40 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



dozen or so of these birds crowding together in a tree, and greeting 

 the approach of their prospective mates with inflated pouches and 

 drooping wings, accompanied by a peculiar apology for a song, de- 

 scribed as a sort of ' wow- wow-wow-wow,' and a noise resembling the 

 sound of castanets, which is made by a violent chattering of the horny 

 beak. The pouch of the Frigate-Bird is formed by the upper end of 

 the gullet, and appears to be closed behind by a peculiar arrangement 

 of muscular fibres to form what is known as a sphincter muscle. 

 These muscles close up the tube of the windpipe much as the mouth 

 of a bag is closed by means of a double string." 



Mr. J. L. Bonhote, in " Field Notes on some Bahama Birds," 

 published in the January issue of the ' Avicultural Magazine," has 

 given a good illustration and some interesting notes on the nesting of 

 the Flamingo in those islands. 



The last November issue of the ' Irish Naturalist ' is devoted to a 

 special report of the recent meeting of the British Association at 

 Belfast. 



The following excerpt is from an article by Cary Coles in the 

 • Farmer and Stockbreeder Year Book for 1903 ' : — 



"Asa proof of the hardihood and prolificness of Hampshire Downs, 

 I will give the result of the Shepherd's Prize Competition of the 

 Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders' Association for 1902 : — Dec. 1st : 

 56 flocks, containing 26,785 ewes in the usual proportion of mixed 

 ages, were entered, and on May 4th the decrease by death or sale 

 2*34 per cent, only, and the increase of lambs 116*82 per cent, on the 

 ewes entered Dec. 1st, 1901. The results from 47 flocks of ewe tegs 

 for the same period are also a very good illustration, the number 

 entered being 8836, and the total decrease between Dec. 1st and 

 May 4th, 64 sheep, only -72 per cent. ; and I know as a certain fact 

 that this number practically, as far as losses by death are concerned, 

 should have been reduced to 54, as I sold ten ewe tegs from my flock 

 entry that were shipped to United States in April ; otherwise there 

 was no loss in my tegs or in sixteen of the other flocks during the five 

 months. In one flock of Hampshire ewes, principally six and seven 

 years old sheep, their prolificness as published in the • Farmer ' was, I 

 certainly think, remarkable, they breeding at the rate of 175 per cent, 

 of lambs from about 200 ewes. Previous to its being published, 

 I heard of this privately from an eminent Hampshire Down breeder, 

 who saw the ewes with their lambs." 



