94 MR. P. L. SCLATER ON THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. [Feb. 6, 



animal-life which may happen to come in his way. In the forest 

 he meets with an abundance of food — ripe fruit fallen from the 

 trees, yam-like bulbs and tubers, the babu, vala, suza, and many 

 others in plenty, just under the surface of the ground. In turning 

 these out he may frequently come across the nests of mice, rats, 

 or one of the many species of Tandrec. All these he is able 

 to dispose of, and even snakes, it is said, do not come amiss to 

 him. 



" The wild boar does not leave his lair during the day unless he 

 is disturbed by hunters or their dogs, and even then he is not in 

 a hurry to move until he is close pressed. When undisturbed, he 

 passes the day in sleep and in the evening resumes his search for 

 food again. 



" In almost every village of importance one or more of the natives 

 know something of forestry. They keep a number of dogs, and 

 with them spend a great part of their time in the bush. Here 

 the dogs are trained in running down birds, especially the Crested 

 Ibis {Lophotibis cristata) and the Striped Partridge (Margaroperdix 

 striata), in treeing the Guinea-fowl (Nwmida tiarata), in searching 

 the ground to find some of the various species of Tandrec, or, 

 most important work of all, in hunting the wild boar. 



" I do not think the natives are in the habit of hunting the 

 wild boar simply from love of sport, they are generally too lazy 

 to go hunting for the pleasure it should give ; rather, when 

 they do hunt, it is either for the sake of getting some animal 

 food or else to rid themselves of a night visitor, which has been 

 making a too-free use of the garden-produce. 



" In speaking of the range of the wild boar in Madagascar, 1 

 think I am correct in saying that there is no part of the island 

 where it is not to be met with in numbers more or less. What I 

 have already said shows that it is to be found on the elevated 

 inland country as well as on the low-lying plains ; that it makes its 

 home in forest, bush, or holes, wherever it is convenient. 



" These few remarks which I have been able to give concerning 

 the wild boar are, I believe, applicable to that animal in all parte 

 of Madagascar; but I must state that my own personal obser- 

 vations were confined to the west side and to the south central 

 parts of the island." 



Mr. Sclater exhibited a stuffed specimen of the White-billed 

 Great Northern Diver {Colymbus aclamsi) from Norway, fully 

 adult, which had been forwarded to him by Prof. R. Collett, of 

 Christiania, F.M.Z.S., in order to be figured in the ' Ibis,' and made 

 remarks on the distribution of the species and on its interest as 

 occasionally occurring on the British coast, as first recorded by him 

 in 1859 (P. Z. S. 1859, p. 206) \ 



The following papers were read : — 



1 See also Seebohni, 'Zoologist,' 1885, p. 144; and Saunders, 'Manual of 

 British Birds,' p. 695. 



