256 



SCIENCE-GOSSIt. 



[Nov. 1, 1865. 



2 OOLOGY. 



The BiACK-HEADEB Gull.— During the latter 

 part of May and the first week in June last, I had 

 an opportunity of seeing the Black-headed Gull 

 feeding after the manner of a swallow. Every fine 

 evening it was a common sight to see a number of 

 these gulls flying over the hay-meadows at a little 

 distance above the grass. After watching them for 

 some time through a glass, I saw that they were 

 catching the Ghost Moth, which was very abundant 

 there. — H. Blight. 



The Spotted FLY-CATcriEE.— On August 21th 

 last, I saw what was to me a new sight. A Ely- 

 catcher pursued a large White Cabbage Butterfly, 

 and after a few attempts succeeded in capturing it. 

 Its plan appeared to be to disable the insect first, 

 and then to seize it. The bird made several darts, 

 snapping each time at the butterfly until it was at 

 last quite helpless, and fluttered on the ground. 

 The Ely-catcher then seizing it, flew off to a tree 

 and made a meal of it.— i^. Blight. 



Small Molluscs. — I have been a good deal 

 interested lately watching the action of the cilia of 

 some of the small Molluscs on seaweed. There is 

 no trouble about seeing them, if the animal is taken 

 out of the shell and crushed between two glasses 

 with a little Vi'ater. They taper in form, and their 

 curious action mny perhaps amuse some of your 

 readers. Supposing one's fingers are the cilia, their 

 movements are something like closing fingers 

 1, 3, 5, 7, &c., opening with a jerk 3, 4, 6, already 

 closed; but not in any regular order. The time 

 they retain their motion after the animal is dead, is 

 remarkable. I watched them for thirty-six hours, 

 when the movements of some were still visible. At 

 the end of forty-eight hours the substance of the 

 animal seemed to decompose, or to separate into 

 minute pieces, and all form disappeared. — E. T. 

 Scott. 



Toads Feeding. — There is a remarkable circum- 

 stance with regard to the Toads, which I have not 

 seen recorded. I have several Toads and Nattei-jacks 

 in a fem-case, and if I put an insect on the soil and 

 two of them perceive it, the one who is successful 

 in getting it receives a smartish smack on the side of 

 the head from the tongue of the other, the noise 

 produced being distinctly audible. — C. A. 



The Spidek and its Web.— I begin to think that 

 the question, "Does the Spider ever eat its own 

 web ? " might rather be put, '"' Does not the Spider 

 always cat its web when makuig a fresh one ? " 

 What I saw this evening seemed so thoroughly 

 natural that I am almost convinced in my own mind 

 that the answer must be afiinnative. There ^yas a 

 large web — only one among a host— in an angle 



between two walls, which had got so thoroughly 

 incrusted with dust that it failed to supply the 

 owner with food ; so the process of renewal was set 

 about, which I was fortunate enough to witness. 

 Starting from the centre, the spider ran along the old 

 threads, devouring them as she went, and at the 

 same time spinning a new one after her to supply 

 the place of each. I distinctly saw them drawn 

 into the mouth, not rolled up first, but eaten as she 

 went, and now and then tucked in with the feet ; 

 as she ran with her back downwards it was easy 

 to observe this. After the new radiating threads 

 were finished, she commenced at the centre to form 

 the connecting ones ; she worked in a spiral direc- 

 tion, making them at very small intervals until she 

 got some distance from the centre, when she judged 

 it expedient to form strengthening threads, first at the 

 distance of an inch or so. Of course, as she got 

 nearer the ends the radii diverged so much that she 

 could not reach from one to the other, but she got 

 over this difiiculty by ascending to the nearest cou- 

 necting thread, crossing by it, descending the next 

 radius, and fastening the next thread. When these 

 strengtheners were finished, she commenced to fill 

 in at smaller distances, but working now from the 

 outside spirally toicards the centre. The two hind 

 legs were occupied exclusively in drawing the threads 

 from the body and guiding them, but they were 

 attached solely by the end of the abdomen. When 

 the whole was finished, there remained something at 

 the centre — a piece of cotton wool, or else some of 

 the old web, I could not distinguish which ; this she 

 went up to and devoured. The time occupied in 

 eating the old v.'eb and replacing it with a new one 

 was about fifteen minutes. — Henry Ullyett, High 

 Wycombe. 



Man in the Past.— If man constitutes a separate 

 family of mammalia, as he does in the opinion of the 

 highest authorities, then, according to all paleeonto- 

 logical analogies, he must have had representatives 

 in miocene times. We need not, however, expect to 

 find the proofs in Europe. Our nearest relatives in 

 the animal kingdom are confined to hot — almost to 

 tropical climates; and it is in such countries that 

 we must look for' the earliest traces of the human 

 race. — Sir John Lubbock's " Prehistoric Times" 



The Hoopoe. — A fine specimen of the Hoopoe 

 ' made its appearance in the beginning of September 

 last at Caldy Island, where it still remaiaed when I 

 left, in the latter part of the month. It sometimes 

 consorted with a covey of partridges, but was more 

 frequently alone. I have seen it pursue"* by crows, 

 which it avoided by flying to cover. It ^as very 

 tame, aud we had frequent opportunities of seeing it 

 erect its beautiful crest. Its flight was peculiar, 

 and somewh.at resembled that of a large butterfly.— 

 E. K. B. 



