24
NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
The country in which it produces its young is not decidedly ascertained." This
is; according to Christy ("Birds of Essex"), a rare and irregular winter visitor,
although sometimes occurring in considerable numbers, as in the years 1835,
1849-50, 1866, etc. He gives many records in addition to those quoted above.
The writer in the "Essex County Chronicle" is in error in stating that the
breeding-place is not known. It extends, as was discovered some years ago by
Mr. Wolley, across Behring Strait to Alaska and the Rocky Mountains. The
first nests and eggs were found in 1856 in Russian Lapland, since which a great
many have been taken ; and the breeding range is now known to extend westward
to the north-eastern portion of Norway, and southward to about 658 N. lat., on
the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia.
Since the above was written the "Essex County Chronicle" records that
on the 28th of February "a beautiful male specimen of this rare bird was shot by
Mr. H. Heywood, at 'Greenwoods,' in the parish of Stock. The bird has been
carefully preserved by Mr. C. Cable, naturalist, of Stock."
Robin Nesting in the Winter.—"A robin's nest, with' five young ones,
exists in an unused milk churn, placed close to the fire in one of the cow-houses
at Terling Hall. A nest has been built there for five successive years, and each
year there have been five young ones at Christmas time. It is a strange occur-
rence that a robin should build her nest in the dead of winter and have young
ones. The birds are quite healthy, and thrive as well as other birds,"—"Essex
County Chronicle," February 10th, 1893.
Effect of Want of Light (?) on Colour of a Frog.—Early last year
a friend of mine, living at Wanstead, found a frog beneath a flower-pot which had
been standing right way up and full of earth in the same place for two or three
months. The body of the frog was shrunken and the skin transparent, so that
the internal organs could be seen. The head, however, which was outside the
pot, had not changed colour to any appreciable extent, but the eyes were unusu-
ally protruding. My friend released the frog, and fed it upon worms for seven or
eight days, by which time it had recovered its colour, and it then escaped. Some
of our members may be able to mention other instances which would show
whether the alteration in colour was due to the pressure of the flower-pot, or the
want of light. Perhaps the Ethiopian could change his skin by dwelling" in the
dark.—F. W. Elliott, Woodford Green.
Hydrobia (Paludestrina) Jenkinsi.—Supplementing the information
respecting this estuarine mollusc, which was given in volumes iv. and v. of The
Essex Naturalist (vol. iv., p. 212, etc.; vol. v., p. 220, etc.) by Messrs. Smith,
Crouch, and Jenkins, it may be useful to refer to a paper by Mr. Lionel E.
Adams, in the "Journal of Conchology," for January last (vol. vii., p. 148),
giving a theory as to the possible introduction of the species into this country.
Mr. Adams states that he found H. jenkinsi at Countess Weir, halfway between
Exeter and Topsham, in August last. Noticing that the habitat was similar to
those at Plumstead and Sandwich, where this very local species had previously
been found, it occurred to him that this similarity might throw some light upon
the manner of its introduction into Britain—provided, of course, that the
mollusc is not really indigenous. Mr. Adams remarks how greatly Topsham
reminded him of the old-world, sleepy, and decayed Cinq Port of Sandwich,
and both towns were of considerable importance as trading ports 200 years
ago. Mr. MacMurdo, of Topsham, informed Mr. Adams that in the reign of