468 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



In other districts I have seen both the Starling and Pied Wagtail ; 

 the last time I saw the Starling in such a situation, I think, was 

 when on my way to Chesterfield. It is a curious fact that this 

 habit of the Starling should vary so much in different districts ; 

 but somehow, when seen on the back of Sheep, I think it is some- 

 times collecting wool for lining its nest ; or when the grass is not 

 short where the sheep are grazing, it often uses the back as a 

 perching place for catching insects which have been disturbed. It 

 may feed occasionally on ticks, but this, I think, will not be a 

 common habit. Is not this habit of Starlings more common in the 

 nesting season than at any other period? — E. P. Butterfield 

 (Wilsden, Yorkshire). 



OBITUARY. 



Alfred Russel Wallace. 



So much has been written about this illustrious man, both before 

 and after his death on November 7th, that it is difficult to say 

 anything fresh or arresting. Looking back over a warm friendship 

 of more than twenty-five years, and reading again the numerous 

 letters received from him, I do however recall memories and find 

 striking statements which help to create a picture of the great 

 personality now lost to the world. Some of these have been recorded 

 elsewhere (' Nature,' November 20th, pp. 347-9) ; others appear in 

 the following pages. 



The curious misconception about the date of Wallace's birth has 

 often been referred to, but it is of interest to quote his own words 

 on the subject. He wrote, February 23rd, 1903 : — 



" Up to about fifteen years ago I thought I was born in 1822. I 

 suppose I had been told so. But I then came into possession of an 

 old Prayer Book in which the date of birth of my father is given by 

 his father, and of all my brothers and sisters in my father's hand- 

 writing, and there I am put down as born on January 8th, 1823, and 

 the date is repeated for my baptism, February 16th, 1823. I, there- 

 fore, found myself then a year younger than I had supposed. ..." 



Although Wallace was eminently sociable and delighted in 

 converse with his friends, he was strongly averse to publicity and 

 ceremony of every kind ; and I think that his appearance at the 

 Linnean Society's celebrations in 1908 was due to a sense of duty, 



