72 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



seven weeks it resumes its full song about the middle of August, and 

 continues singing through the autumn. — E. A. Swainson (Woodside, 

 Brecon). 



Notes from Suffolk. — On Dec. 29th, 1904, a Stone-Curlew, in very 

 good plumage and condition, was brought into Bury from Walsham-le- 

 Willows, an unusually late occurrence for this bird, which is generally 

 only a summer migrant. I should have liked to secure it for a corre- 

 spondent who lives many miles away from the haunts of the Stone- 

 Curlew, but the owner had decided to " have it stuffed." On Jan. 3rd a 

 neighbour sent me an unlucky Tawny Owl, with the following account 

 of its misadventure : — " At one o'clock to-day, when the drawing-room 

 fire was being made up, an Owl fell down the chimney on to the fire. 

 Some soot came down with it ; the Owl had evidently been suffocated 

 by the smoke. I send the Owl to you ; do you think it is worth 

 mounting ? Why it should have got into a perfectly new chimney 

 and small chimney-pot, I can't think." Though rather soot-begrimed, 

 it was not injured by the fire ; but as no one here kills Owls, and we 

 like to hear their wild hooting at night, its death was much regretted. 

 The man by whom it was sent, who has worked on the property for 

 years, told me that it was not the first time such an occurrence had 

 happened, and that one morning, when a wing of the house was 

 opened, an Owl, which had evidently come down the chimney, flew 

 straight through the glass of one of the windows. — Julian G. Tuck 

 (Tostock Bectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 



Zoological Notes from Scarborough during 1904. — 



MAMMALIA. 



Pigmy Shrew {Sorex minutus). — A dead specimen was brought to 

 me on April 30th, having been picked up on the Whitby moors. This 

 is the only example of this species I have seen taken in the Scar- 

 borough district. 



Rat-tailed Opossum (Didelphys murina). — One of these charming 

 little animals was brought to me alive on May 11th by a railway rulley- 

 man, who had caught it while unloading a truck of cases of bananas, 

 in one of which it had doubtless travelled. It speedily became very 

 tame, and lived for six months, feeding chiefly upon bananas, small 

 fish, and insects. Upon its death, which occurred quite suddenly, I 

 sent the body to the Zoological Gardens, where it was identified by 

 Mr. Pocock as above. It is a native of Brazil, Guiana, and neigh- 

 bouring South American countries, and is recorded from Central 

 Mexico. 



