feathering of its legs and feet-the S. passerina having merely a few bristle-like feathers on the toes; hence some naturalists give it the synonyme of Strix nudipes.

Only one or two instances of the capture of Tengmalm's Owl in England are recorded. I have seen none mentioned as taken in Scotland.

This bird was captured by a man named Lumley, on Cramond Island, during the severe snow storm, with easterly wind, about the end of the year. On entering the stable, Lumley was startled by the bird flying about, and attempting to escape at the opened door: he struck it down with his hand, and captured it. It was then taken to Mr George Hutchison, gardener to Craigie Halket Inglis, of Cramond House, Esq.; and was sent by Mr George Sanderson, George Street, for exhibition to the Society, and for the determination of its species.

(2.) Lanius excubitor. The Great Grey Shrike.-A specimen of the Great Grey Shrike was exhibited. It was shot in Peeblesshire about the 10th or 11th of January, and was intended to be added to the museum in the Chambers Institution, Peebles.

(3.) Turdus musicus. The Song Thrush.—A pure white variety of the Song Thrush; was shot in a turnip field at Roslinlee, near Roslin, in the month of October, by Mr John Dickson, gunmaker, Princes Street, who has sent it, at Dr Smith's desire, to be exhibited.

(4.) Alcedo ispida. The King Fisher.-Mr David Carfrae sends for exhibition two specimens of our beautiful King Fisher. The one was shot about a fortnight ago on the Water of Leith, near Slateford; the other in the same. locality, about a month since. They are ordinary residents, but are now very rare in this neighbourhood.

(5.) Hybrid Grouse, between Blackcock and Red Grouse. -The bird now exhibited is probably the offspring of a male Blackcock, Tetrao tetrix, Pen., and a female Red Grouse, Lagopus scoticus. It bears considerable resemblance to each parent, and is intermediate in size, the length of the stuffed bird being rather more than nineteen inches.

The general colour of plumage above, is dark brown,

mottled with reddish-brown, almost black on sides of head, and part of back; feathers of head and neck mottled, and many of them edged with white; upper part of back mottled over with yellowish-red or light brown, with here and there a feather nearly black; scapulars, greater and lesser wing coverts, are many of them tipped with white; primaries brown, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, mottled on the outer web with white; secondaries mottled with reddish-brown, and tipped with white.

Tail black, of eighteen feathers, like black grouse; the red grouse having sixteen feathers. The four outer feathers elongated and slightly curved outwards; fourth feather very slightly longer than the others; two central feathers of tail mottled over with reddish-brown, and edged with white across the point of feather; upper tail coverts dark brown, mottled with reddish-brown, and slightly tipped with white.

Below, breast nearly black; feathers of abdomen slightly mottled with reddish-brown, and many of them broadly tipped with white; vent white; under tail coverts brown, broadly tipped with white; under surface of wings, and axillaries white.

Legs closely covered all round with white and grey feathers, like red grouse, which also cover the toes for half their length (excluding the claws); toes covered above with transverse scutellæ, on each side of which are a row of square-shaped scales, and beyond this a fringe or margin of more linear pectiniform scales-as in black grouse.

This bird was shot in a wild state with other grouse in the neighbourhood of Midcalder, about the 10th or 12th of November, its peculiar appearance having attracted attention; and has been preserved by Mr Small, George Street.

Yarrell mentions that hybrids between the Blackcock and Red Grouse, have been suspected by naturalists, but does not appear to have seen any of them; he refers to Macgillivray's "British Birds" for a notice of three specimens believed to be birds of this kind, one of which he examined in the flesh, and describes in detail. Through the kindness of one of our members, William Smellie Watson, Esq., R.S.A., I am enabled to exhibit this bird, which is in

his collection. It is in beautiful preservation, and very much resembles the one now exhibited; the feathers, however, are less mottled in character, and tipped with white, and the brown colour of back is more uniform, showing perhaps a little more strongly the characters of the male black grouse. It was taken accidentally in a trap, Mr Watson informed me, in Perthshire in December 1836. (Vide Macgillivray's British Birds, vol. i. p. 162.)

It seems rather strange that birds differing from one another as these do, should yet breed together; still we must remember that the black grouse is a polygamous bird, not pairing like the red grouse, and is therefore more promiscuous in his amours during his season of excitement. There can be no doubt these birds breed occasionally together; at least they have done so in a state of captivity. Some thirty years ago or more, the keeper of the pheasantry of Sir James Colquhoun of Luss succeeded in getting a male black grouse and a female red grouse to breed together, the hen red grouse rearing a couple of young birds, which were both males. Mr David Carfrae, George Street, informs me he saw both the parents and young birds, which were afterwards preserved for the museum of the University of Glasgow. The fact of these birds being reared is mentioned in the interesting volume, "The Moor and the Loch," by John Colquhoun, Esq., son of the late Sir James, and one of these birds is figured, and forms the frontispiece to the work; there can therefore be no doubt of the truth of the statement, and it is well known hybrids occasionally occur between other birds of the Family.

(6.) Querquedula caudacuta. The Pintail Duck.-This bird is one of our rare winter visitors-the birds seen at times in our poulterers' shops being generally brought from London, and the Continent. This specimen is a young male, and was shot by Mr Henderson near Dunbar, about the beginning of January.

(7.) Mergus albellus. The Smew.-The beautiful specimen of an adult male smew exhibited, was shot at Tynningham, on the 15th of January, by Lord Binning. Another Smew, a young male in the first year's plumage, was also

exhibited. The bird does not assume the white plumage until the second autumn. It was shot by Captain Firman, R.N., at Taynash, Argyleshire, in the beginning of this month. Its plumage very much resembles the adult female; it is, however, rather larger in size, measuring, when stuffed, sixteen inches in length (the female being about fourteen inches long). The smaller wing coverts, instead of being pure white, are edged with dusky brown, and it shows no patch of black at the base of the upper mandible, and round eye, in the reddish-brown of head, as in the adult female and male; resembling in this respect the young female. The trachea of the bird which was exhibited shows the characteristic dilated box at its bifurcation; this is awanting in the female.

The smew is a bird of eastern Europe, and is only an occasional visitor or straggler to Scotland, being more frequently seen in the south of England. One or two specimens taken in Scotland have been previously exhibited to the Society.

The very cold weather of the winter, he might remark, had been very severe on many of our small birds, as well as on our regular winter visitors, great numbers of which had been destroyed.

VI. Petromyzon marinus. The Sea Lamprey. Exhibited by JOHN

ALEXANDER SMITH, M.D.

Dr Smith exhibited a specimen of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, measuring thirty-three inches in length; and about six in circumference, near the middle of the fish. The mottled appearance of its sides was very distinct. It was taken on the 12th January, above Inchgarvie, in a net used for fishing garvie herrings, and was kindly sent to Dr Smith by Mr Muirhead, Queen Street. Parnell, in his "Fishes of the Forth," says it is not uncommon above Alloa, on the Forth; the fishermen, when they accidentally take them, having a prejudice against them, return them to the water. They are consequently never, under any circumstances, seen in the Edinburgh market. In some parts of England they are esteemed a great delicacy.

VII. Specimens of various Marine Animals, sent by Dr E. W. Dubuc, R.N., from Ceylon, &c., were exhibited by Mr JAMES B. DAVIES.

A small Physalia (Portuguese man-of-war) from the shore at Kurrachee, Scinde. Specimens of a species of Pinna, both dry, and dissected in spirit, from Trincomalee, Ceylon; two species of Pinnotheres (a small crab), one of which inhabits the interior of the shell of Pinna, and the other the Placuna placenta, also from Ceylon.

Specimens of the Trepang, or edible Holothuria, in spirit, and dried, as for the Chinese market. Regarding these, Dr Dubuc supplies the following notes:-"Whilst at Trincomalee, in the summer of last year, in medical charge of the hospital hulk Sapphire, my attention was drawn to a species of Holothuria, very abundant on the sandy bottom of the inner harbour, at a depth of about two or three fathoms. The animal is of a yellowish-brown colour, the skin over the dorsal aspect being tough and coriaceous. The ventral surface presents numerous ambulacra, and is of a pale colour, and close to the anal orifice there is the retractile branchial tuft. At Naples the Holothuria tabulosa is employed as an article of diet, and at the Marianne Islands the Holothuria guamensis; whilst the Chinese prefer the Holothuria edulis, or Trepang, which is common in the Chinese seas, principally at the Anamba Islands, where the Malays fish for it with hooks fastened to the ends of long bamboos. They are then cut open, eviscerated, dipped in boiling water, and dried in the sun. It was with some interest I learned that they were prepared in the way mentioned above at Trincomalee, for the Chinese market. The natives dive for them, as they are not familiar with the use of the dredge."

Wednesday, 27th February 1861.-JAMES M'BAIN, M.D., R.N., President, in the Chair.

Thomas Robertson, Esq., Minto Street, was elected a member of the Society.

The following donations to the library were laid on the table, and thanks were voted to the donors:

1. Description of the Plant which produces the Ordeal Bean of Calabar.