Reptiles. 1969 



on the subject. — Bertram Talbot ; Alton Towers, near Cheadle, Staffordshire, October 

 22nd, 1847. 



Female Fowl in Plumage of Male. — Last autumn I saw at the house of Mr. Parting- 

 ton, gamekeeper to Lord Lilford, a domestic fowl in male plumage, which Mrs. Par- 

 tington assured me had laid several eggs. It had the appearance of a young game 

 cock after the first moult, but the colour of the feathers was not quite so rich. Its 

 spurs and wattles were fully developed, but the comb not so much so in proportion. 

 There are two facts with regard to this bird which I think worth recording in the 

 1 Zoologist.' The one is, that it assumed the male plumage so early in the second 

 moult ; the other is, that it did not commence laying until after it had completed that 

 moult. I have lately ascertained that this bird has been killed, and that upon opening 

 it, a cluster of eggs in embryo was found. In White's 'Natural History of Sel- 

 borae ' (pages 93 and 94) some instances similar to the above are given, with this ex- 

 ception, that the youngest age named at which the hen changed her plumage for that 

 of the cock is thirteen years. The passage commences thus : " There is a re- 

 markable physiological fact in the animal economy, — that of the females of many 

 species assuming somewhat of the character of the male when they become aged? — 

 Nicholas Cooke ; Hope Mills, Warrington, November 25th, 1847. 



Occurrence of the Little Bustard at Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire. — A most beauti- 

 ful male specimen of the little bustard {Otis tetrax) was shot at Kirton Lindsey on the 

 7th of October last : its length from the tip of the back to the end of the tail was 

 twenty-three inches ; the expansion of its wings forty-four inches ; its weight two 

 pounds and a quarter : it has a splendid row of feathers down each side of the neck : 

 its craw was filled with caterpillars of the common yellow underwing moth, small 

 shelled snails, &c. — Alfred Roberts ; Brigg, Lincolnshire, Dec. 7th, 1847. 



Occurrence of Temminck's Stint near Oxford. — I beg to forward a notice of the oc- 

 currence of Temminck's stint (Tringa Temminckii) near Oxford. A pair of adult 

 birds were killed upon the banks of the river Isis in Port Meadow, August 24th. 

 They were shot by a lock-keeper named Bossom, and have been set up by Mr. Orman, 

 St. Aldates, Oxford.— IT. Roundell ; Christ Church, Oxford, Oct. 21th, 1847. 



Occurrence of the young of the Little Bittern near Enfield. — I have lately re- 

 ceived a specimen of the little bittern (Ardea minor, Linn.); killed September 18th, 

 1847, on the river Lea, near Enfield, by a bargeman. It is a young bird of the year, 

 and I think has been bred in the neighbourhood, as there is some remains of the nest- 

 ling down, and it is not fully fledged. — Fredk. Bond ; Kingsbury, Oct. Wth, 1847. 



Occurrence of the Speckled Diver at Worcester. — A specimen of the speckled diver 

 was shot about a fortnight ago in the Severn, just opposite the Deaneiy, Wor- 

 cester. It is now in the possession of a gentleman residing in this parish. — W. W. 

 Cooper ; Claines, near Worcester, Dec. \5th, 1847. 



Anecdote of a Snake. — I have recently been told the following anecdote by a gen- 

 tleman, for whose veracity I can vouch, which I think is strongly illustrative of the sa- 

 gacity of the snake. If you think it worthy of a corner in the l Zoologist,' you will 

 oblige by giving it one. Some time since, as the servant men belonging to my friend 

 were coming in to dinner, they had to pass through a small plantation, about one hun- 

 dred paces from the house, in which they saw two young snakes and an old one; they 



