138 



THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



without shyiiif?, or betraying the least symptom of fear. When they had been fed 

 sumptuously, Captain marched him over to head-quarters, and introduced him to his 

 mistress, cats, and comrades, by whom he was *' most graciously received." There 

 he remained an inmate, under the litle of Nebby. 



Nebby could fly as well as ever, and took frequent flights round, for intelligence 

 or amusement. I have often seen him on returning alight, and implore his mistress 

 for water, by gently moving his wings and holding up his head. On her sitting down, 

 Nebby was immediately on her knee, to receive it ; and it was given him by dipping 

 the finger, and dropping it from the point into his throat. 



One Sunday, some idle blackguard boys, from some of the mills down the water, 

 carried off both Captain and Nebby. I made every inquiry, but never recovered 

 them. — Gavin Inglis. 



Remarkable Elongation of thb Bill of a Rook. — The accompanyintj firrure 

 represents the head and bill of a Rook, shot near Dalkeith in the beginning of I\larch, 

 and submitted to our inspection by Mr Carfrae, preserver of animals in Edinburgh. 

 The bird was in every other respect of the ordinary appearance of the species, and 

 was in good condition, notwithstanding the extreme severity of the season, and although 

 one might imagine it impossible for it to pick up its food with a bill so consfructed. 

 The malformation consists of an elongation of the upper mandible, of whlcVi the point 

 extends beyond that of the lower an inch and a r^uarter, being curved gently 

 downwards, grooved beneath, and having a breadth of about a quarter of an 

 inch. 



We have seen instances of a like elongation in other birds, although not to 

 the same extent; and in the Rook itself a case occurred in which the unper 

 mandible was not only elongated, but deflected laterally. On the other hand, we 

 have seen the lower mandible abbreviated, and imperfect, in as much as its two 

 sides did not meet at the commissure, which presented a vacant space. In birds kept 

 in captivity not only the bill, but also the claws, frequently become extremely elongat- 

 ed ; and the same circumstance is occasionally observed in the hoofs of ruminating 

 animals. In such cases the elongation is easily accounted for by the want of the or- 

 dinary action of the animal, which would tend to wear down the extremities of the 

 horny parts, or repress their extension by the pressure applied to them. The 

 case is somewhat analogous to the occasional elongation of the incisors of the glires ; 

 and we would humbly suggest to the quinarian systematists, that the Rook, and conse- 

 quently the Crows in general, are analogous in their own circle to the Hares! 

 Indeed, they have often seized upon less palpable analogies to support their peculiar 

 views. 



PjscATORT Habits of the Cakrion Crow. — " Stoho-hope, Peebles- shir Cj 22d 

 January 1838. — In a former communication, which you have inserted in your History 

 of British Birds, I told you of two Carrion Crows that for upwards of twenty years 

 have inhabited the ground of which I have charge. In this glen is a small meadow 

 irrigated from the stream which runs along its bottom. On the brink of its princi- 

 pal head I noticed my old friends busy eating, and thinking it might be some part of 

 a sheep, I made towards them, and found them standing with their heads toward each 

 other, pecking with all their might at something that lay between them. In their 

 eagerness, they sometimes tossed it athwart, to obtain mouthfuls. When I went 

 near, one of them carried off the remainder of the feast in his bill. I found neither 

 wool nor feathers, however, bones nor entrails, nothing, in short, but a little blood 

 on the snow ; but, on a more minute inspection, I observed a small trail, as if some- 

 thing had been pulled out of the lead, and the marks of some drops of water that 

 had been splashed out and sunk among the snow. I could make no more of it, 

 and so left it, carelessly thinking it might have been a water-mouse which they had 

 seized in a fit of desperate hunger. A day or two after, I fell in with Sir James 

 Montgomery's man, who has charge of the watered meadows, ditches, and drains, 

 and told him of the circumstance, when he assured me that he had oftener than once 

 surprised the Carrion Crows devouring fish, taken in the meadows, and that one time 

 they had eaten all but the bones of the head. The reason why this happens in a 

 loeadow is as follows. To irrigate a meadow rightly, the water must be taken off at 

 times, and on the occurrence of certain changes in the state of the air. During the 

 time that it is flooded, small fish or trouts sail down the principal lead, then distribute 

 themselves along the small canals where sustenance for them abounds. When the 

 water is instantaneously let off, the poor trouts can find protection nowhere from the 

 Heron, who diligently searches all the sinks and shallows of the half-dried pool. But 

 I had no conception of the Carrion Crows taking and feeding on fish ; this I thought 

 had been a prerogative of fowls and other animals whose structure adapted them for 

 searching in and under water. I had no doubt, when I considered the omnivorous 

 nature of this Crow, however, that if it found a dead fish, it would readily eat it up; 

 but that it would plunge into the water, and seize a fish swimming deep, I could not 

 have supposed ; yet this had certainly been done on this occasion, for the water out 

 of which they had dragged the fish was rather more than a foot deep, and on taking 

 a second look of the place, I found that no protection could be afforded to the trouts, 

 as there were neither stones nor hanging banks, — Wm. Hogg." 



ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTUIBUTION OF ANIMALS ?:o. III. 



(Cantimied from page 130.^ 



Continuing our subject, we propose to include in our survev that portion of Devon- 

 shire which extends from the heart of Dartmoor to the southern coast, and which is 

 included between the rivers Exe and Tamar respectively on the east and west. There 

 is thus presented to the view an extent of country having in its northern part the 

 character of sterility, and in its southern that of fertility. Now, as we have already 

 had occasion to observe, the animal part of the creation is almost entirely dependent 

 on the vegetable woild ; whilst the vegetable kingdom, in its turn, is dependent on inor- 

 ganic matter. Accordingly, if it appears that the northern division of our limits is 

 not calculated, from the nature of its superficial soil, to maintain vegetable hfe, except 

 in a limited degree ; so also, it is obvious that the animal productions of this spot mu?t 

 be likewise restricted. The central districts of Dartmoor present to the eye a series 

 of hills of great size, covered with detached blocks of granite. On the summits of 

 many of these hills are found swamps, and even pools of great depth, and between them 

 streams pass on for future coalescence ; and where the surface is level for a sutEcient 

 space, the drainings of the country rest, and form morasses and lakes. Altogether, 

 Dartmoor and its vicinity present a large proportion of water, since it appears that 

 five principal rivers, twenty-four secondary streams, fifteen brooks, two lakes, and 

 seven heads, are found on it. 



The Flora of this wild district consists, with but few exceptions, of the lower tribes, 

 such as mosses, ferns, lichens, &c., and of such plants as are peculiar to marshes and 

 other collections of water. The soil cannot possibly support many of the higher orders ; 

 but the beauty, variety, and luxuriance of those vegetable forms which mantle the 

 rude blocks of granite, spring from the spongy soil of the bogs and marshes, raise 

 themselves into notice above the stream, or maintaining their existence in rhe body of 

 the current, attached to some fixed point, move in conformity to its undulations, are 

 sufficient to attract the notice of even the incurious. In this sterile spot the most 

 common creature excites regard, and those w hich are pecuHarly its own cannot fail to 

 be contemplated vi'ith much interest. 



The Quadrupeds of Dartmoor, though now reduced to a small number, were formerly 

 pretty numerous. The following are recorded as its ancif^nt inhabitants: the Wolf, 

 the Brown Bear, the Boar, the Wild Ox, the Red Deer, and the Wild Cat. The 

 Wolf appears to have become extinct on Dartmoor about the close of the reign of 

 Elizabeth. It was a pure native of our country, and required great exertions for its 

 removal. The Bear seems to have been extirpated in the eleventh century ; and un- 

 less its food consisted chiefly of vegetable productions, it is difficult to understand how 

 its existence could have been maintained. The Boar and Wild Ox have been taken un- 

 der the protection of man, and the date of extirpation of the wild stock is not recorded. 

 Ttiat noble animal the Red Deer was, until within the last fifty years, pretty com- 

 mon in the remote wooded districts of the county. Its race, too, has undergone extir- 

 pation in a very gradual manner. " Sometimes, but rarely, one has been perceived near 

 Ashburton ;" and it is not more than three years since I saw an account in a paper of 

 the chase of one near that to«n, which had unfortunately been spied in some coppice. 

 It is quite reasonable to suppose that both the Wild Cat and the Goat were natives, 

 or rather frequenters, of this district, so perfectly congenial in its aspect to their na- 

 tures. All these were most likely found in a less degree throughout the woods and 

 wilds that lie to the south of Dartmoor ; but by increase of population and agriculture 

 they were no doubt soon removed from these spots, and eventually their limits re- 

 stricted to the Moor itself. But here also they suffered extermination soon after the 

 king took part in the more noble field amusements, and when punishments were in- 

 flicted for interference with the game. 



At present, the following are the Quadrupeds found in the south of Devon, inclusive 

 of the Moor, though there are some of them which are unfitted to live in spots so 

 barren and wild as are the more remote and central portions of this district. 



1. Barbastelle Bat. VespertiUo Barbastellus. 



2. Horse-Shoe Bat. Rhinolophus Ferrum-equinnm. 



3. Common or Pipistrelle Bat. Vespei-iUio pipistrellus. 



4. Great Bat. VcspertUio Noctula, 



5. Long-eared Bat. Plecotiis aui-itus. 



6. Smaller Horse-shoe Bat. Rhinolophus Hipposideros. 



7 . Hedgehog. Erinaceus Europans. 



8. Common Shrew. Sorex aruneus. 



9. Water Shrew. Sorex aqvaticus. 



10. Mole. Talpa Eiiropma. 



11. Badger. Meles Taxus. 



12. Fox. Canis wipes. 



13. Weasel. Mvsiela vulgai-is. 



14. Stoat. Mustela erviinea. 



15. Polecat. Mustela pvtoriiis. 



16. Common Martin. Mustela foina. 



17. Pine Martin. Mustela Maries. 



18. Otter. Lutra vulgaris. 



19. Common Mouse. AIus domesticus. 



20. Field Mouse. Mus sylvaticus. 



21. Harvest Mouse. Mus messorius. 



22. Black Rat. Mus Rattus. 



23. Brown Rat. Mus decxtmunus. 



24. Squirrel. Sciurus vulgaris. 



25. Hare. Lepus timidus. 



26. Rabbit. Lepus Cuniculus. 



27. Dormouse. Myoxus glis. 



28. Water Vole. Arvicola amphibia. 



29. Field Vole. Arvicola agrestis. 



30. Fallow Deer. Cervus Dama. 



