84 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



nigrmana, Myospila meditabunda, Spilogaster duplicate/,, CallipJiora erythro- 

 cephala. 



May 8. — We went collecting inland again and took amongst others the 

 following Diptera : Gymnochaeta viridus, Musca hortorum, Scatophagy ster- 

 coraria, Eylemyia strigosa, Hylemyia variata, Anthomyia pluvialis, Isemopoda 

 cylindrica and Empis trigramma. We found the larvse of B. quercus and 

 one C. caja in the hedge bank, and took one imago of P. cegeria. In the 

 evening we tried " sugaring " and met with the success to which we are ac- 

 customed. The following note is entered in our sugaring records (in we fear 

 uot very good English.) " The wind was rather cold, but in sheltered places, 

 where we sugared as much as we could, it was warm enough. It was a clear 

 night, but not very light as the moon was not nearly full. We sugared in 

 about fifteen places, mostly gate posts and trunks of trees, but did not even 

 see a single moth.'" 



May 11. — We took a number of Diptera flying over the sand and rushes 

 on the Burrows. The following species were amongst our captures ; Bilophus 

 vulgaris, Sarcophaga pumilla, Spilogaster quadrum, Gonia capitata, G. trifaria, 

 Lucilia cczsarce, Spilogaster duplicata. Besides these we took a specimen of 

 P. megara. This and the JEgeria taken the day before, were almost the only 

 butterflies we had seen, with the exception of a few P. rapa. 



May 12. — In the morning we went prawning and saw on the rocks, some 

 Curlews and two Oystercatchers. The fishermen told us it was too early in the 

 year, to find many prawns in these pools, but that later in the summer there 

 were quantities to be caught. While the weather is cold, the prawns stay in 

 the deeper water. On oar way back along the top of the cliffs we found in 

 the grass near the path, a Skylark's nest with four eggs. In the afternoon 

 we went down to the Burrows and on the far side, when the tide was nearly 

 high, by taking advantage of the shelter afforded by a friendly hill, we got 

 very close to a number of Curlews on the shore, without disturbing them. 

 On this occasion there were also a Knot feeding with them. This bird is 

 much smaller than a Curlew, with shorter legs and a short straight bill, brown 

 on the back and with a reddish breast and long wings. Large flocks of 

 Einged-dotterel were also to be seen on the shore. We spent some time on 

 this, and several other days, searching for the eggs of these pretty little birds, 

 but without success, though this, according to the Eev. P. 0. Morris, is the 

 time at which they breed. If it be the case, as E. Mudie suggests, that these 

 birds only sit on their eggs during the night and in cold dull weather, leaving 

 them at other times to be hatched by the power of the sun, this would of 

 course add to the difficulty of finding them, as there would be little chance of 

 putting the bird ^)ff the nest. A large Duck flew over our heads, while we 



