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THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



tail like a fan, which thus answered the purpose of a sail, and would have carried the 

 bird on at a good rate, even if it had not made use of its oars. 



It often perches on the stumps or trunks of willows growing in the water or hang- 

 ing over it, or rests on a tuft or turf, where it may be seen standing on one foot, with 

 its neck drawn in. Its ordinary position when reposing resembles that of the Heron, 

 the body being oblique, the legs straight, the head retracted ; and in walking it raises 

 its feet high, probably to prevent its long toes from being entangled. Early in the 

 morning, often even at any time in the day, if it suspects no danger, it makes excur- 

 sions into the fields or pastures adjoining its watery retreat, and walks along precisely 

 with the air of a domestic fowl searching for food. It is extremely vigilant when on 

 shore, and on the least alarm runs off with great speed, throwing its body forward, 

 and stretching out its neck. Its flight is heavy, straight, performed by regular flap- 

 pings, and very similar to that of the Corn Crake. When flying over a short space, 

 it allows its legs to dangle, and when alighting on the water, enters it at a very low 

 angle, splashing it up with its wings, as is the manner of the Coot and most species 

 of the Duck tribe. In rising, also, it moves a considerable way before fairly quitting 

 the water, which it strikes with its wings, like the Gannet and most aquatic birds. 



It is curious to observe with what facility the Water- Hen makes its escape, in cir- 

 cumstances in which one might at first suppose it impossible for it to get off in security. 

 Thus, you may come upon one feeding in a narrow ditch filled with water. It in- 

 stantly dives, or flies ofi" a short way, and when you run up to the place where it has 

 just alighted, and think you are sure of it, you find no traces of its existence. Watch 

 as long as you please, no bird makes its appearance ; it has sunk, and concealed itself 

 somewhere along the margin, and there it will remain, with nothing but its bill above 

 the surface, until you have departed, for it would require an eye sharper than that of 

 a Lynx to discover it. Although, when accustomed to the molestation of Man, it is 

 Tery vigilant, easily alarmed, and always prepared for flight, it is less wary in remote 

 and unfrequented places. In some of the rushy lakes of the islands of Harris and 

 North Uist, I have found it easier to get wirhin shooting distance than in the mill- 

 dams and streams of the lower districts of Scotland, where, should it observe you, 

 even at a great distance, it is sure to be off instantly, and by the time you get to the 

 place, it has concealed itself. 



From the middle of April to the beginning of May, when vegetation has made some 

 progress, but in the northern and more exposed parts of the country not until the 

 middle of that month, the Water-Hen commences the construction of its nest, which 

 it places in the midst of a tuft of rushes or sedges, or fixes among reeds, or builds on a 

 sedgy spot close to the water, or even sometimes on the trunk of a decayed tree or fallen 

 willow. It is bulky, and composed of blades of reeds, grasses, fragments of decayed 

 rushes or flags, and other aquatic plants. The eggs, which sometimes amount to 

 eight or even ten, vary in form from regular ovate to neaily elliptical, and have a pale 

 dull brownish-grey or greyish-yellow ground, with irregularly dispersed spots and 

 dots of a deep brown colour, varying in size from the smallest perceptible by 

 the naked eye to a diameter of nearly a quarter of an inch. Their average length 

 15 an inch and three-quarters, their breadth an inch and a quarter. The young, 

 which are at first covered with long stiffish black down, leave the nest soon after they 

 are hatched, and follow their mother. The sight of a flock is interesting, especially if 

 yoQ come suddenly upon it, for then the young scatter about in all directions, dive and 

 conceal themselves, the old bird in the meanwhile Ungering and displaying the greatest 

 inxiety, until her brood is safe, when she too dives, and is no more to be seen. 



The flesh of this bird is white, and in autumn and the beginning of winter, when 

 there is a layer of fat under the skin, affords good eating, not much inferior to that 

 of the Partridge. 



TO TH£ EDITOA OF THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



Pajslet, 4tk December 1838. 



Sir, — I sometime ago procured the skin of a bird, among some specimens said to 

 have been brought from Australia, in every respect resembling our Common Grey 

 Wagtail, Motacilla Boaruluy except in dimensions, and a slight variation as to colour, 

 the latter of no importance. I am aware of birds analogous to the Wagtails being 

 found in India (^Enicurus^f and Mr Swainson has recorded a new Wagtail, Motacilla 

 gularis, from the west coast of Africa ; but I had no knowledge of the range of the 

 true Wagtails extending to Australia. That they are supposed not to extend to that 

 province may indeed be inferred from what is said by Mr Caley, as quoted by Mr 

 Swainson in his recent work on the Muscicapidae in relation to the *' Dishwasher Fan- 

 tail, Seisura voHtans" — " I have often," says Mr Caley, ** considered it, when I 

 witnessed its manners, to be the Wagtail of the colony ;" and Mr Swainson adds, ** such 

 it truly is." 



Assuming it as a fact, therefore, that the present bird is^from Australia, and sup- 

 posing it were identical with the European species, the circumstance of its being so 

 remotely distributed would of itself be worthy of remark. But after a careful exa- 

 mmation, and comparison of the bird with nine specimens of the common kind, I have 

 arrived at the conclusion that it is a distinct species, and probably an immature in- 

 dividual. I draw the conclusion entirely from the disparity which exists in the pro- 

 portions of the two birds. The following table shows their relative dimensions:. — 



European Bird. Australian Bird. 



Total length 1^ inches, 6^ inches. 



Gape I I 



Front rather less than ^ ^ 



Wings 3i 3J 



Tail from base 4, 3^ 



Tail beyond wings 2| 2 



Tarsus | f 



Circumference 3f 2f 



It is thus seen that the measurements all differ, except in the cases of the tarsus 

 ■.nd bill, showing the Australian bird to be much the smaller of the two,— differencei 

 lufficient to constitute it a distinct species. 



The plumage of the specimen is evidently that of an adult bird considerably worn. 

 The colours may be said to agree with those of the female of the common species, only 

 they are duller. The scapulars do not reach the tips of the wings by half an inch, 

 while in the common species they cover the tips when closed. The nail of the hind 

 toe is rather larger than in the common kind. 



The bird was brought by a sailor from New Holland, and wa« disposed of to Mr 

 Wm. SmaU, Animal Preserver, Paisley, along with other small birds of that region, 

 such as Tihipidura Jiabellifera, Sw., specimens of Cinnyris^ MelUphaga, ZosteropSy 

 Arachnothera, Ssc. I see, on the whole, no reason to doubt the habitat. 



I remain, &c. • William Drew. 



Motacilla Ivguhris, M. Boarula, and M. flava^ are mentioned by Temminck in 

 his Catalogue of European Birds found in Japan, and we have a specimen of ibe lat- 

 ter species from Southern India. If the principal difference between Mr Drew's Mo- 

 tacilla and British specimens of Boarula be merely the length of the elongated se- 

 condary quills and tail-feathers, it may perhaps be found that these parts have been 

 worn. 



Bittern. — The body of a Bittern, Ardea Stellaris of Linnseus, having been se»t 

 to the editor from Whittingham in East Lothian, where it was shot in the middle of 

 December last, an opportunity has been afforded of examining the digestive organs of 

 a bird now extremely rare in Scotland. As in all other birds of this tribe that have 

 been examined by the writer, — about fifteen species, — the oesophagus, o, b, is very wide 

 and extremely thin, although the external transverse and internal longitudinal fibres 

 are distinct. It is seventeen inches in length, at the distance of three inches 

 from the commencement contracts to eight-twelfths, then enlarges to one inch two- 

 twelfths, and so continues until it enters the thorax, when it enlarges to one inch 

 ten-twelfths. The proventriculus is of the same width. The stomach, c, rf, is a compa- 

 ratively small, roundish, compressed sac, 1^ inch in length, somewhat less in breadth, 

 with a roundish pyloric sac, from the upper pait of which the intestine comes off. 

 Its muscular coat is thin, its inner coat soft and smooth. The intestine, d^ e, is 6 feet 

 7i inches long, from 2^ twelfths to 1^ twelfths in diameter; the rectum ^ inch 

 in diameter, and its ccecal extremity about a quarter of an inch long. There are 

 no caeca, properly so called, in this, more than in any other member of the family. 



Wild Ox of Scotland, — Dr Knox has published in the Agricultural Journal a 

 paper on the Wild Ox, in which he gives an account of Cuvier's ideas as to the dif- 

 ferent species of Bos, figures of the skeleton and skull of a specimen of the Duke of 

 Hamilton's white cattle, a historical view of the subject, and some curious remarks as 

 to the incapacity of persons calling themselves Naturalists. The principal conclusion 

 seems to be the following : — " In the absence of historic facts, it would be rare to 

 offer any conjectures as to the origin or history of the wild cattle of -Britain. They 

 may be a distinct species from all others, and the present improved short-horned 

 breed may be derived from them ; they do not seem to me to have been the original 

 breed of cattle of this country, but are probably an Italian breed introduced by the 

 Romans." However this may be, it is clear that the skeleton flgured presents cha- 

 racters sufficient to constitute a new genus, for no other ruminating animal known 

 to us has the ribs articulated in the manner represented. After all, the matter has 

 been left just as it was, and as it will remain, until some sufftciently educated and indai- 

 trious person shall undertake its investigation. 



ON SLEEP. BY J. C. BELLAMY, ESQ., YEALMPTON, 



SlEe^ is enjoyed by animals in Varied proportions. In some it takes place for a 

 certain space of time daily, in otherS) a state of quiescence is remarked after tht 

 lapse of Indefinite periods of activity. Some enjoy it daily during the continuance of 



