Turnstone when he saw one, or its eggs; while Seebohm, with whom I entirely agree, has asserted that "the eggs of the Turnstone cannot be confused with those of any British Plover, nor easily with those of any of the Sandpipers." To my eye, indeed, they have a character peculiarly their own. Edward Newman, by the bye, reviewed 'The Birds of Shetland'—a second notice—in 'The Zoologist' (of which he was then the talented Editor) of November, 1874; but, far from raising a warning voice on the point at issue, he quoted the author's passage dealing with it in full, eulogistically remarking:—"The breeding habits of the Turnstone are admirably described in the paragraph which follows, and leaves nothing to be desired." What I want to know is this: why is Saxby continually quoted with evident approval in this, that, and the other work on British Birds, and yet the same author's detailed version of a question of considerable scientific interest discarded as unworthy of credit? Surely the mere presumptive evidence surrounding the issue strongly favours the complete reliability of the story as Saxby gave it to the world, let alone the personal testimony he adduced in substantial support of it. Permit me to add that I write in no carping spirit; my sole object is quest for information, being unable to account for the non possumus attitude adopted by comparatively recent authors in face of some apparently convincing statements on the part of a man who was so punctilious on the score of ornithological accuracy that, though in his own mind he was perfectly satisfied that a couple of eggs brought to him by a boy in 1859 were Turnstone's, he abstained from labelling them as such owing to the inability of the finder to furnish any account either of the bird or nest.—H.S. Davenport (Melton Mowbray).
Late Stay of Swift.—While taking a walk on Lansdown, on Oct. 1st, I saw a Swift amongst a large flock of Swallows and House Martins. I see in the 'Field,' Sept. 24th, that a correspondent noticed a Swift at Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, on Sept. 18th. I do not remember having noticed this migrant prolonging its stay so late as October.—C.B. Horsbrugh (4, Richmond Hill, Bath).
REPTILIA.
Notes on the Habits of Python molurus in Confinement.—Twelve months ago I became the possessor of an Indian Python (P. molurus), which up to the present I have kept in excellent health. During this time I have noticed several things in connection with its habits which are new to me, and which perhaps may be of interest to readers of 'The Zoologist.'
In most accounts of these large reptiles in confinement they are described as being lethargic, and seldom moving. This idea must, I think, arise from their nocturnal habits, and my experience certainly does not
