Birds. 3711 



aid of his walking-stick, drew it to the bank, when he found a large eel hanging from 

 its mouth, which weighed 1 fb. 7 oz. The bird, most likely a young one, had evi- 

 dently attempted to swallow the fish, some inches of which were down its throat, but 

 from its great weight and strength perhaps its tail entwined some of the flags, so that 

 it drew the bird's head under water until it was suffocated ; the eel was not able to 

 extricate itself, for it also was dead. Had it been an old bird, it would have shown 

 more sagacity, and first landed such a prize before it had attempted to swallow it." — 

 From the 'Sussex Express' of Saturday, October 30, 1852. 



Curious Death of a Dab-chick, or Little Grebe, (Podiceps minor). — A specimen of 

 the little grebe was picked up dead by the side of the river at Witchingham, apparently 

 choked in an attempt to swallow a bull-head or miller's thumb (Cottus Gobio), as the 

 spines at the end of the gills of the fish were sticking in the dabchick's throat. — L. H. 

 Irby ; Saham, Norfolk, November 1, 1852. 



Food of the Black- headed Gull, (Larus ridibundus). — As Mr. Gurney has men- 

 tioned the mouse-catching propensities of the black-headed gulls at Scoulton (Zool. 

 3563), it may be worth adding that I have often seen them hawking after cockchafers 

 late in the evening. I proved this by shooting one and examining it. — Id. 



Note on the American and Indian Darters in Captivity ; and on the known Species 

 of the Genus Plotus. — The Kev. A. C. Smith, in his second paper on the curious oc- 

 currence of the Plotus Anhinga near Poole (Zool. 3654), quotes an interesting extract 

 from a communication by Mr. Waterton, in which that gentleman states he has never 

 heard of this bird having been bred up tame. It may therefore be worth while to call 

 attention to the very full account of the habits of this species, as observed in North 

 America, given by the late Mr. Audubon in his * Ornithological Biography* (iv. 136), 

 wherein that gentleman mentions two distinct instances in which these birds had 

 been successfully brought up from the nest, and subsequently kept in a state of do- 

 mestication with considerable facility. I have also been informed that the Indian 

 species (probably Plotus melanogaster) has been similarly tamed by Mr. Blyth, of Cal- 

 cutta, and has been found to exhibit considerable docility and familiarity. As Mr. 

 Smith, in his first paper (Zool. 3601), speaks doubtfully of there being more than two 

 species of the genus Plotus, it may be desirable to add that four distinct species are 

 recognized in Messrs. Gray and Mitchell's 'Genera of Birds,' a work which is of most 

 deservedly high authority in such matters. These species are : — 



1. Plotus Anhinga, (P. melanogaster, 0. y. of Latham); limited to the American 



continent, and figured by Audubon, pi. 316, and by several other authors also. 



2. Plotus melanogaster ; figured in Pennant's ' Indian Zoology,' pi. 12. Proba- 



bly exclusively Asiatic, but its geographical boundaries, as far as I am aware, 

 have not yet been well defined. It occurs in India, and is also included in 

 Dr. Horsfield's 'Catalogue of the Birds of Java,' and is mentioned by Latham 

 as being found in Ceylon. 



3. Plotus Congensis, (also called P. Levaillantii and P. rufus) ; figured in Buffon's 



* Planches Enluminees,' pi. 107, and in Temminck's 'Planches Coloriees,' pi. 

 380. This is the African species, but M. Temminck states that he has also 

 received specimens from the Indian Archipelago. 



4. Plotus Novae-Hollandiae ; figured in Gould's ' Birds of Australia/ and in Gray's 



Genera, and is apparently limited to the Australian continent. 

 — J. H. Gurney ; Easton, Norfolk, November 3, 1852. 



