Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 4 (1900).djvu/512

478 from its rest by the crying of a child, it was making for the sound with the purpose of devouring its originator, when a Cat, with less discretion than is usually displayed by this feline, flew at the intruder, but in the tussle that ensued was torn limb from limb, and afterwards devoured piecemeal on the spot. The subsequent proceedings I forget, but the "Wolf" apparently continued to hang about the cottage, till some passing labourers, apprised of its doings and probable intentions, attacked and killed it. The alleged ferocity and unmistakable, albeit superficial, Wolf-like aspect of the animal, coupled, may be, with the circumstance that it was not recognized as the property of any of the farmers or Dog-owners of the neighbourhood, seem to have been the considerations which led the good people into whose hands the beast fell to settle offhand that it must be a "Wolf escaped from a menagerie," the expansion of the predicate being only justified as a corollary of the first part. Judging from the size of the teeth, the creature was adult. It is rather larger than a Fox, and has a bushy tail and erect ears. The legs and the head, so far as could be seen, except for a blackish patch in front of the ear, are a rich fawn-colour; the back is black, mottled with dark grey, the tail being much the same shade on the back, and without a white tip. Apart from its slightly superior size, it differs strikingly from a Fox in having the ears and feet fawn instead of blackish, and in the absence of white from the lips and throat. Of Wild Dogs, it is perhaps the Black-backed Jackal that it most calls to mind, although much stouter in build and smaller in the ears than that elegant species. It also resembles a small cock-eared colley, and might pass muster as such amongst a crowd of mongrels. A suspiciously "foxy" look about the beast, however, inclines me to the belief that it is the progeny of a Fox, and probably some country Sheep-dog. It would be interesting to learn if there are any authenticated cases of hybridism between the two species, and, if so, what were the characters of the "hybrids."— (Nat. Hist. Museum, South Kensington).

[In 'The Zoologist' for last year (p. 240) an abstract was given of a communication by the Rev. J. Conway Walter, which appeared in the 'Naturalist' for April of that year, on "Fox and Dog Hybrids near Horncastle."—]

The Bearded Tit: a Correction corrected.—Mr. Ridsdale's note upon this subject (ante, p. 422) is entertaining, but, if he wishes us to believe that Gesner really figured the Bearded Tit, I am afraid he will require to produce some further corroborative evidence. Belon figures the Great, Blue, and Long-tailed Tits, and refers to the Marsh-Tit, but not to any other that I can discover. Gesner, who comes next in chronological order, figures the Coal, Crested, and Marsh-Tits, as well as those figured by