SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



Motacilla inelanope Pallus. Grey wagtail. Re- 

 sident and common on the banks of the East Lyn. 

 It also comes into our garden. The male bird in 

 breeding plumage is a very handsome object on 

 account of the triangular black patch under the 

 throat. 



AntTiMS pratemis Lin. Meadow-pipit. Resident 

 and common, especially a little inland. 



Anthus obscurtts La. Rock-pipit. Resident 

 and very common on the coast. The male in 

 breeding plumage is decidedly vinous-tinted on 

 the breast. 



Miiscioapa grisola Lin. Spotted fly-catcher. 

 Resident. I have found the nest here. 



ffirundo misiica Lin. Swallow. Common ; one 

 was seen here on February 13th, 1897. 



Chelidon vrbica Lin. Martin. Common here 

 on arrival and before departure, but they seem to 

 move inland to breed. 



Cotile rvpcCria Lin. Sand-martin. Common, but 

 seen most plentifully on arrival and departure in 

 spring and autumn. I have not observed it 

 breeding on the coast. 



Ligurinus chloris Lin. Greenfinch. Resident 

 and common. 



Carduelis elegans Stephens. Goldfinch. Scarce. 

 I caught a young bird in our stable in the summer 

 of 1899, and let it fly again. 



Cardnelis spinus Lin. Siskin. I saw one on 

 November 7th, 1896, flying amongst some fir-trees 

 on the road between Lynton and Lynmouth. This 

 was the only example I have yet seen here. 



Passer domesticus Lin. House-sparrow. Resident, 

 but not abundant here. The chaffinches appear to 

 take the place of these birds about the houses in 

 Lynmouth. 



Passer wontanus Lin. Tree-sparrow. I saw a 

 pair on May 3rd, 1898, near the " Cottage Inn," on 

 Barnstaple road, near Lynton. I have not seen 

 any others in North Devon. 



FHngilla coelehs Lin. Chaffinch. Resident and 

 very abundant. The males are exceedingly highly 

 coloured in the breeding season. 



Fringilla montifringilla. Lin. Brambling. I saw 

 one male in our garden on June 18th, 1899. 



Pyrrhula euroxMea Vieillot. Bullfinch. Resident 

 and not uncommon. 



Emberiza citrinella Lin. Yellow bunting. Resi- 

 dent and common. 



Emberiza drills Lin. Cirl bunting. Resident 

 and fairly common. 



Sturnus ndgaris Lin. Starling. Resident and 

 common. 



Pyrrlwcorax graculus Lin. Chough. Resident, 

 rare. Occurs in a locality some distance from 

 here, where it breeds annually. 



Garrulus glandarius Lin. Jay. Resident and 

 common. Each autumn these birds come to our 

 plantation adjoining the garden for the acorns of 

 the evergreen oaks. 



Pica rustica Scopoli. Magpie. Resident and 

 common, especially a little distance inland. I 

 have often seen the nests near here. 

 (To be concluded.) 



ANIMALS AS WEATHEK PKOPHETS. 



By Arthur H. Bell. 



f\F all the proposed methods for forecasting the 

 ^-^ weather, it is doubtful if any of them are so 

 curious as the one that suggests that future climatic 

 conditions may be foretold by observing the move- 

 ments of the common leech. One observer states 

 that if a leech is kept in a bottle of water it will 

 be seen to disport itself in ways that closely 

 synchronise with changes in the weather, sinking 

 to the bottom of the bottle when the weather is 

 going to be stormy, and rising to the top when 

 conditions are more promising. Now, so much 

 faith was put in the leech as a weather-prophet 

 that an admirer of its performances proposed to 

 attach a small chain to the creature and cause it 

 to make electric contact whenever it travelled 

 about its jar in response to supposed coming 

 changes in the weather. Enamoured, moreover, of 

 his suggestion, it was further proposed that the 

 electric current thus created should be utilised to 

 set the largest bell in the parish in motion, and so 

 give warning to all whom it might concern that 

 changes in the weather were coming. It cannot, 

 however, be # said that any great success has 



attended this proposition, and the attempt to 

 elevate the leech to the front rank of weather- 

 prophets has not met with general approval among 

 serious students of meteorology. The leech in- 

 deed, like so many other creatures, has nowadays 

 to submit to a rigorous cross-examination ; and 

 when dealing with the supposed powers of insects, 

 birds, and animals to forecast the weather it is 

 customary to compare such pretensions with the 

 weather maps and synchronous charts upon which 

 modern meteorology may be said to be based. 

 Popular prognostics, founded on the movements 

 of birds and animals, there are in great numbers ; 

 but it is now possible to say why it is that these 

 prognostics are successful, and how it is that they 

 sometimes fail. 



Meteorologists compile charts on which are 

 plotted the barometer readings taken at a large 

 number of stations at the same hour over a large 

 tract of country. Lines are then drawn through 

 all places having the same barometer reading, such 

 lines being called isobars, or lines of equal atmo- 

 spheric pressure. An examination of one of these 



