74 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



rently sufficient to attract the leery eyes of the prowling Corvidce. 

 Hence the necessity for, or one reason of, the "Loon" covering her 

 eggs so deftly whenever she leaves thern, an action which is so rapidly 

 performed that rny binocular-aided eyes have sometimes been hardly 

 sharp enough to follow, and that at close quarters. There was a 

 correspondence in ' The Zoologist ' (1898-1899) about the Moorhen 

 covering its eggs on leaving the nest. This habit is not indulged in 

 hereabouts, at any rate according to my own observations, which have 

 been long and frequent ; nor have any of the local " egging" marsh- 

 men whom I have consulted on the subject ever noticed it, although 

 one of them was sufficiently observant to mention to me the similarity 

 of the surface markings on Coots' eggs to the black fungoid dis- 

 colourations on dead reed-leaves long before I saw any allusion to this 

 interesting fact in print. When at Cambridge (1876-1879) I found 

 several Moorhens' nests on and around the much-frequented back 

 river, but never even there observed any other attempt at concealment 

 beyond the partial bending down of tall vegetation over and above the 

 entire nest. This habit is also indulged in, to a less degree, by the 

 Eedshank. The Wild Duck and Pheasant often build in very similar 

 situations, and their egg-shells vary but little in shade ; yet the land- 

 bird leaves hers open, whilst the water-fowl compensates for the 

 slightly less pigment in hers by covering them up. — Maurice C. H. 

 Bird (Brunstead Rectory, Stalbam). 



AMPHIBIA. 

 Larvae attacking Toad (Bufo vulgaris). — One day last summer I 

 found a Toad which presented a rather curious appearance, having 

 both nostrils considerably enlarged. I took it home and placed it in a 

 case for more careful examination later on. This I was prevented 

 from doing for several days, and when I next looked, it was lying 

 dead on the bottom of the case, and with one of the eyes and the 

 greater part of one side of the head entirely eaten away by a number 

 of pale yellow larvae about one-third of an inch in length, which from 

 their appearance I judged to be the larvae of a dipterous insect; but 

 whether the larvae had attacked the Toad after being hatched from the 

 egg, or whether the eggs had been hatched inside the nostrils of the 

 Toad, I was unable to decide. I should be glad to know from some 

 of your readers (1) if this occurrence is common ; (2) what species of 

 Diptera or other insect it is which makes the attack. The Toad in 

 other respects seemed in good condition. — B. J. Hokton (305, Stratford 

 Boad, Sparkbrook, Birmingham). 



