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THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



which can scarcely be claimed for the ornithology of a cultivated tract, though the 

 two first roam at times over every variety of country. The Nutcracker has only twice 

 been killed in Dt'von, accordino; to a late authority, and then not within the limits we 

 are now treating of, though Or Tucker's list, prefixed to Canington's Dartmoor, has 

 authorized our naming it among the birds of that spot. 



The entire number of birds, wholly or partially inhabiting the cultivated, wooded, 

 and well watered part of Devon we are now speaking of, may be estimated at about 

 ]34, allowing about 14 to be Accipltres, 6 Scansores, 5 Gallinge, 8 Palmipedes, about 

 22 Grallae, and 80 Passeres, the total being more than one-half of the whole South 

 Devon list, which may be computed at 237. or 242 Devon Birds, the remainder being 

 made up by those few birds more peculiarly belonging to the I\Joors, and by the great 

 variety of those birds and weh-footed birds furnished by our coasts, and hereafter to 

 be noticed. But, giving all due weight to these last-named sources in swelling our 

 ornithological list, that part of it which we are now more especially examining is 

 found, by comparison with ornithological lists of well wooded and well cultivated 

 counties, to be unusually extensive. The number of birds in Oxfordshire does not ex- 

 ceed 120, inclusive of several kinds of web- footed birds (besides the more common sorts 

 of Ducks, &c., which, we may presume, would form part of most ornithological lists), 

 which occasionally roam inland, or are driven thither by stress of weather, instanced 

 by the Herring Gull, and Leach's Petrel, three kinds of "Waders which are at times 

 detected in inland localities, the Ibis, Phalarope, and Greenshank ; so that, more 

 properly, not above 106 land and fresh-water birds are found in Oxfordshire, making 

 a difi^erence of 28 species between the two counties. This difference we shall exa- 

 mine into, as it will serve to illustrate in some measure the peculiarities, and more 

 remarkable features of the ornithology of the cultivated parts of Devon. 



First, with regard to the Aecipitres, the deficiencies consist of these birds (not 

 taking into account certain species which I shall have to mention in considering the 

 third portion of the south of D.-von) : — the Rough-legged Falcon, Bideo Lrignpiis, 

 Ash-coloured Falcon, Circvs cinei-ascens. Moor Buzzard, Circus (Eruginosus, Gyr- 

 falcon, Falco inlandicus. Great-eared Owl, Bubo maximus^ and Little O^vl, Strix 

 passerina. In examining into such subjects, we may perceive that, with respect to 

 some species, the re;isons of absence are evident enough, while, with respect to 

 others, the causes of restriction of limits, and occasional or vacillating appearance arc 

 quite unknown. Speaking generally, the cause of our possessing so many species of 

 this tribe, indeed, all the British species, except the Scops Aldrovandi^ a straggler, 

 and the Snowy Owl, Surnia Nyctea. whose range does not extend so far southward, 

 seems to be the rocky and mountainous character of our county, together with so 

 great an abundance of uncultivated land interspersed, and a vast number of woods of 

 great depth, and removed from the neighbourhood of man. The only species of the 

 Aecipitres, however, which may be accounted at all common in Devon, are the Kestrel, 

 Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Moor Buzzard, White Owl, and Brown Owl, Tn 

 former years the Kite was a common bird in this country, but, at the present day, it is 

 particularly scarce, furnishing an illustration of the uncertainty of the geographical 

 position of rapacious birds, and a proof likewise that we are inadequate to fathom very 

 many of the phenomena of animal dispersion, for we know no reasons why that species 

 should abandon us, and according to Dr Pulteney, it is very frequent in Dorset, and 

 by an authority of my acquaintance, it is not very uncommon in Oxfordshire. But 

 this uncertainty of position is not confined to rapdcious birds. 



When we turn to the Passeres of OxCordshire, we do not find more than 12 defi- 

 ciencies, allowing 80 to be the number observed in the cultivated parts of Devon, so 

 that it is not in this department that the chief part of the difference is found They 

 are the Mealy Redpole, Golden Oriole, Pied Fly-catcher, Dartford Warbler, Bearded 

 Titmouse, Cirl Bunting, Twite, Siskin, Bee-eater, Lesser Redpole, Wood Lark, and 

 Reed Warbler ; the last three being doubtful ; and a lowing the whole to be defi- 

 cient, there is but one which is not a rarity in the British Isles. 1 have considered the 

 Ring Ouzel and Water Ouzel to be almost wholly moorland birds in Devon ; but al- 

 though the latter is not met with, so far as I know, in Oxfordshire, the former has 

 been sparingly observed. But although we seem to possess almost every rarity not 

 ranked in the ornithological hsts of other countries, there is one bird found in Oxford- 

 shire and not with us, the Mountain Sparrow, Passer moutanus. 1 have likewise 

 noticed the following birds as common in that county, which with us are scarce ; the 

 Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler, and Lesser White-throat. The Pettychaps is like- 

 wise much more frequent in Oxfordshire than in Devon. The Nightingale is com- 

 mon in Oxfordshire, but in De"on has not been noticed farther west than Exeter, 

 though in Dorset it is plentiful, hereby defining very accurately its south-western 

 limits in England. It was once only heard at Kingsbridge by Montagu. Now, in 

 all these instances of remarkable dissimilarity between the two counties, no explana- 

 tion whatever can be given of the preference for localities so observed. The distri- 

 bution of some animals is latitudinal, that of others longitudinal ; some species inhabit 

 a district of a rounded or irregular form, some are found regularly dispersed through 

 the whole of a natural geographical division of the globe, some are found inhabiting 

 one division, and only partly one or more of the others ; some inhabit one or more 

 countries, omitting, or refusing to dwell in, certain spots in that range, whether large 

 ur small; some are uncertain in their 'stations, are continually changing their position, 

 or remain an indefinite period, and then disappear in toto, or return after the lapse 

 of some time ; in all which phenomena little can be detected of secondary causes exer- 

 cising a decided influence, and yet 1 cannot but think we are largely indebted to these 

 causes for the great variety of natural productions of which we boast, allowing all ne- 

 cessary weight to those unknown primary laws of dispersion under which very many 

 species appear with us, and many are denied to us. But depending upon all these 

 causes combined, we are enabled to rank as Devon birds a very large number of rari- 

 ties, perhaps more than any other cjunty in Great Britain. Perhaps the whole num- 

 ber of Hritish birds may be considered as 274, and upon inquiry where our deficien- 

 cies of .37 chiefly occur, it is found that they consist in part of stragglers and rarities, 

 and in part of birds whose hmits of distribution are confined to the Northern Isles, 

 Scotland, or to certain counties to the north of us; or, lastly, whose geographical po- 



sition may with greater propriety be referred to the north than to the south of Devon. 

 In the Passeres, now under consideration, our list is defective in the Pine Grosbeak, 

 Crested Tit, and Tree Sparrow, the first two being limited to the Scottish pine 

 forests, and the last to the central counties of England. 



There are certain passerine birds which are irregular visitors of Great Britain, such 

 as the Bee-eater, Oriole, Rose Ouzel, and Hoopoe, which have several times been 

 found with us, and which, properly speaking, have their station in Africa, but migrate 

 into Europe yearly, and at times pass over to the British Isles, so that this offers 

 some explanation of the fact of so many of the British specimens having been captured 

 in the south, and especially in Devon. Another class of irregular visitants seem to 

 arrive from opposite sources. The Nutcracker is in our list an instance of this, as 

 the northern coantries appear to be its true station, the cause of its coming hither not 

 being evident. A third series of irregular emigrants, consisting of the Pied Flycatcher, 

 Bohemian Chatterer, Crossbill, and Greater Grosbeak, are in all probability derived 

 from the Continental states. The Bearded Titmouse, Parus hiarmicus, has been 

 noticed only near Thorverton and Dacolise. The Cirl Bunting, Emberiza Cirlus, is, 

 as regards Devonshire, confined to its southern parts adjoining the sea, frequenting 

 furze-brakes. It has been noticed also in Cornwall, and seems for the most part 

 limited to the southern portions of the kingdom, where they enjoy a cliinate more in 

 accordance with that experienced by the bulk of this species on the continent, its chief 

 station. The Reed Warbler is found sparingly with us, though it has not been noticed 

 in Wilts, Somerset, and Dorset. The Dartford Warbler is said to have been common 

 near Plymouth in former years, but is now scarce and local. The Brambling and 

 Snow Bunting are chiefly observed in winter. The Great Shrike, Lanius excu- 

 hitor. Lesser Redpole, Linaria minor. Mealy Redpole, Linaria canescens* Twite, 

 Linaria tnontium., and Siskin, CarducLis spinus, are all noticed only sparingly and 

 casually. 



Wild Swans. — The unusual severity of the winter, although it has driven many 

 individuals of the Duck family farther to the south than usual, has not caused the ap- 

 pearance in Scotland of any rave visitants belonging to other families. A great num- 

 ber of Swans has been obtained in different parts of the country ; but among those 

 which have come to Edinburgh, we have not observed specimens of any other than the 

 common species. The windpipe of this bird, from its great size, and the facility with 

 which it may be made to emit 'a sound resembling the ordinary cry of the bird, is one 

 of the best that can be selected to show that the bronchi and lower larynx are the 

 parts in which the cries of birds are produced. On blowing into those of tlie Swan, 

 one may, by relaxing the membranes in a sufficient degree, produce a sound exactly 

 similar to that emitted by the bird while alive, and almost as loud. If the trachea be 

 cut acrosSj the sound is still produced, but is then considerably more acute. This 

 proves that the cry is not produced in the upper larynx, as is the case in the Mamma- 

 lia, the glotfis merely performing the office of dividing the current of air, so as to form 

 it into distinct notes. ' 



REVIEWS. 



Annals of Natural History ; or Magazine of Zoology, Botany, and Geology. Con- 

 ducted by Sir W. Jardine, Bart., P. G. Selby, Esq., Dr Johnston, Sir W. J. 

 Hooker, and Richard Taylur, F. L.S. London. R. and J. E. Taylor. 



The Magazine of Zoology and Botany, which, notwithstandinji its excelience, and 

 its being replete with '' scientilic papers and facts, unadorned and truthful," 

 as its editors state, and although, in their opinion, it was condacted '* in a manner 

 which they believe has been acknowledged to stand high in the estimation of those 

 who VTere inclined to dip below the surface of the subjects which others pretend to 

 study and admire," ceased with the twelfth number, in February 1808, and has been 

 incorporated with Hooker's Companion to the Botanical Magazine, and metamorphosed 

 into the "Annals of Natural History," of which '* a number will be published on the 

 first of every month, containing from five to six sheets, with plates, coloured or un- 

 coloured, according to circumstances." " No. 1. New Series, price 23. 6d." has ac- 

 cordint^ly appeared. As to the boast of dipping below the surface, we are not aware 

 that either its former or its present editors have exhibited any diving propensities, 

 with the exception of Dr Johnston, who, as a gentleman, a scholar, and a natural- 

 ist, stands hii^h in our estimation. The *' Annals" contain an account of a new 

 Ocillatoria by Dr Drummond ; Remarks on the Germination of Lirananthemum 

 lacunosum, by Dr Grisebach ; a continuation of Mr Thompson s excellent and 

 hio-hly interesting contributions to the Natural History of Ireland; an account of 

 some new species of quadrupeds and shells, by -Mr J. E. Gray ; Prodromus of a Mo- 

 nofr-aph of the Radiata and Echinodermata, by Dr Agassiz ; continuation of Dr Jol n- 

 ston's Miscellanea Zoologica, composed of " the Scottish Mollusca nudibranchia," 

 which, being more than a description of the external form, and written in the author s 

 usual elegant and perspicuous manner, cannot fail to be interesting as well as instruct- 

 ive ; and, lastly, some straggling '" Information respecting Botanical Travellers, 

 showing how Mr Cuming collected 1130 species of plants in the island of Luyon, se- 

 cured about 60 species of Orchideaj. and 125 Fungi, &c. Then come Bibliographical 

 Notices, Proceedings of Societies, and Miscellanea. Some additional information is 

 given " respecting the splendid Nymphffiaceous plant discovered by Dr Schomburg. 

 in the River Berbice. A new genus has been formed of it, which has been dedi- 

 cated to our young Queen. It is the Nymphma Victoria of its discoverer ; Victorit^ 

 Regina of Mr Gray ; Victoria regia of Dr Lindley," &c. 



EniNBURGH: Published for the Proprietor, at the Office, No. 13, Hill Street.. 

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 Young. Paris: J. B. Ealliere, Ruede I'Ecole de Medecine, No. 13 bis. 



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