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NOTES AND QUEEIES. 



MAMMALIA. 



Yawning of Rodents. — In his article on the " Yawning of Fishes," 

 &c. (ante, p. 321), Mr. Elmhirst states that he can find no record of 

 rodents yawning. It may interest him to know that my Flemish 

 Eabbits, of which I have many, frequently, on rising from recumbent 

 positions, stretch themselves and yawn ; and a very curious expres- 

 sion they assume. — Chaeles H. Bbyant (38, Montpelier Crescent, 

 Brighton) . 



A VES. 



Habits of the Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus). — In September 

 last I had an unusually good opportunity of watching the habits of 

 two Choughs. The birds, probably a pair, were together on a grassy 

 level near the coast in one of the Inner Hebrides. With glasses I 

 could see their smallest actions. I noticed in particular that they 

 methodically turned over the dry pats of cow-dung with their beaks, 

 and searched underneath for insect food. When they had done this 

 they turned their attention to some thistles in seed and picked out 

 the down. This was not done, so far as I could see, to eat the seed, 

 but rather from curiosity or mischief. Occasionally one or possibly 

 both the birds (for they were not to be distinguished) would turn 

 and caress the other by scratching the back of its head with the 

 curved end of its bill. All these doings were characteristic of the 

 Corvidce, and the form of the bill is admirably adapted for the 

 purposes of the bird. But when one considers the bright coral- red 

 of the beak and the feet, which are conspicuous at a distance, it is 

 impossible to see how this striking feature can be of service, or can 

 have been gained by natural selection acting on small variations. 

 It may be suggested that the red colour is a sudden mutation which 

 has not affected the welfare of the species materially. The Choughs 

 are undoubtedly birds doomed to gradual extermination, apparently 

 chiefly owing to the increase of Jackdaws in their haunts. Yet why 

 this should injuriously affect the Choughs is hard to discover, for 

 the two species are often seen together and apparently on amicable 

 terms. — Haeold Russell (16, Beaufort Gardens, London). 



