SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



223 



Common, on 22nd August, 1894. With regard to 

 the controversy which has been lately carried on 

 elsewhere, as to whether the cuckoo calls on the 

 wing, I am at a loss to understand how any field 

 naturalist can ask such a question. When out in 

 the country during the summer months, I very 

 frequently hear it call on the wing. When at 

 Beverley, a few days ago, Mr. Stuart, taxidermist, 

 of that town, showed me five specimens of the 

 common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra), three males 

 and two females, which had recently been obtained 

 at Beverley, within a stone throw of the fine old 

 minster, also a rose-coloured pastor (Pastor rosens), 

 shot at Aldborough, Yorkshire, this season. 



I recently had the pleasure of examining two 

 lovely and perfect albino specimens of the jay 

 (Garrulus glandarius) , both of which were shot, 

 during July, 1893, in a wood situate at a short 

 distance from York. They were young birds, but 

 in full plumage. Pied, or partially pied, specimens 

 of the jay are extremely rare. The eyes were of 

 the usual colour, viz., blue, and on questioning the 

 person who shot them as to whether this was not 

 a mistake on the part of the taxidermist, he assured 

 me that he had particularly noticed the colour 

 when he shot them, and that it was blue. 



During the present season I have also seen the 

 following pied, or partially pied, ornithological 

 specimens, all of which have been obtained in 

 Yorkshire since 1884 : — A white house-sparrow 

 (Passer domesticus), a white-headed chaffinch (Frhi- 



gilla ccelebs), several partially pied sparrows (Passer 

 domesticus), a white common bunting (Emberiza 

 miliaria), a white swallow (Hirundo ruslica), a white 

 (not White's) thrush (Turdus musicus), several 

 partially pied blackbirds (Turdus merula), a white 

 pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), and several partially 

 pied examples. 



From the adjoining county of Durham were a 

 male lapwing (Vanellus vulgaris), with head, neck, 

 breast, wings and tail white, back grey ; starling 

 (Sturnns vulgaris), of a uniform dirty white colour, 

 shot at Fighting Cocks in 1892 ; this specimen had 

 pink eyes ; a rook (Corvus frugilegus), immature, 

 dun-coloured specimen, obtained near Darlington ; 

 missel thrush (Turdus viscivorus), cream-colour, shot 

 about two miles from Darlington in 1892. 



The following are the dates when some of our 

 summer migrants were seen for the first and last 

 times in the neighbourhood of York in 1894 : — Sand 

 martin (Cotile riparia), first seen April 13th; swallow 

 (Hirundo rustica), first seen April 15th ; house- 

 martin (Chelidon urbica), first seen April 16th, last 

 seen November 4th, 1894; landrail (Crex pratensis), 

 heard by Mr. E. G. Potter April 28th, and by 

 myself and Mr. C. D. Wolstenholme April 29th; 

 nightjar (Caprimulgus europaus), heard repeatedly 

 in Sandburn Wood, near York, April 30th, and a 

 specimen was caught in a trap by keeper at 

 Houghton Wood, near Market Weighton, on May 

 2nd; swift (Cypselus apus), first seen on May 4th, 

 last specimen seen September 1st. 



12, Howard Street, York ; October, 1894. 



SOME CANADIAN MUSEUMS. 



By John T. Carrington. 



T~\ URING the two months' visit I made to Canada 

 *-^ this autumn, I found time for short inspec- 

 tions of several museums in the Dominion. The 

 greater part of my sojourn was spent in newly-settled 

 Manitoba, in which Province alone, railway rides 

 of over nine hundred miles, and driving with a pair 

 of horses another five hundred miles occupied too 

 much time to allow of regular scientific research. 

 Nevertheless, I saw much of interest, and made a 

 nice collection of plants. 



Winnipeg possesses a small but interesting 

 museum belonging to The Historical Society, at 

 present housed in some upper rooms of the City 

 Hall and adjoining the City Library. As may be 

 expected, the exhibits are largely anthropological 

 and ethnological, with some minerals. The Society 

 has also an excellent if small library of works 

 apertaining to the Canadian North- West. Another 

 collection, belonging to the Manitoba Provincial 

 Government, and formed to exhibit the mammals, 

 birds and fish of Manitoba at the late Chicago 

 Exhibition, is placed in the Normal School, 



Winnipeg, which is a government establishment for 

 training school teachers. There is a considerable 

 collection of fairly-preserved specimens ; some being 

 of much interest on account of their increasing 

 scarcity and probable early extinction. In these 

 two collections, there is material for the commence- 

 ment of a proper Provincial Museum. It is most 

 desirable that such an institution should be 

 founded as early as possible, for opportunities will 

 not occur in a few years time of adding much, 

 which could be now easily and inexpensively 

 obtained. 



At Toronto are several museums and much 

 material for forming an educational collection 

 worthy of so fine a city, if it were only gathered 

 under one roof and properly displayed, At the 

 Canadian Institute is one of the finest ethnological 

 collections ever got together with limited means. It 

 relates to the pre-historic and later Indian inhabi- 

 tants of Canada. This collection is under the charge 

 of Mr. David Boyle, the accomplished authority on 

 Indian lore, who is ever ready to explain the 



