Quadrupeds — Birds. 4477 



Remarkable Anecdote of the Hedgehog. — Although the hedgehog has lately occu- 

 pied more than a customary portion of attention in the pages of the ' Zoologist,' 

 perhaps one other remarkable anecdote respecting it may not be uninteresting. At 

 the edge of dusk I have several times during the last month perceived an individual of 

 this genus busily employed in hunting for food on the turf in my pleasure-ground, but 

 this day I was much astonished to find him similarly employed in the full glare of the 

 noontide sun. It appeared to apply its snuut repeatedly to the roots of the grass ; in 

 search, I presume, of worms, but without success. At length it met with a dead 

 shrew, which it seized with great avidity, and, as T had a good view of it from behind 

 a tree, without the possibility of its seeing me, I watched its motions with great atten- 

 tion : it repeatedly opened its mouth and pressed the shrew between its teeth, but 

 without lacerating the skin : having been thus engaged for above live minutes it left 

 the shrew, and retired about two yards from it. I then examined the latter, and 

 found it much crushed, yet no part of it devoured ; but when I approached the 

 hedgehog, to my great surprise, I found it stretched out upon the grass in an almost 

 inanimate state, and, although it crawled a few yards further, it died within an hour 

 after its adventure with the shrew. Whether this took place in consequence of any 

 poisonous quality in the shrew, or whether from want of other sufficient food, I will 

 not undertake to decide. I merely state the fact as it occurred ; but I believe, that 

 neither dogs nor cats will eat the shrew. — Oswald Mosley, Bart. ; Rolleston Halt, 

 September \bth, 1854. 



Occurrence of the Short-toed Lark (Alauda brachydactyla) at Scilly. — I have 

 received the following interesting communication from Mr. Jenkinson, since his 

 notice of the capture of the glossy ibis at Scilly : — 



" September 20th, 1854. 



" The bird (Alauda brachydactyla) corresponds in general description with the 

 account given in Yarrell: the two central tail-feathers are lighter than the rest 

 (which are dark brown), being olive-brown, the same colour as the scapulars and 

 tertials. Irides olive-brown. Bill brownish along the top of the upper mandible to- 

 wards the point; the rest white, tinged with brown. Whole length 6 inches. Bill, 

 from gape, rather over \ an inch. Wing, from carpal joint, 3f inches. Tarsus \l inch. 

 Hind toe and claw together T | inch. Legs and toes pale brown. The bird was observed 

 among some bents growing on the sand a few yards from the beach, and appeared 

 rather wild, and attracted attention chiefly by uttering a note that was unusual, 

 as well as by its general appearance." 



The bird was shot by Mr. Augustus Pechell, who has accompanied Mr. Jenkinson 

 to the Scilly Islands. — Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, September 23, 1854. 



Cuckoo's Eggs in Nest of Tree-Pipit. — Last May I found a tree-pipit's nest, con- 

 taining five eggs, one of which was a cuckoo's. On finding the nest I had a strong 

 suspicion that, it was a tree-pipit's, not a meadow-pipit's. I removed all doubt on the 

 subject by killing the bird from the nest. I mention this fact as neither Mr. Yarrell 

 nor Mr. Hewitson include the tree-pipit among the birds in whose nest the cuckoo has 

 been known to deposit its egg. — E. C. Taylor ; July 23, 1854. 



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