A Tom Tit in Difficulties.-Last evening, as I and a friend were on our way to Dulwich Wood, on entomological thoughts intent, we saw at a gas-lamp—not a moth—but a blue tit (Parus cæruleus), hanging back downwards in the space left unglazed at the bottom. In our humane endeavours to rescue it from its dangerous position we only frightened it completely into the lamp, where it kept flying into and resting above the flame, till at last it managed to get out where it got in, no doubt considerably singed, if not burnt. What can have induced this bird to fly to a gaslamp at that time of night? It could hardly have chased a moth there, as I fancy it is of strictly diurnal habits, and it could scarcely have selected the spot for a roostingplace before the lamp was lighted, as it would certainly have been scared by the lamplighter. I fancy that, having been at roost near the lamp, the attraction of the light had proved too much for it.-Robert McLachlan; Forest Hill, October 20, 1860. Occurrence of the Little Bittern near Taunton.-On the 20th of August last a specimen of the little bittern was shot as it rose from a bed of rushes on the river Tone, about half a mile below this town. It is now preserved, and in the possession of Mr. Haddon, the person who shot it.-W. F. Dewey; East Reach, Taunton, October 15, 1860. Occurrence of the Surf Scoter near Scarborough. I have great pleasure in informing you that a fine mature specimen of that extremely rare duck, the surf scoter (Anas perspicillata), was shot by myself, on Monday, the 25th of October, on the rocks at Gristhorp, near Scarborough: it was swimming with another duck of its own size and colour, and, in all probability, of the same species. — Alwin S. Bell; 11, Crown Terrace, Scarborough, November 2, 1860. Prognostication of an Early and Severe Winter.-Quantities of wild fowl have already been seen off our coast, besides many other indications of an early and severe winter.-Id. Natural-History Notes from Bengal. By E. A. W. TAYLER, Esq. THE following extracts from the letters of my friend Edward A. Wood Tayler, Esq., of Bamundie, Bengal, who is a most accurate observer of nature and a keen sportsman, will be interesting to your readers, as they contain truthful remarks on the habits of certain birds and animals. Kensington. R. H. T. GILBERT. "Bamundie, near Kishnaghur, Bengal. "I am in perfect health, and India seems the very place for me, but remember that I never touch a drop of anything but water, and whilst other fellows are obliged to lie down to get rid of the effects of the beer, &c., imbibed, at tiffin, I take my gun and go cruising about under the mango tops. About here there is not much jungle, and yet now and then you fall in with a leopard, but it is no end of a place for birds, and I never before saw such beauties as one sees from day to day Natural-History Notes from Bengal. 7275 flying about everywhere. I enclose some feathers, but they are nothing to some that I mean to send you. Ducks, geese and suipes swarm in countless hundreds. I have also shot eight different kinds of kites and hawks, and some very large horned owls, also some very small ditto. I shot one day three beautiful fish-eagles. Old Forsyth shoots better than ever since it has been rebored for me. A jackall, which is a most tough brute, I rap over as dead as a nail at forty yards. I wish I could give you a view of my room, hung all around with skulls of birds and animals, feathers and claws, and lots of other natural-history objects so dear to your eyes. I have lots of eggs, but I have had great difficulty in procuring them. A friend sent me two eggs of the alligator. I stayed a day with my friend Mr. S., who is a great shot and sportsman; of course we went out shooting, and although it was September, the worst month in the year, yet we managed to bag lots of green pigeons (capital eating are these fellows I can tell you), black and white curlews as they are called here, but one of these is the ibis I think; however, when you get the skins I intend sending you, you will be able to make out all these gentlemen. We also shot ducks, snipes, plovers, black partridges and quails. It is capital sport, as you never know what you may come in with in your walk. I also rolled over a fine tiger cat and two very small foxes; these latter were beautiful little creatures. I have killed lots of a bird here called goiles or snake-birds, because when swimming they sink so low in the water as only to show the head and neck: their feathers are very beautiful, and make splendid plumes when mixed with the crest-feathers of the padi-bird, a kind of egret I think, that is found in immense numbers all over the rice fields, whence its name. It is indeed a beautiful sight to see a flock of these birds; their snowy plumage becomes a most dazzling white under the fierce and brilliant light of the eastern sun, the dark green of the landscape and the coppery sky forming one of those pictures of Nature that only the true naturalist can thoroughly appreciate. "The kingfishers out here are very brilliant, and beat every bird as far as plumage goes; they look like gems as they fly over the water. In habits and flight, as far as I have seen, they are similar to our own little friend in old England. "I have had a tame mongoose given me; he will run after me like a dog; he hates blackies but loves snakes. Three days ago I saw a cobra in a hole of the garden wall, and after some little trouble I got * His double gun is by the celebrated maker Forsyth. 7276 Natural-History Notes from Bengal. him out and brought him in an earthen pot, called a gumla, in front of the house; I then called my friend 'Boots' (the mongoose), and it was very interesting to see the snake with his hood expanded standing erect on his tail watching the movements of 'Boots,' who took it rather easily for some time, but he knew what he was about, and when he did spring the snake was as dead as a stone, for 'Boots' had fixed him by the back of the neck, quite close to the head. It is wonderful that these little creatures never miss their aim. The house was overrun with rats before he came, but now there is not one to be seen. I have lots of things for you; no end of bottles full of sweet little snakes and beetles; for all the curious little things I catch I keep in good spirits. I have bagged no less than fifty flying foxes. I have killed bats of all sizes, from the flying fox down to the size of a humble bee." "In answer to your questions, 1st. I have not seen any pheasants, as I am a great way from the hills. I read your note signed 'Ramrod,' in the 'Field' newspaper, on the introduction of foreign game. 2nd. I have killed large game, as my last letter shows how I slew a tiger-cat, leopard and brace of fine boars, on foot in the jungle. 3rd. I have seen a great number of mango birds; they are very common in this district, although not in other parts of Lower Bengal. 4th. I have not, I am sorry to say, skinned any birds as yet, having only shot them for their feathers or for the table; the reason is that the weather has been so fearfully hot; but in the cold weather I intend making a good collection of bird-skins, and will send them to you; the principal shall be owls, hawks, eagles, &c. 5th. I have taken great notice of the habits of the birds, &c., that I happened to see, and you shall have these notes. The numbering system that you recommend is just the thing for me, as I do not know the names of half the things I kill. 6th. I have studied the habits of the cobra di capello snake closely, and shall give you a few remarks after finishing the answer to the question concerning the habits of the snake bird. These birds are mostly found in pretty good numbers in the large unfrequented inland lakes, and when in the water all the body is hidden from view, only the head and neck being visible.. They so resemble a snake when in the water that the most practised eye would be deceived at the distance of fifty yards. The neck is long, as is also the head and beak, and the neck has a most graceful motion when the bird is swimming. They are great divers, and will remain under water for the space of a minute and a half, and during that time will swim a very considerable distance. They are clumsy at rising, but when once Natural-History Notes from Bengal. 7277 fairly on the wing fly at a great rate. The feet are large and webbed, like other divers and ducks; the body is of a longish shape; the skin of the neck is very beautifully marked, and it will stretch to a great extent. I intend sending you the skin of the male bird this cold weather, and you will then be able to determine its species correctly. Now for a few words on the cobra, "the most deadly of Indian snakes." I have been lucky enough to come across and kill fifteen of them since my arrival here. The only thing I have noticed in them is that they are far more cunning than any other snake, and when hotly chased will not hesitate to stand up and show fight, making a kind of blowing noise all the while the natives say that if the cobra does bite when in this state of passion death is certain within an hour. One did a most curious thing to me; I was in full chase, and about twice his length behind him, when he suddenly raised himself backwards, and by so doing as near as possible laid hold of my leg, but on finding he had missed his aim he slunk off at a rapid pace, when I settled his hash with two cracks of a bamboo. I once caught a very large cobra, in a curious way. This worthy used to live in a very thick wall in the hen house at Katchekatta, and nearly every night destroyed from three to five birds: all endeavours to catch him having heretofore failed, I hit upon the following plan. Before his hole I drove a large nail into the ground, and to this I fastened a bit of strong whipcord, about two feet long; at the end of the cord I lashed a fine sharp eel-hook, and upon this I tied with a thread a nice tempting lively yellow frog; then, leaving the yellow gentleman for the night in a very jumping humour, I retired, and early the next morning sure enough, as I expected, the frog and half the twine had disappeared down the hole. I now put a stone against the hole, unfastened the end of the string that was tied to the nail, and this I again fastened to a stout stick; then, removing the stone, with one jerk I brought the writhing cobra to light, who, never expecting this kind of treatment, growled like the very devil. I skinned him, as he was the largest I ever saw, being five feet long. 66 Getting birds' eggs in this country is very difficult work, the natives being such fools that they never know how to find a nest, and the only way I have got the few now in my possession was from watching the birds about a tree and then sending a man up to bring down the eggs. "The birds that have most taken my fancy are the four kinds of game about here, but which, I am sorry to say are fast disappearing before the steps of civilization, and very soon not a partridge will be found about this part of Bengal. I now send a sketch from a dead bird just rolled over by old Forsyth, the chicose partridge of India; and also another sketch, being the gray partridge; both are to the very life, although I did them myself. I intend, when I get a chance, to send you a sketch of both the black and painted partridge. This latter bird is rare about here, I having only shot one. "I have just obtained five splendid Longicorn beetles. My insect collection is going on famously. "E. A. W. TAYLER." Captain Taylor's Sea Serpent. A friend, who has the opportunity of communicating with Melbourne on the subject of the young sea serpent which Captain Taylor says (Zool. 6985) he presented to the Museum at Melbourne, has ascertained through Mr. Coates, of that town, that Captain Taylor is so far correct, that he did at the time specified present a specimen of Pelamys bicolor to the Museum in question, and Professor M'Coy exhibited the same to Mr. Coates. Of course there is no rational ground for concluding that this small sea snake is the young of any such gigantic creature as Captain Taylor has described.-Edward Newman. A Female Adder Swallowing her Young.— Walking in an orchard near Tyneham House, in Dorsetshire, I came upon an old adder basking in the sun, with her young around her; she was lying on some grass that had been long cut, and had become smooth and bleached by exposure to the weather. Alarmed by my approach, I distinctly saw the young ones run down their mother's throat. At that time I had never heard of the controversy respecting the fact, otherwise I should have been more anxious to have killed the adder, to further prove the case. As it was she escaped, while I was more interested in the circumstance I witnessed than in her destruction.-Henry Bond; Vicarage, South Petherton, Somerset, August 14, 1860. Discovery near London of a Physa new to the British Fauna.-Early last spring I observed in a water-tank, in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, a mollusk, which at the time I supposed to be the Limnæa peregra, but which on a closer examination, a short time since, I found to be a species of Physa, and quite distinct from either of the indigenous species P. fontinalis and P. Hypnorum. I became interested in the discovery, and I set to work immediately to endeavour to find out by what means it came there, and in order to ascertain its species I forwarded a few specimens to an eminent conchologist of my acquaintance, who pronounced it to be the Physa rivalis of Maton and Rackett. I sent some afterwards to the British Museum, and was informed that, according to the specimens there belonging to the collection of M. D'Orbigny, it was the Physa acuta of Draparnaud, and that its native habitat was the West Indies. I was led, therefore, to infer that it had been imported with some exotic aquatic plants, but upon giving the subject still further consideration two facts presented |