26 



The Naturalist. 



consenting to superintend their articulation ; and the skeleton afterwards 

 passed into the hands of some private individual. If this cetacean was 

 accurately identified as Hyperodoon, only one species of which — known 

 as the bottle-head {H. ButzJcopf, Lacep.) — occurs on our coasts, its 

 appearance is very remarkable on account of its extreme rarity. Dr. 

 Foster also informs me that five specimens of Grampus were killed a few 

 days after these between Kilnsea and Spurn, and I have little doubt that 

 the specimens offered to me are a part of this capture. The following 

 description will, I think, show that they are bottle-nosed dolphins : — They 

 are both adult specimens, and are 10ft. and lift, long respectively. The 

 head is produced into a snout, with a distinct forehead 4iin. from 

 snout, the lower jaw projecting a little beyond upper; blowhole 

 crescentic, 16in. from end of snout, and with a flattened and somewhat 

 hollow space for six inches behind it. Teeth ^ conical and sHghtly 

 incurved ; eye at side, in line with gape and immediately beneath 

 blowhole. Dorsal fin llin. high, 22in. long, and its origin 4ft. 4in. from 

 end of snout. Pectoral fin 25in. from snout, 19in. round the outer 

 edge ; length of gape 14 inches ; tail 23in. wide, pointed at each end, 

 but without any decided notch. On the other hand, an adult Grampus 

 measures about 21ft. in length, has only about eleven teeth on each 

 side of each jaw ; the head is blunt, and not produced into a snout, 

 and has no distinct forehead. Another cetacean, a young specimen of 

 the northern rorqual {Balmnoptera hoops, Flem.) 16ft. long, caught at 

 Bridlington April 5th, 1880, has recently been exhibited in Sheffield. — 

 E. HowAETH, Weston Park Museum, Sheffield. 



LohopJiora viretata. — I took a very fine specimen of the above at 

 Grange on Whit-Tuesday ; I also took, amongst others, A. derivata, E. 

 odomaculalis, and larvse of X. citrago. — John Firth, Bradford. 



Malformation op the Rook's Beak. — While examining a private 

 collection of birds belonging to Mr. Matthewman, of Selby, I was shown 

 a singular freak in the beak of the rook. The lower mandible was of the 

 usual size and shape, but the upper mandible was as long again as the 

 lower one, and curved downwards after the manner of the curlew's beak, 

 which gave the bird a very singular appearance. It was shot near 

 Selby.— Walter Raikb, Leeds.— [We know of other maKormations in 

 the beak of the rook ; in one case the mandibles cross each other in the 

 same way that those of the crossbill do, but to a greater extent.— 

 Eds. Nat] 



Polecat near Leeds. — Last February, my friend Mr. Harrison and 

 myseK had the good fortune to see a polecat at the Seven Arches, near 

 Adel. We disturbed it from under the root of a tree, near the stream 

 that runs under the arches. We should not have noticed it, had it not 

 attracted our attention by its cries. The polecat is a very scarce animal 

 in the neighbourhood, for, being great enemies to the gamekeepers, they 



