NOTES AND QUERIES. 353 



" aphrodisiac properties."* In Sumatra the scales are valued by the 

 natives for their medicinal qualities.! In Borneo, according to Bock, 

 their flesh is highly esteemed by the Chinese.:!: Hornaday, of a body 

 "made a delicious stew, rich, sweet, and well-flavoured, and part of it 

 we roasted. "§ I could always procure living specimens when living at 

 Province Wellesley in the Malay Peninsula, but never succeeded in 

 keeping them alive in captivity. — Ed.] 



AVES. 



Sparrow-Canary Hybrid ?. — At Frampton Cotterell, Gloucester- 

 shire, last June, a bird was shot from among the Sparrows on a farm, 

 of which the following is a description : — General colour yellowish 

 white, dusky on the head and throat, and with a few dark marks on 

 the back. Tail and tail-coverts exactly like those of a yellow Canary ; 

 bill and legs like a Sparrow's for shape and size, but pinky white. It 

 appeared to be one of a brood. One or two other Sparrows seen at 

 the same time were described as being nearly or quite white. — H. J. 

 Chaebonnier (Kedland, Bristol). 



Crested Lark, &c., released in England. — Having recently obtained 

 from India a consignment of the Crested Lark (Galerita cristata), I 

 liberated nine specimens — a few having died — in Kent on Aug. 24th, 

 letting them out from the train at various points. Most of them went 

 off strongly, but they are rather rough in feather, though in good con- 

 dition of flesh. I much hope that some pairs will survive and breed, 

 as this interesting species certainly ought to be acclimatized with vis, 

 instead of persecuted. On the same day I let out, in the Zoological 

 Gardens, a pair of Black-headed Buntings [Emberiza melanocephala), 

 which I had procured from a London dealer. The cock was in perfect 

 condition, and could not be recognised as a caged bird ; the hen was 

 moulting rather unkindly, but I thought her more likely to recover if 

 turned out now. This beautiful species particularly deserves to be 

 encouraged, as it is far the finest of the Buntings ; any number could 

 be purchased at Bombay in the spring. A few, as is well known, have 

 occurred here. On the last day of July I had released in the Gardens 

 a Eosy Pastor bought in London, which soon vanished. It was perfect 

 in feather, but had a slight malformation of the beak, and two or three 



* ' Jungle Life in India,' p. 335. 

 f Marsden, ' Sumatra,' p. 118. 

 I ' Head-Hunters of Borneo,' p. 246. 

 § ' Two Years in the Jungle,' p. 271. 

 Zool. 4th ser. vol. V., September, 1901. 2 E 



