NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
39 
Rooks. — The behaviour of these birds, with many of whom I am on terms 
of intimacy, is, to say the least of it, eccentric. One day, when, as my custom is 
always in the morning, I go out with a bowl of provender for the wild fowl and 
pigeons, from twenty to thirty birds come flocking down— from whence I cannot 
tell, for not one is previously visible, either on the meadows or the trees around 
— to partake of the feast. Another day, for no apparent reason, under similar 
conditions of weather, one or two or none put in an appearance. The birds know 
me well, and settle on the iron rails within two or three yards of me. This, 
though, only while I do not look directly at them ; on my doing so they incon- 
tinently take flight. They seem unw'illing to meet my eye, perhaps conscience- 
stricken, for, like all their tribe, they are sad thieves, and prefer to steal rather 
than accept what is given to them. But why do they come one day and not 
another? I observe that they are already forming matrimonial arrangements ; 
their flirtations are singularly grotesque. 
George Roofer. 
TO CORRRESPONDENTS. 
D. E. M. — Please comply with our first Rule. 
R. J. P. — Such hibernated specimens are not uncommon. 
E. B. L. — Not an unfrequent occurrence. 
E. H. — Many thanks, but we are not in a position to incur the expense of 
illustrations. 
Ckris. — Dr. Sharpe says, it is not usual for woodpigeons to eat holly 
berries, but there is no reason why they should not do so. 
F. D. — It did not seem to us that the note added anything of importance to 
what Mr. Carruthers had written ; and we are compelled to economise our space. 
A. P. — Mr. W. F. Kirby says the larger caterpillar is probably Pygccra Bttce- 
phala (buff-tip moth), the smaller Porthesia aiirifltia (gold-tail moth). Of the 
pupae, the larger one is that of a lepidopterous insect, the barrel-shaped one is 
that of a dipterous insect. It is not possible for two caterpillars to emerge from 
one larva skin, unless they were parasites on the larva ; in any other case there 
must have been some error of observation. 
Miss H. — The plant is apparently a Hippeastrum, but the material is insuffi- 
cient. As to treatment, consult a gardening newspaper. 
J. M. W. — Mr. R. I. Pocock says: “There seems to be very little doubt that 
the foundation lines of a spider’s web are carried by air currents. A thread of 
silk is so light that a very slight movement of the air is sufficient to carry it from 
the spider to a point at a distance of several feet.” 
We have still several books awaiting notice, some of which we hope to deal 
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