36 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



The Flight of the Swift, — With reference to the question asked in the 

 December number of ' The Zoologist,' as to whether this bird is able to rise 

 from the ground, I have found it utterly unable to rise from a perfectly 

 level surface, such as a well-kept road or an oil-cloth-covered or carpeted 

 floor ; but from a neglected road, full of ruts and hollow places, it can and 

 does rise, lifting its wings high over its back, and raising itself from a 

 slight elevation by the first downward flap. Its efforts to rise from a carpet 

 are ludicrous, as its long claws enter the texture, and with its first effort it 

 tips forward helplessly. T should expect grass to interfere with its rising, 

 the blades catching in the feet, and thus partly counteracting the lifting 

 effect of the first flap. On a dead level road the tips of the wiugs strike 

 the surface, and it merely flops along, or that has been the case witht hose 

 which I have observed. — A. G. Butler. 



Correction. — In my note " On a chocolate-coloured variety of Perdix 

 cinerea" (Zool. 1896, pp. 472-73), some errors have occurred in printing. 

 On p. 472, sixth line from bottom, for " Hinder tail-coverts " read " Under 

 tail-coverts"; p. 473, third line from top, for "Hinder wing-coverts" read 

 " Under wing-coverts "; seventh line from top, for "height 12^ in," read 

 " weight 12£ oz." — F. Ooburn (Holloway Head, Birmingham). 



PISCES. 

 Abundance of Sharks in Tropical Seas. — It is singular how few 

 zoological ideas and facts occur to a naturalist on the most frequented 

 tracks of the ocean ; the apparent sameness in the vast wilderness of water 

 seems to oppress and stifle observation. One circumstance, however, has 

 always presented itself to the writer when traversing the ocean in tropical 

 regions, and that is the abundance of Sharks, so easily overlooked. When 

 sitting reading near the rails, a casual glance at the water frequently detects 

 the dorsal fin or even the body of a Shark disturbed by the huge liner. 

 Seldom is a prolonged stay at the bows in tropical regions unrewarded by a 

 sight of one of these monsters. It is obvious that those we accidentally 

 notice can form but a small ratio to the number disturbed by the ship, 

 which again passes only as a mere speck through the regions they inhabit. 

 Probably other readers have had the same experience, and it almost seems 

 that the prodigious number of these fishes is barely estimated. — Ed. 



