144 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



to me by a friend out there, may be of interest, as showing that the supply of 

 Vultures is equal to the demand at these well-known Parsee institutions : — 

 "An unfounded report gained currency some days ago that the Parsee 

 deaths from the pestilence having increased considerably, the Vultures kept 

 at the Towers of Silence were unable to dispose of all the dead bodies 

 exposed there. The secretary of the Parsee Punchayet Funds made personal 

 enquiries into the matter, and has published an authoritative contradiction 

 of the report, from which it appears that in the Tower of Silence known 

 as Kappis Khaoo's there is ample space for 237 corpses, which are chiefly 

 those of Shenshahi Parsees. In the Banajee Tower of Silence there is 

 space for an equal number of dead bodies, chiefly those of Iranees and 

 Kadmee Parsees, while there is no objection to Shenshahi corpses beiug 

 laid therein. There is also space enough in the Anjuman and Manockjee 

 Sett's Towers of Silence for 262 and 141 corpses respectively. The Mody 

 Tower of Silence is used only for members of the Mody family. During 

 the last fortnight (first half of January, 1897) about 150 dead bodies were 

 consigned to the towers, most of them in the Kappis Khaoo Tower, while 

 the corpses of Iranees and Kadmee Parsees were laid in the towers kept 

 apart for them. According to the testimony of the corpse-bearers who 

 enter the towers, the appearances in them were in no way different from 

 their normal state, while the Vultures were sufficiently numerous to respond 

 to the extra demand made upon them. According to an exact calculation 

 made, the Vultures sitting on the walls of one tower were found to number 

 195, exclusive of the large number of other birds perching on the walls of 

 the several other towers and on the trees. While the former number of 

 Vultures was 250, there are now over 400 waiting daily at the towers." — 

 Oxley Grabham (Flaxton, York). 



Ornithological Folk-Lore. — In Mr. P. Ralfe's interesting paper on 

 Manx Bird-names (p. 71) mention is made of the Wheatear and Swallow as 

 two of the " Seven Sleepers." Could he tell us what the other five birds 

 were which indulged in supposed hibernation ? On the Dorset coast I was 

 told that the Wheatear was one of the seven sleepers, and was always 

 visible at Portland on the first foggy day in March. Referring to my 

 note-book, I find that the following eleven birds have been given me in 

 various places as representatives of the lethargic heptarchy, the Wheatear 

 always being included, and generally heading the list of every combination, 

 probably in consequence of its early migration and conspicuousness on 

 the coast, where more notice is taken of birds than is the case inland. 

 I have found the first-named seven to be the most frequently 

 mentioned: — Wheatear, Swallow, Sand Martin, Martin, Swift, Cuckoo, 

 Landrail, Spotted Flycatcher, Nightjar, Wryneck, and Nightingale.— 

 M. C. H. Bird (Brunstead Rectory, Norwich). 



