1246 Birds. 



to attack the viper with impunity. — /. W. Slater ; Fairfield, January 10th, 1846. 



[I have long been convinced that the hedgehog is essentially a snake-destroying 

 animal. Some observations lately under my eye, whilst superintending the reprint of 

 the ' Letters of Kusticus,' go far to prove that snakes and adders are the natural and 

 usual food of the hedgehog. I may also state that the writer to whom I have alluded 

 has a passage conveying a somewhat similar opinion to that expressed by Mr. Slater, 

 namely, that the spines of the hedgehog are provided as an especial protection against 

 the fangs of the adder; aud further that the roots of plantain spoken of by Gilbert 

 White, as having been eaten by the hedgehog, must have been devoured by the larva 

 of a moth, perhaps a species of Hepialus. In all these remarks I fully concur. — 

 Edward Newman^ 



Cattle mouthing bones. — I wish to call your attention to Pontoppidan's account of 

 cattle mouthing bones. In the second part of his * Natural History of Norway,' he 

 says, " it is not only fish-bones the cows here eat, but likewise the bones of their own 

 species, which they swallow greedily, and gnaw them with their teeth as dogs would. 

 Nay, the eating of bones is a cure for the cows of this country when they have broke 

 their legs. — H. Stanley ; Alderley Park, January 22nd, 1846. 



The Spotted or Silver Eagle. — Your grand new eagle is the Silver Eagle of this 

 country, a very common bird. We have two kinds of eagles, the golden and the silver. 

 Your figure is a good deal like the bird it is meant for, but the spots are not clear 

 enough, nor are they the right shape, they are oblong and of a clear, silvery white. In 

 Cahirciveen you may see both kinds of eagle in captivity, if you or any of your friends 

 should be there, enquire at the hotel. What we call the golden eagle has a white tail 

 when old. — No name or address, arrived January 10th, 1846. 



The Spotted or Silver Eagle. — Neither your figure (Zool. 1208) nor Mr. Yarrell's 

 of the Aquila Naevia is good : both figures represent the scapulars and wing coverts as 

 merely tipped with white ; the fact is the spots are most beautifully defined and regu- 

 larly elliptical. — Robert Ball ; Granby Row, Dublin, January 3rd, 1846. 



The Spotted or Silver Eagle. — When in the neighbourhood of Killarney in May, 

 1840, 1 was told of an eagle quite new to me, and being determined to obtain one dead 

 or alive, I posted off to Valentia Island on the west coast. I soon found that the 

 eagle I was in quest of was perfectly well-known, that it was called the silver eagle, 

 and that a pair bred regularly on the rocks in Valentia Island. Having obtained a 

 boat, I landed on the Island and almost immediately on landing I saw a tame eagle 

 of this very species ; he immediately threw himself into an attitude of resistance, and 

 seemed inclined to dispute the passage. I found that this beautiful bird was not to be 

 purchased for money : the gentleman to whom it belonged had had two taken from the 

 nest ; but a few days before I was there one of them had swallowed the bait and hooks 

 left by some fishermen on the beach while they were gone to get some refreshment, and 

 this killed hiin ; unfortunately no attempt was made to preserve this specimen. — 

 Richard Weaver ; 9, Vine Street, Birmingdam, January 3rd, 1846. 



[The insertion of the first of these notes of the Silver Eagle without name or ad- 

 dress is at variance with my established custom, but the writer is perhaps unacquainted 

 with this, will he give his real name and address, as I am particularly desirous of 



