Quadrupeds — Birds. 24 75 



the little fellow disappeared, and was never afterwards heard. — John Collins; Kirk- 

 burton, Huddersfield, May 19, 1849. 



[Several singing mice have been exhibited in London. See an account of one I 

 visited in 1843 (Zool. 288).—^. Newman.'] 



Whistling Mice. — " Much has been written of late years about singing mice 

 (whistling mice would be a better term). There is nothing particularly new in the 

 discovery, for I well remember, when a boy, being, with the rest of the family, repeat- 

 edly summoned by my brother intq the cellar, to listen to the performance of one of 

 these little musicians. The whistling, which was varied, though low, was evidently a 

 voluntary act, and seemed peculiarly indicative of ease and enjoyment ; for when at 

 all startled it immediately ceased ; nor did it recommence till the little creature re- 

 sumed its composure. This was heard at intervals for many weeks ; and a few years 

 after a similar instance again occurred." — ' A Paper on the Study of Natural History, 

 by W. D. King I p. 15. 



The Birds of Melbourne. By J. J. Briggs, Esq. 



The migration of birds is so important a feature in the natural 

 history of any district, that I shall make no apology for alluding to it 

 frequently in my investigation of this. Naturalists in general appear 

 to have paid more attention to the arrival than the departure of birds, 

 yet both are equally important. This defect has arisen, no doubt, 

 from the greater degree of difficulty which attends it, — a circumstance 

 I have previously pointed out (Zool. 440). During the course of 

 many years, I have observed that our earliest spring visitor is the 

 chiff-chaff, our latest the spotted flycatcher. The arrival of birds ap- 

 pears to be more influenced by the state of the season than by any 

 other cause ; yet be the weather ever so fine about the usual period 

 of arrival, and though vegetation has considerably advanced in its 

 ! progress, if the moon be not at the full their arrival will be delayed 

 i until it is. The arrival of certain birds may be foretold to a day or 

 i two, by a person who keeps a journal of rural occurrences, and then 

 I turns to an almanack and ascertains at what particular time in April 

 > the moon is at the full. Thus, for instance, I know the swallow arrives 

 here somewhere about the middle of April ; and if a full moon occurs 

 about the 15th, I am pretty confident to see him a day or two either 

 before or after. The following coincidences have struck me : —the 

 chiff-chaff usually arrives a little before the larch is visibly green ; the 

 willow warbler when the willows are in infant leaf, and the wood war- 

 bler when the oak and elm are budding : when the gooseberry is in 

 I full leaf the garden warbler appears, and the blackcap scarcely ever 

 before the hawthorns are expanded: the yellow wagtail arrives 



