The Zoologist/4th series, vol 4 (1900)/Issue 711/Editorial Gleanings

by editor W.L. Distant

 

EDITORIAL GLEANINGS.

 

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Two notices of changed feeding habits in birds found in South and East Africa have recently been published. The first, by Prof. E. Ray Lankester, appeared in 'Nature' (Aug. 16th), and refers to the common Rhinoceros-bird (Buphaga erythrorhyncha), as observed by Capt. Hinde, of the British East African Protectorate. This bird formerly fed on Ticks and other parasites which infest game and domestic animals; occasionally, if an animal had a sore, the birds would probe the sore to such an extent that it sometimes killed the animal. Since the cattle plague destroyed the immense herds in Ukambani, and nearly all the sheep and goats were eaten during the late famine, the birds, deprived of their food, have become carnivorous, and now any domestic animal not constantly watched is killed by them. Perfectly healthy animals have their ears eaten down to the bone, holes torn in their backs and in the femoral regions. The second report relates to the South African Vulture, and is contributed to the 'Field' of Sept. 1st by H.L. Lempriere, of Natal. He writes:—"It is probable that the disappearance of the enormous herds of game that used to roam at will over the veld has caused a change of habit in this bird, and that the scarcity of carrion has forced it to seek its food in a manner so unnatural and abhorrent as to cause every man's hand to be turned against it. Be that as it may, the fact remains that, as surely as the lambing season comes round, so surely large flocks of Vultures appear, and, circling and wheeling in the air above the ewes, seize the opportunity when the poor creatures are in their most helpless condition to attack them, pick out their eyes, and eventually kill both lamb and ewe with the most frightful torture conceivable. Only the most unremitting care and attention during the lambing season can prevent the most serious losses from this cause, and the rifle and shot-gun, and even poison, are freely used to destroy these repulsive birds. Nor are ewes the only victims. Foaling mares are killed in the same frightful manner, and I have personally seen a flock of Vultures following on the ground a heifer that was about to calve, awaiting their opportunity. The plaintive lowing of the terrified beast attracted my attention, and I was fortunately able, by the aid of a few well-placed bullets, to prevent another tragedy of the veld by dispersing the loathsome crew."

 

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The breeding of the Cuckoo in the London district is now a well-established fact. Mr. C.J. Cornish, writing from Orford House, Chiswick Mall, to the 'Times,' at the end of July, states:—"For some years Cuckoos have been in the habit of visiting the osier-bed on Chiswick Eyot very early in the morning. This eyot runs into the London county boundary. I always suspected that they were seeking nests to lay their eggs in. Three weeks ago, when on the lawn by this house by the river, I heard a young Cuckoo screaming for food in a privet-bush hanging over the river. Looking among the thick branches with a glass, I could see its orange maw, and two unhappy Sedge-Warblers working overtime putting food down its throat. It was fully fledged, and could fly. For three weeks this bird has remained in this and adjacent gardens by the river, being fed all the time by the Sedge-Warblers. Every evening it took a flight up and down the river, apparently practising and testing its strength. When hungry it screeched at the rate of just one hundred screeches per minute, which had such an effect on the nerves of other birds that I have seen even the irreclaimable Sparrows fly down, peck up food, and fly into the thick bush where it was, though I did not see them feed it. 'In July away he fly' is part of Cuckoo lore. It is now known that the young Cuckoos leave first. This one, whose evening flights have been daily more extended, has gone. I dare say among the birds of Chiswick Eyot it is regretted as a 'fashionable departure.'"

 

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The above was at once supplemented, in the 'Daily Mail,' by Mr. A.E. Day, of Highgate Hill, who wrote:—"Mr. Cornish's young Cuckoo at Chiswick is not unique. Young Cuckoos have been hatched in Highgate Cemetery this year. In one instance several of us watched a Hedge-Sparrow's nest in which a Cuckoo had laid an egg, and the little bird sat and hatched out that one egg. Although the bird left the nest on July 23rd, it may still be seen flying about the cemetery, fed by the Hedge-Sparrows. At least two Cuckoos, to my knowledge, have been hatched here this season."

 

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The reintroduction of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) seems to be inaugurated in Norfolk, and the following letter from Lord Walsingham has appeared in the 'Norfolk Chronicle':—

"Sir,—An attempt is being made to reintroduce the Great Bustard in what was formerly one of the favourite haunts of this fine bird on the borders of the Norfolk fens. This effort is due to the public spirit of an English gentleman resident abroad, whose love of natural history has induced him to incur considerable expense and trouble in the matter. It is hoped that residents in Norfolk and Suffolk will agree to respect the birds, which will probably be at large before this letter appears, and by preventing their destruction will secure the success of an experiment to which the reintroduction of the Capercailzie in Scotland affords a parallel instance and an encouraging precedent.—Walsingham. Aug. 14th."

We trust that these birds may be allowed to survive, though as a commentary to the desire we extract the following note from 'The Shooting Times' (Aug. 25th):—"A Portsmouth sportsman thought he had made a lucky haul a few days ago. His eagle eye detected five fine Storks disporting themselves on a local waste, and, after much trouble, he succeeded in stalking them, and bagged the lot. He took the rare birds to a taxidermist, and a day or two later learned that the Storks had escaped from Sanger's circus, which was visiting the neighbourhood."

 

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We regret to learn the death of Dr. John Anderson, M.D., F.R.S., which took place very suddenly at Buxton on Aug. 16th. For the following particulars we are largely indebted to the 'Athenæum.' John Anderson was born in Edinburgh in 1833. He was educated for the medical profession, and in 1861 took the degree of M.D. of Edinburgh University. His strong taste for natural history, however, led him definitely to abandon his career as a medical man when, in 1864, he was offered the curatorship of the newly founded Indian Museum in Calcutta. In 1868, and again in 1874, he was selected by the Government of India to act as scientific officer to an expedition into Western China: and in 1881 he was sent by the Trustees of the Indian Museum to investigate the fauna of the Mergui Archipelago in Tenasserim. Since his return from India, in 1887, Dr. Anderson, acting under medical advice, spent the winters in the south, and his periodical visits to Algeria and Egypt roused in him an interest in the fauna of North Africa and Arabia, which has proved of the greatest benefit to science. He defrayed the costs of a collector to accompany Mr. Theodore Bent's expedition to the Hadramaut; and of late years much of his wealth and time has been devoted to the preparation or a series of volumes upon the vertebrate zoology of Egypt, which his untimely death leaves uncompleted.

 

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The friends of the late Sir William Flower, K.C.B. (Director of the Natural History Museum and President of the Zoological Society of London), are anxious to place a memorial of his great services to science in the Whale Room of the Natural History Museum—one of the departments in which he was most interested, and to which he devoted special care and attention. The memorial would, subject to the consent of the Trustees of the Museum, consist (probably) of a bust and a commemorative brass tablet. It is thought that Sir William Flower's many friends and admirers would be glad to associate themselves with this undertaking. In order to carry it out an influential Committee has been formed. Subscriptions may be paid to the Treasurer, Dr. P.L. Sclater, at 3, Hanover Square, London, W. It has been agreed that each subscription should not exceed £2 2s.