Jan. 1, 1865.J 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



13 



This summer being long, and dry, I have 

 had some difficulty in pi'oviding him with 

 his necessary food. One day I placed him 

 in a lai'ge hole at the bottom of the garden, 

 where I collected the sweepings and rubbish, 

 and he literally became a " toad-in-a-hole." 

 This was some fifty yards from the house, and 

 I left him to shift for himself amongst the 

 insect life of the rubbish. I afterwards 

 sought him to convey him back to his old 

 neighbourhood around the house, but he was 

 nowhere to be found, and this time I gave 

 him up for lost. Four days after, what was 

 my surprise, whilst seated at supper, to see 

 Toady come tumbling heels over head down 

 the step into the room, on a visit to his old 

 friends 1 The most remarkable feature in this 

 last freak is, the circuitous route he must 

 have taken before he arrived, and the ob- 

 stacles he must have encountered in his way. 

 Certainly this little creature has not been 

 endowed by nature with the most fascinating 

 exterior, but he has, in compensation, re- 

 ceived a beautifully brilliant eye, thoughtful, 

 calculating, and full of power. I think that, 

 were he better known, he would be less 

 despised, and instead of " familiarity breeds 

 contempt," we should have to write, " know 

 me, and love me ; " or, if not, we should be 

 less prejudiced, and give him credit for liis 

 merits. E. D. 



THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE 

 STARLING. 



Dear Sir, — The writer has a pet starling 

 (Siurnus vulgaris), a short account of whose 

 tameness, &c., may interest, perhaps, some of 

 your readers. Our pet — Avhose adopted name 

 is Brilliant — is a bird of great observation 

 and intelligence, but, like many persons 

 of talent and genius, has a temper peculiarly 

 his own. We have accustomed our feathered 

 favourite to be placed at the breakfast 

 table, &c., at which time, in addition to his 

 regular diet of meat, bread, and seeds, he is 

 given a spoonful or two of milk, and other 

 suitable food ] these he is much pleased with, 

 and shows his approval of, by a merry song 

 or cheerful whistle, and utters " I\Ieat, meat, 

 good, good," and' often will he call out 

 " More, more," " Piggy," " Yes, yes," and 

 many words of one syllable, &c. Brilliant 

 is quite a practical entomologist ; for he 

 delights in examining insects, and pays par- 

 ticular attention to all moths, flies, and 

 spiders brought under his notice, and they 



soon disappear after being placed within his 

 reach. Brilliant shows a great dislike to 

 beggars and persons poorly dressed, and when 

 they approach the house he utters a harsh 

 repeated note, calling out " Tramp, tramp, 

 tramp," and shows other signs of extreme 

 indignation ; neither does he agree with 

 Exeter Hall proclivity, or abolition principles, 

 for he cannot bear the sight of a negro, and 

 when he has seen one (which has been the 

 case several times) he goes to the extremity 

 of the cage, and makes a sound that can only 

 be compared to a hiss. To any member of 

 the family this bird is very tame and affec- 

 tionate, and delights to see us all assembled 

 together, and to listen to a lively conversa- 

 tion, and also always joins in the talk. The 

 appearance of the baker, grocer, and butcher 

 is an occasion of great pleasure, for then he 

 expresses " Good, good," " Come, come." 

 When let out of the cage (in a suitable room) 

 Brilliant generally examines every article in 

 the room, and takes great interest in the 

 mirror, standing before it for some minutes, 

 viewing his reflection in the glass, and per- 

 haps reflecting on his aerial dignity, calling 

 out at the same time, " Oh," " Old boy," &c. 

 After satisfying his curiosity he will alight 

 on the heads of all present, if not strangers, 

 and then return satisfied to his cage and 

 begin a cheerful tune. 



Of course a bird with these acquired 

 qualities soon becomes a " pet " with those 

 fond of the feathered tribe. This is but one 

 of the many instances that give evidence 

 that birds and other animals may, by 

 attention and kind treatment, become very 

 docile and most affectionate. Kindness to 

 the mute creation is an attribute of a noble 

 nature, while brutality towards them shows 

 a selfish and cowardly disposition. If we 

 really worship Almighty God, let us be 

 humane to all His creatures.— Yours truly, 



W. E. W. 



Eagle-Killing Extraordinary. —In Norway 

 the golden eagle is common, and, with the sea 

 eagle, is so numerous, that from a statistical account 

 of the sums paid each year by the Government for 

 the destruction of beasts and birds of prey, it ap- 

 pears that, in the five years ending December, 1S50, 

 there were paid for, altogether, no less than 10,715 

 eagles ! The Suthcrlandshirc expedition of natural- 

 ists mention the number of eagles that had been 

 paid for between ]\Iarch, 1S31, and March, lS3;i, to 

 have been 171, besides 53 nestlings or eggs. ""^ *' In 

 the south-west of that country a clever gamekeeper 

 trapped 15 eagles in three months of 1817, and 

 about as many in the winter of 1850-1, almost all of 

 tbcin being mountain easlcs.—Ooi/ieca Wollei/am, 



