. Spiort Notes 



Avifauna, and if anyone would do 

 for Yorkshire what Mr. Stevenson 

 has done for Norfolk, it would be a 

 boon to naturalists, — J. H. GuR- 

 NEY, Jun. 



January mh, 1876. 



The White Wagtail and the 

 Pied Wagtail — The white wagtail 

 and the pied pagtail are so much 

 alike, that it is not much wonder if 

 people often confound one with 

 the other. For your correspondent's 

 information let me mention what I 

 consider the best point of distinc- 

 tion : It is the colour of the lower 

 part of the back which is invariably 

 grey in the white wagtail, and 

 black, or nearly black, in the pied 

 species. Many people suppose that 

 every grey-backed wagtail is a white 

 wagtail, but unless the rump is also 

 grey, it is not so. — J. H. Gurkey, 

 Jun. 



Early Specimen of " Pieris 

 RAP^." — This morning, Mr. J. R. 

 Dore brought me a fresh lively 

 specimen of this species he had 

 taken in his garden at Fartown. 

 It is surprising the species should 

 be out so early, especially as it was 

 taken during the severest frost we 

 have had this winter. — Geo, T. 



PORRITT. 



Huddersfield, Feb. 14, 1876. 



The Rainfall of January. — 

 1876 has opened with the driest 

 January we have had for some 

 years, the rainfall being only 0*95 

 as against an average for the ten 

 years 1866-75 of 3-33 in. The 

 rainy days have been 11, the ten 

 years' average being 18*5. On six 

 of these eleven days the rain fell in 



AND Queries. 125 



the form of snow. The heaviest 

 fall was 0-23 in. on the 20th. The 

 month has been colder than usual, 

 with more than the average of 

 easterly and north-easterly winds. 



— J. W. ROBSON. 



Dalton, 18th Feb., 1876. 



Bradford Naturalists' Society. 

 Meeting January, the president, 

 Mr. E. Margerison, in the chair, 

 who gave an historical and amusing 

 reading on "The Great Snakes of 

 Asia, Africa, and America," par- 

 ticularly naming the boa, python, 

 cobra, asp, and rattlesnake, and 

 gave some amusing anecdotes of 

 each. — Mr. R. Spencer exhibited 

 specimens of kestrel, mounted in 

 the attitude of devouring its prey, 

 and other ornithological specimens; 

 Mr. J. Whiteley a living specimen 

 (bred) of the Hadena pisi remark- 

 able for having come out of the 

 chrysalis three months before the 

 usual time. 



Meeting Feb. 8th, the president 

 in the chair, — Mr. J. W. Carter read 

 an article from Newman's Entomo- 

 logist on "Injury to linen in the 

 bleachfields by larvae of Arctia ruhi- 

 ginosa,'' and exhibited both the 

 larva and moth. Mr. R. Beaumont 

 exhibited a good specimen of the 

 red-legged partridge ; Mr, R. Spen- 

 cer, fieldfare and blue titmouse ; 

 and the following moths by Mr. J. 

 W, Carter : — Carsia imhulata, Eu- 

 pithecia venosata, E. centaur eata, 

 Ennomos Ziliaria; Mr. J. W. W. 

 Brook (dried) specimens of Impa- 

 patiens noli-me-tangere, Parnassia, 



