Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/222

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).—I witnessed some time since, what struck me as a curious incident with regard to this hawk. While staying in the north of Devon, at a farm-house, I went out one evening shooting, and walked in the direction of a solitary old barn while passing it, a hawk flew from a hole in the mud wall, about seven foot from the ground; I fired, but as its flight was so swift, I missed. Returning in about an hour, I saw one of the birds coming out of the hole in a very "hobbling" manner, holding something in its claws; it commenced its flight, but this time I was too quick for it it fell, and I saw an egg distinctly drop from it, which I found broken by the fall.—J. P.

Squirrel Monkey (Callithrix sciureus, L.).—A pair of these very interesting little monkeys from Brazil, have recently been presented by the Prince de Joinville to the Zoological Society, and may be seen in one of the side cages in the new Monkey-house, at the Society's Gardens, in Regent's Park.

Curious Crab-claw.—I enclose a rough sketch of a deformed claw of the Edible Crab, C. Edulis (or Platycarcinus of Milne-Edwards). The crab was

caught here on the 23rd June, and its claw is in my possession. Believing it to be of rare occurrence, I thought it might be of interest to some of your readers.—H. H. K.

Comparative Increase in Size.—At the age of twenty, man is rarely four times as long as the new-born infant; and his average weight is hardly thirty times greater. The Teredo larva, which is about to undergo a change of form, is four thousand times larger than when it sprang from the egg, and is still many million times smaller than its mother.—Quatrefages' Metamorphoses.

Pigeons routed by Swallows.—A pair of pigeons have for the last two years made their nest in a box attached to the wall of an outbuilding, the door of which is regularly closed at night. Two swallows attached their nest to a beam of this building, and so persecuted the unfortunate pigeons that they were suddenly compelled to retreat and establish a home elsewhere. The circumstance did not come under my notice until the swallows had hatched their eggs, when the swallows' nest was removed and placed outside the building, under a spouting which protected it from the wet, and the pigeons reinstated. The old ones continued so feed the young, and the swallows soon were on the wing. The pigeons, however, did not long enjoy their quiet, for, having laid more eggs, they wore again attacked by the swallows, who made great efforts to build a second time on the beam, but were prevented by my servant. It was very curious to witness the attacks made on these unwieldy pigeons. The persecutions were not confined to the building, but wherever these unfortunates were met, down the swallows were upon them, skimming the air, and with the rapidity of lightning, pouncing upon them, and removing a lot of feathers with their beaks. Whilst the larger birds were turning round to make their attacks, the smaller ones were far out of reach.—Charles Wotton, M.D.

The Natterjack at Coombe.—I lately caught a few Natterjacks on Coombe Warren, on the hill by the back road between Wimbledon Common and Kingston. A shepherd boy in the neighbourhood had some time before told me there were "spotted toads that run very fast" sometimes to be seen about. Mr. Bell in his work says they are found at Selborne, and I have heard of their being about Shalford, west of Guildford, so that they have several habitats along the Portsmouth road, but are nowhere so abundant as on Wisley Heath. They are noted in the "Penny Cyclopædia" as occurring at Hillingdon, Middlesex, but I lately showed a pair to two or three villagers there, and they did not know them. They are found about Berkhampstead, Herts.—W. R. Tate, Camberwell.

Flower-loving Spiders.—A while species is very common on the flowers of the "ox-eye," and sometimes frequents the wild roses; another I saw on an orchis, but it hid between the blossoms. They often had hold of a large fly, or even of a bee, which they had surprised at the flower; and one day noticing on a flower of one of the yellow vetches an example of Vanessa urticæ with its wings spread out, which did not seem to move on my approach, I looked more closely, and found that it was held by the head by a large bright yellow spider, of almost exactly the colour of the flower.—C. G. Barrett, in Entomologists' Monthly Magazine.