THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2085, 8 February 1894, Page 48

THE NATURALIST.

MISNOMERS IN ANIMAL LIFE.

Among the recent breeds of p'geons is the parlour tumbler, which has not only lost the power of flight, but has very nearly lost that of walking as well. Its queer motions when it attempts to walk have given it its name, the tumbler.

"As thick as the hairs on a dog's back " expresses nothing in Mexico, for the Mexican dog is utterly devoid of hair on its back or anywhere else. The hot climate having rendered it superfluous, Mother Nature kindly diyested him of it. Nor does " the little busy bee improve its shining hour " in that country. On the contrary, it soon 'learns tjhat, as there is no winter there, there is no necessity for Jaying in a store of honey, and degenerates into a thoroughbred loafer.

"As big as a wkale" might be rather small, as there is a species of the cetacean genus hardly 3ft long.

" As cunning as a fox " would have sounded idiotic to the discoverers of Eamsobatka. They found foxes in large numbers, but so stupid, because they had never before seen an enemy, that they could be killed with clubs.

" The birds of a feather " that " flock together " do not belong to the penguin family, as they are entirely destitute of feathers, having for a covering a kind of stiff down. Another penguin peculiarity is that it swims not on but under water, never keeping more thau its head out, and, when fishing, coming to the surface at suoh brief and rare intervals that an ordinary observer would certainly mistake it for a fish.

Ducks swim the world over, but geese do not. In South America a domestic species is found that cannot excel an ordinary hen in aquatic accomplishments. It has lived so long in a country where water is found only in wells that it has lost its aquatic tastes and abilities entirely.

"As awkward as a crab "does not apply in the South Sea Islands, for a crab is found there that not only runs as fast as an average man, bat climbs trees with the ease of a schoolboy.— London Sports Afield.

Intelligence of Tits. — For many years each winter I have suspended pieces of fat by a string to a stick, and on this numerous tits feed ; but this season I have put an upright stick, with a cross piece of wood, hanging the fat by strings at each end. Now, it appears the tits, both blue and oxeye, no longer like to take their meals hanging with head downwards, and they may constantly be seen hauling up the string 11 hand over hand " until it reaches the cross, and they can. feed at ease. Whence they obtained the idea Ido not know ; one would think from a caged goldfinch. — Geo. Home (Hereford). [The habit has been previously notioed in the Field. It is more readily acquired by the great tit than by the other specie*. — Ed.]— Field.

Flying Powers of the Swallow. — Not only do swallows capture all their insect food while on the wing, they also invariably drink while flying, and they even feed their young on the wing, especially the house martins, although .it is very difficult to observe them performing the feat, so quickly is it done. As the young birds arrive at full growth they soon become impatient of confinement, and sit all day with their heads out of the entrance to the nest, where the dame, by dinging to the nest, supply them with food from' morning till night, and it is during this period that the young are fed on the wing by the parents. Then, again, the house swallow will wash itself by dropping into the water as it flies.

Rattlesnakes.— Writing on rattlesnakes, Dr Arthur Stradling, an American naturalist, declares that the popular idea that the number of rattles corresponds with the age of the snake is incorrect. When the little crotahis is born, says the writer, its tail is furnished with a single tip of horn, incapable of producing any sound when vibrated. Some species never progress beyond this rudimentary appliance, but the true rattlesnake develops two and sometimes three joints during the first month of its life. Then, and later, there is probably no definite relation between the number of rattles and the age, although the rate of increase may to some extent be proportionate to the creature's growth. Broods of young ■serpents reared in captivity— there are rattlesnake farms in America— have been found to exhibit great diversity in this respect, so much so that it is impossible to base any calculation upon their behaviour. The overlapping- " thimbles " or cones of which the rattle 'is composed are thin, dry, and exceedingly brittle, co that some are frequently broken off when they have reached a length of one or two inches. Twenty joints make an exceptionally long rattle. This shedding of joints is the result of accident, and is not periodic like the casting of sloughs. The joints beiog all alike, no trace remains of the fracture, which is not easily detected. " Whatever purpose the rattle may serve in the snake's economy," says Dr Stradling, " and its use is still involved in some obscurity, it undoubtedly does not represent the owner's age nor the sum total of his manslaughter."