Strepsilas (Ill.). Bill moderate, hard at the point, strong, straight, of an elongated conical shape, slightly curved upwards ; aręte flat tened; point straight, truncated. Nostrils basal, lateral, long, half closed by a membrane, pierced through and through. Feet moderate ; not much nakedness above the knee ; three toes before and one behind ; the three anterior toes united at the base by a very short membrane; the posterior toe articulated upon the tarsus. Wings acuminate ; the first quill the longest. (Temm.) S. inteipres (Cinclus interpres, G. R. Gray), the Turnstone. The very old male has the front space between the bill and the eye, a large collar on the nape, a part of the back, a longitudinal band and another transversal one upon the wiug, upper coverts of the tail, middle of the breast, as well as the other lower parts, all of pure white ; deep black takes the shape of a narrow frontal band, which, passing before the eyes, is dilated below, where on one aide it is directed on the lower jaw, and ou the other dilating itself anew on the sides of the neck, it surrounds the throat, and forms a wide plastron in front of the neck and on the sides of the breast ; top of the head reddish white, striped longitudinally with black ; upper part of the back, scapulars, and coverts of the wing bright chestnut red, sprinkled irregularly with large black spots ; a large brown band ou the rump ; lateral quill of the tail pure white ; bill and iris black ; feet orange yellow. Length 8 inches and 2 or 3 hues. The female differs only in having the shades less pure and the black less deep.
In this state of plumage the bird is Tringa interpres of Gmelin ; Merinella callaris, Meyer; Turnstone or Sea-Dotterel of Edwards.
The young of the year have no trace of black nor of red chestnut. Head and nape of ashy-brown striped with deep-brown ; white spots on the sides of the head and neck ; throat and front of the neck whitish ; feathers of the sides of the breast deep brown, terminated with whitish ; the other lower parts and the back pure white ; upper part of the back, scapulars, and coverts of the wings deep brown ; all the feathers surrounded by a wide yellowish border ; transverse band of the rump deep brown bordered with ruddy ; feet yellowish red. The black and white more regularly defined, in proportion as the bird advances in age.
In this plumage the bird is Tringa Morinella, Linn. ; Tringa interpres Morinella, Gmel.; Arenoria cinerea, Briss.; the Turnstone, Pennant.
The young at the age of a year have the large plastron, or collar on the front of the neck and on the sides of the breast, marked out with black feathers, terminated by a narrow whitish border ; summit of the head and nape brown, spotted with blackish-brown ; back, scapulars, and coverts of the wings black, all the feathers surrounded It feeds upon small crustaceans, &c. and bivalve mollusks, which last its powerful bill and frame well enable it to open, so as to get at the contents. It will frequently wade far out, and trust to swimming back for its return. Their four eggs, of a bright hue, inclining to olive by a ruddy border ; a great black spot on the lateral tail-feather; the rest as in the adults. (Temm.) • This is the Voltapietre of Savi; SteinwMzer of Brehm; and Huttan y 1110r of the Welsh.
Geographical Distribution.—Very wide. Nova Zembla. Green land, Winter Island, Felix Harbour, the coast between Victoria harbour and Purr Point—about the middle and end of June. Shores of Iludaon a Bay and of the Arctic Sea up to the 75th parallel, where it breeds in June, quitting in September, halting in October on the shores of the Delaware, and proceeding farther south on the setting in of cold weather. The United State*. The straits of Magellan. Cape of Good Hope. Japan, Sunda, the Molucca Islands, and New Guinea. Australia. In Europe, from Russia south ward to Italy. Norway. Madeira. In this country it is found on
the coasts from August to May, when it returns northward to breed. Stationary in Zetland, according to Dr. Fleming, who concludes that it breeds there.
The Turnatone, as its name implies, procures its food—small crustaceans, molluscous animals, &c.—by turning over with its strong bill the stones on the shore which shelter its prey. Mr. Hewitson found its nest on the coast of Norway placed against a ledge of rock, and consisting of nothing more than the dropping leaves of the juniper bush. Under a creeping branch of this shrub the eggs, four in number, of an olive-green colour, spotted, and streaked with oath-blue and two abodes of reddish-brown, were concealed and sheltered. .
CHARsE'AS (Stephens), a genus of Moths of the family Noctuithr. Whoa the following characters : Wings more or less deuticulated ; the posterior wings usually whitish in the males and brown in the females; palpi abort, 2-jointed ; maxillas long ; antennae rather long, simple in the females, and more or less pectinated in the males ; head small ; thorax large, not crested ; apex of the body furnished with a tuft of hairs in the males.
Several species of this genus have been found in England; their larvte are naked, feed upon roots, and assume the pupa state under ground.
C. Graminis (Cerapteryx Grarninis, 'Cat. Brit. Lep. in Brit Mus.'), the Antler Moth. It varies from an inch to an inch and a half in width, measured from tip to tip of the wings when expanded; it is of a brownish colour ; the tipper wings have a longitudinal white streak, which extends beyond the middle, and gives out three branches at the apex : pinching this white line above there are two pale brown spots, and another of the same colour beneath, near the base of the wing ; the apex of the wing has a row of pointed black spots, more or less distinct The caterpillar is of a brownish colour, with yellow streaks on the sides and back : it feeds upon grasses, and is exceedingly destructive to the pastures in Sweden. In England the insect is not so abundant ; there is however an instance on record of its having committed con siderable devastation in the north of England during the larva state. We allude to an account given by Mr. Wailes, in the second volume of the Entomological Magazine, who observed a portion of the mountain of Skiddaw thus effected—their devastation causing the herbage to have a dry and parched appearance : the part affected comprised at least fifty acres, and extended some distance down the -western side of the mountain ; and so marked was the line that the progress made by the larvae could be distinctly seen front the town of Keswick. Large flocks of rooks were observed to frequent the spot, and no doubt devoured immense numbers ; the moths however appeared in great abundance in the mouth of August. From this same gentleman's observations we find that the history of the moth is also interesting. It appears to be their habit to fly from about half-past seven to half-past eight in the morning, during which time they are seen in some parts of the country in the utmost profusion ; their appearance and disappearance are extremely sudden. The field in which Mr. Wailes observed them became in one moment a moving mass, and after about an hour not a single moth was to be seen, all having disappeared in a manner equally sudden ; they fly about three or four inches from the ground, and thread their way with considerable rapidity through the stalks of grass. This moth is by no means abundant in the south of England : it departs a little from the cha racters of the genus in not having the wings notched.
The other species of this genus are C. cessifis, the Hedge-Rustic, C. lutulenta, the Barred-Feathered Rustic, a sEthioss, the Black Rustic. CI I A RD-BEET. [Myra.]