768 Reptiles. 



eye drop into the water, and at the same instant a young one appeared ; after watching 

 some time, and seeing the bird fly backwards and forwards from the nest five times, 

 he was enabled to make out that the young bird was held under the bill, but sup- 

 ported by the neck of the parent." Although such a position must be very inconve- 

 nient to a duck when flying, it seems to me to be a more satisfactory solution of the 

 difficulty than either of those mentioned in ' The Zoologist' (Zool. 670 and 671). It 

 is very possible, that when the tree selected by the duck for her nest overhangs the 

 water, the young may •' drop unhurt," but this is by no means an invariable rule, and 

 evidently was not the case in the instance mentioned by Mr. Selby. — William R. 

 Fisher ; Great Yarmouth, September 28, 1844. 



Anecdote of annual change of Plumage in a Gull. Some winters past a specimen 

 was brought me that had been shot in the wing ; he was put in the garden, and was 

 then la petite Mouette grise, of Brisson, with a white head ; the following year, when 

 the bird moulted, he was the Larus ridibundus, with a black head ; so he continued 

 changing alternately from white to black as long as the bird lived, which was seven 

 or eight years. This fact does not appear to be noticed by ornithologists, at least as 

 far as my limited observations have gone ; but individuals of the same species, as- 

 suming different appearances at different seasons of the year, has been well authen- 

 ticated. This bird, like the rest of the tribe of the gulls, was always a shy and timid 

 bird, and was sure to retreat when any one approached. He was particularly fond of 

 meat, which he preferred to fish and bread, and would catch pieces when thrown to 

 him with surprising dexterity. His chief amusement was to pace up and down for 

 hours together upon a small spot in the garden, until his little feet had padded the 

 earth quite hard. He became quite the pet of the family, and would come to the 

 call of one of its members, a female, to whom he appeared more attached than to any 

 of the others. — /. Chant ; 3, Critchell-place, New North-road. 



Correction of a previous Error. I hasten to correct the errors which have appeared 

 in my notice of the " Nidification of Birds at Elden." I see you have remarked them 

 both immediately after the communication. The first is the swift, to which name has 

 been annexed the date May 1st, whereas it ought to be June 1st; and with respect to 

 the nightjar, the same mistake is made : the month in which that bird laid its eggs 

 ought to be June. There is one other error in the communication : the county in 

 which Elden is situated is Suffolk, and not Essex, as there stated. — Alfred Newton ,• 

 Stetchworth, near Newmarket, October 3, 1844. 



Note on a large Viper found in Devonshire. I found a dead viper lying in the road 

 near Holdsworthy, in Devonshire, in the last week of August, measuring three feet 

 two inches in length, dimensions which appeared to me gigantic, as my experience of 

 specimens in other parts of England coincided with those given by Mr. Jenyns, " a 

 foot and a half to two feet, rarely more." I was afterwards told that vipers of this 

 size were by no means uncommon there, but none of my informants appeared to have 

 measured the individuals they mentioned. In the specimen above mentioned, the 

 upper parts were of an almost uniform light cinereous, the usual dark markings being 

 nearlv obliterated, perhaps from age. — Fred. Holme ; Penzance, October 21, 1844. 



