Correspondence 41



old pair ! The ducklings are lovely little things, grey and white with

pink legs and feet.”


Eclipse Plumage.— It is a well-known fact that in the ducks

of the Northern Hemisphere the males, after the breeding season,

moult their gaudy feathers and take on a plumage closely resembling

that of the females. In the Southern Hemisphere this rule does not

apply. In many species the sexes are alike, but there are some, such

as the Rosy-bill and the Ringed Teal, in which the sexes are completely

different; but they do not go into “ eclipse ” plumage like the northern

ducks. The Chestnut-breasted Teal of Southern Australia and Tasmania

is perhaps an exception, but the eclipse in this species is not complete

and seems to vary in individuals, some drakes taking on a partial

eclipse plumage in the autumn, while others do not change at all at

that season.


D. S-S.



CORRESPONDENCE


DR. GOSSE’S PROPOSAL.


Sirs, —The suggestion made by Dr. Gosse amounts to this : The

Avicultural Society, strictly founded for the study of birds, is to be

wound up and a new Society to include the study of all branches of

zoology is to replace it. If we include fur as well as feather in our

Magazine, there is no reason for excluding scale and shell: reptiles

appeal to me more strongly than mammals and arthropods have had

a great fascination for me from my earliest youth ; in fact, I began to

take pleasure in the study of them when only 7 years old. Now,

however, I could not recommend the study of zoology in its many

branches ; and, if the scope of our Society were to be thus extended,

I should reluctantly feel bound to resign my membership.


As one of the original members and founders of the Avicultural

Society, I should be sorry to see its absorption into a Zoological Society ;

but possibly it has done all and more than all that it was expected to

do towards the advancement of science, and whatever is decided upon

we may congratulate ourselves upon the fact that up to the present

it has not been useless.



A. G. Butler.



