6764 



Fishes. — Crustacea. 



subsequently discovered, on the ground, one of the young birds still living, which I 

 took into the house, and endeavoured to rear, but it died before morning. The foliage 

 of the apple tree was very thick, and the nest — which was, as I understood, very coarsely 

 constructed — about six feet from the ground. This is the only recent instance of the 

 occurrence of this bird in the neighbourhood, as far as I can ascertain. — John Henry 

 Gray ; 7, New Inn, Strand, October 14, 1859. 



Occurrence of the Sand Grouse in Norfolk— Early in the month of July last a very 

 beautiful specimen of Pallas's sand grouse (Syrrhaples paradoxus) was shot in the parish 

 of Walpole St. Peter's, in this county, about two miles from the Wash. The bird was 

 alone when shot, but at least one other, apparently of the same species, was observed 

 about the same time in the neighbourhood. There is reason to believe the present 

 specimen to be an adult male, in perfect plumage, the beautifully elongated feathers 

 of the tail and wings happily uninjured. It has been beautifully mounted by Mr. 

 Leadbeater, of Brewer Street, and is now in the Lynn Museum. This is, I believe, 

 the first occurrence of this bird in England, if not in Europe. — Frederick Currie ; 

 Clenchwater, Lynn, Norfolk, September 29, 1859. 



[See the account of another specimen Zool. 6728. — Edward Newman]. 



Familiarity of Shannies (Blennias pholis). — I think the familiarity of some shannies 

 I took a few days ago is worth noticing. Two of them were placed in a pan along with 

 a pair that had been captured more than a fortnight, and were consequently tame. The 

 very next day, on feeding these latter, I was surprised to see the new-comers approach 

 for their share of the food, and found that they would follow the finger, and bite at it 

 after the manner of the domesticated specimens. Could it be that they were 

 influenced by the example of the others? — G. Guyon ; Ventnor, Isle of Wight, 

 August 10, 1859. 



Quivering Movement of the first Dorsal Fin in the Five-bearded Rockling. — Last week 

 I took a specimen of the five-bearded rockling, and while viewing it in the aquarium 

 was struck by the peculiar quivering movement of the delicate appendage termed the 

 first dorsal fin. This mane-like organ was alternately agitated and quiescent, re- 

 minding one of the action of the breathing-apparatus along the sides of the larva of 

 Ephemera. Yarrell notices this movement in the three-bearded rockling, and no 

 doubt it is common to both species. The death of the specimen the same evening 

 prevented any further observations. Is any cause known for this peculiar action ?—Id. 



The Moulting of Crustacea. — The moulting of Crustacea is usually described as a 

 painful and tedious process, only accomplished after many struggles. Perhaps dif- 

 ferent species vary in this respect; at least I saw nothing of the kind in the case of a 

 Carcinus Msenas in my possession last spring. The first part of the process I did not 

 witness, as when I looked into the pan the crab had ahout a fourth of its body pro- 

 truding from the hinder portion of the shell. Though I watched it closely, no effort 

 appeared to be made, but the shell seemed to slide off gradually, as if the body was 

 expanding, and the shell was compelled to slip off by its natural spring. No diffi- 

 culty seemed to occur about the claws, but when nearly free the crab withdrew itself 



