in America 

 he has seen it fly up, at the report of a gun, and carry off a Teal not thirty steps 

 distant from the sportsman who had killed it ; and other authors have made mention 

 of similar displays of audacity. 



The cry of the Peregrine is loud and shrill, but is seldom heard, excepting during 

 the earlier part of the breeding season. It nestles on high cliffs, especially those along 

 the coast. The eggs, three or four in number, are of a broadly elliptical form, dull 

 Hght red, spotted and clouded with deep red, their average length being two inches 

 and a twelfth ; their greatest breadth an inch and seven-eighths. The young, which 

 are at first covered with close white down, are able to fly by the middle of July. 



In Britain it is generally distributed, but prefers mountainous or rocky situations. 

 It has been seen in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, and is occasionally met with in the 

 Hebrides. The rock of Dumbarton Castle formerly afforded a breeding place to it, 

 as did the Isle of May. It still breeds on the Bass Rock, and there are few rocks of 



