# The Zoologist/3rd series, vol 1 (1877)/Issue 5/Occasional Notes

Published in The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 1, issue 5, p. 223–232
OCCASIONAL NOTES.
The Natural History of Donegal.—The paper on the Natural History of Donegal, by Mr. James A. Mahony, which you have introduced to the readers of 'The Zoologist,' has attracted my attention, as well by its style as by its statements; and taking as I do some little interest in Irish Natural History, it would, I believe, be prejudicial to the cause of truth were some of its passages allowed to go unnoticed. The descriptive paragraphs on the Physical Geography, Geology, and Botany of Donegal would be more appropriately criticised outside the pages of 'The Zoologist;' but coming to the list of Mammalia, and neglecting its omissions, we are informed that "The Squirrel, Ferret, Fox, Weasel, Bat and Hedgehog are often to be seen, and it seems to be quite true that there are no Toads, Moles or Snakes in Ireland." If the Squirrel has reached Donegal, it is quite a new locality; and if particulars were given as to when, where, and by whom it was seen, the information would be more valuable. The Ferret is not wild in Ireland; and Thompson's cautious statement as to the Weasel has rather been confirmed than controverted of late years. The Natterjack Toad is found near Dingle, County Kerry. As to birds, it may be said that the casual manner in which the Tawny Owl is alluded to shows rather Mr. Mahony's ignorance as to its great rarity in Ireland than the accuracy of his observation. The Sedge Warbler is generally regarded as the "Irish Nightingale," and not the Thrush; and the curious assertion about the "Common Crane" is no doubt correctly explained in the Editor's note.—Richard M. Barrington (Fassaroe, Bray, County Wicklow).
Natural History of Donegal.—Allow me to offer a few remarks upon the notes on County Donegal, published in your last number (p. 149), as I think it very desirable to correct some errors in the zoological part. In the first place, I and other Irish naturalists would be much obliged to Mr. Mahony if he would inform us in what part of the county Squirrels are found in a wild state, and whether he himself saw them or took the statement on hearsay? So far as I know, the Squirrel is not found in any part of Donegal. The few Irish counties in which I have heard of its occurrence are Wicklow, Queen's County (near Portarlington), and Kerry. By Ferret, I suppose your correspondent must mean the Marten (Martes abietum), which is still tolerably common in the wilder parts of Ireland; and of course the Stoat is intended when the Weasel is mentioned. Here I will take the opportunity of correcting a mistake which has somehow got about—that there is an Irish specimen of the Weasel in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin. This specimen I myself sent up from Tyrone, and received in return an intimation that it was the true Weasel, and the first known Irish example: it is, however, but a small Stoat. I wish your ​correspondent would tell us what species of Bats he has found in Donegal. The Hairy-armed Bat has been found in several widely-separated parts of Ireland, so that it may be discovered in other localities if naturalists would only take the trouble to look for it: at present it has been obtained only in the counties of Wicklow, Dublin, Armagh, and the town of Belfast. As for birds, the Tawny Owl is not proved yet to occur in Ireland, even as an accidental visitor, the only evidence on this subject which I have obtained being two eggs in the collection of Mr. Gage, of Rathlin, which that gentleman kindly entrusted to me to send to Prof. Newton, who considers that they probably belong to the Tawny Owl. These eggs are stated to have been found in a wood near Ballycastle, County Antrim. Perhaps, however, Mr. Mahouy means the Long-eared Owl, which is a very common Irish bird. I have never before heard the Song Thrush called the "Irish Nightingale," the bird which is generally called by that honourable title being the Sedge Warbler. Again, out of some hundreds of geese which I have seen from Loughs Swilly and Foyle, I never came across more than half-a-dozen Bernicles; and your correspondent probably means the Brent Goose, which is very common, and is called Bernicle by the peasantry. On p. 151, third line, Chylodadiæ should be Chylocladiæ: and lower down on the same page, Eclimus spheræ is, I presume, a misprint for Echinus sphæra, though I have never found this Urchin anywhere except reposing on sand or rocks, and imagine that a large one would find some difficulty in "prowling over" the fronds of Laminariæ.—J. Douglas-Ogilby (Portrush).
[We have received a third letter to the same effect from an esteemed correspondent, who does not, however, desire its publication. By "Ferret" no doubt is intended the Polecat, an animal which, according to Thompson, is "not positively known as an Irish species," although said to inhabit the wild woods of Kerry, and to have been killed in at least one instance in the County Down. The Weasel is another animal whose existence in Ireland there is reason to doubt, although, as we have elsewhere pointed out, Mr. Bell, in his 'History of British Quadrupeds,' does not allude to it. Mr. Andrew Murray, in his 'Geographical Distribution of Mammals' (p. 114) says that the Weasel formerly inhabited Ireland, but is no longer found there. Macgillivray averred that the Weasel is generally distributed in Ireland, but Thompson, on the contrary, remarks that he never met with it there, nor does he consider that it has been proved to be a native, although it may be so. The Stoat, which is called Weasel in Ireland, is common there. It should be noted that the larger size, darker colour, and the black tuft at the end of the tail, will at all seasons distinguish the Stoat from its smaller relative. As regards the Squirrel, we have notes of its occurrence in the Counties of Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, and Longford (where it was introduced in large numbers, at Castle Forbes, by either the father or grandfather of the present Earl Granard). It has been introduced ​also at Carrickglass, County Longford, and Burton Hall Woods, County Carlow. As regards the County of Dublin, Squirrels are said to have crossed over from the County Wicklow some ten or fifteen years ago. Concerning all these animals, it would be very desirable to have further particulars, and we trust Mr. Mahony, at his leisure, will if possible supply them. So little comparatively has been published on the native mammals of Ireland, that any information respecting their existence, distribution, and scarcity, or otherwise, in the sister isle will be welcome.—Ed.]
Mammalia Scotica.—At a meeting of the Glasgow Natural History Society, held on the 27th March last, Mr. James Lumsden, F.Z.S., read a paper "On the Mammals of the Neighbourhood of Lochlomond." He said that in the country which borders on Lochlomond there has been found a large proportion of the land mammals of Britain, but as in other districts several species which were at one time common are now rarely if ever met with, the advance of agriculture and the greater attention paid to the preservation of game having been most destructive to many of our wild animals, as well as to our rapacious birds. Within late years a great change has taken place in the mammalian fauna of this district. At one time wild cats were well known, and martens, if not often seen, betrayed their presence by their thieving habits; polecats were not uncommon; rats (excepting a few of the harmless Mus rattus), rabbits, and squirrels were unknown; and mountain hares were seldom met with. How changed it is now! The wild cat, marten and polecat extinct, and the brown rat swarming in and around all farm-steadings, rabbits plentiful on hill and low country alike, and the mountain hare numerous on all the higher ranges. Squirrels are also common in all the plantations, and are extending their distribution. The nature of the ground around Lochlomond renders the district peculiarly suited for all kinds of mammals. In the agricultural land at the southern end of the Loch are found moles, shrews, mice and voles, while the more rugged ground at the northern end gives shelter to the wild animals and mountain hares. So far as is known no complete list of the mammals found throughout the Lochlomond district has ever been drawn up, although the subject has not been neglected by naturalists and others. Mr. Lumsden then submitted a list of twenty-six species found in the district, and stated that in the notes accompanying it he had not attempted to describe the habits of any of these, as this had already been ably done by others, but had only endeavoured to record the present as compared with the past state of the mammalian fauna in the particular neighbourhood which he had explored.
Curiously Coloured Mole.—A very pretty variety of the mole was brought in to be stuffed on the 17th February. Its fur was exactly the colour of orange-peel; it had a reddish stripe down the belly and a few black stripes across the back. Unfortunately it was not sent till too far gone to ​be preserved. The birdstuffer informs me that he has had many curious varieties of the mole sent to him, but that this is by far the handsomest he has seen.—C. Matthew Prior (Bedford).
[Mr. Bell, in the second edition of his 'British Quadrupeds' (p. 139), notices several remarkable varieties of the mole, and amongst others the variety here described. He says, "It is found of a deep black colour, of a mouse-colour, dark olive-brown, pied, yellowish white, and wholly or partially orange."—Ed.]
The Merlin in South Wilts.—During the past winter I have had four notices of the occurrence of the Merlin in the immediate neighbourhood of Salisbury, which either proves that this bird is commoner in the district during the winter months than I at all realized, or else that there has been an unusual immigration of the species during this particular season. In November a fine male bird was shot by Mr. Powell, of Hurdcott House, some six miles from Salisbury; and in the same month another specimen was brought to the stuffer at Warminster, also a male bird. On the 2nd of January, 1877, I had a nice hen bird sent to me, also from Hurdcott, which had been shot by Mr. J.A. Tyndale Powell, and is now in the hands of Hart for preservation. The same gentleman, while shooting with a friend on January 13th, discovered a fourth specimen, a hen, much brighter in colour than the one he had previously sent me. It had been shot by the keeper about a fortnight previously, in the adjoining wood, and was hung up by the head on the keeper's gallows. I am glad to find from this that the Merlin is not so uncommon in the South as I at first thought. I have only noticed it myself once since I have been living in these parts, now some sixteen years, when I saw a hen bird chasing a Sky Lark, in pursuit of which it made fourteen distinct stoops, the end of the chase being hidden from me by the trees. Some little time back I wrote to Hart, of Christchurch, to enquire about the prevalence of the Merlin in the Christchurch neighbourhood, and he wrote me back word "Merlin and Hobby killed frequently," and on making a second enquiry of him he wrote "I find the Merlin is nearly as often killed as the Hobby; possibly the Hobby is killed oftener, but does not find its way to me," and during October, when at Christchurch myself, he showed me several specimens, one, a beautiful male bird, which he had himself shot while attacking his poultry, and which had not a single intermediate bar on its tail, thus resembling that of an adult male Kestrel, only blue in shade. No doubt it occasionally breeds in the New Forest.—Arthur P. Morres (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury).
[Mr. Wise, in his 'History of the New Forest' (p. 267), notices the fact of the Merlin occasionally breeding in the New Forest. He says in 1859 and 1861 Mr. Farren received two nests with three eggs, taken in old pollard hollies growing in the open heath, which in every way corresponded ​with those of the Merlin, being considerably smaller than those of Kestrels. Unfortunately, however, he could not procure the parent birds, and the fact of the Merlin's nesting remained doubtful. In 1862 he was at last successful, and on May 22nd discovered a nest placed in the hole of a yew, also containing, like the others, three eggs, from which the male was shot. The important fact, however, to be noticed is that, as Temminck remarks, the Merlin in a woody country builds in trees, whilst in the north of Britain, where there is no timber, it adapts itself to the country and lays on the ground.—Ed.]
Purple Gallinule in Somerset.—Under this heading, at p. 178, I see the Rev. M.A. Mathew records the occurrence of this bird at Badgworth, in this county, in August, 1875. Lest Somerset should be credited with two Purple Gallinules,—possibly with three, for Mr. Mathew says something about another having been seen when this one was taken,—I think it worth while to mention that this bird was recorded in the February number of 'Science Gossip' for 1876, and in the following number I made some remarks on the occurrence, and suggested the extreme probability of this bird being an escape, and from enquiries I have since made I see no reason to alter this opinion. I may add that there is no mention in the original notice in 'Science Gossip,' which gives a rather circumstantial account of the capture, of a second bird having been seen at the same time. This, therefore, as a story seldom loses by repetition, may be only one of those little additions which often creep into records made so long after the event. It strikes me as just possible that this bird may have escaped from the same place as the South American Rail (Aramides cayennensis), mentioned in the January number of 'The Zoologist' for this year by the Rev. A.C. Smith; the distance is not at all too great, and the birds may have escaped from some intermediate place. In his notice immediately preceding the one above quoted, Mr. Mathew laments the slaughter of Owls in the neighbourhood of Taunton. In this lamentation I quite agree; but Mr. Mathew is wrong in stating that his friends the Owls are without protection. If he will look at the Wild Birds Protection Act of 1872 he will see that the word "Owl" does occur in the Schedule, and as there is no specific limitation, both the Barn Owl and the Brown Owl—indeed all the British Owls—enjoy the protection of the Act. The two Bird Acts are very little known, and I am glad to see that you have reprinted the Act of 1872 with that of 1876.—Cecil Smith (Bishop's Lydeard).
[Specimens of the Purple Gallinule have on several occasions been found at large in this country, but have generally been regarded as escaped birds. One, shot near Campbeltown, in Argyllshire, in December 1863, is mentioned in Mr. Gray's 'Birds of the West of Scotland,' p. 337. In August of the same year one was killed at Rowner, in Hampshire ​('Zoologist,' 1865, p. 9418, and 1867, p. 829). On the 25th September, 1876, a Purple Gallinule was shot near Grange in Furness, Lancashire, by Robert Allan, gamekeeper to Mr. E. Mucklow, of Castle Head, Grange, and was preserved by Kirkby, the taxidermist, of Ulverston. We are further informed by the Rev. E.W. Dowell, of Dunton Vicarage, Fakenham, Norfolk, that an adult bird of this species was killed in one of the head streams of the Wensum River, at Tatterford, early in October, 1876. Mr. John Marshall, of Belmont, Taunton, has a bird of this species in his collection, which he purchased some years ago at Mr. Troughton's sale, and which was labelled as killed in Ireland. Thompson, in his 'Natural History of Ireland' (Birds, vol. ii. p. 331, note), refers to a specimen of this bird which was found about the first week of November, 1845, lying dead in a ditch near the village of Brandon, on the coast of Kerry.—Ed.]
Occurrence of the Little Owl in Sussex.—On the 16th March last I saw in the shop of Mr. Pratt, naturalist, Brighton, a specimen of the Little Owl (Noctua passerina), which had been shot the previous evening in an orchard close to the town of New Shoreham. It was in most perfect plumage, not showing the slightest sign of having been in confinement. On dissection it proved to be a female, and the ovary contained about thirty eggs, of which four were considerably advanced. The stomach contained nothing but a few grains of gravelly detritus. This is only the second specimen I have met with, or heard of as having been killed in this county. The first, a male in my collection, was obtained, also in an orchard, near Fletching Park, in May, 1843. The female bird, which I have now secured, is rather the larger bird of the two.—William Borrer (Cowfold, Horsham).
[The synonymy of this species, is extremely confused, scarcely two writers being agreed as to the name it should bear. It is clear, however, that it is not the Strix passerina of Linnaeus, which is a perfectly distinct and much smaller European species, and has not been met with in this country. In his new edition of Yarrell's 'British Birds,' Prof. Newton, following Prof. Sundevall, identifies it with the Strix noctua of Scopoli, and points out (vol. i. p. 118) that as the generic names Athene and Noctua are preoccupied in Entomology, its proper designation, according to the Rules of Zoological Nomenclature, is Carine noctua (Scopoli).—Ed.]
Note on the Short-eared Owl.—On the 3rd April a Short-eared Owl was sent to me by an experienced and intelligent gamekeeper in the parish of Northrepps, Norfolk, with a note, from which the following is extracted:—"Lately we have seen where three Partridges have been killed, and yesterday morning the remains of a fourth were brought to me, which, after carefully examining, I considered to be the work of an Owl, so a trap was set in the evening, baited with the remains of the Partridge. The trap was watched, and just after dusk an Owl was seen working the ​field over: it then alighted on the ground, when a pair of Partridges were seen running away from the Owl, when the Owl flew and attacked one of them, but after a few seconds the Partridge got away, the Owl pursuing it on the wing for a short distance. After this the Owl came and hovered over the baited trap, and whilst doing so was shot. I always thought that these Owls only preyed on rats, mice, larks, etc., but I now believe they destroy game." On dissection the Owl proved to be a male, and the stomach was empty.—J.H. Gurney (Northrepps Hall, Norwich).
Partridges Coloured like Red Grouse.—At a recent meeting of the Natural History Society of Glasgow Mr. Harvie Brown exhibited two extremely handsome varieties of the Common Partridge (Perdix cinerea), forwarded to him by Mr. George Sim, naturalist, Aberdeen. These birds, along with four others, were shot by General Shaw, on the estate at Glasshaugh, near Portsoy, in the beginning of October last. They had been seen in different covers for some weeks before being killed, and since then the people in the neighbourhood reported to General Shaw that similar birds had been seen in previous years about the same neighbourhood. Mr. Sim says that the females, of which there were four, were all alike in plumage, being brown on the breast, while the upper parts are beautifully marked with transverse bars of light brown over a ground colour of drab—the brown being of greater density in some individuals than in others. The male differs markedly from the female, having a preponderance of the rich grouse-like chestnut-brown on the back, as well as on the breast. Mr. Sim had compared these birds with the description and plate of Perdix cinerea, var. montana, in the 'Naturalist's Library' (vol. iv. pi. 2), and found them to agree with that variety, which Sir William Jardine states is common on the plains of the Zuyder Zee in Holland. Mr. Harvie Brown observed that examples of the same variety had been found on the higher grounds of Forfarshire bordering the moors, and often among the heather, where they are known as "Hill Partridges" (see Gray's 'Birds of the West of Scotland,' p. 242). He suggested that the variation had been induced by food, looking at the almost perfect grouse-like colour, especially of the male; but added that if these birds are identical with Sir W. Jardine's var. montana, it would be difficult to account for the variety arising from food supply when it is found upon the low-lying flats of Holland, and he was at a loss to know why it was named montana, unless it was discovered in a more mountainous country than Holland, where the summit of the highest hills are only some thirty feet above the level of the sea. These two birds weighed 13½ and 15 ounces respectively. Extent of wings, in both, 19½ inches; bill to the point of tail, 12½ inches.
[Mr. Harvie Brown seems to have misunderstood his author. Sir William Jardine in the work quoted does not say that this variety is "common on the plains of the Zuyder Zee," but speaking of the variation ​of plumage to which the Common Partridge is liable, he says (p. 80), "those birds which frequent and are bred on the marshy grounds of the Zuyder Zee and mouth of the Meuse are less in size and of a duller tint than those found in the drier lands of Belgium." He observes correctly enough in his very first sentence that "this variety has been said to be more frequently found in alpine districts than in lowlands, but they are known to mingle occasionally with those of the common plumage." Some years ago we received a Partridge of this colour, which with others like it had been shot in Northumberland: it is preserved in the collection of Mr. Bond.—Ed.]
Cuckoo in Reddish Brown Plumage in Spring.—In every point of its economy the Cuckoo seems destined to perplex naturalists. The occasional occurrence of brown Cuckoos in the spring must be known to everyone who has made a study of British birds. I say "brown" as contrasted with the adult gray plumage. They generally are more rufous than the young of the year, these brown birds differing from them about as much as the young in September often differ from one another. I have seen several of these curiously-coloured Cuckoos, and I have two in my possession, one a male shot at or near Cambridge in 1868, and another, the sex of which was not ascertained, shot at Bridlington, in Yorkshire. The latter measures:—Wing, 7¾ inches; tarsus, ½ inch; culmen, ⅝ inch. Both are small, under-sized birds, and I may add that both have the occiput blotched with white, but I do not know that this is curious, as I have often noticed it in young Cuckoos in September.—J.H. Gurney, Jun. (Northrepps Hall, Norwich).
Dartford Warbler in Suffolk.—On the 6th April I came upon a pair of these little birds among some furze-bushes on the heath near Blaxhall, Suffolk. One of them (probably the male) was flying restlessly from bush to bush, something in the manner of a Stonechat or Whinchat, uttering all the while a sort of scolding note, similar to that of many of the warblers when nesting: the other was shyer, and kept diving into the bushes, not allowing me to have a good view of her. This is the second time I have met with this bird near here. (See 'Zoologist,' 1874, p. 3865). Mr. Stevenson, in the same volume (p. 3914), mentions a specimen shot on Nacton Heath as being the only other Suffolk example he was aware of; so that the above-mentioned pair make the third occurrence, so far as I know, of this species in this county.—G.T. Rope (Blaxhall, Wickham Market).
Rednecked Grebe in Essex.—On February 3rd I observed a Rednecked Grebe on the large sheet of water in Wanstead Park. My companion and myself, both provided with telescopes, were able to approach within easy range by taking advantage of its diving. The bird was unmistakably a Grebe, and in order to verify the species with certainty I made a rough sketch on the spot, noting the following characters;—The white on the throat and cheeks clearly defined and running back under the black ​crown of the head, nearly to its termination in a slight crest, the latter made more apparent when curled up by puffs of wind. The dull red of the neck merging into the dark colour of the back and wings, and blending below with mottled markings into the pure white of the breast. Under parts pure white, joining the conspicuous white patch on the wing (the secondaries). On examining the specimens in the British Museum, this bird appeared to correspond most closely in size and colour with that recently added to the collection by Mr. Sharpe, and obtained from the North of Europe, but the under parts were more purely white than in that example. The Grebe was on the same piece of water the following day, but too distant for satisfactory observation; on being disturbed it flew with considerable power, alighting again in the middle of the pond; by the next day it had left. I may mention that on January 30th about thirty Herons returned to the heronry in the woods of the Wanstead Estate.—Arthur Lister (Leytonstone).
[So far as our experience goes, the Rednecked Grebe is the rarest of all the Grebes that reside in or visit the British Islands, and is only found here in winter. We have occasionally met with it in the tidal harbours and creeks of the Sussex coast when out after wild-fowl in January and February, but have never seen more than one or two together at a time. It rarely remains here late enough in spring to display the complete breeding plumage.—Ed.]
Variety of the Sand Martin.—At p. 106 Mr. Corbin mentions the occurrence of a variety of the Sand Martin. My father has in his possession a peculiar variety of this bird, which I caught a few years ago. I first saw it hawking for flies in the vicinity of a water-worn bank, in which a somewhat numerous colony breed annually, and after watching its untiring—though in my judgment not very happy—motions for some time, I at last succeeded in capturing it in one of the nests. Its darker relations seemed to regard it with intense dislike, chasing it with more or less anger whenever it came near them. In this bird the upper plumage is of an uniform bluish white, the lower parts from the beak to the vent of a pure glossy white. — E.P. Butterfield (Wilsden).
White Sky Lark and other Birds near York.—Mr. Ripley, the birdstuffer here, has lately received for preservation a Hawfinch, a pure white Sky Lark, and a pied Blackbird. The Hawfinch, a female, was shot during the early part of February, within four or five miles of York: it is rather a rare bird here. The Sky Lark, which I found to be a female, was shot on Askham Bog near here, about the 15th of the same month. The whole of its plumage was pure white: the bill, legs, and claws were extremely light-coloured, but the iris was rather dark. The Blackbird, a male, was shot about the same time, not far from here, and it was rather curiously pied. The neck and head were pure white, with the exception of ​a few light brown feathers on the front of the former. By far the larger number of the feathers on the breast, back, and wings were white, but the tail was of the usual colour.—Robert M. Christy (20, Bootham, York).
Mergansers and Divers Inland.—A Red-breasted Merganser and a Black-throated Diver were shot near Banbury in January this year. The former at Edgecote, by one Harrod, a gamekeeper, the latter on the Cherwell, by a boatman named Hunt.—C. Matthew Prior (Bedford).
Little Bittern and Spotted Crake in Oxfordshire.—When in Banbury one day in December, I was asked to go and see a specimen of the Little Bittern which had been shot near that town, on the Cherwell, by one Frederick Murray, a boatman, on the 27th October, 1867. It was much knocked about, having been shot the moment it rose, but the shattered bits were collected together and stuffed by W. Wyatt for its captor. I was also shown three specimens of the Spotted Crake, which I am informed is not unfrequently obtained in the vicinity, and one of which I purchased.—Id.
Land and Freshwater Shells of Scotland.—At a meeting of the Natural History Society of Glasgow, held on March 6th, Mr. David Robertson exhibited specimens of fresh-water shells, the first of which, the little bivalve Pisidium fontinale, var. Henslowana, was taken in the Glasgow and Paisley Canal. It is the Pisidium Henslowana of Shephard, and was first discovered by Professor Henslow in the River Cam, near Cambridge. It occurs in many of the northern, eastern, and south-western counties of England, as well as in South Wales and Cork, but hitherto it has not been discovered in Scotland. Such small shells are apt to be mistaken for closely allied species, but in this case the most cursory inspection would discover the remarkable little elevated plate on each valve near the umbos, which at once distinguishes it from all its congeners. The other shell is Planorbis complanatus, and is found moderately common in Lochend Loch, Edinburgh. Mr. Robertson also showed Helix villosa, a land shell, four living specimens of which were taken on the flat ground or moors near Cardiff, by Mrs. Robertson, and not being able to refer them to any British species they were submitted to Mr. Jeffreys, who pronounced them to be Helix villosa (Drap.), and has recorded the species in the 'Annals and Magazine of Natural History' for February as an addition to our British Mollusca. H. villosa inhabits Germany, France, and Switzerland, and it often occurs at a considerable height above the sea. Mr. Jeffreys refers to H. alpestris, a British variety of H. arbustorum, as having similar habits. It is met with on the Swiss Alps, in the region of perpetual snow, as well as on the marshes and banks of English rivers, an example of the great elasticity of such animals in accommodating themselves to different conditions of habitat and temperature.
* ↑ See: "The Natural History of Donegal" (Wikisource-ed.)
* ↑ This unsigned note was written by John Alexander Harvie-Brown; see also: p. 256 (Wikisource-ed.)