384 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the 12th July. On the 8th August I went to Corton to see a Seal which 

 had been caught on the beach there, I believe, the same morning ; this 

 was nearly full grown, and so won the hearts of the ladies at Oliffe House 

 by its mild, beseeching looks and evident discomfort, that Mrs. Colman 

 bribed its captor to liberate it, and we had the pleasure of seeing it swim off 

 to sea. All these, as probably also the Cambridge specimen, which I did 

 not see, were young examples of Phoca vitulina. — Thomas Southwell 

 (Norwich). 



Black Variety of the Water Vole in Wirral.— In the winter of 

 1881-82 I shot a specimen of the black variety of the Water Vole, close 

 to the village of Parkgate, but have never seen another example since. As 

 it has not been reported from Wirral before, I think a record may be of 

 interest. — Edward Comber (Leighton, Parkgate, Chester). 



CETACEA. 



The White-sided Dolphin in Ireland. — I have been fortunate enough 

 to procure the lower mandible of an Irish specimen of the White-sided 

 Dolphin, Delphinus acutus. On making enquiries I learnt that the 

 Dolphin came ashore at Baginbun Head, in the County Wexford, on the 

 11th June last. As soon as observed on the rocks, some men put out 

 to sea, and cut its throat. I ascertained that it weighed about 8 cwt. 

 and yielded 4 gallons of oil. It was of a " beautiful drab" colour on the 

 sides, with a white belly. The carcase was towed out to sea, and the only 

 part I could secure was the lower mandible. This measures a foot in 

 length, and contains sixty-four teeth (thirty-two on each side), which are 

 pointed sharply, and bent inwards. This portion of the jaw is now in the 

 Museum of Science and Art in Dublin. Mr. A. G. More tells me that 

 the White-sided Dolphin has only once before been observed on the Irish 

 coast— viz. near Portrush, by Mr. T. D. Ogilby (' Zoologist,' 1876, p. 5007). 

 I have to thank Prof. Flower for his kindness in naming the specimen for me. 

 — G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton (Kilmanock, New Ross, Co. Wexford). 



BIRDS. 



Hybrid between the Grey and Red-legged Partridges.— On Sept. 27th, 

 1889, whilst on my usual " rounds " among our local game-dealers, one bird, 

 in a large bundle of Common Partridges, Perdix cinerea, arrested my 

 attention. On separating this bird from the others, although it was in a 

 terribly mangled condition from the shooting, I saw sufficient to suggest at 

 once that it was a hybrid between Perdix cinerea and Caccabis rufa. The 

 mixture of the two birds is apparent at a glance, but chiefly so on the wings. 

 The primaries and secondaries show an admixture of the colouring of the 

 two birds, but the tortiaries are almost entirely those of a young P. cinerea. 

 The lesser, middle, and greater coverts also resemble those of P. cinerea, 



