21 
VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY IN YORKSHIRE. 
A meeting of the Vertebrate Section of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ 
TJnion was held in the Library of the Leeds Philosophical Society on 
Saturday, October 22nd, Mr. S. H. Smith presiding. 
The Sectional Meeting was preceded by a Meeting of the Yorkshire 
Wild Birds and Eggs Protection Acts Committee (Mr. H. B. Booth 
•occupying the chair in the absence of Mr. St. Quintin) and of the York- 
shire Mammals, Amphibians, Reptiles and Fishes Committee (Mr. C. F. 
Proctor in the Chair ) . 
The following recommendation was brought before the Sectional 
Meeting by the Yorkshire Wild Birds and Eggs Protection Committee, 
and approved : — 
‘ The Yorkshire Fishery Board has made a complaint to this Committee 
of the harm done by Herons to the fish and fishing in the upper waters of 
many of our rivers. 
At a Special Meeting, called to consider this question, we have come 
to the conclusion that the Heron might well be taken off the complete 
Protection List, but in all cases they should be protected during the Breed- 
ing season, i.e., March 1st to August 31st. 
We think that this would fairly meet the wishes of the Angling 
Society and of your Committee . ’ 
It was accordingly decided to recommend the County Councils to 
place the Heron on the ordinary Schedule. 
A paper was read by Mr. H. B. Booth, the President of the Union, 
•entitled ‘ Notes on the Distribution of the Lesser Horse-shoe Bat.' 
The lecturer pointed out that although this species had a wide range 
on the Continent, being found South of the Baltic in Europe and with 
allied species ranging into North Africa and up into the Himalayas, its 
distribution in this country was puzzling. He said that a crescent with 
one tip placed in Kent and with the other in Yorkshire, and its greatest 
width in Wales, outlined its distribution in this country, except for the 
South of Ireland. 
On June 5th, 1921, Mr. Booth was so fortunate as to capture a living 
specimen near Helmsley. This is the first Yorkshire record for a quarter 
of a century. The specimen was a female, heavy with young, and it 
seems certain that a colony must exist in that neighbourhood. 
Mr, Whittaker attributed the dearth of records to the small number 
of skilled observers. 
A paper was next read by Mr. S. H. Smith entitled ‘ Notes on the 
Turtle Dove in Yorkshire.’ It dealt mainly with the range of this species 
in the County, and the lecturer was led to believe that the species was 
becoming more numerous, even in those haunts where it had been long 
known to occur. It particularly favoured arable land interspersed with 
small woods and copses, sheltered valleys and the foot-hills of the Wolds. 
The main body of birds arrive on the Southern Coast between May 
4th and 1 8th, and the movement is almost entirely northwards, as much 
as a month sometimes elapsing between their arrival on the south coast 
and their being noted in Yorkshire. Evidence was given that a small 
migratory movement took place across the North Sea, odd birds having 
.been seen arriving near Spurn. 
It was generally agreed that the species is now plentiful in many parts 
of Yorkshire. 
At the Evening Meeting Mr. R. Chislett read a paper entitled ‘ The 
•Great and Arctic Skua in Shetland,’ and Mr. T. W. Fowler one entitled 
‘ The Great and Arctic Skua in Orkney.’ Both papers were illustrated 
by lantern slides. 
Mr. Chislett stated that the Great Skua bred in Iceland, the Faroes 
and in the Shetlands and Orkneys. As long ago as 1861 , it was predicted 
that this bird would soon be extinct in Shetland, but the lecturer had 
found eighteen nests on one Island. 
1922 -Jan. 1 
