390 • THE ZOOLOGIST. 



a given time the taking of eggs should be wholly prohibited, accorded 

 with the opinion at which your committee had previously arrived. 

 Subsequently the Bill was further amended by the Standing Committee 

 of the House of Lords, and, having been read a third time, was sent 

 back to the House of Commons for its approval of their Lordships' 

 amendments. 



These your committee, after duly considering them, had hoped 

 would be at once accepted by the House of Commons ; but, on August 

 21st, on the motion of Sir Herbert Maxwell, it was agreed that 

 consideration of them should be adjourned for three months, and 

 therefore the fate of the Bill remains doubtful. 



In view of the uncertainty thus existing your committee would 

 recommend their reappointment on the same terms as before. 



Dr. Vachell observed that unfortunately serious differences of 

 opinion existed as to the way in which birds' eggs should be pro- 

 tected. Everybody was agreed it was necessary to extend the 

 protection. It was thought by some that the County Council 

 should be moved to prevent the taking of particular eggs in 

 particular places at particular times of the year. But some 

 ornithologists told them that that was impossible, as many of the 

 eggs were so similar that in a court of law it would be impossible 

 to swear to a particular egg being the egg of a particular species. 

 It had, therefore, been suggested that if a particular species were 

 declining, and were known to frequent a particular place, the 

 County Council should have the matter represented to them, and 

 be called upon to protect that restricted area. The principle 

 was that they should protect areas, and not species. 



Professor Newton, who wound up the discussion which fol- 

 lowed, alluded to the practical impossibility of ever getting a. 

 conviction, owing to the difficulty of distinguishing between the 

 eggs of one species and another. 



THE "RUSSET-PATED CHOUGH" OF SHAKESPEARE. 



By Professor Newton, M.A., F.R.S. 



The Editor having courteously sent me an early copy of 

 his latest remarks on this subject (anted, p. 332), I think it only 

 fitting to offer a few observations upon them, in support of the 

 adherence I have hitherto given to Mr. E. T. Bennett's explana- 



