Reptiles. 249 



At which times the three last-named Jack snipe, Scolopax Gallinula, April 12 

 hirds had all attained their full sum- Knot, Tringa canutus, in full sum- 

 mer plumage, me r plumage, May 20 



Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, . . . April 3 — Id. 



Observations on the Moulting of Birds. I observe in the June number (Zool. 190) 

 a note on the pied wagtail, in which mention is made of a spring moult. I had un- 

 derstood that in general the moulting of birds took place some time in autumn, and 

 that the changes in the colour of the plumage, which, in many instances, occur in the 

 breeding season, were caused by the wearing of the tips of the feathers. Tn many 

 birds, as, for example, the waders, there are great differences of colour at different 

 seasons; these perhaps may be attributed to a double moult. The subject of moult- 

 ing deserves, I think, more attention than it has hitherto met with. Would any of 

 the readers of ' The Zoologist' favour us with a paper on it? Do birds change the 

 whole of their plumage at one time ; or, if not, what portions ? Are the quills and 

 tail-feathers shed and renewed annually ? Finally, does moulting take place more 

 than once a year? These are questions which I have never seen satisfactorily answer- 

 ed. — Archibald Jerdon ; Boujedwardj June, 1843. 



Note on the more frequent occurrence of the Woodcock. There is some consolation 

 to the British^naturalist, in the reflection, that whilst the majority of our birds are be- 

 coming more rare every year, owing to increased cultivation of the soil; some few 

 species more frequently occur, especially in the breeding season. The nest of the 

 woodcock is now almost commonly found in some districts, though formerly of so rare 

 occurrence. Mr. Southwell, gamekeeper to the Marquis of Anglesey, in May last 

 discovered three nests of young woodcocks at Beaudesert. This is the first time I 

 have heard of this species breeding in the neighbourhood, although snipes have fre- 

 quently been seen, in the summer season. — Edwin Brown; Burton-on-Trent, June 

 29, 1843. 



Notes upon the Reptiles mentioned in Shakspeare^s Plays. 

 By Robert Patterson, Esq.., V.P. Nat. Hist. See. Belfast. 



It is proposed in the present paper to examine the notices of rep- 

 tiles scattered throughout Shakspeare's plays, with a view to ascertain 

 how far they are in accordance with facts now known, or how far they 

 embody the errors and superstitions of other days. Such an enquiry, 

 '' figuring the nature of the time deceased," is not in reality valueless, 

 for it serves to bring before us, in new and unexpected lights, some of 

 the mental phenomena of two distant epochs. It makes us view with 

 a kindly and contemplative spirit, the varying phases of society ; and 

 while we compare the knowledge of the present time, with that which 

 was current in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, we are tempted to ask if 

 changes no less remarkable may not again occur.? — if hypotheses, 

 now gravely propounded as truths, may not yet be held up as curi- 



