at Berne did so often, and instances in this country are common enough, but what appears so strange in the present case is the fact that the parents are of entirely different species, the male being the American black bear (Ursus americanus) and the female the brown bear of Europe (Ursus arctos), there being also other circumstances known to naturalists which make the present case still more strange and uncommon. Green, the head-keeper, with his long-life experience of animals in menageries, has never known or heard of a case of the kind occurring elsewhere. It will be curious to see what the hybrid little beasts will be like when full grown. At present two seem to take after the mother, and the third has the black coat of the sire; but, according to Green, it is impossible to say what colour they may take hereafter. The cubs at their birth, in January last, were no larger than pointer puppies, and even now at six weeks' old, are not so large as a Newfoundland puppy of the same age. They are like almost all young things, pretty and playful, and full of uncouth little antics; they are, too, by no means shy, and will follow Green's little boy like dogs. Madame Bruin and her infaut family will doubtless be a great attraction to the young people during the coming summer.-The Western Daily Press,' March 29, 1860.

Wild Fowl in the Ornamental Waters of London. - Mr. Hussey is in error in supposing that no real wild fowl visit the ornamental water in the London parks. Some little time since I resided in London several years during the winter and spring, and have not unfrequently seen a small flock of perfectly wild pochards (Anas ferina) swim on the water in the Regent's Park; they sometimes remained for at least a fortnight when they first arrived they were very wild, but soon got quite tame, and would occasionally take bread with the other ducks. One of the park-keepers told me that small flocks of wild fowl passing over frequently descended, and remained for a time on the water. A male wild wigeon (Anas Penelope, Linn.) for several successive seasons remained on the water in the Regent's Park, and paired with a female of the common wild duck (Anas Boschas, Linn.). When I lived in London some of their progeny used to fly backwards and forwards from the lake in the Park to the pond in the Botanic Gardens. H. Harpur Crewe; Wickham Market, Suffolk, March 30, 1860.

What is the use of the Oil-gland at the base of the Tail of Birds?—In his Essays on Natural History' (pp. 60–64), Mr. Waterton is very severe on those who maintain that birds "use oil from glands for the purpose of lubricating the surface of their plumage," particularly objecting the impossibility of doing this to the head and neck. I possess no means of referring to the Essays,' but will give the substance of notes made (as specially therein), just after I had read the work, in August, 1841. It would be somewhat difficult for any one to prove the actual fact that a bird “ procures oil from the gland with its bill," &c. (p. 61), since that perhaps could not be decided even by shooting the bird in the very act of pressing the gland; but it is surprising that so close an observer of the actions and habits of animals should not have noticed proceedings which, at the very least, strongly countenance the opinion Mr. Waterton so positively impugns. Few persons comparatively enjoy the opportunity of making very near and accurate remarks upon birds in a state of nature, and I profess to have XVIII. 2 L

seen only what almost any one else may see; still I must assert that, long before I became acquainted with Waterton's Essays,' I was fully convinced of the fact which be there denies. Domestic ducks, when kept near a house and treated kindly, will fearlessly perform their toilet within a very short distance of any one they are familiar with. Thus I have often watched ducks preening themselves with perfect composure only three or four yards, perhaps less, from me, when I could distinctly perceive that they inserted the bill among the feathers, with a motion precisely such as if gently compressing the gland upon the rump in order to squeeze out some of the oil, after which they resumed the operation of dressing themselves. This seemingly lubricating process was often repeated, and the effect was imparted to the head and neck (which Mr. Waterton considers a bird cannot reach for this purpose) by a very simple but methodical manœuvre. The beak, having been directed to the oil-gland, is next used -as if to discharge its contents-upon the feathers of the back, when the head and neck are thoroughly rubbed over the spot, which the length and flexibility of the neck enable the bird to do, so as completely to apply it to every part except the forehead, the plumage of which I remember noticing in the duck to throw off water less than that of any other part. The conclusion drawn from such observations was fully confirmed by others upon a caged canary. These notes, though penned in 1841, were indited from memory, it is true, but I feel quite confident as to the general accuracy of my recollections. I do not, however, desire dogmatically to affirm the certainty of my inferences, particularly in opposition to a naturalist of such skill and varied experience as Mr. Waterton; I would only invite readers of the Zoologist' to employ their opportunities in endeavouring, apart from all theory, either to establish or to refute the opinion I have expressed. I have taken for granted that the gland upon the upper side of the rump of a bird contains an oily matter, because that fact will be evident enough to any one who only opens the gland of the fowl he has been eating. To account for only now producing reflections made nearly nineteen years ago, I can only say that the 'Zoologist' did not then exist, that the subject was not always borne in mind, and that, when it did recur, I hesitated whether or not to offer my notes for publication. Arthur Hussey; Rottingdean, April 17, 1860.

Occurrence of the Wood Warbler (Sylvia sibilatrix) near Penzance, and Note on the Migratory Warblers.—After a careful attention to the different migratory warblers affecting this neighbourhood for the last twenty-five years, I have during the past week, for the first time, discovered the wood warbler near this place, and in full song, that is, uttering its thrilling sibilous song, and at intervals those very peculiar mournful chirps entirely different from its other song, and which might easily be attributable to another bird by those unacquainted with this bird. At present, we are unacquainted with the nightingale, lesser whitethroat, garden warbler, reed warbler and common redstart; it is, however, by no means improbable that in the course of time I may have to record the appearance of these birds, for by some curious and inexplicable law many birds unknown in a district make their appearance all at once, and continue ever afterwards to affect the localities. In illustration of this I may mention the blackcap warbler and the common willow wren, species unknown here thirty years ago, and now found in most of our groves and plantations. I should mention that the above-mentioned birds, except the nightingale, have been captured at Scilly and in this neighbourhood during the autumnal migration, apparently in transitu, especially after strong opposing winds, and I may include also the pied flycatcher, but they have not appeared with us as summer visitors.—Edward Hearle Rodd; Penzance, May 10, 1860.

Remarkable Monstrosity in the Beak of a Sparrow.-The engraving below represents a sparrow caught in King Street, Brighton, in June, 1857; it was in a state of perfect health and very fat, and was brought to Mr. Swaysland, the bird-stuffer, who had several times observed it flying in the neighbourhood, from a stable yard, and with the appearance of an ear of wheat in its beak. I am indebted to Mr. Bond for the loan of the specimen and the opportunity of having the very characteristic drawing, made by Mr. Willis. The limits of the proper beak are very clearly defined, and it is difficult to conceive how the supplementary portion of the beak could have been formed while the true beak was in constant use as a pecking instrument.-Edward Newman.

The Sea Serpent.-(See Liverpool Daily Post,' quoted Zool. 6985).

I've a story to tell-I don't say that it's true

But just as I heard it I tell it to you.

A ship there was sailing upon the blue sea

With her canvas all set, when the captain, said he

"I feel that the vessel is all of a tremble,

A sort of sea earthquake it seems to resemble;

Send forward the mate to see what is the matter."

When lo! what he saw would have made your teeth chatter,

An enormous big snake rising out of the sea,

Some three hundred feet long it might possibly be,

And in bulk it might equal a "wide crinoline"

(At least seven yards round that description must mean).
With jaws eight feet long, and with eyes fiercely glaring,
A horn and a mane, he looked horribly daring,

While the bowsprit he shook in his terrible mouth.
(Twas in Latitude East and in Longitude South,*
The ship making six knots-leaving foam in her wake,
Yet she stopped at the touch of this wonderful snake);
And the jibboom and bowsprit were snapped like a straw;
But his strength was outdone by his marvellous maw;
For he swallowed the stay-sail and also the jib
Like a boy gulping oysters-they went down so glib.
With this stay to his stomach he turned him about,

And gave with his tail such a vigorous flout

That some timbers to atoms were crushed by the blow,
And what more might have happened we none of us know,
When an object appeared for the which he set sail,

And both object and story were much like a whale.

-George Guyon; Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

Note on the Piscivorous Propensities of the Common Carp.—A specimen of the common carp, between five and six inches in length, was lately observed to devour three small minnows, each of about an inch and a half in length, which were confined in the same aquarium with him. One of these the carp seized immediately the minnow was placed in the aquarium, and swallowed it whole, head foremost. This habit of the carp is new to me, aud may perhaps be worth recording.-J. H. Gurney ; Catton, Norfolk, May 7, 1860.

Note on the Syngnathide or Pipe Fish Family. - The Syngnathidæ are most remarkable in their structural characters from all other fishes, forming an order, Lophobranchii, from the singular character of the gills, which are not pectinated, nor in equal laminæ, but disposed in pairs, in small tufts, a peculiarity not existing in other fishes. Their bodies are very slender, much tapering towards the tail, almost destitute of flesh, and covered with plated scales; they have a natatory bladder, and a tubular muzzle or snout, formed like that of Fistularidæ. In the British seas and in the coasts of Ireland we have six species :- two marsupial fish, having true caudal fins, Syngnathus Acus and S. Typhle; four ophidial, which contain S. æquoreus and S. anguineus, having each a rudimentary caudal fin, and S. Ophidion and S. lumbriciformis, in which there is no caudal fin, the tail terminating in a fine point. All these species are exceedingly common in the harbours and estuaries of the south-west coast of Ireland; and another of the Syngnathidæ, Hippocampus brevirostris, has been taken in Smerwick harbour, coast of Kerry. Of the marsupial species, S. Acus and S. Typhle are plentiful in Dingle Harbour in the spring and early months of summer, frequenting stony ground abounding with Algæ, in depths of four to six feet, where the development and protection of their ova can be accomplished. I have frequently taken both species in states of spawning, the S. Typble with the young partially extricated from the ova, freed from the subcaudal pouch of the male, and actively swimming, whilst

"Latitude 12° 7" East and Longitude 93° 52" South."

This is somewhat obscure, but I think, on the whole,
It occurred t'other side of the Antarctic pole.

other portions of the ova in the pouch were not matured. These two species having a true candal fin exercise it as a propeller, similar to other fishes, not being prehensile as in the other sections. The manner of passing the ova to the marsupial bag of the male fish is singular. In shoal water or a low tide these fish may sometimes be seen in pairs, side by side, apparently stationary on some rocky stone. At this time the ova-the capsules but imperfectly matured--are liberated from the female, and received into the abdominal sac of the male, the male fish having the power of expanding the lappings of the sac, and attaching the ova by a highly viscid or glutinous secretion. In time, as the process of maturation advances, the capsules of the ova enlarge, forming hemispherical depressions in the sac, and eventually the pouch is forced open by the full development of the ova and extrication of the young. In the other species, the genus Nerophis of the last edition of Yarrell and the Ancestra of other authors, the male fish are destitute of the abdominal or caudal pouch, and, unlike the last, have scarcely any caudal fin, their long tapering tail enabling them to twine around and cling to the stems of the larger Algæ. In Dingle Harbour the S. æquoreus may be met with very abundantly in the summer months, spawning in the months of June and July. This is the largest and most beautiful of the species, the girth of the body being oval, of a long tapering form to the tail, the colour of a beautiful fawn tinged with orange, and marked with numerous pale yellow rings. The irides are dark, tinged with yellow. In the female fish the abdomen is keeled, in that of the male depressed. A similar process as to the transfer of the ova takes place in the fish as described in the last, with the exception that the males have no abdominal sac to enclose the ova. These fish, under favourable opportunities of calmness and of tides, may be seen side by side clinging with their tails to the tufts of Zostera marina, in which position the male is enabled to attach to the abdomen the ova, by the same influence of viscid secretion alluded to in the marsupial species. This kind of depression in the abdomen of the male is clearly shown in the specimens of S. lumbriciformis, and in which the ova, attached in three rows, is seen. The S. anguineus and S. Ophidion are similar in habit to S. æquoreus, frequenting the same localities in the spawning seasons, and agreeing in other characters and peculiarities, with exception that the larger species are sometimes found in very deep water, at periods when not spawning. The S. lumbriciformis is more frequent in rocky pools under stones, and is the smallest of British pipe fishes. It is extensively distributed round our coasts, and is remarkable for its beautiful markings, especially about the head, of wavy bars, and with white spots along the length of its body. The irides are reddish. It spawns and perfects its young in July. I regret that I did not obtain the recent specimens, to have examined the interesting novelty, certainly first detected and described by Dr. Corrigan, of the manner in which the fish in feeding exercises a power for the inflating of the pouch or gullet, and the expansion of the jaw and mouth. I was aware of the singular manner of the distending of the throat and mouth of the dory (Zeus Faber) in receiving its food, and of singular peculiarities in Centriscus and in the Capros Aper, but the power in the Syngnathus appears altogether new, and seems analogous to the peculiarity in the vesicular inflation exercised by the hyoid bone in the howling monkeys, which communicates with the larynx, and produces the sound which gives the appellation to the animal. It is quite obvious how necessary are practical investigations in the living state to arrive at any accuracy in the characteristic habits of animals, and hence have resulted the observations of Dr. Corrigan. I should have mentioned that I have noticed S. æquoreus greedily stripping the stems of Zostera