Fishes. 3845 



nothing more to add to this account, exeept that my hird scarcely deserves the name of 

 "torquata," his collar being very indistinctly marked; the positiou of it however is 

 clearly seen by the dark brown spots which almost encircle his pale fawn-coloured 

 throat ; hence I conclude, from Mr. Yarrell's description, that mine is a bird of the 

 year. — Alfred Charles Smith ; Yatesbury Rectory, Calne, March 7, 1 853. 



Occurrence of the Fire-crested Regulus (Regulus ignicapillus) near Penzance. — A 

 day or two since another adult male specimen of the fire-crested Regulus was obtained 

 from Lariggan Valley, near this town, the locality whence nerly all the examples I have 

 reported to you have been obtained. — Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, Feb. 23, 1853. 



The Apteryx in Britain. — As the Apteryx is confined to a very limited region on 

 the opposite side of our planet, not aquatic in its habits, totally incapable of flight, and 

 consequently one of the last birds likely to be met with in Britain ; I think the read- 

 ers of the ' Zoologist ' would feel obliged to Mr. Spode, if he would favour them with 

 a more detailed account of the occurrence of this bird, which, in his communication of 

 January 28 (Zool. 3815), he merely states was shot on a marsh in Anglesea " some 

 three or four years ago." It would be interesting to know as much of its habits as the 

 person who shot it observed ; at what time of the day, and at what season of the year 

 it was obtained ; what condition it was in ; and what vessels (if any) were wrecked in 

 the neighbourhood at the time. It is highly improbable that any one who would be 

 at the trouble of bringing a bird so very difficult to cater for during a long voyage all 

 the way from New Zealand, would, after all his pains, turn it adrift in North Wales ; 

 and in the event of a wreck, the Apteryx seems one of the last creatures likely to es- 

 cape. Without some of these particulars, I fear it will prove as difficult for the read- 

 ers of the ' Zoologist' to account for the presence of the Apteryx in Anglesea, as it 

 would be for the physiologist to explain the growth of Mr. Pickard-Cambridge's spider 

 (Zool. 3766) which, that gentleman tells us, increased to at least ten times its original 

 bulk "without material sustenance." — Edmund Browne ; 10, Bedford St., Bedford 

 Row, February 22, 1853. 



Catalogue of the Fishes of Orkney and Zetland. 

 By William Balfour Baikie, Esq., M.D. 



Order I. — Plagiostomi. 



Sub-order I. — Raiinte. 



Raiidce. 



Thorn-back, Rata clavata. Very abundant. 

 Sharp-nosed Skate, Raia oxyrhynchus. Not uncommon. 

 Skate, Raia Batis. Abundant. 



Sub-order 2. — Squalince. 

 Squatinidce. 

 Angel Fish, Squalina Angelas. Rare. 



