BIOLOGY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 G 
 

THE BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
CO 
 
 c!) 
 
 PP 
 
THE ' 
 
 of 
 
 BIRDS OF NORFOLK, 
 
 REMARKS ON THEIR HABITS, MIGRATION, 
 AND LOCAL DISTRIBUTION: 
 
 BY 
 
 HENEY STEVENSON, F.L.S., 
 
 MEMBER OP THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS* UNION. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 " Etiam si sint alia graviora atque meliora, tamen 
 nos studia nostra naturae regula metiamur." 
 
 Cic. de Officiis Lib. I., cap. 31, 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER EOW, 
 
 NORWICH : 
 
 MATCHETT AND STEVENSON. 
 
 1866. 
 
BIOLOGY 
 
 LIBRATY 
 G 
 
 v./ 
 
 LI . 
 C 
 
ERRATA AND CORRIGENDA. 
 
 Page. Line. 
 
 xv ... 35. For inclosed read enclosed. 
 
 xxxiv ... 14. For Hanworth read Hun worth. 
 
 4 ... 8. For chrysaetos read chrysaetus. 
 
 14 ... 14. After spring read (1865). 
 
 43 ... 29. In the two foot notes, transpose the * and f. 
 
 60 ... 27. For Little Guillemot read Little Gallinule. 
 
 78 ... 18. For what it does resemble, read what does it resemble ? 
 
 83 ... 12. For apparently read undoubtedly. 
 
 185 ... 8. For Mr. Samuel Blyth, read Mr. Samuel Bligh; vide 
 
 also pp. 203, 275, and 302. 
 
 191 ... 25. For quacking, read quaking. 
 
 240 ... 23. After larger species, read which is. 
 
 263 ... 19. For some other fowls, read and other wild fowl. 
 
 363 ... 27. Dele comma after Besides. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 THE extreme richness of the Ornithology of the county 
 appears to have early attracted the notice of Norfolk 
 naturalists, and fortunately the records of their observa- 
 tions are to a great extent preserved to us, though scattered 
 amongst the "Transactions" of Learned Societies, and other 
 publications, not always accessible to the general reader. 
 To combine a resumt of the facts thus handed down to 
 us, with the result of personal observations extending 
 over several years, was the idea that first originated the 
 present work; and there is, perhaps, no better motive 
 for incurring the labours and doubtful honours of author- 
 ship than the desire to supply to others a want that has 
 been personally experienced. 
 
 Chronologically arranged, the sources from whence my 
 materials have been chiefly collected, are as follow : 
 
 " Extracts from the Household and Privy Purse Accounts 
 of the Lestranges, of Hunstanton, from 1519 to 
 1578." [Published by D. Gurney, Esq., in the 
 Transactions of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, 
 for 1833.] 
 
 That the "items" in this "private ledger" would 
 assume, in after years, a literary importance, was of course, 
 never contemplated by its compilers, but from many of its 
 quaint entries an insight is obtained, not only into the 
 
 8129.15 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 habits and customs of the period, but also as to the scarcity 
 or abundance of certain birds in this county, and their use 
 at that time for the table or sporting purposes. 
 
 "An Account of Birds found in Norfolk." By Sir 
 Thomas Browne, but not published till after his death 
 in 1682. [Wilkin's Edition of his works, vol. iv.] 
 
 This short but most valuable list of species, which dates 
 only a century later than the L' Estrange accounts, affords 
 the means of comparing, with singular accuracy, the 
 present state of the county with its ornithological condi- 
 tion about two hundred years ago. In some few instances, 
 also, we get glimpses of a still earlier period, in the 
 "hearsay" evidence of that most enquiring and universal 
 genius. 
 
 "British Ornithology." By John Hunt. [Norwich, 
 
 1815.] 
 
 Next in point of date, though after a long interval, 
 this work, compiled and illustrated by the late Mr. Hunt, 
 an engraver and bird preserver in Norwich, but unfortu- 
 nately never completed, contains many valuable notes on 
 Norfolk Birds, and in both the drawing, colouring, and 
 engraving of its numerous plates, exhibits a very con- 
 siderable amount of talent in the artist. 
 
 "A Catalogue of the Norfolk and Suffolk Birds, with 
 
 remarks." By the Rev. R. Sheppard and the Rev. 
 
 W. Whitear. [Transactions of the Linnean Society, 
 
 1826.] 
 
 This admirable paper, the first part of which was read 
 before the Society in 1824, contains a complete list, to that 
 date, of the birds of both counties, and was evidently the 
 result of a gradually awakening interest in Natural History 
 subjects. Arranged in a scientific form, its ample details 
 supply many interesting particulars at a time when certain 
 species, now no longer resident, were gradually becoming 
 scarce. 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 "A List of Birds/' contributed by Mr. Hunt to Stacey's 
 
 History of Norfolk. [1829.] 
 
 This contribution to the general history of the county 
 contains notices of many rare specimens either in the 
 possession of the author or other local individuals, and 
 here, again, the gradual decrease in the numbers of certain 
 species is specially noticed. 
 
 "Sketch of the Natural History of Yarmouth." By 
 
 C. J. and James Paget. [1834.] 
 
 Confined exclusively to the fauna of Yarmouth and 
 its neighbourhood, the ornithological portion, of course, 
 forms a prominent feature in such a district, and though 
 the remarks on each species are extremely brief, yet the 
 carefully written introduction contains many curious facts 
 with reference to the amount of wild fowl and other shore 
 birds then visiting our coast. 
 
 " Observations on the Fauna of Norfolk." By the Eev. 
 
 E. Lubbock. [1845.] 
 
 This deservedly popular work, and the one with which 
 our local naturalists are best acquainted, professes only to 
 treat of the rarer kinds amongst our land birds ; but of 
 such species as are found in the " Broad District," of the 
 peculiar features of that portion of the county, and of the 
 formation and working of decoys, the author's descrip- 
 tions leave nothing to be desired. Both for its felicity of 
 style and abundant information, it must rank as one of 
 those happy efforts of the " out-door" naturalist, for which 
 White's Selborne, as the first example, created a fresh 
 demand. 
 
 "An Account of the Birds found in Norfolk." By 
 Messrs. J. H. Gurney and W. E. Fisher. [Pub- 
 lished in the " Zoologist" for 1846.] 
 It is greatly to be regretted that this, the latest and 
 most perfect list of the " Birds of Norfolk," has never been 
 
Vlll PEEFACE. 
 
 re-published for general circulation. With the exception 
 of a few subscribers to the " Zoologist" at the time, scarcely 
 any of our local naturalists are aware of its existence. 
 Indeed, with the exception of Lubbock's "Fauna," the 
 same may be said of nearly all the rest, whilst both Mr. 
 Hunt's and the Messrs. Paget's works are out of print, and 
 extremely scarce. With this catalogue, comprising short 
 notes on each species, and including many rarities not 
 hitherto recorded, was also given a very valuable intro- 
 ductory paper, in which the natural attractions of the 
 county for the feathered tribe, the local changes that have 
 of late years affected our residents, and the chief causes of 
 the predominance of migratory visitants to our coast, are 
 all briefly discussed in a manner which established the 
 reputation of its authors as sound naturalists. 
 
 As may be imagined the interval of just twenty years, 
 since this last publication, has not passed without many 
 and great changes being effected in the physical condition 
 of the county; and much that was then accurately 
 descriptive of its ornithological status, is now but a tale 
 of the past. Residents have become migrants, and 
 migrants resident, though the latter in fewer instances, 
 and from very different causes ; whilst no less than eighteen 
 species, all rare and accidental visitants, have been added 
 on good authority. Of such occurrences since 1846, 
 records have been made, from time to time, in the pages 
 of the " Zoologist,"* and from these details, together with 
 the communications of local naturalists and a careful 
 analysis of my own note-books for the last sixteen years, 
 I have been enabled to bring down to the present time 
 the history of the "Birds of Norfolk." 
 
 Having recently visited, during the summer months, 
 
 * The chief contributors, from this county, to that storehouse 
 of ornithological facts, being Mr. J. H. Grurney, Mr. W. E. Fisher, 
 Messrs. A. and E. Newton, the Rev. H. T. Frere, and the author of 
 the present work. 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 nearly all the principal Broads, and the coast-line, with 
 but little intermission between Yarmouth and Lynn, I 
 can speak with some confidence as to the species that 
 still nest in those localities, as well as to the total absence 
 of others formerly common enough during the breeding 
 season. I have also taken much pains by an inspection 
 of both private and public collections to identify, whilst 
 it was yet possible to do so, the rarer birds recorded as 
 having been killed in this county during the past half 
 century ; but, although in many instances I have been 
 enabled to ascertain the existence and present location 
 of " historical'* specimens, the absence of any memoranda 
 attached* has, in other cases, through lapse of time, 
 entirely defeated my object. 
 
 The biographical sketches of the more common species 
 have been written, rather with the hope of exciting an 
 interest in the study of birds amongst those but little 
 given to natural history pursuits, than with the idea of 
 adding anything to the knowledge of such readers as 
 are accustomed to observe for themselves, in their out- 
 door rambles. Presuming, also, that all who are interested 
 in the study of British ornithology, either possess their 
 " Yarrell," or the means of referring to such works in our 
 public libraries, I have not attempted any description of 
 form or plumage, except where rare and little known 
 species have come under my notice in a recent state ; thus 
 enabling me to note down the more evanescent tints, or to 
 take accurate measurements before preservation. 
 
 That the very modest plans with which I commenced 
 my task have gradually assumed proportions I could 
 
 * The importance of affixing written particulars as to date 
 and locality to all cases containing rare local specimens cannot be 
 too strongly impressed upon collectors of stuffed birds, the absence 
 of any such means of identification materially affecting their value, 
 in a scientific as well as pecuniary sense, if subsequently disposed of. 
 b 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 never have anticipated, is owing mainly to the encouraging 
 suggestions of those who take a like interest in the birds 
 of their native county; and though I trust that in no 
 instance the sources from whence I have derived informa- 
 tion have passed unnoticed, there are still some friends to 
 whom my thanks are especially due. 
 
 To Mr. J. H. Gurney and Professor Newton I am 
 indebted not only for the interest they evinced from 
 the first in the objects I have had in view, but for the 
 invaluable assistance afforded me through their perfect 
 acquaintance with ornithological subjects, whether local 
 or general. To the latter, also, I owe the advantage of 
 a personal supervision of these pages, whilst passing 
 through the press, an act of genuine friendship which 
 will ever be held by me in very grateful remembrance. 
 
 Through the courtesy of the late Sir William Hooker 
 I have been enabled to include several very interesting 
 MS. notes, made by himself and other naturalists at 
 Yarmouth and its environs, between 1807 and 1840 ; and 
 to Mrs. E. P. Clarke, of Wymondham, I am similarly 
 indebted for extracts from the private memoranda of the 
 late Mr. Edward Lombe, when forming his magnificent 
 collection of British birds. 
 
 The Rev. E. "W. Dowell, of Dunton, whose practical 
 knowledge, as a sportsman and naturalist, of the forms and 
 habits of our littoral species renders his information of 
 peculiar value, has also, in the most liberal manner, 
 placed his MS. notes entirely at my disposal, which, 
 I need scarcely remark, will add materially to the com- 
 pleteness of the latter portion of the work.* 
 
 * Mr. G-. D. Berney has very kindly forwarded me particulars 
 of the protection afforded to the Barn- Owl, on his father's estate 
 at Morton, and in other parts of the county, but these having unfor- 
 tunately reached me too late for insertion in my notes on that 
 species, will appear in an appendix to the second volume, with the 
 latest incidents of any special interest. 
 
PEEPACE. XI 
 
 To those correspondents, also, in different parts of the 
 county, who have supplied me with the earliest intimation 
 of rare occurrences in their respective districts, I here 
 beg to express my best acknowledgments. But for their 
 kindly co-operation many important facts would, in all 
 probability, have escaped my notice, and in recording the 
 names of Capt. Longe and Mr. F. F. Frere, of Yarmouth ; 
 Mr. Rising, of Horsey ; Mr. Newcome, of Feltwell ; the 
 Rev. H. T. Frere, of Burston ; Mr. Dix, of West Harling ; 
 Mr. F. Norgate, of Sparham ; the Eev. T. Fulcher, of 
 Old Buckenham ; and Mr. T. Southwell, of Fakenham, I 
 feel no little pride in having interested so many zealous 
 naturalists and collectors in the occupation of my leisure 
 hours. 
 
 Nor can I omit testifying at the same time to the 
 unvarying civility and assistance I have received from 
 our provincial taxidermists. To the late Mr. John Sayer, 
 his assistant Mr. Gunn, and Mr. Knights, of Norwich, I 
 owe many opportunities of examining in the flesh the rarer 
 specimens that have passed through their hands for some 
 years past, and in most cases of ascertaining, by dissection, 
 peculiarities of food, or internal construction. My thanks 
 are also due for various communications to Mr. Ellis, of 
 S waff ham, and Mr. Baker, of Cambridge, as well as to Mr. 
 Phear and Mr. Cole, but recently established in this city. 
 
 In conclusion, I may state that as a contribution only 
 to the wider field of British ornithology, I have adopted 
 both the nomenclature and systematic arrangement of 
 Yarrell's " British Birds," as being the most familiar and, 
 therefore, easiest of reference. In such few cases, however, 
 as I have deemed it necessary to differ, even from such an 
 authority, for the sake of specific distinction, (vide Falco 
 candicam, Salicaria strepera, &c.), the motive for so doing 
 has been fully explained in the text. 
 
 It would be needless to offer any comment upon the 
 productions of Mr. Wolf's gifted pencil, but having been 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 fortunate enough to secure his services, I have additional 
 gratification in remarking the care and skill with which 
 his exquisite drawings have been re-produced by the 
 colourist Mr. William Smith, and Messrs. Hanhart and 
 Co., the lithographic printers. 
 
 The Frontispiece to the present volume was executed 
 by Messrs. "Wolf and Jury, from a water-colour drawing 
 taken on the spot by Mr. Ileeve, Curator of the Norfolk 
 and Norwich Museum. 
 
 H. S. 
 
 NORWICH, 
 
 December, 1866. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 NORFOLK, bounded on the north and east by the German 
 Ocean and the great estuary of the Wash, is insulated, 
 as it were, in every other direction by rivers the 
 Waveney and Little Ouse dividing it from Suffolk on 
 the south, and the Great Ouse, Welney, and Nene from 
 Cambridgeshire on the west. In form it is nearly oval, 
 being in length about sixty-five miles, from Yarmouth 
 on the east to the most westerly point at Walton on the 
 Ouse, and in width extends just forty miles, from Blakeney 
 on the north to the Waveney at Lopham on the south. 
 Its circumference, taking the coast line at high water 
 mark, may be reckoned at two hundred and twelve 
 miles; and, geographically speaking, it lies between 
 52 deg. 22 min. and 53 deg. 1 nain. North Latitude, 
 and 9 min. and 1 deg. 42 min. East Longitude from 
 the meridian of Greenwich. 
 
 Thus favourably situated with reference to the 
 opposite coast of Holland, which presents so many 
 features in common ; as well as to the north-east coast 
 of our own island and the west coast of Norway, the 
 pre-eminence of Norfolk, as a rich ornithological 
 district, is sufficiently accounted for, independently of 
 the favourable conditions afforded by the diversity of 
 its soil and sudden transitions from one formation to 
 another. As a maritime county, also, with a projecting 
 coast-line extending over eighty miles from Yarmouth 
 on the extreme eastern point to Lynn and Marsh- 
 land on the north-west, this inviting district forms 
 
Xiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 not only a place of "call" for periodical migrants, but a 
 welcome haven to the storm-driven wanderer or chance 
 straggler from all quarters of the globe. Birds in their 
 wanderings are apt to follow coast lines,* especially in 
 autumn, when seeking their winter quarters to the 
 southward a bird, therefore, striking the east coast of 
 Scotland, or north-east of England, follows the land 
 southward and is " brought up" sharp by Norfolk, 
 which first presents an obstacle to its southerly progress. 
 Consequently its stay here is somewhat protracted, and 
 it becomes observed, and most commonly killed if rare or 
 particularly attractive in plumage. And thus it happens 
 that a classified listf of the birds of Norfolk shows an 
 excess of migrants over residents amounting to nearly 
 two-thirds, whilst the latter are even outnumbered by 
 rare and accidental visitants. However much then the 
 habits of certain birds may have been affected, of late 
 years, by local causes, the actual number of species in 
 the Norfolk list appears still on the increase;]: the 
 study of ornithology as a popular science having led 
 to the identification of many formerly overlooked, and 
 rarities being far too keenly sought for to pass long 
 unnoticed. 
 
 * Birds, also, striking the coast of Norway, and following that to 
 the Naze, attempt to cross the North Sea in the same general direc- 
 tion, and consequently alight upon Norfolk. In this way Professor 
 Newton is inclined to explain the occasional appearance on our 
 coast of American Sandpipers and Ducks. 
 
 f A statistical table of species will be found appended to the 
 second volume, showing under the head of Eesidents the indi- 
 genous birds, and those which receive additions to their numbers 
 in autumn and winter; and under the head of Migrants, the 
 periodical, occasional, and accidental visitants. 
 
 J In 1846 Messrs. Gurney and Fisher gave the total number of 
 species as two hundred and seventy- seven, and yet omitting two 
 or three hitherto included on insufficient authority, they amount 
 to not less than two hundred and ninety-one at the present time. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 In taking a general survey of the county, with refer- 
 ence simply to its attractions for the feathered tribe, the 
 whole area appears divisible into, at least, six different 
 sections, each possessing some features of a distinctive 
 character, adapting it specially for the habitation of 
 certain species. At the same time there are a few 
 birds, and those chiefly belonging to the Insessorial 
 order, that have a general distribution, their numbers 
 varying only according to local conditions of food or 
 temperature. These faunal divisions, then, if one may 
 so term them, may be thus enumerated : 
 
 1st. The "Broad" district in the vicinity of the 
 coast, on the extreme eastern boundary. 
 
 2nd. The " Cliff" district lying further to the north, 
 with its furze covered hills, heaths, "half year" lands, 
 and richly wooded valleys, contrasting strangely with 
 the bleak level of the eastern fens. 
 
 3rd. The "Meal" district with its warrens on 
 the coast, its flat shores, creeks, and saltmarshes ; yet in 
 close vicinity to some of the finest estates and most 
 picturesque spots in the county. 
 
 4th. The " Breck " district to the west and south- 
 west formerly the haunt of the Great Bustard (Otis 
 tarda), and now the home of the Norfolk Plover 
 (JEdicnemus crepitans) with its wide open fields of 
 light land, mixed with some of the wildest and most 
 extensive tracts in the county of heath, fir-covert, 
 warren, and sheep-walk. 
 
 5th. The "Fen" district, being a portion of the 
 Great Bedford Level, which, commencing close to the 
 border-town of Brandon, extends over the south- 
 western part of the county to Lynn, and still retains, 
 in spite of drainage and cultivation, sufficient traces of 
 its normal character to constitute a separate section. 
 
 6th. The " Inclosed " district in the eastern division 
 of the county, more particularly around Norwich and 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in the south-eastern corner, with its small fields, 
 clustering homesteads, rich meadows, and well timbered 
 hedge-rows. 
 
 THE BROAD DISTRICT. 
 
 To enter more fully, however, into the physical 
 peculiarities of these different sections, we shall com- 
 mence with the Broad District, both as possessing the 
 greatest amount of interest for the naturalist and sports- 
 man, and presenting, notwithstanding the results of 
 agricultural enterprise, certain local conditions peculiar 
 to the north-eastern portions of Norfolk and Suffolk. It 
 is only necessary, as Mr. Lubbock remarks, to draw an 
 imaginary triangle on the map from Lowestoft to 
 Norwich, and thence in a north-easterly direction to the 
 sea at Happisburgh, to include the whole of that " great 
 alluvial flat, once the bed of the Garienis ostium," 
 whose sluggish waters give rise to those shallow lakes 
 or lagoons, here locally termed Broads. It is, more- 
 over, worthy of notice that the wide extent of coast-line 
 which would thus form the base of the triangle, 
 presents (with the exception of a low range of cliffs 
 between Lowestoft and Yarmouth) the same level 
 features as the surrounding country. The flat sandy 
 shore, raised here and there by beds of " shingle," 
 is backed only by such natural barriers against the 
 influx of the tides, as are presented by the undulations 
 of the grassy " Denes " in the vicinity of Yarmouth, 
 or the ff Marram" hills, extending northward as far as 
 Happisburgh, which consist of steep banks of blown 
 sand loosely bound together with the roots of marram* 
 (Arundo arenaria) and other grasses. Further inland, 
 again, are marshes in every stage of reclamation, and an 
 
 * This local word is nearly identical with the Danish name of 
 the same plant, Marehalm i.e., Mere-haulm or sea-straw. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV11 
 
 extensive warren at Winterton has peculiar attractions 
 for the larger Raptorial migrants. 
 
 With no more decided boundary between the two 
 counties than the rivers Waveney and Little Ouse, it is 
 impossible to speak of the Norfolk Broads without 
 reference also to those of the sister county, since the 
 mere accident of a bird's landing a few yards further 
 to the north or south may decide the claims of either 
 to some rare specimen. On the Suffolk side of the 
 Waveney, then, are Lake Lothing, Oulton, and Fritton 
 waters (the latter with a decoy still in working order), all 
 of which have contributed much to the avi-fauna of that 
 county ; and nearest to these, within our own boundary, 
 and immediately abutting on the town of Great Yarmouth, 
 lies the far famed Breydon. This great tidal basin, the 
 common embouchure of the Yare, the Waveney, and the 
 Bure on their seaward course towards the mouth of the 
 Haven, presents, alternately, a wide sheet of shallow 
 water, three miles in length and a mile and a-half in width, 
 or extensive mud " flats" when the converging streams 
 are confined for a time to their narrow channels. At 
 flood tide, however, the navigable portions are indicated 
 by long lines of posts on either side, and thus wherries 
 and other light craft are enabled to avoid the shoals. 
 It is impossible to imagine a spot more attractive than 
 this both to the grallatorial and natatorial tribes, the 
 "flats," at low water, affording throughout the year 
 an inexhaustible supply of food in the shape of Crustacea, 
 Mollusca, and various aquatic insects. The harder the 
 winter the greater are the flocks of Dunlins and other 
 Tringce, Gulls, and wild fowl collected here as to one 
 common banquet, when frozen out from more inland 
 waters; and incredible almost are the numbers killed 
 in some seasons by the gunners, whose flat-bottomed 
 boats float in the little creeks, or are pushed easily over 
 the "muds" when a "lumping" shot presents itself. 
 c 
 
XV111 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Probably more rare birds have been killed on Breydon 
 than in any other part of the United Kingdom ; and 
 since, owing to the experienced eyes and constant 
 watchfulness of our fowlers few rarities escape them, 
 in several instances, as shown by Yarrell and others, 
 species new to the British list have been procured 
 here for the first time.* A low embankment surrounds 
 the whole area of these " flats," and protects the sur- 
 rounding marshes, now drained for grazing purposes, 
 from constant inundation ; but they are still at times 
 laid under water from the effects of extremely high 
 tides, or a rainy season, and are then as attractive as 
 ever to the ducks and waders. This large tract of 
 marshes, both salt and fresh water, stretches away for 
 miles to the north of Yarmouth running parallel with 
 and close to the sand-hills at Ormesby, Hemsby, and 
 Wmterton, and the saline character of those nearest 
 to Breydon, as at Caister, Burgh, and Bradwell, is 
 indicated by the large number of shrimps and other 
 Crustacea to be found in the drains. 
 
 Could we now, looking inland from the " Denes " at 
 Yarmouth, obtain a sufficiently elevated position say 
 from the summit of the Nelson Column, if twice its 
 present height, we might take a literally " bird's eye" 
 view of this singularly level district; and tracing 
 back from its junction with Breydon the winding 
 course of the Bure, and its tributaries the Ant and the 
 Thurne, should perceive, with a good glass, the exact 
 localities of the principal Broads in this neighbourhood. 
 First of all, looking in a north-westerly direction over 
 the town of Yarmouth, and within five or six miles, 
 Filby, Rollesby, and Ormesby, a perfect cluster of small 
 
 * Amongst these may be noticed the Broad-billed and Pectoral 
 Sandpipers (Tringa platyrhyncha and T. pectoralis), the Buffel- 
 headed Duck (Fuligula albeola), and the Hooded Merganzer 
 (Mergus cucullatus.) 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 lakes, would attract our notice, and appear, probably, in 
 the distance as one large sheet of water. From 
 Ormesby, the Yarmouth Water Works receive their 
 supply, and the whole chain, comprising some seven 
 hundred acres, discharges through the (( Muck-fleet" 
 into the Bure, below Acle Bridge. Beyond these, and 
 somewhat further to the north, we should see Martham 
 Broad on the Thurne, and connected also with the 
 " Hundred stream," on the further bank, Ludham 
 Broad, and the wide expanse of Heigham Sound, 
 communicating both with Hickling and Horsey Mere. 
 Hickling Broad, with the exception of Breydon, the 
 most extensive, is computed at upwards of three miles 
 in circumference, and covers about four hundred acres ; 
 Horsey Mere, within a mile of the sea, one hundred 
 and thirty acres. * Further still, in the distance and 
 to the west of Hickling, a bright glimmer amongst 
 the trees would mark the site of another group, 
 including the fine waters of Barton and Ir stead, with 
 Stalham arid Sutton Broads in close proximity, all 
 communicating at various points with the navigable 
 river Ant. And Dilham Broad, within three miles of 
 Happisburgh, with East Euston Common (one of the 
 few " wet" commons now remaining in Norfolk), would 
 still come within the limits of our imaginary triangle. 
 
 Again, tracing back the course of the " reluctant 
 Bure" from its junction with Breydon water, we should 
 find, massed together as it were, between the mouth of 
 the Thurne and Wroxham Bridge, South Walsham Broad 
 and Ranworth, with its decoy, Salhouse, Wroxham, and 
 
 * The estimated extent of the larger Broads has been taken 
 from "White's Gazetteer" and Nail's "Handbook of Great Yarmouth 
 and Lowestoft." I have never been able to obtain a satisfactory 
 explanation why Horsey should be so commonly termed a Mere, 
 whilst all similar waters, in this neighbourhood, are as constantly 
 called Broads. 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the two Hovetons, each presenting in some degree 
 distinctive features, though alike in their general aspect. 
 Here, twisting and turning in its dubious course, the 
 river itself resembles the main channel of some gigantic 
 Broad, its narrow borders being still further contracted 
 by encroaching vegetation and the mud and shoals 
 which almost stop the navigation in some places. 
 Drainage has effected but little change in these wild 
 districts, preserved, as they are for the most part, for 
 sporting purposes, and the level marshes below Acle 
 Bridge, with their lofty steam mills and trim margins, 
 give place, as we proceed up-stream, to a more natural 
 and unrestrained fertility. Deep sedgy "ronds" or 
 dense masses of reeds and rushes, shut out, at times, 
 the adjacent marshes. On the one hand a wide expanse 
 of swampy ground, relieved here and there with belts of 
 alder and birch, or dwarf coverts, suggestive of Pheasants 
 and Woodcocks in autumn, blends Broad with Broad ; on 
 the other, some slight recess in the waving reed-screen is 
 covered in summer with a profusion of water-lilies ; or 
 an alder-carr, fringing the water's edge, casts a grateful 
 shade in strange contrast to the surrounding glare. 
 Everywhere the rich aquatic herbage teems with bird- 
 life. Reed and Sedge- Warblers (Salicaria strepera and 
 8. phragmitis) , with their constant companion, the 
 Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza schceniclus) , are heard 
 on all sides, and occasionally, though yearly becoming 
 more scarce, the beautiful little Bearded-Titmice (Gala- 
 mophilus liarmicus) may be seen uttering their sweetly 
 musical notes as they flit amongst the reeds. Coots, 
 Rails, and Water-Hens, appear and disappear at every 
 bend. Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus), from 
 their breeding grounds at Hoveton, mingle their inces- 
 sant cries with the warning notes of the Lapwing 
 (Vanellus cristatus) and Redshank (Totanus calidrisj, 
 and the Common Snipe (Scolopax gallinago), which here 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 breeds regularly and in considerable numbers, adds its 
 strange drumming noise, at intervals, to this " armony of 
 fowles." Wild Ducks (Anas boschas) in large quantities, 
 and many a " coil " of Teal (A. crecca) are also reared 
 011 these waters, and afford good " flapper " shooting in 
 July and August ; and of the rarer species that may 
 still be named as summer residents on the larger Broads, 
 are the Shoveller (A.clypeata), Garganey (A. querquedula) , 
 and Great-crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) ; the Ruff 
 (Machetes pugnax), now confined entirely to Hickling, 
 and the Marsh-Harrier (Circus ceruginosus) , if by chance 
 escarping the doom of its race. The Spotted-Crake 
 (Crex porzana), as well as the common Water-Rail 
 (Rallus aquaticus), nest in the almost impenetrable 
 swamps, which accounts for their eggs being so rarely 
 obtained; and the accidental discovery, at Potter- 
 Heigham, during the past summer, of the nests and 
 eggs of Baillon's Crake (Crex baillonii), never before 
 known to breed in Norfolk, shows that even greater 
 rarities may pass unobserved in such localities. 
 
 It would be needless to enumerate every little pool 
 which, surrounded by a wide tract of marsh, or reed- 
 ground, derives its local appellation from some adjacent 
 village. Of such there are many scattered here and 
 there, these waters varying in size, as Mr. Lubbock 
 remarks, from the "provincial pulk-hole to the wide 
 expanded lake," but those above mentioned comprise 
 all, in this neighbourhood at least, deserving of special 
 notice. 
 
 The Yare, in its less winding course between 
 Norwich and Yarmouth, with a stronger current and 
 a deeper channel, gives rise to but three of these 
 shallow backwaters Surlingham, Rockland, and Has- 
 singham which complete our list. The first of these, 
 within five or six miles of Norwich, and comprising, 
 with the surrounding marshes, nearly a hundred acres, 
 
XX11 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 is situated in the valley between Brundall and Coldham- 
 Hall, and has two outlets to the river. Further 
 down, but also communicating with the main stream, 
 is Rockland, covering about sixty acres; and Has- 
 singham, a much smaller but exceedingly pretty 
 Broad lies on the opposite side between Buckenham 
 and Cantley. In this locality, however, in strange 
 contrast to the banks of the Bure, cultivation 
 and drainage assert their supremacy. The Great 
 Eastern Railway, between Norwich and Yarmouth, 
 traverses some of the finest Snipe grounds of former 
 days, and, where Ruffs and Reeves abounded at no 
 distant period, grazing stock find pasturage at almost 
 all seasons. A considerable outlay also of late years 
 for dredging and setting back the ferries and other 
 obstructions, has deepened and widened the bed of 
 the river, and though broad "ronds" between Buck- 
 enham and Reedham, covered with a profusion of 
 coarse vegetation, afford ample harbour for many marsh 
 breeding birds, there is still a certain trimness, as com- 
 pared with the Bure, which accounts at once for the 
 absence of several former denizens.* Yet, if these are 
 
 * The Rev. Kirby Trimmer, in his " Flora of Norfolk," treating 
 of the geological formations of the county with reference to the 
 distribution of plants, thus speaks of the peat in the alluvial 
 district of Bast Norfolk : " The peat of the Tare borders both 
 sides of the river with an average breadth of about a mile and 
 a- half from the Yare and Waveney canal to Surlingham ; above 
 which to Trowse, near Norwich, it contracts to half a-mile. The 
 widest part of the peat of the Bure is below the confluence of the 
 Ant and the Hundred Stream with that river, the breadth varying 
 from three miles at its northern and southern extremities, to about 
 a mile and a-half in the centre. Along the separate course of 
 these streams the breadth of the peat varies from half a-mile to a 
 mile on the banks of the Bure, from its junction with the Ant to 
 "Wroxham; on the banks of the Ant from the junction before 
 mentioned to Stalham Broad ; and on the banks of the Hundred 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXI 11 
 
 wanting on the reclaimed lands, their place is taken 
 during the nesting season by immense numbers of 
 ground-breeders amongst the Insessorial birds, such as 
 Larks, Pipits, Buntings, and Wagtails ; and the same 
 marshes in autumn and winter are frequented, in large 
 numbers, by Starlings, Jackdaws, and Rooks, attracted 
 in a great measure by the presence of the stock. A 
 few Lapwings still haunt the rougher spots, in spite 
 of constant persecution, and in the marsh drains the 
 patient Heron (Ardea cinerea), knee-deep, waits its 
 prey 
 
 " Where Coots in rushy dingles hide, 
 And Moorcocks shun the day." 
 
 Though differing much in their general features, 
 the Broads are still characterised, more or less, by 
 the shallowiiess of their waters. Wroxham certainly 
 affords depth enough for an annual regatta, and a 
 similar water frolic is held occasionally at Hickling, 
 but the latter is nowhere more than five feet deep, and 
 the channel, but indifferently marked out with stakes, 
 is by no means easy of navigation. Many are accessible 
 only by means of flat-bottomed boats, and even these 
 get aground in some places on the peaty bottom, 
 which may be seen only a few inches below the water, 
 wherever duck-weed or other minute vegetation has 
 not coated the surface. Some, as at Ranworth, Barton, 
 Wroxham, and Horsey, present a wide expanse of 
 water, surrounded by reed-beds and rushy borders, with 
 occasional islets of a similar growth; or shrubs and 
 plantations of birch and alder sloping gradually down 
 to the water's edge. Others with a variety of little 
 
 Stream to Hickling and Horsey Broads. The upper parts of the 
 Yare and Wensum above Norwich, and of the Bure and Ant above 
 Wroxham and Stalham, as well as their tributary streams, are, in 
 many places, fringed with peaty meadows, varying from one-eighth 
 to one-fourth of a mile in breadth." 
 
XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 channels traversing the reed-beds in all directions, or 
 with small reed-locked pools, opening into each other by 
 the narrowest "gat- ways," offer unquestionably the 
 prettiest and most novel effects. How long, in this 
 utilitarian age, these last strongholds of so many marsh- 
 loving species may still be spared to ns, it is hard to 
 speculate, when we consider the marvellous changes 
 effected during the last fifty years in our own and 
 adjoining counties. Whittlesea Mere, which once ex- 
 tended over sixteen hundred acres, with a circumference 
 of not less than nine miles, no longer exists. The 
 railroad and the plough have alike passed over its 
 reclaimed soil; and the fen districts in the south- 
 western parts of Norfolk, have, of late years, under- 
 gone an exactly similar change. But, independently 
 of reclamation by artificial means, and the gradual 
 substitution of waving corn crops for the swampy 
 growth of reeds and rushes, there are other and 
 natural causes at work, which, unchecked by man, must 
 eventually close up a great many of these Broads. 
 Wherever on the more strictly preserved waters, the 
 reeds and rushes are left uncut to afford better harbour 
 for the fowl, the gradual decay and subsidence of such 
 vegetable matter, added to the rapid growth of the 
 bog-moss and tussucky grasses, quickly chokes up the 
 water-courses, and in an incredibly short space of time 
 affords a footing, firm enough at least for a dog to pass 
 over. At Surlingham, from this very cause, some few 
 channels, which were traversable by boats six or 
 seven years ago, are fast filling up, and there is no 
 doubt that many of the smaller pools, now presenting 
 scarcely more water than a large sized fish-pond, were 
 far more extensive in former times.* It is also supposed 
 
 * The Eev. John Gunn, in his " Geology of Norfolk," published 
 in the third edition of " White's Gazetteer," says " The discovery 
 of several coins in digging turf in Catfield, near Ludham, the 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 that this consolidating process is accelerated to a great 
 extent by the soil, washed down after floods, from the 
 roads and uplands ; hut whether this be the case or 
 not, there seems little doubt that wherever a peaty sub- 
 stratum is permitted to carry on its reclamatory action, 
 the existence of such a Broad, as a shallow reservoir, 
 becomes a mere question of time. Hickling, of course, 
 with a gravelly foundation, is free from danger on 
 this account. As to the rest we must hope that the 
 marketable value of reeds and rushes will henceforth 
 increase, and the area of demand be extended far beyond 
 our own borders. Thus by a yearly harvesting of 
 such marsh produce, the slow processes of nature might 
 be effectually checked, and the majority of our Broads 
 preserved to us for many years to come, to afford 
 sport and pastime to the gunner and angler, and hours 
 of recreation to the scientific collector of birds, plants, 
 and insects. Yet, even now, though in many places 
 cultivation borders closely upon the actual swamps, a 
 stranger visiting these watery wastes, would amidst 
 the luxuriance of the aquatic herbage, and the stillness, 
 broken only by nature's sounds experience such a 
 feeling of perfect isolation as few would deem it possible 
 to realise, at the present day, anywhere in the old 
 country. 
 
 Before quitting the Broads, properly so called, it 
 may be as well to allude, here, to several natural pools 
 or " Meres," which are all situated within a compara- 
 tively small area near the southern boundaries of the 
 county. These inland waters, originating in landsprings, 
 
 latest of which was of the reign of Edward VI., proves that there 
 was water when the coins were sunk, and the peat has grown up 
 since, and become a solid turf ground. It is formed by the annual 
 growth and decay of several marsh plants, as the Typha latifolia, 
 and angiAstifolia, Scirpus lacustris, Cladium mariscus, &c., and 
 is estimated at the rapid growth of a foot in twenty years." 
 d 
 
XXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and increased by the surface drainage into their wide 
 basins, have also great attractions for aquatic species ; 
 and, existing for the most part on private property, are 
 subject to but little disturbance. In size and depth 
 they vary considerably. The largest at Scoulton, which 
 from time immemorial has been a breeding place of the 
 Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus) , covers with the 
 " hearth" or flat island in the middle, over seventy acres, 
 and is a mile and three-quarters in circumference ; but 
 in some places it is quite possible to wade across to the 
 island. Hingham Mere, within two miles of Scoulton, 
 covers over twenty acres ; Saham, near Watton, twelve 
 acres ; and Diss Mere, in the very centre of that town, 
 five acres the latter, though the smallest, having 
 an average depth of seventeen and a-half feet. Besides 
 these, in the parishes of East and West Wretham, near 
 Thetford,* are several similar pools, varying from about 
 twenty roods to fifty acres in extent, and on some of 
 these waters, which are strictly preserved, Teal, Shovel- 
 lers, and Garganey, are known to breed, and even the 
 
 * A new and peculiar interest has been excited of late years in 
 these Wretham Meres, from the discovery through drainage, and 
 the emptying out of the mud, of the remains of " pile buildings*' 
 resembling the ancient lacustrine habitations of Switzerland. 
 Professor Newton, in a paper read before the Cambridge Philoso- 
 phical Society in 1862, gives a most interesting account of the 
 discovery made by Mr. Birch of Wretham, when draining " West 
 Mere" in 1851, and the " Great Mere" in the same locality in 1856. 
 Both in West Mere, with about eight feet of mud, and in Great 
 Mere, with not less than twenty feet, in some places, hundreds of 
 bones were discovered, consisting almost entirely of the red-deer 
 (Cervu elephuts) and the now extinct Bos longifrons, but amongst 
 these was a goat's skull, and the skull of a boar or pig. In this 
 district, also, was made the singular discovery, for the first time 
 in the British Islands, of the remains of comparatively recent 
 specimens of the European Fresh-water Tortoise (Emys lutaria). 
 Vide "Annals and Magazine of Natural History," 3rd series, 
 vol. x., p. 224, pis. vi., vii. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXVU 
 
 Red-headed Pocliard (Fuligida ferina) has been seen 
 during the summer months. On most of the large 
 estates, also, throughout the county, extensive lakes 
 and other ornamental waters, adorn the finely timbered 
 parks and pleasure grounds, a two-fold attraction for 
 the feathered race; and besides the rivers already 
 mentioned, the Wensum, Tas, Thet, Wissey, Glaven, 
 Xar, and Babingley, with a few smaller streams, and 
 one or two canals, constructed for navigable purposes, 
 permeate the county in all directions and folly maintain 
 the reputation of Norfolk as a well watered district. 
 
 THE CLIFF DISTRICT. 
 
 To continue our survey of the coast-line, the Cliff 
 District, with its surrounding country, presents a 
 strangely different scene. The wide expanse of sands 
 and shingly deposits are still there, but the sand-hills 
 give place to a long range of "mud" cliffs extending 
 some twenty miles between Happisburgh and Wey- 
 bourne. These diluvial formations, for the most part 
 Yaiying in thickness from twenty to a hundred feet, 
 attain their greatest altitude (about two hundred and 
 fifty feet), in the neighbourhood of Cromer, arid thence, 
 rising or falling in like manner as they proceed west- 
 ward, are suddenly lost altogether beneath the deep bed 
 of flints on Weybourne beach. Composed chiefly of 
 consolidated mud and blue clay, with ff pockets" of 
 gravel, sand, chalk, or marl, their various " contortions" 
 have a special interest for the geologist, apart from 
 the richness of their shelly fragments and the fossil 
 treasures of the nianimaliferous crag. Landsprings, 
 from time to time undermining the soil, bring down 
 huge masses on to the beach to be consumed at leisure 
 by the encroaching waves, and the debris thus carried 
 away and deposited again far out to sea, helps to form 
 those sands and shoals which render our coast so 
 
XXV111 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 extremely dangerous. The entire face of the cliffa 
 shows evidences of these combined forces. In some places 
 precipitous from top to bottom ; in others, with a loose 
 gravelly soil, they slope gradually to the beach ; and 
 frequent evidences of former land-slips exist in the deep 
 indents of the upper surface, and in the grass covered 
 boulders, of all shapes and sizes, that form a rugged 
 undercliff. In these wild tracts the roving flocks of 
 Linnets and Finches find a rich seed-bed, and Chats, 
 Wagtails, and Titlarks, a safe resting place when scared 
 from their haunts above. Beneath the brow of the cliff 
 the softer portions are perforated almost continuously 
 by Sand-Martins (Hirundo riparia), and the Kestril 
 (Falco tinnunculus) breeds occasionally in some con- 
 venient fissure, but beyond these, in the actual face 
 of the cliff, there are no feathered residents. Between 
 Mundesley and Sherringharn are several lofty bluffs, 
 which, though wanting the grandeur of the chalk 
 precipices on our southern shores, are noble objects as 
 viewed from the beach, and here and there the outline 
 of the cliffs is broken by a deep ravine or " gangway " 
 communicating with the neighbouring village. A clear 
 run of water, half hidden by the verdure it creates 
 around, trickles through the hollow to the sands below, 
 a tempting spot to the weary migrant, and one which, 
 at all seasons, like an oasis in the desert, is enlivened 
 by the notes or sprightly forms of our smaller feathered 
 residents. At the base of the cliffs also, extending 
 without interruption between Cromer and Sherringham, 
 are large beds of flints denuded from the chalk, 
 locally termed " rocks " ; and these, together with 
 other (e travelled fragments" of true primitive rocks 
 form, to some extent, a barrier against the inroads 
 of the sea, which, at low water, exposes their 
 rugged surfaces, picturesquely covered with seaweeds 
 green, red, and brown. In some parts the chalk 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXIX 
 
 itself crops out above the sands, in others the sands 
 envelope the "rocks," and in the little pools just left 
 by the waves (nature's aquaria on the grandest scale), a 
 dainty feast awaits the littoral tribes in the shape of 
 various shell-fish, sand-worms, and insects, with an 
 abundant supply of Crustacea in shrimps, crabs, and 
 66 jumpers." Here Rooks and Gulls, in strange contrast, 
 assemble in flocks during autumn and winter ; wander- 
 ing Terns and Tringce of different kinds often pause in 
 their flight as they pass along the coast, and the 
 plaintive whistle of the Ringed-Plover (Charadrius 
 hiaticulaj is heard at all seasons at the fall of the tide. 
 
 Above cliff, throughout the entire range, we find 
 such an alternation of hill and dale, heath, arable, 
 pasture, and woodland as suggests at once an abundant 
 representation of nearly every family amongst our 
 Insessorial and Rasorial birds. In some parts cultiva- 
 tion extends almost to the edge of the precipice; in 
 others, and more especially in the vicinity of Cromer, 
 gentle undulations are covered with the richest turf, 
 and grassy knolls rise here and there from the plains 
 with their sloping sides, and intersecting valleys, 
 covered with a profusion of broom, furze, and brakes, 
 enlivened with the sprightly actions of Chats and 
 Titlarks. Strictly preserved and admirably adapted for 
 sporting purposes, there is here no lack of game. 
 Rabbits burrow in all directions in the loose sandy 
 soil, and their holes, when deserted, form the usual 
 nesting places of the few Wheatears that frequent 
 these hills in summer. The Grey-Partridge, (Perdix 
 cinerea), everywhere plentiful, affords splendid shooting 
 on these rough grounds; and the French Partridge 
 (Perdix rufa) from causes elsewhere mentioned, has 
 also of late become exceedingly numerous. Beyond 
 Cromer again to the westward, a wide breadth of 
 pasturage, only occasionally encroached upon for 
 
XXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 purposes of cultivation, skirts the edge of the cliffs 
 to their furthest extent ; and, more particularly at 
 Eunton the banks and pathways exhibit in summer 
 such a profusion of wild flowers as never fails to attract 
 the notice and admiration of visitors.* The luxuriance 
 of their growth is not less surprising than the variety 
 of colour, nor can we wonder at the flocks of Linnets, 
 Finches, Buntings, and Larks that seek the fragrant 
 shelter of these flowery pastures during the nesting 
 season, and feast in the autumn, with their young 
 broods, on the rich harvest of seeds. The great Corn- 
 Bunting (Emberiza miliaria), amongst others, is very 
 abundant in this locality, and its nest, on the ground, 
 is not unfrequently hidden amongst the thick growth 
 of the modest " rest-harrow." 
 
 Still further inland a second range of hills, running 
 parallel with, and extending beyond, the cliffs, adds 
 greatly, to the beauty of this romantic scenery, which,, 
 in places, may bear comparison with many choice spots 
 on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. From these 
 grassy heights, covered, in many parts, with furze, 
 brakes, and heather, or thickly planted along their sides 
 and hollows, a perfect panorama of the district presents 
 itself; and, looking seawards, the valley beneath is 
 so thickly dotted with clustering villages that one fails 
 not to recall the quaint old couplet 
 
 " Gimingham, Trimingham, Knapton, and Trunch, 
 Northrepps, and Southrepps, are all of a bunch." 
 
 * Walter White, in his charming work on " Eastern England 
 from the Thames to the Humber," specially mentions this floral 
 luxuriance, greater than he had observed in any other part of 
 the English coast, and suggests the probability that the presence 
 of chalk and marl in the cliffs may have something to do with it. 
 He also states, on the authority of Professor Babington, "that out 
 of one thousand seven hundred and sixty- seven species of flowering 
 plants found in Britain, one thousand and sixty- seven are found in 
 Norfolk." 
 
INTRODUCTION XXXI 
 
 The chequered fields lie mapped out before us, mixed with, 
 dark patches of wood and belts of fir-covert ; or strips 
 of heath, and village greens with little rivulets winding 
 their shallow course towards the "falls" by the sea, 
 afford the truest characteristics of an English landscape. 
 At Runton, also, the "half-year" lands, or unenclosed 
 portions of the parish, present a singular appearance 
 from the fields, being divided, according to ancient 
 custom, by a "mere balk" or boundary instead of 
 fences ; the " balks " consisting of small strips of land, 
 from one to two feet in width, which are never ploughed, 
 and being usually covered with a rough growth of 
 thistles and grasses, are frequented, in large numbers, 
 by seed eating birds. Looking, too, from so command- 
 ing a situation, over the wide expanse of the German 
 Ocean, one can fully realise the attractions of such 
 a coast to the migratory species. In close vicinity the 
 plantations at Bacton, Nbrthrepps, Felbrigg, Cromer- 
 Halt, Beeston, and Sherringham, invite our summer 
 warblers to "rest and be thankful," and the large 
 flights of Woodcocks that arrive during autumn and 
 winter, here drop into cover on their first arrival or, 
 passing on but a short distance, as the crow flies, reach 
 the still more extensive woods* at Gunton, Hanworth, 
 Barningham, Wolterton, Blickling, and Westwick. 
 Amongst the fine old timbers on these large estates, 
 the arboreal birds are plentifully distributed, with the 
 exception only of the prescribed Raptors. Of this class, 
 however, many autumnal migrants are either trapped 
 or shot on the hills near the coast, and at times, in 
 
 * As Mr. Trimmer remarks, in his " Flora of Norfolk," " There 
 are but few traces of natural woods remaining. Of the numerous 
 other woods, more strictly speaking plantations, those at Eaynham, 
 Houghton-juxta-Harpley, Mileham, Blickling, Wolterton, Gunton, 
 Thursford, Swanton Novers, and Foxley, may be specified as some 
 of the oldest and most extensive." A 
 
XXX11 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 hard weather, even young Sea-Eagles are seen on the 
 high grounds at Beeston and Sherringham. Upon the 
 the common-lands, also, which form a portion of the 
 Beeston Hills, the Norfolk Plover (OEdicnemus crepitans), 
 still bred until very recently. 
 
 Between Lower Sherringham and the western 
 extremity of the cliffs, at Weybourne "Hope," the 
 shore assumes a very different aspect. Immense beds 
 of shingle gradually usurp the place of the sands, till 
 at Weybourne and Salthouse large rounded pebbles,* 
 massed together to a considerable depth and covering 
 the whole surface of the beach, rise in long terraces 
 from the water's edge, and form a natural breakwater. 
 At Weybourne, taking advantage of the extreme depth 
 of water close in-shore, the International Telegraph 
 Company have connected their wires with a cable, laid 
 direct from the beach to the opposite coast of Holland, 
 and vessels of considerable size can here run close 
 in with safety. Beyond the beach is a wide tract of 
 marshes, still subject to partial inundations during 
 high tides, and a small "lagoon" or backwater thickly 
 covered, in part, with a coarse vegetation. At this spot 
 there are no shore-breeding birds, but at Salthouse, 
 where the pebbles again become smaller, the Lesser 
 Tern (Sterna minuta) and the Ringed-Plover are found 
 nesting on the shingle, though from the wanton destruc- 
 tion of these birds, and a constant system of egging, 
 their numbers are gradually but surely decreasing. 
 
 * Mr. Pengelly, in his geological lectures delivered in Norwich 
 in 1862, thus alluded to the extraordinary deposit of flints on 
 "Weybourne beach, all rounded and polished by the action of the 
 waves : " Every flint proclaims trumpet-tongued the work which 
 it has taken innumerable ages to perform, in the destruction of 
 vast beds of chalk, from which these flints have been liberated. 
 How many ages, too, must it have taken to polish these flints so 
 beautifully." < 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXX111 
 
 Parallel with the shore, and extending over a con- 
 siderable area, are the far-famed Salthouse marshes, 
 which, prior to their drainage and embankment, in 
 1851, were the resort of hundreds of wild fowl in 
 hard weather, and the breeding grounds of the Avocet 
 (Recurvirostra avocetta) within the last forty or fifty 
 years, when they became exterminated by the same 
 thoughtless persecution as is now fast depriving us of 
 both Terns and " Stone-runners." A shallow tidal lake, 
 known as Salthouse " Broad," three-quarters of a mile 
 wide, and situate between the high lands and the sea, 
 was also, prior to the general reclamation, a noted spot 
 for fowl and waders, and a favourite resort of the Stork 
 (Ciconia alba) and the Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) , 
 amongst the rarer grallatorial migrants; in fact, next 
 to Breydon, there is no point of the coast where 
 more rare birds have been procured than on Salthouse 
 beach and marshes. In the winter of 1862, owing to 
 extraordinary high tides, a large portion of the embank- 
 ments was swept away, and the waters once more 
 spreading over their old level, and even extending to 
 the wide basin of the " Broad," were soon covered with 
 immense flocks of Gulls and other sea-fowl; nor has 
 the damage then caused to the banks been altogether 
 repaired up to the present time. A very favourite 
 resort too, at this point, for Ducks and many other 
 aquatic species, is a long narrow back-water, running 
 parallel with the beach, between the raised banks on 
 one side and the shingle on the other. Here the local 
 gunners shoot most of the fowl they obtain in winter, 
 by lying up for them behind the banks ; and Grey 
 Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus), Little Auks (Mergulus 
 alle), and other rarities, are procured in like manner. 
 In sharp weather, also, it is by no means uncommon 
 to find the Lesser Grebe (Podiceps minor}, when frozen 
 
XXXIV INTKODUCTION. 
 
 out from more inland waters, desporting itself on this 
 salt lake with the true marine Divers. 
 
 More inland, the view is bounded by hills, stretching 
 away to the west like a small mountain chain, and wide 
 heaths and furzy commons, abounding in game, are 
 remnants of a yet wilder district before inclosure and 
 cultivation effected many changes. The " stubbing up" 
 of such fine old woods, as till very recently existed at 
 Holt and Edgefield, has all helped to change the 
 features of this portion of the county ; but the pretty 
 vale of the Glaven is richly wooded, and within easy 
 flight from the coast, at either Weybourne or Salt- 
 house, are the Letheringsett plantations, with the 
 Kelling, Hanworth, Stody, and Hempstead preserves. 
 Further inland, again, are the noble park and woods 
 of Melton Constable, comprising altogether some 
 eight hundred acres, which, with those adjoining at 
 Swanton Novers, are the most noted for Woodcocks 
 of any in the county. At Hempstead, a chain of 
 small ponds, and a now unused decoy, lying in the 
 very midst of the coverts, are the constant resort in 
 winter of Teal, Wigeon, Pochards, and other fowl, 
 whilst the reed-beds and swampy borders are well 
 stocked with Coots, Kails, and Water-Hens. On the 
 great heaths and "brecks," also, about Weybourne, 
 Hempstead, and Kelling, the Lapwing, and Norfolk- 
 Plover bred formerly in large quantities, but are 
 now almost exterminated through egging and other 
 causes, and where large baskets full of Lapwing's 
 eggs were taken some twenty years ago, scarcely a 
 nest can be found at the present time. The great 
 increase, however, in fir-plantations both here and in 
 other districts, and the absence of any resident Eaptores 
 to thin their ranks, has led to an enormous increase in 
 the number of Wood-Pigeons (Columba palumbusj ; and 
 the Turtle-Dove (Columba turtur), not many years ago 4 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXV 
 
 considered a rare summer visitant, is now like the 
 Missel-Thrush (Turdus viscivorus), extremely common. 
 
 THE MEAL DISTRICT. 
 
 In this District may be included the entire range 
 of sand-hills between Salthouse and Hunstanton, broken 
 only by the various creeks and small harbours which 
 abound on the northern portions of the Norfolk 
 coast. The "meals,"* properly so called, like the 
 "marram" hills in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth, 
 are bound together and consolidated by the roots and 
 fibres of such grasses as grow vigorously on the shore 
 in spite of winds and waves. In some places broken 
 up into irregular hillocks, ranged in double rows, the 
 occasional inroads of the sea, during spring tides, are 
 marked by the flat oozy plains between. In. other 
 parts they present a bold cliff-like front, rising per- 
 pendicularly from the beach to the height of several 
 feet, with here and there a deep bay, hollowed out by 
 the waves and strewn, far above the ordinary high water 
 mark, with the debris of shells and seaweeds. 
 
 For the most part preserved for sporting^ purposes, 
 the "meals" abound in Rabbits, which attract the 
 notice, at once, of the larger Raptorial migrants ; and 
 Stock Doves (Columba cenas), in large numbers, breed 
 in the deserted burrows, whilst a sprinkling of Wheat- 
 ears nest every year in the same locality. On these 
 barren wastes, also, so well adapted to their natural 
 habits, a large proportion of the Sand-grouse (Syrrhaptes 
 paradoxm) that visited this county in such remarkable 
 
 * This term, used in Norfolk to designate a wild tract of sandy 
 hillocks lying between the shore and the cultivated lands, is 
 derived from the Anglo Saxon, mael; German, mahl, a boundary; 
 Dutch, moeilje, a pier-head; also Icelandic mol, strand-sands, 
 strand- stones. Ir., maol, a headland, hillock, heap. [See Nail's 
 " Handbook of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft."] 
 
XXXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 numbers in 1863 located themselves throughout the 
 summer, and specimens were obtained along the whole 
 line of coast from Blakeney to Holme, where the last 
 of the flight still lingered as late as November. 
 Of other shore-breeding species that still nest on 
 the sand-hills or shingle, even in this comparatively 
 wild district, the list is now sadly limited. The Ringed- 
 Plover, of course the most common, is scattered at 
 intervals over the entire range, and a colony or two 
 of the Lesser Tern frequent their old haunts on the 
 beach, or the noisy "crake" of the Common Tern 
 (Sterna hirundo) reveals their home somewhat further 
 from the sea, amidst the coarse herbage of an oozy 
 salt-marsh. Oyster-catchers (Hcematopus ostralegus) and 
 Sheldrakes (Tadorna vulpanser) once plentiful enough, 
 are to be found breeding only in small and decreasing 
 numbers in the most retired spots about Blakeney and 
 Thornham, and soon, like the Lesser and Common 
 Terns, must be classed with the Black Tern (Sterna 
 fissipes) and Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa melanura), 
 the Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), the Avocet, and other 
 marsh-breeders, which have only ceased to be residents 
 within a very recent period. Stretching away for miles 
 at the back of the sand-hills, a wide tract of marshes, 
 both salt and fresh water, as at Morston, Stiffkey, 
 and Warham, fronts the villages along the coast 
 beyond Holme point; and though at Burnham, 
 Holkham, and Cley, great changes have been effected 
 by extensive reclamation, the whole country is yet 
 strangely wild and attractive to the sporting naturalist. 
 Swamps, pools, and little creeks are the chief features 
 of the marshy levels, and the small ports and tidal 
 channels at Blakeney, Cley, "Wells, Burnham, and 
 Brancaster, afford rich feeding grounds for the shore 
 birds on their sandy flats. At these spots, and more 
 especially along the Blakeney channel, and that portion 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXV11 
 
 of the harbour called "Stiff key freshes" (where the 
 river " Stew" falls into the sea) many rarities in the 
 shape of wild fowl and other littoral species, have been 
 procured from time to time by the punt-gunners. 
 
 Hunstanton, alone, throughout this wide extent of 
 sea-board, affords an exception to the unvarying char- 
 acter of the Norfolk "meals;" and here, fortunately, 
 owing to the encroachments of the sea at St. Edmund's 
 point, a solid barrier is presented to the waves by a 
 short but extremely interesting range of chalk cliffs,'* 
 flanked on either side by the brown water-worn 
 formation of the carstone or lower greensand. In the 
 deep fissures of these chalk precipices large numbers 
 of Starlings rear their young as well as Swifts (Cypselus 
 apus) and Jackdaws in smaller numbers ; and a few 
 Starlings, and many Sand-martins, excavate their nest- 
 holes in the upper portions of the carstone cliff, 
 where, as usual, the Sparrow occasionally usurps 
 possession. The Peregrine, however, (Falco peregrinus) 
 no longer sweeps over the edge to its " eyrie " in the 
 same wide clefts of the chalk, where the nest of the 
 " Gentil Falcon " had been found from " time imme- 
 morial," as recorded by Hunt, and whence, in former 
 days, "eyesses" were doubtless taken to replenish 
 the "mews" at the Hall. With the Peregrines are 
 gone also the Common Guillemots (Uria troile), of 
 which a few pairs still lingered in their sea-girt 
 home till within the last thirty or forty summers, 
 
 * For the geologist the rocks at Hunstanton have a special 
 interest owing to the fine stratum of red chalk, which, resting on 
 the carstone, underlies the white chalk, and commencing in a thin 
 red line at the extremity nearest the Railway Station, soon attains 
 a thickness of about four feet, and extends nearly a mile to the 
 further end of the cliff. This stratum is said to be peculiar to the 
 counties of Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire, and its colour 
 is attributed by most geologists to peroxide of iron. 
 
XXXV111 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and with Stock-doves, Gulls, and Sea-pies, served 
 as a convenient "quarry" for their noble neighbours. 
 It is much to be feared, too, that as a " fashionable 
 watering place," this locality, till lately but little 
 altered in its main features since the fowler and 
 falconer replenished the larder of the L'Estranges' 
 with the same species that are now most abundant 
 on the coast,* will be despoiled altogether of its former 
 attractions. 
 
 The peculiarly flat shores of the Wash, and the 
 distance to which the tide recedes at low water, 
 exposes an immense tract of sands teeming with marine 
 life in the shape of worms and shell-fish, and covered 
 with little runs and pools of water. Beyond these, 
 extensive mussel-scalps, running far out into the 
 sea, afford a constant supply of food at all seasons 
 to both wading and swimming birds; and rough 
 marshes beyond the sand-hills, with small springs of 
 fresh water, are tempting resting places for the migra- 
 tory fowl, and are still the haunt of a few pairs of 
 Redshanks and Lapwings during the breeding season. 
 No sooner are the mussel-scalps exposedf in long 
 
 * The birds mentioned most frequently in the "Household and 
 privy purse accounts" are Curlews, Spowes (Whimbrels), Plov's, 
 Eedeshancks, Knotts, Stynts, Sedotterels, Malards, and Telys. 
 
 f On examining the largest of thase living breakwaters, which 
 extends in a circular form about half a mile, the whole mass will 
 be found composed entirely of myriads upon myriads of small mussels 
 from half an inch to an inch and a half in length, all firmly fixed in 
 the sand with their broadest ends uppermost, and bound and matted 
 together with their fibrous threads or " byssus." To tear up one is 
 to remove a score, and so much are they thus supported by each 
 other that even treading upon them seems of little consequence. 
 Buried in the soft sands they merely give way with a springy 
 sensation beneath the pressure of the feet, and even horses and 
 carts traverse them from end to end, and carry off tons of these 
 prolific molluscs, as manure for the land. Boundless, however, 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXIX 
 
 black lines, by the falling tide, like some huge Whale 
 rising from the " vasty deep/' than Gulls, before unseen 
 for hours, with all the punctuality of instinct appear 
 at once, and dot the surface with their glistening 
 plumage. Sanderlings (Calidris arenaria), Whimbrels 
 (Numenius phceopus), Turnstones (Strepsilas interpres), 
 Dunlins (Tringa variabilis) , and Grey Plover (Squatarola 
 cinerea), each in separate flocks, seek the same goal, 
 their numbers varying only with the mildness or severity 
 of the season, and cautious Curlews (Numenius arquata) 
 in extended line, come slowly flapping to the general 
 feast. Oyster-catchers by hundreds throng the water's 
 edge, and further out in the direction of the " Oyster 
 sea" where many kinds of fish abound, and where 
 occasionally a Seal (Phoca vitulina) may be seen sunning 
 itself on the raised sand-banks, or rearing its dark head 
 for an instant from the deeper waters long lines of 
 Scoters (CEdemia nigra), swimming and diving, are 
 feeding their way down towards the outer margin of 
 the scalp. On one portion of the beach a stratum of 
 blue clay, soft and slippery to the tread, appears on 
 the surface, whilst in the dark peaty substance which, 
 
 as appear the powers of reproduction of these little shell- 
 fish, an enemy is found in the " five finger" or star-fish, far more 
 destructive than either birds or men. These curious creatures 
 may be found by dozens in the pools left by the tide upon the 
 larger scalps, and strange as it may seem are carted away also by 
 the tumbril load at a time, for the same purpose as the mussels 
 themselves, which in time, no doubt, they would utterly destroy. 
 The means by which this sea-pirate effects an entrance into the 
 shells of both mussels and oysters has been thus described by Mr. 
 F. Buckland : " He grasps the unfortunate oyster tightly with his 
 five fingers, and then from the centre of his star protrudes some 
 four or five jelly like bags filled with a clear fluid; with patience 
 and perseverance, and upon the thin end of the wedge principle, 
 he manages to squeeze these bags between the shells of the oyster, 
 and then clears out the shell till it is as empty as a soap bubble." 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 there also, marks the site of a submerged forest,* large 
 trunks of trees are plainly visible, and these, now the 
 home of the boring Pholas and the wary Crustacean, are 
 searched as busily for food by the Sea-pie, the Dunlin, 
 and the Kinged-Plover, as in their normal state by the 
 Titmice, the tiny Gold-Crest (Regulus cristatus), or the 
 Creeper (Gerthia familiaris). Again, about two miles 
 from Hunstanton, near to Holme Point, a deep channel, 
 traversing the beach, alternately fills and empties a 
 wide basin between the sand-hills, which, at low water, 
 presents at one end a tract of level sands, at the other 
 a swampy marsh, intersected with a number of little 
 streams, and covered with a profusion of coarse grass, 
 samphire, and other marine plants. Here in summer 
 the fishing Terns resort, and the smaller waders find 
 a daily renewed banquet, whether scattered, almost 
 invisible to the eye amongst the rank herbage, or 
 tripping over the flats with their quick nervous actions, 
 stopping abruptly now and again to secure their prey. 
 
 * This submerged Forest, being post-glacial, must not be 
 confounded with the "Forest bed," rich in Elephantine and Cervine 
 remains, which is met with on other portions of our coast ; since 
 in the formation above referred to, as Mr. Gunn shows in his 
 " Geology of Norfolk," not only the Mammalia of the " Forest bed" 
 have disappeared, but also of the post-glacial Hoxne and valley 
 formations. "One very decided change in the fauna," he states, 
 "is observable, namely, the disappearance of the Elephas primi- 
 genius, Rhinocerus tichorinus, the Hippopotamus major, and the 
 Eeindeer; and the appearance of the remains of man and his 
 works, and of animals still living on the surface of the earth, 
 as the Horse, Ox, Eed-Deer, "Wild-Boar, Wolf, Badger, and others. 
 # * * At the Holme and Thornham scalphs, near Hunstanton, 
 no human bones have been discovered, but a polished Celt, of the 
 stone period, was found in the Holme scalph by the Eev. George 
 Mundford, Eector of East "Winch, and is now in the Norwich 
 Museum." * * * "The trees are the ordinary trees of the 
 neighbourhood, the stools are in situ, of great size, and the wood 
 turned black, but so sound as to be used for carpenters' work." 
 
INTRODUCTION. xli 
 
 In strange contrast, though to these dreary wastes, 
 the inland country presents all the softer features of a 
 sylvan district. A pretty valley, with a clear running 
 stream, leads to the finely timbered park and pleasure 
 grounds of Hunstanton Hall, so rich in old associations 
 interesting alike to the antiquary and the naturalist. 
 Still further from the sea a deep ravine, winding between 
 the lofty sides of undulating chalk cliffs, enriched with 
 foliage in every hollow, and covered with verdure to the 
 very summit, transports us in imagination to more 
 southern shores ; so difficult is it to realize the abrupt 
 transition from the " meals" and marshes to the bold 
 grassy slopes of Eingstead (e Downs." Nor are such 
 attractions of hill and dale, woods, pastures, and flowing 
 streams confined only to this small portion of the 
 " meal" district. The vale of the Stiffkey has been long 
 and deservedly noted, and Arthur Young, nearly a 
 century ago, extolled its beauties, before the bleak hill- 
 sides by the coast were clothed with belts of fir and 
 hardy shrubs, rendering picturesque those once barren 
 slopes and in many places forming a screen to lands and 
 houses from the fury of our north-easterly gales. From 
 Stiffkey again, through Warham, Holkham, the Burn- 
 hams, and Brancaster, the distant views of the sea 
 between richly wooded heights, the low grounds, 
 chequered with the many hues of the cultivated soil, 
 and occasional strips of heath and plantations, form, 
 with the different villages, a charming landscape. 
 Indeed, it may be fairly said that the scenery which 
 presents itself from the coast road, along the entire 
 northern and north-western parts of the county, is such 
 as no stranger entering Norfolk by its south-western 
 boundary can form any conception of. 
 
 As in the Broad district we have seen cultivation so 
 closely bordering upon the swamps, that the birds of 
 the farm, the grove, and the homestead, are "within 
 
xlii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 call " as it were of the denizens of the marsh, so also 
 in the once wild portions of our coast line, reclamation, 
 planting, and high culture have changed alike the 
 features and the fauna of such districts. We need no 
 better illustration of this than is presented by Holkham, 
 where taste, judgment, perseverance, and capital, have 
 changed the once "open barren estate" into the most 
 ornamental, best farmed and, probably, the most remu- 
 nerative in the county. As the eye now wanders over 
 that magnificent park, with its rich meadows, lawns, 
 plantations, and shrubberies its noble avenues and 
 extensive lake, with green islets and winding, wooded, 
 shores the whole affording sufficient scope for a seven- 
 mile drive within its ample boundaries, it seems almost 
 impossible to realise its condition, when in 1734 the 
 first Earl of Leicester commenced building upon and 
 planting the dreary waste. * How many species then 
 strangers to the soil, have since been added to the 
 list of its feathered denizens ? Summer warblers in 
 abundance now enliven the groves, and the Song- 
 thrush and Blackbird, finding a sheltered haunt, join 
 
 * "It was about the years 1725 and 1726 that the Earl of 
 Leicester, determining to fix his family seat at Holkham, after 
 making several purchases of intermixed lands and estates, began 
 to enclose the parish of Holkham. In 1728 he built a new farm- 
 house, &c., upon the distant fields on the west side of the parish, 
 at a place called Longlands. In 1735, he built another new farm 
 upon the old heath, on the east side of the parish, at a place called 
 Brenthill, and enclosed and cultivated the heath-land; thence- 
 forward, he gradually proceeded with enclosing and improving the 
 whole parish, dividing to himself, round about where he intended to 
 build his seat, and enclosing with pales, a park containing about 
 eight hundred and forty acres of land, and therein made many 
 plantations of wood, laid out lawns, gardens, water, &c., with many 
 useful and ornamental buildings, and nearly completed his manor- 
 house, begun in 1734, before he died." [See Stacy's "History of 
 Norfolk."] 
 
INTRODUCTION. xliii 
 
 with the Eobin and Hedge-sparrow, the Chaffinch, 
 Greenfinch, and other sylvan forms, to give life and 
 animation to this strangely altered scene. The fir-belts 
 resound with the soft notes of the Turtle-Dove, and 
 throughout the coverts the beautiful Wood-pigeon now 
 outnumbers the hereditary Stock-Doves of the coast. 
 Game is reared in abundance, where, in former times, 
 the wild rabbit nibbled a bare subsistence, and the once 
 bleak home of the Lapwing and the Norfolk Plover affords 
 some of the the finest Partridge shooting in the whole 
 county. Indeed, as regards the more common species 
 comprised in the great Insessorial group, there are 
 probably none that might not now be procured in that 
 neighbourhood, where, less than a century ago, when rye 
 was the only cereal grown, the common House Sparrow 
 was comparatively scarce. That which the first Earl 
 of Leicester, however, had so well begun was destined 
 to arrive at the highest pitch of perfection through the 
 genius and energy of his great successor, till the name 
 of Coke as a master of the science, and of Holkham as 
 the school of agriculture, became as " familiar in our 
 ears as household words." 
 
 Besides the enclosure and cultivation of heaths and 
 other waste grounds, much valuable land has been 
 reclaimed from the sea at Holkham,*' and adjoining 
 portions of the coast, both under the present and former 
 proprietors of the estate, and many hundreds of acres 
 secured from inundation are now richly productive ; 
 thus narrowing again the haunts of the wild-fowl and 
 waders, and extending the area of all granivorous 
 
 * About the year 1659, John Coke, Esq., the then proprietor, and 
 fourth son of the famous Sir Edward Coke, enclosed from the sea 
 three hundred and fifty acres of salt marshes, and four hundred 
 acres more were embanked by his successor, the first Earl of 
 Leicester. [See Stacy's " History of Norfolk."] 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 species. A curious circumstance also may be here noted, 
 arising out of the altered condition of the marshes, and 
 the closing of Decoys once profitable enough in these 
 parts. Of late years, since both the Holkham and 
 Langham Decoys have ceased to be worked, flocks of 
 Wigeon (Anas penelope) have resorted to the lake, in 
 the park, during the day time, a few only appearing 
 at first, but their numbers increasing during each 
 successive winter. 
 
 With the subject of reclamation, however, we must 
 return once more to Hunstanton, and following the 
 deeply indented shores of the Wash, continue our 
 inspection of the coast line, from Heacham, Snettisham, 
 and Wolferton, to Lynn harbour. One main feature is 
 apparent throughout, the extreme shallowness of the 
 water; so much so that, as Walter White happily 
 remarks, ' ' if you chance to be studying the view when 
 the tides are at the lowest, you might fancy the land 
 was gaining on the sea." Immense tracts of level 
 sands, stretching far into the distance, are left bare for 
 hours; but never actually dry the soft slippery surface 
 is a very paradise for the Gulls, and dark objects scarcely - 
 distinguishable by the naked eye will be found, through 
 a glass, to be busy cockle gatherers with their carts and 
 horses, who at ebb tide follow the retreating waves for 
 nearly a mile and a-half. Only slight barriers, whether 
 natural or artificial, are here needed, and banks of shingle, 
 bordering the sands, are backed, as at Snettisham, by a 
 wide breadth of grassy " Denes," sloping gradually away 
 from the sea and sparkling with blown sand and minute 
 pebbles. A dreary district this, and one from which 
 the eye turns inland with a sense of relief to the rich 
 marshes, hedgerows and long grassy lanes that bespeak 
 a more habitable country. 
 
 Quitting, then, altogether the sands and " Denes," 
 the more inland country between Hunstanton and Lynn, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 still maintains those pretty features we have observed 
 throughout. A lofty range of grassy downs stretches 
 away from Snettisham to Dersingham and Wolferton, 
 covered with heather and gorse in parts, or thickly 
 planted with belts of fir, and though this district 
 abounds in sandy heaths and warrens, an ample mixture 
 of arable, pasture, and woodland, renders these other- 
 wise bleak portions a not unpleasing feature in the 
 landscape. Several small parks, surrounded with plan- 
 tations, adjoin the principal villages, and the preserves 
 at Sandringham, now the sporting residence of the 
 Prince of Wales, are of considerable extent. At 
 Snettisham the great Ken-hill wood is celebrated for 
 Woodcocks, and in this neighbourhood only, in Norfolk, 
 is the Blackcock (Tetrao tetrix) found as a naturalized 
 species. From Snettisham and Sandringham the range 
 of this Grouse extends southward as far as Bawsey and 
 Leziate, near Lynn, and, consequently, with a dry sandy 
 soil on the one hand, and rough moist grounds on 
 the other, comprises a wild tract of country peculiarly 
 favourable to its existence. The Lapwing, also, is still 
 very plentiful here during the breeding season, and more 
 particularly about Castle Rising. 
 
 At Lynn, as may be seen by a glance at the map, a 
 perfect maze of sands and shoals, extending from the 
 mouth of the harbour to the open " deeps," are 
 traversed in all directions by the main channels, or the 
 outlets of minor streams. Such feeding grounds are, 
 of course, at all times attractive to the oceanic Ducks 
 and other marine-fowl, but in severe weather, or when 
 heavy gales, outside, have driven them in for shelter, 
 enormous flocks of fowl and waders are collected together, 
 and large numbers are killed by the gunners. The 
 little Storm-Petrels (Thalassidroma pelagica) during 
 autumnal gales, have been seen in the harbour " flying 
 thick as Sand-martins," to use the words of an eye- 
 witness; and amongst other rarities obtained on this 
 
xlvi 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 point of the coast is a specimen of the Great- Shearwater 
 (Puffinus major), in the Lynn Museum, the only one known 
 to have occurred in Norfolk. A novel mode of netting 
 most kinds of shore birds, suggested by the shallow 
 waters and flat shores of the Wash, has been occa- 
 sionally adopted here of late years with much success. 
 Long nets stretched on poles, about six feet high, are 
 placed in double lines upon the sands towards dusk, one 
 line below high water mark and the other beyond the 
 reach of the tide. A dark still night is most favourable 
 for this sport as the nets are not only invisible, but are in 
 no danger of being blown down. In this manner some 
 eighty or ninety birds have been taken at one time, 
 having struck the nets in their nocturnal flight, and 
 become hopelessly entangled. Even Skylarks and Dunlins 
 (Tringa variabilis) are not unfrequently captured, in 
 spite of the meshes of the nets being large, and when 
 gathered in the morning, a large proportion of the birds 
 are secured alive, including Godwits, Knots, Plovers, 
 Woodcocks, Oyster-catchers, Sheldrakes, and other fowl, 
 with many Gulls. 
 
 No wonder, on this portion of the coast, where the 
 sea appears almost to meet reclamation half-way by 
 a sort of voluntary abdication, that great engineering 
 skill and vast capital should have been devoted to this 
 object. Much has already been accomplished, although 
 the magnificent scheme for which the Estuary Company 
 was originally formed, namely to make a straight 
 channel from Lynn to the sea, and reclaim not less than 
 one hundred and fifty thousand acres from the Wash 
 has been restricted within far narrower limits ; probably 
 not more than fifty thousand acres being now contem- 
 plated.* Even of this quantity scarcely a tithe has been 
 
 * For the above facts respecting the proposed and actual 
 achievements of the Estuary Company I am indebted to Mr. 
 George Webster, of Lynn. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xlvii 
 
 accomplished at present, though much capital has been 
 fruitlessly sunk in attempting too much at one time ; so 
 that of late the contractors have confined themselves to 
 smaller operations. What has really been accomplished, 
 however, is the completion of a fine straight channel 
 for a length of two miles or thereabouts, through lands 
 in West Lynn and North Lynn, from Lynn harbour to 
 the sea, in lieu of the old tortuous course of the Ouze. 
 This latter has been blocked out by a cross-bank at the 
 North end of Lynn harbour, and has " silted up" to 
 such an extent, since that bank was made (about twelve 
 years ago), that last year the company ventured, and 
 successfully, upon the construction of another cross- 
 bank, about half a mile below. By this enclosure about 
 two hundred and twenty acres of good land were 
 reclaimed, and a considerable portion of this is now in 
 tilth. Other enclosures have been made along the east 
 shore of the Wash, by throwing out shelter banks; 
 and it is found that when, by these banks, the flow of 
 water is excluded, the process of accretion goes on 
 rapidly outside the banks so formed. Thus what proved 
 impossible of accomplishment on a large scale is being 
 done little by little ; for only a year or two ago nearly six 
 hundred acres, in the neighbourhood of Babingley and 
 Wolferton were added to the estates of the Prince of 
 Wales and the Hon. Mrs. Howard, and very recently the 
 Estuary Company's enclosure, number three, was com- 
 pleted, consisting of two hundred and seventy acres of land 
 which had warped up outside the Babingley shelter-bank, 
 and other similar enclosures are in progress or contem- 
 plated. It may be also mentioned that the cut before 
 alluded to, called the Marsh Cut, terminates at a bhd of 
 the old channel, and that from this point " guide-banks" 
 are being slowly constructed, to take the channel two 
 miles further out to sea, through a sand called Vinegar- 
 Middle. Much of the loss originally incurred was 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 occasioned by attempting to force on this lower cut, 
 the material used in making the " guide-banks " being 
 washed away almost as fast as it was deposited. It is 
 now sought to persuade the channel to take the desired 
 course by gradually throwing out jetties from the banks 
 in the neighbourhood, and this process appears likely 
 to be successful in the end. The total amount of land, 
 then, actually reclaimed amounts to just one thousand 
 and seventy acres. 
 
 THE BRECK DISTRICT.* 
 
 The exact limits of this most important division are 
 more easily traced on the map than rendered clear to 
 the comprehension of the reader by a mere topograph- 
 ical description; its outline, however, may be briefly 
 given as follows : On the west it is bounded by the 
 f ' Fen " district (to be next considered), as far as King's 
 Lynn, and thence by the shores of the Wash as far 
 as Heacham ; whilst, towards the east its limits are 
 very nearly identical with that marked division on 
 the Ordnance map of the county, which, by a closer 
 " filling up " on the surface, sufficiently distinguishes 
 the enclosed and thickly populated portions on the one 
 hand, from the large holdings and wide open tracts on 
 the other. Nevertheless, for our present purpose, it will 
 be necessary to make a slight detour, near the southern 
 boundaries of the county, in order to include certain 
 "breck" lands and heaths in that neighbourhood, 
 extending somewhat further to the east. Commencing, 
 therefore, in the vicinity of West Harling, an imaginary 
 line might be drawn in a north-westerly direction 
 
 * For the following descriptions of the " Brecks" and "Fens" I 
 am indebted to the pen of a friend and naturalist, who, from a 
 residence for some years on the borders of both districts, is inti- 
 mately acquainted with their peculiar features. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 towards Swaffham, and thence northwards again, with 
 but slight deviation as far as North Creake; passing 
 to the west of the Rainham estate, but including the 
 princely Houghton with its park and plantations, and 
 its noble beeches of a far older date. From North 
 Creake, turning sharp towards the west and skirting the 
 "meal" district about Burnham and Brancaster the 
 line would run direct to the coast, once more, below 
 Hunstanton. 
 
 The soil of this district, even at the present time 
 comparatively unenclosed, is composed in great part of 
 very light land, of a depth varying from a few inches to 
 several feet, lying upon hard chalk, but in places, and 
 these sometimes of no inconsiderable extent, it is suffi- 
 ciently interspersed with clay to produce very fair 
 wheat, barley of the best quality, and valuable root- 
 crops. Until within the last half-century, however, 
 wheat was scarcely ever grown, and rye was the staple 
 grain. The greater part of this district consists of what 
 are locally called "brecks" that is, ground which at 
 some time or other has been "broken-up" by the plough 
 and hence the name here assigned to it. Many of these 
 " brecks," never very fertile to begin with, through bad 
 farming and consequent exhaustion of the soil, have 
 been long abandoned as arable land, and are now used 
 as sheep-walk ; but others form, in many cases, 
 commons or heaths, on which the hasty observer would 
 never recognize the trace of a plough. Not that there 
 are not, however, some extensive tracts, which have, 
 probably, never been under cultivation. With the 
 improvement of husbandry, about the beginning of 
 the present century, came into vogue the practice of 
 making plantations,* for the whole country, with a few 
 
 * On Wretham heath are, or were a few years ago, some very 
 fine old Scotch fir-trees (Pinus sylvestris), stated, though on doubtful 
 authority, not to have been planted by the hand of man. 
 
 9 
 
1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 exceptions, chiefly in the immediate neighbourhood of 
 villages, was singularly destitute of trees. Hardly a 
 hedge existed, the "brecks" were merely separated by 
 " balks," left at first as mere track- ways, but eventually 
 raised by the drifting sand, when the adjoining land 
 was in fallow, a couple of feet or more in height. 
 
 A country so open as this, and so unlike the rest of 
 the county, could not fail to differ from that in its bird- 
 population. Some of its peculiarities in this respect still 
 exist, others are remembered by men now living, more 
 are to be gathered by tradition, a few, perhaps, have 
 to be inferred. Thus we shall probably not be wrong 
 in recognizing in this district (( the champian and fieldy 
 part" of Norfolk, spoken of by Sir Thomas Brown as 
 the resort in the severe winters of his day of the 
 Crane (Grus cinerea). The Sea-Eagle (Haliceetus 
 albicilla) still almost annually visits the large Rab- 
 bit-warrens near Thetford, and when it was more 
 abundant in the northern parts of this island, may be 
 safely presumed bo have been a more frequent visitor 
 to the rest of the district. Falcons, too, must always 
 have resorted plentifully to prey on the Partridges, 
 which are probably here more numerous than in any 
 other part of the kingdom. Kites (Milvus ictinus) 
 may have not uncommonly swept over this wide 
 expanse in quest of their prey whether the Rabbits 
 which swarm on all sides, or the offal cast away by the 
 warreners in the operation of " hulking" them but 
 the birds remembered still, by old men in the district, as 
 " Kites" seem to have generally been what are now 
 called Harriers. Of passerine birds the Sky-Lark has 
 probably been always the most numerous, though in 
 summer the sprightly Wheatear must have rivalled it 
 in numbers. The Warblers, the Titmice in a word, 
 all the woodland-birds must have been nearly, if not 
 altogether, wanting till the hand of man clothed this 
 
INTBODTJCTION. 11 
 
 open country with plantations. The Stock-Dove was, 
 probably, the only species of its order met with. But 
 the ornithological glory of the district was the Bustard 
 (Otis tarda) . Its history will be found so fully detailed 
 in the body of this work that it is needless now to enter 
 into particulars. It will suffice to say that the bird 
 became extinct about the year 1838, when the two last 
 examples were known to have been killed in the county. 
 It is the prevalent belief that the latest survivors of this 
 noble species were unmercifully destroyed to satisfy the 
 desires of sportsmen, collectors, or epicures. There is 
 110 reason for such a belief. Its extirpation was 
 doubtless caused by man, but indirectly, and not, as the 
 extirpation of Eagles is still being compassed in Scot- 
 land, directly. Its chief destroyer was most assuredly 
 the agriculturist. He found his crops wanted shelter, 
 and planted long belts of trees to keep the wind from 
 carrying his soil to the next parish, and removing his 
 own or his neighbour's landmark.*" This intersecting of 
 the open country was intolerable to the Bustard, which 
 could not bear to be within reach of anything that 
 might conceal an enemy. Its favourite haunts were, 
 therefore, year by year restricted. But more than this, 
 the substitution of wheat for rye, as the system of tillage 
 improved, aimed a still more fatal blow at its existence. 
 The hen Bustard almost always laid her eggs in the 
 winter- corn. When this came to be wheat, it was still 
 more an object to save as much seed as possible, so the 
 drill was invented. It was also worth while to keep the 
 land well clear of weeds, and the horse-hoe, therefore, 
 
 * The effect of high winds, after dry weather in this district, is 
 not easily described. The whole air is filled with sand, till it 
 resembles a London fog. Nearly every particle of fertilizing 
 matter is blown away from the land, as is shown for years after- 
 wards by its barrenness. 
 
Hi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 followed. This decided the Bustard's fate. Not a nest 
 was there in the wheat-fields, but was either accidentally 
 trodden down, or if seen in time, for the eggs indeed 
 to be secured from the horses' feet, it was only that 
 they might be taken by the man or boy employed, and 
 given to his master's wife, by whom they were set 
 under a hen, or more commonly kept as "curiosities." 
 The Bustard is now very inadequately represented by 
 its poor cousin the Norfolk Plover or Stone-Curlew 
 locally called " Culloo" which is as yet abundant in 
 certain localities, but yearly diminishing in numbers. 
 Humble as is this distant relative of the lordly bird 
 we have lost, it is still the species most characteristic 
 of the district, and its loud and musical "clamour/' 
 rendered classic by the pen of Gilbert White, can never 
 be heard by one who has lived where it has been a 
 familiar sound without re-calling a thousand pleasing 
 recollections, and by its melody charming the stranger 
 whether he be an ornithologist or not. 
 
 The scarcity of streams or rivers throughout the 
 district renders it unsuitable for the countless numbers 
 of water-birds which throng from arctic lands to the 
 coast of the county, whereon first 
 
 " Breaks the long wave that at the pole began." 
 
 A few ponds, mostly artificial, and some insignificant 
 streams supply very insufficient attraction to the waders 
 and swimming birds, yet the Grolden Plover (Charadrius 
 pluvialis) and Dotterel (C. morinellus) annually frequent 
 the wide fields and warrens, whilst the Ringed-Plover 
 (C. hiaticulaj in early spring, comes up from the sea 
 shore, and miles away from the coast selects for its 
 domestic hearth the most barren spots; such as that 
 must have been on which Lady Mary Wortley-Montagu 
 saw "two Rabbits quarrelling for one blade of grass." 
 Here the wanderer will see in plenty, at any time of the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1m 
 
 year, the pebble-paved nests of this pretty little bird 
 for the materials of which they are composed are so 
 lasting that their traces are visible for months. Nor 
 does the Lapwing fail to enliven the scene, though its 
 numbers have decreased of late years most remarkably. 
 Wild Geese for the most part, probably, the Pink- 
 footed species (Anser brachyrhynchus) were formerly 
 abundant in winter time, but the spread of plantations 
 which first restricted the limits of the Bustard seems to 
 have acted in like manner towards them, and their 
 number is now probably not one-fiftieth of that which 
 used to resort to the district of the " brecks." 
 
 From this threnody over a vanished or vanishing 
 fauna, it is pleasant to turn to the new one which has 
 now succeeded it, and which still retains some traces of 
 the bygone order of things. Nightingales (Philomela 
 lusciniaj. Blackcaps (Curruca atricapilla) , and Willow 
 Wrens (Sylvia trochilus) the last in number, hardly, 
 perhaps, exceeded in any other part of England, throng 
 the plantations which have driven away the Bustard and 
 the Wild Goose, singing and making merry in their 
 abandoned haunts. The restless Titmice wander among 
 the branches, industriously searching for their living. 
 The glad voice of the Chaffinch, and the less melodious 
 twitter of the Redpoll, resound through the larch 
 " slips," and the attentive observer by the side of the 
 sombre Scotch firs recognizes the musical warble of the 
 Wood-Lark (Alauda arbor ea), mingling with the more 
 attractive song of his more aspiring cousin the Sky- 
 Lark. The Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) laughs 
 cheerfully among the trees of older growth, and a pair 
 of Ravens (Corvus cor ax) from the adjoining county 
 the sole survivors, perhaps, of their race for many miles 
 around extend their beat to the southern limits of the 
 district, and seem by their hoarse croak to threaten 
 those who have changed the entire aspect of nature so 
 
liv 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 effectually and so unconsciously, except in the case of 
 one species the Bed-legged Partridge (Perdix rufa) 
 which has been purposely introduced, and the doubtful 
 merits of which are a warning to those who expect to 
 reap advantage from Acclimatization Societies. 
 
 THE PEN DISTRICT. 
 
 In almost every respect differing from the district 
 last mentioned is that which still remains to be described 
 on the western side of the county. The Fens of Norfolk 
 formerly possessed, in an extreme degree, all the features 
 of that extensive tract of country, which under the name 
 of the " Great Bedford Level/' has for years, almost for 
 centuries, been the battle-ground of civil engineers 
 Englishmen and foreigners and the same district still 
 presents a good many of its chief peculiarities. Its 
 northern part, the "Marshland" as it is commonly 
 called, was "won from the raging deep" in days almost 
 pre-historic at least an inspection of its firm sea-banks 
 and "droves" tells the enquirer more respecting it 
 than he can gain by the study of annals or records. 
 Whether the Roman or the Norman laid the foundation 
 of these bulwarks against the ocean matters little now- 
 a-days to the naturalist. Laid they were at a time of 
 which history takes next to no notice, and they still 
 stand. 
 
 The eastern boundary of the "Fen District" com- 
 mences immediately below the town of Brandon in the 
 low ground through which the Little Ouze winds its 
 way, and rounding the uplands of Hockwold turns 
 northwards towards Methwold, then running up the 
 course of the Wissey, nearly as far as Stoke Ferry, it 
 bends to the westward in the direction of Denver, 
 whence it pursues a comparatively straight course to 
 King's Lynn, being, however, slightly diverted to the 
 
INTRODUCTION. lv 
 
 eastward up the valley of the Nar. The other boundaries 
 of the district coincide with those of the county. 
 
 Except a few low knolls locally and expressively 
 termed " islands," the whole of this district is one vast 
 level plain, through, or skirting, which the great rivers 
 that drain a considerable portion of England from the 
 confines of Essex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, 
 Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, 
 make their way sluggishly to the -sea. The soil is 
 unequivocally " black," and mostly composed of a great 
 depth of peat, below which lies a marl, having its 
 surface in many places coated with gravel of the "drift" 
 period. Hardly a hedge is seen, but the surface is 
 intersected every few hundred yards by deep ditches, 
 cut at right angles to each other, and communicating 
 with wider ditches, which are locally called "lodes," and, 
 running into the still larger water-courses, assist the 
 more thorough drainage of the land. Belts and small 
 plantations of trees, known as "holts," and consisting 
 chiefly of black poplar, ash, and alder, with an occasional 
 windmill, or the chimney of a steam-engine for both 
 wind and steam power are used to get rid of the water 
 are the principal objects which break the line of the 
 horizon. 
 
 It may be doubted if at the present time any part of 
 this district can be truly said to preserve its natural 
 aspect. The spectator must draw upon his imagination 
 to picture to his eye the whole of this level plain as it 
 appeared even a hundred years ago, when in place of 
 the luxuriant crops of oats, mangel-wurtzel, mustard, 
 and Swedish turnips, it was one uniform bed of sedge, 
 varied only by a few low sallow bushes. It is beyond 
 his imagination to conceive an older state of things, 
 when a forest of goodly oaks flourished amid thickets 
 of hazel, though the trunks of the former and the nuts 
 of the latter are still found admirably preserved in the 
 
Ivi 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 peat, side by side with, the bones of the Beaver and the 
 Wolf, the Wild Boar and the Urus. If he enquire of 
 the inhabitants he will find their traditions extend only 
 a short way back and he will be in doubt whether the 
 Goslings which his octogenarian informant may say 
 we.re tended in the fens by his grandfather, when a boy, 
 were the reclaimed offspring of really wild parents or 
 merely the tame race. The Gossard's occupation has 
 been gone for many a year that of the professed fowler 
 still lingers, but it has entirely changed in character, 
 and a few more years will probably number the Snipe- 
 shooter among the things that were. There are, or at 
 least until very recently were, people who recollected 
 that a comfortable living might be made by netting 
 Ruffs and Reeves (Machetes pugnaxj in summer, and in 
 winter by snaring Snipes, when the true fen-man who 
 was seriously believed in other counties to be born with 
 a " speckled belly" and a web between his toes did not 
 think his Sunday's dinner complete unless he had a 
 roast Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) on his board. 
 
 But it will be more profitable to dwell on the changes 
 which have taken place within the last thirty or forty 
 years. No longer ago than that the three species of 
 Harriers (locally called " Buzzards" and the grey males 
 of the two smaller ones, " Millers") with the Short-eared 
 Owl (Otus brachyotus) swarmed in some parts of the 
 district but as the water was carried off by the powerful 
 engines employed, and the sedge-fens converted into 
 corn-fields their haunts were one by one destroyed, 
 and they themselves banished. The Marsh-Harrier 
 (Circus ceruginosus) was the first to go, and then the 
 Hen-Harrier (G. cyaneus), but even now the Montagu's- 
 Harrier (G. montagui) and the Short-eared Owl still 
 linger about such few of their ancient abodes as have 
 not passed under the plough, and occasionally may yet 
 be heard of as breeding there. The Grasshopper- 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ivil 
 
 Warbler (Salicaria locustella) also, in such few spots, 
 still maintains a precarious footing perhaps it is even 
 more abundant than one is apt to believe, for its shy 
 and skulking habits avoid observation. Kuffs and 
 Eeeves and Godwits (Limosa melanura) have vanished 
 as inhabitants of the district, but the Redshank (Totanus 
 calidris) was induced to return to its old haunts by the 
 extraordinary flood of November, 1852, which burst the 
 river bank near Southery, and laid many thousand acres 
 under water for more than six months, making a paradise 
 for wild fowl of all kinds, and furnishing ornithologists 
 of this generation with a vision of times past and gone. 
 This same flood acted in like manner upon the Black 
 Tern (Sterna fissipes) and the Black-headed Gull (Larus 
 ridibundus), both of which, in 1853, stayed to breed in 
 places which had been so long abandoned by them, that 
 their names even were unknown in the land. The Snipe 
 (Scolopax gallinago), the Water-Kail (Rallus aquaticus), 
 and the Spotted Crake (Grex porzana) still, but in very 
 small numbers, frequent the Fens for the purpose of 
 breeding, and with them, concludes the list of those 
 birds which still abide in the district of which they 
 must have been at one time most characteristic ; for 
 the Heron (Ardea cinerea), which formerly had a large 
 and thriving establishment on the borders of Feltwell 
 and Hockwold Fens, where the nests were placed either 
 among the sedge on the ground, or built in low sallow- 
 bushes, some sixty years since emigrated to a wood 
 of lofty fir-trees at Didlington, whence the members 
 of the diminished society spread themselves over the 
 adjoining country to seek with difficulty the living their 
 forefathers had found so much more abundantly. 
 
 On the other hand, in the room of those species whose 
 
 place knows them no more, very many new denizens of 
 
 the district have made their appearance. Spots which 
 
 had only heard the hurried twitterings of the Sedge-bird 
 
 h 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 (Saliacaria phragmitis) the reeling note of the Grass- 
 hopper-Warbler, and the harsher melody of the Reed- 
 Sparrow (Emberiza schceniclus) now re-echo to the songs 
 of the Blackcap, the Willow- Wren, the Sky-Lark, and, 
 indeed, of nearly all the commoner birds of this country. 
 Of predatory species, the Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) 
 and the Carrion-Crow (Corvus corone) exist in probably 
 larger numbers than may be found in any other part 
 of the county while the Partridge and the Quail 
 (Coturnix vulgaris) have descended from the uplands, 
 not merely to glean where the farmer has reaped, but 
 to wage war with his worst enemies, the wire-worm and 
 the slug. The Lapwing still occurs in considerable 
 though reduced numbers, in summer breeding over 
 almost the whole district, and in winter flocking from 
 one part of it to another, performing, as it were, 
 countless small migrations that are influenced by almost 
 every change in the weather. In spring the Dotterel 
 (Charadriiis morinellusj, in small " trips,*' tarries for some 
 ten days for rest and refreshment on the fallows during 
 its northward journey, and, in winter, the Golden- 
 plover (Charadrius pluvialis) often haunts the ploughed 
 fields. But the great inducements for nearly all the 
 aquatic tribes have disappeared, and, with little left 
 to attract them, the modern condition of the "Fen" 
 district is to the ornithologist fond of ancient memories 
 almost the " abomination of desolation." 
 
 THE ENCLOSED DISTRICT. 
 
 Properly speaking, the "Enclosed" district comprises 
 the whole of the eastern division of the county, but 
 the present description refers only to such portions as 
 have not already been included in other districts 
 bordering the coast-line to the north and east. On 
 the western side it immediately adjoins the "brecks," 
 and is bounded on the south by the river Waveney. 
 
INTRODUCTION. x 
 
 Taking Norwich, and its Hamlets, then, as a con- 
 venient starting point, we have, within a comparatively 
 small area, a locality rich in its attractions for almost 
 all classes of birds, and one in which, not only the 
 more common species are plentifully distributed, but 
 many of the rarest have occurred at times. Norwich 
 has been well termed " a city in an orchard," and, in- 
 spite of the additional space required for a largely 
 increased population, may still claim that title, owing 
 to the number of its gardens and the general dis- 
 tribution of foliage, which gives so rural an aspect 
 to the older portions of the town. The venerable 
 walls, enclosing the gardens themselves, afford in their 
 many chinks and crannies abundant harbour for insects 
 and their larvae; and, in destroying these hidden 
 pests, the busy Titmice, the Redbreast, Hedge- Sparrow, 
 Chaffinch, and many summer visitants, do invaluable 
 service. The wall fruit, also, attracts the Blackbirds 
 and Thrushes, which, nevertheless, atone for their 
 depredations by a wholesale destruction of worms, 
 slugs, and snails, and the Spotted-Flycatcher (Mus- 
 cicapa grisola) and the beautiful Redstart (Phcenicura, 
 ruticilla) return year after year, with the apple and 
 pear blossoms, to the same nest on the vine-stem, 
 or in the ivy-covered wall. With these, also, return 
 to their accustomed haunts the Swallow and the House- 
 Martin, which are seen in the streets throughout their 
 brief sojourn, and nest in the chimney shafts and 
 under the eaves of the houses, even in the busiest 
 thoroughfares. A few small colonies of Rooks have 
 been established, for years, within the bounds of the 
 city, and whatever may be the spiritual wants of 
 the laity, the ecclesiastical Jackdaw can scarcely put 
 in a claim to "additional church accommodation." 
 The useful Starlings find abundant nest-holes in ancient 
 gables or the crumbling walls of monastic and other 
 
x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 buildings of a bygone age, and with two or three broods 
 in the season to each pair, their collective progeny form 
 no small proportion of those huge flocks which, in 
 autumn, frequent the marshes and the reed-beds on 
 the Broads. 
 
 In Mr. Hunt's time even the Lesser Spotted- Wood- 
 pecker (Picus minor) occasionally visited his garden in 
 Rose Lane, having flitted over the river from the 
 neighbouring woods at Thorpe ; and in more than one 
 instance, since the commencement of the present 
 century, a pair of Peregrines have been known to 
 fix their abode in the Cathedral spire. Not many 
 years back, also, a Hobby (Falco subbuteo) was shot 
 from a church tower in the very heart of the city. 
 The rare Dipper (Cinclus melanog aster) has been killed 
 on the river near the Lower Close-ferry, and Black- 
 Terns (Sterna fissipes), on their vernal migration, have 
 been shot near the same spot, from the Foundry-bridge, 
 whilst the list of accidental visitants includes many 
 migratory species, either attracted on their passage, 
 by the lamps of the city, or storm-driven from their 
 ordinary course. A Pochard (Fuligula ferina) has been 
 known to dash at night through the window of a house, 
 attracted by the glimmer of a candle, and wild fowl not 
 unfrequently alighted to rest on the reservoir of the 
 water-works, when situated, a few years ago, in Chapel- 
 Field. Little Auks (Mergulus alle) have in several 
 instances been picked up dead or dying in our streets, as 
 well as Little Grebes (Podiceps minor), during their 
 nocturnal movements, and on one occasion, also, a 
 Storm-Petrel was taken alive in Rose-Lane. 
 
 In the immediate vicinity of the city, the modern 
 system of planting ornamental trees, more particularly 
 of the fir-tribe, and the introduction of many foreign 
 shrubs amongst our indigenous plants, has caused even 
 the smaller gardens and shrubberies to offer a congenial 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1x1 
 
 shelter to birds, wliicli were formerly but seldom seen 
 in such localities. The Nightingale, some few years 
 back, confined almost entirely to the vicinity of Thorpe, 
 is now heard during the summer on nearly every road 
 leading out of the city ; and the Blackcap, the Willow- 
 Wren, and the Garden- Warbler, join their melody to 
 the rich notes of the Thrush and Blackbird, and with 
 their young broods in autumn, hide amidst the thick 
 foliage of the laurustinus and other bushy shrubs, till 
 the time for migration arrives. 
 
 The same remarks as to planting apply as well, 
 though in a far greater degree, to the Hamlets, and the 
 country immediately surrounding them, and few spots 
 in the county afford more picturesque scenery than the 
 rich valleys of the Yare and the Wensum. To the north 
 and east of the city are the wooded heights of Thorpe 
 and Whitlingham and the far-famed Mousehold-heath, 
 so often mentioned in historical records. In early times, 
 as we learn from Blomefield,* a large portion of this 
 wild district consisted of sheep-walks, and the heath 
 itself abounded with timber and brushwood, but all this 
 had disappeared long prior to its enclosure in 1810, 
 although even in the time of our county historian (who 
 died in 1751), it was some four or five miles in length 
 and breadth. It would be amusing to speculate on the 
 rarer species that in former times may have frequented 
 this "breezy common," but the Lapwing and Norfolk- 
 Plover were always plentiful, nor has either species 
 ceased altogether to breed in that neighbourhood up 
 to the present time. Of the latter a pair or two 
 have bred regularly for the last twenty years, near 
 the same plantation, on the high grounds at Thorpe, 
 and being strictly preserved will, it is to be hoped, 
 
 * " An Essay towards a topographical history of the county 
 of Norfolk." By Francis Blomefield, Rector of Fersfield. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 continue to do so. The Dotterel (Charadrius morinellus) 
 has been seen on the borders of the heath, resting for 
 a while on its migratory course, and the " whirr" of the 
 Nightjar is heard in the summer evenings when the 
 "dors" fly thick over the prickly furze. Here, also, 
 the Titlark and the graceful Wagtail chase their insect 
 prey over the smooth turf, and the Stonechat, Whinchat, 
 and Wheatear, amongst the rough patches of gorse and 
 fern, enliven the waste with their sprightly actions. 
 
 East, west, and south, the rich grazing marshes 
 bordering the winding course of the Wensum and Yare, 
 are not less abundant in aquatic species; and though 
 too firm now to afford the sport which the Snipe- 
 shooter enjoyed some forty years ago; yet still when 
 driven to the open springs through the severity of the 
 frost, or flooded out from the "broad" district, a few 
 couples, and particularly "Jacks" (Scolopax gallinulaj 
 may be found by the sedgy margins of the drains and 
 smaller streamlets. In the many little carrs, reed-beds, 
 and dwarf-islets, which form so pretty a feature of these 
 tortuous rivers, whether at Lakenham, Keswick, Bow- 
 thorpe, or Hellesdon, the prattling notes of the Sedge 
 and Reed- Warblers are heard in summer, and the 
 Water-Hen and Dabchick nestle and hide in the tangled 
 undergrowth. A few Wild-Ducks (Anas boschas) are 
 bred annually in the most retired spots, and in winter 
 are joined by others, with an occasional " coil" of Teal, 
 but it is only in the sharpest weather that the rarer 
 species appear so far inland. At such times, however, 
 both the Whooper (Cygnus ferus) and Bewick's Swan 
 (Cygnus lewicki) have been shot, even of late years, on 
 the Yare at Bowthorpe, about three miles to the west 
 of Norwich ; on the same portion of the stream, which 
 some thirty or forty years ago acquired the name of 
 "Swan-river," from the frequent occurrence of these 
 birds during the then severe winters. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixiii 
 
 Costessey, with, its beautiful park and woods, bounded 
 by heathery hills on the one side and the rough marshy 
 borders of the Wensum on the other, now boasts, with 
 the exception of the one before mentioned at Didlington, 
 of the only Heronry remaining in Norfolk. This small 
 remnant of a once thriving colony whose various 
 wanderings since their expulsion from Acle wood (cut 
 down about the year 1810), will be fully detailed else- 
 where have but recently migrated from Earlham, in 
 the same neighbourhood, to their present quarters. 
 Here, it is to be hoped, if not, as hitherto, molested 
 by the Books, and under the protection of the noble 
 proprietor of the estate, this much persecuted race may 
 yet "increase and multiply." It is impossible not to 
 mourn the fate of the gallant Falcon, which, once petted 
 by Kings and Princes is now classed in the list of feathered 
 " vermin " ; but still a something of its former glory 
 attaches to the Heron, and the sight of the great bird 
 returning with laboured flight from some distant stream, 
 never fails to recall the time-honoured associations which 
 inseparably connect the "Hawk and the Harnsey." 
 How different the prestige of both these birds, when, in 
 August, 1578, Queen Elizabeth, leaving Norwich "by 
 St. Bennet's-gates went towards Cossey-Park to hunt," 
 and when, in 1866, the heir apparent to the throne 
 paid a Royal visit to the same estate. At the former 
 date, although we find no record as to hawking parties, 
 there is little doubt that Herons graced the board, 
 being in those days esteemed a "dainty dish to set 
 before the Queen;" whilst even the hospitality of the 
 noble entertainer would have been called in question 
 by the introduction of such a dish, on the last occasion. 
 
 Amongst the larger estates in this division of the 
 county, not already referred to in the " cliff" or other 
 districts, are Merton, with its venerable oaks, and 
 Rainham, Elmham, and Kiinberley, with their extensive 
 
INTEODUCTION. 
 
 parks and plantations and fine sheets of ornamental 
 water. It would be needless, however, to attempt to 
 enumerate, here, the smaller parks and pleasant country 
 seats, which, scattered in all directions, form so agree- 
 able a feature in this portion of the county ; not only 
 its richly wooded character, but its highly cultivated 
 condition, may be gathered from the fact that at least 
 nine or ten Rookeries exist within five miles of Norwich, 
 and but few estates of any extent are without some 
 colonies, large or small, of these social birds. 
 
 Although, on the better soils, the old natural 
 woods have yielded by slow degrees to the encroach- 
 ments of the plough, yet, with the improvements in 
 agriculture, was also introduced, as shown by Kent in 
 his survey of Norfolk farming,* a general system of 
 planting. Great numbers of firs, Scotch, larch, and 
 spruce, either planted in belts and " slips," or intermixed 
 with forest trees, were reared for the ornamentation of 
 parks and pleasure grounds, and, as may be seen 
 at Stratton-Strawless and many other places, barren 
 commons and sandy wastes were thus made to assume 
 a much more cheerful aspect. The Hor stead chalk-pits 
 present a remarkable example of the picturesque effects, 
 which may be thus produced. The sloping sides of the 
 older cuttings have been thickly planted with firs of 
 various kinds, rising, as it were, in terraces from the 
 banks of the stream, which winds its way between the 
 now verdant heights ; and, from the peculiar character 
 of the scene, this spot has acquired the very appropriate 
 name of " Little Switzerland." 
 
 Besides the more modern game preserves, however, 
 for which the county is now so celebrated, there are 
 some remnants of far older woods, whose history 
 
 * "General View of the Agriculture of the County of Norfolk," 
 by Nathaniel Kent. Published in 1813. 
 
INTRODUCTION. lV 
 
 would carry us back to a somewhat early period. 
 Woods, in whose dense coverts the Wild-cat (Felix 
 catus) and the Martin* (Maries foina) once ranged 
 in safety, or, still more recently, the Kaven and Carrion 
 Crow, with the Buzzard (Buteo vulgaris) and Kite 
 (Milvus ictinus), amongst the larger Raptores, nested 
 undisturbed, and Hawks and Owls in plenty performed 
 their part in the great scheme of nature, as vermin- 
 killers, not vermin. Of such may be noted more 
 especially the great Foxley wood, described by Kent, 
 in 1813, as covering over three hundred acres, and 
 Hockering, Ashwelthorpe, Hethel, Brooke,f and others, 
 even now of considerable extent and for the most part 
 well stocked with game, both feather and " felt." With 
 the great woods, also, as relicts of former times, we 
 have, even in this closely cultivated district, several 
 wide heaths and rough commons, lying chiefly to the 
 north and west of Norwich, and which, in some 
 localities, though not continuous, extend for several 
 miles in an almost direct line. 
 
 On the stiffer soils, again, to the south and south- 
 west, we find a "green" country, with rich meadows 
 
 * This species was still trapped, occasionally, in Brooke wood, 
 until near the close of the last century. 
 
 f These older woods may be grouped together, as it were, in 
 different localities, lying as they now do in close proximity to each 
 other, whilst in former times, no doubt, they were still more closely 
 connected. Thus, in one group, we have the woods at Rainham 
 Elmham, Horningtoft, Foxley, Mileham, and Godwick ; in another, 
 those at Saham, Merton, Necton, and Bradenham. Hethel, Ket- 
 teringham, and Ashwelthorpe would form a third; and a still 
 larger group includes Brooke, Hedenham, Ditchingham, Kirby- 
 Cane, Shottesham, and Hempnall. In like manner, also, might 
 have been classed the woods at Edgefield, Plumstead, Holt, 
 Hempstead, Stody, and Hunworth, together with Melton and 
 Swanton, before the chief portion were either "stubbed up" 
 altogether or re-planted. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and abundant rivulets ; and the fields being divided into 
 an infinity of small enclosures by lofty fences, thickly 
 studded with trees, give a character of its own to this 
 portion of the county. At Hapton, Flordon, Forncett, 
 &c., although drainage has everywhere diminished the 
 haunts of the Snipe, yet the black soil of the drains has 
 at all seasons an attraction for the Green- Sandpiper, 
 (Totamis ochropus) . This species is also frequent about 
 the chain of small fens which are situated on the river 
 Thet, near Hargham, Buckenham, and Attleborough ; 
 where Snipe are still plentiful, and from whence, amongst 
 other rarities, Baillon's Crake (Crex bailloni), has been 
 obtained in some two or three instances. The Great 
 Northern-Diver (Colymbus glacialis) has been likewise 
 killed on the lake at Quiddenham, in the same neigh- 
 bourhood, many miles from the sea, being about equi- 
 distant from the coast either at Lynn or Yarmouth. 
 
 " All England," wrote Dr. Fuller, " may be carved 
 out of Norfolk, for here are fens and heaths, light and 
 deep, sandy and clay lands, and pastures, arable and 
 woodlands." Nor is this description altogether inap- 
 plicable at the present time, though the proportion of 
 arable to heath, fen, and woodland, has been reversed 
 through the necessities of an increased population. 
 Even now the "enclosed" district, as here shown, is 
 strangely diversified in its features, and in spite of all 
 the changes effected during the last half century 
 throughout the county, the main points of difference 
 between East and West Norfolk are as marked as ever. 
 The very term "enclosed" suggests at once the antipodes 
 of such wild open tracts as have been already described 
 under the name of "brecks." Small farms and small 
 fields take the place of large holdings and wide open 
 lands, and the foliage on all sides, in the thickly 
 timbered hedgerows, plantations, gardens, and orchards, 
 gives every where a tone of warmth and homeliness to 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the landscape ; whilsb clustering around the many- 
 farmsteads, we find in abundance all those species 
 which affect more particularly the habitations of man 
 and are dependant to a great extent on his labours for 
 support. 
 
 It is not, however, merely of late years that this por- 
 tion of the county has acquired its distinctive features. 
 On this point Mr. C. S. Read* informs us that, "its 
 naturally fertile soils have been productive for centuries," 
 and at a very early period, the great oak woods, of 
 which so few traces remain to us, clothed a landscape, 
 in which arable landf already struggled for mastery, 
 against sandy-heaths and warrens on the one hand, and 
 marshy grounds and bogs on the other. As far back as 
 1549, during the short reign of King Edward VI., we 
 find the attempts made to enclose certain commons and 
 waste lands about Attleborough, Wymondham, and 
 Hethersett, resulting in the great rebellion under 
 KettJ, when, not content with throwing down the 
 more recent enclosures, the rebels demolished hedges 
 and ditches, and laid waste parks and other private 
 
 * See an " Essay on the Agriculture of Norfolk," in White's 
 Gazetteer (3rd ed.), by C. S. Read, M.P. 
 
 f In the Hamlets of Lakenham and Eaton, by " a survey made 
 in the beginning of Edward I., the jurors valued each acre of land 
 at 15d. a year, and that then there were 150 acres arable in 
 demean, 44 acres of meadow, &c." * * * "In 1379, their 
 water-mill was re-built, and the Sheeps-walk, wood, and warren 
 are mentioned." [See Blomefield, folio ed., vol. ii., p. 857.] 
 
 J " The occasion of this rebellion (writes Blomefield) was because 
 divers lords and gentlemen, who were possessed of Abbey lands 
 and other large commons and waste grounds, had caused many of 
 those commons and wastes to be enclosed, whereby the poor and 
 indigent people were much offended, being thereby abridged of the 
 liberty that they formerly had to common cattle, &c., on the said 
 grounds to their own advantage." [Hist, of Norwich, vol. i., p. 222.] 
 
Ixviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 grounds, throughout their inarch from Hethersett to 
 Eaton wood, and thence to the great camp on Mouse- 
 hold-heath. Thorpe wood was demolished, at the same 
 time, in order to prevent any surprise from that quarter, 
 and the timber used for huts, tents, and fuel.* No 
 wonder, after so serious a check as was experienced by 
 this formidable rising, and the long and sanguinary 
 struggle that ensued between the King's troops and 
 the rebels, if, for a long period the enclosure system 
 progressed but slowly. Even as late as the reign of 
 Charles II., as Mr. Trimmer states in his " Flora of 
 Norfolk," " a heath, extending, with little interruption, 
 from Dunston, south of Norwich, northward, to Heving- 
 ham, and from thence, westward, to Lynn, was computed 
 to be a hundred miles in circumference," and from this 
 we may infer the general condition of the county in 
 1671, when that "witty monarch" made a Royal pro- 
 gress from Yarmouth to Norwich, and passing thence 
 to Oxnead, Blickling, and Rainham, formed the quaint 
 idea " that it was fit only to be cut into roads for the 
 rest of the kingdom." 
 
 Of its ornithology in those days, we fortunately 
 possess the most valuable records in the writings of that 
 learned Dr. Browne, who, for his great and varied 
 accomplishments, was knighted by the King during his 
 short stay in Norwich ; and from his notes we arrive at 
 the rather startling conclusion that, with the exception 
 only of the Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) and the 
 Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), the same species 
 found nesting here in 1671 were still residents up 
 to the commencement of the present century. Yet 
 such, undoubtedly, was the fact, since, as Mr. 
 Lubbock remarks, it was not " until the extravagant 
 
 * See note from Norw. Roll in Blomefield's History of Norwich, 
 vol. 1., p. 226. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 prices, caused by continued war, excited a general 
 eagerness to enclose all available land, that the 
 improvement and extension of agriculture struck the 
 first blow at the feathered inhabitants of the waste." 
 "Less than one hundred years ago (as stated by Mr. 
 Read), Norfolk did not produce enough wheat to feed 
 its scanty population," and the whole district of the 
 broads, but imperfectly drained, and subject at times to 
 wide spread inundations, presented many of its normal 
 features. Decoys in every favourable locality were a 
 considerable source of profit, and "rye and rabbits" 
 were the chief products of the western division. 
 Assuming, moreover, that the statement in White's 
 Gazetteer that, "two hundred thousand acres of com- 
 mons and sandy heaths have been enclosed during the 
 last ninety years" is only approximately correct, there 
 can be no question as to the time when the former 
 denizens of the moor and the fen first experienced the 
 effects of a gradual but certain encroachment upon their 
 respective haunts. By the commencement of the reign 
 of George III., though East Norfolk, with the excep- 
 tion only of the great heaths and breck-lands towards 
 the north, had been, generally speaking, enclosed 
 throughout, yet in the western portions of the county 
 but little change had as yet been effected. Soon, 
 however, through the triumphs of scientific husbandry, 
 the comparatively poor soils of the west were about to 
 rival the kindlier lands of the east in productive qualities ; 
 and Holkham was to set an example to the county 
 at large. In other words, to quote once more from 
 our highest agricultural authority, "Mr. Coke was 
 successfully establishing those great improvements, and 
 introducing those liberal and salutary alterations in 
 farm practice, which soon placed Norfolk foremost in 
 the van of agricultural progress." 
 
 It was then, only, that the turnip, introduced early 
 
Ixx 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in the previous century by a member of the Townshend 
 family, was becoming universally cultivated, and when 
 drilled in ridges instead of sown "broadcast," taught 
 even the Grey-Partridge the use of its legs, and enabled 
 the recently imported " Red-legs " to baffle their 
 pursuers, both human and canine. The (e four-course " 
 system of cropping, also, with closely mown stubbles 
 and thinned hedgerows, changed materially the opera- 
 tions of the sportsman, and as has been already remarked, 
 with reference to the breeding of the Bustard, the very 
 implements invented and the new methods adopted 
 for the better cultivation of the soil, had, to a certain 
 extent, a prejudicial effect upon the ground-breeding 
 birds, both small and great. As Mr. Lubbock, however, 
 so truly observes "there is a compensating principle 
 continually at work in nature," and though drainage 
 and cultivation have been the main cause of the ban- 
 ishment of so many former residents, we have expe- 
 rienced, in others, a corresponding increase. As the 
 Snipe and the Redshank recede before the inroads of 
 the plough, the Partridge every where extends its area, 
 and the Black-headed Bunting and the Bearded Titmouse 
 are replaced by other Buntings and Finches, with more 
 granivorous appetites. Our summer warblers, and indeed 
 almost all arboreal species, have increased in proportion 
 to the accommodation afforded them, and game pre- 
 serving, however fatal to the Raptores as a body, and their 
 Corvine cousins the Raven, the Magpie, and the Carrion 
 Crow, has on the other hand acted as a protection to many 
 other birds, besides Partridges and Pheasants. Wood- 
 Pigeons, Blackbirds, and Thrushes, freed from their 
 natural enemies, have become more and more plentiful ; 
 and those which wisely seek the shelter of the woods 
 during the breeding season, now rear their young in 
 blissful security, no birds' nesting boys having a chance 
 of robbing them in the well watched coverts. The 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Turtle-Dove, the Missel-Thrush, and the Long-eared 
 Owl, all more or less scarce within a comparatively short 
 period, are now, through the attractions of our woods 
 and fir-coverts, become plentifully distributed through- 
 out the county, and from the same cause the little 
 Golden-crested Wren, with the Coal and Marsh-Titmice 
 have greatly increased in numbers of late years. The 
 Woodcock remains with us to breed more frequently, 
 and the Hawfinch (Coccothraustes vulgaris), from some 
 cause not so easily explainable, may be classed as a 
 resident, though till lately considered only as a scarce 
 winter visitant. 
 
 Amongst minor influences, however, prejudicial in 
 a general sense, or affecting certain species or groups 
 in particular, may be instanced the cheapness of fire- 
 arms, and the consequent increase of gunners, together 
 with a ready access by railroad to all parts of the 
 county. To these must be added, also, a wholesale 
 and indiscriminate system of egging, and through 
 the modern taste for collecting, the high prices offered 
 for rarities in both birds and eggs. But these, after 
 all, are but secondary causes, since egging, shooting, 
 and collecting combined had failed to exterminate 
 certain marsh-breeders, which yet vanished altogether 
 with the altered features of their favourite haunts, and 
 year by year the same operations are slowly but surely 
 extending their influences. Indeed, were it possible, to 
 restore the whole face of the county to its former con- 
 dition, we should win back, even now, many feathered 
 emigrants, and that this is no idle speculation has 
 been already shown by the fact that, after the great 
 flood in the winter of 1852-3, no less than three 
 species remained to breed in the Fens about Feltwell 
 and Hockwold, previously unknown in those parts for 
 many years. The success, too, which has attended the 
 
Ixxii . INTRODUCTION. 
 
 praiseworthy exertions of the Rev. T. J. Blofeld, at 
 Hoveton, to found, as it were, a colony of Black-headed 
 Gulls on his estate, and the protection at the same 
 time afforded to the Grebes, Garganey, and other wild 
 fowl, proves, in comparison with similar and quite as 
 favourable localities, how much may still be effected, 
 within a limited area, by a conservative rather than an 
 exterminating 1 system. 
 
 In bringing our survey, then, to a close, we may 
 arrive at one conclusion, at least, of a satisfactory 
 nature. Whilst the larger mammalia, once inhabiting 
 this county have passed away for ever under the influ- 
 ences of civilization, the feathered race, owing to their 
 volant powers, have suffered only in degree. We have 
 here no wingless birds to become extinct through their 
 very helplessness, and even the Great Bustard still claims 
 a place in the Norfolk list as an occasional migrant. 
 Thus, though former residents may become accidental 
 visitants only, they are not lost to us altogether ; and so 
 long as the ocean shall continue to wash its boldly 
 projecting shores, and the periodical movements of the 
 feathered race be actuated by the marvellous instinct 
 of migration, so long, in spite of all internal changes, 
 will Norfolk maintain its ornithological reputation. 
 
THE BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 HALLEETUS ALBICILLA (Linnceus). 
 WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 
 
 NEARLY every autumn or winter affords specimens of this 
 eagle in immature plumage, and it appears also at times 
 late in spring, but in no instance have I known the adult 
 bird to occur in this county.* The predominance of the 
 young amongst all migratory Raptorial species that visit 
 our coast in autumn, including peregrines, ospreys, 
 merlins, buzzards, &c., is attributable, no doubt, in a 
 great degree, to the fact of the old birds in this class 
 driving their young away from their own nesting places 
 as soon as they are able to provide for themselves, to 
 seek in other districts a home and a helpmate, and 
 in their turn to practise the customs of their ancestors. 
 That this marked characteristic of the Raptorial tribe 
 
 * In the autumn of 1864, a skin of JET. albicilla was brought to 
 one of our Norwich bird-stuffers, with a statement that the bird 
 had been shot on Breydon during the previous winter. This 
 bird exhibited the white tail and other indications of adult 
 plumage, and from this and other appearances, more than doubting 
 its history, I at once instituted enquiries at Yarmouth. From a 
 resident ornithologist there, upon whose information I can im- 
 plicitly rely, I ascertained that no sea eagle had been either seen 
 or shot on Breydon in the winter of 1863, and that the bird in 
 question was brought by a fisherman about Christmas-time from 
 Norway as a skin, and had been offered to various collectors in 
 Yarmouth for 1. 
 
^ ', o^ el' 1 *' ,,'\, >. , -, *' 
 
 ' '''fi *'"* *> ri v v '*" *1 %> >* 
 
 2 ' BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 was recognised long ago,, by sportsmen and naturalists, 
 is shown by the following quaint passage in Turbervile's 
 "Booke of Falconrie," printed in 1575,, where, speak- 
 ing of the " Eagle royale" or golden eagle (Aquila 
 chrysaetos), instructing its young how to "Kyll their 
 praye and feede them selves ;" the author adds " But 
 no soner hath she made them perfit, and throughly 
 scooled them therin, but presently she chaseth them out 
 of that coaste, and doth abandon them the place where 
 they were eyred, and will in no wise brooke them to 
 abide neare hir, to the ende that the countrey where she 
 discloseth and maketh her eyrie,, bee not unfurnished of 
 convenient pray, which by the number and excessive 
 store of eagles might otherwise be spoiled and made 
 bare. For the avoyding of which, this provident and 
 careful! soule doth presently force her broode to depart 
 into some other part and region." 
 
 The male specimen of this sea eagle in the Norwich 
 museum (No. 5 in the British series), although marked 
 adult, was taken whilst young off Winterton some years 
 since, and attained its present plumage in confinement. 
 The following curious particulars respecting its capture 
 and subsequent history are thus recorded by Messrs. 
 Gurney and Fisher, in their " Birds of Norfolk:"* 
 " Some boys having thrown out a line and hook into the 
 sea, baited with a herring, for the purpose of catching 
 a gull, the bait was spied and pounced upon by the 
 eagle, and the hook becoming fixed in the inside of his 
 foot, he was found by the boys, upon their return to 
 examine their line, floating on the surface of the water. 
 They immediately went off in a boat, and completed 
 their capture without much difficulty. This bird was 
 
 * "An account of the Birds found in Norfolk, including 
 Notices of some of the rarer Species which have occurred in the 
 adjoining Counties." By J. H. Gurney, Esq., and W. B. Fisher, 
 Esq., published in the " Zoologist" for 1846. 
 
WHITE -TAILED EAGLE. 3 
 
 subsequently kept in confinement for some years, but 
 accidentally escaping, was shot a few days afterwards by 
 a gamekeeper in the neighbourhood." No less than 
 three of these fine birds, two females and one male, 
 were shot in different parts of the county during the 
 winter of 1855-6 ; and in the following winter of 1856-7, 
 between the months of November and January, three 
 more were obtained on the coast. Two of the latter were 
 killed at Winterton, near Yarmouth, a very favourite 
 locality, and nearly at the same spot ; the last specimen 
 being shot whilst hovering over a rabbit warren, and 
 on examination of the contents of its stomach, (besides 
 a stoat) was found to have been feeding on the remains of 
 a large whale, which had just previously been stranded 
 on the Winterton beach. In January, 1859, one or two 
 of these eagles were observed at Horning and other 
 parts of the county, and in the severe winter of 1860-1, 
 a fine pair frequented the lake at Holkham for some 
 weeks, where, in spite of the ravages they committed 
 amongst the wild fowl, the noble owner of the estate 
 would not allow them to be disturbed. A fine young 
 male was killed at Hickling on the 23rd of March, 
 1861 ; and about the same date in the following year, a 
 female was shot at Westwick. This was, no doubt, the 
 same bird that had been seen only a few days previously 
 at Northrepps, near Cromer, where Mr. Gurney's keeper 
 observed it sitting on a tree, perfectly indifferent to the 
 mobbings of a flock of jackdaws. In the spring of 
 1863, an immature bird was shot near Fritton decoy, 
 in the adjoining county ; and in November of the same 
 year, another was observed, for a few days, in the 
 neighbourhood of Wymondham, in Norfolk. 
 
 Mr. Lubbock* states that on one occasion, in very 
 
 * " Observations on the Fauna of Norfolk, and more particularly 
 on the District of the Broads." By the Eev. R. Lubbock (1845) 
 B2 
 
4 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 severe weather, he saw a fine sea eagle as near this 
 city as Postwick Grove, " beating leisurely up the river, 
 apparently searching for coots or wild fowl in the wakes 
 which remained unfrozen." The late Mr. Girdlestone, 
 of Yarmouth,, also informed Mr. Lubbock that in the 
 sharp winter of 1837 "he had three of these eagles in 
 sight at once" on Horsey warren. 
 
 I have omitted the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) 
 from the present list, since, although more than once 
 recorded to have been taken in Norfolk,"* it is extremely 
 doubtful whether that noble bird has ever appeared in 
 this county. From one or two of the best authorities in 
 this neighbourhood, I find that no authentic instance of 
 its occurrence has ever come to their notice, and the 
 so-called golden eagles I have myself examined, have 
 invariably proved, on more careful inspection, to be 
 young birds of the cinereous or white-tailed eagle in 
 their various stages of immature plumage. Sir Thomas 
 Brownef also, writing some two hundred years ago, 
 speaks of the not unusual appearance of " the Haliceetus 
 or Fen Eagles," but adds "the great and noble kind 
 of eagle, called Aquila gesneri (chrysaetos}, I have not 
 
 * Under the head of the Golden Eagle, Mr. Lubbock says in 
 his local " Fauna," " Our museum possesses a specimen of this 
 rarer kind" from which one might infer that we had a Norfolk 
 killed specimen in the Norwich museum. This, however, is not 
 the case, either amongst the British or general Eaptorial series. 
 
 f " An account of birds found in Norfolk," see Sir Thomas 
 Browne's works, edited by Simon "Wilkin, F.L.S., vol. iv., p. 313. 
 [MS. Sloan, 1830, fol. 5, 22 and 31]. Also, " Animals found in 
 Norfolk," copy from Sir T. Browne's MS. in the British museum, 
 published in the " Monthly Magazine" for 1805, pp. 106 and 410. 
 
 These lists were undoubtedly written after 1636, in which year 
 Sir Thomas took up his residence in Norwich. He was born in 
 London in 1605, was knighted by Charles II. in 1671, died in 
 this city in 1682, and was buried in St. Peter's Mancroft. 
 
WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. OSPREY. 5 
 
 seen in this country." It is probable that, besides being 
 a much scarcer species than the white-tailed eagle, the 
 flatness of our own county, compared with the usual 
 haunts of the golden eagle, may account for its non- 
 appearance on our Eastern coast, since, neither in 
 Europe, North Africa, Asia, or North America, is it 
 found to wander far from the mountainous districts. 
 Yarrell, in the first volume of his "British Birds," 
 has most clearly pointed out the marked difference at 
 any age in the feet of these two eagles, and it is only 
 necessary to remember that the sea eagle has "the 
 whole length of each toe covered with broad scales," and 
 the golden eagle only " three broad scales at the end of 
 each toe," with the legs feathered to the division of the 
 toes, to determine at once the species to which any local 
 specimen properly belongs. 
 
 PANDION HALLffiETUS (Linnams). 
 
 OSPEEY. 
 
 The Osprey or Fishing Hawk, as this bird is some- 
 times called, still visits us as a regular migrant in small 
 numbers; but though formerly, as stated by Messrs. 
 Gurney and Fisher, most plentiful during the autumn 
 months, it has of late years entirely altered its habits in 
 this respect, and appears almost invariably in April and 
 May, and occasionally even as late as the middle of June. 
 It is more than probable that their total extermina- 
 tion on the Scottish lochs may in some degree account 
 for this change ; certainly whatever the cause, out of 30 
 specimens that have come under my notice since 1847, 
 only ten were procured in the autumn months, and for 
 the last five years at least, with but two exceptions, the 
 ospreys have appeared in spring. Of these birds the 
 
6 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 greatest number were in immature plumage, and were 
 met with on the coast or close by, in the vicinity of the 
 larger broads, whose wide tracts of open water are well 
 suited to their habits. Stragglers are, however, occa- 
 sionally found inland, in places far less likely for their 
 appearance, as at Scoulton, near Hingham ; at Stanfield 
 Park, near Wymondham ; and in October, 1859, four or 
 five were observed in the neighbourhood of Thetford. If 
 undisturbed, they seem to confine their fishing to one 
 spot as long as their finny prey remains plentiful, par- 
 ticularly in such favourite localities as Hickling and 
 Horsey broads. In April, 1851, three ospreys were 
 killed at Hickling in one week by the same man, who 
 shot them whilst perched on the posts which there mark 
 the course of the river through the broad, and in each 
 case the birds appeared to have been resting after a 
 rich repast, their stomachs being literally crammed with 
 roach. I have particularly mentioned this fact, having 
 since met with the following interesting note in the 
 "Ibis," by Mr. Osbert Salvin,* which proves that the 
 habit of resting after a meal so generally adopted by 
 the Raptorial tribe, is thus commonly, and often fatally, 
 indulged in by these piscatorial gluttons : " In the 
 lagoon of El Baheira, a number of posts are fixed to 
 direct the boats that ply between Tunis and La Goletta. 
 These are the favourite perches of several ospreys, 
 which, during the winter months, fish in the lagoon, 
 and retire to these posts to feed on and digest their 
 prey." 
 
 * Mr. O. Salvin's " Five Months' Birds'-nesting in the Eastern 
 Atlas."" Ibis," vol. i., p. 183. 
 
GREENLAND FALCON. 7 
 
 FALCO CANDICANS (Gmelin). 
 GREENLAND FALCON. 
 
 The late Mr. Hunt, of Norwich, in his " British Orni- 
 thology,"^ has figured, or perhaps more correctly speak- 
 ing, caricatured a bird of this species which was killed 
 many years back on Bungay common, and being only 
 slightly wounded in the pinion, lived for some time in 
 confinement. This bird, says Mr. Hunt, from its 
 extreme tameness, "eating readily from the hand of 
 the servant who attended him," was generally supposed 
 to have escaped from some falconer. From Mr. T. M. 
 Spalding, of Westleton, I learn that this same specimen 
 was given by King, the man who shot it, to the late 
 John Cooper, Esq., of Bungay, and at his death it was 
 purchased at the sale at North Cove Hall, for the present 
 Lord Huntingfield, in whose collection it is still pre- 
 served. Mr. Spalding, who had many opportunities of 
 examining this falcon both at Bungay and Cove, says, 
 "It was preserved by W. C. Edwards, and was a 
 beautiful male, the spots of black very minute, and the 
 upper portion of the beak much elongated, the only 
 symptom I could see of its ever being in captivity," and 
 this peculiarity is particularly marked in Mr. Hunt's 
 drawing. The statement of Messrs. Sheppard and 
 Whitear,f that this bird formed part of Mr. Spalding's 
 
 * " British Ornithology, containing portraits of all the British 
 birds, including those of Foreign origin which have become 
 domesticated; drawn, engraved, and coloured after nature." By J. 
 Hunt. 3 vols., 8vo. ; Norwich, 1815 ; printed by Bacon and Co. 
 
 f " A Catalogue of the Norfolk and Suffolk Birds, withKemarks. 
 By the Eev. Eevett Sheppard, A.M., F.L.S., and the Eev. William 
 Whitear, A.M., F.L.S.," published in the 15th vol. of the Linnean 
 Society's Transactions, MDCCCXXVI. 
 
8 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 collection is not correct, since, as before stated, it was 
 purchased for Lord Huntingfield, Mr. Spalding bidding 
 up to 5. Since that time, however, this noble falcon 
 has been fully installed amongst the Norfolk rarities, 
 from the occurrence of an undoubtedly wild specimen 
 at Beeston, near Cromer, in February, 1848. This 
 beautiful example, a fine adult male, is in the pos- 
 session of Mr. J. Gurney Hoare, of Hampstead. In the 
 " Zoologist," p. 3028, will also be found a notice by 
 Mr. T. Fowell Buxton, of a falcon, supposed, from its 
 " snowy whiteness," to be of this species, which was 
 seen by himself and other gentlemen whilst shooting 
 at Trimingham, on the same part of the coast, in 
 November, 1851. In the adjoining county of Suffolk, 
 large white falcons have been observed on more than 
 one occasion, though not of late years ; and a man 
 named Martin, formerly keeper to John Lee Farr, Esq., 
 of North Cove Hall, assured Mr. Spalding* that he 
 once shot a " large white hawk" at Cove, which he had 
 watched for some nights, always making for a par- 
 ticular wood to roost, and which, from his description, 
 as being pure white with a few black spots, was most 
 probably a Greenland falcon. Unfortunately, the bird 
 was given to a farmer and was not preserved. The 
 distinctions established of late years by Mr. Hancock 
 and other eminent ornithologists, between the three 
 forms of great northern falcons, viz., the Greenland 
 falcon (F. candicans, Gmel.), the Iceland falcon (F. 
 islandicusy Gmel.), and the true gyrfalcon, of Norway 
 (F. gyrfalcOy Linn.), render it particularly desirable 
 that all British-killed specimens of these noble birds 
 should be folly identified. As the white or Greenland 
 
 * Mr. T. M. Spalding, of Westleton, and formerly of Ditching- 
 ham, in Norfolk, contributed the excellent list of Suffolk birds to 
 Suckling's history of that county. 
 
PEREGRINE FALCON. 9 
 
 form, therefore, has alone appeared in this county, I 
 have in this instance departed from the nomenclature 
 of Yarrell, whose specific term gyrfalco belongs neither 
 to the bird here referred to, nor to the specimen figured 
 in his "British Birds." 
 
 Some very clear and interesting remarks upon the 
 distinctive characteristics, at any age, of these three 
 forms, be they races or species, will be found in 
 the " Ibis" for 1862,* the accuracy of which can be best 
 verified by an inspection of the magnificent series of the 
 three forms, in the Raptorial collection of the Norwich 
 museum. It will suffice here, however, to state in 
 general terms, that the Norwegian bird, as a rule, does 
 not become so light in plumage as the Icelander, whilst 
 the Greenland form, with the exception of the dark 
 spots on the back and wings, becomes pure white by 
 age, which the true Icelander never does. 
 
 FALCO PEREGRINUS, Gmelin. 
 PEREGRINE FALCON. 
 
 The Peregrine visits us annually in spring and autumn 
 on its migratory course, and though in small numbers, 
 is met with from time to time in every month between 
 September and May. By far the larger portion of these 
 are in immature plumage ; and adult males, as is gene- 
 rally the case amongst Raptorial migrants, are much 
 more scarce than females. I am not aware of any recent 
 instance of the peregrine breeding with us; but Mr. 
 Hunt, writing in 1815 (Brit. Ornithology, vol. ii., p. 9), 
 says, (C A nest of the "gentil falcon has from time imme- 
 morial been found on Hunstanton cliffs." They have also 
 
 * " Review of Drs. Blasius's and Baldamus's Continuation of 
 Naumann's ' Yogel Deutschlands.' " " Ibis," vol. iv., p.p. 43 to 53. 
 c 
 
10 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 been known at different times to frequent the spire of 
 Norwich Cathedral, and according to the above-mentioned 
 author (vol. i. p. 63), a Mr. Kittle, of this city, par- 
 ticularly noticed a bird of this species, which " arrived 
 at the Cathedral by the middle of September, and left it 
 about the first week in March, and continued to do so 
 for eight successive years ; he also remarked that it was 
 generally to be seen near the top of the spire, and 
 invariably on that side which by sailors is called the 
 leeward, from whence it used to fly at pigeons and 
 other birds who were so unfortunate as to approach its 
 station. From the number of feathers found in the 
 tower of the Cathedral, he supposed that after it had 
 taken its prey it used to retire to that part to eat it 
 free from molestation." More recently a female, who 
 with her mate frequented the same spot, was shot whilst 
 chasing a pigeon on one of the bridges. Mr. Lubbock 
 also states, that " during the time the late Mr. Downes 
 practised falconry near Yarmouth a pair of these birds 
 used to breed in the steeple of Corton church. The 
 nestlings were taken and trained to the chase, the clerk 
 having a regular retaining fee for their preservation." 
 The occurrence of three adult specimens, two males and 
 one female, near Thetford, in the spring of 1848, is 
 noticed in the " Zoologist," p. 2134; in the following 
 spring, a very fine pair, in perfect plumage, were killed 
 near the same place, and one or more old birds are still 
 seen there every year, usually in the month of March, 
 the adjacent warren having peculiar attractions. A fine 
 adult female, now in my possession, was killed at Bock- 
 land in March, 1858; and two others, in equally good 
 plumage, were taken in April, 1859, at Fransham and 
 Woodbastwick. The autumn of 1859 was remarkable 
 for the unusual number of these birds that appeared 
 on our coast ; but out of eight or ten which came under 
 my notice at that time, none had attained more than 
 
PEEEGEINE FALCON. 11 
 
 their first year's plumage. Amongst these was a fine 
 young female, picked up on October 12th, on the Yar- 
 mouth line, near Reedham, having one wing broken at 
 the shoulder-joint, and a deep cut at the base of the 
 upper mandible, from coming in contact with the tele- 
 graph wires. The poor bird, when found, was still alive, 
 but did not long survive its injuries ; whether these were 
 received from its coming in contact with the wires on 
 its nocturnal migration, as occurs so frequently with 
 snipe and woodcocks during the 'autumn, or from its 
 too impetuous chase of some intended victim during 
 the day, it is difficult to determine most probably 
 the former, as an instance is recorded by Messrs, 
 Gurney and Fisher of a young peregrine being killed 
 in the autumn of 1843, by (( dashing during the 
 night against one of the light-houses on our eastern 
 coast." In the early part of 1862 they were again ex- 
 tremely numerous, seven or eight specimens being killed 
 between January and March, in the neighbourhood of 
 Swaffham. Amongst these were a pair of old birds, 
 in magnificent plumage ; and a fine old female was 
 shot at Guiiton, near Cromer, on the 12th Februar}^ 
 and an adult male at Weybourne, on the 3rd of April. 
 In the following autumn two old males and one female 
 were killed in different parts of the county. In January, 
 1863, an old female was shot at Horsey, in the act of 
 carrying off a waterhen, the hawk weighing lib. 15 oz., 
 and its quarry 13oz. A singular instance of deformity 
 in the beak of this falcon, arising probably from some 
 accident, occurred in an old female killed at Woodrising, 
 in April, 1859, by Major Weyland's gamekeeper. In 
 this bird the upper mandible, instead of projecting over 
 the lower with a sharp hooked point, rested upon the 
 under mandible, both being equal in length and much 
 thickened and blunted at the tips. The cutting edges 
 of the beak, however, did not meet at the sides, but had 
 o2 
 
12 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 a hole quite through, looking very much as if a stray shot 
 had caused all the mischief and thus given to the whole 
 head a much more Corvine than Raptorial character. 
 
 FALCOIOIY IN NORFOLK. 
 
 Of the " decline and fall" of falconry in this county, 
 there is but little to add to the interesting and elaborate 
 paper on the subject in Lubbock's " Fauna of Norfolk." 
 The introduction of fire-arms, with the increased faci- 
 lities thus afforded for the killing of game, was no doubt 
 the primary cause of its gradual decay, and the rage for 
 c ' preserving" of late years has given the last blow to this 
 once Regal sport ; whilst the laws which now protect the 
 partridge and pheasant, represent, in our own times, 
 the pains and penalties which formerly attached to 
 the theft or destruction of either hawk or falcon.* Yet, 
 
 * The late Col. Hamilton, in his " Eeminiscences of a Sports- 
 man," writing on the history of falconry, remarks " In the 
 34th of Edw. III. it was made felony to steal a hawk ; to take its 
 eggs even out of a person's own ground, was punishable with 
 imprisonment for a year and a day, besides a fine at the King's 
 pleasure. In Queen Elizabeth's reign the imprisonment was re- 
 duced to three months, but the offender must find security for seven 
 years, or be in prison till he did." Any person finding a falcon, or 
 any species of hawk, was likewise compelled by law to carry it to 
 the Sheriff of the County, who was bound publicly to announce 
 the fact that its owner might claim it, and if not claimed within 
 four months it became the property of the finder if a qualified 
 person; if not he received a reward and the Sheriff kept the hawk. 
 The church even at times extended its formidable ^Bgis over these 
 favoured birds, as in the above year of the reign of Edward the III. 
 " The Bishop of Ely excommunicated certain persons for stealing 
 a hawk that was sitting upon her perch in the cloisters of Ber- 
 mondsey, in Southwark; but this piece of sacrilege was com- 
 mitted during Divine service, and the hawk was the property of 
 the Bishop." The costliness also of this ancient pastime may be 
 gathered from the fact, that " In the reign of James the 1st, Sir 
 Thos. Monson gave 1,000 (about 2,000 of our present money) 
 for a cast of hawks." 
 
FALCONRY IN NORFOLK. 13 
 
 though once deemed of so great value as to form no small 
 item in a heavy ransom, or the tenure by which estates 
 were held of the crown, or important privileges were 
 secured to individuals, the noble falcon and his doomed 
 race are now included in the list of vermin, and the price 
 set upon their heads depends solely on their rarity in 
 the collectors' hands. Well might some patriarch of 
 the tribe exclaim 
 
 " Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis." 
 The late Lord Berners (Col. Wilson) kept heron hawks* 
 at his seat at Didlington for many years. These were 
 afterwards supported by subscription, but were given up 
 in 1836, and since that time falconry has ceased to be 
 practised in this county, except as a private amuse- 
 ment by one or two individuals. Mr. Newcome, of 
 Feltwell Hall, near Brandon, who probably knows more 
 of the science of falconry than any man in England, 
 continued to keep hawks for some years after the sub- 
 scription club at the Loo had ceased to exist. In 1843, 
 Mr. Newcome possessed two remarkable heron hawks, 
 De Euyter and Sultan, which were brought from Holland 
 by the falconer Pel, and having been flown one season 
 at Loo, took in their third year, at Hockwold and 
 Loo, 54 herons, and in the following season of 1844, 
 in the same localities, 57 herons. De Ruyter was 
 unfortunately lost in that year, on Lakenheath warren, 
 when flown at a rook ; but in the autumn of 1845, 
 Sultan caught 25 rooks and three herons. This splen- 
 
 * Messrs. Salvin and Brodrick, in their highly interesting work 
 on " Falconry in the British Isles," remark, that these falcons were 
 " Passage hawks" from Holland, and the stock was kept up by 
 obtaining fresh birds from that country. On one occasion, soon 
 after the breaking out of the war with France, the falconers, who 
 were bringing a supply of falcons to Didlington, were taken pri- 
 soners, and sent to the Hague, and subsequently to Paris." They 
 also state that " The hawk-catchers in Holland have, on several 
 occasions, taken hawks that have escaped from Norfolk." 
 
14 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 did bird, in full hawking gear, with hood, bells, and 
 jesses complete, is still preserved in a glass case at 
 Hockwold Hall, in honour of his high achievements. Mr. 
 Newcome had also at one time several trained merlins, 
 which exhibited remarkable sport in hawking skylarks, 
 and two female sparrowhawks, which were flown at 
 blackbirds with great success; of late years, however, 
 he has done but little in his favourite pastime, but a 
 small club, with Eobt. Barr as falconer, has been recently 
 formed, of which Capt. Salvin, Mr. Newcome, Mr. 
 Knox, Mr. C. Duncombe, and one or two more, are mem- 
 bers, and the hawks, numbering about a dozen, are now 
 at Feltwell, preparatory to their being flown in the 
 spring on Salisbury plain. John Pel above alluded 
 to, one of the few professional falconers still existing 
 in England, is descended from a Dutch family long 
 noted for their skill in that particular science, and, 
 as stated by " Peregrine," (to whose account of e( Pel's 
 hawking career," published in the "Field" of 1860, 
 I am indebted for many of the following particulars,) 
 was born at Lowestofb in 1815, his father being a 
 native of Yalkenswaard, in Holland,* and master 
 falconer to the Didlington subscription club. About 
 1830 both father and son resided at Lowestoffc, where 
 they kept hawks for the Duke of Leeds and the Earl 
 of Aberdeen, and subsequently both of them entered 
 the service of the Duke of St. Alban's at Highgate. In 
 1842 the younger Pel had the management of Mr. New- 
 come's hawks at Hockwold, and in the summer of 1845 
 
 * Mr. Lubbock refers to a letter from Sir Anthony Pell, 1621, 
 as given by Pennant in the appendix to his birds, forbidding 
 " Any one importing hawks to move them from ship-board or the 
 custom-house, until the said Pell, master falconer, should have 
 made his selection for the King's use," and adds " It is singular 
 that the last family practising the art of hawking in England, 
 natives of Yalkenswaard, should be Pell or Pells." 
 
FALCONET IN NORFOLK. 15 
 
 proceeded to Iceland for the Duke of Leeds, to procure 
 the larger falcons, and succeeded in taking and bringing 
 over fifteen birds (falcons and tiercels), of which eight 
 were presented by the Duke to the Loo club, and the 
 remaining seven were retained by his Grace under the 
 management of Pel. Of late years he has resided 
 chiefly in Norfolk, only occasionally going abroad on 
 professional visits, and is still falconer to the Duke of 
 St. Albans (Hereditary Grand Falconer of England), 
 and keeps his hawks at Lakenheath. No locality in 
 England is perhaps better suited for hawking than 
 the wide open country in the neighbourhood of Bran- 
 don, where, selecting a somewhat rising ground, the 
 flight of both falcon and quarry may be watched as 
 far as the eye can reach. Through the kindness of my 
 friend Mr. Newcome, I have more than once enjoyed 
 the now rare opportunity of witnessing a flight at 
 rooks or pigeons, admiring the graceful circlings and 
 fierce stoops of the peregrines, and the skill and mastery 
 of the professional trainer. Wm. Barr, junr., a Scotch 
 falconer, visited Norwich in 1851, and gave a public 
 exhibition of his art on Hellesdon brakes and other 
 places close to the city. The crowds, however, attracted 
 by the 'novelty of the exhibition, interfered materially 
 with the sport itself, as the pigeons thrown up took 
 refuge in the carriages or amongst the crowd, whilst 
 overhead the falcon, " waiting on," was frightened and 
 confused by the noisy throng, and even if a successful 
 stoop was made, it needed all the agility and strength 
 of the falconer to keep back the populace whilst trans- 
 ferring the falcon from the quarry to his wrist. 
 At the present time, the only hawking establishment 
 existing in this part of the country is that of the 
 Maharajah Duleep Singh, a most enthusiastic sports- 
 man, who recently purchased the Elveden estate, for 
 many years the property of the late Mr. Newton. 
 
16 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 In the L'Estrange " Household Book" are many 
 curious entries with reference to the purchase, keep,, 
 training,, and other expenses of the various hawks used 
 at that time (1519 to 1578), at Hunstanton Hall, in- 
 cluding peregrines, goshawks, hobbies, and sparrow- 
 hawks, for whose care and training a falconer was kept, 
 who probably occupied the same position on the estate as 
 a head gamekeeper at the present time. In the eleventh 
 and following years of the reign of King Henry the 
 YHIth we find 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Itm pd to John Maston for mewyng and kepyng of 
 ye goshawks from Chrostyde (the feast of the 
 exaltation of the Holy Cross) unto ye xvth daye of 
 
 JSTovembre x 
 
 Itm pd at Lynne whan ye went on hawkyng to Wool- 
 
 ferton wood for fyer and dryncke viij 
 
 Itm pd yr ye sam tym for horsmete xiij 
 
 Itm delyvyd to hym the sam daye for a byll alowyd 
 
 to Edward for hanks mett vij xj 
 
 Itm in reward same day to Saunder the fawken 
 for the tyme that he was wt me, or he entred 
 
 into wage xvj 
 
 For yor goshawk. Itm delyved to yow the xxij day 
 of August by the hands of David to bye yor 
 
 goshawk xl 
 
 Itm delyved you the xxij day of January, when yow 
 
 went a hawking wt my uncle Koger Woodhous ... vij vi 
 
 The following entries also indicate the kinds of game 
 at which the different species of hawks were flown : 
 
 Itm a fesant kyllyd wt ye goshawke. 
 
 Itm vj rabetts of store and ij ptriches kylled wt ye sperhawke. 
 
 Itm xiiij larks kyllyd wt the hobbye. 
 
 Itm xij larks kyllyd with the hobbye. 
 
 Itm ij ptrychys kyllyd wythe the hauks. 
 
 Itm ij fesands and ij ptrychys kyllyd wt the hauks. 
 
 Particular mention is made of the crossbow through- 
 out the earlier portion of these records, and the birds 
 
FALCONRY IN NORFOLK. 17 
 
 killed with that weapon, as, cranes, mallards, wild 
 geese, bitterns, herons, swans, and bustards, and in 
 one instance " viij mallards, a bustard, and j hernsewe" 
 are entered as killed at the same time. Soon, however, 
 these entries become less frequent, although notes on 
 the hawks and spaniels continue, till in 1533, in the 
 24th year of the reign of King Henry the VHIth, the 
 crossbow at last gives place to the gun, and thence- 
 forward are chronicled only the victims of the new 
 weapon, destined to work as great a change in our 
 national sports as in the more terrible arena of the 
 battle-field. Large birds, or those most easy of approach, 
 would appear by the following extracts to have, been 
 specially sought by the yet unskilled gunner, whose 
 unwieldy piece, with its slow and often uncertain dis- 
 charge, must have made even " sitting" shots a difficulty, 
 whilst as yet the higher art of a shooting flying" had 
 scarcely dawned as a possibility on the mind of the 
 sportsman. 
 
 Itm a watter hen kylled wt the gonne. 
 
 Itm a cranne kylled wt the gonne. 
 
 Itm ij mallards kylled wt the gonne. 
 
 Itm a wydgyn kylled wt the gonne. 
 
 Itm pd the xxviij day of February to Southhous for yor sadell xiiij 3 - 
 and for gn powder and other things that he bought for you at 
 London, xxj 8 - x d> 
 
 Itm delyved the same daye to Barms of London to bey gun- 
 powder wthall, xx 8 -* 
 
 * " Extracts from the Household and Privy Purse Accounts of 
 the Lestranges of Hunstanton, from A.D. 1519 to A.D. 1578 ;" Com- 
 municated to the Royal Society of Antiquaries by Daniel Gurney, 
 Esq., F.S.A., in a letter to Sir Henry Ellis, K.H., F.E.S., Secretary. 
 March 14th, 1833. 
 
18 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 FALCO SUBBUTEO, Linnaeus. 
 HOBBY. 
 
 A very regular summer visitant, though in small 
 numbers, arriving in June, and is met with both 
 in adult and immature plumage. Mr. Lubbock speaks 
 of its breeding at Hargham in the nest of a crow, 
 and Mr. Spalding has taken its eggs, both at Thorpe 
 Abbots, near Harleston, and at Kingswood, near 
 Broome, invariably from crows' nests, the eggs of 
 the orows being purposely removed to insure the 
 occupation of the nest by the hobbies later in the 
 season. A raven's nest, in High Grove, Geldestone, 
 (Suffolk,) was also yearly tenanted by hobbies after the 
 young ravens had flown. Of late years of course such 
 instances have become more and more scarce, but a pair 
 were known to breed at Bixley, near Norwich, in 1844 ; 
 and the following facts respecting a similar occurrence 
 in 1853, show the courageous and persevering adhe- 
 rence of this species to any favourite locality. A pair 
 of these birds were observed to frequent a wood at 
 Hockering, and, doomed by the very name of hawk, the 
 male soon fell a victim to the keeper's gun. A second 
 and a third time the female returned with a fresh mate, 
 but only to share the fate of its predecessors ; still she 
 managed, herself, to escape all dangers, and, undaunted 
 by her repeated losses, returned with a fourth consort 
 to the same spot. This time the persecution was stayed, 
 and the gallant little bird was allowed to rear her 
 young ones undisturbed, which were seen later in the 
 season flying about the wood. Of the three males 
 which were brought successively to a bird preserver 
 in this city, the first was in immature, the others 
 in adult plumage; and it is the more remarkable 
 
HOBBY. BED-FOOTED FALCON. 19 
 
 that the female in this instance should so soon and 
 so often have obtained fresh partners of her own 
 species, since the hobby, as above stated, is by 
 no means numerous throughout the county. In the 
 " Zoologist," p. 248, a hobby is recorded to have 
 occurred at Yarmouth as early as the month of 
 February, and a female was shot near this city, on the 
 20th of March, 1858, and one at Northrepps, on the 25th 
 of March, 1863 ; but these are amongst the very few 
 instances in which I have known this species to deviate 
 from the extreme regularity with which it annually 
 visits us in June, and even one at least of these birds 
 had received such injuries as had most probably com- 
 pelled it to remain here throughout the winter. The 
 young male (No. lO.b) in the museum collection was shot 
 whilst perched on St. John's Maddermarket church, in 
 the very heart of this city. 
 
 FALCO RUFIPES, Beseke. 
 BED-FOOTED FALCON. 
 
 I can find no earlier record of the occurrence of this 
 rare species in Norfolk than the year 1830, when the 
 following note, by the late Mr. Yarrell, appears in 
 London's " Magazine of Natural History" (vol. iv., p. 
 116) : " Three examples of this small falcon were 
 observed together at Horning, Norfolk, in the month 
 of May, 1830, and fortunately all three were obtained. 
 On examination they proved to be an adult male and 
 female, and a young male in immature plumage. A 
 fourth specimen has also been shot in Holkham park." 
 Of the three first I am now able to give somewhat fuller 
 particulars than have yet been published, the gentleman 
 who shot them, Mr. Heath, of Ludham Hall, having 
 kindly answered all my enquiries. They had been 
 
 D2 
 
20 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 noticed for some days before they were killed frequent- 
 ing the arable lands adjoining the marshes, where they 
 perched on the small bushes stuck up in the fields to 
 prevent partridge netting, or settled on the ground 
 apparently searching the soil for worms or insects. The 
 old male and female were presented by Mr. Heath to 
 Mr. Gurney, who still has them at Catton; and the 
 young male to the late Mr. Edward Lombe, of Melton, 
 whose fine collection is now at Wymondham, in the 
 possession of his daughter, Mrs. E. P. Clarke.* In 
 1832, as stated by the Messrs. Paget,f another example 
 was obtained on a marsh near Breydon, which came into 
 the possession of Mr. D. Preston, of Yarmouth; but 
 these gentlemen were decidedly in error in stating that 
 Mr. Heath's specimens were procured "in the same 
 year." No others appear to have been recognised from 
 that date until August, 1843, when an adult male, pre- 
 sented to our museum by Mr. J. H. G-urney (No. 11), 
 was procured near Norwich, and had the remains of 
 various beetles in its stomach. This is, I believe, the 
 last that has occurred in this county, but an immature 
 specimen, in my own collection, was shot near the 
 Somerleyton station, on the Lowestoft line (Suffolk), as 
 recently as the 12th of July, 1862. The orange-legged 
 hobby, as this species is sometimes called, may be dis- 
 tinguished at any age from that last described by its 
 white talons. 
 
 * I have also a further corroboration of Mr. Heath's state- 
 ment in the following note, made by Mr. Lombe, in his copy of 
 "Bewick's Birds," most kindly extracted for me, with many 
 others, by Mrs. Clarke : " They were mostly seen in the middle 
 of a fallow field, and the female was shot flying from the thorns. 
 The male (immature) now in my collection was shot from an oak in 
 the same field. The male (mature) shot on a heap of thorns. The 
 stomach contained insects." 
 
 f "A sketch of the Natural History of Yarmouth and its 
 neighbourhood." By C. J. and James Paget, 1834. 
 
MERLIN. KESTREL. 21 
 
 FALCO JESALON, Gmelin. 
 MEKLIK 
 
 The Merlin still continues to visit us in autumn, 
 though in small numbers, appearing chiefly in the month 
 of October, but specimens are occasionally met with 
 throughout the winter, and sometimes, though rarely, in 
 March. Adult birds of both sexes have been always con- 
 sidered rare, more especially the elegant little males with 
 their " pinions of glossy blue." The following are the 
 only examples in full plumage that have come under 
 my notice of late years : an adult female, in my own 
 collection, shot in a garden on the Earlham-road, near 
 this city, in October, 1852; an old male in very beautiful 
 plumage killed at Winterton, in October, 1856; and 
 another at Melton, near Norwich, in October, 1859. 
 Several of these little hawks were observed in different 
 parts of the county during the intense frosts in the 
 winter of 1860-1, but apparently the only specimen 
 obtained was a fine male, killed at Shottesham, on 
 the 16th of January. In the following winter, however, 
 of 1861-2, when the weather was almost equally severe, 
 an adult pair were killed in January, at Merton, and a 
 female, also adult, about the same time, at Martham. 
 
 FALCO TINNUNCULUS, Linnaeus. 
 KESTREL. 
 
 The Kestrel, in spite of all its persecutors, is still, I am 
 happy to say, a common resident amongst us, though by 
 no means so numerous as in the south of England, where 
 three or four may be frequently seen at a time circling 
 
22 BIRDS OF NOBFOLK. 
 
 over the open downs. Migratory specimens from the 
 north also appear on our coast in considerable numbers 
 towards the end of autumn, when many are trapped and 
 shot on the hills by the sea-side, particularly about 
 Northrepps and Beeston, near Cromer. It is probable, 
 I think, that some of our native birds proceed farther 
 south during severe weather; and I believe, as a rule, 
 like our common song thrush, they quit altogether 
 the more exposed parts of the county in the depth of 
 winter. In more sheltered localities, however, they are 
 observed at all seasons. A pair which regularly frequent 
 the ruined steeple of Keswick Church, near Norwich, 
 have been seen by my friend, Mr. Edwards, skimming 
 over the fields in search of prey whilst the snow was 
 lying deep; and the thrashing out of a stack in 
 autumn or winter is sure to bring them at once to 
 the spot to seize, at a respectful distance, on the mice 
 thus expelled from their snug quarters. That some 
 kestrels carry off young partridges, as well as other 
 small birds, during the nesting season, is too well 
 authenticated as a fact for even their warmest advocates 
 to gainsay; yet, still the amount of good which the 
 species generally effects throughout the year by destroy- 
 ing large quantities of mice, moles, insects, and worms, 
 should entitle it rather to protection at the hands of the 
 farmer than annihilation for occasional raids upon the 
 keepers' preserves, whilst every true lover of nature 
 would plead for so striking an object in our rural 
 scenery as the hovering kestrel, poised on quivering 
 wings, or swooping down upon its prey. The museum 
 collection is rich in local specimens, showing the differ- 
 ences in plumage of age and sex, and some are occa- 
 sionally netted by our bird-catchers from their habit of 
 pouncing down upon the " call" birds. 
 
GOSHAWK. 23 
 
 ASTUR PALUMBARIUS (Linnaeus). 
 
 GOSHAWK. 
 
 The Goshawk appears occasionally both in spring 
 and autumn, but at uncertain intervals, and has of late 
 years become even more scarce than formerly. The 
 adult male (No. 14) in our museum was killed at Colton 
 in 1841 ; and the young female (No. 14.b) at Hing- 
 ham in the following year ; but so rarely are the old 
 birds met with in this district that the above is probably 
 the only example in mature plumage known with cer- 
 tainty to have been killed in Norfolk. An old male, how- 
 ever, in my possession, formerly in the collection of the 
 late Eev. C. Penrice, of Plumstead, was, I believe, taken 
 either in this or the adjoining county, although no record 
 remains as to the exact locality.* Of more recent 
 occurrence may be noticed a young bird killed at Stratton 
 Strawless in November, 1850, and an immature female, 
 shot in November, 1851, near Norwich, whilst preying on 
 a hare ; a male, also immature, in very beautiful plumage, 
 taken at Catfield in April, 1854 ; a female in its first 
 year's plumage, killed at Hempstead about the 23rd of 
 November, 1858 ; and a young bird trapped at Kiddles- 
 worth, in the autumn of 1863. Another female, much 
 resembling this last specimen, was shot by Mr. John 
 Gould, the celebrated ornithologist, in February, 1859, 
 whilst staying with Sir Morton Peto, at Somerleyton, 
 in Suffolk. 
 
 * Mr. T. M. Spalding possesses a very beautiful male Goshawk, 
 shot by himself in a wood, at Benacre, Suffolk, January 12th, 1841. 
 This bird has the tail brown with cross bars, and the whole of the 
 under parts transversely barred on a white ground. In the 
 Dennis collection, at Bury St. Edmund's, there is also a young 
 bird, said to have been killed at Aldborough. 
 
24 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 ACCIPITER NISUS (Linnaeus). 
 SPAKKOWHAWK. 
 
 That so rapacious a bird as the little Sparrowhawk 
 should not be a very abundant resident in a county where 
 game is so strictly preserved as in Norfolk, can scarcely be 
 a matter of surprise, but on the contrary it is rather re- 
 markable that so many are still resident with us through- 
 out the year, though, from the large number at times 
 brought to our bird staffers during the autumn and winter 
 months, I feel sure that these birds, as well as kestrels, 
 migrate to our coast from more northern localities. 
 Under this impression, I carefully noted down the age 
 and sex of every bird of this species that came under my 
 notice between November, 1862, and the following 
 April; and of some twenty-four specimens, at least 
 eighteen were blue barred females, four immature, and 
 two old males, with the red bars of their mature 
 plumage. So large a number of adult females appear- 
 ing consecutively throughout the winter season is, I 
 think, pretty good evidence of their foreign origin, 
 whilst the paucity of young birds in the above list is 
 easily accounted for by the fact, that when killed they 
 are generally thrown away, being hardly thought 
 handsome enough for preservation. The beautiful 
 little male in its adult state, with rich reddish bars 
 on the breast and flanks, is rare in Norfolk, and 
 very old females, with the same chesnut tints, are even 
 more scarce, not one of the specimens above referred to 
 showing any indication of this third change. Anecdotes 
 are not wanting in this district of the boldness of the 
 sparrowhawk in pursuing its prey through the windows 
 of dwelling-houses, or snatching up young partridges or 
 
SPARKOWHAWK. . 25 
 
 chickens, in the very face of a spectator, and their fierce- 
 ness in defence of their nests and young is well known. 
 Mr. T. M. Spalding, who has had many opportunities 
 of observing the habits of most of our British Raptor es 
 in a wild state, assures me that on one occasion, when 
 climbing to the nest of a pair of these birds, the female 
 kept dashing past him again and again, almost brush- 
 ing his face with her wings, and on the arrival of the 
 male, attracted by her cries, she became so violent that, 
 as he laid his hand on a branch near the nest, she 
 swooped over it, leaving the marks of her talons in deep 
 scratches. The hobby in like cases is very fierce, but 
 differs in its actions, pitching up and down in its 
 anxious flight instead of swooping horizontally over the 
 intruder's head. 
 
 A curious instance of the sparrowhawk pairing with 
 the hobby occurred at Witchingham in 1851, as re- 
 corded by Mr. L. H. Irby in the "Zoologist," p. 3276. 
 In this case five eggs were laid in a ring-dove's nest, 
 placed in a fir tree, of which one was taken by a game- 
 keeper, who unfortunately shot both the old birds as 
 soon as the other eggs were hatched, thus leaving the 
 young to starve, and losing the opportunity of observing 
 the result as to plumage of this cross breeding. The 
 egg first procured from the nest is described as having 
 "more red about it than is usual in those of the 
 sparrowhawk, but less than in those of the hobby." 
 Mr. Irby also refers to a similar fact in another part of 
 the county, where the birds were shot before any eggs 
 were laid. The great difference in size between the 
 male and female in most of the Eaptorial tribe is in 
 none, perhaps, so conspicuous as in this species. A 
 pair which were weighed by Mr. J. H. Grurney, exhibited 
 the following extraordinary difference : Male, 5 oz. ; 
 female, 10 J oz., being more than double the weight of 
 her partner. A young male sparrowhawk, perfectly 
 
 
 
26 BIKDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 white, excepting a few dark feathers on the back, was 
 killed at Eiddlesworth in 1851; and, together with 
 another specimen of the same variety obtained a few 
 weeks later, is preserved in the collection of Mr. Thorn- 
 hill, of that place. The first of these is described in the 
 " Zoologist," p. 3276, by Mr. Edward Newton, as having 
 the beak white, but the irides and legs as usual. This 
 species is occasionally netted by our bird-catchers in 
 the same manner as the kestrels before alluded to. 
 
 MILVUS ICTINUS, Savigny. 
 
 KITE. 
 
 The Kite, once the terror of our farm-yards, is so no 
 more ; the " war of extermination" against the race hav- 
 ing fairly banished it from the county of Norfolk, and, 
 only as an accidental visitant on its migratory course, 
 can it be included in the present list. In former years 
 this bird occasionally remained with us to breed, and 
 Mr. Lubbock, referring to the fact of its doing so in 
 Huntingdonshire,* observes "It used half a century 
 
 * These birds have, I believe, ceased to breed in Huntingdon- 
 shire for some years, where Monk's wood was formerly a favourite 
 haunt. Mr. Alfred Newton, in his " Ootheca Wolleyana," page 112, 
 records three eggs in the late Mr. Wolley's collection, as taken in 
 that county two in 1843 and one in 1844, with the following 
 extract from Mr. Wolley's notes appended to the latter : " Kites 
 are becoming very rare near Alconbury hill. I am not sure that I 
 saw one this year during my five days' stay at Sawtry." From 
 Lincolnshire, as I learn from the same work, eggs of this bird 
 were received in 1853, 54, 56, and 57, but none more recently ; and 
 to the last record the following note is added by Mr. Newton : 
 " Mr. Adrian informed my brother that the kites in Lincolnshire 
 were becoming scarcer every year. This he attributed partly to 
 the destruction of the birds, and partly to that of their favourite 
 haunts, by the felling and stubbing of the woods, in two of which 
 one hundred acres had been cut down since the beginning of the 
 year, and this in the best locality." 
 
KITE. COMMON BUZZARD. 27 
 
 back to be rather common in Norfolk/' being used in 
 the days of hawking as a prey to the nobler falcons, 
 and Messrs. Brodrick and Salvin (Falconry in the British 
 Isles,) speak of Thetford warren as a favourite locality 
 for " Kite hawking/' which was pursued by the Earl of 
 Orford and Colonel Thornton in 1773, and by Mr. 
 Colquhoun, of Wretham, about 1775. Probably the 
 last specimen obtained in this county was a female, 
 trapped at Croxton, near Thetford, in November, 1852. 
 The sternum of this bird is in the collection of Mr. Alfred 
 Newton, of Magdalene College, Cambridge, although 
 I have been unable satisfactorily to trace the skin; 
 but either this or one killed on the Suffolk side of 
 Thetford warren in 1857 is, I believe, (unticketed,) in the 
 Dennis collection, which was recently purchased for 
 the Bury museum. A splendid old male in Mr. T. M. 
 Spalding's* collection at Westleton, was shot at Caistor, 
 near Yarmouth, about five and twenty years back, but 
 this species is described by the Messrs. Paget, in 1834, 
 as "very rare" in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth; 
 indeed it appears to have] been always more plentiful 
 on the other side of the county. Sir Thomas Browne 
 accounts for their being scarce in the neighbourhood of 
 Norwich in his time " because of the plenty of Ravens." 
 
 BUTEO VULGARIS, Bechstein. 
 COMMON BUZZARD. 
 
 The Common Buzzard visits us annually in small num- 
 bers both in spring and autumn, but rarely in mature 
 plumage. It has probably ceased for some years to breed 
 
 * Mr. Spalding informs me that the Kev. J. Fair, of Gilling- 
 ham, Norfolk, has two Kites killed at Benacre, in the adjoining 
 county, one of them within the last ten years. This bird was 
 trapped by one claw, and the readiness with which they are attracted 
 by any bait is probably the chief cause of their extermination. 
 E 2 
 
28 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 in this county, although, when the term common was 
 really applicable to this species, it was frequently known 
 to do so, and the large woods at Hethel and Ashwelthorpe 
 are specially mentioned by Lubbock as amongst its former 
 haunts. A single bird has, however, been observed for the 
 last 14 or 15 years to return regularly to Cossey Park, 
 near Norwich, where I learn from Mr. Fountaine, of 
 Easton, it has been allowed to remain unmolested. A 
 very singular variety, a young male, was trapped at 
 Holkham in 1855, exhibiting a great deal of white about 
 the head, with whitey-brown feathers dotted all over the 
 body, the party colour extending even to the talons ; and 
 a somewhat similar example occurred in the autumn of 
 1861. The only adult specimens that have come under 
 my own notice, during the last twelve years, are a 
 remarkably dark-coloured female in the Dennis col- 
 lection* at Bury, killed near Thetford in 1852 ; one 
 shot at Filby on the 13th of February, 1861 ; and one at 
 Northrepps in 1862 (No. 18. a) in the Norwich museum. 
 
 * The Eev. J. B. P. Dennis, whose sudden and premature death in 
 January, 1861, at the age of 45, was a great loss to science in more 
 than one field of research, was not only a most zealous and accom- 
 plished naturalist, but an amateur taxidermist of very considerable 
 excellence, and though residing chiefly at Bury St. Edmund's, 
 paid constant visits to Yarmouth at certain seasons, for the pur- 
 pose of collecting some of the rarer British birds wljich occur on 
 Breydon. At the same time, whilst a good many of his specimens 
 were thus the product of his own gun, he also left directions in 
 his absence with old John Thomas, the noted Yarmouth gunner, 
 to purchase anything out of the common way obtained in that 
 neighbourhood. By this means many good birds, which from the 
 local interest attaching to them, one could have wished had found 
 a place in the Norwich museum, passed into the adjoining county, 
 and in their admirable attitudes, and perfect condition of plumage, 
 (the Raptores more especially), testify to the patience and skill of 
 this scientific collector. Most of the cases are very carefully 
 ticketted with the age, sex, and locality of each specimen; but 
 as before alluded to in reference to the kite, such notes are 
 here and there wanting, and as too often happens under similar 
 
COMMON BUZZARD. ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. 29 
 
 Messrs. Gurney and Fisher state that a bird of this 
 species, killed near Cromer, ' e was so closely pursued by 
 two young sparrowhawks, that the latter were both 
 killed by a discharge from the second barrel of the 
 same gun with which the buzzard had just been shot." 
 
 ARCHIBUTEO LAGOPUS (Linnaeus). 
 KOUGH-LEGGED BUZZAED. 
 
 The Eough-legged Buzzard, distinguished by having 
 the tarsi feathered down to the toes, appears here in 
 
 circumstances, the "master spirit" having passed away, complete 
 identification is no longer possible. Although locally his memory 
 will be chiefly associated with the " Dennis Collection of Birds," 
 he was even better known to the scientific world by his micro- 
 scopical researches into the structure of bone. On this subject 
 the Bury Post remarks, in a brief memoir published in 1861 : 
 " His investigations into the internal structure of bone may indeed 
 be considered to have opened a new door to natural science. A 
 few of its results are given in his two papers contributed in 
 1857 to the Journal of Microscopical Science, and briefly noticed 
 at the time in our columns, the value of which has been re- 
 cognised by Professors Henslow and Owen, and other savans. 
 # # # jje says in one of his papers, * each bone is a stu.dy in 
 itself, and involves a knowledge of the muscles that move it, as 
 well as of the use it is designed for; and in the bird of flight 
 the shape of the wing, the extent of surface covered by the quill 
 feathers, whether it is pointed or round, whether the secondary 
 quills are strong or weak, are all matters of deep consideration 
 and comparison with the internal construction of the bone, which the 
 microscope reveals to the eye.' * * * A single point will show 
 the importance of Mr. Dennis's discovery and the sagacity of the dis- 
 coverer. A number of bones having been secured by one of our 
 University museums, the curator sent the more perfect bones 
 to Professor Owen, and a few minute fragments to Mr. Dennis, 
 stating that nothing was known about them. The Professor and 
 Mr. Dennis arrived at the same conclusion, ascribing the bones to 
 the same fossil reptile." 
 
30 BIEDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 autumn and throughout the winter ; but the specimens 
 obtained are nearly all in immature plumage. Indeed, 
 so rare is the occurrence of this bird in its mature dress, 
 that I know of but four specimens killed in this district 
 which can be properly called adult, and these have 
 occurred in each instance so immediately on the borders 
 of the two counties, that they may be claimed equally 
 for Norfolk or Suffolk. The first in the coUection of Mr. 
 Newcome, of Feltwell, was trapped at Santon-Down- 
 ham in July, 1848 (" Zoologist," p. 2382) ; the second 
 in the possession of Mr. Thomas Dix, of West Harling, 
 was taken on Thetford warren in November, 1857; and 
 another from the same locality is in the hands of Mr. 
 Doubleday, of Epping, as I have lately ascertained 
 through my friend Mr. Dix ; whilst the fourth is in Mr. 
 Gurney's collection at Catton, together with a less 
 matured bird, obtained at the same time, some few years 
 back. In the cross-barred markings of the thighs and 
 flanks, the bars on the lower part of the tail and the 
 bluish tinge in the feathers of the back and wings (but 
 this more especially in the first and second), these birds 
 closely resemble the adult specimens from Lapland, in 
 the Norwich museum, collected by the late Mr. Wolley, 
 to whom British naturalists are indebted for the means 
 of pointing out the true difference in plumage betwixt 
 the young and the old in this species. These buzzards 
 vary considerably in numbers in different seasons, being in 
 some years very scarce, and in others visiting us in great 
 quantities, as was particularly the case in the winter of 
 1839 and 1840, when, according to Messrs. Gurney and 
 Fisher, " During the three months of November, Decem- 
 ber, and January, no less than forty-seven specimens 
 were ascertained to have been taken within eight miles 
 of the town of Thetford, besides many others which 
 were procured elsewhere." Since that date but few had 
 been observed from year to year until the autumn of 
 
ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. 31 
 
 1858, when they were again numerous ; and between 
 October and January of the following year, about twenty 
 specimens were obtained, principally in the neighbour- 
 hood of Thetford and Yarmouth. A fine male from 
 Hickling in January, 1859, had a mouse and the remains 
 of a rabbit in its stomach. Still more recently, in the 
 autumn and winter of 1862-3, several fine specimens 
 were killed in different parts of the county, one of 
 which contained the recently swallowed remains of a 
 skylark, with its long claws, legs, and beak quite perfect, 
 presenting a decidedly uncomfortable and indigestible 
 appearance. The following curious anecdote is extracted 
 from a MS. volume, relating to the fauna of Yarmouth 
 and its environs, now in the possession of Sir W. J. 
 Hooker, K.H., who most kindly allowed me a perusal 
 of it, and from which I am enabled to supply many 
 interesting notes relating to this district :* " On Friday, 
 December 6th, 1816, the Holkham shooting party re- 
 paired to Warham, and were followed during the greater 
 part of the day by a bird of prey, which constantly 
 attended their motions, and was repeatedly fired at 
 while hovering over their heads, without betraying the 
 smallest symptoms of apprehension and alarm, even 
 though the shot was heard to rattle on its feathers. In 
 the afternoon it descended on a tree, where it allowed 
 Mr. Coke, attended by a boy holding a dead pheasant 
 dangling in his hand, to approach sufficiently near to 
 get a shot at it, which brought it to the ground. It 
 proved to be a most beautiful female specimen of that 
 rare bird the F. lagopus, or rough-legged buzzard, 
 measuring very nearly five feet across the wings, and 
 two feet one inch in length. The male bird had attended 
 
 * " Memoranda touching the Natural History of Yarmouth and 
 its environs, from 1807 to 1840, by Sir W. J. Hooker, K.H., Thos. 
 Penrice, Esq., Mr. Lilly Wigg, Kev. John Burrell, Kev. E. B. 
 Francis, and Dawson Turner, Esq." 
 
32 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 the chase at Wighton, just in the same manner, two 
 days before, and had boldly carried off from a heap of 
 game two partridges. It was next day caught in a trap 
 by the keeper, and both of them were presented by Mr. 
 Coke to the Rev. Gr. Glover, as a most valuable accession 
 to his collection of ( British Birds.' " 
 
 PERNIS APIVORUS (Lmnseus). 
 HONEY BUZZARD. 
 
 The Honey Buzzard, now either more frequent or 
 more observed in its visits than formerly, has been met 
 with in almost every month between May and November, 
 but is mostly an autumnal migrant, at which time the 
 specimens obtained exhibit all the variety of changes 
 that take place in its immature stages of plumage. The 
 adult bird is extremely scarce, so much so that I am 
 aware of but two or three instances of its occurrence in 
 this county, and probably the first ever recognised as 
 such, was a female killed at Holkham in July, 1854, now 
 in the possession of the Earl of Leicester. It has been 
 fully ascertained of late years that the grey head in this 
 species denotes the adult state, all other peculiarities of 
 plumage, from the deep brown of the earliest stage, 
 being either gradual advances to maturity or more 
 often accidental varieties. Usually occurring in small 
 numbers, the year 1841* was remarkable for the large 
 number of these birds obtained in various parts of the 
 county, exhibiting a most singular diversity of plumage, 
 
 * See a paper by "W. E. Fisher, Esq., in the "Zoologist" 
 for 1843, p. 375 " On the changes in the plumage of the Honey 
 Buzzard," with illustrations of specimens killed in Norfolk at that 
 time, some of which are in the Norwich museum. Mr. Fisher, 
 however, was not then aware of the distinctive characteristics of 
 the mature plumage. 
 
HONEY BUZZARD. 33 
 
 but still not including a single adult. About the same 
 time with, the Holkham specimen an immature female 
 was taken at Saxmundham, in Suffolk. The stomachs 
 of both these birds were found well filled with young 
 wasps, and in the latter a few pieces of moss, which had 
 no doubt been accidentally swallowed during the destruc- 
 tion of the wasps' nest. 
 
 In September, 1854, a young male having the head 
 yellowish white, with a few dark patches, and more or 
 less resembling both the varieties in the museum col- 
 lection (British series), was captured at Holkham, and 
 in this case the bird was observed by a keeper to rise 
 from a bank near a wasps' nest, and was trapped soon 
 afterwards on the same spot. With reference to the 
 food of the honey buzzard it may be worthy of remark, 
 that in the stomach and crop of one killed near Lowestoffc 
 in the spring of 1854 (" Zoologist," p. 5249), were 
 found the remains of blackbirds' eggs ; also in the 
 throat of a specimen shot at Lynford, near Thetford, in 
 1851, several small fragments of the eggs of the song 
 thrush. The following are the more recent instances of 
 the appearance of this species on our eastern coast : 
 
 1856. A female killed at Burlingham, in Norfolk, 
 towards the end of June, exhibiting some grey about 
 the head; and two young males, one taken alive at 
 Gunton, and another at Pakefield, near Lowestoffc, 
 Suffolk, a rather favourite locality. 
 
 1857. Two male birds, in full adult plumage, shot 
 on the 25th of August, at Northrepps, near Cromer, 
 now in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney. A third 
 specimen was also seen at the same time, but was not 
 obtained. On the 28th of the same month, an immature 
 female was killed at Salhouse; and on the 7th of 
 September another, also immature, at Woodbastwick, 
 and a young male, about the same time, on the 
 Somerleyton estate, near Lowestoffc, Suffolk. The 
 
34 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 following interesting particulars respecting the North- 
 repps specimens were communicated by Mr. Gurney, 
 at the time, to the Zoologist/' p. 5789 : About 
 9 o'clock this morning, I was riding along a broad green 
 drive which runs through a wood in this place, when a 
 honey buzzard rose from the grass, and alighted on a 
 tree on the edge of the wood. I shortly after sent my 
 .gamekeeper in pursuit of it, and he succeeded in shoot- 
 ing it near the spot where I saw it. Hearing, afterwards, 
 that before he shot this bird it had been seen flying in 
 company with a second specimen, he returned to the 
 drive, and succeeded in shooting that also, very nearly at 
 the same spot where he had procured the first specimen, 
 being guided in his search by loud whistling cries which 
 the bird was making, probably as a call-note to the one 
 which had been previously shot. About two hours later, 
 my son, who was passing through the drive, saw a third 
 specimen rise from the ground and alight on a tree, in a 
 similar manner and nearly in the same place as the first. 
 The gamekeeper was again sent in pursuit; but when 
 he succeeded in getting a view of this bird it had risen 
 so high hi the air that it was out of shot, and continued 
 flying at a great height in an inland direction till it dis- 
 appeared. Both specimens that were procured were in 
 full adult dress, and possessed the beautiful grey tinge 
 on the head which always distinguishes the adult ex- 
 amples of this bird. On dissection both of these speci- 
 mens proved to be male birds. The stomachs of both 
 contained the remains of wasps and wasp-grubs." 
 
 1860. An immature female, in the collection of the 
 Rev. C. J. Lucas, occurred at Burgh, near Yarmouth, 
 during the first week in August. 
 
 1861. A nearly adult bird, having slight traces of 
 grey around the eyes and beak, was killed at Honingham 
 on the 27th of May. 
 
 1863. A young female at Northrepps, also in 
 
HONEY BUZZARD. MARSH HARRIER. 35 
 
 Mr. Gurney's collection, and an immature male near 
 Wymondham, were procured in October about the same 
 date. 
 
 1864. An immature male, in dark brown plumage, 
 prettily spotted about the head and neck with white, 
 each feather being slightly tipped, was killed in Norfolk 
 on the 24th of September, at Gatesend, near Fakenham, 
 and another was seen on several occasions near the same 
 locality. The stomach of this bird contained portions 
 of wasps and honeycomb. 
 
 CIRCUS JERUGINOSUS (Linnaeus). 
 MAESH HAKKIER. 
 
 The habits of the Harriers in this county of late 
 years, have been more influenced by the changes which 
 have taken place in the character of the soil, through 
 extensive drainage, than almost any other group. In 
 the south-western parts of Norfolk, the changes thus 
 effected have resulted in the perfect extermination of 
 our three British species, which formerly bred freely in 
 that portion of the county ; and Mr. Alfred Newton, in 
 a communication to Mr. Hewitson on this subject, 
 observes, (Eggs Brit. Bds., 3rd ed.) " The Moor Buzzard 
 was the first to cease from breeding there, then the Hen 
 Harrier, and lastly the Ash-coloured species." Mr. 
 Newcome, of Feltwell, also informs me that the marsh 
 harrier was always the most scarce in his neighbour- 
 hood. In the eastern districts however, where the 
 broads still retain much of their normal character, 
 these birds have suffered only in degree ; but undoubtedly 
 even here, the formation of railroads through an extensive 
 tract of marshes, together with the facilities thus afforded 
 to a greatly increased number of gunners of visiting the 
 fenny districts, have rendered these birds yearly more and 
 
 F2 
 
36 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 more scarce ; whilst their breeding grounds are confined 
 almost entirely to such quiet and preserved localities as 
 Ranworth, Barton, Horsey, and Hickling, where the 
 shriek of the railway whistle has not yet scared them 
 from their natural haunts. In the above districts a few 
 pairs of the marsh harrier, as I learn from the most 
 reliable sources, remain with us throughout the year, 
 and I feel justified, therefore, in still retaining the 
 moor buzzard, as this species is frequently termed, in 
 the list of residents, whilst at the same time I believe 
 that some migratory specimens occur at times. A nest, 
 with three young ones, was taken near Yarmouth in the 
 grimmer of 1862. Formerly, as Mr. Lubbock observes, this 
 species might fairly be termed " The Norfolk Hawk," so 
 universally was it spread over the whole district of the 
 broads, one or two being always observed in the day, during 
 a shooting or fishing excursion. Adult specimens of this 
 harrier are extremely scarce, the examples obtained being 
 almost invariably young birds, and a large proportion 
 exhibit the straw coloured head, from which they have 
 been termed by some authors the white-headed harpy and 
 bald buzzard. It is, I think, rather generally supposed, 
 that these capped birds are in an intermediate stage of 
 plumage ; but Mr. Newcome, who has had more oppor- 
 tunities of observing our British harriers than most 
 naturalists, assures me that it is very Commonly the 
 case for young moor buzzards to have this light coloured 
 patch on their heads, though it is not always the case, as 
 he believes he has had birds from the same nest, some of 
 which presented this feature and others not. From my 
 own notes of late years, I certainly find that of the 
 specimens brought to our bird-stuflers, those with light 
 coloured heads are more numerous than those which are 
 brown all over, and Mr. Hunt, in his " British Orni- 
 thology" (vol. 1, p. 50), remarks "The Eev. G. Glover 
 favoured us with a note on this species, in which he says, 
 
MARSH HARRIER. HEN HARRIER. 37 
 
 that of two taken from the same nest and brought up 
 tame, one of them had a bright luteous mark on the 
 head, and the other was entirely of a dark chocolate 
 colour. The nest was built on a tree." Of the habits 
 of this harrier in confinement the same author adds 
 " The bird now in the possession of the Rev. G. Glover 
 is particularly fond of rats and mice, which it devours 
 with avidity. In rainy weather it invariably makes a 
 hole in the earth with its beak, for the purpose of re- 
 taining the water, which it seems to enjoy as a luxury." 
 Mr. Rising, of Horsey, possesses a fine adult specimen 
 of the marsh harrier, killed some years back in that 
 neighbourhood, which like the figure in Yarrell's 
 " British Birds," exhibits more grey than brown on the 
 wing coverts, tertials, and tail feathers ; and a splendid 
 old male, purchased at Yarmouth some 15 years ago by 
 Mr. Spalding, of Westleton, has the tail coverts, thighs, 
 and crest, rich reddish yellow, the latter streaked with 
 dark brown, and the tail and wing primaries very grey. 
 These birds may be taken with a steelfall baited with an 
 egg, being apparently very partial to such diet, and 
 there is no doubt that Sir Thos. Browne refers to this 
 species when he says, e< Young otters are sometimes 
 preyed upon by buzzards, having occasionally been found 
 in the nests of these birds. * * * There are the 
 grey and bald buzzards in great numbers, owing to the 
 broad waters and warrens which afford them more food 
 than they can obtain in woodland countries." 
 
 CIRCUS CYANEUS (Linnaeus). 
 HEN HARRIER. 
 
 At no time so numerous in this county as the last 
 species, at least as regards the district of the broads 
 the Hen Harrier can be classed only amongst those 
 
38 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 migratory species which remain, in rare instances, to 
 breed in Norfolk. Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear thus 
 speak of its breeding in the channel fen at Barton : 
 " We have more than once thought ourselves in danger 
 of being attacked by it, when we had approached the 
 place where undoubtedly its nest was concealed;' 5 and 
 Mr. Lubbock says, "The Hen Harrier always breeds 
 here in a few instances, although not a bird of frequent 
 occurrence. Many years back I have known of its 
 breeding at Surlingham." For the last eight or ten 
 years, however, I have known of but one instance 
 of its nesting even in such localities as the marsh 
 harrier and Montagu's still frequent, and although 
 adult females (the ringtail harrier of some authors) and 
 immature specimens occur nearly every year, these are 
 most probably spring and autumn migrants, from their 
 appearance invariably between October and March, and 
 for the most part near the coast. The adult male, in its 
 delicate blueish grey plumage, has been long considered a 
 rarity in this county ; the only one that I had heard of 
 for some years prior to 1859 (now in my collection), was 
 shot at Banworth in November of that year, and a few days 
 later an adult female, most probably the companion bird, 
 was taken close by at Horning and being only winged 
 was sent to Mr. J. H. Gurney, who still has it alive in 
 his aviary. In the following winter, however, a"mongst 
 other rarities that visited this county during the almost 
 unprecedented frosts of December and January, 1860-61, 
 were two fine old males, killed, one at Hickling on 
 the 12th January, the other at Hargham about the 
 same time. The latter bird, although beautifully blue 
 and white, still retained a small patch of brown on 
 the nape of the neck, with a few brown feathers on the 
 back. An unusual number of immature birds, and some 
 old females, were also killed in different parts of the 
 county in 1862. The only recent instance of its nesting 
 
89 
 
 in this county, to my knowledge, as above alluded to, 
 occurred at Horsey in the summer of 1861, when I was 
 informed by Mr. Teasdel, of Yarmouth, that he received 
 two fresh eggs from that neighbourhood, and an old bird, 
 I believe a female, came at the same time into the hands 
 of a Yarmouth game-dealer. Occasionally, but still very 
 rarely, I have found the adult male of this species to 
 exhibit slight dashes of red on the lower parts of the body 
 and under tail coverts, resembling the markings of the 
 old male in C. cineraceus. Mr. Gurney has one of these 
 varieties at Catton, in a case with other Norfolk speci- 
 mens, which are pure grey and white. 
 
 CIRCUS CINERACEUS (Montagu). 
 .MONTAGU'S HAKRIER. 
 
 This species, now fully distinguished in all stages of 
 plumage from that last described, is certainly less rare 
 than is generally supposed, and whilst the hen harrier 
 has ceased almost entirely to nest even in the eastern 
 portion of the county, the ash-coloured harrier, as this 
 bird is also termed, has been known to breed with us in 
 several instances of late years, though not regularly 
 enough to be still looked upon as a resident species. 
 As before remarked also, prior to the entire drainage of 
 the south-western fens, this harrier was not only the 
 most plentiful in that locality, but was the last to quit 
 altogether those once favourite haunts. Probably the 
 last eggs of this species, known to have been laid in 
 that district, were taken from a nest in Feltwell fen 
 on the 9th of June, 1854, the particulars of which 
 are recorded by Mr. Alfred Newton in his " Ootheca 
 Wolleyana," p. 149, with many other interesting notes 
 relating to the ornithology of this and adjoining counties. 
 In July, 1858, a nest, which proved to be of this 
 
40 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 species, was discovered on a rushy marsh near Ranworth 
 decoy. The old birds had been watched by the broad-man 
 flying backwards and forwards with food, and on making 
 a search he soon found the nest containing three young 
 ones. Of these one only was feathered, the next partly 
 feathered mixed with down, and the smallest covered 
 with down only, showing that the hen bird, as is often 
 the case with the Raptorial tribe, had begun sitting 
 after laying the first egg. In the aviary of Mr. Gurney, 
 at Catton park, these nestlings thrived wonderfully, and 
 in a few weeks even the youngest had become fully 
 fledged, and all three exhibited the rich chocolate colour 
 peculiar to their immature plumage, with the facial disk 
 complete. On moulting their mature plumage, two out 
 of the three proved to be males, which lived in confine- 
 ment some four or five years, and one is now preserved 
 in the Norwich museum (British series (No. 23). The 
 female still survives. In May, 1862, two adult females 
 were shot about the same time, one at Surlingham 
 and the other on the coast near Cromer ; and an 
 old male, in Capt. Longe's possession, was killed at 
 Yarmouth in October. In the same year, about the 
 10th of August, three young birds, taken from a 
 nest at Sutton, were brought to one of our Norwich 
 birdstuffers, who, at my suggestion, forwarded a pair 
 alive to Mr. Bartlett, for the Zoological Society's 
 collection in London, and I have just seen (October 12th, 
 1864) a remarkably fine young bird, also taken from a 
 nest at Sutton, in the summer of this year, together 
 with another which died soon after. This specimen 
 is now in the rich chocolate colour of its immature 
 dress, with the irides pearl white (instead of straw 
 yellow as in mature birds), and is in good condition 
 and very tame. In the summer of 1863, an extremely 
 perfect adult male, in Mr. Newcome's collection, was 
 killed at Feltwell; together with five other specimens 
 
41 
 
 of this and the marsh harrier, all killed in the same locality 
 ("Zoologist/ 5 p. 8765); these birds appearing still partial 
 to their former haunts, though now so changed in 
 character and unsuited to their nesting habits. Mr. 
 Lubbock mentions Grimston common, near Lynn, and 
 the neighbourhood of Thetford, (meaning most probably 
 the fen district below Brandon,) as places where the nests 
 of this harrier used to be found ; and the following notice 
 in the "Zoologist," p. 1496, from Mr. C. B. Hunter, 
 of Downham Market, records the occurrence of two 
 nests in that district in 1846 : " On the 23rd of May I 
 took a nest of this rare bird with two eggs in it, and on 
 the 13th of June another nest with two eggs also. The 
 eggs in both were quite fresh, and there would probably 
 have been five in each. The nests were composed of 
 dead grass and sedge laid closely together on the 
 ground. The eggs in one were spotted with brown." 
 The male specimen (No. 23. c) amongst the " British 
 Birds" in the Norwich museum, was taken when young, 
 with four others, from a nest at Feltwell some years 
 back, and attained its present appearance in confine- 
 ment ; and the young and very dark female (No. 23.e) in 
 the same series was killed near Yarmouth, in September, 
 1853, and was most probably bred in that neighbour- 
 hood. This bird is extremely interesting as exhibiting 
 a melanism in the plumage of this species, occasionally, 
 though rarely noticed in foreign as well as British 
 specimens, and which thus, accidentally as it were, com- 
 pletes the chain between the moor buzzard and the 
 ordinary harrier type. Mr. Gurney, who has met with 
 several examples of this variety, informs me that "the 
 old male is of a very dark smoky grey, the female and 
 young an entire purplish chocolate brown." Two 
 French specimens, an adult male and a nestling, will 
 be found in the Eaptorial collection of the Norwich 
 museum, and Mr. Gurney has also seen another female 
 a 
 
42 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 from Abyssinia besides the three following, all killed in 
 England. One immature example, much resembling the 
 Yarmouth bird, preserved in the Canterbury museum, 
 and killed in Kent ; a young male, shot at Selsea, in the 
 Chichester museum ; and a female, most probably adult, 
 but not so dark as the Yarmouth bird in Mr. Newcome's 
 collection, shot by himself some years back, from a nest 
 in Feltwell sedge-fen, in this county. To these last I 
 can also add two other British killed specimens of this 
 melanite type; one, as I am informed by Mr. Alfred 
 Newton, a male, shot at North Chapel, near Petworth, 
 Sussex, in either 1855 or the following year, now in 
 the possession of Mr. Knox (author of the " Birds of 
 Sussex"), who examined it in company with the late Mr. 
 Yarrell, and the other, an adult female, killed at Yarmouth 
 in July, 1855, which I recently discovered in the Dennis 
 collection at the Bury museum. "Vieillot (writes Mr. 
 Gurney) made this form a distinct species under the 
 name of Circus ater ( e Diet. Hist. Nat.' iv., p. 459) ; 
 but in the 'Bevue de Zool.' for 1850, p. 82, is a note 
 by Dr. Pucheran, intended to shew that it is only a 
 variety of C. cineraceus. Prince Bonaparte also con- 
 firms this view in p. 492 of the same volume, and I have 
 no doubt that it is merely a variety, though I suspect 
 it may be an hereditary one from so many instances of 
 it occurring." 
 
 SCOPS ALDROVANDI, Bonaparte. 
 SCOPS EARED OWL. 
 
 This rare little Owl is recorded by various local 
 authors to have been killed in Norfolk in three or four 
 instances. According to Messrs. Gurney and Fisher it 
 has occurred twice in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth, 
 
SCOPS EARED OWL. 43 
 
 and as often near Norwich, and no donbt the one 
 mentioned by Hunt* as obtained at Bradestone in 1828, 
 and the Brundall specimen, which Mr. Lubbock says 
 formed part of the collection of the late Mr. Penrice, are 
 included in these, f but I have also a record in the late 
 Mr. Lombe's notes of one killed at Strumpshaw in June, 
 1824. The specimen, however, belonging to Mr. Gurney, 
 also noticed by Mr. Lubbock as " killed near Norwich," 
 is, as far as I can ascertain its history, decidedly 
 doubtful. Of late years this species has been recognised 
 but once on our coast. On the morning of the 27th of 
 November, 1861, an adult male was picked up at the 
 foot of the lighthouse hill, at Cromer, by one of Mr. 
 Gurney 's keepers, who found the bird still alive, but 
 evidently much injured from flying against the glass, 
 attracted by the glare of the lamps during the previous 
 night, when, half stunned, it had fallen to the ground 
 and fluttered down the hill to the spot where it was 
 picked up. This bird, now in Mr. Gurney' s collection 
 at Catton, had a mass of fur in the stomach about the 
 size of a walnut, amongst which was discernible an 
 almost perfect skeleton of a mouse, together with the 
 heads and forceps of several earwigs, and three stout 
 caterpillars nearly an inch in length. The head ex- 
 hibited no marks of injury, and the plumage was per- 
 fect, but the flesh on the breast and the point of one 
 wing showed symptoms of having sustained a very 
 severe blow. 
 
 f See Hunt's "List of Norfolk Birds" in " Stacy's History of 
 Norfolk" (1829). 
 
 * In a catalogue of the late Mr. Stephen Miller's collection of 
 birds, " principally Norfolk shot specimens," I find, amongst other 
 rarities, a Scops eared owl, but whether this was one of those 
 recorded as killed near Yarmouth, or not, I have been unable to 
 ascertain satisfactorily. 
 G2 
 
44 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 SCOPS ASIO (Linnaeus). 
 AMEKICAN MOTTLED OWL. 
 
 This small North. American species was first included 
 amongst the accidental visitants to this country, by the 
 late Mr. Yarrell, in the third edition of his " British 
 Birds," in which will be found the notice of a specimen 
 shot in the neighbourhood of Leeds in 1852, and of 
 which a figure and description were given in "The 
 Naturalist" for the same year (p. 169). Mr. Gurney 
 informs me that some years back he purchased from 
 the late Mr. Thurtell, then a nurseryman, at Eaton, 
 (when selling off his collection of Norfolk Birds,) an 
 adult specimen of this rare owl, said to have been 
 killed near Yarmouth, but till then supposed to be only 
 an European Scops Owl. This bird was unfortunately 
 destroyed after it came into Mr. Gurney's possession. 
 
 OTUS VULGrARIS, Fleming. 
 LONG-EAKED OWL. 
 
 The Long-eared Owl is another instance of the 
 changes which have taken place in a few years from local 
 causes, in the habits of some of our feathered visitants. 
 Whilst drainage and the plough are fast driving the 
 harriers and other marsh breeders from their accus- 
 tomed haunts, the rapid increase in our fir plantations, 
 especially near the coast, affords such inducements to 
 this species to remain and breed with us, that the 
 autumn visitant of a few years since, only occasionally 
 known to stay through the summer, may now be more 
 properly termed a numerous resident, receiving additions 
 
LONG-EARED OWL. 45 
 
 to its numbers in autumn. The Rev. Mr. Lubbock, 
 writing of this owl some 20 years ago, though mention- 
 ing the fact of its sometimes remaining to breed, 
 says, " The bird may be considered altogether rare," 
 which statement is in strange contrast to the num- 
 ber of specimens now, at all seasons of the year, 
 brought to be preserved in this city (particularly the 
 case in 1854), and but for the thoughtless persecution 
 of keepers and collectors, a pair or more might be 
 found located in almost any of our woods or planta- 
 tions of sufficient extent. In the spring of 1856, no 
 less than ten young birds were taken in a plantation 
 at Sprowston, near Norwich, and several old ones were 
 shot; yet since that date a few pairs have still con- 
 tinued to frequent the same locality, and they are 
 more particularly plentiful in the extensive fir coverts 
 in the vicinity of our east coast. In the western and 
 south-western parts of the county they are also very 
 plentiful. Mr. Alfred Newton, writing from the neigh- 
 bourhood of Thetford, says, (Hewitson, Eggs Brit. 
 Bds., 3rd ed.) "The long-eared is the most plentiful 
 species of owl hereabout, and there are few planta- 
 tions of any size which do not contain a pair; as 
 far as my own experience goes, though it is opposed to 
 Messrs. Tube's opinion, quoted in your former edition, 
 I should say that the usual number of eggs laid by this 
 owl is four ; this year the gamekeeper has found a nest 
 with five eggs, and my brother has seen six young 
 ones in the same nest. The long eared owl usually 
 adapts a squirrel's nest, called hereabouts a drail, to its 
 own purposes. It appears to feed much on small birds. 
 I have found wheatears, willow wrens, and chaffinches, 
 or at least their remains, in its nest as often as not. I 
 think it delays the act of incubation until its clutch of 
 eggs is completed." The same accurate observer and 
 describer of bird life has also contributed the following 
 
46 BIKDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 notes on this owl to Mr. Gould's magnificent work on 
 "The Birds of Great Britain/ 5 which I quote more 
 especially from their testimony to the useful qualities 
 of this attractive species. " I do not know many sights 
 more engaging to a naturalist than one which often 
 presents itself on peering into a thickly growing Scotch 
 fir-tree. A family party of some half-dozen long-eared 
 owls may be descried perched in close proximity to the 
 observer's head. Their bodies are drawn up perpen- 
 dicularly, and attenuated in a most marvellous manner, 
 the ear-tufts nearly erect, or, if not exactly parallel to 
 one another, slightly inclined inwards. Except these, 
 there is nothing to break the stiff rectangle of the birds' 
 outline. Thus they sit, one and all, swaying slowly 
 upon one foot, and gravely winking one eye at the 
 intruder. Underneath such an owl-roost as this is cer- 
 tain to be found a large quantity of the pellets ejected by 
 its frequenters, and a good notion of their usual food is to 
 be gathered from an examination of the same. Half- 
 grown rats and mice, chiefly the former, constitute the 
 staple, but small birds contribute no small share ; and 
 I have recognised among the remains, unquestionable 
 bones of the wheatear, willow wren, chaffinch, green- 
 finch, bullfinch, and yellow bunting. How the owls 
 catch them I am unable to say, but I am bound to 
 mention that never in a single instance have I dis- 
 covered a trace of any game-bird, and I feel assured 
 that the keepers, who wage war against the long-eared 
 owl for the protection of their young pheasants or 
 partridges, are not only giving themselves unnecessary 
 trouble, but are also guilty of the folly of exterminating 
 their best friends; for the number of rats destroyed by 
 this species is enormous, and I look upon the rat as the 
 game preserver's worst enemy." Mr. Spalding, of 
 Westleton, informs me that on one occasion he knew of 
 a long-eared owl snared on her nest, which was placed 
 
EAGLE OWL. 47 
 
 amongst the heather at the foot of a fir tree ; the 
 bird and eggs having been brought to him, quite fresh, 
 at a time when he was endeavouring to procure 
 specimens of the eggs of the short-eared species. A 
 very singular variety of this owl, in the collection of 
 the Rev. C. J. Lucas, of Burgh, was killed in that 
 neighbourhood on the 5th of July, 1861. This beautiful 
 specimen had the wings, lower part of the breast and 
 vent, outer feathers of the tail, feet, and legs, and the 
 edges of the facial disk pure white, the feathers of the 
 back and upper part of the breast also slightly mottled 
 with white. This example is the more remarkable 
 from these birds being so rarely subject to any variation 
 in plumage. 
 
 Although the EAGLE OWL (Bubo maximus,) has not, I 
 believe, occurred in a wild state in Norfolk, I think that 
 the fact of a pair having regularly bred in confinement 
 at Easton, near Norwich, for the last fourteen years, is 
 worthy of record in the present work. Mr. Edward 
 Fountaine, the fortunate owner of these prolific birds, 
 purchased the female in 1848, at which time she had 
 been already twenty years in confinement, but the male 
 bird, procured at the same time, was said to be only a 
 year old. Of the first nest and eggs, in the spring of 
 1849, Mr. Gurney forwarded the following description to 
 the "Zoologist," (pp. 2452 and 2566,) which, with slight 
 alterations in dates and minor incidents, may be taken as 
 a fair summary of subsequent proceedings. After describ- 
 ing the eggs as deposited in a hollow scratched in the 
 ground in the further corner of the cage, into which a 
 little straw was afterwards introduced, and that during 
 the time of incubation the birds were unusually bold 
 and savage, he says "The first egg was observed on 
 the 13th of April, and the two others about a week 
 afterwards. Two young ones were found to be hatched 
 on the 19th, and the other on the 22nd of May. They 
 
48 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 were entirely covered with white down when first 
 hatched. When they were about three weeks old they 
 began to exchange the first or white down for the 
 second down, which was of a brownish grey colour, and 
 at the age of about five weeks the feathers began to 
 appear, and the young owls are now (July 23rd) able 
 to fly up to their perches, are nearly as large as their 
 parents, and, in fact, much in the same stage as 
 the specimens usually imported from Norway at this 
 time of year by the London bird dealers." In the 
 "Ibis" also for 1859 (vol. 1, p. 273), will be found 
 a yearly statement from the pen of Mr. Fountaine 
 himself, continued down to the spring of that year, 
 which shows that the usual number of eggs laid has 
 been three, and, in a majority of cases, three young 
 have been hatched, the time of nesting varying between 
 the months of January and April, whilst the period of 
 incubation lasted about thirty days, and one week 
 usually elapsed, in addition, between hatching the first 
 egg and the last. From 1855 to 1859 two nests were 
 made in each season, owing to the first batch of eggs 
 being destroyed through the severity of the weather, 
 having been laid either in January or February, and in 
 1855 even the second laying shared the same fate, and 
 for the first and only time no young were reared. The 
 last six nests, in 1857, 1858, and 1859, contained but 
 two eggs respectively, and Mr. Fountaine considers that 
 in several instances the young birds perished in his 
 absence from home from being egg-bound, as on one 
 occasion he extracted a nestling from the shell, though 
 it took him three days to accomplish, and this one lived 
 and was brought up. Of the young birds thus reared, 
 year after year, three pairs had at different times laid 
 eggs and sat on them, but with no result till the year 
 1859, when, as further noticed in the same volume 
 of the " Ibis" (p. 473), three eggs were laid and one 
 
EAGLE OWL. 49 
 
 young bird hatch el, the offspring of a female then ten 
 years old, and a cock bird about half that age. Mr. 
 Fountaine had come to the conclusion that birds of this 
 class inter-breeding so closely were not prolific, but in 
 this case the parent birds, although the offspring of the 
 same old pair, were bred in different seasons. Through 
 the kindness of that gentleman I am now enabled to 
 bring down these nesting accounts, both as to young 
 and old birds, to the present time, although the same 
 success does not seem to have attended the later 
 hatchings. In 1860, a pair of young birds brought 
 up one nestling, but there were none from the old 
 pair. In 1861, two young ones were brought up by 
 the old pair only. In 1862, an old blind female, pre- 
 sented to Mr. Fountaine some time ago, paired off 
 with a male hatched in 1850, and two young birds were 
 brought up. In the same year a young pair also had 
 one nestling, but which was instantly devoured by its 
 unnatural parent in consequence, says Mr. Fountaine, 
 "of my putting a hen's egg under her to keep her 
 on the nest until she was inclined to sit, and as I forgot 
 to take away the hen's egg she hatched it and eat it, 
 and served her own young one the same." No young 
 that year from the original pair. In 1863 the blind 
 bird laid, but her eggs proved of no use. The old pair 
 brought up one nestling, and the young pair also had 
 one young one, but the hen bird pulled its head off 
 when about two weeks old, in consequence, it is 
 supposed, of her being alarmed one night by the light 
 of a lantern. In 1864, another young pair nested 
 towards the end of February, and laid three eggs, but 
 from the severity of the weather and high winds all the 
 time there was not sufficient warmth to hatch them. 
 Neither the original pair, nor the blind female, did 
 anything this year, but another young pair had three 
 good eggs, which should have been hatched in the end 
 
 H 
 
50 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 of April, but, in Mr. Fountaine's absence, these were 
 unfortunately taken away under the impression they 
 were bad. In spite of all these disappointments, 
 however, Mr. Fountaine has now in his possession 
 twenty-six of these noble birds, and has given away 
 thirteen others at different times. They are fed on 
 rats, rabbits, and small birds. A young pair of these 
 owls, in Mr. Gurney's aviary at Catton, the offspring of 
 Mr. Fountaine's old pair, also hatched for the first time 
 in 1860, when they brought up two young ones ; in 1861, 
 two more, and in 1862, three young ones. In 1863, 
 three were hatched and two brought up ; and, in 1864, 
 two were reared and presented to Mr. Fountaine, to 
 supply his losses. 
 
 OTUS BRACHYOTUS (Linnams). 
 SHORT-EAKED OWL. 
 
 .'".,-.*. ^ r ^,-/rf ";'.' .-',- ' < 
 
 This species visits us regularly and pretty numerously 
 in the autumn, though scarcely in such numbers as in 
 former years, arriving in September and October about 
 the same time as the woodcocks, from which circum- 
 stance it is generally known as the woodcock owl. In 
 the spring these birds again proceed northwards towards 
 the end of March, having, I believe, entirely ceased to 
 breed in Norfolk,* where, especially in the once fenny 
 districts of the south-western parts of the county, they 
 were commonly met with during the breeding season. 
 Mr. Hoy, writing about 30 years ago in "London's 
 Magazine," observes "I am acquainted with two 
 localities in the south-western part of Norfolk, where 
 pairs of this bird breed, and I have known several 
 
 * I have recently seen eggs of this species in Mr. Alfred 
 Newton's magnificent collection, at Cambridge, taken at Littleport, 
 Isle of Ely, in 1864. 
 
SHORT-EARED OWL. BARN OWL. 51 
 
 instances of their eggs and young being found. One 
 situation is on a dry heathy soil, the next placed on the 
 ground amongst high heath ; the other is on low fenny 
 ground amongst sedge and rushes. A friend of mine 
 procured some eggs from the latter situation during the 
 last summer (1832)." Mr. Alfred Newton possesses 
 eggs of this owl taken in Feltwell fen in the summer of 
 1854 (Ootheca Wolleyana, p. 159) ; and in a recent 
 letter to myself he writes "In the first week of August, 
 1854, my brother Edward and I found on a heath at 
 Elveden, not three miles from the Norfolk boundary, 
 two young birds of this species, nearly full grown, but 
 unable to fly. We searched in vain for the nest in 
 which they had been hatched, hoping to find an addled 
 egg in it. Though we visited the place several tunes 
 only one of the parents appeared. This bird was ex- 
 tremely fierce in its behaviour, swooping close to us, and 
 with plaintive screeches threatening the dogs by which 
 we were accompanied." This, as far as I can ascer- 
 tain, was the last instance of their nesting even in that 
 district, but in the vicinity of the coast, as at Horsey, 
 near Yarmouth, where, as Mr. Rising informs me, they 
 used to be met with occasionally during the summer 
 months, they had previously ceased to breed for some 
 years. In the autumn of 1859, I was shown a bird of 
 this species that had been picked up under the telegraph 
 wires, one wing having been severed during its noc- 
 turnal flittings, as is not unfrequently the case with 
 the woodcock and snipe in their migratory movements. 
 
 STKIX FLAMMEA, Linnams. 
 BARN OWL. 
 
 
 
 The Barn Owl is resident with us throughout the 
 year, but I wish I could add that the term " common" 
 
 H2 
 
52 BIKDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 is as applicable now as in former times. The plea 
 raised for the protection of the kestrel may indeed be 
 urged for this true " farmer's friend/' whose peccadilloes, 
 if any, are slight indeed in comparison with its nightly 
 services. "When it has young/' says Mr. Waterton 
 from personal observation, "It will bring a mouse 
 to its nest about every twelve or fifteen minutes ; but, 
 in order to have a proper idea of the enormous quantity 
 of mice which this bird destroys, we must examine the 
 pellets which it ejects from its stomach in the place of 
 its retreat. Every pellet contains from four to seven 
 skeletons of mice. In sixteen months, from the time 
 that the apartment of the owls on the old gateway was 
 cleaned out, there has been a deposit of above a bushel 
 of pellets." Think of this ; whoever would, wantonly, 
 discharge his gun at so useful a bird ! and let not the 
 sins of his race be visited upon him, nor his soft white 
 plumage be left to nutter in the wind, amongst the 
 feathered felons of the " Keeper's Museum." What a 
 pleasure it is in an autumnal evening, when returning at 
 sunset after a long day's sport, to watch this owl on 
 noiseless wings flitting about the homestead. Now 
 skimming along the fences in search of prey, now rapidly 
 turning the corner of the stack-yard, it suddenly seizes 
 upon some luckless victim, and is off in an instant to its 
 roost in the tower, or disappears for a time through the 
 little opening in the gable end of the barn. Its wild 
 screech uttered in the (e stilly night" is certainly some- 
 what startling to the nerves, and, heard amidst the ruins 
 of some crumbling cloisters, may well scare the listener 
 unaccustomed to the sound ; yet scarcely would one wish 
 the rustic mind altogether disabused of its old super- 
 stitions, if the association of this owl with " uncanny 
 things," .might aid in preserving it from unreasoning per- 
 secution. I would rather that every thoughtless clod, who 
 compassed the death of either old or young, might share 
 
BARN OWL. 53 
 
 the horrors of that luckless wight who, having killed 
 the church owl as it flitted past him, ran shrieking 
 home, and, with his hair on end, confessed his awful 
 crime "I've been and shot a Cherubim !" This species 
 occasionally, like the tawny owl, feeds its young upon 
 fish, which it has been seen to catch in the most 
 dexterous manner, and I have also known several 
 instances in which it has been picked up dead, or 
 wounded, under the telegraph wires. 
 
 An extremely dark variety of this owl in the Norwich 
 museum (British series, No. 29. b), was killed near Norwich 
 about the 13th of December, 1864, and is particularly 
 interesting from its similarity, both in colour and mark- 
 ings, to a specimen in our Raptorial collection, pre- 
 sented by Professor Eeinhardt. Of the latter, this gen- 
 tleman writes, in a letter to Mr. A. Newton (Oct. 9th, 
 1860), " I have ordered a stuffed Strix flammea to be 
 put up in a little box, which will be despatched to the 
 care of Mr. Goddard, one of the first days. The bird is 
 from Fyen (Fiinen), but it is, I think, no peculiar race ; 
 at least not peculiar to the said island where the bird is 
 rare ; I should rather suppose that all the examples of $. 
 flammeob from Sleswig Holstein and the northern parts of 
 Germany are nearly as dark beneath as the specimens 
 you saw in Copenhagen." I am not aware that this dark 
 variety* has received any specific distinction, but it is 
 quite possible, as Mr. Newton is inclined to believe, 
 that the bird in question may have come across from the 
 Danish locality, whence Professor Eeinhardt' s example 
 was procured. Supposing this to be really the case, the 
 question naturally arises, whether barn owls from more 
 
 * The dark coloured variety is figured by Kjaerbcelling (Dan- 
 marks Fugles, pi. vii.), but it is there called Strix flammea. It 
 is rather rare in all parts of Denmark. 
 
54 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 eastern localities* may not, occasionally at least, visit 
 our coast in autumn ? Of this I have no direct proof 
 at the present time, but all I have known to be killed 
 or wounded here, by the telegraph wires, have been 
 invariably picked up in the three last months of the 
 year. The Norwich specimen differs from any I have 
 ever seen killed in this country (although the young birds 
 of the year are more or less dark on the under parts), in 
 having the whole of the lower surface of the body rich 
 reddish fawn colour ; the facial disk rusty red, becoming 
 greyish white only, near the outer edge, and the upper 
 portions of the plumage ash grey spotted as usual, but 
 still with a little more intermixture of buff than in the 
 Danish bird. 
 
 SYRNIUM STBIDULUM (Linnaeus). 
 
 TAWNY OWL. 
 
 This species I am sorry to say, from constant perse- 
 cution, is becoming extremely scarce in this county, 
 although still resident in some of the more densely 
 wooded localities; but if the benefits it confers as a 
 vermin killer were only fairly considered, its wild lioo, hoo, 
 hoot, in the still twilight, would be a welcome sound 
 to both farmer and naturalist. Mr. Gould has well 
 remarked "Were it possible for a pair of brown owls 
 to produce a yearly record of the number of nocturnal 
 moles, Norway rats, and destructive field mice they have 
 destroyed, against a similar account of what has been 
 done in this way by any five keepers, I question whether 
 
 * The Barn Owl does not seem to range farther north than 
 Jutland. In Sweden it is only of accidental occurrence, and that 
 in the extreme south. Nilsson, 'Skand. Fauna,' Foglarna, i, 
 p. 134, 3rd ed. 
 
TAWNY OWL. 55 
 
 the balance would not be in favour of the owls. # * * 
 I believe the brown rat to be far more destructive to 
 leverets and young pheasants than this owl can be." 
 So rarely is the opportunity now afforded of studying 
 the habits of this species in Norfolk, that I may be 
 excused for quoting the following graphic account by 
 Mr. Alfred Newton, in his ee Ootheca Wolleyana," of a 
 pair, which, for several years nested regularly in the 
 vicinity of the hall at Elveden, near Thetford : " From 
 1844, and probably for a much longer time, a pair of 
 brown owls had frequented some clumps of old elms, 
 near the house at Elveden. There were three of these 
 clumps, in one or the other of which they invariably 
 laid their eggs. The trees were of considerable age, and 
 mostly quite hollow, with an abundance of convenient 
 nesting-places. By waiting quietly about an hour after 
 sunset, my brother Edward or myself could generally 
 discover whereabouts the owls had taken up their 
 quarters for the season; but it sometimes happened 
 that we did not find the nest until the young were 
 hatched. Throughout the winter the owls kept pretty 
 much in company ; but towards the middle of February 
 they used to separate, the cock bird often passing the 
 day in a tree at some distance from where the hen 
 was. As soon as he came out in the evening to hunt, 
 he announced his presence by a vigorous hoot. Upon 
 this the hen would emerge silently, and, after a short 
 flight, would reply to her mate's summons by a gentle 
 note. He then generally joined her, and they would 
 fly off together to procure their living. The eggs were 
 commonly laid about the second week in March, and 
 the nests were almost always very accessible. I never 
 knew these birds occupy the same hole in two successive 
 years ; but, after the interval of two or three years, 
 they would return to the same spot. There were never 
 any materials collected to form a nest, the eggs being 
 
56 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 always placed on the rotten wood, which in most cases 
 formed a sufficient bedding. If all the eggs were taken, as 
 was the case in 1854, the hen bird laid again in another 
 tree. We never found more than four eggs in the nest. 
 These often, but not always, proved to have been incubated 
 for different lengths of time, showing that the hen bird 
 sometimes began to sit as soon as the first egg was laid ; 
 but we could never divine what might be the cause of 
 this irregularity of habit. After the young birds had 
 left the nests, it was some time before they began to 
 shift for themselves, and they used to sit in the shadiest 
 trees for the best part of the summer, uttering a 
 plaintive note like 'keewick,' night and day, almost 
 without cessation, to attract the attention of their 
 parents, who would assiduously bring them the spoils of 
 the chase. * * * Late in the spring of 1859, to 
 the great regret of those who knew them, the old birds 
 suddenly disappeared, and I never succeeded in ascer- 
 taining their fate. I think it due to their memory to 
 insert this account of their habits, the more so as I fear 
 the species is daily becoming more uncommon in Eng- 
 land." In its first plumage this bird is grey, changing 
 to brown or tawny as it attains maturity, and again 
 becoming grey in advanced age, but I never remember 
 to have seen a Norfolk killed specimen in this latter 
 stage. An unusually fine pair, killed at Stratton 
 Strawless in 1858, weighed together 2 J Ibs. the female 
 1 \ lb., and the male 1 Ib. Many authentic instances are 
 on record of the brown owl feeding its young on fish, 
 taken by itself in its nocturnal forays ; and the following 
 singular eccentricity in the breeding habits of this 
 species is thus recorded by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher : 
 6 ' We have known this owl to nest in a deserted rabbit 
 or fox's hole on the side of a wooded hill near the 
 coast. The nest was about two feet from the mouth of 
 the hole." 
 
SNOWY OWL. 57 
 
 SURNIA NYCTEA (Linnseus). 
 SNOWY OWL. 
 
 This rare and beautiful species has occurred several 
 times in this county, although an interval of nearly 30 
 years elapsed between the appearance of the earlier 
 recorded specimens and those more recently obtained. 
 Mr. Hunt, in his " British Ornithology," states that one 
 was shot at Felbrigg during the spring of 1814, and 
 adds "The weather had been previously exceedingly 
 severe during nearly three months. This specimen, we 
 are informed by the Kev. G. Glover, was presented to 
 Lord Stanley. * * * It had been observed for 
 several days standing on a heap of snow which had been 
 blown against a fir ; it had been often roused, and was 
 at length taken with difficulty." The same author sub- 
 sequently recorded a second example in his "List of 
 Norfolk Birds," published in Stacy's " History of Nor- 
 folk," which was said to have been shot at Gunton, 
 near Cromer, in January, 1820, and came into the 
 possession of the late Lord Suffield. From that time 
 I am not aware of any notice of its appearance on our 
 coast until the summer of 1847, when, as Mr. Gurney 
 informs me, a specimen, shot in the spring of that year, 
 by a gamekeeper at Beeston, on the estate of Mr. J. 
 Gurney Hoare, was, horribile dictu, seen by that gentle- 
 man hanging up as a scarecrow, and too much spoilt for 
 preservation. On giving directions, however, that if any 
 such bird should occur again, it was to be sent to him 
 in the flesh, Mr. Hoare received, in 1848, the beau- 
 tiful Greenland falcon from the same locality, already 
 referred to (p. 8) in the present work. In the early part of 
 1847, a large white owl was more than once observed in 
 i 
 
58 B1KDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 the neighbourhood of Brooke,* and in 1849-50, no less 
 than three specimens were met with in different parts of 
 the county, in the short space of half a year, as stated 
 by Mr. J. H. Gurney, in the "Zoologist" (p. 2765). Of 
 these the first was seen, but not shot, at Swannington, 
 during the autumn of 1849 ; the second, an imma- 
 ture male, was shot by Mr. Cremer at Beeston, on 
 the 22nd January, 1850, the same village where this 
 species had occurred just three years before; and the 
 third, a young male, though somewhat more advanced 
 in plumage, was killed at St. Faith's, by Mr. Reynolds, 
 in February of the same year. The two latter are pre- 
 served in Mr. Gurney' s collection at Catton-park. The 
 late Mr. Stephen Miller, of Yarmouth, had also a speci- 
 men of this noble bird, which, if not obtained in this 
 district, was most probably British killed. 
 
 * A young bird, in Mr. Spalding's collection at Westleton, was 
 snot on the 19th of February, 1847, at St. Andrew's, in the 
 adjoining county of Suffolk, and one having been previously 
 observed at two other neighbouring places, it is not improbable 
 that the Brooke and the Suffolk birds were identical. Of this speci- 
 men Mr. Spalding says, in a communication to Messrs. Gupney and 
 Fisher, "Zoologist," p. 1769 : "It was first observed at Hedenham 
 wood, and was, when first seen there, remarkably tame. It visited 
 a farm-house and barn at Thwaite, where some white pigeons were 
 kept, all of which soon after disappeared. While shooting at 
 Tindal wood, this owl came over us, but at too great a distance 
 to be brought down; from this time I heard no more of our 
 northern visitor till I was told that a bird of this kind had been 
 shot at St. Andrew's, in Suffolk, by a person named Adams, and 
 carried by him alive to Bungay. I shortly after visited St. 
 Andrew's, and obtained a sight of the bird, which seemed perfectly 
 well, with the exception of a broken wing. It was shot from the 
 stump of a pollard elm, whence it had been seen to dart down into 
 the field and then to return to its perch. It had been observed in 
 the locality for several days, and was shot on the 19th of February, 
 and brought to my house dead on the 13th of April. It proved to 
 be a large female in rather dark plumage, and measured two feet 
 in length and five feet in extent of the wings." 
 
LITTLE OWL. 59 
 
 NOCTUA PASSERINA (Gmelin). 
 LITTLE OWL. 
 
 I know of but two instances of the occurrence of 
 the Little Owl in Norfolk of late years; one taken 
 alive at Easton in 1846, by Mr. Gurney's keeper, 
 which lived in confinement till December, 1848, having 
 laid eggs in the previous spring ; and an adult male, 
 also taken alive on board a fishing smack about ten 
 miles off Yarmouth, on the 6th of February, 1862. 
 This specimen, less fortunate than its predecessor, 
 when brought to a bird-stuffer in this city, showed 
 evident symptoms, from its ragged and dirty plumage, 
 of having died in some small cage or box, where 
 it had refused all nourishment in its efforts to 
 escape. Previous notices of this species appear to 
 be limited to the following statement by Mr. Hunt, 
 in his " British Ornithology" : " We recollect a nest of 
 these birds being taken at no great distance from Nor- 
 wich ;" the record of one, in Mr. Lombe's notes, as killed 
 at Blofield in 1824, and the two instances referred to 
 by the Messrs. Pagefc of its having been taken near 
 Yarmouth. As I have alluded to the fact of the eagle 
 owl (Bubo maximus) having bred in confinement in this 
 county, I will here quote from the " Zoologist," p. 3207, 
 a very interesting account, by Mr. J. H. Gurney, of 
 the nesting of this little owl in that gentleman's aviary 
 when residing at Easton, near Norwich, the same 
 village in which the larger species above-mentioned 
 first reared their young : " A pair of passerine owls, 
 which I had in confinement, nested this spring (1851) 
 in a small covered box, which was placed in a corner of 
 their cage. They laid four eggs about the middle of 
 i 2 
 
60 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 the month, of May, two of which they soon broke, but 
 hatched the other two early in June. The two young 
 ones did not long survive ; how they disappeared I am 
 unable to say, and am almost disposed to think the old 
 birds must have devoured them. I regret that, owing to 
 the nest having been placed in a covered box, I was 
 unable correctly to ascertain the period of incubation." 
 
 NOCTUA TENGMALMI (Gmelin). 
 TENGMALM'S OWL. 
 
 An adult female of this very rare species was killed 
 at Burlingham about the 6th of April, 1857, and is 
 now in the possession of Mr. H. N. Burroughes. This 
 is probably the only one known to have occurred in this 
 county, but a single specimen is recorded by Messrs. 
 Gurney and Fisher to have been taken some years since 
 at Bradwell, in the north-eastern part of Suffolk ; and 
 may have been the bird which was formerly in the 
 collection of Mr. Stephen Miller at Yarmouth.* 
 
 * This celebrated collection, to which I shall have frequent 
 occasion to refer, was sold by auction at Yarmouth, in September, 
 1853, subsequent to Mr. Miller's decease, but the bad state of 
 preservation of many of the specimens, unfortunately rendered 
 them of little value. In a catalogue now before me are the following 
 amongst the rarer birds, described as "principally Norfolk shot": 
 Eider Duck*, Eed-crested Whistling Duck, Buflel-headed Duck, 
 Great White Heron,* Purple Heron,* Little Egret,* Water Ouzel,* 
 Castaneous Duck,* Bimaculated Duck,* Golden Orioles, Night 
 Heron, Boiler, Eed-breasted Snipe, Black-winged Stilt, Squacco 
 Heron, Pine Grosbeak,* Ibis,* Little t^aiUeJi^*, Gyr Falcon (in 
 Mr. Gurney's possession, evidently stuffed from a skin), Ivory Gull, ' 
 Little Gull,* Caspian Tern,* Storm Petrel (white var.), Scop's-eared 
 Owl,* Tengmalm's Owl,* Snowy Owl,* Eagle Owl,* (probably a 
 skin,) and Little Dotterel.* I have taken some pains to trace these 
 rarer specimens into the hands of their present owners, but of 
 
GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 61 
 
 LANIUS EXCUBITOR, Linnaeus. 
 GEEAT GEEY SHEIKE. 
 
 The Great Grey Shrike may be termed both a spring 
 and antumn visitant, though by no means common ; the 
 few specimens obtained every year occurring almost 
 invariably between the beginning of October and the 
 end of the following March. Several of these birds were 
 killed in the neighbourhood of Downham in 1847, and a 
 single specimen was shot at Carrow, near Norwich, in 
 the winter of the same year. Messrs. Gurney and 
 Fisher state that a very young bird of this species "was 
 procured near Diss, some years ago, early in the month 
 of July," but I am not aware that the nest has ever 
 been found in this county. The same authors also refer 
 to an instance of a grey shrike being netted by a bird- 
 catcher, having pounced upon the call-bird after the 
 manner of the smaller hawks, a not uncommon occur- 
 rence, I am told, with this species. With reference to 
 its carnivorous propensities, I find the following interest- 
 ing note in the " Zoologist" for 1854, from Mr. H. T. 
 Partridge, of Hockham Hall, near Thetford : " I pro- 
 cured a great grey shrike on the 21st of December last, 
 
 those to which I have affixed an asterisk I have been unable to 
 learn any particulars at this distance of time. Such as are still 
 existing, or of which any record remains, will be found noticed 
 under their respective headings, in other portions of this work. Mr. 
 Rising, of Horsey, who has very kindly made enquiries respecting 
 them for me, states, that, with the exception of a few lots of foreign 
 skins at the end of the catalogue, " Mrs. Miller always understood 
 from her husband they were all British 'killed specimens, and that 
 the water birds, including the waders, were shot on or in the 
 immediate vicinity of Breydon water." 
 
62 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 in the act of carrying a skylark in its feet, which it had 
 flown about with for some time previous to my shooting 
 it. The lark was hardly half an ounce lighter than the 
 shrike." In confinement this species is very amusing, 
 darting from perch to perch with amazing rapidity, 
 and soon becomes tame enough to take its prey from 
 the hand, but is not generally long-lived. A male, shot 
 at Eollesby, near Yarmouth, on the 26th of October, 
 1864, was found to have the remains of a small bird, 
 wasps, and the imago of Vanessa urticce in its stomach, 
 the latter readily identified by the wings, which had 
 been swallowed with the body of the insect. I have 
 examined at different times two or three old females, 
 which showed no trace of the usual semi-lunar markings 
 on the breast, and were distinguishable, therefore, only 
 by dissection, from adult males. 
 
 LANIUS COLLURIO, Linnaeus. 
 BED-BACKED SHKIKE. 
 
 A constant summer visitant, though not in large 
 numbers, and regularly breeds in the county, but is 
 at the same time local in its distribution. To its car- 
 nivorous and insectivorous tastes, its thorny larder 
 abundantly testifies, and Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, 
 speaking of a brood of young red-backed shrikes having 
 been fed by the old birds in a cage, purposely hung 
 near the spot whence the nest had been taken, remark, 
 " Among the remains of the food which was brought 
 to the cage, we noticed the skulls of small birds, and 
 parts of some insects apparently humble bees." This 
 species, like the great grey shrike, has also been known to 
 attack the call-birds of bird-catchers in the most deter- 
 mined manner. An instance of this, which came under 
 
BED-BACKED SHRIKE. 63 
 
 his notice, is thus recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney in 
 the " Zoologist/' p. 3981. " This morning (June 28th, 
 1853), a bird-catcher was following his vocation near 
 Norwich, when a red-backed shrike pounced on one oi 
 his call-birds a (linnet), and attempted to carry it off, 
 but being prevented from doing so by the linnet being 
 fastened to the ground with a string and wooden peg, 
 the shrike tore off the head of its victim, with which it 
 made its escape. The bird-catcher then drew out from 
 the ground the peg which held down the dead linnet, and 
 left the dead bird lying in the net. In about half an 
 hour the shrike again appeared, pounced upon the body 
 of the dead linnet, and carried it off in its beak, with the 
 string and peg hanging to it ; the weight of the latter 
 probably was the cause of the shrike not carrying its 
 prey quite away, as it dropped it after flying about 
 fifteen yards, when the bird-catcher again *picked up the 
 dead linnet, and replaced it in the net. The shrike, in 
 the mean time, retreated to some neighbouring bushes, 
 from which it soon made a third pounce upon the nets, 
 this tune attacking the second call-bird, which was a 
 sparrow. On this occasion, however, the bird-catcher 
 was on the watch, and, drawing his nets, captured the 
 shrike, which proved to be an adult female of Lanius 
 collurio." This species also becomes extremely tame 
 when brought up from the nest in confinement, and Mr. 
 Lubbock, on the authority of his friend Mr. Girdlestone, 
 states that the late Mr. Downes, of hawking celebrity, 
 used to amuse himself, after he had given up falconry, 
 by watching his tame shrike catch flies in his sitting- 
 room. The eggs of this bird, as is well known, vary 
 considerably both in colour and markings ; one in my 
 possession, taken in 1853 from a nest in this neighbour- 
 hood, is pure white, and of two others found with it, 
 one had a single dark blotch on the larger end, and 
 the other a few brown spots dotted over a white ground. 
 
64 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Whether or not the female ever attains the same plumage 
 as the adult male, as asserted by some naturalists, un- 
 doubtedly the hen bird, in her mottled dress, pairs with 
 the mature male. 
 
 LANIUS RUTILUS, Latham. 
 WOODCHAT SHEIKE. 
 
 Mr. Hunt, in his " List of Norfolk Birds," has the 
 following note on the Woodchat : " Mr. Scales assures 
 me that he has killed this rare species in the neighbour- 
 hood of Beechamwell, where he has known it to breed 
 and rear its young." This statement, except on the 
 authority of two good naturalists, might almost have 
 been questioned from the rarity of this bird, and its 
 occurrence only at uncertain intervals, as a merely acci- 
 dental visitant, since, with the above exception, I know of 
 only two authentic instances in which specimens of this 
 shrike have been obtained in Norfolk. Mr. Lubbock has 
 recorded one, as killed near Swaffham some years ago, 
 said to have been in Mr. Hamond's collection, and 
 on the 29th of April, 1859, a male woodchat, now 
 in the possession of Mr. J. H. Gurney, was killed at 
 Yarmouth. This bird had nearly completed its spring 
 moult, but from the appearance of some immature 
 feathers still remaining, had probably but just attained 
 its adult plumage. The chesnut patch on the back of 
 neck, and the tints of the back and wings, were some- 
 what lighter than in older specimens. On the 2nd of 
 May, however, of the same year in which the Tarmouth 
 example was obtained, an adult male was shot in the 
 adjoining county of Suffolk, at Lound, near Lowestofb ; 
 and Mr. T. M. Spalding, of Westleton, has a fine old 
 male, killed by himself in Lord Stradbroke's park (Hen- 
 
SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 65 
 
 ham. Hall), in the same county, on the 10th of May, 
 1860. Messrs. Paget also refer to one killed at Brad- 
 well, Suffolk, in April, 1829. 
 
 MUSCICAPA GEISOLA, Linnaeus. 
 SPOTTED FLYCATCHEK. 
 
 One of our latest though most common summer 
 visitants, appearing generally in May, and leaving, with 
 its young, early in autumn. From its frequent habit of 
 placing its nest on the branch of a wall fruit tree, this 
 Flycatcher is here locally termed the "wall bird," and 
 its habits are too well known to need much description. 
 Though plain in plumage, and by no means endowed 
 with song, yet its useful and energetic pursuit of insect 
 food, and tameness when unmolested in our gardens and 
 orchards, renders it a general favourite. Perched on a 
 stake or iron fencing, or the end of a projecting branch, 
 it darts off after the flies as they come within range, and 
 again and again returns to the same spot, and in autumn 
 the old birds may be seen in constant motion, supplying 
 the wants of a small family, ranged side by side on a gate 
 or railing ; the more precocious occasionally imitating 
 their parents, by trying a little fly-catching on their 
 own account. A remarkable instance of the pertinacity 
 of this species in the choice of a nesting place occurred 
 at Catton Park in the summer of 1858, the very 
 interesting particulars of which were thus described by 
 Mr. Gurney in the " Zoologist," p. 6238 : " About the 
 end of June last, a spotted fly-catcher began to build a 
 nest over the door of the lodge at the entrance of my 
 grounds. The woman who lives in the lodge, not wish- 
 ing the bird to build there, destroyed the commence- 
 ment of the nest ; every day for a week the bird placed 
 new materials on the same ledge over the door, and 
 K 
 
66 BIEDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 every day the woman removed theil, and, at tlie end of 
 the week; placed a stone on the ledge, which effectually 
 baffled the flycatcher's efforts at that spot ; but the bird 
 then began building at the latter end of the ledge, from 
 whence it was also driven, and three stones being then 
 placed on the ledge, the bird relinquished the attempt 
 to build at either end of it, and commenced building a 
 nest on a beech tree opposite, which it completed, and 
 laid two eggs in it. When the bird was thus apparently 
 established in the beech tree, the stones over the door 
 were taken away, when the flycatcher immediately 
 forsook its nest and eggs in the beech, and again com- 
 menced building over the door on the part of the 
 projecting ledge, which it had first chosen. The nest 
 was again destroyed, and two slates placed over the 
 spot ; the bird contrived to throw down one of the 
 slates from a slanting to a horizontal position, and then 
 began to build upon it. The nest was again destroyed, 
 and the three stones replaced and kept there a fort- 
 night, after which they were again removed, and, 
 directly they were taken away, the bird again began 
 building. The nest was subsequently destroyed several 
 times in succession ; the bird was twice driven away by 
 a towel being thrown at it ; a stone, wrapped in white 
 paper, was placed on the ledge to intimidate it, but the 
 flycatcher still persevered, completed a nest, and laid 
 an egg. On hearing the circumstances, I directed that 
 the persecution of the poor bird should cease, after 
 which it laid two more eggs, hatched all three, and 
 successfully brought off its brood." 
 
 MUSCICAPA ATBICAPILLA, Linnaeus. 
 PIED FLYCATCHEK. 
 
 The habits of this species as a summer migrant, only, 
 to the British islands, are somewhat singular, from the 
 
PIED FLYCATCHER. 67 
 
 limited area within which it is known to remain and 
 breed, and the fact of its rare occurrence in the southern 
 counties, although a visitant to our shores from the 
 coast of Africa. Mr. Gould (" Birds of Great Britain") 
 describes it as plentiful in Westmoreland, Cumberland, 
 Yorkshire, and Durham, but scarce in Scotland; and 
 its appearance south of either Norfolk or Suffolk, is 
 unusual enough to be considered an accidental circum- 
 stance. As far as my own observations extend, it appears 
 to visit this county pretty regularly in spring, arriving 
 early in May, but, with the exception of the year 1849, 
 in small numbers, and appearing almost invariably in 
 certain favourite localities, either immediately on the 
 coast or close by in the vicinity of the larger broads, as 
 at Horsey and Hickling. Of its frequent occurrence in 
 the former locality, Mr. Rising very kindly furnished 
 me with the following particulars some four or five 
 years ago : " The pied flycatcher is a constant visitor 
 here in the spring, and I believe as constantly breeds 
 here. I obtained one nest, or at least three eggs, 
 in the spring of 1848, which had been taken by a 
 chimney sweep, but, on seeing him sometime after- 
 wards, he either could not or was afraid to tell me 
 where he found them." From more recent enquiries, 
 however, I find that these Horsey birds, having been 
 disturbed and shot at on one occasion, have not been 
 seen in their old haunts for the last two or three years. 
 The spring of 1849, as above stated, was remarkable for 
 the unusual quantity of these flycatchers that were 
 met with in different parts of the county, Mr. Gurney 
 having recorded in the "Zoologist" for that year 
 the occurrence of no less than nineteen specimens 
 within thirty miles of Norwich. It is also worthy of 
 notice, that all these occurred between the 9th and 
 17th of May, and since that time all that have come 
 under my notice have been killed between the 1st and 
 
 K2 
 
68 BIRDS OF NOEPOLK. 
 
 30th of the same month. Prom the total absence, 
 therefore, of specimens during the autumn, although 
 stated by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher to have occurred 
 at that season as well, it would seem that of late years, 
 at least, their course has been somewhat varied on their 
 southward migration. Mr. A. Newton tells me, that a 
 bird, which could hardly have been of any other species 
 than this, was seen by his brother Edward, at Elvedeii, 
 about three miles from the borders of Norfolk, on the 30th 
 of April, 1859. The same year, on the 3rd of May, a 
 male bird was killed at Hickling, and one at Hunstanton 
 about the same date, which is preserved at the Hall, in 
 the late Mr. L'Estrange's collection ; and on the 18th, a 
 pair which would probably have bred there, were shot at 
 Beeston, near Cromer. Probably the last obtained in 
 this county was killed near Foulsham on the 14th May, 
 1861. The same remarks as to time of appearance and 
 numbers, apply equally to the north-eastern portions of 
 the Suffolk coast, where at Gunton, near Lowestoffc, an 
 old male and a young female were shot during the first 
 week of May, 1862. Sir Wm. Hooker, in his M.S. 
 before referred to, also notices a pair killed at Gunton 
 on the 29th April, 1813 ; and the late Mr. Leathes, of 
 Herringfleet, once showed Mr. Gurney a hole in a small 
 tree, standing by the side of Fritton broad, in which 
 a pair of these birds were said to have nested some 
 years ago. 
 
 CINCLUS AQUATICUS, Bechst. 
 COMMON DIPPEE. 
 
 The Water Ouzel can be considered only as an 
 accidental visitant to this county, the few specimens 
 obtained from time to time appearing between the months 
 
COMMON DIPPEK. 69 
 
 of November and February (usually in severe weather), 
 upon our inland streams, as well as in the vicinity of the 
 coast. Whether or not the black-breasted water ouzel, 
 the Cinclus melanog aster, of Gould's " Birds of Europe," 
 is specifically distinct from the ordinary British form, 
 with a chesnut band across the abdomen, or merely 
 a climatal variety, undoubtedly our Norfolk specimens 
 belong to the former type. I have at different times 
 examined six or seven examples, all killed in this 
 county, which, with one exception to be hereafter men- 
 tioned, exhibited no trace of chesnut on the* under parts, 
 but were identical with" a Lapland specimen in the Nor- 
 wich museum (No. 40.b), collected in that country by the 
 late Mr. Wolley. We may naturally suppose, therefore, 
 from this circumstance, and the season at which our few 
 Norfolk specimens invariably appear, that they are chance 
 stragglers from the Scandinavian peninsula; and that 
 this opinion is entertained also by Mr. Gould, to whom 
 I communicated the above particulars for his new work 
 on " The Birds of Great Britain," is shown by his con- 
 cluding remark "I can account for their occurrence 
 in no other way." The Messrs. Paget refer to one 
 example of this bird in the collection of Mr. Youell, of 
 Yarmouth, as having been killed at Burgh in November, 
 1816 ; and Mr. Hunt in his " List" mentions Costessey 
 and Taverham as places where the dipper had occurred 
 to his knowledge. Mr. Stephen Miller, and the Rev. 
 Mr. Penrice, of Plumstead, had also each a specimen in 
 their collections, both of which I have no doubt were 
 obtained in this county. The specimen (No. 40.a) in the 
 Norwich museum is the one mentioned by Mr. Lubbock 
 in 1845, as " lately" shot at Hellesdon Mills, and two 
 others are stated, by the same author, to have been seen 
 at different times, by trustworthy observers, at Marling- 
 ford and Saxthorpe. Of more recent occurrence, I 
 may notice a male in my own collection, which was 
 
70 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 brought to me in the flesh, having been shot in Novem- 
 ber, 1855, whilst hovering over the river between the 
 Foundry bridge and the ferry. It is not a little singular 
 that a bird so accustomed to the clear running streams 
 of the north, and the quiet haunts of the " silent 
 angler," should be found as in this case, almost within 
 the walls of the city, sporting over a river turbid and 
 discoloured from the neighbouring factories, with the 
 busy noise of traffic on every side. About the same 
 time that this bird appeared near the city, three others 
 were observed on more than one occasion on the 
 Earlham river, by Mr. Fountaine, of Easton, who 
 is well acquainted with our British birds, but these 
 suddenly disappeared, and were not seen again. Mr. 
 Cremer, of Beeston, has one killed in that neigh- 
 bourhood, on the 25th of December, 1860 ; another 
 in the possession of Mr. Hubbard, a bird-stuffer, 
 in Norwich, was also procured in that year ; and a 
 third, in my own collection, on the 29th of January, 
 1861. All these birds were shown me in the flesh, 
 and had black breasts like my first specimen, and 
 were in good plumage and condition. There is also a 
 similar example in the late Mr. L'Estrange's collection, 
 at Hunstanton-hall, amongst the birds said to have 
 been killed in Norfolk, and which was most probably 
 obtained on that part of the coast. From the winter of 
 1861 I know of no others either seen or procured 
 in Norfolk until the 24th of November, 1864, when a 
 male bird was shot at Buxton by Mr. J. Gambling, 
 who very kindly presented it to the Norwich museum 
 (British series, No. 40.c). This specimen, which was 
 brought to me in the flesh, is the one before alluded to as 
 slightly exceptional in plumage, as, when fresh killed, 
 there was a decidedly reddish tinge below the white on 
 the breast, but by no means so bright or so extended as 
 in two Scotch skins in my possession. This tinge, 
 
COMMON DIPPER. 71 
 
 however, has much faded since the bird was preserved, 
 and I do not, therefore, think that my previously 
 expressed opinion respecting our Norfolk specimens, is 
 thereby upset. Mr. Alfred Newton, to whom I referred 
 this point, is of the same opinion, and remarks "All 
 birds vary, and they vary so as to resemble allied races or 
 species. Therefore, this may yet be a Scandinavian 
 example, and if so it would only go to prove that in the 
 Scandinavian form the black belly is not a constant 
 feature." On dissecting this last, I found the stomach 
 filled with the remains of insects, nothing else, con- 
 sisting of fragments of the elytra and legs of a little 
 water beetle, and of some small Notonecta. It is 
 also particularly worthy of notice that in almost 
 every instance in which this bird has been obtained in 
 Norfolk, away from the coast, it has been found in 
 the vicinity of the water mills upon our inland streams, 
 attracted no doubt by the noise and splash of the 
 tumbling flushes, the nearest approach to its native 
 waterfalls. 
 
 The great interest taken of late years in the sub- 
 ject of pisciculture, and the experiments made in the 
 artificial rearing of salmon and trout, have also led to 
 enquiries as to the truth or not of the assertion, 
 that the water ouzel is destructive to the ova of 
 fish. I have read with much interest the statements 
 of various writers in the "Field," "Zoologist," and 
 even the " Times" on this point, and am happy to 
 find that the evidence tends most decidedly to the 
 acquittal of this most interesting bird from a charge, 
 which at best only rested on suspicion, and may be 
 classed with that long list of ' ( vulgar prejudices" which 
 the careful researches of our modern naturalists are fast 
 sweeping away. When the dipper is seen to dive down 
 into the stream with that strange power of submersion 
 which it shares with the rails and the cunning water- 
 
72 BIKDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 hen, it is neither fry nor spawn that he is then seek- 
 ing, but on the contrary the larvae of innumerable 
 water insects, amongst which, those of the dragon 
 fly (Libellulce) , of various water beetles and of the 
 May fly* (Ephemera), are known to be especially de- 
 structive to spawn. The dissection of many examples 
 of the dipper, killed in the very act of feeding, 
 has failed to prove anything but their usefulness as 
 insect eaters, and on this point I believe I cannot quote 
 three more decisive authorities than Macgillivray, Gould, 
 and Buckland. Macgillivray remarks (Brit. Bds., vol. ii., 
 p. 59), "I have opened a great number of individuals 
 at all seasons of the year, but have never found any 
 other substances in the stomach than Lymnece, Ancyli, 
 Coleoptera, and grains of gravel." Mr. Gould also, 
 writing from personal observation, ("Birds of Great 
 Britain," part 1) says, " During my visit in November, 
 1859, to Penoyre, the seat of Col. Watkyns, on the 
 river Usk, the water ouzels were very plentiful, and his 
 keeper informed me that they were then feeding on the 
 recently deposited roe of the trout and salmon. By the 
 Colonel's desire, five specimens were shot for the pur- 
 pose of ascertaining, by dissection, the truth of this asser- 
 tion, but I found no trace whatever of spawn in either 
 of them. Their hard gizzards were entirely filled with 
 larvae of Phryganea and the water beetle (Hydrophilus). 
 
 * Mr. Win. Brown, in his interesting little work on the 
 experiments made in hatching the ova and rearing the fry at 
 Stormontfield, on theTay, says (p. 35) "TheMessrs. Ashworth, pro- 
 prietors of the Galway fishings, experimented on the May fly, and 
 their report is ' that the larvae of the May fly are known to be 
 most destructive.' In proof of this being the case, they say ' that 
 one year we deposited 70,000 salmon ova in a small pure stream, 
 adjoining to a plantation of fir trees, and these ova we found to be 
 entirely destroyed by the larvae of the May fly, which in their 
 matured state become the favourite food of smoults or young 
 salmon.' " 
 
COMMON DIPPER. 73 
 
 One of them had a small bull-head (Coitus gobio) in its 
 throat, which the bird had doubtless taken from under 
 a stone. I suspect that insects and their larvse, with 
 small shelled mollusks, constitute their principle food, 
 and it may be that their labours in this way are rather 
 beneficial than otherwise ; for as many aquatic insects 
 will attack the ova and fry, their destruction must be an 
 advantage." Lastly, Mr. Buckland, whose experiments 
 in, and writings upon, the art of pisciculture, are so 
 well known to the readers of the " Field," remarks in a 
 letter to the "Times" (April 4th, 1863)" It may be 
 observed that I do not mention the water ouzel as 
 destructive to spawn this advisedly, as of late I have 
 carefully examined the gizzards of several of these 
 beautiful little birds, and have found only the remains of 
 water insects in them; write the water ouzel, the friend 
 and not the enemy of the fish spawn." With such wit- 
 nesses to character, we may, I think, consider the 
 charges made against this most interesting bird as 
 wholly unfounded, whilst the experience obtained of 
 late years, through the rearing of salmon and trout, 
 as to the best means of protecting both spawn and fry, 
 ought to lead to the suppression of tame swans 
 on our shallow waters, as the worst enemies of the 
 " Anglers' Society." The only occasion in which I 
 have had the pleasure of seeing this bird in a wild 
 state, and that in a locality in which I should have 
 least expected to find it, was at Torquay, in Devonshire, 
 in the spring of 1859. Here a single dipper frequented 
 a quiet little rock girt bay, called the " bathing cove," 
 where it flitted from one range of rocks to the other, 
 flying low over the waves as they broke on the shingly 
 beach, or perched now and then on the huge stones 
 that form the breakwater jutting out into the sea. I had 
 not expected to find the water ouzel as in this instance 
 frequenting the very sea-side itself, but it certainly 
 
74 BIRDS OP NORFOLK:. 
 
 appeared as much, at home amidst the sound of the 
 billows, as it would amongst the foam and splash of the 
 the torrent, in its mountainous and more usual haunts. 
 
 TURDUS VISCIVORUS, Linnaeus. 
 MISSEL-THEUSH. 
 
 The Missel-Thrush is undoubtedly one of those 
 resident species whose numbers, through the attractive 
 shelter of our large plantations, have greatly increased 
 of late years. It is common enough in our gardens and 
 orchards during the breeding season, noisily and 
 boldly defending its nest and young against feathered 
 marauders, or even man himself, often dashing at the 
 head and face of the intruder in the most determined 
 manner. Yet this very bird, which, like the rook and 
 wood-pigeon, draws near to our homes for nesting 
 purposes, is at other times amongst the most difficult of 
 approach ; indeed, I have often thought that the term 
 missel, said to have originated in its fondness for mistletoe 
 berries, might, with a very little alteration in spelling 
 (mizzle), as appropriately indicate its wary nature. In 
 autumn and winter we see them in considerable flocks, 
 scattered over the grass lands, in parks and pastures, 
 or feeding on the various berries at that season, and it is 
 not improbable, although at present I have no direct 
 proof of the fact, that their numbers are increased at 
 such times by migratory arrivals from the north. I 
 believe that in many cases these birds, congregated 
 together, are mistaken by ordinary observers for field- 
 fares, and hence many of the stories of the early 
 appearance of those winter visitants. In this county, 
 also, the term "dow fulfer," in allusion to its large 
 size, is commonly applied to the missel-thrush. A 
 
MISSEL-THRUSH. FIELDFARE. 75 
 
 curious pied variety was killed in this county in 1853. 
 This bird had all the upper parts of the body white, 
 with the exception of one or two brown feathers on the 
 back, the chin and throat also white, but the usual 
 spots appeared on the lower part of the breast. 
 
 TURDUS PILAB1S, Linnus. 
 FIELDFARE. 
 
 To the lover of nature in all her varied aspects, there 
 is something peculiarly attractive in the first fall of 
 snow, be it early or late, before or after Christmas. It is 
 not the less cheering because of the cold, when, for the 
 first time in the season, upon drawing up our blinds in 
 the morning, a white unsullied covering presents itself, 
 with a glare that makes our eyes blink again, as the 
 sun struggling through the heavy clouds lights up the 
 brilliant landscape. How exquisite is that delicate 
 white fringe that hangs upon the branches of the leafless 
 trees, each twig, however small, each sturdy limb, 
 bearing on its surface its proportioned weight the 
 " giant of the forest" as completely powdered as the 
 little sapling by the road side. In our gardens and 
 shrubberies the thick white puffs are hanging in masses 
 on the plants and shrubs, and the dark green of the 
 laurel, the privet, and the box, looks almost black 
 beside the dazzling snow. Every breath of wind 
 scatters a gentle shower to the ground, and a constant 
 succession of little avalanches are falling in all direc- 
 tions from the laden branches. Contrasted with that 
 emblem of purity itself, all else assumes a darker shade. 
 The walls of our dwellings, with every " coin of van- 
 tage" picked oulf in relief by the penetrating drift, look 
 more than dingy, though the spotless roof has almost 
 
 L2 
 
76 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 lost its outline against the clear back-ground of the 
 wintry sky. The cattle in the yards, the sheep in 
 the pens, nay, if possible, the pigs look dirtier than 
 before, whilst even the white cat as she daintily but 
 reluctantly picks her way in the snow, shows a tinge of 
 yellow on her soft for, and the pretty fantails on the 
 pigeon-locker are as little able to bear the contrast. 
 Already the birds show symptoms of privation, and are 
 gathering around our dwellings for any crumbs of 
 comfort. The pert robin alights upon the window-sill, 
 and ruffles his feathers as, with head a little on one 
 side, he looks in upon us with his large bright eye, a 
 mute but eloquent appeal to our sympathy. A lump of 
 sparrows, looking half as big as usual, are collected 
 together in the freshly swept drive, and others, like 
 little feathered bunches, sit huddled up upon the trees, 
 scattering the snow in showers to the ground as they quit 
 or settle on the branches. The timid hedge sparrow 
 becomes more confiding, and shuffles its way to our very 
 door-steps, or creeps about beneath the wide spread 
 laurels, where still a little space, thus sheltered, affords a 
 snug retreat. We know where the blackbird has been 
 seeking his breakfast by that long double trail across 
 the grass-plot, and a perfect fretwork of mingling 
 footsteps shows where the meal was shared with others. 
 The song-thrush, now more pinched than any, is finish- 
 ing the last of the scarlet rowans that looked so pretty 
 on the mountain ash, but those once gone, and the 
 worms and insects buried beneath the snow or the hard 
 crust of the frozen soil, this delicate bird will fall the 
 earliest victim if, warned in time, he seeks not a warmer 
 climate. Such is the morning of the first snow; on 
 the morrow perhaps a stinging frost may have added 
 crystals to our winter carpet, glittering like diamonds in 
 the bright sunshine, but soon the glo^y of that match- 
 less whiteness is lost, through the minute particles that 
 
FIELDFARE. 77 
 
 are blown over its surface, and that which but now had 
 the charm of novelty will weary from its monotony in a 
 long winter. 
 
 Now is the season for the noisy Fieldfares, chatter- 
 ing amongst the trees in the open country. How large 
 they look in the dark foggy mornings as they hurry 
 across the fields on the slightest alarm, looming through 
 the mist as big as ring-doves, and whether singly or in 
 flocks always wary ; trying the patience of the youthful 
 gunner, who may reckon amongst his holiday exploits 
 many fruitless attempts, to stalk up to and bag 
 the Christmas fulfer. Regular and numerous winter 
 visitants to this county, they usually make their appear- 
 ance in November and leave us again towards the end 
 of April, but their movements in both cases depend 
 much upon the season, having occurred as early as the 
 14th of October, and in the cold spring of 1860 small 
 flocks were still met with up to the middle of May. 
 An instance is also recorded by Messrs. Sheppard and 
 Whitear, of a fieldfare having been killed at Cromer 
 during the first week in June, but I am not aware 
 that the nest of this species has ever been found in 
 Norfolk, although Yarrell has recorded one or two 
 doubtful instances in more southern counties. Mr. St. 
 John, in his " Natural History and Sport in Moray," 
 speaks of the fieldfares in severe weather doing much 
 damage by feeding on the Swedish turnips, scooping 
 pieces out with their beaks, and thus letting the frost 
 into the roots, a charge which I never remember to 
 have heard made against them in this county. A 
 specimen nearly white was killed at Hickling in 1848, 
 and a beautiful variety with the back and upper portions 
 of the wings and tail light buff, marked with a few 
 darker blotches, and the under parts of the body and 
 wings cream coloured, was shot at Swardestone in 
 March, 1858. 
 
78 BIRDS OF NOEFOLK. 
 
 TURDUS MUSICUS, Linnaeus. 
 .SONG-THRUSH. 
 
 The Song-Thrush or Mavis, as it is more commonly 
 called in this county, is plentiful enough, and in the 
 spring and summer months its sweet notes fill our 
 gardens and groves with the choicest melody. How ex- 
 quisite are the rich thrilling tones of this bird, as in the 
 light spring evenings he sings longest and latest, till at 
 times the varied beauties of his strain, induce some won- 
 dering listeners to believe that the nightingale is come 
 already. There is no author who has written more truth- 
 fully or more charmingly of our familiar British species 
 than Macgillivray, and amongst many passages in his 
 " British Birds," unrivalled for the minuteness and 
 accuracy of their details, is his sketch of the habits of 
 the song-thrush, as studied by himself amidst the wild 
 scenery of the Hebrides. " Listen (he says) to the clear 
 loud notes of that speckled warbler, that in the softened 
 sunshine pours forth his wild melodies on the gladdened 
 ear. * * * Listen again, and say what it does 
 resemble 
 
 " Dear, dear, dear, 
 
 Is the rocky glen ; 
 Far away, far away, far away, 
 
 The haunts of men. 
 Here shall we dwell in love 
 With the lark and the dove, 
 Cuckoo and corn rail ; 
 Feast on the banded snail, 
 
 "Worm, and gilded fly ; 
 Drink of the crystal rill, 
 Winding adown the hill, 
 
 Never to dry. 
 
SONG-THRUSH. 79 
 
 With glee, with glee, with glee, 
 
 Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up ; here 
 Nothing to harm us; then sing merrily, 
 Sing to the loved one, whose nest is near, 
 Qui, qui, qui, kweeu, quip, 
 Tiurru, tiurru, chipiwi, 
 Too-tee, too-tee, chiu choo, 
 Chirri, chirri, chooee, 
 Quiu, qui, qui." 
 
 This is indeed the " Poetry of nature/' and a marvellous 
 imitation of a song as remarkable for its varied modula- 
 tions, as for its surpassing richness and beauty. The 
 good effected by these birds in the destruction of 
 innumerable snails, worms, insects, &c., might well 
 insure them protection at our hands, independently 
 of their charms both of song and action. How hand- 
 some is the thrush as he appears on our walks or 
 grass-plots, with his rich spotted breast, and neat 
 trim figure, all energy and life. Just venturing from 
 the shelter of some laurel fence, he stands with 
 head erect and slightly turned to listen, now leaps a 
 pace or two and stops, his full bright eyes searching the 
 ground for food ; then with a short quick run he reaches 
 some worm protruding from the ground, extracts him 
 with a jerk, and bolts his prey. How often too in 
 some retired corner of our gardens we find his snailery, 
 if one may be allowed the expression, where, round the 
 stone that serves him for an anvil, are the debris of his 
 feasts, the numerous empty snail shells thus ingeniously 
 broken, proving at once the value of his services in 
 ridding us of these garden pests. In autumn our re- 
 sident thrushes receive very considerable additions to 
 their numbers by migratory flocks from the north,* as 
 
 * Sir Thos. Browne was evidently well acquainted with this 
 fact, as in speaking of our regular spring and autumn migrants, 
 he says "They are observed to come in great flocks, with a 
 north-east wind, and to depart with a south-west; nor to come 
 
80 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 must be evident to every sportsman who finds the turnip 
 fields at that season everywhere full of them, rising two 
 or three at a time, from the thick " whites," and more 
 particularly near the fences, or in snug corners with 
 plenty of cover. These, together with the majority 
 of our native birds, again proceed southwards on 
 the approach of winter, till, in severe weather, a few 
 pairs only remain in the vicinity of our towns, pick- 
 ing up a scanty subsistence in our shrubberies and 
 sheltered gardens, drawing nearer and nearer to our 
 dwellings as the cold increases and the berries begin 
 to fail. Mr. Alfred Newton, in a paper "On the mi- 
 gratory habits of the Song-Thrush" (Ibis, 1860, p. 83), 
 thus writes of them as observed by himself and his 
 brother, in the wide open districts in the south-western 
 parts of the neighbouring county : " Since the autumn 
 of 1849, my brother Edward and myself have paid much 
 attention to the presence or absence of the so-called 
 f resident' species of Turdus. The result of our observa- 
 tions is such as to leave on our minds not the slightest 
 doubt of the regular migration of the Song-Thrush, as 
 far as concerns the particular locality whence I write. 
 Year after year we have noticed that, as summer draws 
 to a close, the birds of this species (at that season very 
 abundant) associate more or less in small companies. As 
 autumn advances, their numbers often undergo a very 
 visible increase, until about the middle of October, when 
 a decided diminution begins to take place. Sometimes 
 large, but more generally small flocks are seen passing 
 at a considerable height overhead, and the frequenters 
 of the brakes and turnip-fields grow scarcer. By the 
 end of November, hardly an example ordinarily appears. 
 
 only in flocks of one kind, but teal, woodcocks, fieldfares, thrushes, 
 and small birds to come and light together; for the most part 
 some hawks and birds of prey attending them." 
 
SONG-THRUSH. 81 
 
 It is true that sometimes, even in severe weather, an 
 individual or so may be found here and there, leading a 
 solitary life in some sheltered hedge-bottom or thick 
 plantation which may afford conditions- of existence 
 more favourable than are elsewhere to be met with ; but 
 this is quite an exceptional occurrence. Towards the 
 end of January or beginning of February, their return 
 commences. They reappear at first slowly and singly ; 
 but as spring advances, in considerable abundance 
 and without interruption, until, in the height of the 
 breeding season, they by far outnumber their more 
 stay-at-home cousins, the Blackbirds." The same 
 thing may be also noticed in our eastern district, 
 although probably from its cultivated and more sheltered 
 character, the " Exodus" does not take place so early ; 
 yet, with the first indication of severe frost, their 
 " southern proclivities" are proclaimed by their absence, 
 and even of the very few that still linger about our cities 
 and suburbs, many are starved with both cold and 
 hunger, or meet a less lingering but not less cer- 
 tain death, from the school-boy gunners at Christmas. 
 The curious fact of a song-thrush having laid and 
 hatched her eggs on the bare ground in a plantation at 
 Sprowston, is recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney in the 
 " Zoologist," p. 3475. In this case the nest consisted 
 " simply of a little hollow scratched out at the foot and 
 under the shelter of a small bush." The same gentleman 
 has also noted in the above journal for 1864 (p. 9105), the 
 singular fact of a pair of song-thrushes having built 
 on the top of a straw beehive, resting on a covered 
 stand in his kitchen garden, at Catton; when probably 
 owing to the hive being fully tenanted, the female deserted 
 her nest after laying three eggs. One of the most ex- 
 traordinary nests, however, of this species that has come 
 under my notice, both as to locality and construction, 
 was shown me in 1861 by Mr. E. N, Bacon, who was 
 M 
 
82 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 then residing at Intwood. It had been built in an open 
 summer-house near the drive, and the bird had selected 
 for nesting purposes, an earthenware pan, accidentally 
 left on the top of a bracket, in which receptacle, the 
 materials, composed of moss and bents, were compactly 
 arranged, though necessarily flattened from the shallow- 
 ness of the saucer. In spite, however, of frequent 
 intruders to watch the progress of her novel proceedings, 
 the hen bird succeeded in hatching and bringing off five 
 young ones from this most unusual and uncomfortable 
 little nursery. The thrush is one of our earliest 
 breeders, incubation commencing generally by the 
 middle of March; and in the spring of 1864, a nest, 
 with three eggs was found in the vicinity of Norwich on 
 the 10th, the bush in which it was placed being covered 
 with snow, a heavy fall having occurred on the previous 
 night. Pure white and pied varieties of this bird are 
 occasionally met with. A very beautiful specimen of 
 the former, without spot of any kind, was killed near 
 Norwich in 1862, a year particularly remarkable for the 
 number of "varieties," amongst our common species of 
 birds, as observed in this county; and I have also 
 noticed more than once, that varieties in eggs will 
 abound in particular seasons, though I am unable to 
 assign any probable cause. 
 
 TURDUS ILIACUS, Linnaeus. 
 EEDWING. 
 
 A common winter visitant, arriving rather later 
 than the fieldfare, and leaving again earlier in the 
 spring. This species has probably never been known 
 to breed in Norfolk,* but a single specimen was killed 
 
 * In Sir "Wm. Hooker's MS. is the following statement, with 
 the name of Mr. Crow appended as the authority : " The Kedwing 
 
SONG-THRTJSH. BLACKBIRD. 83 
 
 in an ozier ground at Heigham, in 1850, as late as the 
 3rd of June, and on the 9th of the same month I picked 
 up one, very recently dead, in a garden on Bracondale, 
 which appeared to have been shot, having one leg broken. 
 Mr. H. E. Dresser, in the "Zoologist," p. 8484, states 
 that a fine albino specimen, seen by himself in the shop 
 of Mr. Wilson, bird preserver, of Lynn, was killed in 
 that neighbourhood in February, 1863. It was nearly 
 white, having only here and there faint cream coloured 
 markings* 
 
 TURDTJS MERULA, Linnaeus. 
 BLACKBIRD. 
 
 Common throughout the year, and migratory speci- 
 mens apparently arrive in the autumn, but being a much 
 hardier species than the song-thrush, most of our 
 native birds remain throughout the sharpest winters. 
 However deep the snow or intense the frost, the alarm 
 note of the blackbird is still heard in our gardens and 
 shrubberies, as he scatters the flakes from the powdered 
 laurels in his hurried exit; or his jetty plumage con- 
 trasts with the white covering of the ground, when, 
 half running, half leaping, he leaves the well-known 
 imprint of his feet, diverging here and there as his 
 quick eye detects some chance morsel, till, head erect, 
 he listens to approaching footsteps, and then a little 
 scuffle in the snow, and the slight markings of his out- 
 spread wings show where he took to flight. White, buff, 
 and pied varieties, in almost every degree of albinism, 
 are not unfrequently met with. A very beautiful 
 
 breeds at Lakenham every year; its song is far superior to that 
 of the Throstle." I cannot but think that if this were really 
 correct, the fact would have been known to, and recorded long 
 ago by our many resident naturalists. 
 M2 
 
84 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 example of the latter kind was shot in a garden on 
 Bracondale, near this city, in November, 1856, having 
 the head and neck with portions of the wings and tail 
 pure white, and being an old male, the deep black of 
 the other parts, mottled with white, had a very showy 
 appearance; the legs were black, with the toes and 
 claws flesh colour. I have also in my possession a 
 specimen killed at Shottesham, in November, 1863, 
 which, with the exception of one black feather in each 
 wing, exhibits the strange anomaly of a pure white 
 blackbird. In the spring of 1852 I was shown a 
 nest of this species, which had been built so close to 
 that of a thrush on the same bank that the materials 
 of both nests were completely interwoven, and remained 
 so when removed from the spot. Mr. St. John alludes 
 to the great increase of blackbirds in Moray owing to 
 the destruction of hawks for the preservation of game, 
 the sparrow hawk especially being a determined foe ; and 
 in this county the abundance of both blackbirds'* and 
 thrushes may be attributed, in a great degree, to the 
 same cause, since not only are their natural enemies 
 destroyed, but our strictly preserved coverts afford them 
 immunity from all bird-nesting boys, no intruders being 
 allowed during the breeding season for fear of disturbing 
 the sitting pheasants. 
 
 TUEDUS TORQUATUS, 
 
 OUZEL. 
 
 A regular migratory visitant, though, for the most 
 
 * The following entry in the L'Estrange "Household Book" 
 refers, no doubt, to this species, although the association of black- 
 birds and woodcocks is somewhat singular : " It pd to Stephyn 
 Percy for ij woodcocks and iiij blackbyrds iiij d - " A preceding 
 entry shows also the small sum given in those times for what is 
 now reckoned the greatest delicacy in the way of game" It pd 
 to John Long of Ingaldesthorpe for vj woodcocks x d - " 
 
KING OUZEL. 85 
 
 part, in small numbers, passing northward in spring 
 and southward in autumn, appearing generally in 
 April and October. The Ring Ouzel has been known 
 occasionally to nest in this county, and although 
 probably overlooked from its general resemblance to 
 the common blackbird and the similarity in the eggs 
 of the two species, it is not improbable that a few 
 pairs may do so nearly every year in favourable 
 districts, and I have reason to believe that such is the 
 case at Holkham. Mr. Spalding, of Westleton, who 
 has paid much attention to their habits in Suffolk, 
 assures me that he has himself taken several nests 
 and eggs in his neighbourhood, where they remain till 
 late in May should the winds be contrary, and then 
 frequently nest and lay; but he has never known 
 the young to be hatched, as the old birds appear to 
 leave at once with the first favourable wind, for more 
 northern localities. They build on the stubs in low 
 damp cars, both at Westleton and Yoxford, where the 
 birds have been watched, and would appear to remain 
 in all cases at no great distance from the coast. About 
 thirty years ago a nest of this species, with the old 
 bird sitting upon it, was found by Mr. Rising in his 
 garden at Horsey, and the same gentleman has kindly 
 supplied me with the following observations on their 
 annual appearance in that locality. He says, "We 
 generally see several of them every year in the early 
 spring; and in May, 1857, I watched four of them, 
 morning after morning, on the grass in front of my 
 window, and as constantly did an old missel-thrush 
 descend from an oak hard by where she had a nest, and 
 attack first one and then another until she drove them 
 fairly away. I fear these incessant attacks forced 
 them to some other locality, as on a sudden they were 
 gone, otherwise I felt a strong conviction that they 
 would have remained to breed." In 1856, ring ouzels 
 
86 BIEDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 were unusually numerous during their autumn migra- 
 tion, as appeared from the various notices at the time 
 of their occurrence in different parts of England; and 
 in April, 1859, when these birds and hoopoes were 
 unusually plentiful at the same time, at least thirty 
 specimens were brought to one bird preserver in Nor- 
 wich to be stuffed. Their numbers, however, in autumn 
 are generally very small compared with those that arrive 
 here in spring. 
 
 OEIOLUS GALBULA, Linnaeus. 
 GOLDEN OEIOLE. 
 
 This rare and beautiful species is described by the 
 Eev. E. Lubbock and Messrs. Gurney and Fisher as 
 having occurred several times in this county, and since 
 the date of their respective publications no less than 
 eight specimens have been killed in Norfolk, as recorded 
 on good authority in the " Zoologist." It is extremely 
 doubtful, I think, whether the Oriole has really been 
 known to nest in Norfolk, since, of the only two 
 recorded instances, one is undoubtedly inaccurate, and 
 the other founded merely on (e hearsay" evidence. 
 Yarrell remarks, in his f ' British Birds," " I have been 
 told that Mr. Scales, of Beechamwell, had eggs of the 
 golden oriole in his collection, which had been taken in 
 Norfolk," but Mr. Alfred Newton was assured by Mr. 
 Scales himself that the eggs here referred to were 
 brought from Holland, whilst the statement of Messrs. 
 Sheppard and Whitear amounts only to the fact of 
 their having been " informed that a pair of these birds 
 built a nest in the garden of the Eev. Mr. Lucas, 
 of Ormesby." It is not at all improbable that if un- 
 molested they might occasionally attempt to nest here, 
 
GOLDEN ORIOLE. 87 
 
 occurring as they do for the most part in pairs, 
 between spring and autumn, but the brilliant plumage of 
 the male bird at least, must inevitably attract notice, 
 and in these " collecting" days the fate of a visitant so 
 rare and so beautiful is unhappily sealed at once. The 
 subjoined list, I believe, includes all the examples 
 obtained in this county during the last seventeen years. 
 1847. On the 8th of May, an adult male was shot 
 in the garden of the Dolphin public-house, at Heigham ; 
 and another bird, probably the female, was observed 
 near the same spot on the following day. This specimen 
 is now in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney. 
 
 1850. On the 1st of August a female was killed 
 near Yarmouth; another, supposed to be the male, 
 being seen at the same time. 
 
 1851. In July of this year, an adult female was 
 obtained near Bungay. 
 
 1853. About the 17th of May, two males, in full 
 plumage, were killed, one at Kenninghall and the other 
 at Dilham. The former specimen was particularly rich 
 in plumage. 
 
 1856. On the 18th of May, a pair were shot toge- 
 ther near Lakenham. These birds, which are now in 
 my possession, are also in full adult plumage, the male 
 bird extremely beautiful, from the rich contrast of black 
 and yellow. 
 
 1861. A male, in full plumage, picked up dead at 
 Felbrigg, near Cromer, about the 17th of May. This 
 bird, in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney, exhibited 
 no appearance of having been shot, but, although 
 perfect in plumage, had from some cause almost wasted 
 away. 
 
 The following are all the earlier notices of the occur- 
 rence of this species in Norfolk that I have been able to 
 find in either published or MS. notes : According to 
 Yarrell, a pair shot at Diss, in 1829, were in the collec- 
 
 
88 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 tion of the Rev. Francis Henson, of Cambridge; and 
 Mr. Hunt, in his "List of Norfolk Birds/' says "I 
 have three specimens killed in different parts of this 
 county; and recently fApril, 1824), a fine male specimen 
 was shot at Hethersett, which is now in the possession 
 of J. Postle, Esq., of Colney." Of this bird, which is 
 also referred to by the late Mr. Lombe in his MS. notes, 
 the Rev. Edwd. Postle, of Yelverton, kindly sent me the 
 following particulars only a few weeks before his death: 
 ee It is now in the possession of my sister at Thorpe, and 
 was shot by my father at Hethersett. He only saw the 
 male bird, and had the good fortune to secure it by means 
 of a crow keeper's gun. It was reported that the female 
 had been seen with it, and Mr. Lombe for several days 
 had the place watched by his keeper, but it was never 
 reported by him as seen. The male was very tame, as 
 he allowed my father to go some little distance for the 
 weapon which brought him to death." Mr. Lombe also 
 mentions another male, as shot at Burlingham in 1830. 
 An old male, and an immature bird in Mr. Gurney's 
 possession, were purchased at the sale of the late Mr. 
 Stephen Miller's collection, and I recently destroyed a 
 moth-eaten female, formerly belonging to the Rev. C. 
 Penrice, of Plumstead, all of which I have no doubt 
 were obtained in this county. 
 
 ACCENTOR MODULARIS (Linnams). 
 HEDGE SPARROW. 
 
 Next to the house sparrow and the redbreast, this is one 
 of our most familiar species, resident with us throughout 
 the year, and nesting in our city and suburban gardens, as 
 well as in the hedgerows of the open country. Although 
 in summer rather heard than seen amongst the dense 
 
HEDGE SPARKOW. 89 
 
 foliage, in winter they boldly join the robin and other 
 pensioners upon our bounty ; coming close to our win- 
 dows and doors for crumbs, as they peck right and left 
 with their short shuffling gait, or with a succession of 
 long rapid leaps, or jumps close feet, seek the nearest 
 shelter when suddenly disturbed. With myself the 
 Hedge Sparrow has been always an especial favourite, 
 from its gentle unobtrusive nature, assimilating so well 
 with the neat russet and grey of its finely marked 
 though quiet plumage ; retiring yet not shy, and if 
 never quarrelsome, still always " holding his own," 
 even with the pert sparrow and still more saucy red- 
 breast. Perfect contentment and self respect seem 
 stamped in every action ; its little song is heard as 
 cheerily whilst sheltering in the hedge bottom from the 
 driving snow storm, as on the brightest morning in the 
 early spring; whilst in the aviary he still utters his 
 little notes, low, soft, and warbling, and though to a 
 great extent an insect eater when at large, seems equally 
 happy on an exclusively seed diet. Considering the 
 large number of their nests that are yearly taken or 
 robbed, it is somewhat singular that these birds should 
 continue so plentiful, their beautiful little blue eggs 
 forming the chief spoil of our bird-nesting boys, being 
 so easily detected during the early spring, when as 
 yet the leaves are but sprouting in the bare fences. 
 Macgillivray alludes to a singular disease to which this 
 species is peculiarly subject, and which he describes as 
 " tubercular and apparently carcinomatous excrescences 
 upon the eye-lids and about the base of the bill." This 
 is observable in some examples, both in a wild state and 
 in confinement, but perhaps more frequently in caged 
 birds. I never remember to have had a hedge sparrow 
 in my aviary that did not sooner or later throw out one 
 of these excrescences just over the eye, and w.hich after 
 a time would come away quite whole, about the size of a 
 
 N 
 
90 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 small pea, leaving a slight hollow completely bare of 
 feathers. The bird has not appeared to be otherwise 
 in ill health at the time, but the first tubercle was 
 usually followed by others. A curious white variety was 
 shot in this neighbourhood in 1854, having only two or 
 three brown feathers in the wings and tail ; and one 
 shot at Eaton, near Norwich, in December, 1862, was 
 also mottled with white on the upper parts of the 
 plumage, a rather unusual circumstance, as this species 
 is rarely subject to any variation in plumage. 
 
 The Alpine accentor (Accentor alpinus) has not been 
 added to the Norfolk list; but Mr. Lubbock mentions 
 having seen one in 1824, on a grass-plot at Oulton, near 
 Lowestofb, and this, with Dr. Thackeray's specimen, 
 are probably the only instances known of the appear- 
 ance of this rare species in the eastern counties. 
 
 ERYTHACA RUBECULA (Linnseus). 
 EEDBEEAST. 
 
 Everywhere welcome and protected, and therefore 
 everywhere common, the history of the Robin in Nor- 
 folk, as in all other counties in England, is but a " twice 
 told tale." Resident with us throughout the year, each 
 garden and shrubbery in town and country, each fence 
 by the roadside, or in the open fields, has its pair of 
 Redbreasts, ever ready " to do battle" for their rights, 
 against all kindred intruders upon their prescribed 
 domain. In winter, drawing nearer to our homes, they 
 claim our sympathy, and with that bold confiding nature 
 which has won for them an almost sacred place in every 
 English heart, seek at our doors and windowsills the 
 proffered crumbs. Nor does our bright-eyed friend, 
 wander far from us in the summer months, though the 
 
REDBREAST. 91 
 
 thick foliage of the trees and fences, and the rich medley 
 of our migratory songsters, render him then but little 
 heard or seen. Now and then his trim figure and his 
 ruddy breast appears upon our walks and grass-plots, or 
 flits before us down the wayside fence, where, perched 
 on some projecting spray, bowing, he utters his little 
 note and flirts his tail ; next moment, lost amongst the 
 tangled briars, unseen, he threads some well-known path 
 to seek his nest and young. His presence too, through- 
 out the slimmer, in the close vicinity of our homes, is 
 proclaimed at times, after a sultry day, when as late as 
 nine or ten o'clock his song is heard in our gardens, 
 all other notes but those of the nightingale being hushed 
 for the night. There is no portion of the year, however, 
 when for me the robin has so many pleasant associations 
 as in the shooting season. The leaves are falling and 
 the groves are still, the merry group of summer song- 
 sters have left us once again for the sunny south, and 
 winter migrants are fast arriving to supply their place. 
 Then gladly welcomed is his autumn song, which seems 
 to tell us that one friend is left to cheer the " waning 
 year." How strangely it breaks upon the ear at first, 
 as when some well remembered tune calls up old 
 memories. Clear and sharp it sounds in the fresh 
 morning air, whilst still the hoar frost hangs upon the 
 trees, or glitters on the threads of endless gossamer. 
 The sportsman hears it by the covert side as at mid- 
 day he rests awhile, and seeks refreshment after all his 
 toils ; and later still, as he " homeward plods his weary 
 way," that simple note, in some mysterious manner, 
 awakens recollections of the past, when the same sport 
 was shared with dear and absent friends. Again, in the 
 months of September and October, as the day declines 
 and the evening " draws in," how we listen to him in our 
 gardens and shrubberies, now clattering his little man- 
 dibles as he jerks up and down on some projecting branch, 
 
92 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 now singing sweetly, or at short intervals waiting for, and 
 answering some neighbouring songster. As a weather 
 guide to those who closely study the habits of birds, the 
 robin is indeed a feathered barometer, and often have 
 I proved the truth of an old countryman's remark 
 " 'twill be fine yet, sir ; that robin is singing higher 
 up the tree than he did this morning." Should a bright 
 interval also occur before sunset, after a day's rain, he 
 still cheers us with a merry note, though at such times, 
 as I have frequently noticed, he perches only midway 
 on the trees and bushes. On the other hand, though his 
 song may be heard at times during unsettled weather, 
 how doleful he seems when the clouds are heavy with 
 impending rain; how his little mandibles then vibrate 
 together with a peculiarly querulous sound, as though 
 his spirits fell with the occasion, and no doubt they do ! 
 for watch him again on some fine autumn evening, 
 when the sun setting leaves a glorious sky and gnats 
 in waltzing myriads proclaim a fine to-morrow, where 
 is he then ? There ! on that highest twig nearest to 
 heaven, where every leaf stands out, clear and distinct 
 against the deep blue sky, warbling his heartfelt satis- 
 faction in the scene, his little vesper hymn. 
 
 Who shall say that British ornithology is an ex- 
 hausted theme, when even the robin itself, still forms a 
 subject for discussion amongst enquiring naturalists ; and 
 are there not many of our most common species, whose 
 habits are literally less known than those of rarer birds, 
 simply because, being always with us, no one takes the 
 trouble to observe them thoroughly? Much has been 
 written of late in the " Field" and " Zoologist " as to 
 what becomes of the large number of robins, which, from 
 their very immunity from persecution, must necessarily 
 be reared in this country. Many, and ingenious have 
 been the theories advanced for their not increasing in 
 proportion beyond all other birds; some alleging that 
 
REDBREAST. 93 
 
 the young kill the old, others that the old, and especially 
 the hen birds, are migratory in autumn, whilst their 
 natural pugnacity, the cat, and cold winters, have been 
 each in turn alleged as the chief cause. That they do 
 fight, and that to the death, is a well known fact, and 
 many probably from their very tameness fall victims to 
 the cat ; but I believe the robin to be as capable of 
 braving our winters as any of our resident birds, and 
 from its very boldness in seeking the protection of man 
 is less likely than many to suffer privation. There is 
 one other point, too, which has often struck me, that 
 whatever the cause that thins their numbers, a dead 
 robin is after all about as rarely seen as Mr. Weller's 
 dead donkey or defunct post-boy; and yet, though 
 puss from her very love of destroying life does "kill 
 cock robin," so far as my experience goes she never eats 
 him, he being one of those birds whose peculiar odour or 
 flavour seems particularly obnoxious to the feline race. 
 With reference, however, to the supposed migratory 
 habits of the redbreast, I quote the following passage 
 from a most interesting paper, by Mr. Edward Blyth, 
 in the first volume of the " Field Naturalist" for 
 1833 (p. 466) ; the facts stated having been communi- 
 cated to him at the time by a friend, a good observer of 
 nature, who had just come from Aberdeen on board 
 a trading smack : <e On the 16th of September, on 
 the voyage from London, northward, when off the 
 coast of Yorkshire, and about ten or twelve miles from 
 Eedcliff, several small birds alighted on the vessel." 
 After enumerating tree pipits, willow- wrens, whinchats, 
 and a female redstart, he adds, " On the following day 
 (Sept. 17th), other species made their appearance ; 
 several wheatears, robins, and one male stonechat. All 
 these birds migrate by night ; and they all left the vessel 
 on the first night after their appearance excepting two 
 robins, which remained for some time, being fed by the 
 
94 BIRDS OP KOEFOLK. 
 
 passengers, and which, with the characteristic effrontery 
 of their species, stationed themselves, the one at the 
 front of the vessel, the other at the stern, and fought 
 on the least intrusion into each other's territory." 
 There is, unfortunately, no statement as to the course 
 these birds were observed to be taking; but from the 
 time of year and the species enumerated, we may 
 infer they were proceeding more or less in a southerly 
 direction; and whilst it raises the question whether 
 robins from more northern countries may not swell 
 the numbers of our resident birds in autumn, as is 
 the case with the tiny goldcrests and other delicate 
 forms, it renders it by no means improbable that some 
 of our home-bred robins may in like manner leave us for 
 a warmer climate. At present, at least, I have no direct 
 proof of their arrival on our coast, either from their 
 being picked up under the telegraph wires, or at the 
 foot of our light-houses; but I have certainly been 
 struck on more than one occasion in the autumn months, 
 with the very unusual number of robins observed by the 
 roadside. On the llth of October, 1864, when driving 
 early in the morning, between Wymondham and Funden- 
 hall, a distance of about four miles, my attention was 
 attracted by the constant succession of robins (from their 
 pale breasts and unfinished plumage, apparently birds of 
 the year), that appeared on the trees and fences on either 
 side. As usual scarcely two birds were seen together, but 
 single individuals appeared nearly all the way at short 
 intervals, and if collected like linnets into one flock, would 
 have given the impression of numbers even more forcibly. 
 Could these then have been for the most part autumnal 
 migrants, or indications only of the large quantities 
 reared in this county as a favoured race ? If merely 
 the latter, then undoubtedly we have little need to 
 repeat the enquiry so often made, "what becomes of 
 the large number of robins annually reared in this 
 
REDBREAST. 95 
 
 country?" Whether some portion of our robins how- 
 ever, do or do not, proceed southward during the winter 
 months, I can see no reason for supposing (as alleged 
 by certain writers), that such an exodus would be confined 
 to the females, a fact, which only a " slaughter of the 
 innocents," owing to the similarity of plumage in the 
 two sexes, could satisfactorily determine. Of the mi- 
 gratory habits of this species on the Continent there is 
 no doubt, and the following passage with reference to 
 this fact appeared in a very interesting paper in the 
 " Ibis" for 1864, by Lieut. Sperling, on the ornithology 
 of the Mediterranean :* " The Robin (he says), I 
 am certain, migrates regularly, for I have very fre- 
 qently met them at a long distance from the land; 
 besides which an ornithological friend of mine re- 
 cords it as a regular passenger through Malta." The 
 same writer also, speaking of the redbreast as found 
 in Santa Maura and Greece, describes it as, "more 
 plentiful during the winter than the summer," and 
 adds ' ' This bird is, I believe, not supposed to migrate. 
 If this be the case, how is it that they are so frequently 
 met with at sea -just in the migratory season?" 
 In the same volume also (p. 413), my friend Mr. Swin- 
 hoe, Vice-Consul of Formosa, in recording his ornitho- 
 logical observations during the overland route to China in 
 October, 1863, remarks " Between Marseilles and Malta, 
 when eighty miles from the latter place, the weather 
 being calm, two male Sparrows (Passer domesticus), and 
 two Robins (Erithacus rubecula), came on board the 
 steamer and stayed a short time ; they were evidently on 
 their passage across from Europe to the African coast." 
 Anecdotes are not wanting in this county, as throughout 
 the kingdom, of strange situations chosen by these 
 
 * " Some account of an Ornithologist's Cruise in the Mediter- 
 ranean." By Lieut. R. M. Sperling, E.N., " Ibis," 1864, p. 268. 
 
96 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 familiar pets for nesting purposes; and occasionally, 
 though rarely, buff coloured and pied varieties have 
 been met with. Mr. T. E. Gunn, of this city, in his 
 notes on varieties occurring in Norfolk, (Journal of 
 the West Biding Naturalists' Society, 1864, No. 10) 
 mentions two examples obtained in this neighbourhood 
 in the winter of 1859, "one of a blueish slate colour, 
 lighter on the breast and abdomen; the other white, 
 mottled with small patches of the usual colour." A 
 correspondent in the "Field" (Feb. 13th, 1864,) also 
 described one recently shot near Lynn, as having the 
 "back a light stone colour, its breast sligtftly tinged 
 with orange, and its belly light lavender;" and a 
 specimen in my possession, procured near Norwich in 
 February, 1865, has the whole of the upper portions of 
 the plumage light buff colour, the wings pale buffy 
 white, and the under parts as usual. 
 
 PHCENICURA SUECICA (Linnsens). 
 BLUE-THEOATED WARBLER. 
 
 The only example of this most elegant species, known 
 to have occurred in Norfolk, is a male bird in Mr. Gur- 
 ney's collection, picked up dead on the beach at Tar- 
 mouth, on the 21st of September, 1841. The same 
 gentleman has also another male killed about the 15th 
 of May, 1856, near Lowestoft, in the adjoining county, 
 and it is particularly worthy of note, that both these 
 birds, as well as the first recorded British specimen now 
 in the museum at Newcastle-on-Tyne, belong to the 
 form with the red spot prevailing in Scandinavia, 
 and not to the white spotted form which yearly visits 
 Germany and Holland. Of these two the Lowestoft 
 specimen is the most perfect in plumage, both as to 
 
BLUE-THROATED WARBLER. 97 
 
 the extent and vividness of the blue, and the purity 
 of the red spot, the same parts in the Yarmouth 
 bird being less clearly denned. How far the white or red 
 spots may be considered as characteristics of two distinct 
 species it is difficult to say ; it will suffice, however, 
 for my present purpose, to have shown that the only two 
 examples met with on our eastern coast are like the 
 dippers before alluded to, identical with Lapland speci- 
 mens, presented to the Norwich museum by the late 
 Mr. Wolley, and are represented by the two figures in 
 Dr. Bree's "Birds of Europe" (vol. ii., p. 11). Having 
 adopted the nomenclature of Yarrell in this work, I 
 have retained his scientific designation of Phcenicura 
 suecica, the specific term suecica being perfectly appli- 
 cable in the present instance, although not correctly so to 
 the white spotted form, figured by that author in his 
 " British Birds." There is no doubt that the red 
 spotted form is the true Motacilla suecica of Linnseus,* 
 subsequently described by Pallas, as M. ccerulecula; 
 and by Schlegel, as Lusciola cyanecula orientalis ; whilst 
 the white spotted form which does not seem to extend 
 its range so far northward, is the 8. cyanecula of Meyer, 
 and Schinz, improperly called Cyanecula suecica by 
 Brehm and others. Another, and apparently less com- 
 mon form of blue-throated warbler, having the entire 
 throat blue, without either a red or a white spot, has 
 received the name of Sylvia wolfii. Mr. Newcome's 
 collection, at Feltwell, contains an example of this form, 
 which was killed in Holland, and it is by no means 
 improbable that it may some day be recognised in 
 Norfolk. 
 
 See Linnaeus' diagnosis ' Syst. Nat.' 1766, i., p. 336, " .MTotacilla] 
 pectore ferrugineo fascia ccerulia," fyc. 
 
98 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 PHGENICURA RUTICILLA, Swainson. 
 EEDSTAKT. 
 
 f, * . '"" ' "; -Q. J ^ ''-' '-'". *'* *?- '*** -* 
 
 A common summer visitant appearing early in April, 
 though sometimes seen by the middle of March, and 
 almost rivalling the redbreast in the singular localities 
 occasionally selected for nesting purposes. This beautiful 
 species, or at least the male bird, with its white fore- 
 head and rich black throat, is one of the most striking 
 of our southern migrants, and when perched on a 
 low branch or stake in our gardens, constantly jerking 
 his tail and uttering his sweet and peculiar song, 
 attracts deserved attention. Its dexterity as a fly- 
 catcher is something marvellous, springing up into the 
 air and seizing three or four insects one after the other 
 before returning to its perch, and so quick sighted is it, 
 that I have seen one dart off the ground and capture a 
 fly from the wall many feet above it, the sharp tap of 
 the beak upon the bricks being heard at some distance. 
 Tear after year it appears with singular regularity in 
 the same locality, seeking, if undisturbed, the same 
 favourite spot for its nest ; and like the redbreast 
 and hedge sparrow frequents the walled-in gardens of 
 our towns and cities, as well as the orchards and groves 
 of the open country. At my father's residence, in 
 Surrey-street, a pair always frequented the garden in 
 summer, and were a source of no little pleasure to me, 
 as a boy, when I anxiously watched for their appear- 
 ance in spring, speculating as to where they would 
 build next. One year, to my great surprise, they nested 
 under the tiles of an adjoining house, in just such a 
 locality as a sparrow would choose, but in these matters 
 they are peculiarly eccentric. Elegant in form, sprightly 
 
REDSTART. BLACK REDSTART. 99 
 
 in action, and peculiarly bright and diversified in colour, 
 the redstart at all times delights the eye, but never 
 looks more beautiful than when, resting awhile, it sits 
 embowered amidst the clustering blossoms on our apple 
 or cherry trees. As a songster it ranks amongst the 
 earliest and latest in the summer months, as I have 
 heard its singular hweet, tit y tit, between two and three 
 o'clock in the morning, and as late as nine and ten at 
 night. 
 
 PHCENICUBA TITHYS (Scopoli). 
 BLACK EEDSTART. 
 
 Until 1848 this rare species had probably not been 
 noticed in this county, but on the 31st of October of 
 that year an adult female was killed near the old battery 
 at Yarmouth, as stated by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, in 
 the " Zoologist," p. 2345 ; and two more were obtained 
 about the first week in November of the following 
 year, as recorded by Mr. Gurney in the same journal 
 (p. 2651). With the exception of an occasional specimen 
 or two obtained by the late Mr. Thurtell at Lowestoffc, 
 in the adjoining county, the above are perhaps the only 
 instances known of the Black Redstart having visited 
 this district. It is, however, worthy of notice that, 
 both at the time these specimens appeared on our coast 
 in 1849, and also between January and March of the 
 following year, an unusual number of these birds were 
 met with in various parts of England (as noticed at the 
 time in the " Zoologist"), but mostly in the southern 
 counties. It is somewhat remarkable that this species, 
 which, according to Mr. Gould and other authorities, 
 breeds in Belgium, the north of France, and the south 
 of Germany, should be a winter visitant, only, to the 
 British Islands, regularly appearing in Sussex, Devon, 
 o2 
 
100 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 and Cornwall, at a time when its allied species, our 
 common redstart, has left us with other soft billed 
 migrants to winter in a warmer climate. Mr. Gould, 
 however (" Birds of Great Britain"), considers that this 
 apparent eccentricity is owing to a partial westward 
 migration, some even crossing the Irish Channel, whilst 
 the main body do really pass southward in autumn, and 
 cross the Mediterranean. 
 
 SAXICOLA RUBICOLA (Linnaeus). 
 STONECHAT. 
 
 A common spring visitant, and breeds with us, 
 frequenting the wild open districts abounding in furze. 
 The grassy summits of the cliffs on our seacoast, when 
 gay with the yellow gorse, are also very favourite re- 
 sorts, where this restless species may be seen incessantly 
 flitting from one bush to another, or uttering its little 
 jerking notes from the topmost twigs. The male, with 
 the rich black head of the breeding plumage, forms a 
 striking object in our rural walks, and both sexes, from 
 their sprightly actions and incessant cries, enliven such 
 scenes as might otherwise weary from their very mono- 
 tony. If we chance to approach the vicinity of their 
 nests, the excitement of these little creatures becomes 
 intense, each parent endeavouring to lead us on, by 
 perching at short intervals directly in our path, the 
 male still continuing this anxious duty long after the hen 
 bird has slipped quietly back again, to assure herself of 
 the safety of her household treasures. Mr. Blyth has 
 aptly rendered their notes, at such times, by the words 
 hweet, jur, jur ; hweet, jur, which to the ear, at least of 
 the field naturalist, will convey a sound, associated 
 always with the yhit, yhit, yhit, of the flickering titlark 
 
STONECHAT. - WHINCHAT. 
 
 and the " little bit of bread and no cheese" of the 
 drawling yellow ammer. Some of these birds evidently 
 remain with us throughout the year, having been noticed 
 in the most exposed situations during very severe 
 weather. 
 
 SAXICOLA RUBETRA (Linnaeus). 
 
 WHIJSTCHAT. 
 
 Common in summer, and breeds in the county. In 
 habits the Winchats much resemble the last named 
 species, with which they commonly associate on our 
 heaths and sandhills, though less numerous; but in 
 the spring of 1864, I saw the contents of some four- 
 teen or fifteen nests, all taken amongst the furze on 
 Household, near Norwich, with only a few eggs of the 
 stonechat amongst them. Mr. Hewitson speaks of find- 
 ing the nests of this bird in rough pasture fields and 
 grassy meadows, in Westmoreland; and on one occa- 
 sion I met with an old pair and a young one, in what 
 seemed to me a very strange locality namely, on a 
 wet marsh adjoining the broad at Surlingham. This 
 was in the month of June, 1859, when, after spending a 
 night on the water, I was endeavouring to find the nest 
 of some grasshopper warblers, which were f( creaking," 
 in various directions, about three o'clock in the morning. 
 A strange note from a neighbouring sallow bush 
 arrested my attention, and, wondering what new 
 discovery I was destined to make, I observed a pair 
 of whinchats jerking their tails up and down, and 
 uttering their peculiar cry in an agitated manner. On 
 searching the bush I soon found a half-fledged young 
 one, but no nest; yet, being unable to fly, it must 
 have been brecl on the marsh, a very swampy and 
 unusual locality. Being in want of specimens I se- 
 
102 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 cured the whole family, and the nestling is now in the 
 museum collection (British series, No. 58. c). Messrs. 
 Gurney and Fisher have recorded an instance of this 
 species having been observed here in winter; and 
 Mr. T. E. Gunn, who is well acquainted with most of 
 our British birds, states in the " Zoologist" p. 9455, 
 that he observed a male at Hethersett, near Norwich, 
 in January, 1864, and a pair near the banks of the 
 Heigham river, towards the end of November, in the 
 same year ; but such cases are, I believe, uncommon in 
 any part of England. 
 
 SAXICOLA (ENANTHE (Linnaeus). 
 WHEATEAE. 
 
 A common summer visitant and breeds in Norfolk, 
 arriving about the end of March and leaving in 
 September ; a large number also from more northern 
 localities appear here, on their way southward, towards 
 the end of August. This species, like the two pre- 
 ceding ones, is met with in the open parts of the 
 county, on heaths and common lands, or in the vicinity 
 of gravel pits, and abounds on the sandy hills by the sea 
 coast. Mr. Salmon, writing of the Wheatear in Nor- 
 folk and Suffolk, says (YarrelTs "British Birds," vol. i.) 
 "it is very abundant on the warrens, and usually 
 selects a deserted rabbit-burrow, in which it places its 
 nest at some little distance from the entrance : it is 
 composed of dried roots, intermixed with feathers, 
 rabbit's down, and other light substances; it generally 
 contains six pale blue eggs. The nest is easily de- 
 tected by a little observation, for in such situations 
 the old birds amass a considerable number of small 
 pieces of the withered stalks of the brake, Pteris 
 
WHEATEAR. 103 
 
 aqwlina, on the outside, at the entrance of the burrow : 
 by noticing this circumstance its nest is sure to be 
 discovered." There is little doubt that this is the 
 species thus noticed by Sir Thomas Browne; "Avis 
 trogloditica or chock, a small bird, mixed of black and 
 white, and breeding in coney-burrows, whereof the 
 warrens are full from April to September, at which time 
 they leave the country. They are taken with a hobby 
 and a net, and are a very good dish." I have frequently 
 observed them on their first arrival in spring, exhibiting 
 a most singular diversity of colouring in the gradual 
 assumption of the breeding plumage, the earliest speci- 
 mens having the grey of the upper parts much clouded 
 with brown, but in a short time the grey predominates, 
 and in old males becomes quite pure. By the sea- 
 side, I have always found them more numerous along 
 the extensive line of marram hills, in the vicinity of 
 Hunstanton, than amongst the brakes and furze, upon 
 the lofty cliffs in the neighbourhood of Cromer, though 
 equally perforated with rabbits' burrows; and on dis- 
 sction have almost invariably found their stomachs 
 filled with the remains of such small beetles as are seen 
 at the roots or on the blades of grasses, and minute 
 spiders, commonly called " money spinners." A very 
 curious female variety, killed at Thetford, in July, 
 1850, is thus described by Mr. J. H. Gurney in the 
 "Zoologist," p. 2923, "The colour on the head, neck, 
 wing-coverts, back, rump, tail, throat, breast, and belly, 
 are distributed as usual. The most singular thing about 
 this specimen is, however, the circumstance of the wings 
 being of a pure white with the exception of a few feathers 
 on the shoulders, and two or three adjoining primaries 
 in the centre of each wing, which are of a pale buff 
 colour." 
 
104 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 SALICARJA LOCUSTELLA (Latham). 
 GEASSHOPPEE WAEBLEE. 
 
 Macgillivray, in his notes on the Grasshopper 
 Warbler ("British. Birds/' vol. ii., p. 489), gives 
 the following local account of this species, as written 
 by his son from personal observations : " During a 
 short residence in Norfolk, from the middle of June 
 to the beginning of October, 1838, I had almost 
 daily opportunities of hearing the singular note of 
 this interesting bird, which is nowhere, perhaps, 
 more abundant than in the neighbourhood of Norwich, 
 where I saw it alive for the first time. * * * * 
 The note, if once heard, can never be afterwards 
 mistaken for the sound of a grasshopper or cricket, 
 however striking the resemblance ; besides, the length 
 of time for which it is continued, provided the bird be 
 not disturbed, is much greater. Thus, on one occasion, 
 while watching some pike lines by the margin of a deep 
 pool, I heard the trill of the grasshopper chirper 
 emitted from a neighbouring hedge for at least twenty 
 minutes, during which time the bird appeared to have 
 been sitting on the same spot. I cannot state the 
 period of the arrival of this bird in the Eastern counties, 
 but I observed it as late as the end of September, up to 
 which period I regularly saw and heard my little friends 
 in a lane through which I passed every second day on 
 my way to the bath-house at Heigham. Although it 
 frequents hedges alone, in so far as I have observed, I 
 once heard two crying in the gardens attached to the 
 Bishop's Palace, at Norwich. * * * On Costessey 
 common, a few miles from Norwich, I never met with 
 it, although it is abundant in all the neighbouring 
 
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 105 
 
 hedges, so much so that on a fine evening, I have at one 
 time listened to at least a dozen, and have heard their 
 cries even until the goatsucker and the bat flitting 
 about, on noiseless wings, announced the close of day." 
 That these birds are not at the present time thus 
 plentiful in the localities above alluded to I have had 
 many opportunities of ascertaining, and though occa- 
 sionally heard in the neighbourhood of this city and 
 in many parts of the county, where large woods, inter- 
 sected with runs of water or thick old-fashioned hedge- 
 rows afford sufficient shelter; their great stronghold, 
 together with the allied species, is decidedly the district 
 of the broads. There, large tracts of fresh water com- 
 municating with the navigable rivers, are surrounded 
 by the most luxuriant marshes, covered, during the 
 summer, with long tangled grasses and innumerable 
 wild flowers. Reed beds on every side bordered with 
 green sedge, line the water's edge, the treacherous soil 
 admitting of no heavier footsteps than those of moorhens, 
 rails, and coots, thus forming a retreat, better suited 
 than almost any other in the kingdom, for those marsh 
 warblers, which, from their local and distinctive habits, 
 have been classed by Selby under the genus Salicaria. 
 
 The desire to obtain some Norfolk specimens of 
 this bird, of which I had never seen more than two 
 or three examples in the hands of our bird-stuffers, 
 induced me, in the summer of 1852, to pay several 
 visits to one of our smaller broads. Many fruitless 
 trips began to try my patience, when, at last, on a 
 still summer's afternoon, when scarcely a breath of 
 wind stirred the feathery tops of the reed, I heard, for 
 the first time, the singular creaking note of this wary 
 songster. Finding it impossible even then to make 
 him break cover, I told the broad-man, who was with 
 me, to pay attention to the note, since, his employment 
 causing him to be early and late on the water, he was 
 p 
 
106 BIKDS OF NOBFOLK. 
 
 by far the most likely to obtain a shot. This man 
 assured me at the time that he had often heard the same 
 " creaking noise" amongst the sedges without imagining 
 that it was caused by a bird. Two days later I received 
 my first specimen, an adult female, and the above, with 
 one exception, is the only occasion on which I have 
 heard this warbler on the broads in the middle of the 
 day. The want of success, therefore, usually attending 
 the search for this species, will be readily explained by 
 the following description of its habits, as observed in 
 our fens during several successive seasons ; and I may 
 add that since 1852, except from one or other of the 
 broads, I have known of but three or four obtained in 
 this county, although I have heard them occasionally 
 on heaths and in hedgerows, at a distance from any 
 water, and have had their eggs from various localities. 
 The same broad-man who procured my first specimen, 
 and from the same marshes, has since obtained many 
 others during the last few years, all of which have been 
 shot between three and six in the morning, or by moon- 
 light as late as ten and eleven o'clock. At these times 
 the grasshopper warbler appears to throw off somewhat 
 of its shyness, continually uttering its loud note, 
 distinguishable at a great distance, and when seen is 
 almost invariably perched on the highest twig of a small 
 bush. If undisturbed it remains " creaking" by the 
 hour together, constantly moving its head from side to 
 side, and if silent may be readily distinguished from the 
 reed or sedge warbler by its sitting more upright, with 
 its tail straight down. When observed on a reed stem 
 (which is very seldom), it is always at the top, keeping a 
 sharp look out, and on the slightest noise it drops like a 
 stone into the thickest cover. In one respect it re- 
 sembles the sedge warbler, preferring the shelter of the 
 small bushes on the drier marshes to that of the reed 
 beds, and here, no doubt, the nests are usually placed ; 
 
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 107 
 
 but the restless motions of the birds, and the dense- 
 ness of the herbage, render them more likely to be dis- 
 covered through accident than by the most diligent search. 
 That they do breed there, however, has been proved by 
 the appearance of the breast feathers in more than one 
 female, and two young birds of the year have been also 
 obtained. It was also formerly abundant in the fen- 
 districts in the south-western corner of the county, 
 where it was known to the sedge-cutters as the 
 "reeler," through a fancied resemblance between the 
 sound of its song and the noise made by a fishing line 
 running off the reel; and even now, in spite of the 
 changes effected by drainage and cultivation, a few 
 pairs still resort there every year. Mr. Newcome's 
 collection contains several eggs of this species from 
 Feltwell fen, and he informs me that a few nests 
 are found there nearly every season. The earliest 
 appearance of these warblers, to my knowledge, is 
 the first week in April, and several have been 
 heard towards the end of August, about which time 
 they probably leave us. The females are, if any- 
 thing, larger than the males, but the latter, even in 
 their young plumage, are at once distinguishable by a 
 number of minute spots on the throat, and the legs of 
 this, as also of Savi's warbler, are flesh-coloured, and 
 the eggs profusely freckled with minute pink spots on a 
 white ground. On the 7th of June, 1852, a male bird 
 was shot near a pond at Tivetshall, which, from its 
 peculiar tints and small size, might almost be termed a 
 variety. I have only once since met with a similar 
 specimen, also a male ; in both cases the underparts ex- 
 hibited a rich yellowish tinge, reminding one rather of 
 the willow or wood-warbler, and the markings on the 
 back and wings were far more vivid than usual. The 
 latter example in my collection is, however, no longer 
 distinctive in this respect, the brighter shades having 
 
108 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 faded like the buff-coloured breast of an adult goosander, 
 so soon lost in a preserved specimen. The account of a 
 nest and eggs of this warbler, taken near Downham 
 Market, on the 24th of May, 1847, is noticed in the 
 " Zoologist" for that year. I have also eggs of this 
 species found in 1859, on the grassy banks of the 
 railway cutting, near a plantation at Ketteringham, and 
 others were taken in Hethel wood, near Norwich, in 
 May, 1864, as noticed in the "Zoologist," p. 9108. 
 
 SALICARIA PHRAGrMITIS (Bechstein). 
 SEDGE-WAEBLEK. 
 
 The Sedge Warbler is not only far more numerous as 
 a species, but less local in its habits, than any other 
 member of this small group, arriving about the first 
 week in April, and leaving again towards the middle of 
 September. Not only does this bird abound on every 
 part of the broads, but the sedges bordering the banks 
 of rivers, the reedy margins of our inland lakes, osier 
 carrs and moist plantations, with tangled thickets in 
 low meadows, where the running stream is lost for 
 a space beneath the overhanging brambles, and struggles 
 on through a thick growth of flags and rushes, alike 
 resound with its incessant notes ; in short, wherever a 
 sufficiency of coarse moist herbage affords food and 
 shelter, the hurried chitty, chitty, cha, cha, chit, chit, 
 of this garrulous warbler may be heard throughout 
 the summer. Except in windy weather, when it 
 keeps low down amongst the reeds and sedges, this 
 species is by no means shy, but flits openly from one 
 green covert to another, often singing as it flies, and 
 seeming to sing still louder in defiance of any inter- 
 ruption, whilst it perches on and sings from the 
 
SEDGE-WARBLER. 109 
 
 branches of the willow and birch, as well as from the 
 stems of aquatic plants. It is singular that the nest of 
 this species should have been so often confounded with 
 that of the reed warbler, being- so different in shape and 
 general character ; for the depth and compactness of the 
 one, which suits it so admirably for its position on the 
 reeds, is wholly wanting in the other, which is flat and 
 loosely constructed. Such as I have myself examined have 
 resembled in form the black-headed bunting's, and were 
 built externally of the stems of grasses interwoven with 
 moss, and lined with the feathery tops of umbelliferous 
 plants, neatly arranged round the upper surface, with a 
 small portion of thistle down. Certainly, as far as the 
 broads are concerned, where by far the larger number that 
 visit this county are collected together, I have had every 
 opportunity of observing their habits, and amongst 
 some dozens of nests have found none that, like the reed 
 warbler's, could be termed in any way suspended. Here, 
 amongst the small sallow and alder bushes on the marshes 
 are their most favourite nesting places, the nest being 
 placed near the ground, and resting on the long coarse 
 grasses which hide the stems ; I have also found it in 
 some few instances in a little hollow on the ground, but 
 so concealed amongst the surrounding moss as to be dis- 
 coverable only by the bird rising frightened from the spot. 
 Again amongst the sedges, as its name denotes, it 
 seeks concealment in the treacherous nature of the soil, 
 and the nests may be there found supported, but not 
 suspended, on the dead weed and leaves of the sedge 
 broken down. These birds, together with the reed 
 warblers, sing at intervals throughout the night in the 
 early summer, breaking forth into those bursts of 
 melody which so astonish and delight the ear of the 
 naturalist, who hears them for the first tune during the 
 " dark hours ;" whilst their power of imitating the songs 
 of other species is equally remarkable. In the breeding 
 
110 BIRDS OF NOEFOLK. 
 
 season, and especially when anxious for the safety of its 
 young, the sedge warbler also utters a creaking noise, 
 so closely resembling the grasshopper warbler, that I 
 have shot the bird by mistake for the rarer species. 
 Although generally far outnumbering the reed warblers, 
 I have observed more than once, after an unusually cold 
 spring, that the reed birds were decidedly the most 
 numerous. This I can only account for by supposing 
 that the sedge birds, arriving earlier, suffer from the 
 severe frosts that occur at times after their arrival ; but 
 whether this be the cause or not, I have known the broad- 
 men themselves to remark the small number of these 
 birds in some seasons. Mr. Yarrell mentions a rare 
 instance of a sedge warbler being observed near High 
 Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire, in winter, but I have 
 never known of its occurrence in Norfolk later than the 
 20th of October. 
 
 SALICAKIA LUSCINIOIDES (Savi). 
 SAVTS WAEBLEE. 
 
 At least six well authenticated specimens of this 
 very rare British warbler are now ascertained to have 
 been procured in Norfolk, of which the first, though long 
 overlooked, was for many years the only one known to 
 science. This bird (No. 63.b), in the museum collection, 
 was obtained by the late Rev. Jas. Brown, at Limpenhoe, 
 in the early part of the present century, during the 
 month of May, and the following interesting account 
 of it was kindly sent me by Mr. Brown, in 1856, on his 
 hearing that I had lately received one from Surlingham 
 broad. He says " Its singular note had been observed 
 at Limpenhoe by Sir Wm. Hooker, myself, and another 
 ornithological friend, whilst investigating the natural 
 
Ill 
 
 history of that district, but for a considerable time not 
 a sight of the bird could be obtained. We called it the 
 reel bird, on account of the resemblance of its monoto- 
 nous note to the continuous whirr of the reel, at that 
 time used by the hand-spinners of wool. At length it 
 was discovered uttering its singular song (if so it may 
 be called), from the top of an alder bush that grew in 
 the midst of a large patch of sedge, into which it fell 
 like a stone as soon as it was approached. After, how- 
 ever, much patience and caution, it again re-ascended 
 the alder and was shot. It is a very shy bird, and in its 
 habits seems to resemble the grasshopper lark (warbler), 
 creeping among the sedge in search probably of insects 
 and small mollusks. It was submitted to the inspection 
 of the celebrated ornithologist, Temminck, whilst he 
 was in London at the sale of Mr. Bullock's museum.* 
 He was puzzled, and requested permission to take it 
 with him to the continent, to compare it with specimens 
 in his own splendid collection. He returned it with his 
 opinion that it was a variety of the reed wren, and as 
 such it is noticed in their f Catalogue' by Messrs. Shep- 
 pard and Whitear. I afterwards gave instructions to a 
 marshman at Strumpshaw, of the name of Waters, who 
 procured another specimen, which I presented to my 
 friend, Edward Lombe, Esq., in whose splendid collec- 
 tion of British birds it probably may be found, under 
 Temminck's nomenclature, as the reed wren, or as 
 Sylvia luscinioides.'f As the note is peculiar to the 
 male, the female, eggs, and nest are probably desiderata, 
 
 * This remarkable sale took place in the spring of 1819. The 
 bird in question was therefore very probably killed in that year, at 
 all events it could not have been obtained later. 
 
 f I have lately seen this specimen, which, under the name of 
 " Savi's Warbler," is still preserved in the late Mr. Lombe' s 
 collection, now in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. E. P. 
 Clarke, of Wymondham. 
 
112 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 but by a knowledge of its haunts, and careful and 
 quiet watching, may perhaps be discovered. This 
 bird was also heard between Hoveton and Wroxham 
 broads." 
 
 In the summer of 1843, a pair were shot at 
 South "Walsham, one of which was presented by Mr. 
 J. H. Gurney to the Norwich museum, the other 
 to the late Mr. T. C. Heysham, of Carlisle, who was 
 anxious to possess a British specimen of this rare 
 warbler ; but on the sale of that gentleman's collection 
 in 1859, this bird was also procured for the museum by 
 Mr. Gurney, and, together with its companion from 
 South Walsham and the Limpenhoe specimen, forms a 
 highly interesting group. That the above-mentioned 
 specimens from South Walsham are by no means all that 
 have been heard or even killed in that district, I have 
 very recently ascertained from a communication kindly 
 made to this work by the Rev. H. T. Frere, of Burston, 
 who possesses an example from that locality, and says, 
 " Others have been heard there since. Specimens were 
 sent from thence by the late Mr. W. H. Jary, years ago, 
 before the species was recognised by Savi, and no par- 
 ticular notice was taken of them beyond a formal acknow- 
 ledgment by the British Museum authorities. It is 
 known as the 'red craking reed- wren' by the marsh- 
 men." Presuming that Mr. Frere' s bird was procured 
 about the same time as the museum pair, the next 
 occurrence of this species, after an interval of thirteen 
 years, is the specimen now in my collection from 
 Surlingham, which was shot on the 7th of June, 1856, 
 by the same man who had been so successful in pro- 
 curing the grasshopper warblers. His account of the 
 actions of this warbler agrees very nearly with the re- 
 marks of Mr. Brown, but as everything relating to a 
 species so little known is worthy of record, I give it as 
 taken down at the time in my note book. Being 
 
113 
 
 engaged on the broad all night, he first heard the bird 
 " noising" about nine o'clock in the evening, on the 
 6th of June, and observed it from his boat running up 
 and down the dead reed stems, from the tops of which it 
 kept calling at intervals until two in the morning. He 
 then returned home, but at six o'clock he again found 
 it in the same clump of reeds, though more restless and 
 calling incessantly. Soon after this the wind began to 
 stir the reeds, and it then dropped down and remained 
 silent among the thick sedges. Up to this time he 
 had imagined it to be a grasshopper warbler, although 
 the note seemed unusually loud and clear, and like 
 them it kept moving its head from side to side 
 whilst singing. On the following evening, at eight 
 o'clock, the bird was still in the same place calling as 
 before, and as one or two of the grasshopper warblers 
 were singing at the same time, he distinguished at once 
 a difference in their notes. As soon as he had shot the 
 bird, he saw that it was different to any he had handled 
 before, and observing that it remained so long in one 
 spot, made every search for a nest, but could find no 
 trace of one. About ten years ago, he assures me there 
 were several couple of birds on the broad with similar 
 notes, and he then found a nest with eggs, which, 
 from his description, might be either that of Savi's or of 
 the grasshopper warbler. About the first week in May 
 of the following year, a bird, agreeing exactly in note 
 and appearance with the above, was also seen by this 
 marsh-man in a small sallow bush ; not having his gun 
 with him, he watched it for some time, and had no 
 doubt of its identity. From the occurrence of this 
 species in one or two instances in the middle of summer, 
 there is little doubt that it has occasionally nested 
 in our marshes, indeed a nest in the collection of 
 Mr. Newcome, of Feltwell, presented to him by the 
 Rev. J. Burroughes, was said to have been found near 
 Q 
 
114 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Yarmouth. It is also most probable that although so 
 rarely recognised in this county, others may have been 
 shot, and mistaken as the first was, by M. Temminck, 
 for varieties of the reed warbler, since the two species 
 at first sight are very similar, but Savi's is not only a 
 larger bird, but in the reddish tints of the upper parts 
 more resembles the nightingale. My own specimen, a 
 male, like males of the grasshopper warbler, exhibits 
 the small black spots on the throat. The following 
 remarks upon the habits of this rare species, as observed 
 by Mr. Osbert Salvin, in the Eastern Atlas,* will pro- 
 bably be read with interest, from the perfect confirma- 
 tion they afford, of the accuracy of the above descrip- 
 tions : (( I found this bird abundant in the marsh of 
 Zana. On approaching the margin of the reeds, its 
 peculiar rattling note might be heard in every direction. 
 The bird, when uttering this cry, climbs to the very top 
 of a reed, often choosing the tallest, where it sits, if not 
 disturbed, for several minutes, without changing its 
 position. When singing, the head is moved slowly from 
 side to side, by which means it may be that the ven- 
 triloquism ascribed to the grasshopper warbler is pro- 
 duced, the apparent change of position of the bird 
 being, in fact, a change in the direction in which the 
 sound of its voice is thrown. On taking alarm, the 
 songster drops instantly into the thickest sedge, when 
 pursuit is hopeless, as it carefully eludes observation, 
 never showing itself in open flight ; sometimes, however, 
 its course may be traced by the shaking of the reeds as 
 it springs from one to another. The peculiar nest of 
 this species, a beautifully compact structure, composed 
 entirely of dead flag, is artfully concealed in the thickest 
 parts, and at Zana it can only be found by wading in 
 
 * "Five Months' Birds' -nesting in the Eastern Atlas," by 
 Osbert Salvin. "Ibis," 1859, p. 304. 
 
BEED- WARBLER. 115 
 
 mud and water up to the middle, and even then it is 
 quite a chance to find one." 
 
 SALICARIA STREPERA (Vieillot).* 
 REED-WARBLER. 
 
 The Eeed- Warbler, as its name implies, is confined 
 almost exclusively to the reed beds on the broads and 
 rivers, being far more local in its habits, and less 
 numerous as a species than the sedge warbler; it also 
 arrives somewhat later in the spring, and leaves us again 
 earlier in the autumn. The beautiful little nests of 
 this species, so carefully and curiously suspended on the 
 stems of the reeds, are, with the exception perhaps 
 of the long-tailed titmouse, the most interesting in 
 construction of any of our British birds. They are 
 formed externally of dried grasses, stalks of plants, 
 and the feathery tops of the reed, the latter generally 
 forming the only lining, with occasionally a bit of wool 
 or a stray feather or two on the edge of the structure. 
 The materials are, however, occasionally much more 
 diversified, especially when, as I shall presently show, 
 the nests are constructed in bushes and garden shrubs. 
 One of these, now before me, is composed externally of 
 dried grasses, studded over with little patches of wool ; 
 the interior consisting of a layer of moss, lined with a 
 
 * I am compelled in this instance to depart from the nomencla- 
 ture of Yarrell. The specific name arundinaceus was first applied 
 by Lmnaaus to a bird the Great Reed Warbler which being con- 
 generic with the one mentioned in the text, is properly entitled to 
 that appellation ; and the next name in order of priority, as shewn 
 by Mr. G. R. Gray (List Br. B. in Br. Mus., p. 49), is Vieillot's 
 strepera, which I accordingly adopt, as does Mr. Hewitson, in his 
 last edition of his ' Eggs of British Birds' (p. 119). 
 Q2 
 
116 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 flax-like substance, procured from the willow, (Salix ?) 
 and mixed with sheep's wool, feathers, and a few black 
 horsehairs. They are for the most part very compactly 
 made, and in some cases will bear much handling with- 
 out disarranging the materials, yet this is not always 
 the case, as I have seen some taken on Hickling broad, 
 built on very slender reeds, and so loosely constructed, 
 that I wondered they held together at all; but at the 
 spot where these were found, the ground was covered 
 with a sort of wild convolvulus or creeper, whose tendrils 
 encircling both the reeds and nests had a very pretty 
 appearance, and afforded an unusual support. The ordi- 
 nary number of reeds selected is three, round which the 
 materials are firmly woven, so as to include them all in 
 the structure, whilst the nest is placed with instinctive 
 judgment, neither low enough to be affected by the 
 rising of the water, nor yet high enough to be influenced 
 too powerfully by the wind. Occasionally a nest may be 
 found on four reeds, and I once found one on five, and 
 another on two, but these cases are rare. Arriving here 
 later than the sedge warblers, the nests of the reed 
 birds are seldom completed before the end of May, and 
 the young are hatched about the first week in July. In 
 1852, a reed-warbler's nest was found built in a small 
 bush near a pond at Bracon Ash, but even in this 
 unusual situation its general character was preserved, 
 being suspended on three twigs of the bush, built into it 
 in place of the reeds. This is one of the very few 
 instances in which I have known these birds to breed in 
 any locality not adjacent to reed beds ;* but at Kan- 
 worth, where the broad joins the garden of Mr. John 
 
 * " In the ' Zoologist' for 1864, p. 9109, is a very interesting 
 description by Mr. R. Mitford, of the nesting of this species in a 
 garden at Hampstead, near London, ' far away from water in any 
 shape/ " the nests being constructed in lilac and other shrubs. 
 Mr. Hewitson also cites several similar instances. 
 
BEED-WARBLEK. 117 
 
 Kerrison, I have frequently seen the nests of this 
 warbler built into the laurel bushes by the water's edge, 
 in the same manner as I have just described ; and in the 
 summer of 1861 I was shown four or five which had 
 been found in various shrubs in a kitchen garden at 
 Lakenham, situated by the riverside, with a reed bed 
 and osier ground in close proximity. In each of these, 
 twigs of the respective plants were ingeniously woven 
 into the structure itself, and though somewhat shallow, 
 they all retained much of their normal character. 
 The most curious fact, however, in connection with these 
 nests, was finding a cuckoo's egg in three of them, and 
 a young cuckoo, of course per se, in the fourth. This 
 youngster was kept alive for some weeks in confine- 
 ment, and presented the most absurd appearance, when, 
 having grown uncomfortably large for it, it still at- 
 tempted to nestle down in its original cradle. Occa- 
 sionally, but rarely, I have known a cuckoo's egg de- 
 posited in the nest of this species when placed as usual 
 amongst the reeds ;* but in the above four instances, 
 increased size and depth and easiness of access afforded 
 no doubt peculiar attractions. One nest, which had been 
 built into the centre of a currant bush, presented a most 
 novel and beautiful appearance, the dry materials con- 
 trasting with the green foliage, whilst the young fruit 
 hung in bunches above and around it. This species, like 
 the sedge warbler, is an incessant songster, heard at 
 
 * Mr. W. H. Thomas, (" Zoologist," 1843, p. 97), in his most 
 interesting description of these birds and their nests, as observed 
 by himself on the banks of the Thames, mentions two instances in 
 which he had found Cuckoo's eggs in nests built amongst the reed 
 stems, and the novel method adopted by the little reed bird, to 
 feed its unwieldy nestling, perching on its broad back, and thus 
 dropping the food into its gaping mouth. Mr. A. Newton tells me 
 also that he has frequently known of similar cases. In one 
 instance he found two Cuckoo's eggs in the same nest. 
 
118 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 short intervals throughout the day, except in windy 
 weather, but saving its choicest music for the twilight 
 hours. Its lavish notes are thus associated in my mind 
 with many a calm summer's night on the open broads, 
 the stars shining brightly overhead, and the soft breeze 
 sighing through the rustling reeds, mingled with the 
 hum of insect-life on the water. It is at such times 
 that the song of these marsh nightingales is heard to 
 perfection. All is still around, save those murmuring 
 sounds that seem to lull to sleep ; the barking of the 
 watch-dog has ceased in the distance, and the hoarse 
 croak of the coot or the moorhen harmonises too well 
 with the scene to startle with its frequent repetition. 
 Presently, as if by magic, the reed beds on all sides are 
 teeming with melody; now here, now there, first one, 
 then another and another of the reed birds pour forth 
 their rich mocking notes, taken up again and again by 
 others, and still, far away in the distance, the same strain 
 comes back upon the breeze, till one is lost in wonder at 
 their numbers, so startling to the ear of a stranger, so 
 impossible to be estimated at all during the day. About 
 the first week in June, should the weather be fine and 
 still, is the best time to hear these nocturnal warblers ; 
 the sedge birds, however, as earlier breeders, have by 
 this time almost ceased to sing during the night, their 
 young being already hatched. 
 
 I can imagine few things more delightful to the 
 out-door naturalist than his first introduction to the 
 broads by night. The mere escape for a time during 
 the height of summer from the heat and bustle of 
 a city life, might alone repay the trouble of a visit, 
 were there no further attractions in those sights 
 and sounds which have for the naturalist a peculiar 
 charm. Never, I think, does marsh scenery look more 
 beautiful than on a fine summer's evening, when 
 even distant objects appear distinct against the clear 
 
REED-WARBLER. 119 
 
 bright sky. How the rich green of the rushy marshes, 
 and the luxuriant growth of sedge by the water's side 
 relieve the eye after the heat and glare of the day. The 
 whole landscape, flat though it may be, is yet prettily 
 broken by small groups of cattle in every attitude of 
 repose ; with here a marsh mill, picturesque in its rough- 
 ness, or there the tall mast and sail of a wherry alone 
 visible across the next reach of the winding river. 
 Nor does the ear fail to share in the pleasures of the 
 scene ; innumerable sand-martins fill the air with their 
 hurried twitterings, as they chase each other over the 
 water in endless evolutions. Every covert seems alive 
 with the merry notes of the sedge bird, now mocking 
 the sand-martins in their passing flight, now pouring 
 forth its own babbling notes, till one's head seems 
 filled with its incessant song*. Close by from the bushes 
 on the drier marshes titlarks are rising and falling on 
 quivering wings, and though lost almost to sight, far 
 above all, the skylark's song still mingles with the 
 rest, as 
 
 " Higher still and higher the deep blue he wingeth, 
 And singing still doth soar, and soaring ever singeth." 
 
 Such is indeed a fitting evening to prelude a nocturnal 
 trip, and as, wrapt in the enjoyment of these rural 
 sounds, one glides gently down the stream towards the 
 entrance of the broad; the soft breeze rustles amongst 
 the feathery reed tops and the light foliage of the 
 willows by the river side, the wide expanse of water 
 glows with the reflection of the setting sun, whilst the 
 rippling waves upon its surface dance and sparkle on 
 their way, as though hastening onward to those quiet 
 shades, where twilight stealing over the landscape speaks 
 of sleep and rest for the weary. 
 
120 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 A SUMMER'S NIGHT ON" THE BROADS. 
 
 It was on the 10th of June,, 1859, that I paid my 
 first nocturnal visit to Surlingham, one of our prettiest 
 broads, and, from its close vicinity to the Brundall 
 station, one of the most easy of access by rail from 
 Norwich. The evening train had deposited me in close 
 vicinity to the water, where a marsh-man with his boat 
 was waiting by appointment, and soon the heat and 
 bustle of the city were forgotten in the enjoyment of 
 that quiet scene, as we passed from the main stream 
 into the long narrow channel, which connects the broad 
 itself with the navigable river. The following extracts 
 from my own notes, made at intervals throughout that 
 lovely, and only too short, midsummer night, will best 
 serve to convey to my readers the various little incidents 
 of such an excursion : 
 
 6.30. p.m. Reed birds singing a little, but the wind 
 rather too high to hear them properly. Yery few 
 sedge birds heard on the marshes, and none amongst 
 the reeds, as they have been sitting for three weeks, 
 and some have probably hatched off. Sand-martins in 
 plenty playing over the water, and starlings arriving in 
 flocks. One snipe flushed on the marshes, which are 
 covered at this season with the gayest wild flowers, 
 and a reed bird's nest found with four eggs, and sup- 
 ported on four reed stems. 8 p.m. Starlings settling 
 on the reeds for the night,* but not in large numbers. 
 Sand-martins and a few swallows still out after insects. 
 8.30 p.m. Sand-martins in swarms over the water and 
 
 * By the 13th of July I have known the starlings assemble 
 here in immense flocks, and when disturbed in the reed beds, 
 after dark, make a noise not unlike the roar of the waves, as their 
 wings seem to rattle against the reed stems in their fright. 
 
A SUMMER'S NIGHT ON THE BROADS. 121 
 
 high over head ; the young of the first broods preparing 
 to roost amongst the reeds, and the old birds to seek 
 their nests in the bank at the back of the Brundall 
 station. Gradually becoming dusk, now the sun is down, 
 but cuckoos still heard in all directions. Two ducks 
 flying round at 9 p.m. Water-hens and coots calling 
 at intervals, and corn-crakes heard in the distance. 
 Martins and starlings all settled by 9.15, saving here 
 and there a benighted straggler hurrying to its roost. 
 11 p.m. A sudden and heavy rain from nine o'clock 
 drove us for shelter to the marsh-man's cottage, where 
 supper and a quiet pipe soon passed away the time. The 
 stars were now shining brightly, and the moon breaking 
 from a bank of clouds ; the air was filled with the hum 
 of insects, and a light breeze rustling the reeds and 
 sedges, as it passed us by, completed one of those 
 deliciously quiet scenes which only a night on the 
 water at this time of year can possibly afford. On 
 every side as we rowed through the little channels 
 dividing the reed beds, the reed warblers were singing 
 all over the broad, and here and there a sedge bird 
 from the marshes joined in the general medley. Just 
 then, almost startling with its depth and fullness, the 
 cuckoo's note, rich and mellow in its tone, fell upon the 
 ear with unmistakable reality ; the bird being evidently 
 close by on some sallow or alder bush in the adjacent 
 marshes, where earlier in the evening we had seen 
 several. 2 a.m. A short nap on the brick floor of a 
 marsh-man's cottage, is refreshing enough to those who 
 can rough it, and as we turn out once more and walk 
 down to the boat, the skylarks are singing from the 
 neighbouring fields, and one in the clouds, though it is 
 too dark to see him. The water looks cold and silvery 
 beneath the star lit sky, and as the dawn keeps breaking 
 and the dark curtain of night is drawn aside, every 
 object becomes each minute more and more distinct, 
 R 
 
122 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 and a few bats, still flitting about in the uncertain light, 
 seem the last link of connection betwixt night and day. 
 A few minutes later and the reed and sedge birds com- 
 mence singing again in all directions, and continue so 
 for more than an hour. Then the black-headed bunting 
 begins his note ; cocks are crowing from the neighbour- 
 ing farms, and an early train rumbling over the bridges 
 probably scares, with its shrill whistle, the two ducks 
 which come high over our heads directly afterwards. 
 3 a.m. The morning star still shining in the bright blue 
 sky, streaked with purple and fleecy clouds. The martins 
 leaving the reeds in flocks, and spreading themselves 
 over the broad to feed on the myriads of flies and midges 
 that rise at every step from the dewy marshes. Cuckoos 
 singing in every direction, and the reed birds as noisy 
 as if their rest had never been broken during the night. 
 Two or three herons rise lazily from the water's edge as 
 we come suddenly upon them, with the boat, round a 
 projecting reed bed. Corn-crakes answering one another 
 with their peculiar notes, and water-hens and coots 
 crying at intervals. 4 a.m. Large fish rising at the flies 
 on the open water. A bright blue sky, but the sun 
 hidden behind a bank of clouds, indicative rather of wet 
 later in the day. First large flight of starlings leaving 
 the reeds, though stragglers have been rising since the 
 beginning of daylight. A redshank calling from a gate- 
 post on one of the drier marshes, and walking back- 
 wards and forwards along the top rail. Two common 
 terns, hovering over the river, are fishing as they pass 
 on their way towards Yarmouth. The next hour is 
 devoted to an al fresco breakfast, with sundry prepara- 
 tions for a speedy start, then a quick row down the 
 river to catch the first train for home, and our trip 
 is reckoned amongst the e: pleasures of memory." 
 
 Attractive as these localities are, both to the sports- 
 man and naturalist by day, the latter, at least, can never 
 
NIGHTINGALE. 123 
 
 fully realize their beauties without such a visit as I have 
 here attempted to describe, when the soft air and dewy 
 odours, the rich vegetation and varied sounds, have each 
 their charm ; the notes of the rails, the coots, and the 
 moorhens form the bass to the concert of the warblers 
 in the reeds ; and the strange sucking noise of the eels, 
 in the muddy channels, sounds as if the nymphs of those 
 quiet waters were giving and receiving the heartiest of 
 kisses, to their own entire satisfaction. 
 
 PHILOMELA LUSCINIA (Linnaeus). 
 NIGHTINGALE. 
 
 A regular summer visitant and breeds with us, 
 arriving in April* and leaving again in September. 
 Though not visiting us in large numbers, and being at the 
 same time very local in their habits, these lovely songsters 
 are, I believe, in certain localities, much more numerous 
 than in former years. The immediate vicinity of Norwich 
 is particularly rich in their " favourite haunts," and for 
 some weeks on their first arrival they may be heard, 
 both day and night, on the Ipswich, Newmarket, and 
 Unthank roads, and at Bracondale, Earlham, Thorpe, 
 
 * The Eev. E. Forby, in his "Vocabulary of East Anglia," 
 assigns to the nightingale the local designation of the "Barley 
 Bird," as appearing in the season of sowing barley, or rather what 
 was formerly the accustomed season, the end of April or beginning 
 of May. I cannot say that I am familiar with this provincial name 
 for "querulous Philomela," and am inclined rather to adopt a 
 suggestion of Mr. Newton's, that the term " Barley Bird" is here 
 applied to the wrong species. It is a common provincial name for 
 the yellow wagtail in many parts of the country, and these wag- 
 tails often frequent fields of newly sown spring corn, whence the 
 the name " Barley Bird" would be applicable to them, though by 
 no means so to a purely woodland species like the nightingale. 
 
 B2 
 
124 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Spixworth, and other neighbouring places. Though 
 frequenting the thick cover of our groves and shrub- 
 beries, the Nightingale is by no means a shy bird, at 
 least on its first arrival, but sings fearlessly throughout 
 the day in the most exposed situations. In my own 
 garden, bordered on two sides by public roads, I have 
 known one sing at intervals throughout the day, on 
 the yet leafless branches of an almond tree, perfectly 
 indifferent to the voices and footsteps of the passers by ; 
 and on the 1st of May, 1864, a most exquisite songster 
 stationed himself on a small tree, in Mount Pleasant 
 lane, close to the footpath, where groups of Sunday 
 walkers, both morning and afternoon, stopped to listen 
 to its " sweet descants," and probably for the first time in 
 their lives saw, as well as heard, a nightingale. How 
 strange it seems that a bird, gifted with such wondrous 
 powers of voice, and such exquisite modulations, should 
 be also capable of uttering that harsh croak, which 
 later in the season bespeaks alarm for its young. No 
 one on first hearing that strange sound could possibly 
 guess its origin, or could fail to be astonished, as 
 I was myself, when I discovered the real author. I 
 have watched this species searching for insects in the 
 garden towards the middle of August, when it assumes 
 a much more nervous manner, listening like a thrush 
 with head inclined, to every passing sound, and progress- 
 ing by little quick runs, or more properly speaking, a 
 succession of rapid hops. Whilst resting, however, it 
 has more the character of a large robin, the eye showing 
 bright and full, the wings slightly drooping, and the 
 tail raised, or flirted up and down with the actions 
 of the body. The light colour of the breast, and the 
 bright reddish tint of the tail and tail coverts, at once 
 distinguish it from other birds even in the absence of 
 song. From personal enquiries in many instances, I 
 am convinced that in a large majority of cases the 
 
BLACKCAP. 125 
 
 fe early nightingales" of newspaper paragraphs originate 
 simply in the exquisite notes of our common song- 
 thrush, as heard at a late hour during the long spring 
 evenings. 
 
 CURRUCA ATRICAPILLA (Linnaeus). 
 
 BLACKCAP. 
 
 A regular summer visitant, and breeds in Norfolk, 
 arriving somewhat earlier than the last species, and 
 leaving us generally towards the end of September. 
 Occasionally, however, specimens are met with much 
 later, as in 1852, when an old male, in good con- 
 dition, was killed in this county on the 22nd of Decem- 
 ber, as recorded at the time in the " Zoologist," by Mr. 
 J. H. Gurney, p. 3753. It would seem from the remarks 
 of various correspondents in the " Field," that late 
 stragglers of this species are also observed in other 
 counties feeding on the berries of the mountain 
 ash, having probably as much penchant for them 
 as for elder-berries in the early spring, of which I 
 once saw a blackcap partaking with such amusing 
 voracity that he finished a large bunch in detail before 
 he noticed my face within a few inches of his fruit- 
 stained beak. At that moment his combined expres- 
 sion of fright and repletion was one of the most comic 
 bird scenes I ever witnessed. A small unfeathered 
 biped, caught in the very act of clearing a jam-pot, 
 with his rueful countenance besmeared with the sweets, 
 would perhaps form the nearest approach to the guilty 
 look of that little glutton. I have two eggs taken from 
 a nest at Ketteringham, near the railway cutting, in 
 1859, which were identified by Mr. Hewitson as "rare 
 and beautiful varieties" of the blackcap warbler's, being 
 richly blotched with red on a white ground. 
 
126 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 CURRUCA HORTENSIS (Gmelin). 
 GAEDEN WAEBLEE. 
 
 Visits us in summer and breeds with us, appearing 
 rather later than the blackcap warbler, and leaving 
 again in September. Somewhat local in its habits, this 
 species is nowhere very numerous ; indeed this, as well 
 as the blackcap warbler, are far scarcer here than in 
 more southern counties. I have rarely detected the 
 song of this warbler in summer in close vicinity to the 
 city, but in autumn, towards the end of August or 
 beginning of September, a pair or two, with their little 
 families (and the same may be said of the blackcap and 
 whitethroat), invariably appear amongst the shrubs in 
 my garden, betraying their presence by the same anxious 
 cries so aptly described by Mr. Blyth, as " resembling 
 the sound produced by tapping two small pebbles toge- 
 ther." This is evidently intended as a note of warning 
 to the young brood, always carefully concealed amongst 
 the thick foliage, their whereabouts being indicated 
 only by a rapid movement of the leaves, as they search 
 the branches for berries and insects. 
 
 With reference to the varied notes of birds, a 
 quick eye and a good ear are not more essential 
 to the out-door naturalist than a good memory for 
 sounds ; in order to treasure up, not merely the usual 
 note or song of each species, but the strangely different 
 sounds emitted under particular circumstances by the 
 same bird. Taking our ordinary songsters as a class, 
 besides their true song, distinctive in character and 
 easily recognised, they have for the most part a call 
 note as well, such as the pink, pink, of the chaffinch ; 
 an alarm note, like the shrill chatter of the blackbird, 
 
GARDEN WARBLER. 127 
 
 when scared from the laurels, and a note peculiar to the 
 breeding season, which, though differing in almost every 
 species, yet in each denotes anxiety as we approach 
 their haunts, and conveys no doubt a timely caution 
 to the objects of their care. Mr. Blyth, to whose 
 valuable communications to the " Field Naturalist" 
 I have before alluded, in his remarks on " British 
 Birds of the Eobin kind," (vol. i., p. 434), thus 
 endeavours to render in words the sounds emitted 
 by some of our more familiar species when tending their 
 young ; although these again are perfectly distinct from 
 the sweet guttural tones indulged in by many, when feed- 
 ing or caressing their nestlings, and unconscious of the 
 close propinquity of any human being. " The peculiar 
 double note (says Mr. Blyth) which all the species utter 
 when a person is near their nest is worthy of being 
 noticed ; this in the nightingale may be expressed by 
 hweep ; hweep, carre: in the redstart by hweet, tit, tit, 
 tit; hweet, tit, tit: in the robin, by a loud tit tit tit; 
 and now and then a long drawn plaintive note (between 
 a whistle and a hiss), which cannot be expressed in 
 writing : the stonechat's note resembles hweet, jur, jur ; 
 hweet, jur : the whinchat's is yeer, tip ; yeer, tip, tip : 
 and the wheatear also has a note analagous, but which I 
 cannot accurately express in writing from mere memory. 
 The common grey flycatcher has a note of this kind, 
 which may be tolerably expressed by ist, chit ; ist, chit, 
 chit." The singularly happy rendering of most of the 
 above notes will be admitted, I am sure, by all who 
 have studied them in garden or grove, and many others 
 might be added amongst our summer warblers ; yet even 
 an old observer will not unfrequently find himself at 
 fault, when tracing a sound, apparently new to him, to 
 some familiar form amidst the foliage of the trees in 
 summer. The titmice, with rather a series of call notes 
 than any real song, have a hiss to greet the birds- 
 
128 BIRDS OF NOEFOLK. 
 
 nester's fingers, and in their pendulous search, for food 
 amongst the branches high over our heads, drive one 
 almost wild with the variety of their cries, both natural 
 and imitative ; the great tit more especially pirating the 
 notes of many species, and thus leading the collector a 
 fruitless chase after all sorts of imaginary birds. The 
 reed-warbler also croaks like the nightingale when 
 anxious for the safety of its nest and young; and the 
 sedge bird, under like circumstances, " reels" like the 
 grasshopper warbler; at other times, in its merry 
 medley, the notes of the titlark, the sand-martin, and 
 the black-headed bunting, are mingled with its own, 
 till experience teaches the young ornithologist to believe 
 his eyes rather than his ears. 
 
 CURRUCA CINEREA (Latham). 
 COMMON WHITETHEOAT. 
 
 As its name implies, one of our most common summer 
 visitants, appearing about the middle of April, when, 
 until the business of nesting commences, our hedge- 
 rows and bushes fast budding into leaf are alive 
 with its simple song, and its trim little figure is seen 
 flitting from spray to spray, or rising into the air, 
 hovering and singing in the pure enjoyment of the re- 
 newal of spring. Later in the season the dense herbage 
 of the banks and hedges hides it from view, yet still 
 heard, though rarely seen, it well deserves its rural 
 name of the e ( nettle creeper," and both old and young 
 together leave us again in the autumn, about the same 
 time as the preceding species. 
 
 It is singular how habit gives the power of dis- 
 tinguishing any known species at a glance, whether 
 seen on the wing, or restlessly flitting amongst leaves 
 
COMMON WHITETHKOAT. 129 
 
 and branches. To the unobservant individual, whose 
 " British ornithology" is pretty nearly restricted to the 
 robin, the sparrow, the rook, and the swallow, (the latter, 
 of course, including the martin as well), the power of 
 recognising a variety of forms, by gait, by flight, by par- 
 ticular distribution of colour, such as a white barred wing 
 or tail covert, seen but for an instant, yet recognised at 
 once, are matters inexplicable; yet these to the true 
 naturalist form the freemasonry of his craft, and 
 strange is that sort of instinctive feeling which tells 
 him when a strange form has crossed his path, and 
 assures the observer that the object seen, however 
 briefly, is something altogether new to his experience. 
 To acquire this habit of quick recognition, I know no 
 better plan than that which I have adopted from boy- 
 hood, of always endeavouring to identify satisfactorily, 
 whilst driving or riding, the birds presented in quick 
 succession to the eye upon the trees or fences ; and in 
 travelling also by rail, the eye may be accustomed in the 
 same manner to detect not only partridges on the 
 stubbles, or wood pigeons in the turnips, but many 
 smaller and less easily distinguished species, by their 
 flight and actions, when disturbed by the train or 
 whilst settling again in the adjoining fields. 
 
 CURRUCA SYLVIELLA (Latham). 
 LESSEE WHITETHROAT. 
 
 This less numerous species is a regular spring 
 visitant, and breeds in Norfolk, appearing in April 
 and leaving in September, but, though generally dis- 
 persed, is decidedly local in its haunts. Mr. Dix 
 has kindly sent me specimens from West Harling, 
 and I have seen its eggs from various localities, but 
 s 
 
130 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 my own personal acquaintance with it in this connty 
 is very slight. Mr. Blyth* thus speaks of its notes and 
 actions (C The warble of the babillard or lesser white- 
 throat is pretty and lively, but its song is rendered 
 monotonous in the spring and summer by the constant 
 repetition of its loud note of defiance, analagous to the 
 clear lively note with which the blackcap generally con- 
 cludes ; this may be expressed by the monosyllable see, 
 repeated nine or ten times in quick succession, and at 
 times very loudly. * * * The song of this bird is 
 very superior to that of many whitethroats, but not to 
 all ; he has none of those harsh sounding notes which so 
 often disfigure the whitethroat's song. He seems also to 
 be always in such high spirits as not to know how to 
 contain himself, taking frequently a long circuitous 
 flight from tree to tree, and back again a dozen times, 
 seemingly for no other purpose than mere exercise ; but 
 he never mounts singing into the air like the white- 
 throat." He also refers to its preference for lofty elms 
 and other trees, in the place of low bushes or roadside 
 fences, which quite agrees with my own limited observa- 
 tions of its habits in this neighbourhood. 
 
 SYLVIA SYLVICOLA, Latham. 
 WOOD-WAKBLER. 
 
 A regular summer visitant arriving in April, but 
 later than either of the two next species, and leaving us 
 again in September. By no means so numerous as the 
 willow-warbler, this bird is particularly local in its 
 distribution. The few examples that find their way 
 
 * " On the British Fruit-eating Warblers." " Field Naturalist," 
 vol. i., p. 306. 
 
WOOD-WARBLER. 131 
 
 into our bird- staffers' hands is owing probably as 
 much to their habits being but little known, as to their 
 late arrival in spring, when, in most seasons, the trees 
 are in full leaf and effectually conceal such small 
 objects. Mr. Dix has most kindly furnished me with the 
 following notes on this species, as observed by himself 
 at West Harling, in Norfolk, from which locality 
 he has sent me their eggs, and where I have had 
 the pleasure, in his company, of both seeing and hearing 
 several. ' He says, "they are not at all uncommon but 
 confined to one wood, and are very local in their habits. 
 There is one peculiarity I have invariably noticed, 
 though I do not remember to have seen it recorded : it 
 is their fondness for beech trees, so much so that I have 
 never seen the bird where the beech is absent. I have 
 found them in several localities, and in four different 
 counties, and even in Epping forest they are confined to 
 two or three limited spots. The call note and song is 
 so distinctive that once heard it cannot be mistaken, 
 and is sure to be noticed by any one at all attentive to 
 the songs of our summer birds ; so I do not think it 
 likely I have passed the bird. They feed principally at 
 the top of the high oak and beech trees just after sun- 
 rise, and I have seen them there washing in the dew. 
 I once shot an old female in the act, so there could be 
 no mistake. They are, I think, the most lovely and 
 elegant of our summer birds, perhaps, of any we have." 
 To these notes of a true naturalist I may also add 
 that my friend Mr. Alfred Newton, when residing at 
 Elveden, near Thetford, found the wood- warbler in that 
 district extremely local, but frequenting the same oak 
 plantations from year to year. It may be recognised at 
 once by its peculiar note, which is quite different from 
 that of the willow-wren, but by no means easy of 
 imitation. Mr. Blyth, in his usual ingenious manner, 
 gives it as " Twit, twit, twit, tit, tit, tit, ti-ti-ti-i-i-i, 
 s2 
 
132 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 beginning slow, but gradually becoming quicker and 
 quicker, until it dies away in a kind of thrill;" and 
 Yarrell describes it as resembling " the word twee sounded 
 very long, and repeated several times in succession, at 
 first but slowly, afterwards much quicker, and when 
 about to conclude is accompanied by a peculiar tremulous 
 motion of the wings, which are lowered by the side." 
 
 SYLVIA TEOCHILUS (Linnaeus). 
 WILLOW-WAEBLEE. 
 
 The great increase in planting of late years will 
 account for the large number of our summer warblers 
 that now visit us, whilst the strict preservation of 
 game in most parts of the county affords them at 
 the same time protection during the breeding season. 
 Amongst the first of that merry group (and later in 
 the season by far the most numerous,) to enliven our 
 shrubberies and plantations with its joyous notes, is 
 the willow-warbler, arriving, except in very backward 
 seasons, towards the end of March, and leaving us again 
 in September. The song of this elegant little bird on a 
 bright sunny morning in the early spring, when the trees 
 are putting forth their freshest green and all is life 
 and animation amongst the feathered throng, is one of 
 the most delightful and cheering sounds of that tuneful 
 season. If we walk through any large plantation on 
 their first arrival, the whole place seems alive with their 
 merry notes, and as we trace the sound into the topmost 
 branches, nearly every other tree seems to have a 
 separate vocalist, whose song, commencing in a high 
 key, runs down the scale with the most charming modu- 
 lations. I have also noticed, that, although always 
 plentiful, they occasionally appear in unusual numbers, 
 
CHIFPCHAFF. DARTFORD WARBLER. 133 
 
 as was particularly the case in 1857. A rather singular 
 variety was killed at Gunton, near Lowestoffc, in August, 
 1861, of a uniform pale yellow, becoming straw-coloured 
 on the under parts, with the bill and legs straw yellow, 
 remarkable rather from the rarity of any variation in 
 the plumage of these warblers. 
 
 SYLVIA RUFA, Latham. 
 CHIFFCHAFF. 
 
 One of our earliest summer visitants and breeds with 
 us, arriving in March and remaining till October ; and it 
 is not unusual to hear, at the same moment, the note of 
 the Chiffchaff, and the chatter of the fieldfare, the one 
 already arrived in its summer quarters, before the other 
 has left us for its northern breeding grounds. This 
 diminutive warbler is scarce in comparison with the last 
 species, but its well-known and peculiar note makes it 
 very generally noticed. According to Messrs. Gurney 
 and Fisher, " A low bush, frequently of furze, appears 
 to be a favourite locality for the nest of the chiffchaff." 
 As many as four have been found in such places within 
 a few yards. The melodious willow- warbler of con- 
 tinental authors, the true S. hypolais, has not yet been 
 recognised in this county. 
 
 MELIZOPHILUS DARTFORDIENSIS (Latham). 
 DARTFOKD WAEBLER. 
 
 But two specimens of this warbler have been re- 
 corded as killed in this county, and in both instances on 
 the Denes, near Yarmouth. The first was obtained 
 
134 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 some years since, as noticed bj Messrs. Gurney and 
 Fisher; and the last, a young male, was caught by a 
 dog in a furze bush, on the 25th of February, 1859. 
 This bird was sent to a bird-stuffer in this city, together 
 with a stoat killed at the same time, and was intended 
 to be placed in the mouth of "the varmint," when 
 fortunately it was recognized as a rarity. The above 
 Norfolk specimens are preserved in Mr. Gurney's col- 
 lection at Catton. Mr. Hunt, in his " List" of Nor- 
 folk Birds, has the following note on this species : " A. 
 pair of these elegant little birds were shot in the month 
 of June, 1828 ; they are the only specimens ever found 
 in this part of the kingdom, and are now in the pos- 
 session of Mr. Crickmore, of Beccles." No locality being 
 named in this instance, it is most probable, I think, 
 that these specimens were obtained in the neighbourhood 
 of the town where Mr. Crickmore resided, and would 
 therefore be the first recorded instances of the Dartford 
 warbler appearing in the Eastern Counties; but as 
 Beccles is situated on the borders of the two counties, 
 they are quite as likely to have been killed on the Nor- 
 folk as on the Suffolk side of it. Mr. Dix informs me, 
 that one in his possession was killed in December, 1860, 
 on Nacton heath, near Ipswich, where others are said to 
 have been seen. 
 
 REGULUS CRISTATUS, Koch. 
 GOLDEN-CEESTED WEEN. 
 
 Exquisite alike in form and plumage, the diminutive 
 little gold-crest is resident with us throughout the year, 
 and braves our sharpest winters, and in summer nesting 
 in our gardens and plantations, is probably far more 
 plentiful and more generally distributed than formerly, 
 
GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. 135 
 
 owing to the system, of late years extensively adopted, 
 of planting larch, spruce, and other firs, which form 
 their usual resort. Scarcely less beautiful also than 
 its tiny architects is the marvellously constructed nest of 
 this species, so ingeniously suspended for the most part 
 from the under side of a fir-branch, with the smaller 
 twigs and foliage overhanging and protecting the 
 entrance, the whole presenting a little ball of moss, 
 lined with the softest feathers. That these little fairy- 
 like creatures risk the perils of a sea- voyage in autumn, 
 and leaving more northern countries, swell the numbers 
 of our usual residents, has been ascertained of late years 
 beyond a doubt, from their frequent appearance on the 
 coast at such seasons in an exhausted state, and the fact 
 of specimens being picked up dead at the foot of our 
 lighthouses, having flown, with other nocturnal migrants, 
 against the windows at night, dazzled and attracted 
 by the glare of the lamps. I have also recently met 
 with a communication by Mr. Blyth to the " Field 
 Naturalist" for 1833* (p. 467), containing a record 
 of the Golden-crested Wren, having been actually 
 observed at sea on its southward migration. The 
 observer, in this instance, was returning from Aber- 
 deen, on board a trading smack, and states that, f e When 
 off Whitby, about fourteen miles from land, on the 
 7th of October, a flock of gold-crests settled on the 
 ship's tackle; the little creatures, being much exhausted, 
 suffered themselves to be taken with the hand; as did 
 also a solitary chiffchaff, which, together with nine 
 gold-crests, it was attempted to bring alive to London ; 
 but they all died on the passage." Chaffinches (females), 
 song-thrushes, fieldfares, starlings, tree-pipits, tree- 
 sparrows, a nightjar, and a woodcock, are also men- 
 
 * I have before had occasion to allude to this most interesting 
 paper in my remarks on the Redbreast, at p. 93 of the present work. 
 
136 BIEDS OF NOKFOLK. 
 
 tioned, as either alighting upon or attending the vessel 
 during the same voyage. Perhaps, the most striking 
 instance,, however, of the migration of the gold-crest, in 
 large numbers, to our eastern coast, was witnessed by 
 Captain Longe, of Great Yarmouth, on the morning of 
 the 2nd of November, 1862. In a letter to myself at the 
 time, he says, "" As I was walking to Hemsby, about 
 7.30, when it was just daylight, about half-a-mile out of 
 Yarmouth, on the Caister road, my attention was 
 attracted to a small bush overhanging the marsh dyke, 
 which borders the pathway, by the continuous twittering 
 of a small bird. On looking closely, I found the bush, 
 small as it was, literally covered with golden-crested 
 wrens. There was hardly an inch of twig that had not 
 a bird on it, and even from my rough attempt at 
 calculation at the time, I feel sure there were at least 
 between two and three hundred. Most of them were 
 either females or young birds, having a lemon-coloured 
 crest, they were perfectly tame, and although I sat 
 down on the other side of the ditch, within six feet, and 
 watched them for some time, they did not attempt to fly 
 away ; but one or more would occasionally rise off its 
 perch, and hover like a butterfly, and settle again in 
 some other position. I went the next morning to look 
 for them, but they were all gone. The wind had been 
 easterly, with much fog." I have lately seen the spot 
 where this flight had settled themselves before pro- 
 ceeding inland, and found it close to the sandhills which 
 run parallel to the coast, and not more than two or 
 three hundred yards from the sea beach. The same 
 thing had been observed many years before in more 
 northern counties, by Mr. Selby, who writes : ( e On the 
 24th and 25th of October, 1822, after a severe gale, with 
 thick fog, from the north-east (but veering towards its 
 conclusion to the east and south of east), thousands of 
 these birds were seen to arrive upon the sea shore and 
 
GOLDEN-CRESTED WEEN. 137 
 
 sand banks of the Northumbrian coast, many of them 
 so fatigued by the length of their flight, or perhaps by 
 the unfavourable shift of the wind, as to be unable to 
 rise again from the ground ; and great numbers were in 
 consequence caught or destroyed. The flight must have 
 been immense in number, as its extent was traced 
 through the whole length of the coasts of Northumber- 
 land and Durham. There appears little doubt of this 
 having been a migration from the more northern pro- 
 vinces of Europe (probably furnished by the pine forests 
 of Norway, Sweden, &c.), from the circumstance of its 
 arrival being simultaneous with that of great flights of 
 the woodcock, fieldfare, and redwing." The occurrence 
 of large flights in a similar manner on the Caithness 
 and Yorkshire coasts, in October, 1863, during severe 
 gales from the south-east,* are also recorded in the 
 "Zoologist" for the following year (pp. 8879, 8950). 
 From the above and many other equally trust-worthy 
 instances of actual migration, the sudden appearance 
 amongst us of this species in autumn, in unusual 
 numbers, is fully accounted for, but when either 
 handling a specimen of this most elegant and fragile 
 species, or watching a small family group desporting 
 themselves amongst the foliage of the ornamental firs 
 in our gardens and shrubberies, one is lost in astonish- 
 ment that this feathered mite should be capable, not 
 only of a sustained flight, but of encountering the vicissi- 
 tudes of such a journey, at a season when the weather 
 
 * The apparent anomaly of migrants from more northern 
 countries appearing during gales from the south, or south-west, is 
 accounted for by the violence of the head-wind which prevents the 
 birds from continuing their journey, and thus large flocks that 
 would otherwise have passed on unobserved, are suddenly found 
 on our coast in an exhausted state. This fact is particularly re- 
 ferred to by Messrs. A. and E. Newton, in their " Observations on 
 the Birds of St. Croix." " Ibis," 1859, p. 255. 
 
138 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 is proverbially unsettled, and the "stormy winds do 
 blow." Mr. Gould, in his new and splendid work on 
 "The Birds of Great Britain/' referring to the un- 
 doubtedly migratory habits of this species, observes, 
 "It would be highly interesting to ascertain whether 
 these migrants return again in the spring to the 
 countries whence they came, like the redwing and 
 fieldfare; or whether these vast accessions are due to 
 some extraneous cause, such as an unusual severity in 
 the season prompting them to seek a more genial 
 climate, or an undue increase in the number of indi- 
 viduals, rendering the removal of a portion of them 
 necessary for the general welfare." 
 
 REGULUS IGNICAPILLUS (Brehm). 
 FIKE-CKESTED KEGULUS. 
 
 I know of but two recorded instances in which 
 examples of this rare species have been actually obtained 
 in this county. The first was the one referred to by 
 Yarrell as "caught on the rigging of a ship five miles 
 off the coast of Norfolk, in the early part of October, 
 1836;" the second was procured at Yarmouth, in Novem- 
 ber, 1843. Of the latter Mr. W. E. Fisher remarks, 
 in the " Zoologist," p. 451, "It was taken, I believe, 
 among some gold-crests, which appear annually about 
 that time in considerable numbers. The dark bands on 
 the cheek, and the white line over the eye, are in this 
 bird very conspicuous, but the colour of the crest is 
 much less vivid than in many of the gold-crests, whence 
 I conclude that it was a young male." I must not, 
 however, omit to mention that Mr. Hewitson (Eggs of 
 Brit. Birds, 3rd ed.) has published the following statement 
 with reference to the fire-crest in this county : " The 
 
FIRE-CRESTED REGULUS. 139 
 
 Rev. E. H. Browne has watched this species during the 
 summer, near his residence, at Bio' Norton, in Norfolk, 
 and has no doubt it breeds there." It is, of course, 
 quite possible that such may have been the case, but it 
 is, also, far more probable that in this, as in many- 
 instances that have come under my own observation, the 
 rich colour on the heads of adult male gold-crests may 
 have caused them to be mistaken for the rarer species ; 
 an error which the name of fire-crest tends much to per- 
 petuate, since the tints of the crest in this bird (as seen 
 by Mr. Fisher's remarks) form by no means its only or 
 most decided distinction. Mr. Gould, in describing the 
 chief characteristics of the two species, says "The 
 fire-crest is larger than the gold-crest, has the centre of 
 the crown orange red, the forehead crossed by a band of 
 buff, terminating in a distinct stripe of white, which 
 surmounts the eye and extends far towards the occiput, 
 while the lores and the ear coverts are blackish brown, 
 and the sides of the neck and upper surface sulphur 
 green, none of which features are found in the common 
 species." The note of this bird has been also described 
 as " shorter, not so shrill, and pitched in a different 
 key to that of the common species." 
 
 PARUS MAJOR, Linnseus. 
 GEEAT TITMOUSE. 
 
 Always active and sprightly our various species of 
 titmice, though with no real song, have nevertheless 
 many powers of attraction, and their varied and 
 occasionally harsh notes are welcomed at a time 
 when few resident species remain in the vicinity of 
 our homes. Omnivorous almost in diet, sharp and 
 fearless by nature, and in action almost realizing 
 
 T2 
 
140 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 the theory of perpetual motion, this engaging race 
 has always won the attention of observing naturalists, 
 and from its unwearied researches after insect life, 
 deserves at our hands every possible protection and 
 encouragement. The Great Titmouse is common 
 throughout the year, frequenting woods and planta- 
 tions as well as gardens in the close vicinity of our towns, 
 but the latter more particularly in the winter season. 
 Occasionally, also, this species has been met with 
 during the autumn months under circumstances suggest- 
 ing the probability of their numbers being increased 
 at that season, and an apparently (return) migratory 
 movement was observed at Yarmouth in February, 
 1848, as recorded by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher in the 
 " Zoologist" for that year. This bird, like the little 
 bluecap, is often strangely eccentric in the choice of 
 a nesting place, though commonly selecting some suit- 
 able aperture in either walls or trees, and is par- 
 ticularly partial to a decayed stump. A nest, which I took 
 myself on the llth May, 1863, in a plantation at Kes- 
 wick, was built at the bottom of an old tree stump, hav- 
 ing a small hole in its upper surf ace, through which the wet 
 had penetrated, forming the only entrance to the bird's 
 dwelling. Having enlarged the opening, I caught the 
 hen bird and let her fly, and then found nine eggs lying 
 on the rotten wood which filled the bottom of the trunk, 
 but not in the nest, although close beside it. The nest 
 was formed of moss outside, lined with hair, wool, and 
 a few feathers and shreds of gay-coloured threads, as if 
 from carpets or red woollen cloth. Both Montagu and 
 Hewitson have recorded instances of the eggs of this 
 species, in similar localities, being laid on the rotten 
 wood alone, without any nest; but in this case I took 
 the bird off the nest, and from the eggs being perfectly 
 uninjured and placed in a regular manner, I do not 
 think they had been turned out by the titmouse, in her 
 
GBEAT TITMOUSE. 141 
 
 alarm at my unwelcome intrusion. In the spring of 
 1853, a pair of these birds built their nest in a wooden 
 pump (not an uncommon occurrence with the tit tribe), 
 near Norwich, a detailed account of which will be found 
 in the "Zoologist" for that year, p. 4015. The birds, 
 who gained an entrance to the interior through the slit 
 made for the handle to work in, passed in and out 
 repeatedly, regardless of observers or the passing up and 
 down of the rod at every stroke of the pump, which 
 was in constant use; and eventually hatched twelve 
 young ones in this strange situation. The most extraor- 
 dinary nest however, of this species, that I ever saw or 
 read of, was discovered in a plantation at Earlham in 
 the summer of 1859. This natural curiosity, which 
 is carefully preserved in the collection of Mr. John 
 Gurney, of Earlham Hall, was discovered in a rough 
 corner cupboard, fixed at one end of an old shep- 
 herd's house, erected in a plantation for the use of the 
 gamekeeper. In the centre of the cupboard was a 
 single shelf, and the door being kept shut, the pair of 
 titmice could only obtain access through a small hole in 
 the woodwork above. Through this opening, however, 
 the enormous amount of materials found must have 
 been introduced bit by bit, until the entire space 
 between the shelf and the top of the cupboard, leaving 
 only just room enough for the hen bird to sit, was filled 
 with a compact mass of twigs, moss, bents, feathers, 
 rabbits' down, horse hair, wool, and even flowering 
 grasses. Moss formed, of course, the chief substance 
 employed, yet so wonderfully had the whole fabric been 
 woven together, that when taken from the shelf upon 
 which it was erected, it retained the exact shape of 
 the three-cornered cupboard, the sides being as firm 
 and neat as a well kept grass edging levelled with a 
 roll. The following dimensions of this remarkable 
 structure will best give an idea of the skill and labour, 
 
 
142 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 thus strangely devoted to it by its untiring architects : 
 Length in front, 15 inches; height, 9 inches; depth 
 from front to back, measured to the angle of the 
 cupboard, 10 inches. In the centre of the upper part 
 was a slight depression in which the eggs were laid, and 
 here, in spite of frequent intrusions, from curious visitors, 
 the hen bird being even handled on her nest, these little 
 creatures reared five young ones, and carried them off in 
 safety. A similar nest, commenced in the previous 
 spring, was unfortunately destroyed, but since the 
 successful completion of the one above-mentioned, no 
 farther attempt has been made to repeat so formidable 
 a task. 
 
 PARUS C2ERULEUS, Linneeus. 
 BLUE TITMOUSE.* 
 
 Who does not love that pert little bluecap; whose 
 cheery notes are heard from the branches overhead, where, 
 without troubling oneself to look up, we know by the 
 very cadence, that he is jerking himself as usual from 
 twig to twig, now under, now over, head up or head 
 down, the same to him, though all the while his sharp eye 
 
 * The provincial name of Pickcheese is here generally applied 
 to the blue titmouse, although Forby, in his " Vocabulary of East 
 Anglia," remarks "Perhaps the word includes most of the Linnean 
 genus Parus, or all its species ; yet it does not appear that any 
 of these pretty little ever busy birds are justly chargeable with 
 attacking our cheeses. If they get into dames or cheese chambers 
 at all, it must be in pursuit of the insects which breed there, 
 insects being their proper food." Mr. Alfred Newton suggests to 
 me that the name is possibly derived from one of the common call- 
 notes of the bird ; but with reference to the great titmouse, Mr. 
 St. John states (Nat. Hist, of Moray, p. 17), that he has known 
 that species repeatedly caught in mouse-traps, baited with toasted 
 cheese. 
 
BLUE TITMOUSE. 143 
 
 and little stout beak are searching every cranny for insect 
 food? Clinging to the walls in our gardens he digs out 
 the larvse from their holes and corners, and when he does 
 scatter the blossoms from the fruit trees a still greater 
 evil has been lurking at the base of the bud. Surely, 
 then none, but the surliest old gardener, would grudge 
 him a taste of the fruit or other dainties he has so 
 well helped to preserve, or look otherwise than leniently 
 on such peccadilloes, and even the most obstinate of that 
 opinionated race need but dissect the next victim of 
 his folly to know that he has killed a friend.* In winter, 
 when his more natural food runs scarce, hardly anything 
 comes amiss, and many a time has he afforded me a 
 fund of amusement, when picking a bone, specially fixed 
 to a stake in the garden for his and my gratification. 
 How he raises his little crest, and flutters his wings, 
 when he first discovers the tempting feast, now hovering 
 around or clinging to the sides, as some scrap of meat 
 comes handy to his bill, or perched for an instant on the 
 broken shank, he makes one laugh outright at his 
 comical expression, as with head on one side, he seems 
 to speculate on the chances of reaching the marrow 
 still remaining in the shaft. In one very severe winter, 
 when many of our resident birds were completely 
 starved, I remember seeing a pair of blue tits following 
 a cart-load of turnips along the road, settling upon and 
 
 * Macgillivray, on the authority of that most patient and 
 accurate observer, Mr. Weir, shows that a pair which were closely 
 watched from half-past three o'clock of a July morning, till half- 
 past eight in the evening, fed their young for nearly 17 hours 
 incessantly, returning to the nest with food 475 tunes ; and at 
 certain periods during the day they fed them from 20 to 46 
 times in an hour. " They appeared to feed them solely on cater- 
 pillars ; sometimes they brought in a single large one ; and at 
 other times two or three small ones. It is therefore impossible to 
 say how many had been carried in by them during the day." 
 
144 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 pecking at the roots, for the purpose, no doubt, of 
 extracting maggots from the wart-like excrescences on 
 their surface. It has been remarked also by Messrs. 
 Sheppard and Whitear, that this species in winter 
 frequent, for the same purpose, the sheds in which 
 turnips are kept, and where they are sliced up for the 
 use of the cattle. Thus resident throughout the year, 
 the blue titmouse nests with us in all the quaint situa- 
 tions characteristic of its race, creeping mouselike into 
 the most absurdly small fissures in walls or trees, where 
 its numerous brood is reared with untiring labour, and 
 defended with a spirit which seems perfectly unawed by 
 disparity of size in its enemies. A pair that I watched 
 as a schoolboy with much interest, for two or three 
 seasons, frequented my father's garden in Surrey Street, 
 and nested in a small hole in an old wall where the mortar 
 had crumbled away from the stonework, the aper- 
 ture running backwards and downwards for several 
 inches. Into this little opening the old birds brought 
 the materials for nesting, consisting of minute twigs as 
 well as the softer lining, and when a larger piece of 
 wool than usual refused to be dragged or pushed into 
 the nest-hole, these tiny creatures would fly off with it to 
 a neighbouring apple tree, and there trim its dimensions 
 to a more convenient size. Here, in this snug retreat, 
 safe from cats or any other marauders, their little fami- 
 lies were brought up during two seasons, and loud was the 
 hiss that assailed any intrusive finger. The young once 
 hatched, the old birds were incessant in their search for 
 food, and once every minute, as I found by my watch, 
 one or other returned to their clamorous young. The 
 hole being at least ten feet from the ground, and no tree 
 near within four or five yards, I was particularly 
 anxious to see how the little fledgelings would leave 
 their home; but this I could never succeed in doing, 
 though I found them sitting on neighbouring trees 
 
BLUE TITMOUSE. 145 
 
 evidently soon after this difficulty had been accom- 
 plished. In the third year, after I had been some time 
 aware that he young were hatched, I one morning 
 found the old pair feeding a youngster, quite unable to 
 fly, on the open grass-plot, and thinking he had some^ 
 how tumbled out of the nursery I replaced him for fear 
 of the cats. Next day, however, both old and young 
 were gone, and on afterwards dragging out the con- 
 tents of the nest-hole, I found three young half-fledged 
 nestlings quite dead, which had evidently been so for 
 some time, and probably from these becoming offensive, 
 the parents had somehow carried off the survivor 
 who was quite incapable of assisting himself; yet, how 
 this was accomplished remains to this day a mystery to 
 me. From that time the hole was deserted, this little 
 catastrophe having doubtless given them a distaste for 
 their old haunt. 
 
 The following facts as to a most singular nesting 
 place of this species I can vouch for from personal 
 observation: In the spring of 1857, a pair of blue- 
 tits built their nest in the interior of a door-post, 
 forming part of the back entrance to a house, a 
 short distance from Norwich. On the inner side of 
 the door-post was the usual brass plate, with three 
 square openings for the lock, sneck, and bolt to shoot 
 backwards and forwards in. Through the largest 
 of these, the woodwork being rotted away, the birds 
 obtained access to their strange nesting place. The 
 materials were carried in bit by bit, regardless of 
 the constant passing to and fro of the servants, and 
 their presence was intimated by a loud hiss whenever 
 a finger or stick was intruded into their domicile. The 
 most singular thing, however, was the fact that the 
 door, though open during the day, was always 
 locked at night, thus shutting in these little tenants 
 without a chance of escape until morning, the lock 
 u 
 
146 BIEDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 itself filling up the only possible exit. The nest 
 appeared to be placed about six inches below the 
 entrance to it, but how supported could not be seen, 
 and in this place, in spite of every drawback, these little 
 creatures managed to hatch and bring off their young 
 ones in perfect safety. A white variety of this species 
 was observed, with others of the usual colour, at North- 
 repps, in January, 1848, an unusual occurrence with 
 these birds, which rarely vary in plumage. 
 
 PARUS ATEK, Linnaeus. 
 COAL TITMOUSE. 
 
 This prettily marked species is commonly met with 
 throughout the year, though not so generally distributed 
 as the little blue-cap. In the fir-plantations it associates 
 at all seasons with the little gold-crests, and in spring 
 is found as frequently in the beech and oak woods in 
 company with the willow- wrens. It frequents also our 
 gardens and shrubberies even in close vicinity to the 
 city, and occasionally, as Macgillivray observes, betakes 
 itself to the thickets of broom and gorse. The Coal Tit 
 mostly breeds in the holes of trees, but not far from the 
 ground; and Mr. Newton tells me that at Elveden he 
 has found them prefer a subterranean nursery, the nest 
 being placed a foot below the ground, amongst the 
 roots of an old stump cut level with the earth. Mr. 
 Hewitson also quotes a remark of the late Mr. Salmon, 
 that it has a "great partiality for rabbits' fur, with 
 which it always lines its nest when in the neighbourhood 
 of a warren, and even when at a distance from one." 
 Mr. Blyth, in a most valuable paper "On the British 
 Tits" (Field Naturalist, vol. i., p. 262), alludes to 
 the habit in both the coal and marsh tits (as observed 
 
COAL TITMOUSE. MAKSH TITMOUSE. 147 
 
 in confinement) of hiding a portion of their food, 
 and again returning to their hoard when hungry; an 
 action not noticed under similar circumstances in the 
 great or blue tits. He also acquits the first two 
 species of those carnivorous or rather predaceous habits, 
 particularly exhibited by the great tit. It would be 
 useless to attempt to render in my present space, 
 even were it practicable, the various notes of our 
 British species; alike in character, yet so strangely diver- 
 sified, and in the great tit especially, so imitative of 
 others. The most usual cry, however, of the coal tit, 
 resembles if-hee, if-hee, if-hee, repeated sharply and 
 quickly ; of the great tit, pincher, pincher, pincher, often 
 changing into the vink, vink of the chaffinch ; and the 
 marsh tit's has been given as like tis-yipp, tis-yipp, with 
 an occasional cliicka, cliicka-chee. The blue-cap's notes, 
 by no means easy of imitation, are happily too well 
 known to necessitate any description of them. 
 
 PARUS PALUSTEIS, Linnseus. 
 MAESH TITMOUSE. 
 
 The Marsh Tit, like the preceding species, is also 
 resident throughout the year, but is by no means con- 
 fined to such localities as its name implies. Though 
 commonly met with by rivers and streams and in other 
 low and damp situations, it is also found in our fir- 
 plantations and in gardens and orchards far from any 
 water, where, in autumn, they feed on the seeds of 
 various berries, being particularly partial to those of 
 the snowberry shrub (Symphoria racemosa). Before I 
 discovered the actual depredators I had often observed 
 that the berries on these shrubs in my garden disap- 
 peared very rapidly, and, moreover, that the berries 
 u2 
 
148 BIBDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 themselves were strewed about under the neighbouring 
 trees. I was quite at a loss to account for this, until 
 one morning I observed a marsh titmouse flying across 
 the grass-plot with a white ball, almost as big as his 
 head, on the point of his bill. He looked so oddly at the 
 moment I could scarcely at first sight determine either 
 the bird or its burthen, but as soon as he alighted on an 
 opposite tree he gave a little wrench with his beak, and 
 dropping the husk at the same time, flew off direct 
 to the snowberry bush. The whole thing was now 
 explained, and as I watched, another titmouse joined the 
 first, and these continued as long as I had time to 
 wait carrying off the berries on the ends of their bills 
 to the same tree opposite, were they opened and dropped 
 the husks, then back again for more. On picking up 
 these husks afterwards, I found each of them split open 
 down the side, and -minus the two little kidney-shaped 
 seeds that grow in either half of the white fruit. I have 
 often observed the coal, marsh, and blue tits at the same 
 time on some small firs in my garden, though scarcely 
 more than half a mile from the city, but the great 
 titmouse less frequently and for the most part in winter. 
 Mr. Grurney has known the nest of this bird to be placed 
 in a rat's hole, burrowed down into a closely mown 
 lawn. In the "Zoologist" for 1847, Messrs. Grurney and 
 Fisher refer to the great abundance of this species in 
 Norfolk, apparently occasioned by migratory arrivals, 
 whose departure was again noticed in the following 
 March. 
 
 PARUS CAUDATUS, Linnaeus. 
 LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 
 
 Though so small and delicate in appearance, this 
 beautiful and interesting species remains with us 
 
LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 149 
 
 throughout the year, and even in the hardest winters 
 finds subsistence upon minute seeds or the insect 
 atoms, which, with ceaseless energy, it extracts from 
 the crevices in the bark of trees. How often I have 
 watched them, when covert-shooting in autumn, come 
 streaming along in advance of the beaters, as the game 
 was being driven towards the end of the wood. More 
 curious apparently about the cause of disturbance than 
 alarmed by the guns, they keep up a constant twitter- 
 ing; now passing from tree to tree in one undulating 
 line, their small bunchy figures and long tails looking 
 like so many little arrows going the backwards way, now 
 settling for an instant amongst the "high fell" till the 
 tapping of sticks and the shouts of the men start them 
 again on the wing. Marvellous also is that structure of 
 moss, lichens, and feathers a perfect triumph of skill 
 and industry which we find built into our fences and 
 bushes, as well as on the branches of trees, and so 
 securely placed, as Mr. Tarrell remarks, that it is 
 necessary to cut out the portion of the bush containing 
 it to preserve the appearance and form of the nest. I 
 have seen them built into gooseberry and currant- 
 bushes, with sprigs passing through and supporting 
 them, exactly in the same manner as the reed- warblers' 
 nests described in my notice of that species. Fre- 
 quently as I have examined these " feather-pokes," as 
 they are aptly termed (one only having been known 
 to contain 2,379 feathers of various kinds*), I have 
 never observed the second aperture described by some 
 authors; and impossible as it may appear for the old birds 
 and some twelve or fourteen young ones to find room to 
 move in their soft retreat, every youngster in turn 
 
 Morris's " British Birds," vol. i., p. 278. 
 
150 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 receives its food from the parent's beak, fully realising 
 those charming lines, by Grahame 
 
 " But now behold the greatest of this train 
 Of miracles, stupendously minute ; 
 The numerous progeny, claimant for food 
 Supplied by two small bills, and feeble wings 
 Of narrow range ; supplied ay, duly fed 
 Fed in the dark, and yet not one forgot !" 
 
 CALAMOPHILTJS BIAEMICUS (Linnaeus). 
 BEAEDED TITMOUSE. 
 
 This elegant and very remarkable bird, the only 
 known species of the genus Calamopliilus, remains with us 
 throughout the year, but is confined almost entirely to 
 the district of the broads where the swampy nature of the 
 soil and extensive reed beds afford them food and shelter. 
 A long and intimate acquaintance with this species in our 
 eastern fens, enables me to add but little to the admira- 
 ble description of its habits by the late Mr. Hoy (Mag. 
 Nat. Hist., vol. iii., p. 328), as quoted by Tarrell, Gould, 
 and other authors, but I cannot agree with Mr. Hoy in 
 considering "the end of April" as the usual time for 
 these birds to commence building. I have frequently 
 known their nests completed, and the full complement 
 of eggs laid, by the 7th and 8th of April, and others 
 hard set upon by the 17th, which would carry back the 
 commencement of the nests to about the last week in 
 March. I think, therefore, that the beginning of April 
 may be fairly considered the average time, as the 
 instances I have given were in no way referable to any 
 particular mildness in the season, but occurred even 
 when snow and frost prevailed later than usual. The 
 nests are generally placed amongst the reed stems, close 
 to the water's edge, supported on the loose herbage that 
 
BEARDED TITMOUSE. 151 
 
 forms the foundation of the reed beds, but never in any 
 way suspended. The materials consist of the dead 
 leaves of the sedge and reed loosely interwoven on the 
 outside, whilst the feathery top of the reed forms the 
 only lining. As soon as the breeding season is over, 
 these birds collect together in flocks, and perform short 
 migratory trips from one broad to another in search of 
 food, sometimes in sharp weather as many as forty and 
 fifty together, and I am assured by the broad-men that 
 even larger flights are occasionally seen. In the Cley 
 and Blakeney marshes, near the sea coast, the Rev. 
 E. W. Dowell has observed this species in small num- 
 bers on two occasions, but only in the months of 
 October and November; and as these were not seen 
 throughout the winter, and I am not aware that their 
 nests have been found in that neighbourhood, I 
 should consider them as merely roving flocks, Attracted 
 by the reeds on the tidal marshes. When shooting 
 at Surlingham in the winter months, I have more 
 than once observed the arrival of a flock from some 
 neighbouring broad, their presence overhead being 
 indicated by the clear ringing sound of their silvery 
 notes, uttered preparatory to their pitching into the 
 nearest reed bed, and in autumn, after roosting in 
 small parties on the reeds, they will fly up simul- 
 taneously soon after sunrise, swarming for awhile 
 like a flock of bees ; and uttering in full chorus their 
 pretty song, disperse themselves over the reed beds for 
 their morning's meal. Delicate as these little creatures 
 appear, I have found them during the sharpest frosts, 
 when the snipe had left the half frozen waters for upland 
 springs and drains, still busy amongst the reed stems as 
 lively and musical as ever. It is greatly to be regretted 
 that the demand for specimens from their handsome 
 plumage should lead to the wholesale slaughter of the 
 Bearded Tits throughout the winter 5 added to which, 
 
 
152 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 the price of late years offered for their eggs, has 
 caused a sensible diminution in their numbers. After 
 the mild winter of 1862-3, these birds were more 
 than usually plentiful at Hickling in the following 
 spring, and from this locality alone about five dozen 
 eggs were procured by one individual, nominally a 
 collector, but in reality a dealer, who thus for the sake 
 of a few shillings would go far towards exterminating 
 this beautiful species (many old birds being also killed 
 at the time), whose numbers we have no reason to sup- 
 pose are replenished by continental migrants. Already 
 in one or two districts, where only a few years back 
 they were very plentiful, scarcely a pair or two to my 
 knowledge can now be found in the breeding season. 
 Happily our more common and useful species are, by 
 recent legislation, protected in some degree from whole- 
 sale and indiscriminate slaughter ; can no law* be 
 made applicable to the preservation of other indigenous 
 and ornamental races, whose extinction would be a 
 continual source of regret to every lover of nature ? 
 From enquiries made amongst the older broad-men in 
 different localities, I find no reason to believe that these 
 birds, as has been occasionally remarked, were not 
 known in this county till of late years, and in Sir Wm. 
 Hooker's MS., the entries in which were made some 
 fifty or sixty years ago, I find the following note : 
 " This beautiful bird is by no means unfrequent in the 
 
 * So particular was the old Mosaic law upon this very point, 
 that we find its injunctions coupled even with promises of reward 
 for obedience, as in the following passage from Deutronomy, 
 chap, xxii., v. 6 and 7 : " If a bird's nest chance to be before thee 
 in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young 
 ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the 
 eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young : But thou shalt 
 in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee ; that it 
 may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." 
 
BEARDED TITMOUSE. 153 
 
 reedy parts of Surlingham broad, and remains there 
 throughout the year." The provincial name of " Reed 
 Pheasant" is here applied to this species,, from its 
 miniature resemblance to the nobler " longtails." 
 
 Having adopted the classification of Yarrell in this 
 work, I have, according to his arrangement, and 
 indeed that of foreign as well as British ornithologists 
 generally (with the exception of Macgillivray), re- 
 tained this bird amongst, or rather appended to, the 
 Parince or titmice. I cannot help feeling, however, 
 that Macgillivray, guided by an examination of its 
 digestive organs, was right in considering it more 
 allied to the Fringilline than the Parine group, and 
 especially to the black-headed bunting (Emberiza 
 schceniclus), its constant companion in the fenny dis- 
 tricts. In its active and pendulous actions, and per- 
 haps, also, in its gregarious habits in winter, it seems 
 alone referable to the tit tribe, resembling more par- 
 ticularly the long-tailed tit, yet even this species 
 has been long removed by naturalists from the true 
 Parince, and placed in a separate genus. In internal 
 structure and the character of its food its affinity to 
 the tits, as shown by Macgillivray, is very remote. 
 It has not, he says, "the bristle-tipped tongue of a 
 tit, and its oasophagus is dilated towards the right 
 side, as in all the birds which I have referred to the 
 order of Huskers. During the autumn and winter they 
 live chiefly on the seeds of the reeds, which they pick 
 from the husks ; but they also, as is related by Mr. 
 Dykes, feed upon Succinia amphibia and Pupa muscorwn, 
 he having found the crop of one, which was not larger 
 than a hazel nut, containing twenty of the former, and 
 some of them of a good size, together 'with four of the 
 latter. Now none of the Parince, nor indeed any bird 
 of the whole order of Cantatores, has a crop, which on 
 the other hand occurs in a greater or less degree of 
 x 
 
154 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 development in all the DegluUtores" Mr. E. F. Tomes, 
 in a most interesting paper on "The internal struc- 
 ture of the Bearded Titmouse" (Ibis, 1860, p. 317), 
 fully coincides in the above views of the learned pro- 
 fessor, and supports them also by osteological evidences 
 from the dissection of specimens which I had the 
 pleasure of forwarding from this county, at the request 
 of Dr. Sclater. 
 
 BOMBYCILLA GARRULUS, 
 
 WAxwnsra. 
 
 Of all our occasional winter visitants there are none 
 so eccentric in their movements as the Waxwings. 
 Sometimes appearing during two or three successive 
 seasons in more or less numbers ; at other times entirely 
 absent from our shores for as long if not a longer period ; 
 in one winter noticed only as the rarest stragglers, in 
 another creating a perfect sensation by their numbers, 
 and though usually appearing in sharp winters, yet 
 often absent when most looked for, and present again 
 when least expected. These beautiful and erratic 
 wanderers are thus no less uncertain in their migratory 
 impulses than in the choice of breeding sites in those 
 northern regions where, of late years, ornithologists 
 have traced them to their homes. Sir Thomas Browne 
 does not appear to have noticed this species, and the 
 earliest record therefore of its appearance in Norfolk 
 and Suffolk, is contained in the " Catalogue" of Messrs. 
 Sheppard and Whitear, who speak of it as an occasional 
 visitant, which " has not unfrequently made its appear- 
 ance in these counties, and generally from November to 
 March." They also allude to its abundance at Herring- 
 fleet, in 1810, and to a " prodigious flock" observed at 
 
WAXWING. 155 
 
 Bawdsey, in Suffolk, some years prior to the date of 
 their publication (1825). In 1829, according to the 
 Messrs. Paget, of Yarmouth, they were very plentiful 
 in that neighbourhood, and several were obtained in 
 the winters of 1847 and 1848, in the latter year more 
 especially, but in the following winter of 1849-50, 
 perhaps the largest number ever known in this country 
 were observed along the entire eastern coast of England 
 and many parts of Scotland. Upwards of thirty suc- 
 cessive notices, from various places, of specimens 
 obtained, appeared at that time in the " Zoologist," 
 and though even these conveyed but a very small idea of 
 the numbers that actually visited us, they amounted to 
 five hundred and eighty-six birds killed. A very large 
 proportion of these were procured in the month of 
 January, when in Norfolk alone twenty-two specimens 
 were obtained and sent into Norwich for preservation. 
 In a summary of the notes supplied to his journal, on 
 this most interesting subject, Mr. Newman, in his pre- 
 face to the " Zoologist" for 1850, describes the direction 
 taken by these nights as from " east to west, appear- 
 ing simultaneously along a great tract of the Eastern 
 Counties, and proceeding directly inland ;" he also adds 
 that, " during January, March, and April, the ther- 
 mometer was unusually low, the wind boisterous, and 
 chiefly from the north and east." During the winters of 
 1851, 52, and 53, only a few stragglers appeared in 
 any one year, and singularly enough in 1854-55, when 
 the severity of the weather brought over an unusual 
 number of rare winter visitants, not a single waxwing 
 appeared amongst them. Again, from 1856 to 1862, I 
 am aware of only a chance bird or two having been 
 observed in this county, in spite of the intense cold ex- 
 perienced during that period in two successive winters ; 
 and their latest arrival in any quantity occurred in Nov*> 
 1863, when some fourteen or fifteen specimens were 
 x2 
 
156 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 killed in different parts of the county, and many others 
 appeared simultaneously (between the 10th and 25th) in 
 more northern counties, as well as in Scotland. (See 
 Zoologist, 1864, p. 8880). The very unusual occurrence 
 of a pair at Cringleford, near Norwich, in 1851, as late 
 as the 20th of April, was recorded by Mr. Gurney at the 
 time in the above named journal ; and in 1853 I saw a 
 single specimen, which was killed near North Walsham 
 during the first week in May. 
 
 Amongst the valuable ornithological contributions 
 to the Norwich museum by the late lamented John 
 Wolley, there is none more interesting in itself, or more 
 peculiarly associated with the name of that liberal donor, 
 than the nest, nestling, and egg of the waxwing, together 
 with a pair of old birds in their breeding plumage. To 
 the untiring researches of that talented naturalist is 
 due the discovery of the nidification of this hitherto 
 mysterious visitant to our shores, sought for in vain for 
 many years throughout the northern regions of America, 
 Europe, and Asia, until both nests, eggs, and young 
 were procured by Mr. Wolley, in Finnish Lapland, in 
 the summer of 1856. A full account of this, his 
 greatest oological discovery, from his own pen, was read 
 to the Zoological Society at their meeting on the 24th 
 March, 1857, and will be found in the " Proceedings" 
 for that year,* (p. 55). At this meeting a pair of adult 
 waxwings killed from their nest, a young bird, two 
 nests, and several eggs were exhibited by Mr. Edward 
 Newton, and a complete series of these specimens is now 
 in our Norwich collection. It had long been supposed that 
 the waxwing, in its immature plumage, would be found 
 wanting in those wax-like tips to the wing feathers, 
 
 * This communication was also reprinted almost entirely in the 
 "Annals and Magazine of Natural History," 2nd ser., vol. xx., 
 p. 308, and in the " Zoologist," p. 5754. 
 
WAXWING. 157 
 
 which form so marked a feature in the adult bird, but 
 this theory was completely upset by the appearance of 
 the nestling above-mentioned, in reference to which Mr. 
 Wolley remarks : " A young bird, caught on the 5th 
 of August, as it fluttered from the nest, had a general 
 resemblance to the adult, though all the colours were 
 more dull. The wax-like ends to the wing feathers, 
 the yellow tip to the tail, the black patch between the 
 eye and the beak, are* all there, whilst the rich maho- 
 gany of the under tail coverts is of a quieter brown ; 
 the blooming vinous colour of the head and back has 
 not yet emerged from a homely neutral, and the crest is 
 but just indicated by the longish feathers of the crown. 
 The most marked difference between the adult and 
 young is in the throat and under surface generally. 
 There is at present scarcely a trace of the deep black 
 patch of the chin, and the delicate tint of the general 
 under surface of the adult is replaced by mottled, neutral, 
 and white. This, upon examination, is found to owe 
 its appearance to those longer webs which, arriving 
 towards the root of each feather, extend as far outwards 
 as the webs which arise nearer its tip, being very pale or 
 white, and thus relieving, on both sides, the last-men- 
 tioned darker webs." In the 3rd volume of the <e Ibis" 
 (1861, p. 92) will be found a more detailed account 
 of this most interesting discovery, chiefly compiled from 
 Mr. Wolley's notes and letters, by his old friend and 
 fellow-traveller, Mr. Alfred Newton, to whom, at his 
 death in November, 1859, Mr. Wolley bequeathed his 
 magnificent oological collection, comprising, amongst 
 other rarities, a series of some hundreds of waxwings' 
 eggs. From these statements it appears that nests were 
 discovered at Sardio, on the Kittila river, early in June, 
 1856, by some intelligent lads, employed by Mr. Wolley 
 to collect for him, and the description of his delight, in 
 realizing at last his great ambition, and actually beholding 
 
158 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 these long-sought treasures, will find an echo in the heart 
 of every ardent naturalist. Some twenty-nine eggs were 
 taken in the first season ; but it was not till the follow- 
 ing summer (1857) that Mr. Wolley succeeded in finding 
 a nest himself " close to the house at Sardio," on the 
 16th of June, but which had been " deserted a, day or 
 two before, and from which something had thrown th^ 
 eggs, one after another, upon the ground as they were 
 laid; of course broken to bits." The waxwings being 
 much more scarce in Lapland during that year, only 
 eight more eggs were brought in by the natives ; but in 
 the summer of 1858, when Mr. Wolley was himself 
 absent in Iceland, these birds, considered "the fore- 
 runners of famine" in those districts, appear to have 
 been as plentiful in their newly discovered breeding sites 
 as occasionally in winter on our own coasts. Mr. Newton 
 remarks "Not far from one hundred and fifty nests 
 were found by persons in his (Mr. Wolley's) employment 
 in Lapland, and some of them close to Muoniovara. It 
 seems, as nearly as I have been able to ascertain, 
 that no less than six hundred and sixty-six eggs were 
 collected, and more than twenty others were obtained 
 by Herr Keitel, of Berlin, who happened, without, 
 I believe, any expectation of the luck that was in store 
 for him, to be that year on the Muonio river." A 
 perfectly independent discovery of a waxwing's nest 
 was also made in this year by Mr. H. E. Dresser, on 
 the island of Sandon, off the harbour of Uleaborg, 
 where he succeeded in capturing two out of five young 
 ones, and securing also the old birds and one egg. In 
 this nest were the remains of some dried cranberries. 
 In 1859 the birds were again scarce, and not more than 
 forty-six eggs were obtained by Mr. Wolley's collectors ; 
 and in 1860 about fifty-two were procured through the 
 same agents. Mr. Newton describes the various nests 
 " as built mostly in Spruce and Scotch fir trees (Pinus 
 
WAXWING. 159 
 
 abies and P. sylvestris), chiefly, I think, the former. 
 The usual complement of eggs is certainly five, but six 
 not uncommonly, and seven and four occasionally were 
 found. The second week in June seems to be the 
 general time for the birds to have eggs ; but there 
 are some which must have been laid in the last days 
 of May, and others (perhaps second broods) a month 
 later." As some proof of the interest attaching to this 
 great oological fact, and the desire of collectors to secure 
 specimens for their cabinets, I may add that on the 
 sale of a portion of Mr. Wolley's duplicates, in London, 
 by Mr. J. C. Stevens (May 30th and 31st, 1860), nine 
 waxwings' eggs averaged 3 3s. each. As a cage bird, 
 from its handsome form and gentle though sprightly 
 nature, the waxwing is a particularly engaging pet, 
 but somewhat difficult to keep in a healthy condition 
 from its voracious and almost omnivorous appetite. In 
 November, 1859, I purchased a pair from Jamrach, of 
 London, which were moulting at the time, and were in 
 anything but a promising state. With careful treat- 
 ment, however, both as to cleanliness and diet, the male 
 assumed his perfect plumage by the following January, 
 and was then as handsome as any wild specimen I ever 
 saw. The female, however, remained sickly, being too 
 weak apparently to throw off her old feathers, and, 
 though feeding heartily to the last, died a perfect 
 skeleton on the 1st of March. I found bread and egg, 
 with a little hemp seed, the best diet, with berries 
 such as privet and ivy occasionally ; and latterly I 
 obtained some of the preserved cranberries, which at 
 that time were much sold by the grocers. They also 
 ate a good deal of old dried mortar, and swallowed a 
 quantity of small stones, having, as I afterwards found, 
 a true and very firm gizzard. Their note is a clear 
 silvery whistle, more subdued in tone than might have 
 been imagined from a bird of its size, and this when 
 
160 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 uttered of an evening, with, various modulations, after 
 the lamp was lighted in the room where they were kept, 
 was excessively sweet and pleasing. In their actions they 
 somewhat reminded me of starlings, playfully snapping 
 at one another with their beaks, as they sat side by side, 
 and occasionally in the most affectionate manner taking 
 food from one another's mouths. The male when thus 
 excited with play was a very striking object, his whole 
 figure full of life and vigour, being drawn up as if stand- 
 ing on tip-toe, with the crest elevated and curving for- 
 wards. At times he would amuse as well as exercise him- 
 self, by hopping sideways on his perch in a very droll 
 manner, and when alarmed by a visitor, or listening to 
 any strange sound, his expression of curiosity (the head 
 and neck being stretched out to the fullest extent), mixed 
 with a queer pert manner, was extremely comic. The 
 loss of his mate, however, seemed greatly to affect his 
 spirits, and during my absence from home in the 
 following May, he also died, to my great regret, but 
 whether from pining, or from neglect on the part of my 
 servants, I am unable to say. 
 
 MOTACILLA YARRELLI, Gould. 
 PIED WAGTAIL. 
 
 Resident with us throughout the year, since, though 
 the majority of our home-bred birds leave us for a time 
 in mid- winter, a few are still met with during the most 
 severe weather, the Pied Wagtail, with its neat plumage 
 and elegant form, is associated with the enjoyment of our 
 out-door recreations at all seasons. Never far away 
 from the vicinity of water, if only a pond or a little run 
 by the roadside, we find it about our homes and in the 
 open country. Running here and there on our lawns and 
 
PIED WAGTAIL. 161 
 
 grass-plots, it darts right and left at the rising insects, 
 or capturing on the wing some dainty morsel, its rapid 
 flight is arrested by a graceful curve, as it alights 
 again, with a short quick run and vibratory action of 
 the tail. In the farm yard, we find it by the edge of 
 the horse-pond, or amongst the cattle in the open sheds, 
 daintily picking its way amongst the fodder, its long 
 tail and delicate breast-feathers unsoiled, however dirty 
 the locality it frequents. From thence, with a sharp 
 cheeping note and undulating flight, it makes its way 
 to the ridge of the barn, or runs along the parapet of 
 the house, constantly in motion, yet always ready for 
 the passing insect. Further afield we see it in the 
 meadows and pastures, closely following the feeding 
 cattle and fearlessly running about amongst their feet 
 to seize upon the flies which these animals attract. 
 If waiting for the train at any country station, the time 
 seems shorter as we watch this wagtail, busy as ever 
 amongst the rails and sleepers, or, disturbed from 
 thence, settling amongst the martins on the telegraph 
 wires, or chasing one of them in playful flight, with 
 almost inconceivable swiftness. By the river side, or 
 on the open broads, it is still with us, whether shooting, 
 fishing, or sailing be the object of our trip, and even in 
 the sharpest weather is found clinging to the reed 
 stems, or carefully searching for some means of sub- 
 sistence amongst the sedgy margins of the frozen 
 stream. Once more, let us change the scene, and pay 
 a visit to the sea coast. Here, on the grassy slopes 
 facing the sea, the wagtail runs on before us in our 
 walks, or flits over the edge of the cliffs to catch the 
 flies upon the sandy beach. If the tide is in, we know 
 at once where to find it. Look at those heaps of 
 decomposing seaweed, high up under the sand hills, 
 which have been raked together to be carted on to the 
 land. How the sand-flies swarm about them as the hot 
 
162 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 sun draws out their objectionable odours, yet here is the 
 wagtail's feast, and its little friend the titlark comes in 
 for a share. As the tide falls, however, and the rocks 
 become bare, another field of research is opened to its 
 view, and a fierce slaughter is commenced amongst the 
 insect atoms that settle on those slippery weed-covered 
 stones, now exposed for a time. From these it runs 
 along the wet sands, following up the little waves, and 
 even wading at times, but, as Macgillivray has most accu- 
 rately noticed, so rapid are its actions, and so slight 
 its frame, that it leaves no impress of its little feet, and 
 the tail, though scarcely ever still, is carried too high to 
 be draggled by the soil. Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, in 
 the " Zoologist" for 1847, mention the arrival by a south 
 wind in March of a <e considerable number of pied wag- 
 tails, several of which were seen to alight in a field at 
 Caister," and small flocks are invariably seen in the 
 course of that month feeding on the newly ploughed 
 lands, or chasing each other over the ridges. There 
 is also no doubt that very considerable quantities 
 appear regularly on our coasts in autumn, resting 
 for a short time, and then proceeding on their south- 
 ward journey. On the 16th of November, 1858, and 
 on two subsequent occasions, whilst snipe-shooting at 
 Surlingham, I found, towards the afternoon, large flights 
 of pied wagtails dispersed all over the broad, many of 
 them clinging to the reed stems, like the bearded tits, 
 and smaller bodies were continually passing overhead or 
 stopping to join their companions. From the locality 
 in which I found them, and from the fact of their 
 immediately preceding continuous and severe frosts, I 
 have no doubt that these were migratory arrivals, about 
 to rest for the night on their way inland, their numbers 
 and extreme tameness reminding me of similar flights 
 observed in the South of England, on their way north- 
 ward, in the early spring. Whilst staying at Teignmouth, 
 
PIED WAGTAIL. GREY WAGTAIL. 103 
 
 in Devonshire, in 1859, a most undoubted arrival of 
 migratory specimens appeared on the morning of the 
 20th of March. The grassy slopes in front of the sea 
 were covered with them till late in the day, and so 
 unusual was their appearance in such quantities that 
 they attracted general attention ; but on the next morn- 
 ing they had passed on, and only a pair or two as usual 
 frequented the " Denes," nor did I subsequently observe 
 any similar accession to the ordinary number of residents. 
 I may remark also that these were all pied wagtails, not 
 a single white wagtail (M. alba) appearing amongst 
 them. It has been more than once questioned in the 
 " Field" of late years, whether the pied wagtail ever 
 perches on trees : that it does do so, occasionally, I can 
 speak from my own observation, as well as on fences, 
 walls, and railings, but when observed on the branches 
 of trees or shrubs, it is generally at the close of the 
 breeding season, when the old birds are accompanied 
 by their young broods. I cannot ascertain that the 
 continental white wagtail, the true M. alba of Linnseus, 
 has ever occurred in Norfolk. 
 
 MOTACILLA BOARULA, Latham. 
 GEEY WAGTAIL. 
 
 A regular spring and autumn migrant, though not 
 in large numbers, appearing generally in March and 
 October; but at neither season remaining long in this 
 district, and but few specimens, at any time, are found in 
 the hands of our bird-stuffers. A male in my collection, 
 killed at Boyland on the 13th of March, 1863, has 
 nearly completed its summer dress, and Mr. Spalding, 
 of Westleton, has also a male, killed by himself at 
 Ditchingham, some years ago, in the month of May, 
 
 Y2 
 
164 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 wliich is in full breeding plumage, with, a pure black 
 patch on the throat. In this state, however, it is very 
 rarely met with in Norfolk, and then only when detained 
 on its way northwards by contrary winds in spring. 
 
 MOTACILLA FLAVA, Linnams. 
 GKEY-HEADED WAGTAIL. 
 
 I am not aware that more than three examples of 
 this rare species have been actually identified as killed in 
 Norfolk. Of the first (No. 92) in our museum collection, 
 the following account is given by Messrs. Gurney and 
 Fisher : " A male bird was killed at Sherringham* 
 about May, 1842 ; another wagtail was procured at the 
 same time, which was probably the female ; but as the 
 person who shot them only preserved the brighter- 
 coloured specimen, the latter was unfortunately not 
 identified." The next example, which occurred at Yar- 
 mouth about the 18th of April, 1851, was also a male, 
 and came into the possession of Mr. John Smith, of that 
 town, who recorded its capture in the " Zoologist," p. 
 3174; and a female in the collection of Mr. Alfred 
 Master, of this city, was killed on the Heigham river, a 
 few years back, very late in the spring. That this bird, 
 though for the most part unrecognised, appears from 
 time to time in this county amongst our yellow wag- 
 tails, is extremely probable, from the fact of its having 
 been met with at Lowestofb (Suffolk,) on more than one 
 occasion, consorting with the more common species. 
 The late Mr. Thurtell, a bird-preserver of that town, in 
 a communication to Mr. Gurney, in 1854 (Zoologist, 
 
 * This is the same bird mentioned by Mr. Lubbock in his 
 " Fauna," as preserved in the Norwich museum. 
 
GREY-HEADED WAGTAIL. RAY*S WAGTAIL. 165 
 
 p. 4440), remarks " During the protracted dry weather 
 from the beginning of last March to the end of 
 April, we had the wind from the N.E., with light 
 sunny days, and every day, for more than six weeks, 
 there were to be seen some forty or fifty yellow wag- 
 tails running upon our Denes ; and on the 24th of April 
 I observed a grey-headed one amongst them. I fetched 
 my gun and shot it. On the 25th I killed two more, 
 and on the 26th I killed one. These four were all 
 males, besides which I shot on the 26th two females." 
 Mr. Newcome, of Feltwell, and Mr. J. H. Gurney, have 
 each a pair of these birds in their collections. Another 
 male was also obtained at the same place in June, 
 1849, as recorded in the above named journal, p. 2499, 
 besides the one recorded by Yarrell and other authors, 
 to have been killed by the late Mr. Hoy, on the 2nd 
 of May, 1836, at Stoke Nayland, in the same county. 
 It is further stated by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, that 
 "a nest, containing four eggs, was taken on a heath 
 at Herringfleet, in Suffolk, on the 16th of June, 1842, 
 which probably belonged to a bird of this species. The 
 eggs closely resembled an egg of the grey-headed wag- 
 tail, which had been taken on the continent, and the 
 situation of the nest, and the materials of which it was 
 composed, also corresponded with the descriptions given 
 of the nest of this bird." 
 
 MOTACILLA RAYI, Bonaparte. 
 YELLOW WAGTAIL. 
 
 A common summer visitant and breeds with us, 
 appearing in March and leaving again in September. 
 One can scarcely think of this beautiful bird without 
 calling to mind the luxuriant herbage of our meadows 
 
166 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 and grass-fields during the spring months. How 
 brilliant are the colours of the male, in his nuptial 
 dress, as he picks his way amongst a profusion of 
 buttercups, assimilating so closely with his own tints, 
 that his actions only betray his whereabouts. In 
 busy little flocks upon their first arrival, we find 
 them on the Denes and grassy slopes by the sea-shore, 
 graceful in every movement as they run or flit from one 
 spot to another, enjoying alike the warmth of the sun 
 and the myriads of insects which it calls into being. In 
 autumn again, in little family groups, the young, in 
 their more sombre tints, resembling the females, are 
 learning for themselves the art of fly-catching, and, till 
 instinct warns them of the coming winter, each day 
 finds them busily employed amongst the cattle in our 
 fields and pastures. Though not so constantly seen in 
 the vicinity of water as some other species, this wagtail 
 frequents the margins of rivers and streams, and the 
 marshy grounds adjacent, as well as open downs and 
 furzy commons, with arable land and sheep walks. 
 
 ANTHTJS ARBOREUS, Bechst. 
 TREE PIPIT. 
 
 This species, at once distinguished from the meadow 
 pipit by its short hind claw, is found pretty generally 
 distributed in summer, arriving about the middle of 
 April ; and having nested here, leaves us again in the 
 autumn. Amongst the many sweet sounds of the early 
 summer, the notes of this bird may be heard from 
 the trees in our hedgerows, most frequently from 
 the upper branches of a lofty elm as it sings with 
 all the fervour of the nuptial season; and springing 
 tip into the air in its extacy, it trills forth its 
 
TREE PIPIT. MEADOW PIPIT. 167 
 
 lay on quivering wings, returning again and again to 
 the same bough. The eggs of the tree pipit vary greatly 
 both in colour and markings, some of their rich reddish 
 tints being very beautiful. 
 
 ANTHUS PBATENSIS (Linnams). 
 MEADOW PIPIT. 
 
 The Meadow Pipit or Titlark is one of the most 
 common of our resident species, and generally dis- 
 tributed throughout the county. On heaths and 
 commons, by the banks of rivers, in meadows and 
 marshes, on the grassy summits of our lofty cliffs, or 
 the low marram hills upon the sandy beach, the cheep- 
 ing note of this familiar bird meets us at every turn, and 
 in more cultivated districts, it springs at our approach 
 from the arable land, and, drifting like waste paper 
 down the wind, is gone with a yhit, yhit, yhit, almost 
 before we fairly see it. In summer it is nowhere 
 more abundant than in the district of the broads, where 
 it sings from the top of the small alder and sallow bushes, 
 which are scattered in many places over the drier marshes, 
 and cheeping as it ascends from a projecting spray, 
 utters its simple but pleasing song, with quivering 
 wings and outspread tail, as it slowly descends to its 
 station again. I never remember to have found its 
 nest in these localities, when carefully searching for 
 the eggs of the sedge-warbler and the black-headed 
 bunting, but it breeds close by on the grazing lands, 
 near the marsh dykes that drain the soil ; and here the 
 cuckoo soon finds it out, and drops its egg, a very 
 " apple of discord," amongst those of the unconscious 
 titlark. I know few things more ridiculous than to 
 watch the great baby cuckoo, helplessly flapping his 
 
168 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 wings and opening his mouth, as he sits on a bush or 
 railing, to receive unnumbered delicacies from the 
 beak of its foster-parent. How bright and fresh is the 
 plumage of these pipits in the early spring when, on a 
 warm sunny day, we find them in company with the 
 stonechat and whinchat, amongst the yellow gorse. 
 Flitting from bush to bush, they rise and fall in the 
 full tide of song, or chase each other in amorous flight ; 
 and sad, indeed, must be the heart that at such a time 
 catches no inspiration from these sights and sounds. In 
 winter both old and young congregate in flocks, and in 
 sharp weather frequent the stack-yards with other birds ; 
 but, as a rule, are not generally found so close to our 
 towns and cities as their rural companion the sky-lark. In 
 autumn their numbers are increased by immense flocks 
 from the north, which keep passing onwards to more 
 southern counties, and many are picked up at the foot 
 of our lighthouses, killed by concussion against the 
 upper windows, as before described of other migratory 
 species. 
 
 ANTHUS KICARDI, Vieffl. 
 RICHAKD'S PIPIT. 
 
 Three specimens only of this rare pipit are recorded to 
 have been killed in Norfolk, of which two (Nos. 98 and 
 98. a) are in the museum collection.* All three were pro- 
 cured on the Denes between Yarmouth and Caister, the 
 first on the 22nd of November, 1841 ; the next in the 
 following April ; and the third example on the 24th of 
 April, 1843. Of this last specimen Mr. Fisher observes 
 
 * No. 98 is the one killed in April, 1842 ; and 98.a the specimen 
 obtained on the 22nd of November, 1841. Whether the third 
 example is still in existence I am unable to say. 
 
RICHARD'S PIPIT. ROCK-PIPIT. 169 
 
 in the " Zoologist/' p. 181 : " It was shot by the same 
 person who killed the last specimen, he having instantly 
 recognized its loud note and peculiar manner of walking 
 and feeding. These birds appear to vary considerably 
 in size. Mr. Yarrell makes the length of the male bird 
 six inches and three quarters. The specimen killed here 
 last April was said to measure seven inches and a 
 quarter, while this bird measured, before it was stuffed, 
 seven inches and five-eighths in length, and twelve 
 inches in the extent of its wings. The lower mandible 
 of the beak, when I first saw it, had a purplish tint, 
 which has since changed to a dull red. The second 
 outside tail-feather on each side, described as being in 
 part dull white, and having the brown colour on the 
 inner web extending over a larger surface than in the 
 outside feather, has also in this bird a black shaft, 
 which, being surrounded with white, forms, when the 
 tail is spread, a very conspicuous mark on each side. 
 The base of the outer web of this feather is also black, 
 and the edges of the quill feathers are light brown. I 
 found it, upon dissection, to be a male. The gizzard 
 was filled with several species of flies and gnats, 
 amongst which I noticed the remains of the ladybird 
 and of a species of ichneumon." 
 
 ANTHUS OBSCURUS (Latham). 
 EOCK-PIPIT. 
 
 This species, which, in most maritime counties of Eng- 
 land seems almost to take the place of the meadow pipit 
 in the vicinity of the sea-coast, is a rare bird in Norfolk ; 
 and though I believe a few appear regularly on their 
 vernal and autumnal migrations, the specimens obtained 
 are extremely scarce. This may probably in some degree 
 
170 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 be owing to their specific distinctions being but little 
 known, since, if shot, and mistaken for the common 
 titlark, they would invariably be thrown away as of no 
 value ; but although I have myself sought for this bird 
 in every likely locality and at the proper seasons, I have 
 never met with it here, and indeed have seen but 
 three specimens at any time in the hands of our bird- 
 stuffers. In the month of February, 1855, a single 
 bird was shown to me (killed near Yarmouth during 
 very severe weather), which corresponded with speci- 
 mens procured by myself in Devonshire and Sussex ; and 
 two others in my own collection were secured at one shot, 
 on the river's bank, near St. Martin's gates, quite close 
 to the city, on the 7th of March, 1864. These were no 
 doubt passing over us in their migratory course, and 
 had paused for awhile to rest and feed, even in a locality 
 so unusual for the Rock-Pipit, whose haunts are essen- 
 tially the " rock-girt shore" and the margin of brackish 
 waters. Messrs. Grurney and Fisher speak of the rock- 
 pipit as migrating to our coast in autumn; and the 
 Messrs. Paget also remark that ee a few are occasionally 
 seen about Breydon wall." Mr. Dix however informs 
 me, that on the brackish margin of the Orwell, near 
 Ipswich, they are not uncommon in autumn, as he has 
 killed them there himself, and one would naturally have 
 expected to find them as plentiful, in similar situations, 
 in our own county. The great difference observable 
 in the plumage of some rock-pipits obtained in this 
 country has, at various times, attracted the attention of 
 naturalists, and the question whether two or more dis- 
 tinct races have not been hitherto confounded, is now 
 occupying the attention of our leading ornithologists. 
 Jflr. Hancock, who has recently examined my two 
 Norwich specimens, together with many others sub- 
 mitted for his inspection, decides that one at least of 
 those birds, having a bright buff or cinnamon coloured 
 
KOCK-PIPIT. SHORE-LAKE. 171 
 
 breast,* corresponds with the Anthus rupestris of Nilsson ; 
 but though this is not, in his opinion, entitled to specific 
 distinction, his decision, as affecting a Norfolk specimen, 
 is the more interesting from the fact, that the chief 
 home of A. rupestris is in Scandinavia, whence, as has 
 been previously shown in this work, our few examples 
 of the dipper (Cinclus aquaticus) and the blue-throated 
 warbler (Phcenicura suecica) birds which like the pre- 
 sent do not breed in the county, but only occur here as 
 occasional visitors are apparently derived. 
 
 ALAUDA ALPESTRIS, Linnseus. 
 SHOKE-LAKK. 
 
 The first recorded specimen of the Shore-Lark in 
 Norfolk, and probably the first ever recognized in Eng- 
 land, is the one thus referred to by Yarrell: "In the 
 year 1831, I learned of my late friend, Mr. John Sims, 
 then residing at Norwich, that a British killed specimen 
 of the Shore-Lark, the Alauda alpestris of authors, had 
 come into his possession. The bird was shot on the 
 beach at Sherringham, in Norfolk, in March, 1830 ; it 
 was preserved by Mr. Sims, and is now in the collection 
 of Edward Lombe, Esq., of Great Melton, near Nor- 
 wich." This bird, which is also described by Messrs. 
 Gurney and Fisher as an immature male, is still pre- 
 served in the above collection, which is now in the pos- 
 session of Mrs. E. P. Clarke, of Wymondham. A second 
 example, purchased by Mr. Gurney some few years ago, 
 
 * The other bird, though killed in company, exhibits no 
 indication of this warm colouring. It is probably a female, but 
 unfortunately I had no opportunity of dissecting these pipits, 
 before they were stuffed, to determine their respective sexes. 
 z2 
 
172 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 but in what year I am not certain, was also procured at 
 Sherringham ; and an adult male, in Mr. Newcome's col- 
 lection at Feltwell, was shot at Yarmouth in November, 
 1850. Next in order of date are two fine specimens, 
 killed on Blakeney beach, near the Preventive station, 
 about the first week in March, 1855. These were 
 brought in the flesh to the Rev. E. W. Dowell, of 
 Dunton, who presented one to the Earl of Leicester, 
 and retained the other in his own collection. Both, I 
 believe, were male birds, Lord Leicester's certainly was, 
 as I examined it at the time when sent to be preserved 
 in Norwich. A farther interval of seven years now 
 elapsed, without any more examples being observed 
 in this district, when in the winter of 1861-62, 
 between the first week in November and the llth of 
 January, no less than five were obtained at Yarmouth, 
 Sherringham, and Blakeney; and about the 24th of 
 April, a sixth, also on the coast, at Yarmouth. Of these 
 birds, which, singularly enough proved to be all males, 
 the first was killed at Yarmouth on the 7th of November; 
 the second at Sherringham on the 9th; the third near 
 Yarmouth (belonging to the Rev. C. J. Lucas, of Burgh,) 
 on the 12th; and two more at Blakeney (I believe in the 
 possession of Mr.Upcher, of Sherringham,) on the llth of 
 January, 1862. I was unable to ascertain at the time how 
 many were seen on each occasion, or whether these were 
 the only ones observed, but most probably there were 
 others which escaped destruction; and as these birds were 
 performing a southward migration, it is most probable 
 that the specimens described by Mr. J. D. Rowley, as 
 netted at Brighton (three males) on the 15th and 16th 
 of November (Ibis, 1862, p. 88), were a remnant 
 of the same flock, thinned on their passage down our 
 eastern coast. Very severe gales had visited us for some 
 days just previous to the appearance of the three 
 November birds, and several little auks were picked up 
 
SHORE-LARK. 173 
 
 at the same time in different parts of the county ; but 
 although some of these storm-driven sea-birds showed 
 symptoms of privation, the shore-larks, both in flesh 
 and plumage, were in high condition. I was fortunate 
 enough to examine all the Norfolk shore-larks as soon as 
 they were sent up to Norwich for preservation, and 
 found them exhibiting a transition state between winter 
 and summer plumage ; but in those killed in the month 
 of November, the bands of black and yellow on the 
 throat were very bright, and the horns plainly marked, 
 more especially in the one from Sherringham, which had 
 also a richer vinous tint on the wings ; but in each the 
 band over the crown of the head was but slightly trace- 
 able. Of the two killed at Blakeney on the llth of 
 January, one was evidently a much older bird than 
 the other, with a perfect black gorget, and bright 
 yellow tints on the throat and neck ; the horns were well 
 developed, and the cheeks black. The forehead, how- 
 ever, was more white than yellow, with a very indis- 
 tinct black band mixed with yellow on the upper part of 
 the head; the points of the shoulders vinous. The 
 younger specimen had a smaller gorget, each black 
 feather being tipped with yellow; the black on the 
 cheeks also blended in the same manner. The horns 
 slight, but quite distinguishable ; no perceptible 
 band across the head; forehead yellowish white; and 
 several reddish longitudinal spots on the breast, imme- 
 diately below the gorget. At the time when these 
 last two birds were obtained, the weather was very 
 mild ; but a severe frost had broken up about ten days 
 before. The male shot at Yarmouth in April, 1862, now 
 in my possession, was brought up to Norwich with several 
 sky-larks and wagtails killed at the same time, and most 
 probably formed a remnant of the original flock, once 
 more returning northwards for the breeding season. This 
 specimen, as may be supposed from its appearing so late 
 
174 BIKDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 in the spring, had very nearly assumed its full summer 
 plumage. The gorget on the neck and the patches on 
 the cheeks are pure black, and the yellow portions are 
 very bright, with the horns clearly developed. It is some- 
 what remarkable, that almost every one of these birds, 
 obtained in Norfolk, from 1830 to the present time, 
 should have proved, on dissection, to be males ; and it is 
 also worthy of note, that all but two have occurred 
 during the winter months. On the 26th November, 
 1862, a male shore-lark, (in the collection of Mr. J. H. 
 G-urney, junr.), was killed at Lowestoft, in the adjoin- 
 ing county, and the man who shot it stated that 
 he had seen lots of snow-buntings, and a few had 
 yellow throats, which were no doubt shore-larks, 
 consorting with the more common species. The sub- 
 joined note in the " Field," by Mr. Fenwick Hele, 
 of Aldeburgh, (November 19th, 1864,) also shows how 
 easily these birds may be overlooked, and it is by no 
 means improbable that they may have visited us far 
 oftener than is generally supposed: "On Thursday, 
 the 10th (November), I obtained a very rare bird at 
 Thorpe (Suffolk), namely, the shore-lark. It is a very 
 good male, with beautifully developed ears ; it was in 
 company with another, I suppose its mate. Up to the 
 time of my picking up the specimen I had killed^ I 
 quite believed them to be the common sky-lark, so 
 exactly did they resemble that bird both in colour and 
 gait. I was not sufficiently near to observe the very 
 pretty and curious markings about the chin and throat. 
 I was only led to shoot at them at all from a desire to 
 try my big duck gun at such small objects on the 
 ground ; you may therefore judge of my surprise, when 
 picking up the dead specimen, at my double stroke of 
 good luck firstly, chancing to alight on such a rarity ; 
 and secondly, firing at it at all. The mate was very badly 
 hit, as a heap of feathers left on the spot where I had 
 
SHORE-LARK. SKY-LARK. 175 
 
 shot at it clearly demonstrated, but it took to wing and 
 I could not see where it eventually went down." In a 
 a farther note in the " Field" for the following week, 
 Mr. Hele announces that this second bird was obtained 
 on the 16th, having been brought to him by a gentleman 
 who shot it on the beach at Thorpe. This also proved 
 to be a male. The latest occurrence of this species in 
 the Eastern Counties has been very obligingly com- 
 municated to me by Mr. Baker, of Cambridge, who says 
 that three specimens, two males and one female, sent to 
 him for preservation, were killed on the 10th or 12th of 
 February, 1865, out of a flock of about twenty, by Mr. 
 Fowler's keeper, at Gunton, near Lowestoft. The con- 
 tents of their crops, which he also forwarded, appeared 
 to consist of seeds of Polygonacece and the chrysalis of 
 some small insect. 
 
 ALAUDA ARVENSIS, Linnaeus. 
 SKY-LAEK. 
 
 "Up with the lark" is a very common expression 
 amongst early risers, yet in reality the members of the 
 early rising society, with its guaranteed stock of health, 
 wealth, and wisdom, are far less likely to hear the first 
 notes of the sky-lark, than those whom pleasure or 
 necessity have caused to be up all night. Late as these 
 birds are during the light summer evenings in retiring 
 to rest, their song may be heard again by two o'clock 
 the next morning, whilst the stars are still shining 
 brightly in the cold grey sky, and scarce a streak of 
 light yet indicates the approach of dawn. I have often, 
 at such times, when out on the broads, heard the sky- 
 lark's notes high over head, when far too dark to dis- 
 tinguish the bird; or from the neighbouring fields, not 
 
176 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 " poised in air/' but warbling from the ground, several 
 have simultaneously burst into song. In this position 
 also they may frequently be heard during the day, 
 when a person unaware of this habit, would look around 
 in vain for the songsters. So much, however, does the 
 soil itself assimilate with the plumage of these birds, 
 that often on a sunny day the fallows seem alive with 
 harmony, though scarce a feather can be seen, till a 
 fluttering wing or a pair amorously chasing each other 
 disclose the hidden vocalists. It were unnecessary for 
 me to dwell long upon the ordinary characteristics 
 of a bird so well known to every lover of nature ; 
 but I trust there are few who have not experienced 
 a thrill of pleasure, after a long and dreary winter, 
 when, on the first bright sunny morning, the sky- 
 lark's note, with all its pleasant associations, first 
 falls upon the ear. How instinctively one stops 
 to watch his upward flight, as with outspread quiver- 
 ing wings he slowly mounts, yet still his notes 
 come back upon the ear, clear and distinct in 
 all their rapturous fullness, though our eyes grow 
 dim with watching that small dark speck in the 
 clouds. Suddenly, at his greatest height, he makes a 
 slight detour, then steadying himself again, commences 
 his descent ; slowly at first and still singing loudly, till, 
 approaching the earth, he stops an instant, then darts 
 swiftly down, and skimming for a space above the 
 ground, alights once more. Besides singing from the 
 ground, as before stated, the sky-lark occasionally 
 perches on a wall or fence, and with swelling throat 
 and fluttering wings, pours forth its song, as from the 
 floor of a cage, but this is, I believe, more generally in 
 the breeding season, when its mate is sitting in some 
 neighbouring corn field; at least, I do not remember 
 noticing this habit at other seasons. In autumn, the 
 immense flocks which at times frequent our stubble 
 
SKY-LARK. 177 
 
 fields, are composed for the most part of migratory 
 arrivals,* which, after a brief sojourn, continue their 
 journey southward. Our home-bred birds also perform, 
 during the winter months, a kind of partial migration, 
 shifting their ground repeatedly, according to the state 
 of the weather. Not unfrequently after severe frosts, 
 when scarcely a sky-lark has been visible for weeks, 
 we find on the first bright sunny day the stubbles 
 are filled with them, but these soon leave again with 
 the least indication of returning cold, and thus they 
 come and go, till spring has fairly commenced, and all 
 our northern visitants have again passed over us to their 
 distant homes. Yarrell, referring to the migration 
 of this species, mentions having received a communica- 
 tion from the Rev. R. Lubbock, of his having witnessed 
 from Caister Point, near Yarmouth, "the arrival of 
 sky-larks from the sea ;" and the same has been noticed 
 on several occasions during the month of October, by 
 the Rev. E. W. Do well, at Blakeney. They arrive, he 
 says, ee all day long in small flocks, and I have observed 
 
 * The late Mr. St. John, in his notes " On Natural History 
 and Sport in Moray," thus notices the miration of the Sky- 
 lark (p. 311) : " During the first days of snow and storm a 
 constant immigration of larks takes place ; these birds continuing 
 to arrive from seaward during the whole day, and frequently 
 they may be heard flying in after it is dark. They come flit- 
 ting over in a constant straggling stream, not in compact flocks, 
 and pitching on the first piece of ground which they find un- 
 covered with snow, immediately begin searching for food, feeding 
 indiscriminately on insects, small seeds, and even on turnip leaves, 
 when nothing else can be found." The same author also remarks (p. 
 45), " The skylark, as Milton knew, is the bird which sings earliest 
 in the morning. Before the sun is up, I often hear the lark sing- 
 ing over my head before there is light enough to distinguish it. 
 Late in the summer evenings, too, after all is still, and apparently 
 the birds have all retired to their roosting places, I have observed 
 how suddenly every lark rises and sings for a short time as if their 
 evening hymn, and as suddenly and simultaneously all cease." 
 
 2 A 
 
178 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 that these birds, and indeed most of the small land-birds, 
 reach our shores in greater numbers towards the after- 
 noon. Larks frequently burst into song when they make 
 the land." On the Suffolk coast they have been also seen 
 to arrive in the same manner, and their return in 
 February, in (( innumerable flocks," is remarked by Messrs. 
 Sheppard and Whitear. It would seem moreover that these 
 flocks are not merely confined to the day time, from the 
 fact of specimens being frequently picked up dead, 
 having flown against the windows of the lighthouses on 
 the coast. Large quantities of sky-larks are netted by 
 our bird-catchers during the autumn and winter, for the 
 London markets,' 34 ' the best of the males being reserved 
 as cage birds, and so expert are some of the old hands, 
 that I have more than once heard it asserted that they 
 will tell in the dark the males from the females, as 
 they take the birds from the net, and that, merely by 
 handling them, the former being somewhat the widest 
 across the shoulders. The females are instantly killed 
 for the market, and the males reserved for their vocal 
 powers. So difficult, however, is it to detect, even 
 by sight, any external difference between the sexes, 
 that the above seems at first to be scarcely worthy of 
 credit, but though I cannot actually vouch for it as a 
 fact, I have so often been struck with the practical 
 knowledge of these men, in similar cases, as contrasted 
 with the limited information conveyed in natural history 
 works, that I feel inclined after all to believe that there 
 is really some truth in the story. White, buff, and pied 
 varieties are not uncommon. Of the former, a pure 
 albino, with pink eyes, and the bill and legs straw 
 
 * Dr. Wynter, in his " Curiosities of Civilization," writing 
 on the "London Commissariat," gives 400,000 Larks as only an 
 approximate idea of the numbers sent for sale annually into the 
 London markets alone. 
 
SKY-LARK. WOOD-LARK. 179 
 
 yellow, was killed in 1862, near North Walsham, and 
 another example in the museum collection (No. lOO.bj 
 has only a few brown streaks on a white ground. 
 No. (lOO.c) also exhibits the singular effects of extreme 
 age and confinement on the feathered tribe. This bird 
 is stated to have lived twenty-one years, and probably 
 from its artificial food, as is sometimes the case with 
 cage birds, its plumage became black, as it now appears ; 
 whilst the beak and claws denote a very advanced stage 
 of life. The hind-claws in this species occasionally assume 
 a length amounting almost to a deformity ; in one or two 
 instances I have known them to measure, in birds killed 
 in a wild state, considerably over an inch. 
 
 ALAUDA ARBOREA, Linnaeus. 
 WOOD-LARK. 
 
 This species, by no means numerous in Norfolk, is 
 now confined almost entirely to the western parts of 
 the county, and is there found only in certain localities 
 best adapted to its nesting habits. Mr. Newton, in 
 a communication to Mr. Hewitson (Eggs Brit. Birds, 
 3rd ed.), states, that in the neighbourhood of Thetford 
 these birds " are most partial to old sheep-walks in the 
 vicinity of Scotch fir-trees. On places such as these the 
 herbage is so scanty that they can hardly be said to 
 choose a tuft of grass as the situation of their nests, 
 though they generally select a spot where the bents are 
 the thickest. I have, however, found a nest where the 
 turf was as short as a well kept lawn, and I have seen 
 one secluded in a clump of heather. Their nests are 
 usually more compact than those of the sky-lark, and 
 will bear being taken up from the hole in which they 
 are built." In the spring of 1864, at West Harling, I 
 2 A2 
 
180 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 had first the pleasure of hearing and seeing this bird in 
 Norfolk, when crossing just such a locality as that 
 described by Mr. Newton, and from whence Mr. Dix 
 has sent me several specimens during the last two or 
 three years. The note of this lark, so soft and sweet as 
 the bird circles round and round in its flight, is quite 
 unmistakeable, as is the bird itself, from the peculiar 
 shortness of the tail when observed on the wing. It is 
 most probable, I think, that they leave us for a time 
 during the winter months, though returning again very 
 early in spring. On the 26th of February, 1864, writes 
 Mr. Dix, " I saw a flock of seven ; they rose close to me. 
 I could scarcely believe I was not mistaken till I heard 
 their call note. I mentioned it to the keeper a day or 
 two after, when he said he noticed them about the same 
 spot a fortnight before, and he knows the birds well, 
 having shot them for me. I have seen the flock several 
 times since, and shot one for you. They squat so close, 
 that though the ground was quite bare I did not see 
 them till they were up. Mr. B. Reynolds, who used to 
 live at Thetford, assured me that he had one specimen 
 of the wood-lark, shot at Rushford, in December ; it was 
 killed with several sky-larks out of a flock." Messrs. 
 Gurney and Fisher, in the "Zoologist" (p. 1702), men- 
 tioning the fact of a pair having been observed on some 
 hollies, at Easton, in March, 1847, observe "We are 
 inclined to suspect that the few birds of this species 
 which are found in Norfolk, arrive about this time, and 
 that the opinion which we have expressed as to their 
 remaining in Norfolk through the winter is incorrect." 
 To this statement I may add that the only specimen I 
 have ever seen in this neighbourhood was a female, 
 shot on the 3rd of March, 1858, near Norwich, whilst 
 passing high over head in company with another bird, 
 bat from the extremely dingy appearance of its plumage, 
 I much question if it had not escaped from confinement. 
 
LAPLAND-BUNTING. 181 
 
 Mr. Hunt, however, writing of the wood-lark in 1829, 
 says, " It was common at Hetherset previous to the 
 enclosure of the common lands ;" and no doubt to such 
 local changes its absence from these parts, at the present 
 time, is mainly attributable. 
 
 PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICA (Linnaeus). 
 LAPLAND-BUNTING. 
 
 On the 26th of Janua.ry, 1855, during extremely 
 severe weather, a specimen of this very rare bunting was 
 taken alive at Postwick, near Norwich. This bird, 
 probably the first ever known to have occurred in this 
 county, was brought to me soon after its capture, and 
 proved to be a young male in winter plumage. Unlike 
 most birds, when first confined in a cage, it seemed 
 perfectly at home, feeding readily on the seed placed for 
 it, and both in its gait and manner of looking up, with 
 the neck stretched out, reminded me of the actions of a 
 quail. In the aviary of Mr. J. H. Gurney this bird 
 assumed its fall summer plumage in the following 
 spring, and thrived so well in its new abode, that over- 
 feeding was probably the cause of its death in May, 
 1856, when, for the second time, it had acquired the 
 black head and plumage of the breeding season, and 
 was certainly a perfect lump of fat when skinned for the 
 purpose of preservation. The only other Norfolk specimen 
 of this bunting, I have either seen or heard of, was shown 
 me on the 14th of April, 1862, by the Eev. E. J. Bell, 
 then residing at Crostwick, which had been netted alive, 
 near Norwich, a few weeks before, and was gradually 
 assuming its summer plumage, having the black on the 
 head and throat imperfect, with a chesnut bar on the 
 nape of neck. This bird was shortly afterwards presented 
 
182 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 to the Zoological Society by Mr. Bell, but, unfor- 
 tunately, soon died, the transition from an airy out- 
 door aviary to the hot parrot-room in which it was 
 placed at the gardens, being scarcely desirable for this 
 northern species. 
 
 PLECTROPHANES NIVALIS (Lhmseus). 
 SNOW-BUNTING. 
 
 The Snow-Bunting is a regular winter visitant, its 
 numbers, however, depending much upon the severity 
 of the season, appearing generally by the middle of 
 October, and leaving us again towards the end of March. 
 If the weather becomes very sharp their flocks are 
 increased considerably, and are then found on our open 
 heaths and warrens as well as by the sea-coast. Captain 
 Longe assures me that at Yarmouth he has frequently 
 seen them in winter pecking about in the road with the 
 sparrows, in front of his residence, not far from the 
 beach, and that when disturbed they fly up to the 
 roofs and parapets of the houses with all the tame- 
 ness of their common allies. In describing their first 
 arrival on our coast, Mr. Lubbock says, "They 
 settle the instant they reach terra firma, and often 
 remain for some time on the shingle of the beach, flying 
 a short distance and then alighting in as close a body as 
 possible, so as to have, at a distance, the appearance of 
 a variegated piece of carpet;" to which I may add 
 the following graphic account of this species by Mr. 
 Saxby (Zoologist, p. 9484), as observed by himself in 
 Shetland : " Seen against a dark hill side or a lowering 
 sky, a flock of these birds presents an exceedingly 
 beautiful appearance, and it may then be seen how aptly 
 the term ' snow-flake' has been applied to the species. 
 
SNOW-BUNTING. 183 
 
 I am acquainted with no more pleasing combination of 
 sight and sound than that afforded when a number of 
 these birds, backed by a dark grey sky, drop as it were 
 in a shower to the ground, to the music of their 
 own sweet tinkling notes." Mr. W. E. Cater, in the 
 " Zoologist" (2415), mentions having met with a flock of 
 five, at Waxham, near Yarmouth, in 1848, as early as 
 the 27th of September; and in 1854, on exactly the 
 same date, a pair were sent me from Blakeney, where 
 Mr. Dowell has also met with them on one or two occa- 
 sions in the beginning of that month. At the time, 
 however, when my own specimens were taken, the 
 weather was extremely mild. I have never known them 
 to remain with us later than the beginning of April. 
 In confinement, I have found the snow-buntings very 
 gentle in disposition and extremely affectionate to one 
 another, forming an amiable contrast in both respects 
 to the bramling finches. A pair, which were kindly 
 sent me for my aviary in 1862, by Mr. Fowler, of 
 Gunton, near Lowestofb, netted from a very large num- 
 ber at that tune frequenting the Gorton beach, attained 
 very nearly their full summer plumage, their beaks 
 also, which are yellow in winter, assuming a dark 
 leaden tint. Both these birds, unfortunately, suffered 
 from a diseased state of the feet, which were painfully 
 swollen, and the scutellse on the anterior portion of the 
 tarsi and toes were greatly enlarged and ragged. With 
 this exception, they lived in apparently good health till 
 the autumn of 1863, when the female wasted away and 
 died, and the male survived his partner only a few 
 weeks. According to Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, this 
 species has been known to nest in confinement, but 
 where, or when this event happened, is not stated. 
 
184 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 EMBEEIZA MILIAEIA, Linnaeus. 
 COMMON BUNTING. 
 
 Is resident throughout the year, and pretty gene- 
 rally distributed, though not particularly plentiful as 
 a species. Shy in its habits, and always difficult of 
 approach, the harsh note of the Corn-Bunting is heard 
 in spring, whilst perched on a low wall or fence, or the 
 branches of a small tree, whence a sharp look out is 
 kept in all directions, and in autumn its numbers are 
 apparently increased by migratory arrivals, as is un- 
 doubtedly the case with the yellow ammer. A speci- 
 men of this bird in my collection, which was netted at 
 Markshall in 1856, exhibits in the malformation of its 
 beak the curious and interesting " means to an end," 
 which nature adopts to obviate the effects of accident. 
 Of the lower mandible, only a stump remains, having 
 probably been carried away by a shot, but the upper 
 mandible being curved downwards, like the bill of a 
 parrot, still comes in contact with it, and by this 
 means the bird was still enabled to collect and crush its 
 food, and when taken was in good condition. Pied 
 varieties of this bunting occur at times. A specimen 
 almost white, having only a few brown feathers in the 
 wings and tail, was killed near Norwich in 1863 ; and 
 in the previous autumn one, almost entirely cream- 
 coloured, excepting a few dark feathers on the upper 
 surface, and another, mottled with white, were also 
 obtained in this neighbourhood. 
 
BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 185 
 
 EMBERIZA SCH(ENICLUS, Linnaeus. 
 BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 
 
 This most striking looking bird, which is resident with 
 us throughout the year, is confined almost entirely, during 
 the summer months, to low marshy districts, where it 
 nests in similar localities to the sedge-warbler; but in 
 winter, and especially during severe weather, it is more 
 generally dispersed, frequenting stack-yards and farm, 
 premises in company with its kindred species. Mr. Samuel 
 Blyth, a very accurate local observer, also tells me that 
 he has known a pair or two frequent a large patch of 
 furze, in the centre of a plantation at Framingham, 
 throughout the winter months, although this locality 
 is at a considerable distance from any piece of water. 
 Like the reed and sedge-warblers, however, the broads 
 in this county must be looked upon as the chief home of 
 this species, where they may be met with at all seasons 
 uttering their somewhat harsh and unvaried notes from 
 the tops of the bushes, or whilst clinging to the reed 
 stems ; and in these localities the nests are built on 
 the ground, frequently at the foot of a small bush, 
 placed in a hollow amongst the soft moss that forms the 
 foundation. Mr. Hewitson, moreover, (Eggs Brit. Birds, 
 3rd ed.) after describing the usual position of the 
 nests, says, " I have, though rarely, found them at an 
 elevation of two feet or more above the water, and sup- 
 ported by a bunch of the common reed, not fixed like 
 the nest of the reed- warbler, attached to the perpendicular 
 stems, but supported upon a bunch of them which had 
 been prostrated by the wind." The upper part of the 
 structure is formed of fine bents, lined with the feathery 
 tops of the reed, the whole so carefully concealed amongst 
 the long grasses, that it is difficult to find until the bird 
 2s 
 
186 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 rises from the spot, when most frequently it will be 
 found to nutter away as if wounded, with one wing 
 trailing on the ground, to decoy the intruder from its 
 nest. Through the term reed-bunting, frequently applied 
 to this bird, it seems to have been erroneously con- 
 founded with the reed-warbler (Salicaria strepera), to 
 which it has no possible resemblance, and even the 
 nest of the reed- warbler, suspended on the reeds, has 
 been assigned to the black-headed bunting. To any one 
 at all acquainted with the habits and appearance of the 
 two species; with the marked difference in the con- 
 struction and position of their nests, and the perfect 
 dissimilarity in the colour and markings of their eggs- 
 it must appear almost incredible that so palpable a 
 mistake could ever have arisen. There is, however, in 
 Martin's " Introduction to the Study of Birds,"* (in 
 many respects a clever little elementary work on general 
 ornithology,) a very pretty illustration of the reed- 
 warbler's nest, with a pair of black-headed buntings in 
 full possession ! In the aviary this species is both 
 striking in plumage and extremely inoffensive in disposi- 
 tion. The change from the mottled head of the winter 
 season to the rich black of the summer, seems to com- 
 mence rather early, the brown tips beginning to dis- 
 appear by the end of January, though some weeks 
 elapse before the whole is completed. Pied and buff 
 varieties are occasionally met with, and the eggs vary 
 considerably. 
 
 As before remarked, so intimately connected is the 
 black-headed bunting with the whole district of the 
 broads, that I can scarcely find a more appropriate 
 place in this work, for a slight sketch of one of the 
 prettiest at least, if not one of the largest, of those 
 attractive localities. In my notes on the habits of the 
 reed- warbler (S. strepera) I have attempted to describe 
 
 * Published by the Eeligious Tract Society. 
 
BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 187 
 
 a summer's night on Surlingham* broad, and this 
 would, I feel, be scarcely complete, if I failed to add the 
 companion picture. But the task is no light one, and 
 few better than myself know the difficulty of conveying 
 by any power of words, to those who have never seen 
 them, a conception of the beauties of the broads in 
 summer, when the natural flatness of the scene itself is 
 unheeded in the contemplation of the richest verdure : 
 
 Far, far away, in its rich display 
 
 Of nature's wildest flowers, 
 
 The marsh resounds with tuneful sounds, 
 
 Unknown to upland bowers. 
 
 Aloft the bleating snipe is heard, 
 
 On trembling pinions soaring, 
 
 And the titlark sings as he upward springs, 
 
 His song of love outpouring. 
 
 The wagtail flits with the bearded tits, 
 
 Where the feathery reeds are growing, 
 
 Or flirts his tail on the marsh mill sail, 
 
 His taste for insects showing. 
 
 Eich babbling notes from sedge-birds' throats, 
 
 Enliven the coverts green, 
 
 And with hoarser cry the coot hard by, 
 
 Is oftener heard than seen. 
 
 The hern, too, springs on his lazy wings 
 
 From the edge of the shallow waters ; 
 
 And wild ducks rise with mingling cries 
 
 To seek more sheltered quarters. 
 
 Still here and there, from a distant layer 
 
 The skylark's notes are ringing, 
 
 Close to her nest is the hen bird's breast, 
 
 Her mate in the blue clouds singing. 
 
 Whilst all around is the twittering sound 
 
 Of the sand-martins flitting by, 
 
 As their plumes they lave in the rippling wave, 
 
 Or dart at the passing fly. 
 
 * This broad differs from almost all others I have seen, in the 
 little narrow channels which traverse it in all directions, opening 
 here and there into wide open waters, instead of presenting, as at 
 Hickling, Ranworth, Barton, &c., a wide sheet of water, occa- 
 sionally dotted with small islands, and bordered with reeds. 
 
188 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 A SUMMER'S DAY ON THE BROADS. 
 
 Choosing for our excursion a bright sunny day in 
 June or July, we enter the broad by a long narrow dyke 
 communicating directly with the navigable river, and as 
 the boatman pulls slowly through the narrow channels, 
 or rests under the shade of the waving reeds, let us 
 carefully note the various objects of interest which 
 at this season present themselves to the eye of the 
 naturalist. Here, as in all these peculiar localities, 
 excepting where the river flows through them, as at 
 Hickling and Barton, the water is everywhere extremely 
 shallow, and where the Confervce and other aquatic plants 
 have not coated the surface, clear enough to show 
 the myriads of small fry passing in shoals over the 
 weedy bottom ; these fresh- water lagoons forming 
 the natural nurseries of the bream, roach, pike, 
 and other fish found in our Norfolk rivers. As we 
 traverse the broad from end to end, we pass through 
 a series of small canals, just wide enough for boats 
 to go up and down, lined on either side by the 
 young reeds, in all the richness of their summer green, 
 with their delicate feathery tops bending to the 
 slightest movement of the passing breeze. How grateful 
 to the eye is the bright fresh verdure, after watching 
 the sand-martins on the glowing stream, or peering up 
 into the sunny sky to follow the snipe on its airy round. 
 Here and there the monotony of the green walls is 
 relieved by the pretty blossom of the flowering-rush 
 (Butomus uwibellatus), the bright yellow of the water- 
 iris (Iris pseud-acorus) , the bloom of the sedge (Carex 
 riparia), or the lofty stems of the common bullrush 
 (Scirpus lacustris), with their brown heads looking like 
 an artillerist's rammer. On all sides, the chitty, chitty, 
 chit, chit, clia, cha, of the garrulous sedge-bird (Salicaria 
 
189 
 
 phragmitis), and the more finished notes of the reed- 
 warbler (8. strepera) are heard from the dense coverts, 
 and occasionally one is seen as it flits over the stream, or 
 climbs the reeds to commence its song; when, scared 
 by our presence, it drops again to the ground. At 
 intervals, also, the black-headed bunting, leaving for 
 awhile the neighbouring marshes, utters its coarse and 
 peculiar notes from the reeds as well ; the rich black 
 head and russet coat of the male, with its pure white 
 collar, forming a marked contrast to the verdant back- 
 ground. 
 
 Quietly and stealthily, with no splashing oars, let 
 us now take a peep where the next reed bed ends, and a 
 wider channel bounds the further side hush! not a 
 word, and stoop low as if a "coil" of teal were just 
 <e marked down" now look! Scattered over the open 
 water, within thirty yards, five or six water-hens are 
 swimming about, jerking their heads in their own 
 funny way, with every motion of their paddling feet, 
 and with tails well elevated above the water, showing 
 the pure white of their under coverts. Still further on a 
 pair of coots, with sooty plumage and white foreheads, 
 are lazily crossing to the other shore, and several, partly 
 hidden by the sedges, are picking their way along the 
 treacherous " hove." Ah ! even now they have either 
 heard or winded us, see how the water-hens are getting 
 together. There go the coots, splash, splash, scuttle, 
 scuttle, into the depths of the reeds, and dip, dip, dip, 
 go the feet of the others, now fairly alarmed, as they 
 hurry along to the same retreat. But what is that 
 smaller bird just sprung from the sedges in the general 
 " stampede," which dropped again like a woodcock into 
 the thickest cover? That was a water-rail, with its 
 long curved bill, of which many are bred in these 
 impenetrable swamps, but rarely is it possible, with 
 even a well-trained dog, to obtain a shot in such places, 
 
190 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 and on the marshes their cunning and quickness, on 
 foot, tries the patience alike of man and beast. Again, 
 pulling onwards, the channel suddenly opens upon a 
 wide expanse of water, also bordered with reed-beds 
 and low tussucky marshes, and from the very edge of a 
 small island directly before us rises a noble heron. 
 Slowly flapping his great wings as he launches himself 
 into the air, and sails away with outstretched legs, he 
 utters a hoarse cry of warning to others, and involun- 
 tarily, almost, one calls to mind Hood's graphic lines 
 
 " The coot was swimming in the reedy pond, 
 Beside the water-hen so soon affrighted ; 
 And in the weedy moat the heron, fond 
 Of solitude alighted. 
 
 The moping heron, motionless and stiff, 
 That on a stone, as silently and stilly, 
 Stood, an apparent sentinel, as if 
 To guard the water lily." 
 
 Here, under the lee of these tall rushes, let us moor 
 the boat for awhile and enjoy the beauties of this quiet 
 scene. The sun in all its noon-day splendour would be 
 scarcely bearable at such an hour, but for the cool re- 
 freshing breeze, which, with a continuous soughing 
 sound, murmurs amongst the reeds and sedges, rippling 
 the sluggish waters with its breath, and curling the 
 broad leaves upon their glistening surface. Strangely 
 somniferous is that seolian music, like the hum of bees 
 upon a shady bank ; but readily as one could yield to its 
 soothing influences, we have come to use our eyes and not 
 to close them. See where those stately swans are snorting 
 defiance at our abrupt intrusion ; the female is gathering 
 her fleet of cygnets, and the male, with head drawn 
 back between his snowy wings, drives himself towards 
 us with his (( oary feet." Scarcely less white too, in their 
 spotless beauty, the cups of the water-lily (Nymphcea 
 alba) rest on their leaves, and here and there the yellow 
 
A SUMMER'S DAY ON THE BROADS. 191 
 
 species (Nuphar lutea) contrasts with the simple blossom, 
 of the water crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis). Innu- 
 merable insects, everywhere swarming over the rank 
 vegetation, are beginning and ending their brief exist- 
 ence ; and twisting and twittering, till the eye tires of 
 watching their varied flight, sand-martins are feasting 
 amongst the gnats and midges, or at longer intervals 
 the skimming swallow snatches a hasty meal, and is 
 gone again to its mate and young in the chimney of the 
 broad-man's cottage. Though confusing enough at first, 
 the ear soon becomes accustomed to these incessant 
 notes, but like the tunes that escaped from Munchausen's 
 horn, when thawed by the fire, the merry medley of 
 those mingling sounds still rings in one's ears, for hours 
 after quitting the broads themselves. 
 
 Thus far then we have taken what may be termed 
 an interior view of the broad, and have yet to ex- 
 plore the surrounding marshes. First, having finished 
 our noon-day meal and that post-prandial pipe, 
 never sweeter than on such occasions, let us land 
 on the nearest point likely to afford a tolerably firm 
 foundation. Be prepared, however, for a wet foot or 
 an even worse ducking, for the soil is treacherous 
 enough in places, and though one person may pass safely 
 over the quacking bog, the next may come to grief.* 
 Following a beaten path, leading round to the back of 
 the larger reed-beds, we find the marshes on this side 
 stretching down to the river, by no means easy walking 
 
 * It is strange to observe how by constant habit, and an in- 
 stinctive knowledge of the thickness of the crust, a marsh-man 
 will walk in his heavy boots where a far lighter but inexperienced 
 man would break through at once. Each foot is carefully and 
 firmly placed, yet quickly and without hesitation the great object 
 being to keep moving, and thus though the swamp heaves like 
 billows under his feet, the broad-man, with full confidence in his 
 own powers, gets safely back to his boat. 
 
192 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 from the uneven tussucks, around which the water flows 
 in the winter. How different now is the whole scene. 
 No dreary waste, but nature's garden in its gayest 
 colours. Wild flowers and ferns, in the richest pro- 
 fusion, cover the marshes with every variety of tint, and 
 the dwarf bushes of alder, sallow, or birch, are equally 
 luxuriant in their summer verdure. Mind how you 
 tread on this soft rich moss, for many a little life 
 may unconsciously be sacrificed as we pick our way 
 over its yielding surface. See! there, a black-headed 
 bunting, with trailing wing, as though badly injured, 
 is tumbling on before us it is but a ruse to draw 
 us from the spot. Here's where she rose, and here 
 is the nest, with four callow young, snugly placed 
 beneath an overhanging tussuck, so well concealed 
 with moss and grasses, that we might have searched for 
 it in vain for hours. The sedge-birds' notes too are 
 heard from almost every bush, for here either at the 
 foot of the little trees, or like the buntings on the 
 open marsh, they chiefly build. That pair so anxiously 
 calling from the nearest alder, and nervously creeping 
 amongst the leaves and branches, have some good 
 cause to wish us further. Let us stop and look, not in 
 the bush itself, but close to the stem amongst the coarse 
 grass and prickly undergrowth. See, there is the nest 
 with its little sombre-coloured eggs resting, but not sus- 
 pended, on the broken stems, and carefully hidden by 
 surrounding herbage. Titlarks on all sides are calling 
 from the taller bushes, springing into the air, with the 
 yhit, yhity yhit, of their monotonous notes; or with 
 outspread wings and quickening song slowly descending 
 upon an open branch. Here, too, the reeling notes of 
 the grasshopper- warbler may be heard at day-break, but 
 rarely, indeed, later in the day, and so wary and mouse- 
 like are they in their actions, that it is next to impossible 
 to find their nests in such a locality. High overhead is 
 
193 
 
 heard the drumming of the snipe, and a pair of garganey 
 teal (Anas querquedula) circling round, are apparently 
 too well aware that they are closely watched, to alight 
 again and betray their eggs or young. Hark ! how loud 
 and clear is that cry of cuckoo, which all the day has 
 been heard incessantly, though far in the distance. 
 The bird must be close at hand amongst these bushes, 
 hunting for nests. Yes, there it flies, from the top of 
 an alder, skimming like a hawk over the marsh, with a 
 little twittering agitated crowd of warblers following 
 in its wake, and like country beadles, with some idle 
 tramp, only too glad to " pass him on." 
 
 If we now leave this rough country and cross the 
 broad again to the side nearest the village, we shall 
 find the marshes much more reclaimed, and those 
 nearest the arable land already in good grazing order. 
 Here, in winter, amongst the short green rushes, and 
 particularly where the stock have been turned out, 
 a fair day's snipe-shooting may be had at times 
 as well as off the "hoves," or bare patches by the 
 water's edge, where the reeds have been cut and 
 carried. At this season, however, the titlark and the 
 pied-wagtail are about the only species that we find, 
 flitting about beside the little drains, or a pair of pee- 
 wits, now rather scarce in this district in summer, may 
 attract our attention by their anxious cries and nervous 
 pitching flight. Having thus traversed the whole circuit 
 of the land, and watched the marsh-mills with their 
 busy sails now revolving quickly with the wind, now 
 slowly creaking with the slackening breeze, let us re- 
 turn once more to the boat to spend the remainder of our 
 time upon the water. The broad-man knows of a reed- 
 warbler's nest, not to be passed by without a peep, so 
 leisurely pulling through the green channels we will 
 examine this little triumph of bird-architecture. One 
 might well wonder, amidst that sameness of sedge and 
 2o 
 
194 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 reed, one patch the very counterpart of the next, that 
 he should be able to remember the exact spot, but to 
 him it is easy enough from long habit and atten- 
 tion to little details. The broken head of a bull- 
 rush stem, in a line with a small tree still further 
 back, gives him his " bearings," as surely as the e ' buoy," 
 just "opening out" the steeple on the nearest head- 
 land, guides the course of the pilot over the track- 
 less sea. Running the boat close up to the bank, he 
 carefully parts the foremost reeds with his oar, and 
 there is the nest, close to the water's edge, but fairly 
 screened from ordinary observation, and only to be found 
 by watching the actions of the birds. How neatly and 
 strongly the withered materials are wound round the 
 reeds, two green stems and an old one of last year being 
 used in this case as the props of the structure. The eggs 
 are deep down in that pretty basket, with little fear of 
 their rolling out, supported as it is by surrounding reeds, 
 and the wind, though high, waves the whole mass at once, 
 bending to the blast and rising again. Listen to that 
 strange note, not much unlike the croak of the night- 
 ingale, it is the hen bird anxiously waiting our departure, 
 and resenting our inspection of her household treasures. 
 There she is, climbing stem after stem, flitting from one 
 to the other, dropping to the ground, and again ascend- 
 ing in a very fever of maternal trouble; and further, 
 unseen, her mate is calling, so let us go, we have seen 
 enough to wonder at and admire, and may well spare 
 the result of such wondrous instinct. On once more 
 to that little island, far out in the open stream, where 
 the heron rose on our first arrival. There most pro- 
 bably we shall find another nest, though very different 
 in size and structure. Row gently then, and as we 
 approach the spot keep a sharp eye upon the fringe of 
 sedges by the water side. Surely she cannot have left 
 already ? No ! but see, she is off at last, though only that 
 
195 
 
 little bead upon the water tells where the water-hen has 
 dived from her nest. Close as we are, there seems 
 nothing more unusual to be seen than dwarf bushes, 
 thickly planted, amidst a luxuriant growth of coarse 
 vegetation, and a littered heap of dead reeds and 
 nags, contrasting with the green stems of the tall 
 rushes. True ! that is all, but if we part those rushes 
 with the end of the boat-hook, and bring ourselves 
 nearer to that withered mass, we shall soon find its real 
 purpose. There are the eggs, so well known to the most 
 juvenile collector, resting, in a slight depression, on the 
 top of that loosely woven mixture of dead flag, rushes, 
 and broken reed, yet fairly raised above the ordinary 
 level of the tide; whilst instances are not wanting, of 
 these birds anticipating a coming flood, by elevating 
 their nests with fresh materials. 
 
 So much then for our lesson in practical orni- 
 thology, as learnt from nature, on a Norfolk broad. 
 The longest summer's day still has an end, and busy 
 with our later observations the time has passed un- 
 heeded. Already the shadows are deepening upon 
 the waters, and the dark reeds measure their re- 
 flected lengths on the margins of the sluggish stream. 
 Here, in the gloaming, the coots and water-hens are 
 leaving for awhile their green coverts, now seen for an 
 instant in the open water, bathed in the glories of the 
 setting sun, now lost to sight in the contrasted darkness 
 of bordering sedges on either side. Still twittering to 
 the last, the untiring sand-martins are supping freely on 
 the swarming insects, and the young starlings hurrying 
 to their roost, are rustling and tumbling amongst the 
 reeds. All nature seeks repose with the bright orb of 
 
 day 
 
 " But now the fair traveller's come to the west, 
 His rays are all gold, and his beauties are best ; 
 He paints the sky gay as he sinks to his rest, 
 
 And foretels a bright rising again." 
 2 c 2 
 
196 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 EMBERIZA CITRINELLA, Linnaeus. 
 YELLOW BUNTING. 
 
 But for the timely suppression of the use of poisoned 
 wheat as an indiscriminate and wholesale bird destroyer, 
 the term common, as applied to this and other allied 
 species, would soon have become as inapplicable to them 
 as it is at the present time to the buzzard or kite. 
 No birds more readily than yellow hammers take the 
 poisoned bait, when driven by stress of weather to the 
 farmers' stack-yards, and yet how much have they con- 
 tributed during the spring and summer to preserve 
 those crops, of which they are denied a share.* Besides 
 
 * The following extract from a note appended to St. John's 
 " Natural History and Sport in Moray" (p. 19), is but one of the 
 many evidences published of late in deprecation of the system 
 above referred to : " It is calculated, and apparently on very good 
 authority, that a pair of sparrows, during the season they are 
 feeding their young ones, kill, in the course of a week, about 
 3,400 caterpillars. Yet farmers and gardeners are so ignorant of 
 their true interests, that they annually destroy hundreds and 
 thousands of these feathered guardians of their crops. One 
 Sussex sparrow club alone, last year (1863) destroyed no less than 
 7,261 of those birds, and a prize was awarded to the most whole- 
 sale murderer. In various parts of England, also, there is a 
 stuff used called "sparrow and vermin killer," by which large 
 numbers of our most useful birds are poisoned. One writer 
 mentions that a man, whose trade it is to kill small birds, showed 
 him with pride about "2000 sparrows, 700 yellow buntings, 600 
 common buntings, innumerable goldfinches, and linnets by the 
 hundred." * * * Almost coincident with this virulent attack 
 upon the feathered songsters of our woods and hedgerows, there 
 has been an increase in the insectivorous enemies of the garden and 
 the farm, and during the past two years especially (in Scotland), 
 whole fields have been devastated by the grub a foe against which 
 the farmer is next to powerless without his tiny winged allies." 
 
YELLOW BUNTING. 197 
 
 its useful qualifications also, as an insect eater, we 
 should, in the present species, have lost one of our most 
 attractive rural objects. How brilliant is the rich 
 yellow and brown of this handsome bunting, as we find 
 it amidst the whins and brakes upon our open heaths, 
 perching with the sprightly chats and titlarks on the 
 topmost twigs of the furze bushes, and uttering at inter- 
 vals that monotonous note, which, besides its true and 
 well known song, is so often repeated ; whilst the tints 
 of its plumage vie even with the brightness of the 
 flowering gorse. Though resident with us at all seasons, 
 it seems more particularly associated with the recollection 
 of heat and dust, when, perched on a fence or amongst 
 the branches of a roadside tree, its long drawn weary 
 song accords so well with the dry scorching atmosphere, 
 and, through a strange ventriloquial power (possessed 
 by this bird in an eminent degree), its notes are heard, 
 from a distance, as though close to the ear of the 
 listener, and when apparently furthest off, are not unfre- 
 quently uttered within a few yards. Even in confinement 
 this vocal peculiarity is equally perceptible, as I have 
 often listened to one in my in-door aviary, and though 
 watching the bird at the time, have scarcely been able to 
 persuade myself that its low soft notes did not proceed, as 
 they seemed to do, from the garden outside. As a cage 
 bird the yellow hammer, though looking a giant amongst 
 the smaller finches, is exceedingly gentle in manner, 
 maintaining his own rights with a quiet dignity that 
 brooks no insult, though he never interferes with others. 
 In fact a feathered gentleman, and graceful in action 
 he floats, rather than flies, from one perch to another, 
 or amuses himself, by repeatedly, springing into the air, 
 and with a rapid turn of the wings, alighting again 
 on the same spot. The numbers of this bunting 
 are undoubtedly increased in autumn by migratory 
 arrivals, specimens at that season being picked up 
 
198 BIEDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 dead, at the foot of our lighthouses, amongst other 
 species previously mentioned. Varieties in plumage 
 are not often met with, but a pied specimen, in my 
 collection, netted near Norwich in February, 1862, has 
 the secondary quills in one wing, and the primaries in 
 the other white, slightly tinged with yellow ; and Mr. 
 T. E. G-unn, of this city, has also recorded in "The 
 Naturalist" ('Journal of the West Riding Naturalist's 
 Society), one example, having the back and wings light 
 reddish brown, with the throat, breast, and belly pale 
 sulphur yellow, and another entirely white ; both killed 
 in this neighbourhood. 
 
 EMBERIZA CIRLUS, Linnaeus. 
 CIRL-BUNTING. 
 
 This rare species was not included by Messrs. Gurney 
 and Fisher in their " Birds of Norfolk," but the appear- 
 ance of a single specimen in this county in November, 
 1849, was recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney in the " Zoolo- 
 gist" (p. 2651), though neither the exact locality nor 
 sex is mentioned. A correspondent in the " Field" 
 (May 24, 1856) also states that a pair were killed in 
 Norfolk in December, 1855, one of which is said to 
 have come into the possession of the Earl of Leicester. 
 These are probably the only instances in which this 
 species has been identified as visiting our coast ; it is pro- 
 bable, however, that other examples may have occurred, 
 though passing unnoticed from their general resemblance 
 to the yellow bunting. 
 
 Since the publication of my paper on the "Orni- 
 thology of Norfolk," in the third edition of White's 
 e( Directory," I have had good reason to doubt the 
 genuineness, as a local specimen, of the only Ortolan 
 
GIRL-BUNTING. CHAFFINCH. 199 
 
 Bunting (Emberiza hortulana), recorded as killed in this 
 county. This example, in the possession of Mr. J. H. 
 Gurney, is the one thus referred to, in very guarded 
 terms, by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher : " We have 
 seen a specimen of this bird, which was said to have 
 been killed near Norwich." It is also, I have no doubt, 
 the one thus noticed by the late Mr. Lombe, in his MS. 
 notes of birds not in his collection ; ( ' Ortolan Bunting, 
 shot at Earlham in the summer of 1838," as I learn 
 from Mr. Gurney, that the bird in question was said to 
 have been killed near Dalrymple's asylum, just on the 
 borders of Heigham and Earlham. An authentic speci- 
 men, however, an adult male, also in Mr. Gurney's 
 possession, was shot on the 5th of May, 1859, at 
 Lowestoffc, in the adjoining county. 
 
 FEINGILLA CffiLEBS, Linnaeus. 
 CHAFFINCH. 
 
 Amongst our common residents, there is none more 
 striking from its bright and varied plumage than the 
 male Chaffinch, and if only as scarce, as it is here, every- 
 where abundant, would be prized alike for its beauty 
 and sweet though simple song. " Gay as a chaffinch," 
 as the old saying goes, is true of this bird at all 
 seasons, for in winter his pert pink, pink, is heard in 
 the stack-yards, or close to our dwellings, as he joins 
 the robins and sparrows, to feed where the snow has 
 been swept from our paths. In the early spring, before 
 the trees and hedges have put forth their leaves, or 
 the summer migrants have returned to our groves, 
 his joyous song greets us in our gardens and rural 
 walks, and the very abandon of his little notes, 
 imparts a kindred feeling to ourselves, of thankful- 
 
200 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 ness, at the close of the dreary winter. Later still, 
 when the spring, in all the richness of its bloom 
 and foliage, has attained its perfection, amidst sunshine 
 and showers, this " gay gallant," having won the heart 
 of his more sombre spouse, shares with her the cares 
 and joys of the nesting season; and, in our orchards 
 and gardens, we find that marvellously beautiful result , 
 of their joint labours, that dainty compound of moss, 
 wool, and lichens, which draws forth an involuntary 
 Oh ! of admiration, from the lips even, of that thought- 
 less " do-no-good," the bird-nesting boy. Perched 
 amidst the blossoms on the apple and pear trees, the 
 male, in all the brightness of his nuptial plumes, looks 
 handsomer than ever, and in orchards, plantations, or 
 extensive woods, his loud rich notes are mingled and 
 blended with the joyous medley of our summer songsters. 
 Many are the charges brought, by irate gardeners, against 
 the entire race, though the injury they will do, to the 
 young radishes and other garden produce, may be easily 
 averted with a little trouble ; and if feathers and string, 
 stretched over the beds, cease to act as a ' e caution," a 
 little powder fired, without shot, will scare off the 
 rogues, and not double the mischief, by cutting the fruit 
 trees to pieces to kill one victim. Whatever their depre- 
 dations may be, at least, they are but for a very short 
 period, for as soon as the young are hatched, there are 
 no birds so assiduous, in their useful occupation of clear- 
 ing our gardens from insects and caterpillars, as the 
 chaffinches, and their incessant labours, in this respect, 
 throughout the summer, well merit a return in winter 
 grain, or even a salad in spring. In autumn the num- 
 bers of our resident birds are largely increased by mi- 
 gratory flocks, which, apparently arrive, for the most 
 part, on our coast by night, judging in this, as in 
 many other instances, from the specimens known to be 
 killed at that season through contact with our lighthouse 
 
CHAFFINCH. 201 
 
 windows. These flocks, so noticeable in our stubbles 
 and beech-groves consist, as has been remarked by 
 many authors, almost entirely of females and young 
 birds, and in several instances I have failed to distinguish 
 a single male, but although these, with most of our own 
 residents, leave us for the south during severe weather, 
 I have on more than one occasion observed an influx of 
 male birds, only, during a prolonged batch of frost and 
 snow, as though the intense and lasting cold had driven 
 them also to seek a milder climate. I may farther add, 
 that in February, 1864, Mr. Dix remarked a very 
 large flock of chaffinches in a plantation at West 
 Harling, which consisted entirely of male birds. It 
 is not, however, unusual to see parties of from thirty 
 to forty still flocking together up to the middle or 
 end of March, with the sexes mingled, though in full 
 breeding plumage. Pied varieties are occasionally, 
 though not often, met with, and specimens resembling 
 very light-coloured canaries have also occurred in 
 Norfolk. Of the latter, a very beautiful example (a 
 young male), killed at Brooke on the 30th of August, 
 1847, now in Mr. Gurney's collection, was thus described 
 at the time in the " Zoologist" : "The ground colour 
 of its plumage is white, but pervaded throughout with 
 a delicate canary yellow colour. This tint is strongest 
 on the back and rump (especially the latter), on the 
 edges of the quill feathers of the wings, and of the tail 
 feathers. The eyes are of the natural colour." The speci- 
 men (No. lll.c) in the Norwich Museum, killed a few 
 years back at Cossey, so closely resembles the above that 
 any further description is unnecessary, and a somewhat 
 similar bird, killed on the 10th of January, 1861, had 
 the head and neck white, with a delicate yellow tinge on 
 the neck and back, a few brown feathers mixed with white 
 in the wings and tail, and the throat, breast, and under 
 parts generally, pervaded with a delicate rose colour. 
 
202 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA, Linnseus. 
 BRAMBLIlSra. 
 
 A regular winter visitant, arriving at times in 
 immense flocks, but their numbers as well as the time 
 of their appearance and departure, depending much 
 upon the severity of the season. In the cold winters 
 of 1853 and in 1854-55, they were extremely numerous, 
 a flock being observed in the latter year as early as the 
 12th of October; and in the still more severe season of 
 1859-60 and 1861, very large numbers were met with 
 throughout the county, as usual consorting chiefly with 
 the chaffinches, and frequenting stack-yards and farm 
 premises during the frost and snow. Several specimens, 
 netted towards the end of February, had already acquired 
 the black head, peculiar to the breeding plumage, and 
 a few stragglers still remained as late as the 30th of 
 March. The general time of their leaving, however, 
 appears to be about the middle of March, although 
 their appearance as late as the 27th of April is re- 
 corded by Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear. Mr. Hunt, 
 referring to the numbers that have at times occurred 
 in this county, states, " that one individual, in the winter 
 of 1825 caught seventeen dozen and a half in the course 
 of one forenoon, and in the following year a great 
 number were taken at Cringleford." In the very sharp 
 winter of 1863-64, scarcely any were netted before 
 Christmas, but in the following February, large flocks 
 of more than a hundred together were seen at Cossey, 
 and many beautiful specimens were taken by the bird- 
 catchers. The late long and severe winter (1864-5) 
 has been also remarkable for the abundance of this 
 sprightly and attractive species, whose southward mi- 
 
BRAMBLING. 203 
 
 gration, in extraordinary quantities, was witnessed tinder 
 the following singular circumstances. Mr. Samuel Blyth, 
 whose local observations, as a thoroughly practical 
 naturalist, I have before referred to, assures me that, 
 just prior to the very sharp weather that set in about 
 the middle of January, he noticed at Framingham, near 
 Norwich, for several successive days, large nights of 
 birds passing low over the fields in a southerly direction. 
 They appeared always at the same time, from about 
 half-past three till nearly dusk, flying for the most part 
 level with the fences, occasionally having to rise at them 
 when higher than usual. After noticing them for 
 several days, he at last shot into one large flock at about 
 sixty yards, and dropped one bird which proved to be a 
 Brambling, and the same result followed on two subse- 
 quent occasions. In order to ascertain if they were 
 really making a continuous flight, or merely returning 
 to some favourite roosting place, after a foraging 
 expedition during the day; he watched for them, on one 
 occasion, from the early morning, but not one was seen 
 to come from the contrary direction. At the usual 
 time, however, in the afternoon, large flights again 
 appeared in their accustomed line, keeping straight 
 on with a sort of settled purpose, so noticeable in other 
 species on their migratory course.*" 
 
 * The following equally curious statement, respecting the migra- 
 tion of this species, appeared in a letter to the " Times" (March 
 23rd, 1865), from Mr. A. E. Atkins, of Farnham Court, Slough : 
 " Some of your readers may be interested by the mention of a fact 
 which in this neighbourhood, at least, is without parallel ' in the 
 memory of the oldest inhabitant.' A large flock of bramblefinches 
 have taken up their residence in Stoke-park. Their numbers may 
 be estimated when I state that the flight, which was seen starting 
 from their roosting place one morning, continued streaming on 
 without intermission for thirty-five minutes. The person who 
 noted this killed forty-five at one shot. I may mention that before 
 they came to their new quarters thousands of starlings congre- 
 2 D 2 
 
204 BIEDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 The brambling thrives well in confinement, and is a 
 sprightly handsome bird, though rather inclined to be 
 spiteful to its fellow captives ; it is also peculiarly 
 wakeful, and its sharp call note is heard at all hours 
 of the night on the slightest disturbance. Its migratory 
 instinct is also strongly marked in spring by an in- 
 creased restlessness during the day, and a constant 
 searching for any means of escape; whilst the call of 
 the male bird is repeated night after night (more 
 particularly at the time of the full moon), from the 
 beginning of April till about the end of May. This 
 feverish state of excitement, moreover, recurs periodi- 
 cally in specimens, which have been kept in confinement 
 for several years, but I have not remarked the same 
 symptoms in autumn, the additional influences of the 
 breeding season no longer existing. Mr. Hewitson 
 (Eggs Brit. Bds., 3rd ed.) gives an interesting account 
 of the nesting of the brambling, in the aviary of 
 the late Mr. Dashwood, at Beccles, Suffolk, and 
 Messrs. Gurney and Fisher have recorded a similar 
 occurrence near Norwich, in the aviary of Mr. Chas. 
 Barnard, of this city, who has for many years paid 
 much attention to the rearing of cage birds, and has 
 been particularly fortunate with this species. In 1842, 
 he had a nest and two eggs, both of which were removed 
 and found to be good ; in 1843, one nest with two eggs, 
 and subsequently four more in a second nest which was 
 accidentally destroyed ; and in 1844, the same pair also 
 laid two eggs, as in all previous instances, during the 
 month of June. From that time this species did not 
 
 gated there nightly, but since this invasion of northerners the 
 ancient inhabitants have been dispossessed; but they have not 
 forgotten their former homes, and now that returning spring has 
 warned our new friends to seek more quiet quarters before pairing 
 and building time comes upon them, the starlings are again 
 making their appearance in great numbers." 
 
BRAMBLING. 205 
 
 again attempt to breed in his aviary till 1862, when a 
 pair built one nest and laid four eggs, two of which are 
 now in the museum collection; and in 1863 and 1864, 
 the same birds paired as before, and with a like result ; 
 in the latter season, however, young birds were hatched 
 for the first time, though subsequently found to have 
 been thrown from the nest, either by their parents or 
 some other bird. In June, 1861, a pair of my own 
 showed evident symptoms of having paired off, and as 
 the cock bird exhibited a very jealous disposition, I 
 removed the young couple to a breeding mew, by 
 themselves, giving them an ordinary nest-box and 
 building materials. The hen bird began nesting at 
 once, but made slow progress at first, almost invariably 
 pulling out with her feet the moss or wool she had 
 carefully arranged with her beak. As the wooden 
 sides of the box seemed rather to incommode her, 
 I filled it up with part of a chaffinch's nest, and 
 by the 23rd she had completed her own, on this founda- 
 tion, composed of moss, wool, and grasses. The male 
 bird did not assist, but was exceedingly amorous and 
 attentive, and both indulged frequently and freely in a 
 bath. At this stage of proceedings the hen bird, 
 unfortunately, was taken ill, and no eggs were laid, 
 though she seldom quitted the nest except for food. On 
 the 30th, to my great surprise, I found the whole struc- 
 'ture pulled to pieces, and from that time all advances on 
 the part of her mate were violently repelled by the hen 
 bird. On July 2nd, a second nest was built on the old 
 foundation, and the hen remained sitting at tunes, but 
 eventually she abandoned it, when I turned them off 
 again into my aviary, and though the same pair survived 
 for two seasons after, they did not again evince any 
 inclination to breed. 
 
 The beak in this species, as in many others, varies 
 in colour at different seasons, being blue black in 
 
206 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 summer and yellow in winter. A singular variety, in 
 many points resembling the beautiful specimen of the 
 chaffinch, obtained at Brooke (p. 201), was killed from 
 a flock at Melton, near Norwich, in December, 1844, 
 and is very accurately figured in Messrs. Gurney and 
 Fisher's " Birds of Norfolk," with the following descrip- 
 tion (Zoologist, p. 1311) : "With the exception of a 
 brown patch on one or two feathers of one side of the 
 tail, this specimen was entirely white, the greater part 
 of its plumage being also pervaded with an elegant tint 
 of yellow, which particularly showed itself on the sides 
 of the head, and on the edges of the quill feathers of the 
 wings and tail, as well as on the feathers under the 
 wings. The colour of these latter, which is usually 
 yellow, was remarkably bright in this specimen, and 
 extended over a greater space than usual." It is 
 particularly remarked of this species, by Messrs. Shep- 
 pard and Whitear, that Mr. Scales, of Beechamwell, 
 " used to consider them of service to his land, from their 
 devouring, in great abundance, the seeds of the knot 
 grass, Polygonum aviculare." 
 
 PASSER MONTANUS (Linnams). 
 TEEE-SPAKKOW. 
 
 The extremely wary nature of this species, with 
 its almost mouse-like habit, of creeping out of sight 
 upon the least alarm, renders it somewhat difficult to 
 speak with certainty of its local history; but although 
 apparently confined to certain districts, and nowhere 
 plentiful, it is resident throughout the year and breeds 
 with us. Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear state that they 
 received a specimen " from the Eev. H. Tilney, of Hock- 
 wold, at which place it breeds," and add, " Mr. Scales 
 
TREE-SPARROW. 207 
 
 pointed out to us this species at Beechamwell, and 
 
 favoured us with its eggs." I have myself also seen the 
 
 eggs of this species on one or two occasions, brought in, 
 
 by lads, to our Norwich bird- staffers, although unable 
 
 to ascertain in what situation the nests were found. 
 
 Yarrell describes them as building "in the thatch of a 
 
 barn, in company with the house-sparrow, not however 
 
 entering the thatch from the inside of the building like 
 
 them, but by holes in the outside ;" also in the deserted 
 
 nests of magpies and crows, in which they form f e domed 
 
 nests," and my friend, Mr. Alfred Newton, informs me 
 
 that they nest frequently in pollard willows, and that 
 
 he took a nest, so placed, on the 5th June, 1853, at 
 
 Wangford, in Suffolk, but adjoining this county, between 
 
 Brandon and Lakenheath. In winter, and particularly 
 
 in sharp weather, they appear to disperse themselves 
 
 more freely in search of food, and a few stragglers are 
 
 then netted in the stack-yards by our bird-catchers, or are 
 
 shot with other birds in a common flock. Mr. Dix informs 
 
 me, that at such times, he has observed them frequently 
 
 at West Harling, some eight or ten coming to feed at 
 
 once, but he has never succeeded in finding a nest in that 
 
 neighbourhood. In January, 1862, a pair were killed 
 
 by Mr. J. H. Gurney, junr., in Catton Park, by a chance 
 
 shot into a thick bush, the birds being heard but not 
 
 seen. I have long imagined that some, at least, of our 
 
 winter specimens, particularly in localities where they 
 
 are never seen at other seasons, might be migratory 
 
 arrivals, but it was not till very recently that I met with 
 
 the following proof, as it were, of my former impression 
 
 in the same paper, by Mr. Ed. Blyth, in the "Field 
 
 Naturalist" (vol. i., p. 467), to which I before alluded 
 
 in my remarks on the migration of the redbreast and 
 
 the golden- crested wren. Mr. Blyth's informant, who 
 
 at that time (Oct. 8th, 1833), had just returned in 
 
 a coasting vessel from Aberdeen to London, says, 
 
208 BIEDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 "A flock of tree-sparrows settled on the ship, and 
 others of this species continued to arrive during the 
 whole day, as the vessel passed the Norfolk and Suffolk 
 coast, particularly when off Hasboro', Yarmouth, 
 and Harwich. Their numbers increased at length to 
 upwards of a hundred, and they remained on board 
 until the vessel almost entered the Thames. The exact 
 direction from which they came could not be very well 
 ascertained, as they descended from an invisible height 
 in the air, to the call of those which were in the ship ; 
 and after wheeling two or three tunes round the vessel 
 to reconnoitre, joined their companions on board. They 
 appeared to arrive from the English coast, and there can 
 be little or no doubt but that they did so." I do not, 
 however, consider this latter remark against the proba- 
 bility of these birds visiting us at that season, since these 
 flights, in pursuing a southerly course, not far from land, 
 would appear to be coming from the English coast, when 
 merely seeking the rigging of a passing vessel, to rest 
 for awhile, or attracted towards it by the " call" notes 
 of others. With regard to the authenticity of the above 
 statement, Mr. Blyth adds " The number and variety of 
 the species, which my informant observed, are, indeed, 
 so extraordinary, that if I did not know my source of 
 information to be respectable, I should have felt great 
 hesitation in thus making it public. I have seen, how- 
 ever, several of the birds which were taken on board, 
 and can quite safely vouch for the accuracy of all that is 
 above stated." In further corroboration also of the 
 migratory habits of this species, I extract the following 
 note, by Mr. E. H. Eodd, of Penzance, from the 
 "Field" (November, 1860): "A Norwegian brig put 
 into Penzance a few days since, and among other inci- 
 dents of the voyage between Norway and England, the 
 master of the vessel mentioned that midway between the 
 two countries thousands of small sparrows passed and 
 
TEEE- SPARROW. HOUSE-SPARROW. 209 
 
 alighted on the ship, covering the deck, &c. The birds 
 were exhausted, and soon died, and some half-dozen 
 were kept from mere curiosity to show to friends. 
 These were brought for my inspection, a day or two 
 since, by a person who begged them of the captain to 
 show me. The six specimens were all Passer montanus, 
 the tree sparrow; the mountain sparrow of Bewick." 
 In confinement the tree-sparrows are certainly the 
 shyest and most untameable of any birds I have ever 
 introduced into my aviary, and even time seems to work 
 but little change in their wild nature, as on the approach 
 of any person, whether a stranger or not, they dash 
 about the cage in a reckless manner, and when ex- 
 hausted and panting with fright, will creep into any 
 corner, or dark spot, to escape notice. The beak in 
 this species, as in the common sparrow, becomes darker 
 in summer, being of a blueish lead-colour during the 
 nesting season, and according to my own observations, 
 whether frightened or not, these birds have, at times, 
 a singular habit of keeping their mouths open. I 
 can discover no external difference in the sexes, ex- 
 cepting that the white and bla.ck tints, on the throat 
 and sides of the head, are somewhat less vivid in the 
 female. 
 
 PASSER DOMESTICUS (Lnmams). 
 HOUSE-SPAEEOW. 
 
 Whilst no one rejoices more than myself that the 
 wholesale and indiscriminate slaughter of our graiii- 
 eatiiig birds, by means of poisoned wheat, has been at 
 length prohibited by law, I cannot, even in defence 
 of my feathered favourites, ignore the fact, that the 
 almost total extermination of the Eaptorial tribes, 
 
210 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 together with, the raven, crow, and magpie, in these 
 game-preserving districts, necessitates the destruction 
 by some means or other of our too abundant finches. 
 That wonderful balance observable in the animal king- 
 dom, by which the necessities of each particular class 
 are made available to keep down the excess of others, 
 has been utterly disregarded, and in the same manner 
 that the undue slaughter of our insect-eating birds, 
 results in a plague of flies and caterpillars, so also the 
 persecution of hawks and owls occasions an undue 
 proportion of small birds, whose ravages, by some means 
 or other, must be kept within bounds. Let the net, 
 the gun, and above all means the " clappers" be used as 
 of old, to scare the feathered marauders from the farmer's 
 corn, whose patience I admit is sorely tried, when he 
 sees whole rows of empty ears, extending some yards 
 into his fields, from the side of each fence ; but before 
 he empties the full vials of his wrath upon those " brutes 
 of sparrows," let him pause and consider, for one mo- 
 ment, where would have been those crops, of which a 
 tithe is taken, had those very birds been wanting during 
 the spring and summer. All grain-eating birds feed their 
 young on insects. Those flocks of sparrows, greenfinches, 
 linnets, buntings, &c., so busy pilfering the ripening 
 grain, will pair again in spring, and hundreds and 
 thousands of little mouths will open, every minute in the 
 day, to receive some insect atom from their parents' 
 beaks. Flies, caterpillars, grubs, and worms, of every 
 imaginable description, will then support these little 
 creatures in their earlier stages, and man, with all his 
 powers of thought and skill, would fight in vain against 
 those insect myriads, which none but the microscopic 
 eye of the bird perceives, none but our "feathered 
 friends" can k^ep in check. Amongst other noxious 
 insects destroyed, in immense quantities, by the common 
 sparrow is that destructive Melolontha, commonly 
 
HOUSE-SPARROW. 211 
 
 called " chovies"* in both Norfolk and Suffolk. (Mr. 
 Alfred Newton informs me lie has seen the mouths 
 of these birds literally crammed with these pests of the 
 garden, the orchard, and the plantation). It is 
 also throughout the breeding season, a veritable fly- 
 catcher, as even the least observant persons must have 
 noticed in their walks. Flitting amongst the thick 
 foliage of the trees, it searches the leaves with most 
 assiduous care, or perched on the house-top or an open 
 branch, springs suddenly into the air after the passing 
 insect, and turns and twists about upon the wing, 
 should it fail at first to secure its prey. As I now 
 sit writing, a pair of young sparrows, reared in the 
 eaves of the house, are revelling in the enjoyment 
 of their newly acquired powers, as they flutter along 
 the garden walks with their anxious parents. The 
 old birds, alternately, after their brief excursions, 
 bring back fresh dainties for those gaping beaks, of 
 which the fluttering, trailing wings of the nestlings, 
 bespeak their fall enjoyment. And this remember, with 
 untiring energy, goes on from the earliest dawn of our 
 long summer days, till late in the evening, and as has 
 been estimated, on good authority, a single pair of 
 sparrows, in one week, in thus feeding their young, 
 destroy about 3,400 caterpillars; yet, in spite of all 
 
 * The following description of the beetle to which this local 
 name applies, is from " Forby's Vocabulary of East Anglia," and 
 speaks volumes for the benefits conferred upon mankind by the 
 sparrow in checking the ravages of such insect plagues : 
 " CHOVY, s. a small coleopterous insect, which invades gardens and 
 orchards in hot summers, in our sandy districts, and the imme- 
 diate neighbourhoods of them, in such swarms as to be nearly 
 equal to a plague of locusts ; devouring every green thing before 
 them. It is common to drive ducks into a garden, or swine into 
 an orchard, and shake the insects from the trees to be devoured. 
 But their numbers, constantly renewed, are often found insu- 
 perable." 
 2 E 2 
 
212 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 this, sparrow clubs, for the wholesale destruction of 
 these very birds, still exist in the country.* 
 
 Too common to need much description of their 
 habits, there is one in particular which annually 
 excites my warmest indignation, and that is the manner 
 in which the sparrows persecute the house-martins, and 
 endeavour to take possession of their nests when built. 
 I am often obliged to come to the rescue and shoot the 
 intruders, even at the risk of disturbing the martins. In 
 the winter the sparrows invariably roost in the martins' 
 nests, carrying in additional straws and other warm 
 materials. Their great fondness for dusting them- 
 selves is another troublesome habit, our newly raked 
 flower borders being constantly defaced by a succession 
 of little pit holes, where these birds have half buried 
 themselves in the enjoyment of a dust bath ; and in the 
 early spring they attack the crocuses, eating some small 
 portions of the flower and leaving the rest on the ground, 
 whilst in summer the tender shoots of the pinks and 
 carnations are equally attractive morsels. As a citizen, 
 the house-sparrow has certain habits and customs of its 
 own, but little noticed by ordinary observers. When 
 formerly residing in Surrey-street, I remember noticing 
 the invariable absence of these birds, from the garden, 
 during certain hours of the day. In the early morning, 
 and till nearly noon, we had always plenty in the apple 
 and pear trees, but from that time till late in the after- 
 
 * Under the appropriate heading of "The Geese and the 
 Sparrows," the following paragraph was recently inserted in the 
 " Sussex Express" : " The thirteenth anniversary of the Sparrow 
 Club, Eudgwick, was celebrated with a dinner at the Cricketers' 
 Inn, on Tuesday last. On reference to the books, it was ascer- 
 tained that 5,313 birds' heads had been sent in by the members 
 during the year, 1,363 being contributed by Mr. W. Wooberry, to 
 whom was awarded the first prize. Mr. W. Botting, with 912, 
 claimed second honours." 
 
HOUSE-SPARROW. 213 
 
 noon, not a bird could be seen, as I have proved over 
 and over again, when wanting to shoot one for a tame 
 kestrel. During this interval, I have no doubt that 
 they regularly visited the fields and roads in close 
 vicinity to the city, as they were always back again 
 towards evening ; in autumn appearing just before dark, 
 to roost in the ivied walls, or the clematis and creeper, 
 by the side of the summer-house. 
 
 The late Bishop Stanley, in his ee Familiar History 
 of Birds" (p. 89), alluding to the range of the 
 sparrow, in all countries, extending with "the tillage 
 of the soil," says, " From certain entries in the Hun- 
 stanton Household Book, from 1519 to 1578, in which 
 sparrows (or as they are there written spowes or 
 sparrouse) are frequently recorded, it would appear 
 that these birds took their place in the larders of the 
 nobility as delicacies with other game, from which we 
 may infer that they were at that time as rare in Norfolk 
 as they still are in some parts of Eussia, owing probably 
 to the same cause, viz., the limited state of tillage and 
 growth of corn." That the sparrow was probably scarce 
 in that part of Norfolk (Hunstanton, near Lynn) in 
 those days is most probable, and for the causes alleged 
 by our late worthy Diocesan, but at the same time he was 
 in error in supposing that the term spowes, so frequently 
 met with in the L'Estrange " accounts," referred to our 
 Passer domesticus. The term spowe invariably occurs in 
 connection with knots, ring-dotterels, redshanks, and 
 other grallatorial species, common enough then, as indeed 
 they still are, upon the Hunstanton beach, and under 
 this name, as I shall hereafter be able to show, the 
 Whimbrel was invariably designated in those old records. 
 Once only, in the same (e accounts," is the word sparrouse 
 used, as " Itm xij. sparrouse of gyste" (articles given in 
 lieu of rent), and these being thus entered alone, were 
 in all probability real sparrows, brought as a delicacy by 
 
214 
 
 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 some poor retainer. The colour of the beak in this 
 species, as in some others, changes with the season, 
 being horn-coloured in winter, and jet black in summer. 
 White and pied varieties are not unfrequently met with, 
 as shown by the specimens in the Norwich Museum. 
 
 COCCOTHRAUSTES VULGARIS, Stephens. 
 HAWFINCH. 
 
 With a bird so difficult of observation as the Haw- 
 finch, from its excessive shyness, it is not easy to 
 determine whether the frequent discovery of its nests, 
 of late years, in this and other counties in England, is 
 owing to a change in its habits, or the more careful 
 researches of modern naturalists. Messrs. Gurney and 
 Fisher, in 1846, describe it as " a rare bird in Norfolk, 
 and, we believe, only occurs as an irregular migrant." 
 Yet Sir Thomas Browne, evidently referring to this 
 species, speaks of it as " a kind of coccothraustes, called 
 a coble bird, bigger than a thrush, finely coloured, and 
 shaped like a bunting. It is chiefly seen in summer 
 about cherry time ;" from which it would seem that, in 
 those days at least, it was not uncommon, and from the 
 season in which it was chiefly observed probably bred in 
 the county. That it does so now there is no doubt, and 
 with sufficient regularity to be classed as a resident, 
 whilst, as certainly, migratory specimens visit us during 
 the winter months, in some seasons appearing in con- 
 siderable numbers. For the last ten years I have never 
 known an autumn or winter pass without some examples 
 being brought in to our bird-stuffers for preservation, 
 the dates of their appearance extending from the middle 
 of November to the beginning of the following April. 
 A large flight which visited Yarmouth during severe 
 
HAWFINCH. 215 
 
 weather in January, 1823, is noticed by the Messrs. 
 Paget. and is also referred to in Sir Wm. Hooker's 
 
 O s 
 
 MS., and in 1855 a considerable number appeared in 
 this neighbourhood; but probably the largest quantity 
 ever known to have visited this coast, occurred during 
 the long and severe winter of 1859-60. Between the 
 first week in December and the first week in April 
 of the ensuing year, upwards of forty specimens were 
 brought to one bird-preserver in this city, of which 
 nearly half were obtained in the neighbourhood of East 
 Carlton and Ketteringham. A large flight also alighted, 
 about the same time, in a very exhausted state, in the 
 gardens near the denes at Yarmouth. 
 
 In 1856, a single bird was shot near Yarmouth, 
 on the 28th of April, which there is little doubt had 
 remained to breed in that neighbourhood, and in the 
 latter end of June of the same year, Mr. King, bailiff to 
 Lord Wodehouse, at Kimberley, observed an old bird 
 and three young ones on a greengage tree in his garden, 
 which adjoins the park. On fetching his gun, he suc- 
 ceeded in shooting one of the young birds, and the 
 others never returned again. This was the first time he 
 had observed them in summer, but in sharp weather he 
 had frequently seen them on some whitethorn trees in 
 the park, a not unusual resort of the hawfinch. These 
 particulars were very kindly sent me at the time by Mr. 
 King, and the young bird, the first Norfolk bred haw- 
 finch I had ever seen, is now in my possession. In this 
 specimen the head, neck, and upper parts are yellowish 
 olive brown, and the throat yellow, but with no apparent 
 indication of the black patch common to both sexes in an 
 adult state. From that time till the summer of 1860, I 
 could learn nothing further as to their nesting in Norfolk, 
 but on the 2nd and 8th of May in that year two birds 
 were shot having the dark blue beak of the breeding 
 season, and one of them, a female, had evidently been 
 
216 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 sitting. Besides these, on the 20th of July a young bird, 
 exactly resembling my own specimen, was taken near 
 Attleborough, and is in the possession of the Rev. W. J. 
 Partridge, of Caston rectory. In the following year 
 (1861) another female showing symptoms of nesting 
 was shot on the 14th of June, and on the 29th a very 
 perfect nest in my possession was taken at Weston. 
 The man who found it stated that there were young in 
 it, but these had since died from over feeding. The 
 old birds had been seen devouring the green peas in 
 the garden, and were believed to have nested there 
 in the previous summer, as young looking birds were 
 observed, with the old ones, early in the autumn. In 
 April, 1863, a female was shot in the same locality at 
 Weston, and others were observed there throughout 
 the summer ; and on the 18th of June an old male was 
 shot at Tibbenham ; a female at Weston, on the 26th ; 
 and about the same time a young bird was sent up 
 to Norwich for preservation from some other part of the 
 county. Again, in 1864, a magnificent pair in full 
 summer plumage were, I regret to say, shot on the 
 22nd of June, at Weston, and a nest was said to have 
 been found in a thick hawthorn hedge. They had 
 frequented a neighbouring garden for the sake of the 
 green peas, remains of which were discovered on dissec- 
 tion. To the above evidences of their residence amongst 
 us I can now add, on the authority of Mr. Samuel Blyth, 
 that they have been observed to frequent the garden of 
 Mr. G. B. L. Knight, and an adjoining plantation, at 
 Framingham, for the last three or four years, during the 
 summer months ; old and young appearing together ; and 
 a nestling, too helpless to take care of itself, was picked 
 up alive amongst the pea-sticks, where no doubt it had 
 been brought by its parents to feast on their favourite 
 food. 
 
 That they also breed in the adjoining county of 
 
HAWFINCH. 217 
 
 Suffolk will be seen from the following extracts from 
 the "Bury Post" : About the first week in June, 1857, 
 a paragraph appeared in that journal, stating that a 
 nest of the hawfinch had been found in Ickworth Park, 
 containing five young ones. This statement drew, the 
 next week, some further information from another corres- 
 pondent, who says, " Some 24 or 25 years since, I saw 
 in the garden of Great Finborough Hall, a nest of 
 young ones, and some had been reared in the garden at 
 least one year preceding. In the following June, Mr. 
 Nicholls, the then gardener, and a most enthusistic 
 naturalist, wrote me to pay him a visit, and in his 
 note he says, "we have two nests of the hawfinch 
 in the kitchen garden at this time, and one is on the 
 same tree you saw them last year. It is but a few days 
 since I saw a nest, full of young ones, in a garden in 
 the neighbourhood of Bury. It is perhaps rather sin- 
 gular that in all cases the birds selected apple trees as 
 their abode. In addition to these we may add, that 
 last year a nest of young were reared in the pleasure 
 grounds of either Ampton or Livermere, at the moment 
 I forget which, but I believe the former place." 
 
 A very favourite resort of the hawfinch in winter 
 seems to be in the thick foliage of old yew-trees, afford- 
 ing both close concealment and food in the shape of 
 berries. In December, 1852, and January, 1853, I was 
 shown four of these birds which had been killed at 
 Taverham, near Norwich, as they passed in rapid flight 
 to and from the yew-trees near the hall. The gardener, 
 who shot them with much difficulty, described them as 
 the shyest birds he ever met with. Again, in the winter 
 of 1855, six or eight specimens were procured, at different 
 times, in the village of Blofield, where, as at Taverham,, 
 the great attraction appears to have been some yew-trees 
 in a garden. The man who shot them also spoke of the 
 great difficulty he had in approaching them, observing, 
 2 F 
 
218 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 ce They come with a very rapid flight, and pitch into the 
 yew-trees like sparrows into the ivy." Once there it was 
 almost impossible to catch sight of them, as they kept 
 amongst the thickest foliage, and it was only by con- 
 cealing himself that he obtained a chance shot, as they 
 rarely exposed themselves on an open branch, and on 
 leaving the trees they again flew with great swiftness. 
 Messrs. Gurney and Fisher refer to a specimen taken 
 some years back at Taverham, which, singularly enough 
 for so shy a bird, was captured alive in a pigeon-house. 
 The fact of the beak, in this species a most prominent 
 feature, having a seasonal change of colour, is thus 
 referred to by Mr. Doubleday* in the " Zoologist" 
 (p. 5098j : " In the autumn and winter the bill, in both 
 sexes, is always flesh-coloured ; in March it begins to 
 change, and by the early part of April is of a deep 
 leaden blue colour, and continues so during the breeding 
 season." I have observed, however, in such birds as are 
 killed here, with the dark bill of the summer months, 
 the under surface of the lower mandible is not blue but 
 pink, becoming yellow in stuffed specimens. 
 
 COCCOTHRAUSTES CHLOB1S (Linnaeus). 
 GKEEKFINCH. 
 
 This well-known and handsome species is still, I am 
 happy to say, a common resident in Norfolk, although 
 in some districts its numbers have been sadly thinned, of 
 late years, through the agents of the great " Caterpillars' 
 
 * I am sorry to say that Mr. Doubleday, who has for many 
 years studied the habits of these birds in Epping Forest, and 
 was the first to discover their nests in that locality, informs 
 me, in a recent letter, that they are now comparatively rare. " A 
 large portion of the forest (he writes), where this species used to 
 
GREENFINCH. 219 
 
 Friends Society." The male Greenfinch, with the rich 
 olive green and yellow of its nuptial plumage, and the 
 flesh-coloured tints of its beak and legs has a very 
 striking appearance, and his varied notes, though some- 
 what harsh, are far from unpleasing, when heard amidst 
 the dense foliage of the trees in summer. It is a hardy 
 bird, as its stout thick-set figure would seem to indicate, 
 and frequenting the vicinity of stacks and farm-pre- 
 mises, remains with us, in flocks, throughout the winter, 
 while migratory individuals also occur in autumn on our 
 coast, passing southward with other allied and equally 
 familiar species.* A singular double nest of this bird 
 is thus described by Mr. Grurney, in the " Zoologist" 
 for 1852 (p. 3577) : " During the spring of this year, 
 in a thick bushy plant of an ornamental heath, growing 
 in a garden a few miles distant from Norwich, were 
 found two nests of the common greenfinch, which not 
 only were completely interwoven at the adjoining sides, 
 but were built on one common platform, a foundation of 
 fibrous roots and moss. Both nests were complete, 
 
 breed in considerable numbers, has been cut down, and I am afraid 
 what is left will soon be enclosed. The London bird-catchers have 
 also, for the last few years, hunted the forest over in May for the 
 nests of the hawfinch, finding a ready sale for the eggs, and have 
 caught the old birds with bird-lime when the nests contained 
 young ones." 
 
 * Mr. H. L. Saxby, in his " Ornithological notes from Shet- 
 land (Zoologist for 1865, p. 9488), thus alludes to the migratory habits 
 of this species, as observed, though apparently as an unusual circum- 
 stance, in that island : " During the early part of November, green- 
 finches arrived in immense flocks, which were chiefly composed 
 of females and young birds, although there were many fine old 
 males among them. Up to the 28th of last October, only one 
 individual of this species had been known to occur in Unst. Very 
 large numbers roosted in the garden even a few nights ago, and 
 many were captured as they flew against the windows after dark. 
 None of the inhabitants to whom I have spoken upon the subject 
 have seen this bird before." 
 2F2 
 
220 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 except that one of them was deficient in interior lining. 
 When found, I understand there was one egg in each 
 nest, but it was not ascertained whether the nests 
 belonged to two pairs of birds or only to one pair." 
 In the same volume of the " Zoologist" (p. 3388), Mr. 
 Gurney has also recorded the singular fact of a hybrid, 
 between the greenfinch and the common linnet (Linota, 
 Cdnnabina) , having been captured in a wild state in this 
 county. This remarkable specimen was netted at Easton, 
 near Norwich, in 1851, by Mr. Edward Fountaine, and 
 was afterwards kept in confinement. An exactly similar 
 bird, now in my possession, was netted near this city by 
 a bird-catcher named Carr, in February, 1865, and ex- 
 hibits, in the most striking manner, the chief character- 
 istics, in plumage, of the greenfinch and common linnet, 
 whilst the beak and general form of the bird is inter- 
 mediate between the two. So marked indeed are these 
 double features, that I felt certain, from the moment 
 I first saw it, that it could only be a hybrid between 
 the above named species; and Mr. Fountaine, who 
 examined it subsequently, recognised in it at once 
 the fac simile of his own specimen. The following is as 
 accurate a description of its present appearance (May, 
 1865), as I am able to give in writing, and I am par- 
 ticularly anxious to keep it alive, to observe, if any, 
 and what changes may occur in its plumage. Its voice 
 even partakes of its double origin, the shrill call note of 
 the greenfinch being combined with the soft trill of the 
 linnet, as I have been able, satisfactorily, to determine, 
 the hybrid being kept, in a cage, close to my aviary, 
 in which both greenfinches and linnets are in full song. 
 Beak, bluish flesh-colour on the upper mandible, light 
 pink on the lower. Head, neck, and back hair-brown, 
 with a greyish tinge on the sides of the neck and around 
 the eyes. Irides hazel. The colour of the back want- 
 ing the rich chesnut of the linnet in summer, but less 
 
GREENFINCH. 221 
 
 mottled than in the same bird in winter, with the shaft 
 of each feather very dark. Wing-coverts dull chesnut. 
 Primary quills nearly black, the outer margins, which 
 in the linnet are white, being in this bird yellow as in 
 the greenfinch. Secondaries blackish brown, broadly 
 edged with rufous. Upper tail-coverts sulphur yellow. 
 Tail feathers very dark brown, the two middle ones, 
 slightly tinged with yellow on the outer edge, the re- 
 mainder considerably forked, and having their narrow 
 outer edges bright yellow, and the inner webs broadly 
 margined with white as in the common linnet ; the 
 yellow occupying the same proportion as in the green- 
 finch. Throat, chin, and breast brownish white, strongly 
 tinged with yellow, becoming nearly pure white on the 
 lower parts of the body and vent. Legs and toes 
 brownish pink, claws black. 
 
 Our Norwich fanciers occasionally cross this species 
 with the canary, of which I saw a young brood in the 
 autumn of 1864, very odd looking birds, but retaining the 
 distinguishing characteristics of the greenfinch, in the 
 beak and general stoutness of figure. Being of no repute, 
 however, as songsters, this breed is but seldom attempted. 
 Varieties are but rarely met with. A curious speci- 
 men, in my own collection, netted at Hellesdon, in 
 February, 1862, has the ground colour of the plumage 
 light grey, changing to brown on the quill feathers of 
 the tail and wings. The back, wing-coverts, sides of 
 the head and breast, in this bird (a male) are also more 
 or less tinged with yellow, the outer edges of the 
 primaries and tail-feathers, with the upper tail-coverts, 
 being bright yellow. " Green Olf," as given by Forby, is 
 the more common name for this bird in Norfolk, and it 
 is also called the green linnet, to distinguish it from 
 the common grey or brown linnet. 
 
222 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 CARDUELIS ELEGANS, Stephens. 
 GOLDFINCH. 
 
 This beautiful species is by no means uncommon 
 throughout the year, and though a large proportion of 
 our native birds apparently leave us for a time in the 
 depth of winter, some few still remain, and, like the 
 pied wagtails before referred to, shift for themselves 
 during the sharpest weather. The migratory habits of 
 the Goldfinch are well known to our bird-catchers, 
 although the flights that visit us in spring or autumn, 
 are small indeed in comparison with those observed in 
 more southern counties.* From my own observation 
 of the birds netted in this neighbourhood, by far the 
 larger number are procured in the autumn, and a more 
 vivid colouring, as in many other continental visitants, 
 marks the plumage of adult birds. Messrs. Gurney 
 
 * Mr. Knox, in his "Ornithological Rambles," gives a most 
 interesting account of the migration of the goldfinch, as observed 
 on the Sussex coast both in spring and autumn, where, at either 
 season, its arrival is anxiously watched for by the resident bird- 
 catchers. Mr. Newman, in a recent paper on the " Migration of 
 birds in Great Britain" (" Field," April 22nd, 1865), has also given 
 the following remarkable statistics with reference to the same 
 species : " Mr. Robert Gray, of Worthing, asserts that the bird- 
 catchers net, within a walk of "Worthing, four or five hundred 
 dozen of goldfinches every October. The cocks fetch four or five 
 or sometimes six shillings a dozen, the hens about two shillings. 
 During one particular year, as many as eight hundred dozen were 
 taken." The Rev. Arthur Hussey has also ascertained by careful 
 enquiry, in the same locality, that "none are taken in January, 
 February, March, June, and July, about fourteen dozen of the 
 immigrants in April and May, the astounding number of seven 
 hundred and fifty dozen of the emigrants in October, and three 
 hundred dozen in the beginning of November." 
 
GOLDFINCH. 223 
 
 and Fisher have alluded to a belief existing amongst our 
 Norfolk bird-catchers, "that both this species and the 
 bullfinch are polygamous to the extent of three or four 
 females to one male." I am quite unable to substan- 
 tiate this supposition in either case; but even if 
 considered probable as regards the bullfinch, I think the 
 many little affectionate traits exhibited, in confinement, 
 by the present species opposed to any such impression. 
 Although the improvements in agriculture and the in- 
 creased cultivation of waste lands have deprived them 
 of many a " breezy common," localities are not wanting, 
 rich in the attractions of groundsel and plantain, or 
 white with the down of the seeding thistle. In 
 summer, their beautiful little nests excite our wonder 
 and admiration in garden and orchard, whilst here and 
 there on the foul pasture or rough weed-covered bank, 
 we find them in busy groups, fluttering round the 
 thistle-heads, or passing from stem to stem with sweet 
 musical notes, as the bright red and yellow of their 
 lovely plumage glistens in the sun of an autumn 
 morning. Our Norwich weavers, so celebrated for 
 their breed of canaries, known far and wide as the 
 " Norwich yellows," also cross the goldfinch with the 
 canary, which, in many instances, produces a very 
 handsome "mule," and though but little esteemed for 
 song, it is still a lively cage bird, more endurable in 
 a room than the canary itself, whose powerful, and 
 sustained notes, jar upon the nerves with their thrilling 
 vehemence. Many of these birds, bred from a male 
 goldfinch and an extremely light-coloured hen canary, 
 exhibit the most exquisite variations of plumage, and 
 being hardy in constitution, are by no means diincult 
 to rear. The linnet and siskin are, also, occasionally 
 crossed with the canary, in the same way. Sir Thos. 
 Browne thus refers to the capture and training of this 
 species in Norfolk, some two hundred years ago, on 
 
224 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 precisely the same plan as that adopted by our 
 fanciers at the present day : " A kind of anthus, 
 goldfinch, or fool's-coat, commonly called a draw- 
 water, finely marked with red and yellow, and a 
 white bill, which they take with trap cages in Norwich 
 gardens, and fastening a chain about them, tied to a 
 box of water, it makes shift with bill and leg to draw 
 up the water into it from the little pot hanging by 
 the chain about a foot below." I once saw a goldfinch 
 which, as is not unfrequently the case with the bull- 
 finch, had become quite black in confinement from 
 feeding too freely on hempseed.* The head was darker 
 than the rest of the plumage, and had a deep bluish- 
 black tinge, the general shape of the bird, and the beak, 
 alone affording any clue to its identity. This is the only 
 instance of the kind in this species I have ever met 
 with, although a bird so generally kept in confinement. 
 A common name for this bird in Norfolk and Suffolk 
 is "King Harry," or King Harry Redcap, in contra- 
 distinction to King Harry Blackcap, applied to the 
 blackcap warbler (Cur/uca atricapilla). 
 
 CARDUELIS SPINTJS (Linnaeus). 
 SISKIN. 
 
 The pretty little Siskins visit us regularly towards 
 the end of autumn, and again on their return north- 
 wards about the end of January, but their numbers vary 
 considerably in different seasons, and are not always 
 dependent upon the severity of the weather. I have 
 met with parties of ten or twelve in a flight, in planta- 
 
 * Mr. Newman has recorded in the " Zoologist" (p. 4994) the 
 fact of a hawfinch, kept in confinement for six years, having 
 become almost entirely black from the same cause. 
 
SISKIN. 225 
 
 tions, as late as the 27th. of January, twittering amongst 
 the top branches of ash and fir trees, but except in 
 solitary cases have never known them to be observed 
 later. A Norwich bird-catcher assured me that on one 
 occasion he caught a hen siskin in May, which appeared 
 to have been nesting, but this in all probability had 
 escaped from confinement, as some of my own birds 
 have done occasionally. As cage pets, I know none 
 which so soon become tame and contented with their 
 new existence, but, like the redpoles, they are liable to 
 grow too fat, from over feeding, with but little exercise. 
 A very interesting account of the nesting of a pair of 
 siskins, in confinement, at Yarmouth, was inserted in 
 the "Zoologist" for 1845 (p. 1065), by Mr. John Smith, 
 of that town. The nest is described as very neat and 
 substantial, composed of moss, and a little cotton wool, 
 mixed with other materials from old nests supplied, and 
 was principally the work of the female. It was built on 
 some soft green moss, placed at one corner of the bottom 
 of the cage, and the first egg was laid on the 6th of 
 June, and six were deposited by the 12th, when the 
 whole were removed, being required for Mr. Smith's 
 collection. I have at the present time a live pair, of 
 which the male by some accident has lost the use of one 
 wing, but, in spite of this drawback, he seems perfectly 
 happy, climbs about the wires with his bill and feet, and 
 nimbly follows my hand to feed on the proffered 
 groundsel. Unable, from his injury, to fly up from the 
 bottom of the aviary, a slanting perch is always placed 
 against one side, up which he climbs to the lowest wire 
 work, and then ascends to his usual roosting place, the 
 whole proceeding being accomplished in the most 
 methodical manner, and with evident appreciation of 
 the ladder supplied to him. 
 
 It is very amusing to study the different tempera- 
 ments, or individualities, if one may use the term, 
 2 G 
 
226 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 of birds in confinement. I often supply my own pets 
 with a feast of green food, to observe the various 
 traits and passions excited by the sudden treat 
 greediness and generosity, anger and gentleness, dignity 
 and impudence, alternately marking the character of 
 each feathered inhabitant. The cock brambling ill- 
 treats his wife, and pecks at the chaffinches, the hen 
 brambling revenges herself on a hen linnet, and though 
 in full possession of a dainty morsel prefers fighting to 
 eating. Presently a male greenfinch drives her in turn 
 from the illgotten store, and conscious of superior 
 strength, finishes it undisturbed. In another quarter a 
 larger piece of groundsel is causing all sorts of unplea- 
 santness amongst goldfinches, siskins, and redpoles. The 
 hen bullfinch snaps at her mate, and insists on satisfy- 
 ing her wants before him, whilst he, in bodily fear of his 
 spouse, looks the very image of a hen-pecked husband. 
 Tired of watching her, he now dashes amongst the 
 redpoles and other smaller fry, and taking their share to 
 himself, plays bully to perfection. What a burlesque on 
 man ! Who does not know the pompous wordy tyrant, 
 who, having found his match at home, revenges himself, 
 for his domestic littleness, by hectoring all he dares 
 amongst his fellows ? Great, greedy bullfinch ! Bunt- 
 ings, chaffinches, linnets, all give way before him, as 
 he flits from sprig to sprig, not so much enjoying the 
 feast as upsetting those who do. But now comes a 
 little champion, a very David to that proud Goliath ! and 
 in an instant the tiny siskin male, with open beak 
 and angry notes, drives at his ruddy breast, and bully 
 fairly scared, makes an abrupt retreat. Generous as 
 brave however, the little hero feeds with the redpoles, 
 and others of his size, in perfect harmony, though 
 ever ready to assert his rights. Yet all siskins are not 
 equally plucky, nor all .bullfinches and bramblings 
 spiteful and pugnacious, so varied are the individual 
 
SISKIN. COMMON LINNET. 227 
 
 peculiarities observable in the same species. The great 
 snow-buntings caring little for this green food, keep by 
 themselves upon an upper perch, and gravely watch the 
 noisy crowd ; too gentle to resent the spiteful snappings 
 of the passing birds, whilst treating with contempt such 
 little foes. And thus, amongst the feathered race, we find 
 the semblance of our human failings, with here and there 
 our virtues copied too. Studying each little trait, the 
 mind reverts to scenes in which as strange a diversity of 
 character has presented itself amongst the members of 
 a public school. Who that has seen some fresh caught 
 bird, panting and frightened from its recent capture, 
 turned loose amongst its future mates, but has felt some 
 sympathy for that little stranger; remembering, only 
 too well, the awful day when he himself was " the new 
 boy?" 
 
 LINOTA CANNABINA (Linnams). 
 COMMON LINNET. 
 
 Common throughout the year and breeds with us, 
 migratory arrivals in very considerable numbers adding 
 to the flocks in autumn. Old males of this species, 
 netted, with the rose-coloured breast, at the close of the 
 breeding season, will retain the same in confinement 
 throughout the winter, but once lost through moulting, 
 it is not re-assumed. The general effect, however, of 
 cage life upon the linnets and redpoles, appears to be, to 
 change their red tints into dull yellow, and on one 
 occasion I shot a male linnet in summer, out of a small 
 flock, which had a yellow instead of a rose-coloured 
 breast, even in a wild state. Varieties of this species 
 are not often met with, but Mr. T. E. Gunn, in " The 
 Journal of the West Riding Naturalists' Society," (p. 
 148), describes one, netted at Costessey, near Norwich, 
 2 G 2 
 
 
228 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 in the winter of 1863, as "a male bird, with a band 
 of white feathers extending quite round its neck, 
 having the appearance of a collar at a distance." I 
 once found a nest of the brown or grey linnet, as this 
 bird is respectively called in its summer and winter 
 plumage, in a small bush on Surlingham broad, com- 
 posed entirely, inside and out, of moss gathered from 
 the surrounding marshes. Nothing but the eggs could 
 have identified it as belonging to the common linnet, 
 the bird having in this instance so entirely discarded 
 its usual style of nesting, and contented itself simply 
 with the materials nearest at hand. 
 
 LINOTA CANESCENS (Gould). 
 MEALY BEDPOLE. 
 
 The Mealy Eedpole can scarcely be called an annual 
 winter visitant, although flocks of more or less extent 
 may be met with in several consecutive seasons; but 
 now and then, from some cause not easily explainable, 
 their total absence is remarked upon by our bird- 
 catchers, and as I have frequently experienced when 
 most wanting a specimen to supply some loss in my 
 aviary, not a bird has been netted the whole winter 
 through. Their appearance and numbers also, as with 
 the more common species, cannot always be accounted 
 for by the severity of the weather (in this country 
 at least), either at the time of, or subsequent to, their 
 arrival on our coasts. In 1847 and 1855, the latter 
 a very sharp winter, they were extremely plentiful; 
 and in 1861, from the middle of October to the 
 close of the year, probably the largest flocks ever 
 noticed in this district, were distributed through- 
 out the county. Hundreds of them were netted by 
 
MEALY REDPOLE. 229 
 
 the bird-catchers, being far more plentiful than the 
 lesser species, and many still retained the rich flame- 
 coloured tints of the breeding season. Yet the weather 
 throughout this period was not unusually severe ; and in 
 the previous winter of 1860-1, hardly a bird was taken, 
 though remarkable for its intense frosts; and again in 
 
 1863 and 64 they were equally scarce, with an almost 
 equal degree of cold. I am not aware that the nest of 
 this species has ever been found in Norfolk; but Mr. 
 Alfred Newton has recorded in the "Zoologist" (p. 
 2382) the occurrence of a male specimen, in full 
 breeding plumage, at Riddles worth, in July, 1848, 
 which he had " no doubt had bred there" ; I was also 
 assured by one of our Norwich bird-catchers, that in 
 the spring of 1862, after the large influx of the previous 
 autumn, he observed a flock of twenty or thirty as late 
 as the middle of April. Both the mealy and lesser 
 redpoles, from their tameness and engaging actions, 
 are most desirable additions to the cage or aviary, but 
 from their happy contented natures are liable to grow 
 too fat, and like ortolans, when over fed, drop off the 
 perch in a fit of apoplexy. Mr. Charles Barnard, -of 
 this city, before mentioned as so successful in breeding 
 the bramblings in confinement, had a brood of young 
 mealy redpoles, hatched off in his aviary at Stoke, in 
 July, 1860, a very uncommon circumstance with this 
 species. A pied variety of this bird, also an unusual 
 occurrence, is recorded by Mr. T. E. Gunn in the 
 " Journal of the West Riding Naturalists' Society" for 
 
 1864 (p. 148), which was killed at Heigham, near Nor- 
 wich, in the winter of 1857. 
 
230 BIEDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 LINOTA LINABJA (Temminck) * 
 LESSEE EEDPOLE. 
 
 The Lesser Eedpole may be classed as a resident in 
 Norfolk, as well as a regular and, in some seasons, very 
 numerous winter visitant, its nests being found year 
 after year in certain favourite localities. I have known 
 as many as four taken in one summer from a garden at 
 Bramerton, which has been a favourite resort of these 
 little creatures for a considerable time, and they also 
 breed regularly at Eaton, near Norwich, from whence 
 I have had the young birds in August, as well as their 
 delicate blue and speckled eggs, and the exquisite little 
 .structure in which they are laid. In these localities, 
 the nests have been mostly found in the apple and 
 cherry trees, but Mr. Alfred Newton, in a communica- 
 tion to Mr. Hewitson (Eggs Brit. Birds, 3rd ed.), re- 
 marks that near Thetford, where it also breeds yearly, 
 the nests are placed ( ' close to the trunk of the tree in 
 plantations of young larch firs of no great height," 
 though he once found one at least sixty feet from the 
 ground, and placed near the outer end of a branch. 
 In Suffolk, several nests have been found by Mr. 
 Dashwood in the neighbourhood of Beccles. Like 
 the two preceding species, the lesser redpole often re- 
 tains in confinement, throughout the winter, the rosy 
 
 * As this species is almost entirely replaced in Scandinavia by 
 the preceding one, it is clearly the mealy redpole which Linnaeus 
 described under the name of Fringilla linaria; but as I have 
 endeavoured in this work to follow the nomenclature of Yarrell's 
 " British Birds," I retain the specific name " linaria" with that of 
 Temminck as the authority for it he having been the first orni- 
 thologist who mis-applied it in this sense. 
 
LESSEE REDPOLE. TWITE. 231 
 
 tints on the head and breast, which properly denote 
 their breeding plumage. A male in my aviary netted 
 in November, 1863, and chosen from many for the 
 beauty of its plumage, did not lose its pinky hue until 
 the autumnal moult of 1864. Once lost, however, by the 
 actual shedding of the feathers, the red breast is not 
 re-assumed, and even the red poll changes to a dull yellow, 
 the effect no doubt of an artificial state of existence. 
 Like the mealy-redpole and the little siskins, this species 
 becomes a most engaging pet in confinement; indeed, 
 can hardly be said to be otherwise than tame, from the 
 moment of its capture, so fearless and contented does it 
 appear under any circumstances. I have frequently seen 
 these little creatures, like the true " draw- waters," 
 fastened to an open perch by one leg, and with a little 
 bucket and chain attached to the drinking glass, raising 
 their own supplies of water to a level with their beaks. 
 
 LINOTA MONTIUM (Temminck). 
 TWITE. 
 
 The Twite is, I believe, only an occasional visitant 
 to Norfolk, on its migratory course, passing southwards 
 in autumn, and again re-appearing for a brief space in 
 the spring. In this neighbourhood, at least, judging 
 from the few birds in any season netted by our bird- 
 catchers, it rarely appears in any numbers, and is 
 decidedly scarce in comparison with the siskin or either 
 species of redpole. A few were taken near Norwich 
 during the extremely severe weather that prevailed in 
 January, 1861, and from that time until the middle of 
 October, 1864, when some four or five pairs were also 
 captured close to the city, I had neither seen nor heard 
 of them hereabouts. A small flock observed at Eaton in 
 
232 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 December, 1864, preceded, by a few days only, the heavy 
 snow which set in during the following week, and I 
 think generally their appearance amongst us is indi- 
 cative of approaching sharp weather. Mr. Dowell has 
 found them in several instances frequenting the Blakeney 
 harbour in winter, feeding on the samphire in small 
 flocks, and a male killed there on the 4th of March, 1847, 
 had assumed the red feathers on the rump, peculiar to 
 the breeding season, and others had slight traces of the 
 same colour. A small flock, which consorted with a few 
 of the common linnets, were also seen throughout the 
 autumn and winter of 1852-3, in one favourite locality, 
 near the pilot's house at Blakeney. Messrs. Sheppard 
 and Whitear* likewise allude to the partiality of this 
 species for "the seeds of the marsh samphire (Salicornia, 
 herbacea) and sea starwort (Aster tripolium)," and state 
 that they are found in the salt-marshes near Yarmouth, 
 so that it is not improbable that those which visit us 
 in winter may remain in the vicinity of the sea coast 
 until driven inland by stress of weather. The above 
 authors were also informed, by the late Mr. Scales, 
 
 * A very remarkable confirmation of the migratory habits of 
 certain birds of the finch tribe, is also recorded by Messrs. 
 Sheppard and Whitear in the following terms: "At half-past 
 five o'clock in the morning of March 20th, 1820, a very extraordi- 
 nary migration of small birds was witnessed at Little Oakley, in 
 Essex. The attention of the observer was arrested by an un- 
 common chattering of birds, and looking up he beheld an in- 
 credible number of small birds, flying a-breast in a line extending 
 as far as the eye could distinguish them, and three or four yards 
 deep. Their direction was towards the south-east, the wind 
 favouring them ; their height only a few yards from the ground. 
 The flock was supposed to consist principally of chaffinches, 
 linnets, twites, and bramblings. None of the two latter species 
 were seen in the neighbourhood after that time ; and there is on 
 those shores in the winter season an immense quantity of linnets, 
 more than can be bred in the neighbourhood." 
 
TWITE. BULLFINCH. 233 
 
 ' { that this species of finch visits Beechamwell very early 
 in the spring, and feeds upon the seeds of the alder as 
 they drop from the cones," and one example is said to 
 have been killed as late as the 23rd of May. 
 
 PYRRHULA VULGARIS, Temminck. 
 BULLFINCH. 
 
 This handsome bird is met with throughout the 
 year frequenting our gardens and orchards in spring, 
 and retiring into the smaller woods and plantations 
 during the nesting season, but it is by no means so 
 plentiful in Norfolk as in some other counties, and is 
 also somewhat local in its habits. So much has been 
 written upon the destruction of buds in our gardens and 
 orchards, by this species in particular, that I could 
 wish to introduce the following remarks by no less 
 an authority, on entomological subjects, than the 
 Editor of the "Zoologist," to the notice of every gar- 
 dener in the united kingdom. Writing on the larva of 
 Cheimatobia brumata (Zoologist, p. 8699), he says, 
 "The apterous female of this very common species lays 
 its eggs in the crevices of the bark of various trees and 
 shrubs during November and December ; the larvae make 
 their appearance early in the spring, and commence 
 their destructive career, by eating into the young unex- 
 panded buds. At this time of the year, the bullfinches 
 and titmice render the most important service to the 
 gardener by their activity in devouring this little garden 
 pest." If to this essential benefit to man we add also 
 the consumption of innumerable seeds of thistles, and 
 other noxious weeds, to which they are particularly 
 partial; one individual, in confinement, having been 
 known (Zoologist, p. 9360) to eat two hundred and 
 2n 
 
234 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 thirty-eight seeds of the spear-plume thistle (Cnicus 
 lanceolatus) in about twenty minutes, though plentifully 
 supplied with hempseed as well, I think we may ask for 
 this much maligned species some little consideration, 
 not only for its natural beauty but for those better 
 traits, which in fairness must be set off against any fail- 
 ings. I have before alluded to the plumage of this 
 bird not unfrequently becoming black, when in confine- 
 ment, from the effects of hempseed; but a curious instance 
 of this strange variation occurring in a wild specimen, 
 is thus recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney in the " Zoolo- 
 gist" for 1854 (p. 4252) : " Last autumn a gentleman 
 presented me with a bullfinch entirely black, which had 
 been found of that colour in a nest containing three 
 other young birds, all of the ordinary colour. This bird 
 has subsequently moulted, and in doing so has totally 
 lost its black colouring, and has assumed the ordinary 
 plumage of the female bullfinch." I know of no direct 
 proof of the migration of this species, but the extreme 
 brilliancy of tint in some males netted by our bird- 
 catchers in autumn, suggests rather a continental than 
 an insular origin, like the goldfinches before referred to, 
 which are undoubtedly foreigners. These may, however, 
 be only much older birds, which have acquired, through 
 age, a richer and deeper colouring. The provincial name 
 of "Blood Olph" is commonly applied to the bullfinch 
 in Norfolk, in the same way that c ( Green Olph" is used 
 to denote the greenfinch, as before stated. 
 
 PYRRHULA ENUCLEATOR 
 
 PESTE GROSBEAK. 
 
 This rare species has occurred but in very few 
 instances in Norfolk, and the brief records respecting 
 
PINE GROSBEAK. COMMON CROSSBILL. 235 
 
 it seem to consist of a statement by Messrs. Paget, 
 in their " Sketch of the Natural History of Yarmouth," 
 "That a flight of these birds were observed on Yar- 
 mouth Denes in November, 1822;" and the fact of a 
 pair having been shot at Raveningham, in the act of 
 building, as noticed by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, 
 in their " Birds of Norfolk" (Zoologist, p. 1313). 
 Mention is also made by the latter authors of a pair 
 which were said to have built and laid four eggs in a 
 fir-tree, near Bungay (Suffolk) ; but in a subsequent 
 note, a doubt is expressed as to the accuracy of this last 
 account, from a comparison of the eggs then taken 
 with foreign specimens. Mr. Lubbock also in his 
 66 Fauna" remarks " A pair are now preserved in Yar- 
 mouth, shot near that place, and which are said to 
 have had a nest, which was unfortunately destroyed." 
 This latter record, as I have recently ascertained from 
 Mr. Lubbock, was communicated to him by the late Mr. 
 Girdlestone, of Yarmouth, and he is also inclined to 
 believe, with me, that the pair of birds here alluded to, 
 are those entered in the sale catalogue of Mr. Miller's 
 collection, but which, with other rarities dispersed at 
 the same time, are probably no longer in existence. 
 
 LOXIA CHRVIIIOSTRA, Linnsens. 
 COMMON CROSSBILL. 
 
 This singular and most interesting species is a 
 frequent but very uncertain visitant, appearing gene- 
 rally in severe weather, and occasionally in considerable 
 numbers. Of late years I have notes of their appear- 
 ance in 1853-4-5 and 6, and again in 1860-1 and 2; 
 but with the exception of the winters of 1853-4, and 
 1861, the specimens obtained were very few, and those 
 2n2 
 
236 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 invariably during the spring months. One might have 
 imagined that the considerable increase in our fir-planta- 
 tions of late years, throughout the county, would have 
 caused these birds to visit us, not only more regularly, 
 but in far larger numbers than formerly ; but this does 
 not appear to be the case, nor am I aware of any 
 authentic instance of the nest or young of the Crossbill 
 having been found in Norfolk. It is still by no means 
 improbable that they [may nest here, at times, though 
 passing wholly unnoticed amongst the dense foliage of 
 the Scotch and other firs, and the localities they frequent 
 being for the most part strictly preserved, few oppor- 
 tunities are obtainable for a careful search. The real 
 time of their breeding, however, is by no means gene- 
 rally understood, since their occasional appearance here 
 during the summer months, as in May, 1856, when 
 three pairs were shot near Yarmouth; in 1862, when 
 several were procured in the same month ; and in 1855, 
 when a single pair were shot at Blickling on the 17th of 
 July, is usually looked upon as an indication that in such 
 instances the birds had remained for nesting purposes; 
 whilst the observations of most modern naturalists prove 
 that the crossbill nests rather in winter than summer, and 
 amidst the snows of more northern regions in January, 
 February, and March. So that our occasional visitants 
 in May, June, and July are not improbably stragglers on 
 their way southward, consisting of old birds with their 
 attendant broods. Mr. Wheelwright, so well-known to 
 the readers of the "Field" as the "Old Bushman," 
 and whose admirable notes, founded on personal ex- 
 plorations, have done much to advance the science 
 of ornithology, thus speaks of the crossbill in Sweden 
 (Gould's Birds of Great Britain) " The pairing season 
 begins about the middle of January, when both sexes 
 utter a very pretty song. * * * They commence 
 nesting often in the end of January, always by the 
 
COMMON CROSSBILL. 237 
 
 middle of February ; we have generally taken the first 
 eggs in March, and in the end of April we have shot 
 young flyers. They then appeared to leave us for the 
 summer, and we rarely saw them again till autumn. 
 That their periods of breeding are regulated by the 
 weather I do not believe, for a bird that can sit when 
 the snow lies deep on the forest, and the fir-trees are 
 covered (which is the usual case), would care little 
 whether the cold was a few degrees more intense than 
 usual." The same writer has also published in his 
 " Spring and Summer in Lapland," a very full and 
 apparently most satisfactory account of the various 
 changes of plumage in this species. Macgillivray, in 
 the appendix to his " British Birds" (vol. iii., p. 704), 
 gives a description of the habits of these birds as 
 observed by Mr. J. M. Brown, in Scotland, in which the 
 following passage occurs as to their early nesting : " I 
 was attracted one day in the end of February, during a 
 heavy snow-storm, by the peculiar chirping of nestlings 
 in the act of feeding ; and on ascending the tree found 
 five or six crossbills almost fully feathered and quite 
 vigorous, notwithstanding the severity of the weather, 
 snugly huddled together in a nest composed of small 
 twigs externally, and lined with matted wool. In mild 
 seasons I suppose they breed even in this country in the 
 month of January." Two other instances are also given 
 by the same author, in which nests were discovered in 
 March and the beginning of April. St. John, Yarrell, and 
 Hewitson in like manner refer to the same peculiarity, the 
 latter remarking that, (e their early period of breeding may 
 account for what puzzled us at the time our seeing the 
 crossbills whilst in Norway, during the months of May 
 and June, always in flocks, most likely accompanied by 
 their young ones." I have more particularly drawn 
 attention to this subject, and given the above extracts in 
 the hope that individuals who take an interest in such 
 
BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 matters and may have the opportunity of searching our 
 fir-plantations, may do so at the season most likely to 
 afford a favourable result, and thus with care and 
 patience I have little doubt that, at least, the occasional 
 nesting of the crossbill in Norfolk, will become an 
 ascertained fact. Sir Thos. Browne, from the following 
 note, evidently regarded this species, in his time, as 
 rather a summer than a winter visitant to Norfolk: 
 f( Loxias or curvirostra, a, bird a little bigger than a 
 thrush, of fine colours and pretty note, differently from 
 other birds, the upper and lower bill crossing each other ; 
 of a very tame nature, comes about the beginning of 
 summer. I have known them kept in cages ; but not to 
 outlive the winter." According to Messrs. Sheppard and 
 Whitear, nests have been found in Suffolk in two 
 authentic instances, in one case completed by the 26th of 
 March, and a notice of the appearance of the crossbill 
 in the same county during the winter of 1821-2, in 
 considerable numbers, was communicated by the late 
 Mr. J. D. Hoy, of Stoke Nayland, to "London's 
 Magazine of Natural History" (January, 1834), and 
 will be found repeated also in Macgillivray's "British 
 Birds," vol. i., p. 426. Amongst other observations on 
 their singular habits, Mr. Hoy alludes particularly to 
 their tameness, both in a wild state and in confinement, 
 and speaks of catching numbers of them with a horse- 
 hair noose fixed to the end of a fishing rod, which he 
 slipped over their heads whilst busily feeding, and others 
 were secured with a limed twig. The cones of the larch 
 were cut off with the beak, and held firmly in both 
 claws, but to the Scotch fir and other larger cones they 
 would cling with their feet, whilst they extracted the 
 seeds with their bills in the most dexterous manner. 
 In 1853, when as before stated, crossbills were unusually 
 plentiful, as many as five pairs were shot at one time, 
 in a plantation at Bowthorpe, near Norwich, a very 
 
COMMON CROSSBILL. PARROT-CROSSBILL. 239 
 
 favourite locality. In this instance, they exhibited a 
 remarkable indifference to the sound of a gun, merely 
 flying off to the next tree after each report, and 
 apparently unmindful of the loss of their comrades 
 till the whole flock was destroyed. They are ex- 
 tremely amusing in confinement, from their quaint 
 parrot-like actions, and are very tame and sociable. I 
 once saw an unfortunate specimen, which had literally 
 been starved to death through a malformation of the 
 beak, the upper mandible, instead of merely crossing 
 the lower, growing straight downwards to more than 
 half its natural length. 
 
 LOXIA PITYOPSITTACUS, Bechstein. 
 PAEEOT-CEOSSBILL. 
 
 This rare species, by no means easily distinguished 
 from large varieties of the common crossbill, has not 
 hitherto been included amongst the birds of Norfolk, 
 but since the publication of Messrs. Gurney and Fisher's 
 " List," in 1846, one authentic example, at least, has 
 occurred in this county, and entitles it to a place in the 
 present work. This specimen, identified by Mr. Alfred 
 Newton, was described by him in the "Zoologist" for 
 1851 (p. 3145), as killed near Biddlesworth Hall, where 
 it is still preserved in Mr. ThornhnTs collection; and 
 the same gentleman also mentions a " fine red male," 
 in his own possession, which was shot at Saxham, in 
 Suffolk, in November, 1850, and was purchased by him in 
 the following March from Mr. Head, a bird-preserver, at 
 Bury St. Edmund's. From that time I know of no 
 farther record of the appearance of this bird in either of 
 the above counties until the following note was inserted 
 in the "Zoologist" for 1863 (p. 8845), by Mr. Thomas 
 
240 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 Huckett: "Seven specimens of the Parrot Cross- 
 bill, five of them males and two females, were received 
 by Mr. J. A. Clarke for preservation, having been killed 
 near Brandon, in Suffolk, on the 24th of October, 1863." 
 On communicating with Mr. Clarke, a bird preserver, 
 at Homerton, near London, he most obligingly fur- 
 nished me with the following particulars : (( They 
 were killed (he writes) on the Norfolk side of Brandon, 
 on some trees near the railway station, but are not in 
 very good plumage, as they were shot when moulting. 
 My friend has three in a case, two males and one 
 female ; the other four he gave to me, and I preserved 
 two of them, the other two were so battered about that 
 I did not stuff them, but being rare birds I skinned 
 them, as I wanted some feathers from them to mend 
 one of the others." I am indebted to Mr. Clarke for 
 the two latter now before me ; but from the size and 
 form of their beaks, as compared with Mr. Newton's 
 (Saxham) bird, and a foreign specimen in the Norwich 
 museum (No. 126), there is no doubt that these are 
 merely fine examples of the common crossbill, wanting 
 the abrupt curvature and depth of the upper mandible, 
 peculiar to the larger species, also particularly wide 
 across the back of the head, indicative of increased 
 power in its stoutly built and compressed form of beak. 
 If, therefore, these two skins are identical, as they most 
 probably are, with the stuffed specimens, Mr. Huckett 
 has somewhat too hastily announced the appearance of 
 parrot-crossbills so plentifully in Norfolk. On the 2nd 
 of March, 1864, two more crossbills, both red males, 
 were also shot near Brandon, which, from their size, 
 were at first supposed to belong to the larger species, 
 and as such they are described by Mr. Gould, in his 
 "Birds of Great Britain;" but it is only right to add, 
 that he had not himself seen the specimens, but relied 
 upon the information sent him. One of these is now in 
 
PARROT-CROSSBILL. 241 
 
 the collection of Mr. Newcome, of Feltwell, who kindly 
 presented me with the other, and having recently sub- 
 mitted my own bird to the inspection of Mr. Alfred 
 Newton, and one or two other well-known authorities in 
 such matters, I feel perfectly satisfied with their de- 
 cision, that it can be considered only as one of the large 
 and very puzzling forms of the common crossbill. Mr. 
 Newton, in communicating the verdict as above, adds, 
 "Your specimen appears to me to belong to Brehm's 
 f( Crucirostra montana," which is the most parrot-like of 
 the sub-species, into which he divides Loxia curvirostra 
 of Linnaeus. Its beak is almost exactly represented in the 
 plate, illustrating his paper, in " Naumannia" (1853, 
 fig. 9), and it is described by him at length in the same 
 volume, pp. 188-190. Brehm makes six sub-species of 
 parrot-crossbill, and five of common crossbill, besides 
 distinguishing a lesser crossbill and a red-winged one, 
 the latter of which he divides into two sub-species." 
 This is indeed carrying to the very verge of absurdity 
 the too great tendency of certain modern naturalists, 
 to invent specific differences. Mr. Wheelwright thus 
 writes of the nidification of this rare species as observed 
 by himself in Sweden : " The parrot-crossbill gene- 
 rally goes to nest a little later than the common 
 one. By the middle or end of April the young birds 
 are strong flyers, and we never find a nest with eggs 
 after that month. The nests of both species are very 
 much alike, but that of the parrot-crossbill is thicker 
 and larger than the other. It is built outwardly of 
 dried sticks, and with moss of two kinds, and lined with 
 shreds of the inner bark of the fir-tree, with here and 
 there a feather or two. The eggs of the parrot-crossbill 
 are often scarcely larger than those of the common 
 species, but they are usually shorter, and their markings 
 are of a bolder character. Their full number appears 
 to be three, for we very rarely find four in a nest." 
 2i 
 
242 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 LOXIA BIFASCIATA, 
 
 EUROPEAN WHITE-WINGED CEOSSBILL. 
 
 Until within the last few years, it would seem that 
 under the name of the " White-winged Crossbill/' two 
 distinct species had been hitherto confounded, and to 
 M. de Selys-Longchamps, the Belgian naturalist, belongs 
 the credit of pointing out and establishing the real 
 points of difference between the two forms one, strictly 
 American, the other confined to the northern parts of 
 Europe. Under the original name of the white-winged 
 crossbill, the occurrence of various specimens in different 
 parts of England have from time to time been recorded ; 
 but the difficulty now presents itself of determining 
 which were American and which European, or whether 
 indeed individuals of both species have really occurred 
 in this country. Yarrell, in the third and last edition 
 of his "British Birds," has devoted much space and 
 labour to the identification of these two birds, and 
 whilst admitting the difficulty above expressed, states 
 that five white- winged crossbills submitted to him for in- 
 spection, all killed in England, undoubtedly belonged to 
 the European species, and that of these one was killed 
 at Thetford.* I am aware of but one bird of this 
 kind having been killed in Norfolk, and as that was 
 obtained in the neighbourhood of Thetford, I think 
 there can be little doubt that the one mentioned by 
 Yarrell, and that described below, are identical, and 
 that therefore the European species, the Loxia bifasciata 
 of Nilsson, may be fairly placed amongst the " Birds of 
 
 * This bird, formerly in Mr. Doubleday's collection, was pre- 
 sented by him to Mr. Dix, of West Harling, who still preserves 
 the specimen. 
 
 
EUROPEAN WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 243 
 
 Norfolk." With reference to this Thetford specimen, 
 the following communication was made by Mr. C. B. 
 Hunter to the " Zoologist" (p. 1498) : " Four or five of 
 these birds were observed on some fir-trees near Thet- 
 ford, in Norfolk, on the 10th of May last (1846), one of 
 which was shot, and came into the possession of Mr. 
 Robert Reynolds, bird-fancier, of Thetford. About a 
 week before this, Mr. Reynolds purchased a specimen 
 of a bird-stuffer at Bury St. Edmund's, which had but 
 just been set up, and was obtained in that neighbour- 
 hood." This latter example from Bury is now in the 
 possession of Mr. J. H. Gurney, and belongs most un- 
 doubtedly to the European species. Another white- 
 winged crossbill is also recorded by Yarrell, on the 
 authority of the late Mr. Hoy, but of which species is 
 not stated, to have been shot in Suffolk some years 
 since, from a flock of five or six, by Mr. Seaman, of 
 Ipswich. The Norwich museum does not at present 
 possess an example of the European species, but the 
 following are the most marked distinctions, as shown 
 by M. de Selys-Longchamps, between it and the 
 American bird, the Loxia leucoptera of Gmelin. L. 
 bifasciata, larger in size generally, the beak almost as 
 large as that of the common crossbill and less com- 
 pressed, and the points less crossed over and less 
 elongated than in L. leucoptera. The plumage of a 
 duller red, and the tail feathers less forked and more 
 obviously bordered with yellow. To which may also be 
 added that the claw of the hind toe is shorter and not 
 so stout. One authentic instance of the American 
 species having occurred in England is mentioned by 
 Yarrell; a specimen picked up dead on the shore at 
 Exmouth on the 17th of September, 1845, from which 
 the figure in the 3rd edition of his " British Birds" was 
 taken. 
 
 2x2 
 
244 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 AGELAIUS PECENICEUS (Linnaeus). 
 KED-WINGED STAKLING. 
 
 There is no record of the occurrence of this American 
 Starling, in a wild state, in England, until the 2nd of 
 June, 1843, when a specimen now in the possession of 
 Mr. J. H. Gurney, and purchased by him in the flesh, 
 was shot near Barton broad.* The figure in Yarrell's 
 " British Birds" was taken from this bird, which is thus 
 described by Mr. Gurney in the ee Zoologist" (p. 317), " a 
 male, in the plumage of the second year, and appa- 
 rently approaching the period of another moult. It was 
 in good condition ; its stomach filled with the remains 
 of coleopterous insects, and its plumage free from any 
 marks of having been kept in confinement." It was 
 also said to have been in company with another bird of 
 the same kind, and the locality in which it was found 
 is exactly in accordance with the habits of this species, 
 which, as remarked by Wilson, is called in America the 
 marsh blackbird or swamp bird. A second example is 
 recorded by Yarrell to have been killed "amongst the 
 reeds at Shepherd's Bush, a swampy situation, about 
 three miles west of London," in the autumn of 1844 ; 
 and very recently a notice appeared in the " Zoologist" 
 (p. 8951) of another having been shot on the 25th of 
 December, 1863, at Sidlesham, Sussex. This bird was 
 purchased in the flesh by Mr. W. Jeifery, jun., of 
 Batham, Chichester, who described it as in good con- 
 dition, and showing no signs of having been in con- 
 finement. It had some round black seeds in the 
 gizzard, and was killed out of a hedgerow. 
 
 * Not at Bollesby, as erroneously stated by Yarrell in quoting 
 a communication from the Eev. E. Lubbock. 
 
AMERICAN MEADOW-STABLING. 245 
 
 . 
 
 STURNELLA LUDOVICIANA (Linneeus). 
 AMERICAN MEADOW-STARLING. 
 
 The first example of this handsome species known 
 to have been killed in the British isles (or, I believe, in 
 Europe), was obtained in Suffolk in the spring of 1860, 
 as recorded in the " Ibis" for the following year (vol. iii., 
 p. 177) by Mr. Sclater, the indefatigable secretary of 
 the Zoological Society. In the interesting paper in 
 which the above fact is communicated, the same gentle- 
 man also refers to the appearance, on several occasions 
 in 1854, at South Walsham, in this county, of a similar 
 bird, and from the authority on which this further 
 evidence is given, I feel justified in placing it also in the 
 Norfolk " List." The following are the particulars given 
 by Mr. Sclater of the occurrence of this rarity in both this 
 and the adjoining county : " A short time ago the Rev. 
 Henry Temple Frere, of Burston rectory, near Diss, in 
 Norfolk, forwarded for my inspection a specimen of the 
 Meadow- Starling of North America (Sturnella ludovi- 
 ciana), stated to have been killed in this country in the 
 course of last year. Its plumage was in fine condition, 
 and did not show the slightest traces of the bird having 
 been in captivity. Indeed, though living examples of 
 this species have been occasionally brought to this 
 country, the meadow-starling is certainly not an ordi- 
 nary cage bird. I may mention that the aviaries of 
 the Zoological Society of London do not at present 
 contain a specimen of it. Being convinced, therefore, 
 that if the bird had really been killed in England it 
 might be regarded as a fresh addition to the already 
 numerous list of "accidental visitors" to these shores 
 from the New World, I requested Mr. Frere kindly to 
 
246 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 ascertain all the particulars lie could respecting the 
 time and place of its occurrence. In reply, Mr. Frere 
 informed me that the specimen in question was killed in 
 March, I860, by Eobert Baker, servant to the Kev. T. 
 L. French. It was shot close to the railroad in a rough 
 meadow at Thrandeston, in Suffolk. At this time it 
 was picking about among the knots of earth, and would 
 not allow Baker to approach within thirty yards. Mr. 
 Frere also told me that he had good grounds for sup- 
 posing that this was not the only instance in which this 
 species had been observed in England, his brother-in- 
 law, Captain Jary, having on several occasions watched, 
 for some time, a bird of similar appearance at Walsham, 
 in Norfolk, in October, 1854. Captain Jary, who 
 though not a scientific ornithologist, has a very good 
 knowledge of English birds, in answer to inquiries on 
 this subject, writes as follows : c Having referred to 
 Sturnella ludoviciana in Audubon's plates, I am quite 
 sure it is the bird that I saw at Walsham, in the month 
 of October, 1854. I have it in my diary. I thought 
 when I first saw it that it might be a golden oriole. 
 The first time I observed it was in front of the house, 
 near a plantation. I had no gun with me or could have 
 shot it. I watched it for some time on the soft ground, 
 but heard no note. I saw it again next day in a 
 field among some larks ; it flew away with a quick and 
 hurried flight. Two days afterwards I saw it a third 
 time, but I could not get a shot at it, as it flew away 
 when I was about seventy yards off.' After a subse- 
 quent examination of Mr. Frere's specimen, Capt. Jary 
 repeated his conviction of the bird observed by him 
 having been of the same species." 
 
 In some further remarks on the genus Sturnella and 
 its geographical distribution, Mr. Sclater describes the 
 American meadow-starling as u a well known bird in 
 the United States of America and Canada, where it 
 
AMERICAN MEADOW-STARLING. 247 
 
 commonly goes by the name of the meadow-lark, from 
 the strong resemblance of its habits and flight to the 
 members of the genus Alauda. It has, however, in 
 reality nothing to do with the lark family, being strictly 
 a member of the American Icteridce or hang-nests. 
 This group takes the place of the starlings in the New 
 World, and is closely allied to them in structure ; but 
 besides other differences its members have only nine 
 primaries in the wing, whereas in the starlings 
 (Stumidoe) of the Old World the tenth outer primary 
 is always present."* A foreign specimen of this very 
 striking looking bird will be found (No. 129*) amongst 
 the " British Birds" in the Norwich museum. 
 
 STURNUS VULGAEIS, Linnaeus. 
 COMMON STABLING. 
 
 The pert, lively, noisy starling, is one of my special 
 favourites ; everywhere frequenting our homes like the 
 sparrow, yet never absent from our walks, whether, 
 singly, hurrying to its nest in spring, or wheeling 
 in dark masses at the close of the breeding season. I 
 love to listen to its strange whistle, one of the earliest 
 indications of returning spring, when, on the first bright 
 sunny days in February, perched on the parapet or 
 
 * Mr. Sclater also gives the following references to the works 
 of American Ornithologists, in which accurate descriptions are 
 given of the appearance and habits of this well-known trans- 
 atlantic species : Wilson's " American Ornithology," vol. iii., p. 20, 
 pi. 19, fig. 2 (where the bird is called Alauda magna) ; Jardine's 
 Ed. of Wilson (1832), vol. i., p. 311 ; Audubon's " Ornithological 
 Biography," ii., p. 216, and v. p. 41-2 (Sturnus ludovicianus) ; 
 Audubon's " Synopsis of the Birds of North America," p. 148 ; 
 " Birds of America," pi. 136 ; Baird's " Birds of North America," 
 p. 535. 
 
248 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 chimney of the house, it utters a confused song, now 
 low, now shrill, and like the baffling sounds of the 
 ventriloquist apparently coming from any point but the 
 right one. How statelily the old pair that nest in the 
 gable end of the house, pace up and down the fresh 
 mown grass-plot with no little runs, or hasty actions, 
 like the thrush and blackbird, but each foot firmly 
 placed ; and as with rapid movements of the head and 
 beak, they pick the insect atoms from the turf, the 
 sun glistens on their shiny plumes, whose rich metallic 
 tints show mingled shades of green and purple. In the 
 choice of localities for nesting purposes no little nook 
 about our homes escapes them. An open space beneath 
 the tiles or slates, the cap of the water pipe, if the 
 wood work is broken, some chance aperture in the eaves 
 or gable, are all made available for their young broods, 
 and none but the pert sparrow, who sometimes pays 
 dear for his impudence, attempts to disturb them. 
 Apart from our dwellings, the ivied wall, the hollow 
 tree, the church tower with its many openings, or 
 venerable ruins, rich in the accommodation afforded by 
 the crumbling stonework, have all attractions for these 
 social birds, and though our sandy cliffs are unsuited to 
 their purpose, they nest in large numbers in that re- 
 markable chalk formation, which crops out by itself on 
 the Hunstanton beach. Here they may be seen, in 
 summer, constantly passing in and out of the various 
 fissures, where, far out of reach even of the most 
 venturous climber, they rear their young in the dark 
 recesses, and the whole cliff resounds with the cries of 
 the nestlings, awaiting the return of their respective 
 parents. In the more yielding surface of the brown 
 Carstone which adjoins the chalk, they either perforate 
 their own nest-holes, or enlarge for their use the pre- 
 vious borings of the little sand-martins; whilst here 
 and there, projecting straws and feathers show where 
 
COMMON STARLING. 249 
 
 the lazy sparrow has taken possession, though the 
 starling is anything but exempt from the charge of 
 intruding in like manner upon the homes of others. 
 Being an early breeder, the young of the year in 
 their sombre brown may be seen in small flocks by 
 the middle of May, and later still, in June and July, 
 young and old together combine to form those enormous 
 masses which have at all times excited the atten- 
 tion of naturalists as they gather to their roosts in 
 the evening. By day one sees them scattered about in 
 smaller parties, in meadows and pastures, or in the rich 
 grazing marshes near the rivers and broads, and it is in 
 the neighbourhood of these last named waters, that in 
 Norfolk the chief bulk of these birds may be seen 
 during summer and autumn. Sometimes when enjoy- 
 ing the delights of a cruise, one comes upon a flock of 
 many hundreds together, rising with one accord in 
 indescribable numbers, now lengthened out into an 
 immense grey line, now massed together in a dense 
 black cloud, as they turn and twist with a marvellous pre- 
 cision of movement. Sir Thomas Browne, far too good 
 an observer to pass unnoticed so interesting a sight, thus 
 writes of their collecting amongst the reeds at night 
 "I went to the marshes about sunset, where, standing 
 by their usual place of resort, I observed very many 
 flocks flying from all quarters, which, in less than an 
 hour's space, came all in and settled in innumerable 
 numbers in a small compass." Any traveller from Nor- 
 wich on the Yarmouth line, when looking towards the 
 river near the Brundall station, may see them between 
 seven and eight o'clock during the summer evenings, 
 making for the reed-beds on Surlingham broad ; and here 
 in some places, as I have had frequent opportunities of 
 witnessing, so great are the numbers thai nightly 
 assemble, that the reeds are literally trampled down 
 with their weight. To those at all interested in the 
 2s 
 
250 BIEDS OF NOEFOLK. 
 
 habits of birds, I know few sights more likely to excite 
 wonder and admiration than the regular arrival of the 
 starlings from all quarters to any particular broad. As 
 long as ever daylight remains, the different flights may 
 be seen arriving and blending with the earlier masses ; 
 now skimming over the reed-stems in their rapid 
 movements, now lost amongst the deepening shades 
 upon the marshes, and again appearing for a moment in 
 the last gleam of daylight on the water, and thus they 
 continue their varied evolutions with no little noise and 
 bustle, till all are at length settled in their accustomed 
 resting places. To have any conception, however, of 
 the numbers thus collected together in no very large 
 amount of space, it is necessary to row quietly about 
 the broad some few hours later, when no sound but the 
 deep notes of the coots and water-hens, or the cry of the 
 dabchick, is heard in the stillness of the night. Pre- 
 sently, in passing the side of a reed-bed, a confused 
 rustling noise bespeaks the roost of the starlings. The 
 least splash of the oars, or the sound of the voice, sends 
 confusion amongst their ranks, whilst a shout or the 
 knocking of an oar on the boat-side causes an uproar so 
 loud and simultaneous, that I can liken it to nothing 
 but waves in a storm breaking heavily on a pebbly 
 beach. With the earliest appearance of daybreak, 
 these birds may be seen again departing, at first singly 
 or in detached parties, followed later by the main 
 bodies, and dispersing in all directions for their morn- 
 ing's meal. As soon, however, as sharp weather sets 
 in, and the reeds are no longer available for their roost, 
 the starlings leave the broads and seek more sheltered 
 quarters in the big woods, or ivied walls and shrubs 
 of our houses and gardens. That these immense flocks 
 are not altogether composed of our resident birds, is 
 evident from their being more frequently picked up at 
 the foot of our lighthouses than almost any other of 
 
COMMON STARLING. 251 
 
 those common species which receive migratory additions 
 in autumn ; indeed, the late Bishop Stanley, in his 
 " Familiar History of Birds," states that in 1836 the 
 astonishing number of seventeen dozen starlings were 
 picked up near the lighthouse at Flamboro' head, 
 "killed, maimed, or stupefied," by flying against the 
 glass. A most extraordinary instance, however, of the ap- 
 pearance of these birds, in enormous masses, was kindly 
 communicated to me in the following graphic terms, by 
 Mr. J. G. Davey, of the Manor House, Horningtoft, about 
 five miles from Fakenham. Under date of September 
 4th, 1864, he writes, " One night last week I watched 
 a single flock, which appeared to extend over about five 
 acres as they were wheeling around, when another mass 
 came from the south-west ; I can form no estimate of the 
 number; the former flock I considered large till these 
 came, they also circled round and the smaller lot joined 
 this immense flock, and it seemed as if it was putting 
 twenty people into a London crowd, it appeared no 
 larger than before. They settled down in the wood in 
 two parties, and occupied about thirty acres. Having 
 been told that they killed the bushes and underwood, I 
 went the next evening to shoot at them and frighten 
 them away. There were not half so many as the pre- 
 vious evening. I got quite up to them and threw a 
 stone into the bushes, when they rose about fifteen 
 yards off, and I shot into them both barrels. They flew 
 round and alighted again; this I did shooting seven 
 times, and killing so many, that as I found I could not 
 drive them away I was disgusted at such wholesale 
 slaughter, and came away intending to be there earlier 
 and keep shooting to prevent their settling another 
 night ; but though a great many came, there were not 
 near so many as before. From whence so many come I 
 cannot conceive; in the day they go off in small 
 parties to feed, and at an hour before sundown begin to 
 2x2 
 
252 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 return. I cannot think they were all English hatched 
 birds. Starlings build in churches and buildings. 
 Portion them off, therefore, so many to a church ; if you 
 like let a few go to chapel. But that is a question for 
 the mathematically minded naturalist or ornithologist to 
 determine." It would be impossible to account for such 
 an influx as this, otherwise than as caused by arrivals 
 from a distance, and this view is quite borne out by the 
 observations of naturalists in other parts of the king- 
 dom.* The late Mr. Thompson, of Belfast, gives much 
 valuable information on this point in his " Birds of 
 Ireland," remarking from his own observations, "In 
 that portion of the north of the island with which I am 
 myself best acquainted, there is nothing irregular in the 
 migration of starlings ; they do not await any severity 
 of weather ; and although they may occasionally change 
 their quarters when within the island, yet of all our 
 birds they present the clearest evidence of migration, as 
 they are annually observed for several weeks to pour 
 into Ireland from the north, and wing their way south- 
 ward." As residents, also, the starlings are spoken of by 
 the same author, as by no means " generally spread 
 over Ireland as they are over England in the breeding 
 season ; but are confined to comparatively few favourite 
 localities, which are chiefly in pasture districts." Very 
 recently a notice appeared in the " Zoologist" (p. 921 1) 
 of "an extraordinary arrival of starlings in Ireland" 
 during the month of June, 1864 ; more particularly re- 
 markable for their appearance, in large flocks, at so early a 
 season. In this instance they were seen to arrive " across 
 the sea as if from the Welch coast, due east, and pass 
 over the island in a westerly direction." Being an ex- 
 tremely sociable species, starlings may be seen con- 
 
 * In Professor Ansted's interesting work on the " Channel 
 Islands," the starling is described as a winter visitant only." 
 
ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR. 253 
 
 sorting together in small parties during every month 
 of the year, and whilst some are feeding their first 
 brood^ others in parties of eight or ten may be seen still 
 roving about, free from and apparently indifferent to 
 parental duties. The same thing is however observable 
 in many other gregarious species. Flocks of sparrows 
 still frequent our farm premises, whilst others are busy 
 nesting, and even in the middle of May I have found 
 skylarks congregated together, and paired couples, at the 
 same time, tending their recently hatched young ones. 
 From these, and other observations on the habits of sea- 
 birds as well, to which I shall hereafter refer in treating 
 of the gull tribe, I have come to the conclusion, that 
 amongst birds as in the human race, there are some 
 individuals for whom an independent existence has 
 greater charms than a wedded life, and whether the 
 summer flocks I have just alluded to, are composed 
 indiscriminately of spinsters and bachelors, or consist, 
 with more propriety, of but one sex, there is little doubt 
 that a portion at least of the feathered tribe are exempt 
 from the obligation to " increase and multiply." Pure 
 white and other varieties are occasionally met with. 
 
 PASTOR ROSEUS (Linnaeus). 
 HOSE-COLOURED PASTOR. 
 
 This beautiful species, as will be seen by the follow- 
 ing list of specimens, has occurred in many instances 
 in this county, but although appearing with a strange 
 regularity between 1853 and 1856, 1 know of no examples, 
 either seen or procured during the last nine years. It is 
 noticeable, also, from the subjoined records, that these 
 birds usually visit us in autumn, appearing singly and in 
 various stages of plumage ; but occasionally a straggler 
 
254 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 is met with, during the summer months, at which, time 
 they are more frequently observed in the southern 
 counties. 
 
 1853, August 23. A nearly adult male, nearWymond- 
 ham, now in the collection of Mr. Newcome, of Felt- 
 well. This is no doubt the same bird, recorded by Mr. 
 Gurney in the " Zoologist" (p. 4053), as killed " near 
 Norwich," about the same date. 
 
 1855, August 14. An adult male was killed at Heving- 
 ham, and came into the possession of Mr. Alfred 
 Master, of Norwich, whose brother, Mr. Geo. Master, 
 of Duke-street, Grosvenor-square, London, has another 
 Norfolk specimen, which, strangely enough, some three 
 or four years before, was shot in the same locality, and, 
 I believe, from the same tree, during the cherry season, 
 the man who killed it being engaged on his cherry- 
 tree* at the time. On the 23rd of the same month, a 
 male was also killed at Sherringham, which is, I believe, 
 in Mr. Upcher's possession. 
 
 1856, September. A female, near Yarmouth ; and on 
 October 7th, an adult male at Hunstanton. 
 
 The admirable figure in Yarrell's " British Birds" was 
 taken from one shot at Brooke, near Norwich, in July, 
 1838, which was sent to London for that purpose 
 by the Eev. J. Holmes, of Brooke Hall, on whose estate 
 it was killed. Of earlier specimens, Messrs. Paget 
 mention two killed at Yarmouth in August, 1815, and 
 April, 1820 ; and Messrs. Shepherd and Whitear one near 
 Yarmouth in the summer of 1818. Several specimens 
 
 * These birds appear to be particularly partial to this kind of 
 fruit, since Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear, in recording the 
 occurrence of four specimens in Suffolk, remark, " One was shot 
 upon a cherry-tree at Chelmondiston, and being only winged, was 
 fed with raw meat, and kept alive three months ; another was also 
 feeding upon cherries at the time it was killed at Polstead, in the 
 summer of 1818." 
 
ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR. 255 
 
 obtained also in the adjoining county are recorded by 
 both the above authors; and the occurrence of a fine 
 adult male at Lound, near Lowestoft, in June 1851, is 
 noticed by Mr. J. H. Gurney in the " Zoologist" 
 (p. 3233). 
 
 With this family must also be mentioned the INDIAN 
 MINO bird or MINOR GRAKLE (Gracula religiosa), an 
 example of which, said to have been shot at Hickling 
 in 1848, was subsequently presented to the Nor- 
 wich museum by Mr. W. E. Cater * From the fact 
 of this species being frequently brought over to this 
 country as an amusing cage bird, our English orni- 
 thologists have been loath to include it in the " British 
 series" without further evidence of voluntary migration, 
 and its appearance near the coast in the present instance 
 may be easily accounted for on the supposition that it 
 had escaped from some passing vessel. The above, how- 
 ever, being probably the only specimen observed in a 
 wild state in England, and being included by Mr. G. E. 
 Gray in his (f Catalogue of British Birds," (though classed 
 amongst the doubtful species,) the particulars of its 
 capture in this county should, I think, find a place 
 in the present work. Mr. Cater thus writes to the 
 "Zoologist" (p. 2391) respecting it in 1849: "In the 
 latter end of March, 1848, I was informed by a game- 
 keeper and others, that two very curious birds had been 
 seen by them, at Waxham, near Yarmouth, resembling 
 the blackbird, but with a white bar on the wing. I con- 
 cluded a mistake had been made, and that the birds 
 were ring-ouzels ; but a week after the above mentioned 
 time unfolded the mystery, for a bird, to a distant 
 observer, answering the same description, was shot at 
 
 * The specimen above referred to will be found in the ' British 
 Bird' room, but in a separate case, near the entrance from the 
 Fossil room. 
 
256 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Hickling, two miles from Waxham. I have examined 
 it, and find it to be a beautiful male specimen of the 
 minor grakle (Gfracula religiosa, Lewin), the only one, 
 I believe, ever killed in England. * * * From 
 the appearance of its plumage when shot, from the 
 look of its feet, claws, and beak, it seems never to 
 have been a caged bird." In a subsequent note in the 
 same journal (p. 2496), Mr. Cater adds a few other, 
 but immaterial, remarks, on the appearance of this 
 grakle, in answer to doubts expressed by one or two 
 correspondents as to its being a genuine wild specimen. 
 
 CORVUS CORAX, Linnaeus. 
 
 RAYEN. 
 
 It is strange to observe the changes effected by local 
 causes in the habits of certain species, some as suddenly 
 and rapidly increasing in numbers, as others, yielding to 
 an inevitable fate, become scarce by degrees and finally 
 extinct. The Raven in its past and present history 
 exhibits a remarkable illustration of this law of nature. 
 Sir Thos. Browne, about two hundred years ago, describes 
 this species as "in great plenty near Norwich, and on 
 this account it is there are so few kites seen hereabouts." 
 From that time till the commencement of the present 
 century, probably but little alteration in its numbers 
 occurred, as, in 1829, Mr. Hunt remarks, in his Norfolk 
 " List," " This bird is found in woods, &c., in every 
 part of the county." Our next records, however, tell a 
 far different story Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, in 1846, 
 speaking of it " as still breeding in Norfolk, but in small 
 and decreasing numbers ;" and Mr. Lubbock, in the pre- 
 vious year, remarks, "It is seldom found breeding 
 here ; when it does so, its nest is sure to be plundered. 
 
RAVEN. 257 
 
 In winter, especially if severe, their numbers increase." 
 Already the fiat of extermination had gone forth against 
 all "feathered vermin/' and the modern system of 
 wholesale game-preserving signed the death warrant 
 of many of our indigenous species. At the present 
 time, so great a change has been effected by the above 
 and other causes, in the local history of this fine bird, 
 that after many enquiries I have been unable to ascer- 
 tain the existence of more than a pair or two of ravens 
 in any part of the county as actual residents in a wild 
 state. On the llth of February, 1847, a single bird was 
 killed on the Narford road, near Swaffham, as I learn 
 from the Rev. E. W. Dowell ; and in March of the same 
 year, Mr. Spalding,* of Westleton, took three eggs 
 from a nest in a wood at Stockton; but the most re- 
 cent instance, to my knowledge, of their breeding in 
 Norfolk, is thus described by Mr. F. S. Dugmore in the 
 "Field," of April 30th, 1859: " A raven's nest was 
 taken in one of the Beachamwell plantations on the 
 14th of April ; it contained five young ones about two- 
 thirds fledged. I myself saw one of the old birds soar- 
 ing in circles high over the fir-trees in which the nest 
 was found, and have one of the brood still in my pos- 
 session." The following interesting account of a pair 
 which annually breed near Elveden, in Suffolk, but on 
 the borders of the two counties, is thus given by Mr. 
 Hewitson (Eggs Brit. Birds, 3rd ed.), from the pen of 
 
 * The same practical ornithologist also informs me that a pair 
 of Eavens, which bred for many years in Highgrove, near Gel- 
 destone, Suffolk, raised their nest annually with fresh materials, 
 till at length this structure, which was placed in the fork of a tree, 
 became so high that in standing on the supporting branch he could 
 barely see into it. The hobbies always used it after the young 
 ravens had flown ; and in one year a pair of kestrels laid, but 
 were probably driven away, as he found their eggs amongst the 
 loose lining, w^ien he subsequently took those of the hobbies for 
 his collection. 
 2L 
 
258 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Mr. Alfred Newton: "When undisturbed, they have 
 usually re-furnished their last year's nest, always lining 
 it neatly with rabbits' down. It is built on one of some 
 lofty Scotch fir- trees standing far out on a heath. The 
 number of eggs laid is generally five, but I have known 
 them to be content with four ; while, on the other hand, 
 six were once deposited. While the hen is sitting, the 
 actions of the male bird are well worth watching : he 
 dashes indiscriminately at any bird that approaches, be 
 it stock-dove or peregrine falcon, and when the intruder 
 has been utterly routed, he shoots back to the nest, 
 celebrating his victory by a sonorous croak, turning, as 
 he utters it, completely over on his back, an action 
 which does not, however, in the least degree impede his 
 onward career. He then resumes his look-out station on 
 one of the highest boughs; perhaps leaving it again 
 at the expiration of a few minutes to repel another 
 invasion." It is probable that migratory stragglers still 
 visit us occasionally in winter, more particularly in 
 sharp weather, as Mr. Dix assures me that, a year or two 
 back, he saw seven in a body passing high overhead at 
 West Harling, and was attracted by their harsh notes 
 and quarrelling amongst themselves ; but for the last 
 eight or ten years, at least, I have seen but one specimen 
 in our bird-stuffers' hands, undoubtedly obtained in a 
 wild state. 
 
 CORVUS COEONE, Linneeus. 
 CAEEION-CEOW. 
 
 It is scarcely to be wondered at that in one of the 
 largest game preserving counties in England, the 
 Carrion-crow should have become yearly more and more 
 scarce, in fact its existence amongst us at all, at the 
 
CARRION-CROW. 259 
 
 present time, is probably owing to the difficulty of dis- 
 tinguishing it, at any distance, from its more reputable 
 kinsman the rook. In spite, however, of constant 
 persecutions, a few pairs are still met with in different 
 portions of the county, for the most part frequenting the 
 big woods ; and in winter they are known to roost with the 
 rooks and jackdaws, as they are thus occasionally shot 
 by the gamekeepers, who fire up into the f e lump" with 
 the hope of shooting a crow or two amongst their ill-fated 
 companions. Mr. Lambert, gamekeeper to Lord Wode- 
 house, at Kimberley, tells me that he has not un- 
 frequently killed them in this manner. For the last 
 two or three years a pair have attempted to nest in 
 Keswick rookery, near Norwich, and on one occasion, I 
 believe, brought off their young, but it is strange to 
 observe how the rooks forsake the trees near the haunts 
 of these birds, which renders them anything but desirable 
 intruders, to say nothing of their egg-stealing habits 
 and carnivorous tastes. Having observed, at different 
 times, during severe weather, several carrion crows 
 upon the Breydon " flats," I cannot help thinking that 
 migratory specimens visit us at such seasons ; and game- 
 keepers, also, in the neighbourhood of the broads, have 
 told me that they see most of them in the early spring, 
 when apparently inclined to remain and breed, but even 
 in these districts, where, formerly, they were very plen- 
 tiful, a carrion crow in summer would be pointed out 
 as a rarity by any resident marshman. Towards the 
 western end of the county, Mr. Newton informs me they 
 are regular spring or summer visitants; and they still 
 breed yearly in the Bedford Level district. Messrs. Shep- 
 pard and Whitear give the following interesting note on 
 this species, from their own observations : (( We have 
 often been much amused with the sagacious instinct of 
 this bird, and of others of the same genus, in getting at 
 their prey. In the winter season they frequent the sea 
 
260 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 shore during the ebb tide, in search of muscles and 
 other shell fish. As soon as the bird has found one, it 
 flies up almost perpendicularly into the air, with the fish 
 in its beak, and lets it fall on the stones in order to 
 break its shell. The bird quickly follows the falling 
 booty, and devours it." The same habit has also been 
 observed in the Danish or Eoyston crows. An immature 
 pied variety was killed near Kimberley towards the 
 end of July, 1861. 
 
 CORVUS CORNIX, Linnaeus. 
 HOODED CEOW. 
 
 The Eoyston or Grey-backed Crow, as this species is 
 also called, visits us in autumn in large numbers, 
 arriving about the first week in October, though occa- 
 sionally earlier, and leaves again by the end of March 
 or beginning of April. They frequent for the most part 
 the broads and marshes near the rivers, particularly 
 the mouths of tidal streams, and are extremely numer- 
 ous on the sea coast, where they also gradually collect 
 together towards the time of their departure in 
 spring. It is fortunate for Norfolk that this destructive 
 species leaves us so regularly in the breeding season, as 
 no greater enemy to the gamekeeper probably exists, 
 neither eggs nor young birds, nor indeed, in some cases, 
 old ones either, being safe from its prying eyes and 
 carnivorous propensities.* There are, however, one or 
 
 * Mr. St. John thus sums up the iniquities of this species as 
 observed by himself in Scotland: "It kills newly-born lambs, 
 picking out the eyes and tongue while the poor creature is still 
 alive. It preys on young grouse, partridges, hares, &c., and is 
 very destructive to eggs of all sorts. In certain feeding spots in 
 the woods I have seen the remains of eggs of the most extra- 
 
HOODED CKOW. 261 
 
 two instances on record of its having remained to nest 
 in this neighbourhood, but not of late years. Mr. 
 Hunt, of Norwich, in a note to his " British Orni- 
 thology/' says, " We are informed that a pair of these 
 birds built a nest and reared their young during the 
 season of 1816, in the neighbourhood of King's Lynn;" 
 and Mr. W. E. Fisher has noticed, in the " Zoologist" 
 (p. 315), having observed three of these crows in some 
 marshes near Yarmouth, in July, 1843, one of which 
 from its small size and apparently imperfect plumage, 
 he believed to have been a young bird, and, if so, in all 
 probability bred in that district. I learn also from the 
 Rev. E. W. Dowell, of Dunton, a most accurate observer, 
 that he saw three grey crows at Blakeney, with some 
 rooks on the 18th of May, 1857, and, in 1853, several 
 of these birds kept about Blakeney throughout the 
 summer. He also witnessed on one occasion, in the 
 autumn of 1847, when shooting on the Blakeney sand- 
 meals, (f as many as two or three hundred hooded crows, 
 all flying from east to west, in small parties of from two 
 to ten, flying high till out of sight." In the spring of 
 1853, being at Cromer for some weeks, I was greatly 
 amused, watching the habits of these birds by the sea- 
 side, and with the help of a glass could observe their 
 actions very accurately from day to day. I was parti- 
 cularly struck with the instinct they displayed with 
 
 ordinary variety and number. No sooner does a wild duck, 
 pheasant, or any bird leave its nest, than the hooded crow is on 
 the look-out, and I have no doubt that a single pair often destroys 
 many hundred eggs in the course of a season. All birds seem 
 aware of this, and peewits, gulls, redshanks, &c., attack most 
 furiously any crow which they see hunting near their nests. The 
 " hoody" is also very fond of young wild ducks, and destroys 
 great numbers. In the mountains it is bold enough to make prize 
 of the eggs of the eagle, peregrine falcon, or osprey, if the parent 
 birds happen to be driven off their nests. [" Nat. Hist, and Sport 
 in Moray," p. 59.] 
 
262 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 regard to the tide, arriving as regularly every morning or 
 afternoon on the beach, when the waves began to recede, 
 as if the time of high and low water was as well known 
 to them as to the oldest fisherman on the coast. On 
 these occasions, they collected in groups of two or three, 
 by the water's edge, busily picking the large red sand- 
 worms from the wet sands, and pulling at them with all 
 the vigour of a thrush extracting its prey from a grass- 
 plot. Now and then a worm resisted stoutly for some 
 moments, when suddenly giving in, the crow would all 
 but topple over on his back from his own unexpected 
 success ; to see him then gather himself up, shake his 
 feathers, and walk off with a firm indignant step was 
 particularly ludicrous. These birds have usually a 
 stately manner of walking, but the effect is considerably 
 impaired by a little hop or jump, close feet, which they 
 frequently indulge in, particularly when overtaken by a 
 wave in their search for food. If a fresh clump of sea- 
 weed is thrown up by the sea, a number of them at 
 once collect round it, pecking at it and turning ifc over 
 and over to collect any small mollusks, or other marine 
 substances that adhere to the fibres ; they also carefully 
 examine the rocks for shell fish, and are particularly 
 partial to small crabs or "kitty- witches," as they are com- 
 monly termed in Norfolk. On one occasion I observed 
 a single individual on the beach, whose curious antics 
 attracted my attention. At first he merely paced up and 
 down, though evidently very uneasy and without attempt- 
 ing to feed, when suddenly he began puffing out his feathers 
 and bowing in the most absurd manner with his mouth 
 wide open. It struck me that he must have swallowed 
 too large a worm and was trying to disgorge it, but on 
 opening the window where I was sitting, I soon found 
 my mistake, as with every elevation of his tail in the 
 air I could hear his loud hoarse notes, given at their 
 highest pitch, apparently calling on his friends to come 
 
HOODED CEOW. 263 
 
 and join him. This amusement he continued for a con 
 siderable time,, but as none of his kindred seemed to 
 answer his call he at last gave it up, and flew slowly 
 towards the fields, probably with the same philosophic 
 conclusion that led Mahomet to visit the mountain. 
 As the usual time for departure approached their 
 numbers on the beach gradually diminished, but 
 although I watched them very closely, I was not 
 fortunate enough to witness any decided migratory 
 movement,* and from observing them latterly more 
 inland than by the sea, I imagine they may have pro- 
 ceeded in small bodies to some other part of the coast 
 preparatory to leaving. On the Hunstanton beach, I 
 have counted over a score under the sandhills, at one 
 time, towards the end of March. Mr. J. H. Gurney 
 informs me that when residing at Easton, some years 
 back, a few of these crows, with an amount of instinct 
 approaching very nearly to reason, invariably remained 
 until the geese and some other fowls on his fancy water 
 had laid their eggs, unwilling to lose the chance of 
 such a feast, and having once gratified their oological 
 tastes, soon quitted the scene of their pilferings. 
 The following are a few characteristic anecdotes of 
 the carnivorous tastes of this species. Mr. Robert 
 Birkbeck, in the " Zoologist" (p. 4124) writes, "as 
 a friend of mine was walking on the sands, near 
 Cromer, on the 24th ult. (October), he observed a 
 solitary hooded crow flying over from the sea, evidently 
 fatigued with a long passage. He fired at it, and 
 saw it immediately drop a small bird from its beak, 
 which proved to be a chaffinch, with the skull 
 
 * From Mr. Dowell's MS. notes, amongst other interesting par- 
 ticulars of this species, I find that on the 28th of March, 1848, he 
 " witnessed the return of many of these birds to their breeding 
 places, a long string of scattered birds flying high, with much 
 noise, towards the N.E., wind blowing from S. and S.S.W." 
 
264 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 fractured. Would not this seem to show that the crow 
 had fallen in with a flock of chaffinches on the passage, 
 and had secured one of his fellow travellers for a meal 
 on his arrival?" In the same journal, Mr. J. H. 
 Gurney has recorded a similar instance in 1857, where a 
 hooded crow was observed at Pakefield, near Lowestoft, 
 during severe weather, " flying in chase of a small bird, 
 which, after repeatedly darting at it, the crow succeeded 
 in capturing with its bill, whilst both birds were on the 
 wing. The crow subsequently alighted to devour its 
 prey, but on the approach of the observer, again picked 
 it up in his bill and flew away with it." Mr. Dowell 
 on one occasion, in 1847, when driving between Holt 
 and Blakeney, saw two hooded crows chasing a lark 
 across a stubble, one taking up the chase when the 
 other was tired, and thus pursuing their prey till out 
 of sight. My friend, Mr. Frederick Mills, also informs 
 me that whilst snipe-shooting on Surlingham broad 
 in the winter of 1862, he came suddenly upon a 
 hooded crow devouring a little grebe (P. minor J, 
 by the side of the water. On shooting the crow and 
 examining its victim, it was evident that the latter 
 had been only just killed, and had probably been 
 pounced upon at the edge of the reed-bed. Sir Thos. 
 Browne alludes *to this species as the " Corvus variegatus 
 or pied crow, with dun and black interchangeable. 
 They come in the winter and depart in the summer; 
 and seem to be the same which Clucius describeth in the 
 Faro islands, from whence perhaps these come." 
 
 COEVUS FRUGILEGUS, Limits. 
 BOOK. 
 
 There are strange anomalies in the habits of certain 
 species, which are hard to be accounted for even by 
 
BOOK. 265 
 
 the most observing naturalists, and this is particularly 
 the case with the common Book, whose extreme shy- 
 ness,, so noticeable at all other times, seems almost 
 entirely laid aside during the breeding season. Sus- 
 picious beyond most birds when feeding alone, and 
 warned by sentinels when congregating in flocks, 
 no sooner does the time of reproduction arrive than, 
 with a nature apparently wholly changed, this species 
 seeks, voluntarily, the haunts of man, and, for a time 
 at least, appears indifferent to his presence, or the 
 sights and sounds of the busy homestead. There are 
 one or two other points also in connection with the 
 habits of this bird, for which it is equally difficult to 
 find a satisfactory (e why or wherefore." Do rooks know 
 Sundays from week-days? and if not actually capable 
 of smelling gunpowder, do they, or do they not, know 
 a gun from a walking stick ? Often have I been led to 
 ask myself these two questions, and though scarcely 
 prepared to allow them an instinct equalled only by 
 man's reasoning powers, yet the very actions of these 
 birds, in both the instances I have cited, leads irre- 
 sistibly to the conclusion that by some means or other 
 they can and do discriminate in either case. 
 
 There are probably few counties in England where 
 rookeries are more generally distributed than in Nor- 
 folk, this finely timbered district affording every 
 attraction from the nobleman's mansion, with its park 
 and pleasure grounds, to the snug manor-house with 
 its lofty elms or dark avenue of limes.* In the 
 
 * Sir Thos. Browne has the following strange note on these birds, 
 showing their equal abundance in his time, and the fact of the young 
 being esteemed in those days for medicinal as well as edible proper- 
 ties. " Spermelegous rooks, which, by reason of the great quantity 
 of corn-fields and rook-groves, are in great plenty. The young 
 ones are commonly eaten ; sometimes sold in Norwich market ; and 
 many are killed for their livers, in order to the cure of rickets." 
 
266 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 vicinity of Norwich these colonies are scattered in 
 all directions, and rookeries, more or less extensive, 
 have been formed for years at Cossey, Earlham, 
 Keswick, Bowthorpe, Shottesham, Caister, Crown- 
 Point, Bixley, Spixworth, &c., all within a few miles 
 of the city, whilst smaller communities within the 
 walls attest the social habits of these birds, and their 
 indifference even to the busy traffic of onr streets. Though 
 born and brought up as a citizen myself, the "mellow 
 cawing" of the rooks in spring has been a sound as 
 familiar to my ears from childhood as to any denizen 
 of the country, my father's residence, in Surrey-street, 
 being immediately opposite the trees in Sir Samuel 
 Bignold's garden and coach-yard, where, for many years, 
 a small party of rooks have regularly reared their young. 
 In the season of 1865, I counted upwards of twenty 
 nests, all visible from the street, besides others at the 
 back of Stanley-house, immediately adjoining. Whether 
 off-shoots or not from this long- established colony, I have 
 discovered stray nests, during the last few years, in 
 several other parts of the city. For some time two or 
 three pairs have built regularly on the elms at the back of 
 St. Faith's-lane, and others have located themselves on 
 some trees near Pottergate-street. A single nest was also 
 tenanted for at least two seasons on one of the lofty elms 
 in Chapel Field ; and the clamorous cries of the young 
 brood drew my attention to another solitary nest, on 
 a tree at the back of Mr. Firth's residence, abutting 
 on Bethel-street. The late Bishop Stanley, in his 
 " Familiar History of Birds," mentions a small rookery 
 as having existed formerly in the Palace garden, and 
 thus describes its sudden and unaccountable abandon- 
 ment " For several years the birds had confined their 
 nests to a few trees immediately in front of the house, 
 when one season, without any assignable cause, they 
 took up a new position on some trees also in the garden, 
 
BOOK. 267 
 
 but about two hundred yards distant, where they re- 
 mained till the spring of 1847, when, before their nests 
 were completed or young hatched, they disappeared 
 altogether, and the heretofore frequented trees are only 
 now and then resorted to by a few stray casual visitors."* 
 Of the rookeries above named in the vicinity of Nor- 
 wich, those at Cossey and Spixworth are the most ex- 
 tensive at the present time ; but my friend Mr. Edwards 
 informs me, that some twenty or thirty years ago, that 
 at Keswick was probably the largest in Norfolk, and in 
 autumn and winter formed the chief roosting place of 
 the rooks in this district, whose immense flocks, of an 
 evening, quite blackened the adjacent meadows whilst 
 feeding up to the last moment before settling for the 
 night. The Cossey woods are now, I believe, their chief 
 rendezvous, and a most extraordinary and interesting 
 sight is the assembly of these dark masses, with their 
 circlings, pitchings, and noisy manceuvrings, until each 
 individual is fairly accommodated, and their babel of 
 voices hushed for the night. It is very difficult to 
 account for the changeable habits of these birds, sud- 
 denly and apparently from no particular motive leaving 
 their accustomed trees for others close by on the same 
 domain, or gradually decreasing in numbers, as noticed 
 at Keswick. There, although still nesting in con- 
 siderable quantities, large portions of the rookery, once 
 most densely populated, are entirely deserted, more 
 particularly on the side nearest the railroad ; the noise 
 of which and the glare of the lamps at night, may 
 possibly, in some degree, account for their leaving, 
 although, at Brandon, the railroad passes through the 
 
 * There are no rooks building in the Palace gardens at the 
 present time, and, as far as I can learn, they have ceased to do so 
 for the last sixteen years. Jackdaws are plentiful enough in the 
 old ruins. 
 2n2 
 
268 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 midst of a rookery, as may be seen by any traveller 
 on the line, without materially decreasing the number 
 of nests on either side. It is not improbable, I think, 
 that birds possessed of such known sagacity may 
 be also forewarned of the instability of old timbers, 
 as rats are said to leave a falling house; and the 
 thinning out of some of their favourite trees by any 
 heavy gale, may determine them to seek fresh quarters, 
 or to leave those trees most affected by the wind. But 
 though often shifting their quarters of their own accord, 
 it is by no means easy to drive them from some long 
 accustomed haunt. The common practice of shooting 
 the young birds with rifles and air-canes, when pursued 
 in moderation, has by no means a tendency to diminish 
 a rookery, whose surplus population if spared by man, 
 would only be driven to a distance to found new settle- 
 ments. The noisy use of shot guns is, of course, 
 objectionable as well as unsportsmanlike, but I believe 
 the only effectual plan of exterminating these birds, if 
 desired and I can scarcely imagine any one so devoid 
 of all appreciation of rural sights and sounds as to 
 attempt such vandalism is the constant disturbance of 
 the old ones whilst sitting, by which means the eggs 
 are destroyed from frequent exposure to the cold. The 
 difficulty also of inducing them to build in some fresh 
 locality is well known, tha placing of old nests in 
 the desired trees, or where possible, the substitution of 
 rooks' eggs, for those of carrion-crows or magpies 
 having often failed after repeated trials. Mr. Newcome 
 has, however, succeeded in establishing a very respect- 
 able rookery in the trees round Hockwold Hall, which 
 he effected by first of all substituting rooks' eggs for 
 those of the jackdaws in the nests of the latter. Though 
 for the most part selecting the tallest trees, and placing 
 their nests near the upper branches, they will build also 
 on low Scotch firs, in the most exposed situations. A 
 
ROOK. 269 
 
 still more novel site has also been chosen by a few 
 pairs at Spixworth Park, where, for the last two or 
 three seasons, they have built in the tops of some fine 
 laurestinus bushes, about twelve or fourteen feet from, 
 the ground, and others in a dwarf ilex, close to a 
 flight of stone steps, connecting one part of the garden 
 with the other, yet so low down that the feeding of the 
 young was plainly visible from the windows of the hall. 
 Whether or not any portion of our Norfolk rooks 
 leave us in autumn for more southern districts I am, 
 at present, unable to say positively. Mr. Gould alludes 
 (Birds of Great Britain) to the enormous flocks of these 
 birds which in winter frequent the large woods in 
 Cornwall ; Tregothnan, the seat of Viscount Falmouth, 
 being their most favourite resort. Here their numbers 
 during the winter months so far exceed any probable 
 quantity reared in that district, that he likens their 
 nightly swarms at roosting time to the masses of 
 starlings on our Norfolk broads. Lieutenant Sperling 
 also, in his " Ornithology of the Mediterranean," (Ibis, 
 vol. vi., p. 275), speaking of their abundance in Greece 
 during the winter, says, " all that I shot were young of 
 the year, which leads me to believe that it is only 
 the young rooks that move to the southward during 
 winter. Some of them cross the Mediterranean, as my 
 friend, Mr. C. A. Wright, records it as a bird of passage 
 through Malta." It would be exceedingly interesting, 
 therefore, to ascertain whether our own rooks per- 
 ceptibly decrease during severe winters, for I believe 
 there is no part of British ornithology which would so 
 well repay the persevering and careful study of the 
 naturalist as the partial migrations of our resident 
 species, properly so called, inasmuch as some individuals 
 are always stationary, though a large proportion of 
 them may frequently shift their ground under the 
 influence of inclement weather. 
 
270 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 The question as to the predominance of good or 
 bad qualities in the rook is one which has attracted 
 the attention of most naturalists, and certainly the 
 verdict of more recent observers is decidedly in favour 
 of the utility of the species. If one examines the 
 evidence, for and against, of such trust-worthy author- 
 ities as Macgillivray, Yarrell, St. John, Stanley, Knapp, 
 and others, the conclusion undoubtedly arrived at is, 
 that a maximum of good is effected for a minimum 
 of mischief, and no stronger evidence can be offered as 
 to the benefits conferred by the rook upon agriculturists 
 than the necessity which has arisen in some places for 
 re-establishing their colonies where the ignorant pre- 
 judices of their persecutors had rendered them extinct. 
 Though easy enough to destroy the birds, man finds 
 himself powerless to arrest the inroads of those insect 
 swarms, which his feathered allies have had no credit 
 for suppressing. Amongst the chief delinquencies laid 
 to their charge are the pilferings of the fresh-sown 
 grain and the soft ears of the ripening corn ; attacking 
 the freshly planted potatoes, sucking the eggs of game 
 and poultry, and robbing the herons' nests if near the 
 rookery ; occasionally also destroying young birds, and a 
 general partiality for dessert, including cherries, straw- 
 berries, apples, walnuts, &c., &c.. This looks perhaps, 
 at first sight, rather a black list, but there is much to be 
 said in palliation, and still more as a set-off against 
 many peccadilloes ; whilst nothing can justify the cruel 
 system, of late years adopted, of using poisoned wheat in 
 the breeding season, whereby the old birds in dozens 
 have returned home to die, and their young thus de- 
 prived of parental care, have suffered the horrors of 
 starvation. With regard to their attacks upon the 
 growing corn, the farmer, who knows the temptation 
 afforded by his waving crops, must take the ordinary 
 precautions to drive off the depredators, and if thus a 
 
BOOK. 271 
 
 tithe still falls to their share, have they not fairly earned 
 it ?* I have rarely myself seen them committing havoc 
 amongst the stacks, except during severe frosts in the 
 depth of winter, when the iron-bound soil has stayed 
 their useful labours, and deprived them of their accus- 
 tomed food. "We often (says Bishop Stanley) hear 
 persons congratulating themselves on a deep snow, a 
 hard frost, or dry weather, as the surest means of 
 destroying insects, whereas it is just the reverse. A 
 hard frost, or a deep snow, or a dry summer, are the very 
 best protection they can have, and for this reason : the 
 rooks and other birds cannot reach that innumerable 
 host which pass the greatest part of their existence 
 underground. In vain the hungry rook, in a hard frost, 
 looks over a fine fallow, or a field of new-sown wheat. 
 He may be seen sitting on a bare bough like Tantalus, 
 in the midst of plenty beyond his reach, with his 
 feathers ruffled up, casting every now and then an 
 anxious glance over the frozen surface, beyond the 
 power even of his strong beak to penetrate." As an egg 
 stealer undoubtedly he shows himself a true member of 
 the corvine race ; but again, as some palliation, let me 
 add that I have invariably noticed, when most abused 
 for such pilferings, the spring has been an unusually 
 dry one, and the poor birds have been hard put to it to 
 supply food for themselves and their clamorous young. 
 This was particularly the case in 1864,f when a long 
 drought set in just at the time when the nestlings were 
 
 * Mr. Jesse, an accurate observer and true friend of the rook, 
 remarks (Nat. Hist. Gleanings, vol. ii.) " In order to be convinced 
 that these birds are beneficial to the farmer, let him observe the 
 same field in which his ploughman and his sower are at work. 
 He will see the former followed by a train of rooks, while the 
 sower will be unattended and his grain remain untouched." 
 
 f See also some most interesting remarks on the same point, 
 by Knapp, in his "Journal of a Naturalist," p. 177. 
 
272 BIEDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 being hatched. At Keswick, the old birds were observed 
 returning to their nests, long after their usual time in 
 the evening, and most probably, like the herons, they en- 
 deavoured to supply the wants of their young during the 
 night as well. Many were the complaints that reached 
 me of their depredations upon the nests of pheasants 
 and partridges, and dire the threats of the keepers, in 
 one case resulting even in an order for the destruction 
 of a rookery ; yet where game preserving is carried to so 
 great an extent, and dozens of nests are scattered about 
 in accessible situations, surely the rook errs in ignorance 
 of the heinousness of his crime, whilst, may be, a jury of 
 tenant farmers would scarcely find him guilty. With 
 regard to those essentially useful qualities, however, 
 which must be duly considered in discussing this subject, 
 I will content myself with quoting an admirable passage 
 from St. John's " Sport in Moray" (p. 62) : " For many 
 months of the year, the rooks live wholly on grubs, 
 caterpillars, &c., in this way doing an amount of service 
 to the farmer which is quite incalculable, destroying his 
 greatest and most insidious enemy. In districts where 
 rooks have been completely expelled this has been seen 
 by whole crops of wheat and clover being destroyed at 
 the root by the wireworm and other enemies, which can 
 only be effectually attacked by birds. When we consider 
 the short time during which rooks feed on grain, and 
 the far longer season during which they live wholly on 
 grubs and such like food, it will be believed by all 
 impartial lookers on that the rook may be set down 
 rather as the farmers' friend than his enemy. On 
 close observation, when the rook appears to be following 
 the harrows for the purpose of feeding on the newly- 
 sown wheat, it will be found that it is picking up a great 
 quantity of large white grubs, leaving the grain un- 
 touched." To this testimony of a thoroughly practical 
 out-door naturalist, I may add that in the autumn of 
 
BOOK. 273 
 
 1864, when such portions of the turnip crop in this 
 county as survived the long continued drought, seemed 
 as likely to be wholly destroyed by the thick white 
 grubs,' 3 *' which in autumn burrow down to the very base 
 of the roots, I observed unusually large numbers of 
 rooks settling in the turnip fields, busily turning up 
 with their strong bills these destructive creatures, which 
 formed at that time the chief topic of conversation and 
 complaint amongst our farmers. 
 
 Much has been written, also, of late in the " Zoolo- 
 gist," and other journals, on the supposed carnivorous 
 tastes of the rook. It is perfectly certain that they 
 will at times devour the young nestlings of other 
 birds, more particularly of the missel-thrush ; and 
 I know an instance of a rook being shot with a young 
 song-thrush in its bill, but these, it must be remembered, 
 are exceptional cases, and individual peculiarities by no 
 means establish the rook as a carnivorous species. When 
 occasionally seen on dead carcases, I believe that the 
 maggots engendered by putrefaction are the objects of 
 their search, without any relish for carrion. In common 
 also with their near relatives, the black and the hooded 
 crows, rooks are particularly partial to a fish diet, fre- 
 quenting the shores of brackish waters, mussel-scawps 
 on the beach or adjacent salt marshes. Large numbers 
 in autumn and winter, and, indeed, a few at all seasons, 
 may be seen at low water, examining the wet sands and 
 rocks for any fishy substances left by the waves ; and 
 the late Eev. G. Glover, of Southrepps, in a com- 
 munication to Mr. Hunt (British Ornithology), thus 
 refers to the extreme regularity with which these 
 visits are made to the sea- shore as observed by 
 
 * See an admirable paper on " The Turnip Grub," by Edward 
 Newman, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., in the "Field," of December 24th, 
 1864, p. 442. This grub is the offspring of a moth, Agrotis segetum. 
 
 2N 
 
274 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 himself during several years : " A very numerous colony 
 of rooks, inhabiting the woods at Gunton, which is 
 about four miles distant from the sea, I have carefully 
 marked for twelve years, uniformly returning home a 
 few minutes before sun -set, from the same point of 
 destination namely, the coast, and making the church 
 of Southrepps the land mark by which they steered. 
 What has surprised me is, that this course has been 
 continued through the very height of the breeding 
 season, as well as at other times, though in diminished 
 numbers ; and that the only interruption to it has been 
 during the severe days of winter, when they were driven 
 by that necessity which acknowledges neither rule nor 
 law, to seek their subsistence in farm yards, or to 
 plunder the corn stacks in the fields." 
 
 The singular scurfy looking white skin, which in 
 old rooks surrounds the base of the bill, and is com- 
 monly looked upon as the chief specific difference 
 between the rook and the crow, has long formed a 
 subject of discussion amongst naturalists, some contend- 
 ing that it is the result of abrasion, from boring in the 
 ground after worms and grubs, others that it is simply 
 a natural effect, or, in other words, a specific peculiarity 
 for which even the most learned ornithologist may find 
 no better reason than that it pleased God to make it 
 so. I have long held the latter opinion, and have of 
 late been more than ever confirmed in that impression 
 from the number of instances I have known of rooks, 
 from eight to twelve months old, at least, in full 
 plumage and perfect health, retaining in a wild state 
 the nasal bristles, observable in young birds, without 
 the slightest abrasion of the feathers, either above or 
 below the beak. The great scarcity of carrion-crows in 
 these parts, has led to my observing more particularly 
 these black-faced rooks, which, in my search for a 
 specimen of the rarer bird, have more than once 
 
BOOK. 275 
 
 deceived me till examined more closely. From these 
 exceptional cases, it is quite evident that the naked skin 
 around the bill can by no means be relied upon as a 
 certain distinction between the rook and the crow, 
 and at the same time, as these birds have been pro- 
 curing their food in the open country during many 
 months, after the manner of their kindred, without 
 producing the slightest abrasion, there is but little 
 reason for attributing that peculiarity to the friction of 
 the soil. During the past winter (1864-5) I have met 
 with three examples of these black-faced rooks. One 
 killed on the 15th of December ; a pied variety (having 
 a white patch under the chin, and several primaries 
 in each wing pure white) on the 24th of January, 
 and another in the normal colouring of the species 
 on the 23rd of February. This bird, which I still pre- 
 serve, has evidently completed its autumn moult, and, 
 excepting the bristles and the absence of any white skin, 
 is in full adult plumage, distinguishable from the carrion- 
 crow by the silky feathers on the nape of the neck, and 
 the generally glossy appearance of its feathers, though 
 the stoutness of the beak and the dark colour of the 
 head render it, at first sight, very liable to be mis- 
 taken for its more sombre relative. In the Rev. Mr. 
 DowelPs note-book, I also find two records of similar 
 examples, one killed on the 21st of January, the other on 
 the 7th of March, and being desirous of ascertaining if 
 rooks, in this state of plumage, paired with others of the 
 ordinary type, I solicited several individuals to watch 
 for their appearance in different rookeries. Subsequently 
 I learnt from Mr. Samuel Blyth that, out of six rooks 
 killed by himself in the act of collecting sticks for 
 nesting purposes (all of which proved to be males), one 
 exhibited a pure black face, with stout bristles, like 
 young birds in their first summer. Singular deformities 
 in the beaks of this species are occasionally noticed, of 
 2N2 
 
276 BIEDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 which a singular example is figured in the " Field" 
 of May 20th, 1865 (p. 360), from a bird killed at 
 Buckenham, near Norwich, in the previous April. In 
 this specimen,* the lower mandible projects considerably 
 beyond the upper, which is of about the usual size, and 
 the bare skin above and below the beak occupies the 
 usual space. The editor of the Natural History 
 department of the " Field," commenting on this fact, 
 remarks, "It seems scarcely credible that the bird 
 in question could have been in the habit of plunging 
 this deformed beak so far into the ground as to have 
 worn off the feathers of the head, as is alleged by some 
 naturalists, nor do we think that even the most strenu- 
 ous supporters of this view could imagine that the bare 
 space behind the eyes could have been caused in this 
 manner." Though perfectly in accordance with my own 
 impressions, yet on the other hand, as has been shrewdly 
 remarked by Yarrell, in describing a similar abnormity 
 of beak, combined with a white face, e ' it is possible that 
 this nakedness might have been produced before the 
 alteration in the form of the beak had taken place, and 
 the bulbs from which the feathers arise having been once 
 injured might afterwards remain unproductive." A very 
 fair argument, indeed, for those who still hold to the 
 abrasion theory ; but in maintaining, myself, the specific 
 nature of this peculiarity, I would rely mainly on the 
 fact of certain year-old rooks occurring with perfect 
 beaks, and, in a wild state, still retaining the feathers 
 surrounding their bills, thus making "the exception 
 prove the rule." In the Norwich museum (No. 136.d) 
 there is also a specimen, which has not only a formidable 
 
 * I have also a rook, killed in this county, having both the upper 
 and lower mandibles elongated, and crossing each other in ex- 
 tended curves, so as apparently to exclude the possibility of the 
 bird procuring food for itself, but this bird also has the white skin 
 around the beak, as in most old birds. 
 
ROOK. JACKDAW. 277 
 
 projection of the upper mandible, but a perfectly black 
 face and bristly forehead. The museum collection also 
 contains several interesting varieties of this bird which 
 occur at times. No. 136. a is the more usual pied 
 variety. No. 136.b, a singularly brown specimen, and 
 No. 136. c is, or rather has been, pure white. A young 
 bird, also killed in this county, in 1851, had the 
 throat and beak white, the feathers of the wings patched 
 with white, and the claws and first joint of each toe a 
 delicate flesh colour. The following anecdote as to a 
 strange transition in plumage in this species is given by 
 the late Mr. Hunt : "A gentleman of my acquaintance 
 had, in 1816, a young rook of a light ash colour, most 
 beautifully mottled over with black, and the quill and 
 tail-feathers elegantly barred. This curiosity he was 
 naturally anxious to keep ; when, upon the bird moult- 
 ing, all its mottled plumage vanished entirely, and it 
 became a jet black rook." 
 
 CORVUS MONEDULA, Linnaeus. 
 JACKDAW. 
 
 The large number of churches in Norwich afford 
 ample accommodation in their various steeples for 
 these noisy denizens, whose nests are for the most 
 part inaccessible to the most daring climbers ; and 
 every weather-cock serves as a "place of call," every 
 crocket and finial as a temporary resting place. The 
 immense amount of material collected by these birds 
 at the commencement of the breeding season can 
 scarcely be credited by those who have not witnessed 
 the state of the belfry stairs in some of our churches, 
 littered from top to bottom with the debris of their 
 nests. In St. Peter's Mancroft especially, the ascent 
 
278 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 by a narrow winding staircase, at no time easy, to the 
 summit of the tower, is rendered anything but safe by 
 the number of sticks and other rubbish dropped by the 
 jackdaws through the different apertures. Besides the 
 towers of our churches in town or country, and other 
 venerable edifices, lay or ecclesiastical, these birds fre- 
 quent the holes of decayed trees for nesting purposes, 
 and at Hunstanton the crevices in the chalk-cliff facing 
 the sea. In autumn and winter they collect together in 
 flocks, and are seen feeding with the rooks in fields and 
 marshes, and like them are extremely partial to the 
 margins of brackish waters and other localities affording 
 a supply of shell-fish and such like marine sustenance. 
 With the rooks also they roost at night in the big 
 woods. On one occasion during severe weather, in 
 January, 1862, I observed an immense flock, late in the 
 afternoon, coming direct from the city, and making 
 apparently for Earlham or Cossey, as though all the 
 jackdaws in Norwich had simultaneously left their 
 steeples, after foraging for the day, and were together 
 hastening to some accustomed roosting place. 
 
 This species, like others of its class, is by no 
 means particular in its diet, and it occasionally 
 exhibits carnivorous tastes worthy of the grey-backed 
 crow. The following instances of the latter in this 
 district are recorded by Messrs. Grurney and Fisher in 
 the "Zoologist" for 1847: "One of these birds was 
 shot by a gamekeeper, from the nest of a missel-thrush, 
 whilst in the act of devouring one of the young birds. 
 Another was observed in pursuit of a young pheasant ; 
 the latter soon squatted, when the jackdaw hopped 
 upon, and immediately began to peck it, but was shot 
 before it had done any further mischief." Mr. Hunt 
 also brings a further charge against them in his 
 " British Ornithology" (vol. ii., p. 47), where he says 
 "They sometimes do much mischief in dove-houses, 
 
JACKDAW. 279 
 
 and we are informed by the Eev. Mr. Whitear that an 
 instance lately occurred at Bingstead, in which a 
 jackdaw killed, and partly devoured, an old pigeon, and 
 then deliberately laid its own egg close to the two on 
 which the pigeon was sitting." A very decided case, 
 I must say, of adding " insult to injury." As pets, 
 in confinement, they are extremely docile and affec- 
 tionate, and with their quaint actions and knowing 
 looks afford much amusement. The following curious 
 anecdote of one taken from a nest at Eackheath and 
 brought up at Catton Park, was related to me by Mr. 
 Gurney's gardener. This bird being perfectly tame was 
 allowed, with one or two others, to fly about in the 
 garden, and would come at a call to feed from the hand 
 or shoulder. Suddenly, from some freak or fright, they 
 all left, and were last seen flying in the direction of their 
 former home. Nearly twelve months afterwards, no 
 more having been seen of them in the meantime, a 
 single jackdaw was observed flying about the hall, and 
 apparently inclined to settle, by a carpenter's lad, who 
 had been in the habit of feeding the lost birds ; on his 
 whistling, in the usual manner, to this new arrival, the 
 jackdaw hovered round him and, at last, settled on his 
 shoulder, and, by his familiar habits and actions, showed 
 plainly that he was one of the missing pets. He allowed 
 himself to be caught, with perfect indifference, and is 
 now living very happily in a cage with a companion of 
 the same species. Sir Thomas Browne, referring to this 
 species, remarks, " among the many monedulas or jack- 
 daws, I could never in these parts observe the pyrrhocorax 
 or Cornish chough, with red legs and bill, to be com- 
 monly seen in Cornwall." A perfectly white specimen 
 was shot at Smallburgh, in 1854, and a pied example, 
 near Norwich, in June, 1861 ; but varieties in this species 
 are not very often met with. 
 
280 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 PICA CAUDATA, Fleming. 
 
 > *-v : ->!,-. v 
 
 MAGPIE. 
 
 The Magpie, although classed with the carrion-crow 
 in the same proscribed list, is still met with in some 
 parts of the county, where it breeds regularly, but 
 besides the fatality of a "bad name," the improved state 
 of agriculture, resulting in the thinning of hedgerows 
 and such dense tangled coverts as they love to frequent, 
 has rendered magpies, in Norfolk, extremely scarce, as 
 compared with many of the midland and southern 
 counties. At the present time their chief stronghold 
 would seem to be the thickly wooded districts in the 
 north-eastern part of the county. They are scarce in 
 West Norfolk, and around Norwich extremely so the 
 few met with from tune to time in this neighbour- 
 hood, being invariably obtained during severe weather, 
 either stragglers dispersed in search of food or, more 
 probably still, migratory specimens from the north. Mr. 
 Alfred Newton, in the " Zoologist" (p. 1694), mentions 
 the occurrence of many magpies and jays in the county 
 during the severe season of 1846-7, evidently strangers, 
 arriving with other winter migrants. An unusual 
 number were also observed in the early part of 1857. 
 
 GARRULUS GLANDARIUS (Linnaeus). 
 JAY. 
 
 Common throughout the year, breeding in Norfolk, 
 and, like the last species, would seem to receive, at 
 times at least, considerable accessions to its numbers in 
 autumn. Every sportsman knows the small flocks of 
 
JAY. NUTCRACKER. 281 
 
 these birds, which, occasionally, present themselves 
 during a day's covert shooting, and many a gamekeeper, 
 who prides himself on the extinction of <( vermin," is 
 suddenly disgusted, on his rounds, by finding more 
 noisy jays, during one day's round, than he has had a 
 chance of shooting in a twelvemonth. Yet these, most 
 probably, are but native bred birds, which, forming 
 themselves into companies, as is their custom late in 
 the season, rove from one plantation to another in 
 search of acorns and berries as food becomes scarce 
 during sharp weather. The far larger bodies, however, 
 occasionally observed, can scarcely be accounted for in 
 the same manner, of which a very memorable instance, 
 occurring near the coast in the adjoining county, is 
 thus given by Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear : " Some 
 years since as two gentlemen were sporting at Tunstal, 
 in Suffolk, distant about five miles from the sea, they 
 observed an extraordinary flight of jays, passing in a 
 single line from seaward towards the interior. This 
 line extended further than the eye could reach, and 
 must have consisted of some thousands. Several of 
 them were killed as they passed. But the firing at 
 them did not occasion the rest to deviate from their 
 line of flight." I have also observed these birds in some 
 years to be extremely plentiful in spring, and have 
 known many pairs killed as late as the beginning of 
 April, when they may be supposed to pass us again on 
 their return northwards. 
 
 NUCIFEACA CAEYOCATACTES (Linnams). 
 ISTUTCEACKEE. 
 
 Three specimens of this rare and most accidental 
 visitant to our shores have been killed in Norfolk up to 
 2o 
 
282 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 the present time, of which the first was obtained at 
 Bollesby, near Yarmouth, on the 30th of October, 
 1844. This bird, in the possession of Mr. J. H. Gurney, 
 was described in the " Zoologist" for 1845* (p. 824), by 
 Mr. W. R. Fisher, as having a long pointed beak, the 
 upper mandible slightly projecting, with the tip horn 
 coloured and the rest black. It had been seen about the 
 same spot for a week before it was shot, and the contents 
 of the stomach consisted entirely of Coleopterous insects. 
 During the same autumn, the appearance of these birds 
 in considerable numbers attracted the attention of con- 
 tinental naturalists, and, according to Yarrell, "they 
 were particularly noticed in Germany and Belgium, and 
 many appeared in the southern parts of Sweden." From 
 an examination of various specimens procured at that 
 time, a paper was read before the Royal Academy of 
 Sciences at Brussels,t by M. Edm. De Selys-Longchamps, 
 on a supposed specific difference between the nut- 
 crackers of Central Europe and those of Scandinavia, 
 the former having, it was affirmed, sharp pointed beaks, 
 the latter shorter and stouter bills, from which 
 peculiarity the specific term of brachyrhynchus had been 
 previously applied to them by M. Brehm, in contra- 
 distinction to the thin-billed examples (caryocatactes) . 
 The next occurrence of this bird in Norfolk is recorded 
 in the "Zoologist" for 1853 (p. 4097),t by Mr. James 
 Green, of City Road, London, who says, " I have a fine 
 
 * In this notice the year 1843 is mentioned, but this is 
 evidently a mistake, as in Messrs. Gurney and Fisher's " List" the 
 bird is said to have been killed in 1844, the same year in which 
 so many appeared in Belgium and other parts of the continent. 
 
 f Printed, with illustrations, in the Bulletin of the Academy, 
 torn, xi., No. 10. 
 
 J This is also recorded in the same journal by Mr. J. H. 
 Gurney (p. 4124). 
 
NUTCEACKEE. 283 
 
 specimen of the nutcracker, which was shot by a fisher- 
 man off Yarmouth on the 7th of this month (October, 
 1853) ; it is in a beautiful state of preservation ;" to 
 which the editor, Mr. Edward Newman, appended the 
 following note : " This bird was brought to me in the 
 flesh." I have been unable to ascertain if this specimen 
 had a pointed or blunt beak, as Mr. Newman cannot 
 remember at this distance of time, nor can I now 
 ascertain to whom the bird belongs. The third and last 
 Norfolk example was shot off a tree in a garden at 
 Gorleston, also near Yarmouth, on the 8th of October, 
 1864, and is now in the collection of the Eev. C. J. 
 Lucas, of Burgh. I had the opportunity of examining 
 this bird in the flesh, which has a narrow-pointed bill, 
 and proved on dissection to be a male. The stomach, 
 which was very muscular in texture, was filled with the 
 remains of a large dung beetle (Geotrupes stercorarius) . 
 The plumage may be thus described: Upper parts of 
 the head pure hair brown; all the under surface, with 
 the sides of the head and upper portions of the back, 
 mottled with white on a chocolate ground, the patches 
 of white occupying the centre of each feather; a few 
 small white spots on the tail-coverts ; lower part of the 
 back plain hair brown ; tail feathers, twelve in number, 
 the two centre ones black, all the rest with white tips, 
 deepest on the outside ones, and graduating to the 
 centre ; secondary wing-coverts slightly edged with 
 white, showing more on one side than the other. In 
 comparing this specimen with two thick-billed nut- 
 crackers in the museum collection, I found the white 
 margins of the tail feathers somewhat deeper in the 
 thin-billed bird, which is generally darker in its plumage 
 and less inclined to any reddish tinge. The length of 
 the quill feathers in the wings about the same in either 
 case. Tarsi, the same length in both the thick and thin- 
 billed birds, but the legs and feet of the former the 
 2o2 
 
284 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 stoutest. In measuring their respective beaks along 
 the upper mandible, the thin-bill was the longest by the 
 amount of its projection beyond the lower mandible, but 
 measuring round the base of each beak the thin-billed 
 example was about three-eighths of an inch less than 
 the others. In appearance the thick-billed bird has a 
 decidedly corvine character, whilst the thin-billed 
 more nearly resembles the sturnidce. Whether or 
 not this marked difference in the form of the beak 
 may be considered as establishing a specific differ- 
 ence, the fact of examples of both varieties having 
 occurred in this country renders it, as Mr. Fisher 
 remarks in the "Zoologist" (p. 1074),* a subject of 
 considerable interest to the British ornithologist. The 
 figure in Bewick is apparently taken from a thin- 
 billed bird, and that in Yarrell from a thick-billed 
 specimen formerly in his collection, whilst two at least 
 out of the three Norfolk examples have thin bills, as 
 had also a fourth killed at Wisbech, November 8th, 
 1859, as recorded in the "Zoologist" (p. 6809), by Mr. 
 F. W. Foster, of the Wisbech museum. The question 
 has been raised, however, whether this strange differ- 
 ence in the beaks of our European nutcrackers may not 
 be, as is the case with the Australian Neomorpha 
 gouldi) a sexual and not a specific peculiarity. That 
 singular and very interesting New Zealand species, as 
 figured by Mr. Gould in his " Birds of Australia," 
 exhibits even a greater variation in the size and shape 
 of the beak, in different examples, than is found even 
 in the nutcrackers; but the researches of modern 
 naturalists have established beyond a doubt that these 
 birds are but the sexes of one species. " The natives (says 
 
 * " On the two British species or varieties of the nutcracker," 
 by "W. R. Fisher, with a figure of the Rollesby bird and illustrations, 
 showing the difference in form of the thick and thin beaks, &c. 
 
NUTCRACKER. GREEN WOODPECKER. 285 
 
 Mr. Gould) regard the bird with the straight and stout 
 beak as the male, and the other as the female. In three 
 specimens I shot this was the case, and both birds are 
 always together." The same point, as regards the 
 nutcrackers, could be easily established by dissection, 
 and will not be, I hope, lost sight of by those who may 
 have the opportunity of examining fresh killed speci- 
 mens of either kind. The Gorleston bird with the 
 narrow pointed beak was certainly a male, and so also 
 was the Wisbech specimen, but the sex of the Eollesby 
 and Yarmouth birds was, unfortunately, not recorded. 
 A nutcracker is stated by Messrs. Sheppard and 
 Whitear to have occurred some years ago at South- 
 wold, in Suffolk. 
 
 PIOUS VIEIDIS, LimuBns. 
 GKEEN WOODPECKEK. 
 
 This handsome species is by no means uncommon 
 throughout the year, and but for the attractions of its 
 brilliant plumage would, no doubt, be more generally 
 met with ; the stuffed specimens, however, so often seen 
 in keepers' cottages, and the numbers that pass into 
 the hands of our bird preservers to make " show" cases 
 for casual customers, will in some degree account for 
 their limited increase. The sharp winter of 1860-1 was 
 remarkable for the very large quantity killed in different 
 parts of the county, one bird-stuffer in Norwich having 
 between twenty and thirty brought in for preservation 
 during a short period of severe frost ; but with this 
 single exception, I have never known these birds to 
 suffer much from the severity of the weather, or to 
 present themselves, even at such seasons, in more than 
 their ordinary numbers. Their simultaneous appearance 
 
286 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 " * 
 
 in such extremely unusual numbers, seemed almost 
 to suggest a migratory movement, yet I know of no 
 trustworthy facts which would justify me in classing this 
 woodpecker with such resident species as receive foreign 
 additions in autumn. A very singular and beautiful 
 variety was killed at Hedenham, in December, 1852, 
 which is now in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney, who 
 thus described its peculiar plumage in the " Zoologist" 
 (p. 3801). "It exhibits some remarkable variations 
 from the usual colouring of this species, especially on 
 the rump, the feathers of which (including the upper 
 tail-coverts) are in this specimen all margined and 
 tipped with a beautiful flame-coloured red, instead of 
 with the usual edging of yellow. The feathers at the 
 lower part of the back of the neck are also similarly 
 tipped with red, while those on the back are pointed 
 with the beautiful golden yellow edgings which usually 
 characterise the feathers of the rump; and a similar 
 yellow pointing is to be observed on the ends of the 
 feathers forming the three lower rows of the wing- 
 coverts. The other parts of the plumage do not differ 
 from ordinary specimens." That this strange intensity 
 of colouring, however unique in a British specimen, 
 is occasionally met with in other countries, is shown 
 by the following interesting remarks of Mr. Robert 
 Birkbeck, in the "Zoologist" for 1854 (p. 4209), 
 under the title of " Notes on the birds of Italy and 
 Sicily." Speaking of the green woodpecker, he says 
 "In the museum at Pisa I observed three or four 
 specimens with the feathers on the rump and neck 
 quite flame-coloured, and those on the back of a bright 
 yellow, similar to the specimen noticed by Mr. Gurney 
 in the ' Zoologist.' Some were brighter in colour 
 than others. I think that they were distinguished as 
 varieties of P. viridis." In the "Zoologist" for 1848 
 (p. 2229), Mr. Alfred Newton described some eggs of the 
 
GREEN WOODPECKER. 287 
 
 grelen woodpecker found in the neighbourhood of Elveden 
 (Suffolk) during the previous spring, as abnormal in 
 their colouring as the plumage of the bird just referred 
 to. After stating that " the hen bird was in the hole 
 when it was cut open/' lest any doubt should arise as 
 to the species these eggs belonged to, he says " Except 
 in size, shape, and high polish, they do not at all 
 resemble the eggs commonly laid by this bird, being 
 blotched and spotted with reddish brown and tawny 
 yellow, so as to be something like those of the common 
 quail or that of the Baillon's crake as figured in 
 Hewitson's illustrations." Again, in the " Zoologist" 
 for 1850 (p. 2923), Mr. Newton writes " I have 
 again, this year, obtained some eggs of the green 
 woodpecker, coloured like those of which I sent you 
 an account two years since; they were taken from 
 a nest in an elm tree. * * * * * From their 
 having been taken near the place where the coloured 
 eggs were found in 1848, they are all probably the 
 produce of the same bird." From a correspondence 
 which ensued upon these notices, it will be seen that Mr. 
 Newton at first, judging from the localities in which 
 they were taken, had great doubts whether the colouring 
 matter on these eggs could be owing to any fungoid 
 juices or the stain of rotten wood, but he now, I know, 
 fully concurs with Mr. Hewitson's opinion thus given 
 in the 3rd edition of his "British Birds' Eggs" : "Mr. 
 Newton has kindly sent me a drawing of the coloured 
 eggs of this species, mentioned by himself and others in 
 the ' Zoologist.' It is smeared over in the same 
 manner as the eggs of the grebes, and I have no doubt 
 at all arises from a vegetable stain." Having also had 
 the opportunity of examining some of these peculiar 
 specimens in the cabinets of Mr. Newton at Cambridge, 
 and Mr. Newcome at Feltwell, I can only say that, 
 whatever may have been the cause of their unusual 
 
288 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 they suggest at once the idea of some 
 external stain, and remind one of those strange-looking 
 swans' eggs occasionally met with in a marshman's 
 cottage, which owe their rich unnatural tints to the 
 "gude wife's" patience and an onion peeling. Mr. T. 
 E. Gunn, of this city, assures me that on one occasion 
 he discovered small fragments of acorns in the stomach 
 of a green woodpecker, which agrees with the statement 
 of Naumann that, besides insects and their eggs, acorns 
 also form an occasional article of diet. Bechstein 
 moreover asserts that they will crack nuts. 
 
 PICUS MAJOR, Linnjens. 
 GREAT-SPOTTED WOODPECKER 
 
 The Pied Woodpecker, as it is also called, though by 
 no means numerous and somewhat local in its distribu- 
 tion, is found in certain localities throughout the year, 
 and nests in our woods and plantations ; but, like the 
 previous species, probably owes its scarcity, in no small 
 degree, to the attractions of its plumage. During the 
 last few years, I have known both old and young birds, 
 and in one or two instances the eggs as well, obtained 
 during the summer months, at Earlham, Hellesdon, 
 Costessey, Melton, Rackheath, Bramerton, Framingham, 
 Kirby Cane, and Horstead, which shows them to be 
 pretty well distributed in the vicinity of Norwich, and 
 they have also been noticed during the breeding season 
 at West Harling and Attleborough ; and an old female, 
 with three young ones, was shot at Salthouse, near 
 Cromer, in June, 1863. Mr. Selby, writing of this 
 species in the north of England says " In Northumber- 
 land scarcely a year passes without some of these birds 
 being observed in the months of October and November. 
 
GREAT-SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 289 
 
 This induces me to suppose that they are migratory in 
 some of the more northern parts of Europe, perhaps in 
 Norway and Sweden. They arrive about the same 
 time as the woodcock and other equinoctial migrants, 
 and generally after stormy weather from the north and 
 north-east." There is no doubt that the same remarks 
 apply to Norfolk, since I find, on referring to my notes 
 for the last few years, that more than half the specimens 
 which have come under my notice have been killed in 
 the months of October and November, and for the most 
 part in the vicinity of the coast.* The strongest 
 evidence, however, of the migratory nature of this 
 woodpecker occurred in the severe winter of 1861 
 when, between the 5th of November and the following 
 February, between twenty and thirty specimens (old 
 and young) were killed in different parts of the county, 
 and some fourteen or fifteen of them in the neighbour- 
 hood of Lynn. About the same time an equally unusual 
 number appeared in Cambridgeshire, as recorded in the 
 "Zoologist" (p. 7847) by Mr. S. P. Saville; and Mr. 
 Henry L. Saxby, in the same journal (p. 7932), gives 
 a most interesting account of their visit to the Shetland 
 Isles during September and October of the same year, 
 a still more remarkable direction for any migratory 
 movement. The wind, says Mr. Saxby, was steadily 
 blowing from the south-east at the time, and he was 
 also informed that several were killed in Orkney. Of 
 those examined by himself he says " Strange to say, 
 not one female was to be found among them, and, with 
 one single exception, all were first year's birds. The 
 first two presented nothing unusual in their appear- 
 ance, but on taking the third one into my hand, I at 
 
 * The Eev. E. W. Dowell had a bird of this species brought to 
 him in the month of November, 1848, which had been taken in a 
 poacher's net, at Salthouse, close to the sea. 
 2p 
 
290 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 once remarked the worn look of the bill, tail, and claws. 
 I immediately suspected that this was caused by the 
 scarcity of trees having driven the bird to seek its food 
 among stones and rocks, and upon opening the stomach, 
 my suspicions were confirmed by the discovery, among 
 other insects, of several small beetles, which are found 
 only upon the hills. I may mention that these beetles 
 are very abundant in Shetland, although I do not 
 remember having seen any of the kind in England; 
 they .are about the size and shape of one half of a split 
 pea, black, edged with scarlet. I afterwards saw 
 spotted woodpeckers in various parts of the hills and 
 walls, and even in high sea-cliffs; I also saw them 
 on roofs of houses and upon dung-hills, and, although 
 several were killed upon corn-stacks I never found any 
 grain in the stomach. They were frequently to be met 
 with upon the ground among heather, where at all 
 times they were easily approached, but more particularly 
 in rainy or misty weather, when, their plumage becom- 
 ing saturated with moisture and rendering them too 
 heavy for a long flight, many were stoned to death by 
 boys. Those in the garden fed largely upon seeds of 
 the mountain-ash, which they broke open the berries 
 to procure, sometimes dropping a whole cluster upon 
 the ground and descending to feed, but more frequently 
 breaking the berries to pieces as they hung upon 1he 
 trees. But even in the garden they did not confine 
 themselves to the trees; at one time they might be 
 seen busily searching among moss and dead leaves, at 
 another in the midst of a tuft of coarse weeds, and 
 again intently examining the spiders' webs upon the 
 walls. It was quite a common occurrence to see them 
 in the open meadows, scattering aside the horse-dung 
 with their bills, and thus procuring abundant supplies 
 of worms and grubs." This woodpecker, though an 
 unusual cage-bird, thrives well in confinement, and 
 
GEEAT-SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 291 
 
 becomes as amusing a pet as the nuthatch, and about 
 as active and mischievous. One which was kept alive 
 for some time by a person in this city, in 1857, fed 
 upon barley-meal and insects. The latter were extracted 
 from pieces of old bark supplied fresh every day or 
 two, and fastened to the inside of the cage. 
 
 With an avi-fauna so rich as that of Norfolk, one 
 may well afford to exclude a doubtful species, and 
 for reasons, therefore, which I will briefly explain, 
 I have considered it desirable to omit from the present 
 work the GREAT-BLACK WOODPECKER (Picus martins), 
 believing that it has been too hastily and erroneously 
 classed amongst the accidental visitants to this county. 
 Its introduction at all into our Norfolk "list" rests 
 entirely upon the following passage in Yarrell's " British 
 Birds"* (1st ed., vol. ii., p. 129), where, in enumerating 
 the various instances in which the black woodpecker is 
 said to have appeared in England, he states that " a few 
 years since a communication was made to the Zoological 
 Society of London, that two examples of the great- 
 black woodpecker had been at that time killed in a small 
 wood, near Scole Inn, in Norfolk." This note, on Mr. 
 Yarrell's authority, has been since copied by Mac- 
 gillivray and Morris; and amongst local authors by 
 the Eev. E. Lubbock in his "Fauna," Messrs. Gurney 
 and Fisher in the "Zoologist" (1846, p. 1315), and 
 still more recently by myself, in a paper on "the 
 Ornithology of Norfolk," written in 1863 for the 3rd 
 edition of "White's Gazetteer" of this county.f I had 
 long had the impression that, in this instance, a mistake 
 might have arisen between the great-spotted and the 
 great-black woodpecker, when my idea was accidentally 
 
 * The fourteenth part of this work, in which the statement 
 was published in September, 1839. 
 
 t See also " Zoologist," 1864 (p. 9025). 
 2p2 
 
292 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 confirmed by circumstances, originating in a con- 
 versation with Mr. Spalding, of Westleton. Whilst 
 inspecting that gentleman's collection in the summer 
 of 1864, I happened to mention the Scole woodpeckers, 
 with some expressions of donbt as to the identity of 
 those specimens, when he referred me to Mr. Francis 
 Drake, of Billingford, as an individual most likely to be 
 able to afford information. At once taking the hint, I 
 shortly received, in reply to my enquiries, the following 
 letter from Mr. Drake, dated June 29th, 1864, who, to 
 my great surprise, proved to be the very person who had 
 shot the birds in question : " Being equally interested 
 with yourself and Mr. Spalding in birds, I feel now inclined 
 to think the birds I shot many years since at Billingford, 
 near Scole, were the large spotted woodpecker, although 
 I was told at the time they were the black." In a 
 subsequent letter, in answer to further questions, Mr. 
 Drake says "It must have been more than thirty 
 years since I shot the birds. They were evidently 
 larger than the wryneck, with red heads. I was not 
 aware they were in print until I saw them mentioned 
 in Mr. Lubbock's work on the ' Fauna of Norfolk.' 
 They were not preserved. I cannot remember if they 
 had white about them." Having pursued the enquiry 
 thus far, I was desirous of finding the notice referred to 
 by Yarrell in the Zoological Society's " Proceedings," 
 but failing in this, I wrote to the secretary, Mr. Sclater, 
 to know if he could in any way assist me in discovering 
 by whom the " communication" had been originally 
 made. In a few days I received the following reply, 
 assuring me of that gentleman's persevering though 
 fruitless efforts to comply with my request : " I have 
 searched in vain in our ' proceedings,' and also in our 
 written remarks, for any traces of the paper you 
 mention. I cannot find anything like it. I fear it was 
 only mentioned in the way of conversation at the 
 
LESSER-SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 293 
 
 meeting, or perhaps a specimen exhibited, and was 
 never entered in our minutes." Here, therefore, 
 my researches ended, but I think enough has been 
 elicited to render it more than doubtful whether the 
 birds, above referred to, were really specimens of the 
 great-black woodpecker, and that until some more 
 authentic instance of the occurrence of that species 
 should entitle it to be replaced, it will be best removed 
 altogether from the Norfolk "List." Mr. Drake par- 
 ticularly remarks that the birds were not preserved, 
 which would undoubtedly have been the case had they 
 been exhibited before the society in London, and Mr. 
 Yarrell speaks only of a "communication" made, without 
 any reference to specimens. Supposing also, as Mr. 
 Sclater suggests, that the matter was only " mentioned 
 in the way of conversation," without any entry being 
 subsequently made in the minutes, it is most probable 
 that Yarrell was himself present at the meeting, or was 
 informed of the circumstance by some other member of 
 the society. 
 
 PIOUS MINOR, Linnseus. 
 LESSEE-SPOTTED WOODPECKEE. 
 
 This species, though undoubtedly scarce, probably 
 appears even more so than it really is, its small size and 
 wary nature rendering it easily overlooked. It remains 
 with us throughout the year, and breeds in the county, 
 but is extremely local. Mr. Gurney informs me that 
 within his recollection they were killed occasionally in 
 Cossey Park, where they were supposed to be residents ; 
 and Blickling Park would seem to be another favourite 
 haunt, from specimens having been obtained from 
 time to time in that locality, of which two are stated 
 by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher in the "Zoologist" (pp. 
 
294 BIKDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 1702-1769), to have been killed in the spring of 1847: 
 the first a male, in March, and a female in the following 
 May. In January of the same year, as recorded in the 
 above journal by Mr. Alfred Newton, one was obtained 
 in a wood at Barningham, and a female was shot at 
 Hales worth, in the adjoining county, in February, 
 1855. Mr. George Master also informs me that he 
 shot one at Snettisham, in Norfolk, in October, 1856. 
 Mr. Hunt, in his " British Ornithology," thus speaks 
 of this bird, as observed by himself in close vicinity 
 to this city, though in a locality where one would be 
 least likely to look for it at the present time* : ee We 
 have frequently seen this species on some willow trees, 
 at the extremity of our garden, not only during the 
 summer months, but also in the winter season, running 
 up the branches with great celerity." 
 
 YUNX TORQUILLA, Linnaeus. 
 WRYNECK. 
 
 The cuckoo's leader or cuckoo's mate, as this bird is 
 frequently called, is an annual summer visitant, arriving 
 in April and leaving again in September, and breeds in 
 the county. Mr. Yarrell, on the authority of the late 
 Mr. John Drew Salmon, who formerly resided in this 
 county, mentions a singular instance of the persevering 
 attachment of this species to a particular nesting place, 
 in which case no less than twenty-two eggs were 
 
 * Mr. Hunt, as I learn from his son, a cashier in the Norwich 
 Post-office, was then residing in Rose Lane, and his garden 
 occupied the present site of Lloyd's stonemason's yard. It is 
 difficult, however, to realize in that now busy thoroughfare a 
 quiet suburb between Thorpe and the city, rural enough to attract 
 these woodpeckers from the Thorpe woods on the further side of 
 the river. 
 
WEYNECK. COMMON CREEPER. 295 
 
 abstracted from the nest, on four different occasions, 
 before the favourite spot was deserted. A very similar 
 occurrence came under my notice in 1855 at Bramerton, 
 where a Wryneck had fixed its abode in the trunk 
 of an old tree. This bird permitted twenty out of 
 twenty-three eggs to be taken away at different periods, 
 without forsaking the nest, and ultimately brought off 
 three young ones from the eggs that were left. It is 
 even more strange, perhaps, that in the following 
 summer from the same nest, and most probably from 
 the same bird, eighteen out of twenty-two eggs were 
 taken, and yet, one being left each time, she still con- 
 tinued to lay. Whether descendants from this perse- 
 vering couple still occupy their ancestral abode, it is 
 difficult to say, but in 1857 I was shown four young ones, 
 which had been reared in the same hole. This is no doubt 
 the species referred to by Sir Thomas Browne as "an 
 hobby-bird, so called because it comes either with, or a 
 little before, the hobbies in the spring. Of the bigness of 
 a thrush, coloured and paned like a hawk ; marvellously 
 subject to the vertigo, and are sometimes taken in those 
 fits." The strange actions of the wryneck, from which 
 its ordinary name is derived, no doubt originated the 
 quaint conceit of this celebrated Norfolk naturalist. 
 
 CERTHIA FAMILIAEIS, 
 COMMON CEEEPEE. 
 
 This diminutive and most interesting species is resi- 
 dent with us throughout the year, and very generally 
 distributed; though far oftener heard than seen, from 
 their quick mouse-like actions, and the wonderful assimi- 
 lation of their brown tints to the branches and stems of 
 the trees they frequent. The practised ear of a naturalist 
 
296 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 is, however, pretty sure to detect them, in a quiet ramble 
 through our woods or plantations, and many a time I 
 have watched their active search for food, whilst waiting 
 in a " drive" for a chance shot during the shooting 
 season. The following very interesting note, on the 
 nesting habits of this species, was communicated to 
 me by the Rev. C. Norris, of Briston, from personal 
 observations : " In May, 1863 (he writes), I found 
 no less than four nests of the tree-creeper, built 
 on the outside of a summer-house in Stody planta- 
 tion. This building, formed of lath and plaster, was 
 supported on the outside by split fir-poles, and one of 
 these being warped by the sun, left a sufficient aperture 
 for these little creatures to enter and nest in. Two of 
 the four nests were disturbed, and the same birds 
 probably erected the two others, but they were all 
 within two yards of each other. The nests in this 
 instance were composed of the young top shoots or 
 catkins of the sweet chestnut and dead shoots of the 
 larch, lined with moss and a few feathers. The birds 
 were seen by myself, and one of them on the nest." 
 A very common resort, also, of the tree-creeper in the 
 breeding season, as I learn from Mr. Alfred Newton, is 
 the timber-yard on large estates, where the nests are 
 invariably built amongst the " slabs" or split fir-poles. 
 A very beautiful variety, perfectly white, was taken 
 from a nest in this county, in June, 1854, together with 
 another young one in the usual plumage, but they are 
 rarely subject to any variation in colour. 
 
 TROGLODYTES VULGARIS (Fleming). 
 COMMON WEEN. 
 
 The little Wren is not only associated with the 
 robin in our nursery literature, but shares with it 
 
COMMON WEEN. 297 
 
 also our sympathies and interest as a resident through- 
 out the year, frequenting the close vicinity of our homes 
 in city and county; at one time creeping mouse-like 
 amongst the branches of the roadside fence, at another 
 startling us almost with the vehemence of its song as, 
 with open bill and tail erect, it pours forth its defiant 
 notes. Like the redbreast, also, this diminutive little 
 creature is famed for the eccentricities of its nesting 
 localities, and the strange assimilation of the materials 
 used to the peculiarities of the situation. How difficult 
 of detection is that ball of moss, placed sometimes on a 
 bank or decayed tree-stem, surrounded with verdure 
 of the same kind ; or the nest by the side of the straw 
 or clover stack built entirely of the materials nearest 
 at hand, which defies even the keen sight of our 
 birds' -nesting boys till the entrance or exit of the 
 bird itself betrays its whereabouts. The most singular 
 and beautiful nest, however, of this species I ever 
 saw was taken in 1863, in a garden at Lakenham, 
 where it had been built amongst the leaves of a 
 Savoy cabbage. Formed entirely of moss, this exqui- 
 site little structure was so placed as to rest firmly 
 against one leaf, whilst another hung pendant over 
 the top, and in places even the moss was drawn 
 through these green supports, as though the beaks of 
 the architects had stitched them together. I could 
 only regret, when first shown this natural curiosity, 
 that no means could be adopted to preserve its fresh- 
 ness, but a photograph taken of it at the time, presents 
 in all but colour a very fair representation. This species, 
 like the last, is subject to little variation in plumage, 
 but in June, 1853, a very prettily marked specimen, 
 barred and spotted with white, was killed near Norwich. 
 
298 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 UPUPA EPOPS, Linnseus. 
 HOOPOE. 
 
 Of all our rarer migratory visitants there is none 
 whose appearance is more regularly noted than the 
 Hoopoe, its singular plumage striking the most indif- 
 ferent observer, and, unfortunately, in almost every 
 instance insuring its destruction. Although the 
 annual notices of its persecution, in our local and 
 natural history journals, belie the stereotyped heading 
 of "rara avis," no specimen is safe for an instant 
 on our inhospitable shores, and many an oppor- 
 tunity of examining the peculiar habits, in a wild 
 state, of this very interesting bird are lost to the 
 naturalist through the greed of collectors. That they 
 have of late years visited us in larger numbers, and 
 with far more regularity than they used to do, is a fact 
 well ascertained, although the cause of such a change 
 in their habits is not quite so apparent. It can scarcely, 
 however, be said of this species as of some others, for 
 the very reasons above given, that its appearance 
 amongst us now, is more observed than formerly, since 
 Sir Thomas Brown thus refers to it ; " Upupa or hoope- 
 bird, so named from its note ; a gallant marked bird, 
 which I have often seen, and it is not hard to shoot 
 
 * The same learned author, in " an answer to certain queries 
 relating to fishes, birds, and insects," gives the following addi- 
 tional notes on this species (Wilkin's edition, vol. iv., p. 183) : 
 " I cannot wonder that this bird you sent should be a stranger 
 unto you, and unto those who had a sight thereof; for, though it 
 be not seen every day, yet we often meet with it in this country. 
 It is an elegant bird, which he that once beholdeth can hardly 
 mistake any other for it. From the proper note it is called an 
 
HOOPOE. 299 
 
 Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, writing of the hoopoe in 
 1846, speak of it as of "not unfrequent occurrence in 
 Norfolk, appearing at irregular intervals and generally 
 in the autumn;" yet, correct as this statement 
 undoubtedly was at the time, and agreeing also 
 with Yarrell's general account of its arrival in other 
 parts of the kingdom, it has since, most un- 
 questionably, become a very regular spring visitant, its 
 appearance in autumn being the exception and not 
 the rule, as the subjoined list of such specimens as 
 have come under my own observation during the last 
 fourteen years, in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, 
 sufficiently proves. I do not suppose that this list, 
 although containing a large proportion, comprises 
 nearly all that have been either seen or killed on our 
 coast since 1850, but it shows, at least, that one or more 
 specimens have been seen from year to year, except in 
 1855 and 1861 ; when, in both instances, the extreme 
 severity of the weather until late in the season might 
 account for its non-arrival. The great regularity of 
 its appearance in spring is also remarkable, the dates 
 varying between the llth of April and the 28th of 
 May, and even including the extraordinary number 
 
 hoopebird with us ; in Greek epops, in Latin upupa. We are little 
 obliged unto our school instruction, wherein we are taught to 
 render upupa a lapwing, which bird our natural writers name 
 vanellus ; for thereby we mistake this remarkable bird, and appre- 
 hend not rightly what is delivered of it. * * * * Again, 
 not knowing or mistaking this bird, we may mis-apprehend, or 
 not closely apprehend, that handsome expression of Ovid, when 
 Tereus was turned into an upupa or hoopebird : 
 
 ' Vertitur in volucrem cui sunt pro vertice cristse, 
 Protinus immodicum surgit pro cuspide rostrum 
 Nomen epops volucri, facies armata videtur.' 
 
 For in this military shape he is aptly fancied even still revenge- 
 fully to pursue his hated wife Progne : in the propriety of his note, 
 crying out, pou, pou, ubi, ubi; or, where are you ? " 
 2 Q 2 
 
300 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 taken in 1859, we find but six instances, out of sixty- 
 five specimens, of its being met with, during the 
 autumn months one in August and five in September. 
 To the late Mr. Thurtell, of Lowestoft, I am indebted for 
 the particulars of the thirteen specimens killed in that 
 neighbourhood between the 28th of April and the 5th 
 of May, 1859. These were all met with in the same 
 locality the Warren and Denes and were flushed 
 singly, nine being males and four females. In Mr. 
 Hunt's " List" of Norfolk Birds a pair of hoopoes are 
 recorded to have been f ' shot in a garden in the parish 
 of St. Martin's at Oak, in Norwich." 
 
 The singular name of hoopoe is applied to this 
 bird in imitation of its peculiar cry > which is emitted 
 by distending the cheeks with air, and then tapping 
 the beak on the ground. In China, as I am informed 
 by my friend Mr. Swinhoe, Vice-Consul of Formosa, 
 the same species is called "the coffin bird" by the 
 natives, from its habit of nesting in exposed coffins, 
 as well as in the holes of walls. There seems every 
 probability, from these birds being now so frequently 
 met with in pairs in this county during the early part 
 of the year, that in some instances they would remain 
 to breed if not subjected to that exterminating system 
 which all true naturalists cannot too severely deprecate ; 
 and for which, in this case at least, as I have abundantly 
 shown, neither rarity nor doubt as to the identity of 
 the species can be urged in excuse : 
 
 YEAR. DATE. NO. LOCALITY. 
 
 1850 April 11 1 Lowestoft 
 (Suff.) 
 1851 May 21 1 Yarmouth 
 1852 April 26 1 Lowestoft 
 ,,1 Belaugh- 
 heath 
 April 29 1 Strumpshaw 
 May 4 1 Barton 
 (found dead) 
 
 YEAR. DATE. NO. LOCALITY. 
 
 1852 May 8 1 Martham 
 1853 May 2 1 Yarmouth 
 1854 April 24 1 Burgh 
 April 26 1 Hethel 
 Sept. 28 1 Yarmouth 
 1856 April 18 1 Wmterton 
 May 4 1 Ditto 
 Sept. 24 1 Bungay(Suff.) 
 . Sept. 29 1 Ditto 
 
NUTHATCH. 
 
 301 
 
 TEAR. 
 
 DATE 
 
 
 NO. 
 
 LOCALITY. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 DATE. 
 
 NO. 
 
 LOCALITY. 
 
 1857 
 
 April 
 
 24 
 
 1 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 1860 
 
 April 24 
 
 1 
 
 Ditto 
 
 
 
 May 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 Carrow-abbey 
 
 1862 
 
 April 11 
 
 2 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 
 
 May 
 
 ? 
 
 4 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 > 
 
 April 26 
 
 1 
 
 Burgh 
 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 1 
 
 Lowestofb 
 
 
 
 Sept. 5 
 
 1 
 
 Cantley 
 
 > 
 
 Aug. 
 
 26 
 
 1 
 
 Harleston 
 
 j> 
 
 Sept. 13 
 
 1 
 
 Crown Point 
 
 1858 
 
 May 
 
 26 
 
 1 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 > 
 
 April 14 
 
 2 
 
 Lowestofb 
 
 1859 
 
 April 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 Eanworth 
 
 1863 
 
 April 24 
 
 1 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 V 
 
 April 
 
 ? 
 
 1 
 
 Stoke 
 
 1864 
 
 April 14 
 
 2 
 
 Ditto 
 
 
 
 ? 
 
 
 1 
 
 Thetford 
 
 M 
 
 P 
 
 1 
 
 Wortham 
 
 
 
 ) 
 
 
 1 
 
 Harleston 
 
 
 
 
 (Suff.) 
 
 
 
 April 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 Ashill 
 
 n 
 
 April 20 
 
 1 
 
 Lowestoft 
 
 
 
 May 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 Yoxford(Suff.) 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 1 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 J> 
 
 H 
 
 
 1 
 
 Long Stratton 
 
 1865 
 
 April 21 
 
 1 
 
 Lowestofb 
 
 J> 
 
 May 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 1 
 
 Plumstead 
 
 J) 
 
 April 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 ? 
 
 1 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 to May 5 
 
 13 
 
 Lowestofb 
 
 5) 
 
 May 20 
 
 1 
 
 Bradwell 
 
 SITTA EUROPJEA, Leach*. 
 NUTHATCH. 
 
 A not uncommon resident, throughout the county, 
 though offcener heard than seen as it runs in all direc- 
 tions over the rough stems and branches of trees, more 
 particularly those of the beech ; hammering at the bark 
 with its stout bill, after the manner of the woodpeckers, 
 or skilfully cracking a nut in some convenient fissure. 
 I have found them frequenting most of the large 
 gardens which abound in the close vicinity of this city, 
 as at Bracondale, Thorpe, and Earlham, and much 
 amusement has been afforded me, after discovering their 
 haunts, by placing nuts, or their kernels only, in such 
 
 * Ornithologists are divided in opinion as to the identity of the 
 British Nuthatch with the Sitta europwa of Linnaeus. Those who 
 consider our bird to be distinct from that of Scandinavia apply to 
 it the name of Sitta ccesia, Meyer. 
 
302 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 situations as would enable me to watch the actions of 
 these birds. In confinement the young become very 
 tame and from their activity and quaintness in every 
 movement are most engaging pets, but sadly destructive 
 to any woodwork within their reach. If constantly 
 supplied with fresh bark, they never tire of searching 
 each corner and crevice for insect food, clinging to it 
 in every imaginable attitude with their strong claws, 
 whilst beating all the while with their beaks a very 
 " devil's tattoo," unpleasantly suggestive, in its per- 
 sistent monotony, of the busiest moments of a coffin- 
 maker. The following very interesting particulars 
 respecting a nest of this species were communicated 
 to me by Mr. Samuel Blyth, who watched the progress 
 of the work, and satisfied himself by measurements, 
 of the arduous task, not only begun but completed 
 by these ingenious little architects. In the spring 
 of 1865, a pair of nuthatches selected, for nesting 
 purposes, the bole of a beech tree at Framingham, 
 which had a cleft, on one side, nearly a foot and 
 a-half in length. This opening, being too large and 
 exposed, the birds proceeded to fill up (leaving only 
 a hole big enough for themselves to pass in and out) 
 with clay collected from the edge of a pond about 
 one hundred and fifty yards off. In the first instance 
 the whole structure was pulled down by a lad 
 when nearly completed; but, nothing daunted, the 
 nuthatches began again and, completing their task, 
 eventually hatched and brought off their young. On 
 subsequent examination, the mud-works, thus labo- 
 riously constructed, were found so hard that only 
 a mallet and chisel could make any impression on them, 
 and they measured exactly 16 inches in length, 3 J inches 
 in width, and 2J inches in depth. A specimen, perfectly 
 white, was killed at Lyng, near Eeepham, in December, 
 1846, a very unusual and beautiful variety. 
 
CUCKOO. 303 
 
 CUCULUS CANORUS, Linnams. 
 
 CUCKOO. 
 
 Of all our migratory songsters, there is none so 
 universally known by its note as the Cuckoo, and yet 
 how few people, comparatively speaking, know the bird 
 by sight. The same remark applies also to the night- 
 ingale, but in that case the nocturnal habits of the bird 
 make it less likely to be often recognised, yet all day 
 long that " curious voice" sounds in the distance, and 
 but for the cry of " cuckoo" on the wing, none would 
 associate that " mysterious sound" with the grey 
 hawk-like bird, so slowly flitting past. With us it is 
 always an abundant species, arriving in April* and 
 leaving again about the end of July, though the young 
 birds are not unfrequently met with long after their 
 parents have left for the south, as I have seen them 
 myself, at different times, throughout the months of 
 August and September. In the district of the broads, 
 they are more particularly numerous, the nests of the 
 various small birds placed amongst the sedges and 
 luxuriant herbage on the marshes, being particularly 
 accessible as lying-in hospitals to these most improvident 
 and reckless of mothers. In such localities during 
 May and June, I have seen as many as five or six 
 cuckoos at one time, beating over the marshes, occa- 
 sionally pursued by a clamorous throng of titlarks and 
 warblers, resenting, as it were, a too close scrutiny of 
 
 * From a table of " Observations on the indications of spring," 
 made by a gentleman in the neighbourhood of Stratton Strawless 
 for ten years, commencing 1845 (See Norfolk Chronicle May 31, 
 1856), I find the earliest and latest records of the Cuckoo's song 
 to be April 17th, 1848 April 28th, 1850. 
 
304 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 their household treasures, and judging, probably, from 
 external appearances, with shrewd suspicions as to the 
 raptorial affinities of their unwelcome guests. The 
 unvarying but grateful song of this bird is never heard to 
 more advantage than in these marshy districts, whether 
 softened by distance, it still blends with the rustling 
 reed-stems and the sedge-birds' melodies, or, startling 
 by its sudden presence, the bird flits past, uttering its 
 long drawn notes upon the wing. Still, far or near, 
 the life long summer's day appears too short to tell 
 "the vagrant cuckoo's tale," commenced with the 
 earliest dawn of day, unfinished often when the sun 
 has set and other birds have ceased their mingling 
 notes. I have heard it also, on bright moonlight nights, 
 whilst listening for the merry medley of the reed and 
 sedge-birds, utter its song at lengthened intervals, thus 
 sounding more rich and mellow in its tone, when break- 
 ing the stillness of the midnight air. 
 
 I am sorry I can say nothing from personal observa- 
 tion on that much debated question, how does the cuckoo 
 deposit her eggs? Whether or not she follows the 
 custom of certain foreign species, who are said to lay 
 their eggs on the ground and afterwards transfer 
 them with their beaks into suitable nests ; undoubtedly 
 our cuckoo's egg is found, at times, in nests so 
 situated that its introduction by any other means 
 appears impossible. An occurrence, strongly con- 
 firmatory of this view, is thus recorded in the 
 " Zoologist" for 1851 (p. 3145), by Mr. J. O. Harper, 
 curator of the Hospital Museum in this city : " On the 
 morning of the 14th of April, I was out shooting with a 
 friend for the purpose of obtaining specimens in orni- 
 thology, and having arrived at a point of the river 
 called the Alder-carr, situated midway between Norwich 
 and Thorpe, I heard from an adjoining tree the well- 
 known note of a cuckoo, which I observed perched at a 
 
CUCKOO. 305 
 
 distance of twenty yards. I was about to fire when, 
 over my head sailed another with something between 
 its mandibles. My curiosity was excited, and, leaving 
 the other to speed on its way, I followed in the boat the 
 flying cuckoo which I saw alight in an adjoining 
 meadow. I reached the bird within twenty yards, and 
 observed it in the act of progressing in a similar way to 
 the crawling of a parrot, by the side of a drain, with the 
 substance still in its beak; after traversing some 
 distance it stopped short, and at the same time I 
 fired. Upon nearing it, I found the substance, before- 
 mentioned, to be its egg, I am sorry to say, broken, but 
 still it was quite satisfactory to me that such was the case. 
 Upon dissection I found the cloaca contained another 
 egg of nearly the same size, but without the calcareous 
 envelope. I think, in all probability, this bird was 
 searching for a nest, perhaps that of the meadow pipit, 
 for the depositing of its egg." The curious habit of the 
 young cuckoo of clearing the nest of all rival inmates, 
 thus gaining for itself the sole attention of its fond 
 but deluded foster parents, has been too often described 
 from the careful observations of Jenner, Montagu, 
 Yarrell, Stanley, and many others, to need repetition 
 here; but Mr. Gould (Birds of Great Britain) has 
 propounded a theory of his own on this subject, opposed 
 altogether to Dr. Jenner's experience and the opinions 
 of naturalists generally. Doubting the power of the 
 young cuckoo to clear the nest of its other occupants 
 by the end of the third day, he says "May we 
 not more readily imagine that it has been done 
 by the foster parents, who, having bestowed all 
 their attention on the parasite, thus cause the 
 death of their own young, which are then cleared 
 out of the nest in the same way as broken egg-shells, 
 fseces, and other extraneous matters?" The same 
 author also refers to some highly interesting remarks 
 
 2R 
 
306 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 in " ISTaumannia," 1853 (p. 307), by Dr. Baldanms, 
 in which that accomplished naturalist endeavours to 
 prove "that the egg of the cuckoo is always found 
 to present a very recognizable resemblance to the 
 normal appearance of the egg of the species in whose 
 nest it is deposited;" giving also in the same journal 
 for 1854 (p. 415), a list of references to a plate repre- 
 senting sixteen cuckoos' eggs, in proof of his assertion. 
 ' e The similarity (says Mr. Gould) in many instances is 
 very obvious, and the subject of the article, which does 
 not seem to be generally known to British ornithologists, 
 deservedly merits further attention." Mr. G. D. Rowley, 
 in a very interesting paper in the " Ibis" (1865, p. 178), 
 "On certain facts in the economy of the cuckoo," also 
 refers to Dr. Baldamus's article, and though not at pre- 
 sent convinced by the arguments of the writer, which 
 are opposed in many respects to his own experience ; 
 yet, in expressing his admiration at the learned doctor's 
 researches, he adds, "The theory is as beautiful as it 
 is new, and I only wish that fresh evidence may be 
 brought forward of a nature so strong as to make it 
 an acknowledged fact." Mr. Eowley has, for some 
 years, devoted a considerable amount of time and 
 labour to the study of the habits of this remarkable 
 species, and his paper should be perused by every one 
 desirous of knowing the latest views of ornithologists on 
 this difficult subject. The period of laying, he believes, 
 from personal observation, to extend from the begin- 
 ning of May to the middle of July, having taken eggs 
 of the cuckoo as late as the 29th of that month. He 
 also gives on the authority of continental as well as 
 British authors, with some few additions supplied by 
 the editor of the (( Ibis," the subjoined list* of no less 
 
 * Sylvia hortensis, cinerea, atricapilla P currnca, tithys, phceni- 
 curus, rubecula, arundinacea, palustris, cariceti, locustella, nisoria, 
 
CUCKOO. 307 
 
 than fifty-two European species, in whose nests the egg 
 of the cuckoo has been found more or less frequently, 
 and yet, even this, is probably not an " exhaustive" 
 series. In this country the eggs of the cuckoo are most 
 commonly found in the nests of the hedge-warbler, 
 pied wagtail, skylark, meadow pipit, and reed-warbler 
 (Salicaria strepera) ; but it is somewhat singular that 
 the latter, although, perhaps, the most frequently 
 used of all, should be almost invariably omitted 
 from our published lists. In my notes on that species 
 (p. 117), I have recorded several instances of both 
 eggs and young cuckoos being found in the pretty 
 pendant nests of this marsh warbler, and whether 
 placed amongst reeds or in garden bushes, I know 
 none, from their construction, so difficult of access, 
 unless the egg, as above stated, be conveyed in the 
 beak. Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear observed a young 
 cuckoo fed by a pair of red-backed shrikes, and state 
 that one had been also observed to enter the nest of a 
 magpie, though at that time supposed to have done so 
 more for the sake of sucking than laying eggs. The 
 occurrence also of two eggs in one nest has been 
 occasionally noticed ; in which case it is generally sup- 
 posed that two cuckoos have accidentally selected the 
 same nursery; and I question if even the amiable 
 
 trochilus, Accentor modularis, Troglodytes vulgaris, Saxicola 
 rubetra, Motacilla alba, M. flava, Anthus campestris, A. pratensis, 
 A. arboreus, A. obscuras, A. cervirms ? Alauda arvensis, A. cristata, 
 A. arborea, Emberiza citrinella, E. schoeniclus, Loxia chloris, Linota 
 cannabina, Saxicola stapazina, Lanius collurio, Luscinia luscinia, 
 Hypolais vulgaris, Phyllopneuste rufa, Calamoherpe turdina, C. 
 phraepnitis, Begulus flavicapillus, Fringilla ccelebs, F. monti- 
 fringilla, Passer domesticus, Cyanecula suecica, Turdus merula, 
 T. musicus, Locustella nsevia, Parus major, Acanthis linaria, 
 Pyrrhula rubicilla, Garrulus glandarius, besides a Pica, a Turtur, 
 and a Palumbus. 
 
308 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Dr. Watts would have ventured to remark that, 
 " birds in their little nests agree" could he have 
 witnessed the fight between two young cuckoos, 
 thus hatched together, so spiritedly described in 
 Dr. Jenner's paper. Happily, however, for the wretched 
 little birds whose home was the scene of this 
 deadly struggle, the weakest at length shared the 
 fate of the nestling hedge-sparrow, and the old pair 
 were spared the herculean task of supplying two such 
 young cormorants with sufficient food. I was myself 
 a witness on one occasion to a pied- wagtail feeding its 
 ungainly nestling exactly as depicted- in Mr. Gould's 
 beautiful illustration (Birds of Great Britain) ; the 
 little wagtail, perching on the cuckoo's back, as the 
 easiest means of reaching its capacious mouth. 
 
 Frequently as the attempt has been made to rear 
 young cuckoos in confinement, but few cases are known 
 in which they have been preserved through the winter 
 months; the absence of some necessary ingredient in 
 their diet, added to a strong migratory impulse, causing 
 them almost invariably to pine and die after a few 
 weeks. Mr. Dew, a hairdresser and bird fancier, in 
 Norwich, by great care and judgment in feeding, suc- 
 ceeded in keeping one in perfect health, from June, 
 1863, till some time in October, 1864; by far the 
 longest peri&d on record to my knowledge. I last saw 
 it alive on the llth of August, 1864, when but slight 
 traces of grey appeared in its russet plumage, and the 
 bird eventually died in consequence of imperfect moult- 
 ing. It was fed entirely on fresh raw meat, and enjoyed 
 a supply of fresh water every day. When regularly 
 supplied with food, it would remain perfectly quiet on its 
 usual perch, but when hungry always fluttered violently 
 about the cage, and, apparently having no idea of distance, 
 would thus hurt itself, and even draw blood at times. 
 A very interesting history of one taken on the 26th 
 
CUCKOO. 309 
 
 of June, 1858, which was only accidentally killed 
 about the 28th of July, 1859, is given by Mr. 
 Gould (Birds of Great Britain) from the pen of 
 Mr. T. A. Briggs, of Plymouth ; and two instances are 
 recorded in the "Field" (July 5th, 1862), in which 
 one bird was kept alive over twelve months, aM another 
 from July to the following May. This species seems, 
 at times, particularly attracted towards kitchen-gar- 
 dens, to feed upon the caterpillars that infest the 
 gooseberry bushes.* In a large garden at Bramerton, 
 where these bushes cover a considerable extent of ground, 
 I have known a number of cuckoos to be flushed at one 
 time, as if collected from all parts to an unusual feast. 
 Mr. T. E. Gunn, of this city, recently showed me a piece of 
 cord, about three inches long, which he had found in the 
 stomach of a cuckoo, with the remains of caterpillars ; 
 accidentally swallowed, no doubt, though a particularly 
 unsatisfying and indigestible morsel. Messrs. Gurney 
 and Fisher have recorded the occurrence of a cuckoo, in 
 its first year's plumage, on the 5th of May, at Letton, 
 answering to the description of Temminck's Goucou-roux 
 the Cuculus hepaticus of authors ; and more recently a 
 second example has come under Mr. Gurney's notice, 
 but in this state of plumage the cuckoo is rarely 
 met with in this country, in spring, though in parts 
 of Germany it is said to be very common. Adult grey 
 birds (probably females) on their first arrival not 
 unfrequently exhibit one or more brown feathers in 
 the tail and wings. A curiously pied specimen, an 
 immature female, having both the under and upper 
 parts mottled with white, was shot at Beeston, near 
 Cromer, in August, 1862. 
 
 * These are mostly the caterpillars of the large white cabbage 
 butterfly; they are also particularly partial to the hairy species. 
 The late Bishop Stanley, in his "Familiar History of Birds," 
 
310 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 CORACIAS GARRULA, Linnseus. 
 
 EOLLEE. 
 
 * 
 
 This beautiful species, though an extremely rare 
 visitant, has occurred in several well authenticated 
 instances in this county, as will be seen from the 
 following records, which I have collected from every 
 available source; but, except in two or three cases, 
 I have been wholly unable to trace the specimens or 
 ascertain their existence in collections at the present 
 time. The late Mr. Hunt, in a communication to 
 Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear (Catalogue of Norfolk 
 and Suffolk Birds), respecting a Suffolk specimen, killed 
 at Bungay in September, 1817, remarks: "I am also 
 credibly informed that another specimen of the same 
 bird was killed in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth about 
 the same time * * * and late in the spring of 1818 
 another was killed in the neighbourhood of Cromer." 
 Strangely enough, in Messrs. Paget's e Sketch,' there 
 is no mention of the Roller as having appeared near 
 Yarmouth, and only a Suffolk specimen, killed at 
 Blundestone in May, 1831, is noticed in Sir W. J. 
 Hooker's MS. notes of the same district. I have 
 recently ascertained, however, through Mr. Eising, of 
 Horsey, that a male in the possession of Mr. E. F. 
 Whaites, of Ingham, was shot in February, 1824, at 
 Waxham, near Yarmouth, by a man named Tuck, the 
 
 states, that in the stomach of a young cuckoo, dissected by him- 
 self, were about twenty fall-grown caterpillars of the peacock 
 butterfly (Papilio lo) undigested. The hairy coating observable in 
 the stomachs of these birds is apparently a specific peculiarity, and 
 not attributable, as supposed by some, to their preference for 
 hairy caterpillars. 
 
ROLLER. 311 
 
 son of a farmer then living there, and, in the very same 
 year, I find a record in the late Mr. Lombe's notes 
 of birds not in his collection, of one obtained near 
 Blofield. An adult female in my own possession, 
 formerly in the collection of the late Kev. C. Penrice, 
 of Plumstead, was, I have no doubt, procured in this 
 county, and it is by no means improbable that it may be 
 the Blofield bird above referred to ; but, unfortunately, 
 although Mr. Penrice's birds were known to have been 
 collected chiefly in this county, no memoranda as to 
 dates or localities were attached to the numerous cases.* 
 In the Norwich Museum (No. 155. a) is an adult male, 
 said to have been killed near North Walsham, and in 
 Mr. Gurney's collection, at Catton, is another Yarmouth 
 specimen, formerly belonging to the late Mr. Stephen 
 Miller, besides which Mr. Lubbock mentions three 
 "one killed at Holkham,f another at Antingham, and 
 one, in immature plumage, at Acle, in 1832," and adds, 
 "the wing of a bird of this species was shown me, 
 which was picked up dead upon the beach at Brancaster 
 many years back." 
 
 * The chief portion of this large collection came into my pos- 
 session in 1857, when Mr. Chas. Morse succeeded the late Mr. Pen- 
 rice, at Plumstead Hall ; but at that time some of the rarer local 
 specimens had been given away, including a female of the great 
 bustard, now, I believe, preserved at Elmham Hall. Amongst those 
 purchased by myself were specimens of the osprey, goshawk 
 (adult), hen harrier (adult male), marsh harrier, buzzards, com- 
 mon, rough-legged, and honey (all immature) ; golden oriole 
 (female), roller, eared grebe (summer plumage), long-tailed ducks 
 (immature), smew (adult male), white-eyed pochard, &c., &c., with 
 most of the common species of British birds ; but beyond some 
 half-dozen of the best and rarest, I found it useless to attempt 
 preserving them, having been badly stuffed in the first instance, 
 and sadly injured by neglect. 
 
 f No doubt the same bird recorded in Mr. Dowell's MS. notes, 
 as shot " at Holkham, on the lake, hawking for flies, some years 
 ago." 
 
312 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 Of more recent instances I am indebted to Mr. 
 Alfred Newton, for the knowledge of one killed at 
 Bircham, Norfolk, in September, 1847, now in the 
 collection of Mr. W. Borrer, of Cowfold, Sussex, and 
 to Mr. Spalding, of Westleton, for the account of 
 another, shot at Earsham, near Bungay, by a farmer 
 named Eackham, about fifteen years ago. In August, 
 1864, Mr. Rising informed me that a strange bird, which, 
 from the description given of it, he believed to have 
 been a roller, was observed on a fence in his garden 
 at Horsey. It was described as being "very noisy," 
 but was neither seen nor heard of afterwards ; but 
 on the 25th of May of the following year, a very beautiful 
 male specimen was brought into Yarmouth by some 
 sailors, having alighted on the rigging of their vessel, just 
 off the harbour ; yet though taken alive it soon died. 
 This bird was sent in the flesh to Mr. Sayer, bird-stuffer, 
 at Norwich, on the following day, and was in per- 
 fect plumage, but extremely poor in condition, the 
 stomach containing only a minute fragment of a beetle's 
 leg. Allowing, therefore, for the possibility of one or two 
 of these specimens having been recorded twice over, there 
 is little doubt that this beautiful bird has occurred in at 
 least ten or twelve different instances on our Norfolk 
 coast, as well as several times in the adjoining county. 
 Probably the last observed in Suffolk was an adult 
 female, shot near Somerleyton, on the 28th of May, 
 1855. The earliest record, however, of the roller in 
 Norfolk is contained in the following remarkable note, 
 by Sir Thomas Browne, just two hundred years ago : 
 "On the 14th of May, 1664, a very rare bird was sent 
 me, killed at Crostwick, which seemed to be some kind 
 of jay. The bill was black, strong, and bigger than a 
 jay's ; somewhat yellow claws, tipped black ; three 
 before and one claw behind. The whole bird not so big 
 as a jay. The head, neck, and throat of a violet 
 
ROLLER. BEE-EATER. 313 
 
 colour; the back and upper parts of the wing of a 
 russet yellow. The fore part of the wing azure; suc- 
 ceeded downward by a greenish blue, then on the flying 
 feathers bright blue ; the lower parts of the wing out- 
 wardly of a brown; inwardly of a merry blue; the 
 belly a light faint blue ; the back toward the tail of a 
 purple blue; the tail, eleven feathers of a greenish 
 colour ; the extremities of the outward feathers thereof 
 white with an eye of green. Garrulus argentoratensis." 
 
 MEROPS APIASTEE, Linnaeus. 
 BEE-EATEE. 
 
 This species, equally brilliant in plumage, is like 
 the last, a very rare and accidental visitant, although 
 several authenticated examples have been obtained in 
 this county. Yarrell remarks that "no specimen 
 of the common Bee-eater, of Africa, appears to be 
 recorded to have been killed in England till the 
 summer of 1794, when a communication was made 
 to the Linnean Society, and a specimen of this beau- 
 tiful bird was exhibited by the president, Sir James 
 Edward Smith, which had been shot out of a flock 
 of about twenty, near Mattishall, in Norfolk, in the 
 month of June, by the Eev. George Smith; and a 
 portion probably of this same flight, much diminished 
 in numbers, was observed passing over the same spot 
 in the month of October following." The next recorded 
 instance is probably the one mentioned by Messrs. 
 Sheppard and Whitear, as shot near Yarmouth, which 
 came into the possession of Mr. Seaman, of Ipswich; 
 and in the Museum collection (No. 156) is an immature 
 bird killed many years back at Gisleham; and in his 
 "Fauna of Norfolk," published in 1845, Mr. Lubbock 
 2s 
 
314 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 speaks of another as killed " lately' 5 at Yarmouth. 
 From that time, however, it does not appear to have been 
 noticed again in this county until the 3rd of June, 1854, 
 when a pair were shot at the same time on the Norwich 
 river, near Coldham-hall. These beautiful birds, now in 
 my possession, were shown to me in the flesh, and for 
 brilliancy of plumage I never saw finer specimens. Both 
 were in good condition ; and on dissecting the stomach 
 of the female I found the remains of no less than five 
 large insects of the Hymenopterous order, apparently a 
 species of wild or humble bee ; the stomach of the male 
 also contained similar debris, but less distinguishable. 
 The ovaries in the female appeared, on examination, not 
 to contain any eggs in a perceptibly advanced stage, 
 which might probably indicate that the bird had already 
 deposited her quota of eggs for the season, whilst the 
 thinness of feathers on the breast seemed suggestive 
 of her having been sitting. They were both killed by a 
 wherryman, who shot them from his craft as they were 
 playing over the river, but although I devoted a whole 
 day to the examination of the river's banks for a mile or 
 two above and below the point where they were killed, I 
 could find no trace of any probable nest-hole, nor were 
 the banks in that neighbourhood at all suited to their 
 purpose. 
 
 ALCEDO ISPIDA, Linnaeus. 
 KINGFISHER. 
 
 Next after the Roller and the Bee-eater, in the 
 arrangement of most of our British authors, comes our 
 native Kingfisher, whose brilliant plumage suffers no 
 depreciation in comparison even with those lovely 
 wanderers from the far south. Though associating only 
 in pairs, it is very generally distributed throughout 
 
KINGFISHER. 315 
 
 the county, frequenting alike the rivers and broads, the 
 lakes and other fancy waters upon the large estates, and 
 the little drains and streamlets in the meadows, where 
 the winding brook meanders through the rushes, 
 or murmurs over the pebbles in our shady lanes. How 
 exquisitely beautiful is that bright streak of metallic 
 blue that seems to flash past us whilst fishing in some 
 quiet nook; when, the next instant, a shrill piping 
 cry, which I am wholly unable to convey in words, 
 assures us we are not far from the " Kingfisher's 
 haunt." Presently, perhaps, if we remain quiet, the 
 same beautiful creature returns again, and this time 
 arresting its rapid flight, perches on some low branch 
 projecting over the stream. What a glorious object, as 
 the sun glitters on its glossy plumes, and shows the 
 rich tints of its bill and feet. Suddenly it detects 
 some passing minnow, and dropping almost like a stone 
 into the water, re-appears in an instant, and flies back 
 with its victim to the same perch. A sharp tap or two 
 on the wood soon ends its struggles, and a dextrous 
 twist of the bird's beak brings the fish head downwards 
 into its capacious throat, whence facilis descensus averni. 
 Sometimes also the kingfisher, pausing in its flight, 
 hovers like a kestrel or a fishing tern before making its 
 plunge, and having seized its prey, flies off to some 
 convenient station to kill and swallow it. Surely it 
 must be a mind of no ordinary insensibility that could 
 contemplate with indifference the wholesale destruction 
 of these living gems. Yet that which a savage might 
 feel remorse at, is being effected in many places through 
 the votaries of fashion. It probably never occurs to the 
 fair owners of those wicked little hats, which mark the 
 present age as one of the most fascinating epochs 
 in the history of female costume, that the adoption of 
 one particular feather, by some reigning beauty, may be 
 the death warrant of a species ! the system of imitation 
 2 s2 
 
316 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 in the world of fashion, as surely producing the de- 
 struction of a race, as the colonization of the white man 
 in Australia and New Zealand is effecting the extinction 
 of the native tribes. The rage for grebe-skin muffs 
 and boas has all but exterminated (except on the most 
 strictly preserved waters), the great crested species 
 (Podiceps cristatus) on the broads of Norfolk, and some 
 Indian birds, famed for the beauty of their feathers, are 
 said to have suffered in the same degree. Now, again, 
 the fiat has gone forth against the beautiful kingfishers,* 
 both here and elsewhere, and if fickle fashion does not 
 quickly change, or the ladies of England lend a merciful 
 ear to the remonstrances of naturalists, this once 
 common and most beautiful of our British birds will 
 become the greatest rarity. It is somewhat singular 
 how comparatively few individuals, even amongst pro- 
 fessed naturalists, have had the chance of personally 
 examining the nest of the kingfisher ; it was, therefore, 
 with no little pleasure that I found myself, in the spring 
 
 * Mr. F. Buckland writes in the " Field" (March 26th, 1864, 
 p. 216), " On Saturday last I met a man in a punt on the Thames, 
 whose special mission on that day was to destroy kingfishers. He 
 had one (a beauty), and had two shots at others. They were going, 
 he told me, to London to be made into ornaments for ladies' hats. 
 It seems a very great pity to destroy these little birds, who are 
 just now building their nests; but ladies fashions rule the day. 
 They have already, by making them fashionable, nearly utterly 
 destroyed the black monkey on the west coast of Africa. The skins 
 of the Himalayan pheasants are getting very dear. Sea otters 
 have retired to the Arctic circle, and now the kingfisher's turn has 
 come ; and if this continues, the kingfisher will become shortly a 
 rare British bird. Ladies, if you wish to do service to your 
 husbands and brothers, make the white swan of the Thames fashion- 
 able ; for they are useless and spawn-eating brutes. If I knew who 
 the individual was who sets the fashions, I would certainly do my 
 best to cause this really modern demi-god to make swans' plumes 
 fashionable. It would be a bad job for the swans, possibly, and a 
 a piece of good luck for the fish." 
 
KINGFISHER. 317 
 
 of 1863, enabled to gratify my curiosity in this respect, 
 and compare my own observations with the many and 
 contradictory statements I had previously read. The 
 pretty stream at Keswick, near Norwich, has always 
 been a favourite resort of this species, and having 
 mentioned my desire to procure a nest to my friend Mr. 
 Thomas Edwards, he kindly sent me word on the 20th 
 of April, that one had been discovered that morning in 
 the bank of a drain at the back of Mrs. Birkbeck's 
 residence. I was soon there, and found that some men 
 employed in cleaning out the meadow drains (the water 
 being very low at the time) had watched a pair of 
 kingfishers passing in and out of a hole in a bank, 
 and were sure from their actions that it contained 
 a nest. The drain or 'dyke,' as it is called in Nor- 
 folk, was rather wide, and the hole, which I should 
 certainly have taken for a rat's, was about a foot below 
 the top of the bank, and the same distance from the 
 water. We first took the precaution to introduce some 
 paper into this aperture spreading it over the eggs, 
 to prevent the soil from crumbling into the nest, and 
 then dug carefully down upon the paper, extracting a 
 large circular piece of turf, but, in spite of all our 
 precautions, the earth, owing to a long continued 
 drought, was too friable to be kept from partially fall- 
 ing in. Carefully brushing this away, and removing 
 the paper, we discovered the nest, for such with its 
 raised sides it might fairly be called, occupying 
 a round chamber at the upper end of the passage 
 which sloped gradually upward from the point of 
 entrance. From the mouth of the hole to the circular 
 bed was about two feet, and the chamber containing the 
 nest itself was about six or eight inches in diameter, and 
 completely filled with the remains of fish in every stage 
 of decomposition. The eggs, seven in number, exhibiting 
 the usual pinky hue of the yolk showing through their 
 
318 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 glossy shells, were laid exactly in the centre, and 
 reposed on a strata of fragmentary fish bones pure 
 white and by no means offensive ; but a slightly raised 
 wall of similar substances, of a dirty yellow tint, 
 crumbling to the touch and alive with maggots was far 
 from pleasant, and I doubt not consisted of the recent 
 deposits of the old bird or birds whilst sitting, the 
 bleached looking bones beneath the eggs being evidently 
 of older date, and dried no doubt by the warmth of 
 their bodies. On inserting a spade beneath the entire 
 mass, in order to carry away as much as possible, we 
 found apparent evidence of this hole having been tenanted 
 for more than one season, since below the white bones, 
 forming the actual nest, was at least an inch in depth of 
 former dejecta,. This under layer was also very dark in 
 colour, and very lively, whilst that portion nearest the 
 walls of the chamber was quite dry and caked into the 
 surrounding soil. Amongst the half-digested portions of 
 bone I particularly noticed the remains of beetle-cases, 
 and one large fragment of a water-beetle (Notonecta), 
 with the claws complete ; but all these substances were 
 confined exclusively to the nesting-chamber, and were 
 not scattered about the passage leading thereto, nor was 
 there a single atom of grass, straw, or such like material 
 to be seen anywhere. Wishing to preserve not only the 
 eggs, but the strange bed on which they were placed, 
 the whole mass, on our reaching home, was turned into 
 a muslin bag, and by placing that in a cullender and 
 allowing water to run freely through it for some time, 
 all the earthy particles were soon washed out, and the 
 maggots were as effectively destroyed, by a single 
 immersion in boiling water. The bones, thus thoroughly 
 cleansed and sifted, were next turned out upon a 
 sheet of blotting paper and then laid on a wire sieve 
 to strain and dry till in a few hours the entire heap 
 looked as white, and free from all impurities, as the 
 
KINGFISHER. 319 
 
 portion on which the eggs had been first seen. On 
 weighing these bones, thus freed from, all foreign 
 particles, I found they amounted to exactly 1,080 grains 
 or two ounces and a-quarter and thirty grains. Mr. Gould 
 (Birds of Great Britain), in describing a kingfisher's 
 nest, taken by himself from a bank on the Thames, 
 (April 18th, 1859,) speaks of the deposit of bones then 
 found "as weighing 700 grains, which had been cast 
 up and deposited by the bird and its mate in the short 
 space of twenty-one days," as he had previously ab- 
 stracted four eggs, placed on a very slight layer of the 
 same material. How long in my case the nest had been 
 forming I cannot say, but the eggs were hard set upon 
 when I took them, and though I believe nearly all the 
 older portions of the structure either crumbled to bits, 
 or were washed away under the cleansing process, there 
 still remained, in all probability, more then one year's 
 deposit. The quantity of small fry whose tiny skeletons 
 alone would weigh 1080 grains, might form a problem 
 for the ingenious, and undoubtedly would amount to 
 something enormous ; yet anyone who has watched the 
 voracity of the young, when kept in confinement, will 
 scarcely be surprised at the mass of pellets thus ejected 
 by adult birds in their breeding places. 
 
 I have recently met with a description of three nests, 
 by a true naturalist, in that most interesting work, 
 entitled " Life in Normandy ;"* one found at Eton, one 
 in Northamptonshire, and one in Italy.f The first 
 
 * " Life in Normandy, sketches of French fishing, farming, 
 cooking, natural history, and politics, drawn from nature," 
 2 vols., 8vo., 1853. 
 
 f All three nests varied somewhat in character, that at Eton 
 much resembled the one at Keswick, being described as " nearly 
 circular, having only one side open ; the top, bottom, and sides all 
 composed of the same substance ; the inside covered with some of 
 the light sandy soil which surrounded it, and which adhered to 
 
320 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 contained three young ones in the month of May, 
 the second five eggs in July, and the latter four 
 young ones full fledged in summer. With these 
 various dates then, of eggs and young, the question 
 naturally arises, whether this species has two broods 
 in the year? That they breed early is evident from 
 my own and Mr. Gould's nest, and in that taken 
 at Eton the young were hatched in May; yet in the 
 Northamptonshire nest the eggs were found in July, 
 and it is not, I think, improbable, that if robbed of 
 their first offspring they will lay again, though perhaps 
 not accustomed as a rule to rear two broods in the 
 season. The appearance of the nest which I examined 
 at Keswick, and the situation of the hole, was strongly 
 in favour of its having been made by a rat, and enlarged 
 by the bird for its own purposes, but there seems little 
 doubt from the situations in which some nests have been 
 found, that these birds are also accustomed to excavate 
 for themselves. A young friend extremely fond of 
 ornithology, and a good observer, assured me not long 
 since that, on one occasion, he observed a kingfisher 
 in the act of boring into a bank, and although he could 
 never subsequently catch the bird at work, the hole 
 became deeper day by day, till probably through 
 his too frequent visits the chosen spot was deserted. 
 The above instances, I think, also clearly indicate 
 
 the bottom ; the outside beautifully white, and looking like carved 
 ivory or lace." In the Northamptonshire nest, the eggs "were 
 deposited at the end of a hole four feet deep, and were lying on 
 sand mixed with a few small bones ;" and the third, in Italy " was 
 of a dirty yellow colour instead of white, built round like the nest 
 of a hedge-sparrow, except at the back, where it rose with an 
 irregular edge, about two inches higher than the front. The 
 bottom, front, and sides were quite hard, but the part that rose 
 behind was soft, and broke easily under the fingers when lifted 
 from the ground, but by the next morning had become quite hard 
 and dry." 
 
KINGFISHEE. 321 
 
 that wherever the nest is newly tenanted, the eggs 
 are laid on the sand, and the nest of fish bones, such as 
 it is, is gradually formed by the sitting birds. In 
 Suffolk, according to Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear, 
 their nests " have been found in holes in gravel pits at 
 the distance of a mile from any large pond or river." 
 In such localities the previous borings of the sand- 
 martin are most probably made use of, but I cannot agree 
 with Mr. Newman'* that the kingfisher invariably adapts 
 the deserted holes of the sand-martin to its own pur- 
 poses. May not the statements of some authors that 
 kingfishers' nests have been found with grasses, straws, 
 and such like materials, mixed with fish bones, be 
 accounted for by presuming that some former occu- 
 pant of the hole, such as either land or water rat, 
 had previously introduced these foreign substances? 
 I cannot conclude this account of the kingfishers' 
 nest without quoting Sir Thomas Browne's descrip- 
 tion as given in his " answer to queries about fishes, 
 birds, and insects" (Wilkin's ed., vol. iv., p. 184), 
 as usual exhibiting the accuracy of observation of 
 that most remarkable man. "Halcyon is rendered a 
 a kingfisher, a bird commonly known among us, and by 
 zoographers and naturals the same is named ispida, 
 a well coloured bird, frequenting streams and rivers, 
 building in holes of pits, like some martins, about the 
 end of the spring, in whose nests we have found little 
 else than innumerable small fish bones, and white round 
 eggs of a smooth and polished surface." The young birds, 
 though rather difficult to rear, are extremely amusing 
 when brought up from the nest. Mr. Sayer, a bird- 
 stuffer, in this city, had four alive in the summer of 
 1862, which were kept in a small aviary where they 
 
 * "Private Life of the Kingfisher," by Ed. Newman, F.L.S., 
 F.Z.S. "Field," 1865, p. 108. 
 
322 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 had ample space to display their natural habits. If a 
 deep basin of water, filled with live minnows, was 
 placed on the floor, they would dart down from their 
 perches one after the other, and with almost unerring 
 aim, secure a victim, which was generally held near 
 to the tail until killed by sundry smart blows against 
 the woodwork ; then tossed up with a little jerk and 
 swallowed head downwards. Their voracity was some- 
 thing extraordinary, devouring meat as well as fish, and 
 occasionally one, having bolted his own minnow, would 
 seize hold of that in the beak of his neighbour, when the 
 struggle for mastery was highly amusing, " pull devil, 
 pull baker," they alternately dragged one another along 
 the narrow perch, and usually ended in halving the fish in 
 their violent efforts to gain sole possession. 
 
 There is no doubt that our native birds receive in 
 some seasons, if not every autumn, additions to their 
 numbers from more northern localities. Messrs. Shep- 
 pard and Whitear describe this species as apparently 
 " subject to a partial migration, as it comes up the 
 river Gipping, in Suffolk, every autumn. In the autumn 
 of 1818, kingfishers abounded along the shores and 
 creeks of the Stour, though not one was to be seen 
 in the summer. At the latter end of the last year 
 none were to be found in the same place." Mr. W. R. 
 Fisher, also, writing from Yarmouth in 1844 (Zoologist, 
 p. 766), says, e( I have for some time suspected, from 
 the number of kingfishers which are annually killed 
 here towards the end of August and beginning of 
 September ; that a migration of these birds takes place 
 about this time. The fact of a kingfisher having lately 
 dashed against a floating light placed about twenty 
 miles at sea, off Winterton (the Lemon), seems to con- 
 firm this supposition. It seems probable that they come 
 from the more northern parts of Europe, where the 
 waters are frozen in winter, but I have not hitherto 
 
KINGFISHER. 323 
 
 observed any indication of their return in spring. The 
 greater number of those which occur are young birds." 
 In the severe winter of 1859-60, a very unusual number 
 of kingfishers appeared in this neighbourhood, and 
 during the intense frost at that time, between the 12th 
 and 24th of December, when the rivers, drains, and 
 watercourses of every kind were thickly frozen, more 
 than twenty of these beautiful little creatures, from one 
 locality only, were brought into Norwich to be stuffed. 
 Most of them had been shot by the side of a mill pool, 
 where the open water, caused by the action of the 
 flushes, afforded the only chance of obtaining their 
 finny prey ; and several were picked up dead upon the 
 ice, frozen hard and stiff, and apparently starved to 
 death. In one instance a kingfisher was seen to pitch 
 down close to the bank of the rivei, and rising again, fly 
 off to a rail close by. The person watching this bird 
 saw it attempt to swallow something, when it suddenly 
 fell backwards and was picked up dead. On being 
 examined afterwards it was found to have bolted a little 
 shrew mouse, which unusual morsel had evidently 
 caused its untimely end, and showed how hard pressed 
 these poor birds must have been for their natural food. 
 These were, no doubt, for the most part homebred birds, 
 as their scarcity during the following spring and summer 
 was particularly noticeable, and in the winter of 1860-1, 
 though very severe, the kingfisher was scarcely seen. 
 From that time they did not again appear to be par- 
 ticularly numerous until the beginning of 1864, when, 
 during the hard frost that prevailed at the beginning of 
 January, between thirty and forty specimens at least 
 were shot in the immediate vicinity of Norwich, and 
 others were picked up entirely starved out. To a record 
 of this fact communicated to the " Zoologist" by Mr. T. 
 E. Gunn (p. 8954), Mr. Newman has also appended the 
 following note : " A still larger number were killed or 
 2T2 
 
324 BIRDS OF NOEFOLK. 
 
 picked up dead in the Woolwich, marshes and the fens 
 of Lincolnshire, but much earlier in the winter season, 
 and before any starvation could have taken place from 
 freezing of streams ; indeed, October and November 
 were the months when these birds were most abundant." 
 
 HIRUNDO RUSTICA, Linnaeus. 
 SWALLOW. 
 
 Emblem of all that is bright and sunny, the Swallow 
 is associated with our pleasantest recollections of idle 
 hours, by " flood and field." Lazily sitting by the 
 river's side, supposed to be fishing, though, in reality, 
 more intent upon the scene before us than the uncertain 
 movements of a painted float, the soft warblings of 
 the passing swallow delight the ear, and the eye as 
 delightedly follows its rapid flight. Skimming low 
 over the water, it passes again and again, snatching 
 at the insects in its zigzag flight, now stopping abruptly 
 as, with upraised wings, it hovers for an instant over 
 some floating object, now laving its glossy plumage in 
 the water as, rising and falling in graceful curves, it 
 seeks, high and low, its not less active prey. Tired of 
 our sport, or may be the want of it, let us now gather 
 our tackle together and, as we slowly saunter 
 homewards, observe attentively the varied actions 
 of this busy useful bird. How the sun glistens 
 on its glossy back as it courses over the buttercups 
 in the rich meadows, or, following others in quick 
 succession, threads the "mazy dance" beneath the 
 spreading trees. In and out amongst the legs of 
 the cattle, revelling in the insects that swarm around 
 them, we lose it for an instant in its sudden turns 
 as we cross the stile into the dusty road ; yet scarcely 
 
B WALLOW. 325 
 
 have we resumed our walk than it re-appears ; this 
 time, perhaps, coming straight at us in its headlong 
 flight; till, with one stroke of its nimble wing, it is 
 over the fence and far away on the other side, or, rising 
 almost perpendicularly, passes high over head ; then 
 descending again and almost sweeping the ground, 
 hurries on its way as we turn to watch it. In our towns 
 and villages, where the swallows nest in the chimneys 
 of old fashioned houses or more humble cottages, they 
 are seen continually flying backwards and forwards close 
 under the eaves, or occasionally attempting a lower 
 level when a brief cessation of traffic in the streets 
 leaves an open course. Suddenly, stopping in his swift 
 career, the male revisits his sitting mate in some long 
 frequented chimney, and cheers her labours with his soft 
 guttural notes either perched on the brick-work, or 
 hovering like a kestrel over the entrance to the nest. 
 If we change the scene and seek the cool refreshing 
 breeze upon the sea-shore, the swallow joins us in our 
 summer ramble, feasting on the sand-flies as it skims 
 along the beach, its graceful form reflected on the 
 moist sands ; or, in short flights out to sea, just tops 
 the crests of the little billows and the weed-covered 
 rocks exposed by the tide. Again, in a summer cruise 
 upon the broads and rivers, though not so generally 
 dispersed, and far less numerous than either the house 
 or sand-martins, the swallow still comes to meet us as 
 we approach the "Ferry," or some lone farm-house, 
 or marsh-man's cottage near to the waterside. Occa- 
 sionally, also, even further from the habitations of man, 
 we find a pair or two frequenting some large wooden 
 marsh-mill, passing in and out through the door and 
 windows to their nests amongst the rafters in the upper 
 story. As a rule, however, I have invariably noticed 
 that the swallow, whether in its search for food or merely 
 sportive flights, does not wander so far from its nesting 
 
326 BIKDS OF NOEFOLZ. 
 
 haunts as either of our British, martins. In this county, 
 this ever welcome visitant usually makes its appear- 
 ance about the 15th of April,* and leaves us again towards 
 the end of October, although I have occasionally observed 
 stragglers up to the 12th and 14th of November. The 
 situations selected for nesting purposes are by no means 
 confined to our chimney shafts, as they build quite as 
 frequently under the eaves of out-houses, or on the 
 crossbeams inside the roofs of barns and cattle sheds, 
 and other similar localities, provided access can be 
 obtained by door or window, or any chance aperture. 
 For many years I have known their nests to be placed 
 against the rafters in two covered sheds, erected on 
 either side of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, as a 
 shelter for gigs and carriages; and whilst staying at 
 Lowestoft in the summer of 1864, I found two pairs 
 breeding in a similar manner within the boarded house 
 of the Gorton life-boat. This building has a window on 
 either side, protected with iron bars, and closed when 
 necessary with wooden shutters, but one or other is 
 invariably open during the summer months to admit the 
 air, and thus these pretty creatures had availed them- 
 selves of this snug retreat; but unless they crept out 
 beneath the door way, I could find no other means of 
 escape should both the windows be closed at once. In 
 collecting materials for its nest, the swallow, like the 
 house-martin, will settle on the moist road or the brink 
 of ponds and ditches, and daintily elevating its wings 
 and tail above the soil, gather the soft mud with its beak. 
 Yet, although these clayey structures are always inter- 
 mixed with straw, and lined with grass and feathers, it 
 
 * The table of "observations on indications of spring," made 
 during ten years, commencing 1845, at Stratton Strawless, as 
 published in the Norfolk Chronicle, May 31st, 1856, gives the 
 earliest and latest arrival of the swallow as follows : April 10th, 
 1852; April 28th, 1847. 
 
SWALLOW. 327 
 
 is rarely that one detects a bird in the act of conveying 
 any of those lighter articles ; but I once saw a pair 
 playfully contending on the wing for the possession of a 
 large white feather, which was dropt again and again, 
 and as often seized by one or other of the birds ere it 
 floated to the ground, and was at length safely deposited 
 within the chimney shaft. 
 
 Of the two broods which they rear in their brief 
 sojourn amongst us, the first, if the parents have 
 been undisturbed, are flyers by the middle of June, 
 the latter-hatch about the middle of August. How 
 pretty it is then to watch the untiring labours of 
 the old birds. Sometimes ranged in a row on the 
 parapet of a house, four or five little fluttering creatures 
 sit side by side, already slight traces of the chesnut 
 gorget leaving no doubt as to the species. How did 
 they get there? Did they tumble down or, stronger 
 in faith than in quill feathers, believe the "all right" 
 of their fond parents, and pluckily launch themselves 
 from the summit of that stack of chimnies? Any- 
 how, there they are, and now both trembling wings and 
 open beaks dispel all doubts as to these feathered babies 
 being perfectly capable of "taking notice." Pausing 
 for an instant in its upward flight, an old bird hovers, 
 with expanded tail before the favoured nestling, and 
 with soft loving notes fills the little outstretched throat 
 with food, then off for more, and each in turn, by either 
 parent, is thus fed incessantly. When further fledged, a 
 favourite resting place for the young swallows is on the 
 dead branches of some lofty tree, whose summit has, 
 perhaps, been scorched by lightning., and here both old 
 and young at intervals will sun themselves for hours, 
 the latter now darting off to meet their parents, and 
 receive in mid air the expected feast. The popular 
 belief, however, in some parts of the country, that 
 swallows only settle on dead wood is not founded 
 
328 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 on fact, as I have seen them often on green branches, 
 but the leafless bough affords an open perch, from 
 which they can more readily launch themselves with 
 their long tapering wings, and hence no doubt their 
 modern predilection for the telegraph wires. Young 
 and old, still congregating together, are seen in little 
 flocks about our meadows and pastures, till instinct 
 warns them of the coming winter, when suddenly they 
 are gone, and, in the absence of their graceful forms 
 around our dwellings or about our paths, in every out- 
 door occupation, we realize in the very void created, 
 the pleasure they impart in summer. 
 
 HIEUNDO UEBICA, Linnaeus. 
 HOUSE-MAETIN. 
 
 The fullest and most accurate account of the habits of 
 this familiar species, as indeed of most of our migrants and 
 residents, is that given by Macgillivray in his "British 
 Birds" a work far too little known to the naturalists 
 of this country, the minute observations of its talented 
 author being equalled only by his descriptive powers. 
 For my own purpose, a brief sketch of the " ways and 
 means" of the House-Martin, as observed in this county, 
 will suffice in the present volume, though a small book 
 might be written, without exhausting the subject, on 
 the varied actions, customs, and peculiarities of this 
 universal favourite. 
 
 The winter has passed and gone, though still the 
 chilling blast of the north-east winds makes one sym- 
 pathise with Hood* in his version of " The Seasons." 
 
 * " Come gentle spring ! ethereal mildness come ! 
 Oh ! Thomson, void of rhyme as well as reason, 
 How could'st thou thus poor human nature hum ? 
 There's no such season." 
 
HOUSE-MARTIN. 329 
 
 Yet, in spite of all such atmospherical drawbacks, the 
 elins and beech trees are budding into leaf, and the 
 horse-chestnut and sycamore are folly clothed; the 
 hedgerows, changing from brown to green, are hiding 
 with their foliage the early nests of the robin and 
 the hedge-sparrow, and the merry song of the chaffinch 
 is heard again with the chiffchaff and the willow 
 wren ; when the brief sight of a glancing form, 
 twisting and turning in the bright sunlight, gives a 
 thrill of pleasure to the true naturalist, who doffs 
 his cap to the " first swallow" or the foremost flight 
 of the coming martins. Varying a little with the 
 mildness or backwardness of the season, the house- 
 martin arrives generally rather later than the swallow, 
 and is seen in our country walks, though not in our 
 streets, by about the second week in April. The 20th 
 of that month is, I think, an average date, and from 
 that time their numbers rapidly increase, and, for 
 a time at least, they seem to give themselves up wholly 
 to the pleasures of existence, spending their entire 
 days upon our rivers and streams, feasting and flitting 
 with untiring energy, and delaying for a while their 
 parental cares. Should the weather at this time 
 become unusually severe, they are gone again for a 
 brief space, having sought, no doubt, with their swiffc 
 wings, the warmer climate of our southern counties, 
 but a genial change soon brings them back, and by 
 the first week in May they are around our dwellings 
 carefully inspecting their old nests and selecting sites 
 for new. Now is the time to watch their pretty 
 actions as again and again they hover up to the eaves, 
 or drift away upon outspread wings, the white patch 
 on the tail coverts contrasting forcibly with their dark 
 blue backs. Not easily dislodged from any favourite 
 spot, they are equally hard to please in the choice of a 
 new one, often coming and going for days together, 
 
 2TJ 
 
330 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 apparently quite unable to decide. At other times, 
 from some cause or other, the place fixed upon proves 
 wholly unsuitable, the materials for the nest refusing 
 to adhere. This was the case in a house not far 
 from my own a year or two back, where several pairs 
 seemed anxious to build under the projecting eaves, but 
 though from one side of the house to the other the 
 wall was dotted with little patches of clay, no safe founda- 
 tion could be made, and at length the attempt had to be 
 given up ; yet some persevered for a fortnight and thus, 
 to no purpose, lost much valuable time. There is no doubt 
 that the old nests, which remain firm, are inhabited year 
 after year, very probably by the same birds or some of 
 their brood, but in too many cases these are occupied 
 by sparrows in winter, who re-line them with straws 
 and other articles for their own convenience, and in 
 spring dispute the right of the martins to their former 
 tenements. The cunning bullying sparrow is the house- 
 martin's worst enemy. It sits quietly watching the 
 labours of the little architects from the gutter of the 
 roof or the top of the chimney, never interfering whilst 
 the work is in progress; but, no sooner is the whole 
 completed, than it takes possession, in the absence of 
 the builders, and impudently pecks at them from the 
 entrance when they return to their home. Macgillivray, 
 on the authority of Mr. Durham Weir, gives no less 
 than three "well authenticated facts," as he terms 
 them, of martins collecting together to build up a re- 
 fractory sparrow in its ill-gotten nest, the names of the 
 individuals who witnessed the proceedings being given in 
 each case ; and many similar instances are also on record, 
 though generally looked upon as mere fabulous state- 
 ments. Most heartily do I wish that the martins fre- 
 quenting my house would thus summarily punish 
 a few of their tormentors; as it is, I am obliged to 
 come to the rescue, and with a small bulletted saloon 
 
HOtfSE -MARTIN. 331 
 
 pistol, that makes little noise, pick off these feathered 
 house-breakers whenever opportunity offers. Many 
 people rather than drive away these amusing birds 
 have little wooden ledges placed under the nests 
 to preserve the cleanliness of their windows and door 
 steps ; but that this is not always an effectual remedy 
 will be seen by the following anecdote, related to me 
 by Mr. Ringer, of West Harling. A gentleman of his 
 acquaintance residing in that neighbourhood, who, 
 though particularly partial to house-martins, objected 
 to the nuisance which their building entailed, had a 
 long board, the whole width of his house, fixed at a 
 convenient distance below their nests. Many pairs, 
 as usual, built under the eaves, and the old gentleman 
 was congratulating himself on this happy idea when, 
 to his great vexation, a good many more persisted in 
 building below the board, and thus effectually frustrated 
 his good intentions. The same individual, also, being 
 much annoyed at the sparrows taking forcible possession 
 of the nests of his favourites, employed a man to shoot 
 at the sparrows as they flew out, and the martins, far 
 from being frightened by the report of the gun, would 
 repossess themselves instantly of their proper domiciles. 
 The application, however, of soft soap or cart-grease 
 when required, to the wall, the under side of the eaves 
 or protecting board is generally sufficient to hinder the 
 birds from attaching their nests to any place where 
 these would be found a nuisance. 
 
 As soon as building has commenced in earnest, 
 we see these little creatures collecting mud from the 
 sides of ponds and water courses, or settling on the 
 roads in busy groups to avail themselves of the 
 temporary moisture afforded by the water-carts in dry 
 seasons. How daintily they lift their wings and tails, 
 raising themselves up on their little white feet to avoid 
 contact with the dirty soil, then launching themselves 
 2u2 
 
 
332 BIEDS OF NOEFOLK. 
 
 upon the wing, with perfect ease, fly off to their homes 
 with many a graceful curve. Early in the season the 
 business proceeds but slowly, the birds working only 
 for short periods and at uncertain intervals, guided, no 
 doubt, by the necessities of nature to hasten or delay 
 the appointed task. If, however, their nests are 
 destroyed by accident or otherwise, the next are com- 
 pleted with far more expedition. A pair, which no 
 doubt had been disturbed elsewhere, commenced build- 
 ing at the side of my house on the 8th of June (1864), 
 and by the 13th the nest was completed, and the old 
 birds were seen going in and out. I watched their 
 proceedings with much interest, and as soon as the 
 site was once chosen and the foundation laid with a 
 few lumps of clay, both birds were actively engaged 
 collecting materials. At first, clinging to the brick- 
 work with their claws and supporting themselves on 
 their outspread tails, each one in turn added its mite, 
 and hurried off for a fresh supply. An affectionate 
 little twitter was invariably uttered on each arrival, 
 but if both remained at the same time, one only con- 
 tinued building; the other either looked on, or with 
 endearing notes caressed its mate. Occasionally the 
 absent bird would return too soon, and receiving a 
 hint to that effect as it hovered up to its partner, 
 would skim away over the tops of the trees, and thus 
 in little flights await its turn. Presently the structure 
 assumed a cup-like form, projecting sufficiently for 
 each little architect to get inside, as with busy bills 
 they raised the outer wall, and now both birds, which 
 before had left the house at night, roosted together on 
 their new structure. They generally worked, if the 
 weather was fine, from early morning till nearly noon, 
 and then either desisted altogether or returned only at 
 long intervals until about five p.m., when both worked 
 steadily for an hour or two, and then joined their 
 
HOUSE -MAKTIN. 333 
 
 neighbours in their aerial evolutions as long as day- 
 light lasted. As a rule, I think, the middle of the 
 day is devoted to feasting and pleasure-flights, the moist 
 atmosphere, both morning and evening, being most 
 favourable to the prosecution of their work, which 
 hardens with the sun in the middle of the day. 
 Under the projecting roofs of sheds and other buildings 
 and the corners of windows are the sites usually 
 selected for their nests, but I have known them built 
 under the arches of a bridge, and in one instance 
 also, at Hunstanton, on the face of the chalk-cliff 
 fronting the sea ; a strange situation in these days, for 
 this species, but one which it occasionally selects in 
 other parts of England, and which no doubt was natural 
 to it before men began to erect houses. I have also 
 known them to build for years under the thatch of a 
 cottage, one story high, where a boy could reach every 
 nest with a short stick, yet probably from the people 
 encouraging and protecting them they seem quite un- 
 suspicious of danger. 
 
 The unceasing exertions of the old birds to supply 
 the wants of their nestlings when once hatched, is one 
 of the most interesting sights in nature, as each in 
 turn arrives with food, then, squeezing its way out 
 again through the little aperture, launches forth once 
 more. Thus, hour after hour, the " labour of love" 
 goes on till darkness only stays their busy wings, and 
 old and young nestle together in their little home. 
 Macgillivray gives the result of one whole day's observa- 
 tions upon the number of times that the house-martin 
 really feeds its offspring; and by this statement it is 
 shown that in the middle of July, between four a.m. 
 and eight p.m., a pair of these birds returned with 
 food to their nest no less than three hundred and 
 seven times, making at certain parts of the day 
 from twenty to twenty-eight visits per hour. As 
 
334 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 the young approach the time for their first flight, we 
 see their little white faces at the opening of the nest, 
 watching the return of the old birds, who now feed 
 them from the outside, and, as they hover up and cling 
 for an instant with outspread tails, low murmuring 
 notes announce a mutual pleasure ; and, even when not 
 actually seeking food, the parents will pause again and 
 again in their rapid circlings, and on quivering wings 
 twitter for an instant to the tiny occupants of their little 
 nursery. As a rule the house-martins are so amiable a 
 race, aiding one another against their common foes, and 
 taking evidently a friendly interest in their neighbours 
 affairs, that the following instance of a downright 
 quarrel amongst them is worth recording. On the 
 12th of June, 1865, my attention was attracted to 
 the martins that build against the side of my house 
 by their agitated flight and cries, and the fact of 
 several of them visiting one particular nest. On 
 watching their movements, I found the real proprietors 
 were fighting for their home, and two others evidently 
 as much bent upon ejecting them. First one would fly 
 into the nest, then another, then a third would 
 work its way through the entrance and a regular 
 struggle succeeded inside; portions of clay rattling 
 down, whilst wings and tails alternately projected from 
 the little aperture. In a second or two, one would come 
 out, then two, fighting with their claws apparently 
 interlaced, till they thus fell occasionally to within a 
 yard of the ground before quitting hold. Then a chase 
 ensued, and all four, wheeling round, returned again to 
 the attack and defence. Sometimes one pair seemingly 
 gained possession first, sometimes the other, but each 
 " round" invariably ended with two, probably the males, 
 clinging to each other, as they tumbled from the nest, 
 with now and then two others also "binding" to them, till 
 the whole struggling feathered mass would come nearly 
 
HOUSE-MARTIN. 335 
 
 within arms' reach, the combatants being far too excited 
 to heed my presence. Parts of the nest were pulled down, 
 and feathers from the lining flew out as well, and thus 
 the fight went on for at least twenty minutes. At 
 length, after a prolonged struggle and chasing flight, 
 one pair returned alone, and the others were evidently 
 beaten. The owners now began to repair damages, though 
 neither quitted the nest, but sat preening their feathers 
 on the edge, twittering all the while in an excited 
 manner and evidently unwilling to leave for fear the 
 intruders should return. I can only imagine, as the 
 cause of this strange quarrel, that one pair commenced 
 the building and deserted it for some reason, returning 
 only when a fresh pair had appropriated the site and 
 finished the nest. 
 
 As invariable as the circlings of the rooks over 
 the elms, or the twistings and turnings of the starlings 
 over the reed-beds, before retiring to roost, is the 
 evening flight of the swallow the martin, and the 
 swift. The sitting bird leaves her nest for awhile 
 to stretch her weary limbs and join with her mate 
 the twittering throng. Now, mingling in full chorus, 
 they swarm over our heads ; now, separating in all 
 directions, they skim over the trees and housetops, 
 rising and falling under the eaves of our dwellings; 
 and, again collecting, repeat their varied movements, 
 till, almost imperceptibly, when the sun has set and 
 the deepening shadows are stealing over the scene, they 
 drop off by degrees to their respective homes, and the 
 stillness of the summer night succeeds in strange con- 
 trast to their busy actions. The house-martins have 
 at least two broods in the year, some of the first 
 hatch being known to roost with their parents and the 
 second family in the same nest ; whilst old and young 
 consort together in their flights over the meadows, 
 fields, and rivers, till the tune comes to return south- 
 
336 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 wards. In dull cloudy days, with occasional showers, 
 they frequent for the most part the vicinity of trees, 
 flying low under the spreading branches, or circling 
 round, at a somewhat higher level, their white tail- 
 coverts contrast sharply with the dark foliage. In 
 windy weather they will also seek the same localities ; 
 but it is curious to watch them at such times, daring the 
 wind, as it were, in their playful flight, hovering up in 
 the very teeth of the gale till, fairly mastered, they are 
 borne swiftly away on outspread wings only to return 
 again and again to the charge. The sportsman finds 
 them in the early autumn playing over the turnip fields 
 with the skimming swallow, crossing his path at every 
 turn, or chasing each other in little groups over the 
 sheltered corners where, some small plantation casts a 
 little shade, or a chance pit-hole adds the attractions of 
 water to a shady nook rich in coarse herbage and teeming 
 with insect life. How strange it is that the migratory im- 
 pulse should be stronger even than parental love, causing 
 even these gentle and peculiarly affectionate beings to 
 desert their later nestlings and leave them to the sad 
 lingering fate of death by starvation. Yet many are the 
 instances in which this has come to the knowledge of 
 careful observers, and the bodies of these callow young 
 are thrown out by the old ones on their return in spring. 
 I have frequently seen martins still feeding their off- 
 spring in the nest up to the end of September, and it is 
 these late hatched ones which are observed occasionally 
 about our dwellings long after the main body have left 
 us in October, being then too young and feeble to 
 attempt so long a journey. A young pair were shot 
 at Carrow, near Norwich, in 1862, as late as the 
 loth of November. As before remarked, though 
 for the most part peculiarly gentle and inoffensive 
 amongst themselves, these little creatures will pursue 
 any feathered intruder with the utmost vigour and 
 
HOUSE-MARTIN. 337 
 
 determination ; sometimes, in a body, pursuing a hawk 
 for a long distance, "mobbing" him in every possible 
 way, and fairly bewildering him with their endless evolu- 
 tions, as they swarm around with their twittering 
 menaces. On one occasion also, I saw a common 
 pigeon treated in the same manner by a large flight of 
 martins, merely, as far as I could see, because he passed 
 through their ranks ; but so severely did they resent this 
 intrusion that, after a long bewildering chase, they 
 fairly drove him to his pigeon-locker, glad enough to 
 escape from such a nest of hornets. At times, too, I have 
 noticed a strange antipathy between the pied- wagtail and 
 the house-martin, which it is difficult to attribute to 
 anything but jealousy in a kindred pursuit of insect 
 food. In every instance the attack has been made by 
 the wagtail, when the two birds have accidentally crossed 
 each other's path, in which case I have watched the 
 pursuer and pursued as far as the eye could reach, twist- 
 ing and turning with such wondrous rapidity that the 
 two birds have seemed like one in the closeness of their 
 movements. On one occasion I had been watching some 
 thirty or forty martins sitting in rows upon the telegraph 
 wires, when a pair of pied-wagtails came and perched 
 amongst them ; this seemed the signal for most of the 
 martins to fly off, and the wagtails, each singling out an 
 object for the chase, started in swift pursuit. Whether 
 or not our British Hirundines believe that the telegraph 
 wires were erected for their special accommodation, 
 undoubtedly one of the strangest points in their modern 
 history is the manner in which they avail themselves of 
 these novel resting places. Indeed, when beholding, as I 
 have often done in autumn, each wire lined with their 
 little bodies, more especially in the vicinity of our rivers 
 and broads, one wonders, almost, how they managed with- 
 out them, since no other perch seems half so suitable for 
 their tiny feet, or affords so great facility for launching 
 2 x 
 
338 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 themselves upon the wing. On one occasion I remember, 
 when sailing up the river from Lowestoffc, about the 
 middle of August, the wires in the vicinity of St. Olave's 
 Bridge were literally black with house and sand-martins, 
 in nearly equal numbers, and a few swallows here and 
 there. It was too early in the season to suppose they 
 had collected preparatory to leaving altogether, and yet 
 their numbers, which might fairly be reckoned by 
 thousands (extending as they did in unbroken lines for 
 at least a hundred yards), was a sight which even the 
 least observant individual could scarcely pass unnoticed, 
 and their ranks no doubt included nearly all the birds 
 reared for miles around, thus met to desport themselves 
 over the waters of the Waveney. Mr. Newton attributes 
 the unquestionable decrease, of late years, in the numbers 
 of the genus Hirundo, and especially in H. urbica, so 
 frequently remarked upon in zoological journals, to the 
 diminution of their food by the drainage of fens and the 
 like. There is no doubt, I think, that this may be con- 
 sidered the main cause of their scarcity in many places ; 
 but as yet, owing to the wide extent of marsh land and 
 the broad districts, the diminution is less perceptible in 
 Norfolk than in many other counties. 
 
 HIRUNDO RIPARIA, Linnaeus. 
 SAND-MARTIN. 
 
 Pleasant as are the home associations connected 
 with the house-martin and the swallow, the above-named 
 species is not the less endeared to us, through the 
 recollection of summer days spent amidst their cheerful 
 haunts. To my mind, the very name is suggestive of 
 holiday recreations and pleasant hours upon the rivers 
 and broads, where the verdant marshes and the winding 
 stream resound on all sides with their ceaseless twit- 
 
SAND-MABTIN. 339 
 
 terings. What angler lias not watched their endless 
 flight, passing and repassing on the rippling water, and 
 felt how much enjoyment would be wanting to the 
 scene were there no birds to charm the eye and ear, no 
 gentle breeze to stir the rustling reed-stems. Ex- 
 tremely numerous in summer, the Sand-Martins arrive 
 rather earlier than the previous species and leave us 
 again towards the end of October, but a few may be 
 seen occasionally as late as the middle of November; 
 most probably young birds of the second brood, reared 
 late in the season. On their first arrival, before their 
 parental duties have commenced, they spend the entire 
 day upon the water, flitting and feasting from the 
 first dawn of morning till after sunset, and at night, 
 clinging by hundreds to the reed-stems, roost in the 
 great reed-beds upon the various broads, or in ozier-cars 
 and damp rush-bottomed plantations by the river side. 
 In such localities, also, the young of the first broods 
 retire to rest, no doubt a far more agreeable manner of 
 passing the dark hours than in their confined nest-holes 
 swarming with fleas. These, however, bear but little 
 comparison to the numbers which, later in the season, 
 collect from all parts towards sunset ; feasting as long as 
 daylight remains upon the innumerable insects that 
 swarm upon the surface of the water, and settling by 
 degrees, like the starlings, amongst the reeds ; whilst 
 stragglers are still arriving till past nine o'clock at 
 night. Late as they may be, however, in retiring to 
 rest, they may be seen again by three o'clock the next 
 morning, snatching a hasty meal amongst the swarming 
 midges, and dispersing themselves once more over the 
 marshes to spend, on ceaseless pinions, their busy useful 
 day.* 
 
 * Who but Macgillivray could describe their ever changing 
 course, or give, in such "winged words," the idea of swiftness; 
 yet thus he renders it : " There comes a bank martin, skimming 
 2x2 
 
340 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Their breeding habits are too well known to every 
 ordinary observer to need much, description, but 
 wherever the side of a railway cutting, or the declivity of 
 a chalk, gravel, or sand pit, presents a favourable surface 
 to be operated upon by their little bills, these busy 
 miners excavate for themselves a home, living sociably 
 enough in numerous colonies, and the apertures of their 
 nest-holes, in some cases, so close together as almost to 
 run one into the other. As a rule, the sites selected for 
 nesting purposes are in close vicinity to a river or 
 smaller stream, but I have occasionally found them 
 breeding at a considerable distance from water of any 
 kind. Unless the position itself has peculiar attractions, 
 they do not, like their kindred species, seek the neigh- 
 bourhood of man, but prefer the open country away 
 from all habitations, and they also nest by hundreds in 
 the face of our lofty sand cliffs, facing the sea. In the 
 vicinity of Cromer, on either side of the town, their 
 nest-holes are placed about two feet from the summit of 
 the cliff, and for the most part exactly on the same 
 level, that strata being no doubt most easily worked, 
 and they also breed in the carstone formation, adjoining 
 the chalk, in the less extensive but most remarkable 
 range of cliffs at Hunstanton, near Lynn. In such 
 positions, from the abruptness of the precipice and the 
 distance below the surface at which their borings 
 are made, the nests are rarely disturbed except by the 
 sparrows, who will occasionally take unlawful posses- 
 
 along the surface of the brook, gliding from side to side, deviating 
 by starts, now sweeping over the bank, wheeling across the road, 
 making an excursion over the cornfield, then rising perpendicularly, 
 slanting away down the wind, fluttering among the spikes of the 
 long grass, and shooting off into the midst of a multitude of its 
 fellows." Almost as one reads this graphic passage, low hurried 
 twitterings seem to fall upon the ear, and he who in his mind's eye 
 cannot see that martin is no true lover of nature. 
 
SAND-MARTIN. 341 
 
 sion, and keep it too, against all the efforts of the poor 
 ill-treated martins and their friends, to expel the 
 intruders. In chalk and gravel-pits, however, they are 
 subject to many dangers from the fall of the soil, 
 whether slipped by accident or intentionally broken 
 down ; and although the upper margin of the pit from 
 its softer material is usually most densely populated, 
 yet many pairs, in seeking for similar facilities, build 
 so low down that the holes are easily accessible to 
 boys, or the pickaxes of the men at work in the 
 cuttings. The noted chalk-pits at Horstead, near 
 Norwich, are the resort of immense numbers of these 
 birds, and it is extremely interesting to observe how 
 instinctively they avoid the harder and more stony 
 layers, whilst the smallest portions of the softer strata 
 are selected wherever they may chance to crop out. 
 The nest holes are by no means of the same size or 
 shape, but vary according to the difficulties met with 
 in excavating, and many may be seen left unfinished 
 where a large stone, or other substance too hard for 
 their bills, has obliged them to desist. The depth to 
 which many of these little burrows extend is very 
 remarkable, as I have frequently been unable to reach 
 the nest even at arm's length, whilst others extend from 
 two to three feet into the soil and are by no means 
 always in a straight line, but curved so as to avoid any 
 obstruction in the passage. They have generally two 
 broods in the year, the first flying in June, and the 
 second towards the end of July, as I have found the 
 young still in the down by the second week in July, and 
 eggs hard set upon at the same time. The nests are 
 formed of short bits of straw and grass loosely put 
 together, and lined with feathers white ones, whether 
 by choice or accident, always largely predominating. 
 In autumn both old and young congregate toge- 
 ther in their pleasure-flights, skimming over the rivers 
 
342 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 and adjacent meadows in company with the house- 
 martin and still scarcer swallow, or rest by hundreds 
 on the telegraph wires, wherever commercial enterprise 
 may have brought those convenient perches near enough 
 to their usual haunts. 
 
 A high gravelly bank at the back of the Brundall 
 station, on the Yarmouth line, has been for years 
 a very favourite resort, and the chief home of those 
 large nights met with, throughout the summer, on 
 Surlingham and Rockland Broads; but, in all my 
 visits to that district, I never remember to have seen 
 them in such prodigious quantities as in the month of 
 July, 1864. I was returning from Lowestoft, by train, 
 on the 23rd, and, waiting for the Norwich train to 
 pass, was detained several minutes at the Brundall 
 station. As we came to a stand still close to their 
 nesting place, I observed the sand-martins clusiering 
 like bees on the wires, many hundreds together 
 sitting closely in rows, and these, when disturbed 
 by the noise of the engine, rose in one dense mass, 
 and flew round and round, apparently joined by as 
 many more, and all at length settled in one thick 
 cloud in a ploughed field close to the line. Most 
 of them from their actions appeared to be feeding, 
 some hovering up now and then and alighting again, 
 but on the least alarm all rose together on the wing, 
 and, drifting over the train in immense swarms, produced 
 an effect as singular as it was beautiful, and one which 
 I certainly never witnessed before upon so large a 
 scale. A gun fired into their midst as they sprang 
 from the ground, must inevitably have killed hundreds 
 at one discharge, whilst their numbers, without the 
 least exaggeration, could be only computed by thousands. 
 Perfectly white and other varieties have been killed 
 at times in this county ; a light cream-coloured speci- 
 men was shot at Eaton, near Norwich, in July, 1861, 
 
COMMON SWIFT. 343 
 
 and another at Weasenham in the following September ; 
 and one of a light silvery grey, in the Norwich museum 
 (No. 162.a), was killed at Dereham, in 1864. 
 
 CYPSELUS APUS (Linnaeus). 
 COMMON SWIFT. 
 
 If (e one swallow does not make a summer/ 5 the first 
 Swift is a pretty sure indication that that season has 
 commenced in earnest. The last of its race to visit us 
 in spring, and the first to leave us in the early autumn, 
 we know it only in connection with bright sunny skies, 
 long days, and sultry heat. Here, as we lay at length 
 upon the warm shingle, listening to the murmur of the 
 little waves as they ebb and flow amongst the pebbles at 
 our feet, with a soft breeze tempering the scorching 
 heat of the noon-day sun, under whose influence a 
 deceptive mirage dances and flickers above the sand- 
 hills ; suddenly the sharp screech of the passing swifts 
 is heard as they swoop past us in their mad career, and 
 still rings upon our startled ears long after their mar- 
 vellous powers of flight have borne them beyond the 
 range of vision. Soon they return again, rising and 
 falling in amorous chase, or wheel in devious circles 
 high up in the blue vault of heaven ; revelling apparently 
 in the intensity of the heat and the cessation for a time 
 from parental duties. I have often noticed this habit 
 in the swifts, of leaving the church towers and other 
 nesting places about the noon-hour, as if to stretch 
 their cramped limbs, and seek their food at a time 
 when their eggs would least suffer from temporary 
 exposure. There is another period, too, when the swift 
 almost invariably appears abroad, though previously, 
 perhaps, unseen for hours. The air is hot and stifling, 
 
344 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 and a sudden gloom creeps as it were over the earth 
 and sky. An almost painful stillness is broken only by 
 the chirping of the sparrows under the tiles, already 
 conscious of a coming storm. Dark angry clouds are drift- 
 ing across the heavens, and one broad mass, perceptibly 
 increasing and assuming each moment a deeper shade, be- 
 speaks the lowering tempest. Now, as we stand watching 
 that strange yellow light, which spreads itself for awhile 
 over surrounding objects ; as one by one the heavy drops 
 foretell the drenching shower; strange dark forms are 
 seen sweeping through the air in the very " eye of the 
 storm," and the sooty plumage of the swifts contrasts 
 even with the blackest portions of the surrounding 
 atmosphere. No wonder, then, that their appearance 
 at such times, issuing from their fastnesses as the very 
 " demons of the storm," coupled with their " uncanny" 
 looks and thrilling cries, should have won for them in a 
 superstitious age the local name of Devilins.* I have 
 pictured these birds by the sea-side, not that they are 
 more common in the vicinity of the coast than in any of 
 our inland towns or villages, but so essentially is this 
 a summer bird, that it recalls involuntarily the thought 
 of leisure and of healthy idle hours. There is, too, one 
 other association connected with the swift, which need 
 not take us further from our homes, in town or country, 
 than the parish church. Who is there, with an ear for 
 nature's sounds, that cannot recall some quiet Sunday 
 evening when, through the open doors and windows, 
 scarce a breath of air is felt within the sacred building 
 when human frailty, too much for even the best intentions, 
 is yielding by degrees to an irresistible drowsiness, and 
 the worthy minister is soothing rather than rousing those 
 
 * " Devilin. s., the species of swallow commonly called the 
 swift ; hirundo apus, Lin. Named from its imp-like ugliness 
 and screaming. JEN. (Jennings Glossary) Sheer-devil." Forby's 
 Vocabulary of East Auglia. 
 
COMMON SWIFT. 345 
 
 slumbering tendencies ? Suddenly, with a screech that 
 makes one jump again, the swifts come dashing past the 
 upper windows, no sooner heard than gone, and circling 
 round the steeple in their evening flight, repeat with 
 every passing swoop their strange alarm. 
 
 This species appears, generally, about the first week 
 in May, and leaves us again, for the most part, by 
 the end of August, though stragglers are occasionally 
 seen up to the 20th and 25th September. The Eev. 
 E. W. Do well has, however, recorded in his MS. 
 notes, a single swift as seen by himself at Blakeney, 
 with several Hirundines, in October, 1858, a very un- 
 usually late appearance of this species. Through- 
 out their brief sojourn with us, they are very 
 generally distributed, frequenting alike the steeples of 
 our city and country churches, the eaves of houses, or 
 the ruined edifices of bygone days. They also breed 
 regularly in the dark crevices of the chalk-cliffs at 
 Hunstanton, facing the sea, where their nests are free 
 from all chance of molestation ; bufc the old birds are, I 
 am sorry to say, frequently shot at from the beach as 
 they take their evening flight over the sands, or chase 
 one another along the face of the cliffs, whose hollows 
 reverberate with their harsh screams. A curious instance 
 of the effect of cold, during a very backward spring, upon 
 our British Hirundines, as observed at the residence of the 
 Eev. Mr. Fonnereau, of Christchurch, Ipswich, is quoted 
 by Messrs Sheppard and Whitear from the Suffolk 
 Chronicle (June 15th, 1816) : tf On the mornings of the 
 5th and 6th of June, 1816, the gardeners could have taken 
 up hundreds of these birds (swallows) in their hands. 
 They were collected in knots, and sat on the grass in 
 parcels of thirty and forty. This, there is reason to 
 believe, was owing both to cold and hunger." They 
 further add, "The same summer many house-martins 
 were found dead on the ground in Norfolk, and others 
 2 Y 
 
346 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 were so weak that the cats sprang on and caught 
 them as they flew near the ground. A pair of these 
 birds, which had completed a nest under the eaves of our 
 house, were both found dead in it before any eggs were 
 laid. From the above circumstances birds of this kind 
 were unusually scarce throughout the summer." The 
 Cypselidce are, in like manner, much affected by sudden 
 changes of temperature. On the 20th of May, 1859, 
 after a succession of cold N.E. winds for some days, I 
 was shown a pair of swifts that had just been taken in a 
 semi-torpid state from under the eaves of a church in 
 this city, but on being introduced into a warm room 
 they gradually revived, and were soon anxious enough 
 to regain their liberty. 
 
 CYPSELUS ALPINUS (Scopoli.) 
 ALPINE SWIFT. 
 
 But one specimen of the White-bellied Swift is 
 known to have occurred in Norfolk, of which I am 
 enabled to give the following particulars through the 
 kindness of the Eev. Thomas Fulcher, of Old Bucken- 
 ham, who has recently presented this most interesting 
 bird to the Norwich Museum: (f There is a slight 
 inaccuracy (he writes) in YarrelPs notice of it. It 
 was shot in Old Buckenham, in the field between 
 the old castle and New Buckenham parsonage, in 
 the latter part of September (not 13th of October), 
 1831. The gentleman who shot it left it, whilst still 
 warm and bleeding, with a bird-stuffer in New Buck- 
 enham, but neither of them knew the value of it. 
 After a few weeks it was offered to me, and I had it 
 preserved. A friend of mine sent an account of it to 
 (( London's Magazine" the same year. In February, 
 1833, I made a pen and ink sketch of the bird, natural 
 
ALPINE SWIFT. 347 
 
 size, and sent it with a full description to Professor 
 James Kennie, who inserted a reduced copy of the 
 figure with my description in the "Field Naturalist" 
 (vol. i., No. iv., p. 172). The following are the dimen- 
 sions of this specimen as given in the above journal, 
 although, as Mr. Fulcher remarks, "in measuring it 
 some allowance must be made for the shrivelled state 
 of the skin:" "The length, from the tip of the bill 
 to the end of the tail, is rather more than eight inches ; 
 breadth across the wings twenty inches ; it is much more 
 bulky than the common swift (Cypselus murarius Tem- 
 minck), and must have weighed, at least, as much again. 
 Bill nearly two-fifths of an inch long, measured from the 
 base of the upper mandible, curved and Jxlack ; the colour 
 of the irides unknown, but I believe it was dusky. The 
 head, back of the neck, back, wings, and tail grey brown, 
 and the edges of the feathers of a paler colour. Round 
 the breast is a collar of grey brown. The throat, lower 
 part of the breast, and the body to the commencement 
 of the under tail-coverts white ; the sides dusky, with a 
 mixture of dull white ; under surface of the wings and 
 tail, and the under tail-coverts dusky. The quill-feathers 
 are darker than the back, and remarkably strong and 
 pointed ; the quills dusky white. The back, wings, and 
 tail have copper-coloured and green reflections when 
 viewed in particular lights. The tail is more than three 
 inches long, forked, and consists of exactly ten feathers. 
 Legs short and strong, flesh coloured, and feathered 
 to the toes, which are all placed forward, as in the 
 common swift ; the claws strong and brownish black." 
 Yarrell has recorded four or five specimens of this 
 swift as procured in the British Islands, including the 
 above, and a notice of a recent example taken in St. 
 Mary's Church, Hulme, Manchester, on the 18th of 
 October, 1863, wiU be found in the "Zoologist" for 
 1864, p. 8955. 
 2 Y2 
 
BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 CAPRIMULGUS EUROP2EUS, Linnaeus. 
 
 NIGHTJAK. 
 
 This singular species, both in habits and appearance, 
 is a regular summer visitant and breeds in Norfolk, 
 arriving in May, and leaving towards the end of August 
 or beginning of September. A few young birds are, 
 however, sometimes met with as late as the first week 
 in October. Although the enclosure of late years of 
 commons and waste lands has banished them from 
 many of their farmer haunts, they are still common 
 enough on the wild heathery districts in the western 
 and south-western parts of the county, as well as in the 
 vicinity of the coast, at Beeston and Hempstead, and on 
 the Sandringham and other adjoining estates, in the 
 neighbourhood of Lynn. In the vicinity of Norwich they 
 may be seen as well as heard during the light summer 
 nights on Mousehold Heath, also in the fern-growing 
 lanes about Cossey, Bowthorpe, and Earlham, and I 
 once observed one as near the city as the Asylum-lane, 
 on St. Giles'-road. In such localities as I have just 
 alluded to, they are particularly partial to the vicinity of 
 woods and plantations, where, like other nocturnal 
 feeders, they rest during the day if undisturbed; 
 although, occasionally, as noticed by Messrs. Sheppard 
 and Whitear, a single example has been seen hawking 
 for food on the wing in the middle of a bright sunny 
 day. On one occasion, whilst shooting, some years back, 
 on Narboro' Heath, in the early part of September, I 
 flushed several of these birds, which in more than one 
 instance fluttered away as if wounded, to decoy me pro- 
 bably from the vicinity of their young. The following 
 curious instance of the length of time during which, 
 
NIGHTJAR. 349 
 
 if undisturbed by day, the Nightjar will remain 
 quiescent, was recently communicated to me by the 
 Rev. Thomas Fulcher: Whilst walking round his 
 garden 011 the morning of the 9th of August, 1865, about 
 half-past eight, a nightjar rose from the ground under a 
 spruce fir-tree. On following up the bird he found it 
 perched, as is their custom, lengthwise, on a wooden 
 hurdle, and from thence it flew into an ash tree across 
 an adjoining meadow, but escorted by a noisy group of 
 chaffinches and robins, Cf mobbing" the supposed raptor. 
 Two hours later, and again in the afternoon, it was 
 seen by Mr. Fulcher, ' { crouched flat on the same 
 horizontal branch lengthwise," and by no means dis- 
 turbed by his visits; and on once more going to look 
 for it between seven and eight o'clock in the evening, it 
 was still there, only quitting the branch when startled 
 by a sharp tap on the stem of the tree. This bird, 
 therefore (as Mr. Fulcher observes), "must have re- 
 mained on the same spot in the ash tree eleven hours, 
 from half-past eight in the morning till half-past seven 
 in the evening." The following is a description of some 
 singular varieties of the nightjar, which occurred during 
 two or three seasons in this county, and are the more 
 remarkable from the rarity of any variation in the sombre 
 though beautifully pencilled plumage of this species. 
 On the 27th July, 1856, a young pair were shot near 
 Holt, whose peculiar appearance may be thus described. 
 The throat, level with the eyes on either side, breast, 
 belly, wings above and below, and the two central tail 
 feathers pure white ; under tail coverts partly brown 
 and white ; legs and claws flesh colour ; top of the head, 
 back, and remaining feathers of the tail as usual. The 
 two birds were alike, with the exception, that the two 
 white tail feathers were wanting in the female. During 
 the first week of September, 1858, an adult bird, exactly 
 resembling the above, was shot in the same neighbour- 
 
350 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 hood, and again on the 29th of September, 1859, a 
 young female was also killed near Holt, strongly re- 
 sembling the previous examples, having the wings, 
 throat, and upper part of the breast, with the vent and 
 under tail coverts pure white. Whether any similar 
 examples were observed in the same district during 1857, 
 I could not ascertain; certainly none were obtained; 
 but when we consider the undoubted migratory habits 
 of the nightjar, it is a fact as remarkable as it is 
 interesting to find specimens appearing in the very same 
 locality, during three different seasons, exhibiting the 
 same striking deviations from their normal colouring. 
 There can be, I think, but little doubt that the birds of 
 1858 and 1859 were connected with the first brood in 
 1856, thus proving, as in the case of swallows and 
 martins, the annual return of certain individuals to the 
 same favourite locality. Mr. F. Norgate, of Sparham, a 
 young naturalist who takes considerable interest in the 
 habits and formation of birds, assures me, that a female 
 nightjar shot by himself on the 5th of August, 1865, at 
 Beeston Regis, when in company with some eight or ten 
 others, proved, on dissection, to have no less than twenty- 
 four small white worms in its eyes and brain in a state 
 of active existence, when extracted from this recently 
 killed specimen. This species is alluded to by Sir 
 Thomas Browne as "A dorhawk or kind of Accipiter 
 muscariusy conceived to have its name from feeding 
 upon flies and beetles; of a woodcock colour, and 
 paned like a hawk; a very little pointed bill; large 
 throat ; breedeth with us ; and lays a marvellous 
 handsome spotted egg. Though I have opened many, 
 I could never find anything considerable in their 
 maws. Caprimulgus." 
 
RINGDOVE. 351 
 
 COLUMBA PALUMBUS, 
 KESTGDOVE. 
 
 The enormous increase in the numbers of this species 
 of late years throughout the county is attributable 
 in a great degree to the extension of our fir-planta- 
 tions, added to their immunity at the present time 
 from the attacks of their natural enemies, crows, 
 magpies, and hawks, now almost exterminated as re- 
 sidents amongst us, through the strict preservation of 
 game. Here, again, we perceive the effect of destroying 
 for any special object, that true balance in the animal 
 kingdom, by which an all-wise Providence decrees that 
 the necessities of one class of created beings shall form 
 a check upon the too prolific tendencies of other races. 
 In the absence of those species, whose instincts teach 
 them to prey upon the eggs and young of others, or to 
 satisfy their carnivorous tastes by attacking birds of a 
 far gentler nature, the now favoured tribes threaten in 
 their turn to become injurious to man, by their undue 
 preponderance in the scale of feathered life. As in the 
 case of the smaller finches before alluded to, whose 
 increase, unchecked by natural means, and exceeding 
 therefore its natural proportions, becomes a real grievance 
 to the agriculturist the immense flocks of wood-pigeons 
 that now traverse the country in search of food during 
 the autumn and winter months, have become an equal 
 source of complaint in the same quarter.* They 
 
 * In the Times of December 16th, 1864, in a notice of the 
 annual meeting of the United East Lothian Agricultural Society, 
 it appeared that subscriptions were raised amongst its members 
 for the destruction of wood-pigeons after the manner of sparrow 
 clubs in our English counties. 
 
352 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 unquestionably do much damage to the young layers by 
 picking them off so close as to weaken and, in some 
 cases, destroy the plant, and their extreme partiality 
 for the succulent tops of the peas, as they come up, 
 necessitates a careful watching of such produce in the 
 pigeon districts, to prevent severe loss to the farmer. 
 On the large flock farms also about Thetford, where 
 turnip tops are really an object for lamb feeding, 
 their visitations are by no means welcomed; but they 
 do not attack the corn crops till the grain is ripe, 
 when they settle on the "laid" portions. In making 
 these remarks, however, I must not be understood to 
 encourage the wholesale slaughter of these handsome 
 birds. There are many and effectual means, by net 
 and gun, of thinning their numbers to a reasonable 
 extent, and whatever mischief can be fairly laid to 
 their charge, must be considered in connection with 
 the benefits they confer during a great portion of 
 the year, by feeding on many seeds and plants inju- 
 rious to agriculture.* Besides grain and the succulent 
 
 * The late Mr. St. John, who paid much attention to the 
 habits of this species in Scotland, does full justice to them in, the 
 following remarks: "During the month of January the wood- 
 pigeons commence feeding greedily on the turnips. They do not, 
 in my opinion, dig into the roots with their bills unless rabbits or 
 rooks have been before them to break the skin of the turnip. In 
 fact the wood-pigeons bill is not at all adapted for cutting into 
 a frozen and unbroken turnip. The crops of those which I 
 kill at this season are full of the leaf of the turnip ; and tney 
 appear not to attack the centre or heart of the leaf, but to eat only 
 the thin part of it. The wood-pigeon feeds more particularly on 
 the leaf of the Swedish turnip, which is more succulent. * * * 
 The wood-pigeon feeds also on acorns, beech-nuts, the seed of wild 
 mustard and, where it can be obtained, devours great quantities of 
 Potentilla anserina, breaking it off in pieces of about an inch in 
 length. Though without doubt a consumer of great quantities of 
 grain at some seasons, the wood-pigeon must feed for many 
 months wholly on seeds of weeds, which if left to grow would 
 
RINGDOVE. 353 
 
 leaf of the turnip, they also devour large quantities 
 of berries, such as those of the ivy and mountain 
 ash. A very remarkable instance of the manner in which 
 birds are attracted from all quarters, by some mysterious 
 instinct, to any local abundance of their favourite food, 
 occurred in the autumn of 1843, when this county was 
 visited by one of the most fearful hailstorms ever known 
 in the Eastern Counties. This storm, which took a 
 direct route from Attleborough to Postwick, in a line of 
 from two to three miles in width, committed frightful 
 havoc amongst the cereal crops, levelling them with the 
 ground, and scattering the grain, then ripe in the ear, in 
 some places nearly three inches deep in the fields ; and it 
 was this very circumstance that caused immense flocks 
 of wood-pigeons, as though summoned by invitation to 
 one common feast, to arrive all at once in that particular 
 district. Mr. Edwards, of Keswick, to whom I am 
 indebted for much valuable information, respecting the 
 habits of many of our resident species, was at that time 
 residing near the line of devastation, at Wattlefield, and 
 assures me that they came in such numbers that it 
 seemed as if all the wood-pigeons in the county had 
 suddenly collected together into that one locality. 
 Amongst the wood-pigeons were also hundreds of 
 stock-doves, a species only abundant in the warren 
 parts of Norfolk, many miles from the scene of this 
 terrible visitation. By shooting at them as they fed 
 
 injure the farmers crops to a very serious extent. Amongst other 
 seeds which it eats are those of the rag weed. The wood-pigeon 
 not being able to scratch up seed can only feed on those which lie 
 exposed. * * * Although there is a great extent of new sown 
 wheat (Nov. 23,) in every direction, I shoot wood-pigeons with 
 their crops full of the seed of the dock and without a single grain 
 of corn. They also have in their crops a great deal of the rag 
 weed, and small potatoes as large as marbles." [Nat. Hist, and 
 Sport in Moray.] 
 
 2z 
 
354 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 in masses upon the stubbles of the corn fields that had 
 been destroyed by the storm, as many as thirty and 
 forty were killed at a time with a shoulder duck gun, and 
 often from, thirteen to fourteen with an ordinary fowling 
 piece, without apparently diminishing their numbers. 
 The large flocks that regularly visit this part of the 
 county in winter, come, no doubt, from the great fir- 
 plantations in the western and south-western districts, 
 where extensive tracts of heath land afford little sus- 
 tenance, and these in roving parties visit our more 
 sheltered and enclosed turnip fields and new layers, to 
 feast on the juicy leaves which at that season form their 
 chief sustenance. These roost by night in the adjacent 
 fir- woods, and large numbers may be killed at such times 
 by c 'laying up" for them of an evening and waiting till 
 the birds fly over, which they will keep doing until 
 dark. I have known as many as sixty obtained by this 
 means in about two hours, guns being stationed in 
 different plantations so that the birds fly from one 
 to the other as they are shot at. In winter they are 
 extremely troublesome in the large game preserves, 
 from their devouring the pheasant's food in consid- 
 erable quantities, and on some estates, in order to 
 secure as many of these marauders as possible without 
 disturbing the game, huts, either erected for the 
 purpose or for feeding the pheasants in, are fitted with 
 a net so constructed as to fall over the open front. The 
 pigeons having been allured by grain for some days 
 freely enter the trap, and when a sufficient number 
 are collected together the net is suddenly dropped, 
 and the whole flock secured at once. Upwards of 
 seventy couple have been thus netted in the Hemp- 
 stead woods near Holt, at one time. Both this species 
 and the stock-dove are occasionally found nesting very 
 late in the season ; and Mr. Gurney, in the " Zoologist" 
 for 1858, has recorded an instance of a ringdove's 
 
RINGDOVE. STOCK-DOVE. 355 
 
 nest, with two eggs, being found in his grounds at 
 Catton, on the 7th of September. Varieties of this bird 
 are but rarely met with, but one killed at Hoveton, 
 in 1861, was of a light cream-colour, blotched on the 
 upper parts with a pale slate grey ; and a very beautitul 
 specimen, pure white with the exception of two or 
 three feathers in one wing, was procured near Swaffham 
 a year or two back. This is the same bird recorded 
 in the "Field" of March 12th, 1864, as a great 
 curiosity, and is now, I believe, in the possession of Mr. 
 Anthony Hamond, jun. 
 
 COLUMBA JENAS, Linnaeus. 
 
 STOCK-DOVE. 
 
 Although far less numerous, and more locally dis- 
 tributed than the last species, the Stock-dove is plentiful 
 enough at certain times of the year and in certain parts 
 of the county, particularly the north-eastern and south- 
 western districts. In the latter, with the exception of 
 about four months from the middle of September to the 
 middle of January, or even later if the winter be much 
 prolonged, it is found, if not in great abundance when 
 compared with other species, yet in sufficient numbers 
 to be one of the most characteristic birds of that open 
 country. During the latter part of the autumn and 
 beginning of winter, though not perhaps absolutely 
 wanting, yet it only occasionally appears, and then 
 generally nocked in company with ring-doves. The late 
 Mr. Salmon, with some show of justice, included it in 
 his list of migratory birds in the neighbourhood of 
 Thetford (London's Mag. Nat. Hist, ix., p. 520), though 
 from what I learn from other observers in that district 
 he seems to have made an assertion rather too sweeping 
 2 z2 
 
356 BIKDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 when he states that all individuals of the species leave 
 the neighbourhood towards the end of October,, " none 
 remaining during the winter." This same accurate 
 naturalist states that the stock-dove, which in all 
 " works upon natural history is stated to be only an 
 inhabitant of woods, abounds in this neighbourhood 
 during the spring and summer months, upon our rabbit 
 warrens and heaths, to which it annually resorts for the 
 purpose of nidification ; and it is in general the first 
 that arrives in this district for that purpose. The 
 situation which it selects for its nest differs materially 
 from that chosen by its congeners, the ring and turtle 
 doves (G. palumbus } C. turtur), the nests of which are 
 always placed either upon trees or bushes : this species, 
 on the contrary, occupies the deserted rabbit burrows 
 upon warrens ; it places its pair of eggs about a yard 
 from the entrance, generally upon the bare sand, some- 
 times using a small quantity of dried roots, &c., barely 
 sufficient to keep the eggs from the ground. Besides 
 such situations, on the heaths it nestles under the thick 
 furze bushes (Ulex europcea), which are impervious to 
 rain, in consequence of the sheep and rabbits eating off 
 the young and tender shoots as they grow, always 
 preferring those bushes that have a small opening made 
 by the rabbits near the ground. A few pairs occasionally 
 breed in the holes of decayed trees : this is of rare 
 occurrence in this district. It generally commences 
 breeding by the end of March, or the beginning of 
 April; the young ones, which are very much esteemed, 
 being ready for the table by the commencement of 
 June." Mr. Alfred Newton tells me that the young 
 stock-doves, being a perquisite of the warreners, are a 
 source of not inconsiderable profit to them, as they sell 
 them for from eighteen pence to two shillings a couple, 
 and that in consequence almost every warrener keeps a 
 " dowe-dawg," i. e. a dog regularly trained to discover 
 
STOCK-DOVE. 357 
 
 the burrows in which the doves breed. Mr. Scales, of 
 Beechamwell, adds that " when the warreners find them 
 in a burrow, they fix sticks at the mouth of the hole in 
 such a manner as to prevent the escape of the young, 
 but to allow the old birds to feed them." Mr. Newton, 
 however, informs me that this precaution is thought to 
 be unnecessary for the more experienced warreners, 
 from long practice, know to a day (by once seeing the 
 nestlings) when they will be fit to take. Along the 
 extensive range of sandhills in the neighbourhood of 
 Hunstanton,* also, the stock-doves may be found 
 breeding in considerable numbers, and likewise on 
 Holt heath and other similar localities ; indeed, I 
 have no doubt that with careful observation a few 
 pairs might be found in summer in many rough 
 furze-covered spots where rabbits are preserved, but 
 this peculiarity in the habits of the stock-dove 
 is by no means generally known. In 1863, a friend 
 of mine, whilst ferreting on Mr. George's farm, at 
 Eaton, near Norwich, was not a little surprised at 
 seeing a pigeon flutter out of a rabbit's hole (half 
 hidden by thick gorse, in the steep side of a sandpit), 
 into which he had just previously turned his ferret ; 
 the bird was caught by a terrier before it could take 
 flight and proved to be an old stock-dove, but on a 
 subsequent examination of the burrow no eggs or young 
 were found. I may add that in that neighbourhood 
 the bird is by no means common. This species, 
 however, in certain districts, also breeds in our woods 
 and plantations with the common ringdove, but in 
 such situations it nests either in the holes of old trees, 
 
 * These birds occur twice in the "Privy Purse Accounts" of 
 the Lestranges, of Hunstanton, as follows : Itm in rewarde the 
 xvij. daye of Novembre to Osbert Beds sone, for bryngyng of 
 etockdowes. " Itm ij stockdowes of gyste." 
 
358 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 using only a few sticks by way of lining, in the stocks 
 of old oak pollards, (from which circumstance, according 
 to Yarrell, it has acquired the name of stock-dove), or, 
 as my friend Mr. Edwards informs me, in any faggot 
 stacks left in the plantations for the summer, the nest 
 being generally placed at the bottom should sufficient 
 space remain for the purpose. Mr. Newton has also 
 recorded (" Zoologist," 1849, p. 2525, note) a single 
 instance in which he found a pair of eggs of this bird 
 at Elveden, near Thetford, " laid on a very thick bushy 
 bough of a Scotch fir tree, about twelve feet from the 
 ground, without any nest." Mr. Samuel Bligh, who has 
 studied the habits of this species during the breeding 
 season at Framingham Earl, says that their actions 
 are occasionally anything but dove-like, as they fight 
 most desperately till one or both fall to the ground. 
 He has shot them in the very act. 
 
 The ROCK DOVE (Columba livia), from which there 
 is no doubt our " blue rocks" and other fancy varieties 
 have really sprung, is not found on our Norfolk coast, 
 but it is worthy of remark, as confirmatory rather of 
 the above statement, that the steeples of many of our 
 churches in both town and country are frequented by 
 pigeons in a half-wild state, which nest regularly year 
 after year, like the jackdaws, in any chance apertures in 
 the old towers ; and generally in such situations as 
 to be safe from all molestation. The still unfinished 
 steeple of St. Peter's Mancroft, in this city, aifords an 
 unusual number of openings for such purposes, and I 
 have often watched these truant pigeons, at all times of 
 the year, passing in and out of their adopted homes. 
 Yarrell (Brit. Birds, 2nd ed., p. 292), referring to 
 the great powers of vision and the speed and duration 
 of flight of our dove-house pigeons, gives the fol- 
 lowing remarkable statement, on the authority of Dr. 
 Jenner: "My ingenious friend and neighbour, the 
 
ROCK DOVE. TURTLE DOVE. 359 
 
 late Rev. Nathaniel Thornbury, who had occasionally 
 visited Holland, informed me that the pigeons about the 
 Hague make daily marauding excursions at certain 
 seasons to the opposite shore of Norfolk, to feed on 
 vetches, a distance of forty leagues." 
 
 COLUMBA TURTUR, Linnaeus. 
 TURTLE DOYE. 
 
 The increase of late years in the number of these 
 summer visitants is also attributable in a great degree, 
 as stated by Mr. Lubbock, to the extension of our fir 
 plantations, as, in most localities where such shelter is 
 afforded them, they now breed very numerously in 
 company with the wood-pigeon, though, as remarked 
 by the same author, "the turtle breeds lower in the 
 tree than the ringdove, and chooses a smaller tree." 
 For several successive seasons until the place was 
 disturbed for building purposes about six or seven years 
 ago, a pair or two of Turtle Doves bred regularly 
 in " the wilderness" on Bracondale, most probably the 
 same haunt alluded to by Yarrell, on Mr. Lubbock's 
 authority, as "within half a mile of the city of 
 Norwich;" and they now nest regularly at Keswick 
 and other wooded districts in our immediate neigh- 
 hood. In the western parts of the county, about 
 Feltwell and Brandon, they are now extremely plentiful, 
 and in the vicinity of the coast abound in the extensive 
 fir coverts about Cromer and Sheringham ; yet, in 1846, 
 the Rev. E. W. Dowell, in his MS. notes, records one 
 shot at Roydon, and another at North Pickenham, as 
 rarities in that part of Norfolk, and states that a 
 specimen "shot at Brinton puzzled all who saw it for 
 some years, as it had never been seen there before." 
 
360 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 These birds arrive about the beginning of May, and 
 remain with us generally till the middle of September, 
 both young and old being frequently shot at the com- 
 mencement of the partridge season, and the great 
 partiality of this species for salt, whether in a wild 
 state or in confinement, accounts, probably, in some 
 degree, for their abundance in the vicinity of the 
 coast. In two or three instances to my knowledge, 
 this species has bred in confinement, in this county, 
 with the ring-necked domestic dove (Columba risoria). 
 Mr. Lovick, of Thorpe, near Norwich, in the spring of 
 1858, succeeded in rearing some young birds of this 
 hybrid race, which, as will be seen by the following 
 description of a stuffed specimen in the possession 
 of Mr. Longe, of Spixworth Park, presented many of 
 the characteristics of both parents : Head, neck (all 
 round), breast, and under parts, as far as the legs, deep 
 rosy pink; vent, and under tail coverts, white. On 
 either side of the neck a patch of deep black ; each row 
 of feathers broadly edged with white. Back, scapulars, 
 and greater wing coverts, rich buff colour, without 
 any markings, but becoming slightly greyish in the 
 centre of each feather. Primaries, blackish brown; 
 secondaries, bluish grey. The lower half of the two 
 outer tail feathers, with the external web, pure white, 
 the remaining portion black ; two centre feathers 
 buffy-grey, and the remainder black, more or less 
 broadly edged with white. The same pair again hatched, 
 and brought off one young one in the following year. 
 These cross-bred birds, however, are not very uncom- 
 mon ; two or three other examples I have seen resemble, 
 in general appearance, Mr. Longe's specimen, though 
 varying slightly in plumage. 
 
PHEASANT. 361 
 
 * 
 
 PHASIANUS COLCHICUS, Linnaeus. 
 PHEASANT. 
 
 I know of no records relating to the Pheasant in 
 England which afford any cine to the period when that 
 noble species was first brought to this country, and 
 though probably its acclimatization does not date further 
 back than the Norman Conquest, yet it is still possible 
 that our Eoman invaders may have imported it at a 
 much earlier period with other Imperial luxuries. 
 Yarrell (Brit. Bds., ii., 2nd ed., p. 420, note) quotes 
 from Dugdale's "Monasticon Anglicanum" an extract, 
 showing that in the first year of Henry I., who 
 began to reign in 1100, the Abbot of Amesbury 
 obtained a license to kill pheasants ; and according 
 to Echard's History of England, as quoted in DanielPs 
 "Rural Sports,"* the price of a pheasant Anno 
 Dom. 1299 (being the 27th of Edward the First) was 
 fourpence, a couple of woodcocks at the same period 
 three halfpence, a mallard three halfpence, and a plover 
 one penny. If we take then the above dates, only, into 
 consideration, a residence in this country of over seven 
 hundred years would surely entitle the pheasant to 
 rank amongst our " British Birds," more particularly 
 when the propensity of the hens to " lay away," and of 
 the cocks to " foot it," on their own account, in search 
 of food, shews a natural independence of character, 
 opposed to the domesticated habits of our poultry, and 
 impatient of the supervision and protection of man. The 
 earliest notice of this bird in Norfolk occurs in the 
 
 * Pheasants are also stated by this author to have been 
 "brought into Europe by the Argonauts 1250 years before the 
 Christian era. 
 3 A 
 
362 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 " Household Book"* of the L'Estrange's, of Hunstanton, 
 from whicli I have previously given extracts on the subject 
 of falconry, and here the pheasant is specially mentioned 
 both as a "quarry" for the hawks and an occasional 
 article of luxury for the table. Thus in the llth year 
 of the reign of King Henry the Eighthf (1519) appears 
 amongst other "rewardes for bryngyng of p'sents." 
 "Itm to Mr. Asheley svnt for bryngyng of a fesaunt 
 cocke and iiij woodcocks ye xviijth daye of Octobre in 
 reward iiijd " also " Itm a fesand of gyste" (articles 
 received in lieu of rent) ; and twice in the same year we 
 find the following record : (( Itm a fesant kylled wt ye 
 goshawke." Singularly enough for the next thirteen 
 years no further reference is made to this species, 
 although other game birds appear frequently, and pea- 
 cocks are brought in as articles of ' ' store," with a reward 
 given to " ye vicar of Thornhm svnt for bryngyng of a 
 pehenne and iij young pehennys and vj plov's." In 
 1532, however, it again reappears in the following entry: 
 " Itm in reward the vij day of Jun to Fulm'ston svante 
 for bryngynge iij fesands." These were, I presume, 
 for breeding purposes or to turn off amongst others on 
 the estate, as we can scarcely imagine that even in those 
 days roast pheasant was usual in the month of June 
 
 * In a similar publication, entitled "The regulations of the 
 Household of the Fifth Earl of Northumberland," begun in 1512, 
 the following are the comparative prices of fowl and other birds 
 supplied for the table : Cranes, 16 d - ; herons, 12 d - ; woodcocks, l d - 
 or l^ dt ; sea gulls, l d - or l| d - ; quails, 2 d - ; snipes, 3 d - a dozen ; 
 partridges, 2 d -; bitterns, 12 d - ; pheasants, 12 d -; mallard, 2 d> ; teal, 
 l d - ; stints, 6 d> a dozen ; lapwings, l d - ; redshanks, l d - ; curlews, 12 d 
 At the present day it seems strange to find curlews, bitterns, and 
 pheasants all estimated at the same value for edible purposes. 
 
 f Thompson, in his "Birds of Ireland," says of the Pheasant, 
 " The period of its introduction is unknown to me ; but in the year 
 1589, it was remarked to be common." 
 
PHEASANT. 363 
 
 with strawberries for desert, that delicious fruit being 
 kindly presented in the next "Itm" by a "Doktere 
 Dosyns," whose servant receives the accustomed douceur. 
 It was, moreover, too well thought of as an object of 
 sport, even then, to be killed out of season, as in 1533. 
 we again find " ij fesands and ij ptrychyes kylled wt the 
 hauk ;" and amongst certain amounts (i allowed in 
 bylls," "Itm pd the xij day of June to Towars for 
 money that he leid out at div's tymes when he went 
 to take fesaunts." At this period, no doubt, though 
 partially under the protection of man, the pheasant was 
 a denizen of the woods, finding its own sustenance to a 
 great extent, and in weight would probably have con- 
 trasted strangely with our present highly fed specimens, 
 which not unfrequently, when killed high up in the air, 
 burst open on the ground from the force of their fall. 
 Although the requirements of the fe battue," on highly 
 preserved manors, necessitate a thoroughly artificial 
 state of hatching and rearing, yet there are also many 
 portions of the county where the pheasant exists in a 
 perfectly wild state, and thrives well under the protec- 
 tion of the game laws, both soil and climate being alike 
 favourable. It is in such districts, almost exclusively, that 
 one still meets with the pure Phasianus colchicus, free 
 from any trace of the ring-necked or Chinese cross in its 
 plumage, but offering at the same time a poor contrast 
 to those hybrid birds both in size and weight. Beoides, 
 the thick undergrowth in woods and plantations, phea- 
 sants are particularly partial to low damp situations, 
 such as alder and osier carrs, by the river side. In this 
 county, also, stragglers from some neighbouring coverts 
 are not unfrequently found on the snipe marshes 
 surrounding the broads, where the sportman, following 
 up his dog at a " running point," is suddenly startled 
 by the whirr of a noble " long-tail," when never dreaming 
 of any larger game than rails or water-hens. 
 3A2 
 
364 BIEDS OP NOEFOLK. 
 
 Regarded, however, simply in a sporting sense, the 
 numbers reared each year throughout this great game 
 preserving county must be something enormous, and 
 statistics drawn from the game-books of some only of the 
 principal estates, would show figures not more startling 
 as to the number of "head" than as considered in 
 connection with the cost of preserving on a really 
 grand scale.* As before stated, the impossibility of 
 rearing a very large " head" in any one locality, except 
 by the adoption of artificial means, has brought 
 pheasant-hatching of late years to a thoroughly 
 organised system. Hen pheasants, as is well known, do 
 not brood readily in confinement, and are liable to drop 
 their eggs at random, the produce, therefore, of such 
 birds as have been reserved for " stock" are placed 
 under domestic hens (being the closest sitters), and 
 all outlying birds are also carefully watched, and 
 their eggs taken lest rooks, crows, or other depre- 
 dators should find and destroy them. Incubation then 
 takes place in well planned wooden lockers, fitted up 
 in buildings erected for the purpose, and so admirable 
 are the arrangements, for this particular purpose, 
 on many of our large estates, that the inspection 
 of the pheasantries and a description of the ' e process" 
 from an intelligent head keeper, whilst the young 
 are " coming off," cannot fail to be interesting to 
 the visitor* In this manner a very large- proportion of 
 the birds, in our principal preserves, are reared every 
 
 * "Dr. Wynter, in a paper on "the London Commissariat" 
 (Curiosities of civilization, p. 223) says, " Pheasants and partridges 
 mainly come from Norfolk and Suffolk," and gives some 70,000 
 as an approximate estimate of the number of the former, 125,000 
 of the latter, annually sent to the London markets. To these must 
 also be added the large quantity sold by our local poulterers, and 
 those disposed of as presents; the latter, however, by modern 
 custom, need not be set down at too high a figure. 
 
PHEASANT. 365 
 
 year, and the young when hatched are placed, with their 
 foster parents, under chicken coops, in some convenient 
 locality near the keeper's cottage, and a glance at the 
 number of these wooden nurseries is a pretty fair 
 criterion of the sport intended should the season prove 
 favourable. Now, however, is an anxious time for the 
 gamekeeper, if the weather becomes either too wet or 
 too dry for any lengthened period; and, frequently, in 
 spite of every care, the dreaded "gapes" decimates 
 the young broods and renders the prospect of a "big 
 day" at Christmas time extremely improbable. I have 
 even known a hydro-incubator employed with success 
 to facilitate these abnormal hatchings, requiring, of 
 course, the greatest watchfulness on the keeper's part, 
 who, "in loco parentis," should be instantly aware of 
 each nestling's birth ; it being obviously impossible for its 
 own mother to be, under the circumstances, acquainted 
 with the fact. 
 
 In its semi-domesticated state, like our pigeons 
 and poultry, the common pheasant crosses readily 
 with its kindred species, and to so great an extent 
 has this been carried in Norfolk that except, as 
 before stated, in the wholly unpreserved districts, it 
 is difficult at the present time to find a .perfect speci- 
 men of the old English type (P. colchicus), without 
 some traces, however slight, of the ring-neck and other 
 marked features of the Chinese pheasant (P. torqualms), 
 and in many localities of the Japanese (P. versicolor) 
 to be hereafter noticed.* In looking over a large 
 number of pheasants from different coverts, as I 
 
 * Yarrell has figured the pure English pheasant, but Bewick's 
 exquisite woodcut is evidently taken from one of the ring-necked 
 cross, though described by him as merely a variety " met with in 
 the neighbourhood of Alnwick, whither they were brought by his 
 Grace the Duke of Northumberland." 
 
366 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 have frequently done of late years in our fishmarket, 
 I have noticed every shade of difference from the 
 nearly pure-bred ring-neck, with its buff-coloured 
 flanks and rich tints of lavender, and green on the 
 wing and tail-coverts, to the common pheasant, in 
 its brilliant but less varied plumage with but one 
 feather in its glossy neck just tipped with a speck of 
 white. The chief points of difference in the plumage of 
 the common and ring-necked pheasant will be best seen 
 by an examination of the museum specimens, which pre- 
 sent a very fair series of both true and cross-bred birds, 
 as well as white and pied varieties, No. 172 being a fair 
 type of the pure P. colchicus, and No. 172.h a nearly 
 perfect specimen of P. torquatus. Some birds of the 
 first cross are scarcely distinguishable from the true 
 P. torquatus, and are most gorgeous objects when flushed 
 in the sun light on open ground ; but as the ef strain" 
 gradually dies out, the green and lavender tints on the 
 back begin to fade, and the rich orange flanks are toned 
 down by degrees ; though still, the most marked feature 
 of all, the white ring on the neck, descends from one 
 generation to another, and the hybrid origin of the 
 bird is thus apparent long after every other trace of 
 its mixed parentage has entirely passed away. I am 
 informed that no little difficulty is sometimes experi- 
 enced by gamekeepers, from the fact of the eggs of 
 the ring-necked pheasant hatching more quickly than 
 those of our common pheasant, and hence should a 
 mixed " clutch" of eggs be placed under a hen, which 
 is very likely to happen when supplies are purchased 
 from different places, she comes off with her first 
 hatched young, leaving perhaps a majority of good eggs 
 still unincubated in the nest. 
 
 Another very beautiful cross, between the green 
 Japan pheasant (P. versicolor) and P. colchicus, was 
 introduced into this county some few years back by 
 
PHEASANT. 367 
 
 Mr. J. H. Gurney, who lias kindly supplied me with 
 the following particulars : Several years ago a pair of 
 pure Japan pheasants reached Amsterdam, where they 
 were purchased at a very large sum for the late Earl of 
 Derby. On their passage to Liverpool the hen bird 
 unfortunately died, but the cock reached Knowsley in 
 safety. A cross was soon effected between the old 
 Japan male and the common hen pheasant, and in two 
 or three seasons those birds which had been kept closest 
 to the pure blood of the male, assumed as nearly as 
 possible the appearance of pure Japanese specimens. At 
 the sale of the Knowsley collection in 1851, the old 
 Japan cock was purchased at a high price by a foreigner, 
 and at the same time Mr. J. H. Gurney procured some 
 of the young birds. These bred most successfully, at 
 Easton and Northrepps, with the common pheasants 
 (though chiefly, I believe, with the ring-necked cross), 
 and produced magnificent specimens ; the eggs also being 
 greatly sought after by other game preservers in this 
 district, the race soon spread throughout the county. 
 From personal observation and enquiry, however, during 
 the last two or three years, it appears that evidences 
 of this cross, even in the coverts where these hybrids 
 were most plentiful, are now scarcely perceptible; the 
 strong characteristics of the Chinese bird apparently 
 absorbing all the less marked, though darker tints of 
 the Japanese. One of these birds killed in 1853, 
 weighed upwards of four and a half pounds, and many 
 examples, which were stuffed for the beauty of their 
 plumage, will be found in the collections of our county 
 gentlemen. The Norwich museum does not possess 
 a specimen of the true P. versicolor, but No. 172.g, a 
 good example of the cross with P. colcliicus, is strongly 
 suffused with green over the neck and breast. The 
 so-called Bohemian pheasant, but in reality only a 
 pale buff-coloured variety and not a species, is also 
 
368 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 occasionally met with in Norfolk, and like certain light 
 varieties of the common partridge seems confined pretty 
 nearly to particular localities ; but whether affected or 
 not by any peculiarity in the soil, or the nature of their 
 food, I am unable to say. They have been found in 
 different seasons in some coverts at Crammer; and in 
 the autumn of 1861, I saw three fine examples killed, I 
 believe, in Mr. Hardcastle's preserves, at Han worth, near 
 Cromer, one of which, even in its abnormal plumage, 
 showed a decided relationship to the ring-necked cross, 
 by the white mark on each side of the neck. A specimen 
 of this curious variety will be found in the museum 
 collection (No. 172.1). Pure white and pied birds are 
 by no means uncommon. 
 
 In November, 1848, a hybrid between the pheasant and 
 black grouse was killed at Snettisham, in West Norfolk, 
 supposed to have been bred between a cock pheasant 
 and a grey hen ; and the three following instances of 
 hybridism between pheasants and domestic fowls have 
 come under my own observation during the last ten or 
 twelve years : In December, 1854, a very singular 
 looking bird, apparently a cross between a pheasant 
 and Cochin China fowl, was shot in a wild state in the 
 woods at Wolterton ; and on the 31st of January, 1863, 
 an equally remarkable specimen was brought to a bird 
 preserver in this city (Mr. John Sayer) to be stuffed 
 for a gamekeeper, from whom I afterwards learnt the 
 subjoined particulars. It had been bred wild in a plan- 
 tation, at Methwold, as was supposed between a cock 
 pheasant and a domestic hen, the fowl being a cross also 
 between the game and Dorking breeds. This strange 
 bird, which proved to be a male, had been repeatedly seen 
 amongst the pheasants in the wood when the beaters 
 were driving the game towards the guns, but as it ran 
 with great swiftness, and never attempted to rise on 
 the wing, it always managed to escape^ and was at last 
 
PHEASANT. 369 
 
 netted to ascertain what it was. It measured thirty- 
 two inches from the tip of its beak to the extremity of 
 the tail, stood nineteen inches from the sole of the 
 foot to the crown of the head, and weighed seven and 
 three-quarter pounds. In its general appearance it had 
 a strange admixture of both pheasant and fowl, and 
 was not unlike a capercally cock about the head and 
 neck. The legs were clean and strong without spurs, 
 and decidedly gallinaceous in character ; the beak large 
 and powerful, and the tail long and rounded, with the 
 middle feathers somewhat the longest. The plumage 
 may be described as of a rich glossy green about the 
 head, neck all round, and the upper part of the 
 breast ; back and wings mottled with rich dark chesnut, 
 glossed here and there with green and each feather 
 tipped with a metallic shade of green. The lower parts 
 of the back and upper tail-coverts more green than 
 black; under parts brown, dashed with buffy- white in 
 places. Tail feathers black, slightly marked on some 
 of the webs, longitudinally, with dull white, or slightly 
 freckled. In November of the same year, Mr. Sayer 
 had also, from Lord Kendlesham's preserves, another 
 strange hybrid, apparently a cross between a pheasant 
 and a black bantam fowl. Its plumage was black 
 all over, with dark green reflections, the tail being 
 shaped like a pheasant's, but the legs and feet resemb- 
 ling those of a common fowl. Hen pheasants assuming 
 the cock's plumage, commonly called (( mules," are not 
 unfrequently met with. This abnormal condition being 
 observable in immature as well as adult females is not, 
 as was formerly supposed, the result of extreme age, 
 but is attributable no doubt, as stated by Yarrell, to 
 a diseased condition of the generative organs. Mr. 
 J. H. Gurney, in the " Zoologist" (p. 4252), has recorded 
 an instance in which a red-breasted merganser, with 
 much black about the head, and externally presenting 
 SB 
 
370 BIRDS OP NORFOLK* 
 
 the appearance of a young male in change of plumage, 
 proved on dissection to be a female; yet this bird 
 exhibited no " signs of disease or exhaustion of the 
 ovai-ium."* May not this, and similarly exceptional 
 cases, be accounted for by the supposition that such 
 " mules" have not had time to moult their abnormal 
 plumage, since their organs of generation have acquired 
 a healthy condition. That this view is not an improbable 
 one is shown, I think, by the following interesting fact 
 (recorded by Mr. Gurney in the same note), with refer- 
 ence to a " mule" pheasant taken alive in his preserves 
 in 1852 : " The bird was placed in a large cage in my 
 garden, and in the course of last autumn (1853) quite 
 lost the male plumage it had previously attained, and 
 resumed its ordinary female dress." A bird of this 
 kind, which was brought to one of our bird-stuffers in 
 December, 1864, to be preserved for Lord Eendlesham, 
 besides the usual dark head and neck of its borrowed 
 plumes, showed a most unmistakeable white ring, 
 plainly denoting its own descent from the ring-necked 
 as well as from the common type. 
 
 Few subjects, of a like nature, have excited warmer 
 discussions, or tended to the exhibition of more violent 
 prejudices than the " battue," and, as usual in such 
 controversies, supporters and opponents, in their bitter 
 hostility, have been so given to exaggeration and the 
 use of hard words, that the true merits of the case must 
 be looked for apart from the arguments of either faction. 
 Undoubtedly, as far as pheasantf shooting is concerned, 
 
 * Mr. Thomas Dix informs me that he recently examined a 
 female of the common redstart, in the possession of Mr. Doubleday, 
 of Epping, which had a mottled black throat like young males in 
 autumn, and, in this case also, the ovaries were quite perfect and 
 full of eggs. 
 
 f I have no intention by these remarks to uphold the excessive 
 rearing of running game, an only too just cause of complaint, ia 
 many instances, on the part of our tenant-farmers. 
 
PHEASANT. 371 
 
 if a large number of birds are reared for sport and why 
 should not landed proprietors provide such amusement 
 for their friends at a time when partridge shooting is 
 well nigh over? there is no means so effectual for 
 obtaining an equal amount of shooting for several guns, 
 as the " battue;" whilst the most inveterate opponent 
 of the "slaughter" system (if a sportsman at all) will 
 not venture to deny that pheasants, as well as running 
 game, in large quantities, can be shot down by no other 
 means. There is every reason, however, to believe that 
 the majority of those writers who are loudest in their 
 denunciations against the "battue," and can find no 
 milder epithets than " blood-thirsty and unsportsman- 
 like," to mark their abhorrence of it, are either practically 
 unacquainted with the working of the system, or are 
 deficient themselves in that necessary coolness and skill, 
 without which even pheasants, big as they are, will 
 escape from a perfect volley of double barrels. Such 
 individuals seem wholly unable to associate the enjoy- 
 ment of a "heavy" day's covert shooting with skill in 
 the use of firearms and physical endurance; quite 
 overlooking the fact that, amongst the sportmen 
 accustomed to congregate towards Christmas-time at 
 the country seats of noblemen and wealthy squires, 
 for the purpose of joining in these great " battues," 
 are some of the very best shots in the world ; men for 
 whom no day, on the open moors or in the treacherous 
 snipe marsh, is too long; no sport, in any quarter 
 of the globe, too hazardous, though pursued by them 
 merely for pleasure and excitement. If such men as 
 these, and there are many, can enjoy, for a change, 
 a " big-day" in some well-stocked coverts (when hunt- 
 ing probably is stopped by the frost), one would 
 scarcely term it an " unsportsman-like" diversion, even 
 though carried to excess in the number of head killed 
 in a single day. There is not certainly much bodily 
 3 u2 
 
372 BIRDS OF NORFOLK:. 
 
 fatigue, yet the necessity for being always on the alert, 
 always ready for a chance shot in the " thick" or the 
 ' e open" during many consecutive hours, to say nothing 
 of incessant firing from the shoulder for a like period, is 
 somewhat trying to the head and nerves ; and if any 
 one is inclined to despise the amusement on the ground 
 that pheasants are so easy to kill, let him try his hand, 
 late in the season, at a few old cocks, flushed some two 
 hundred yards from the post of the shooter, so that 
 the bird is in full flight when he passes over : the 
 pace is then tremendous ! In short, the truth is 
 that the "battue" affords every opportunity for the 
 display of good as well as bad shooting, and he is 
 no ordinary shot who can account satisfactorily in 
 " feathers" and "felt" for one in every three of his 
 empty cartridges, provided always he shoots fair and 
 does not pick his shots. Again, if " battue" pheasant 
 shooting is only the " wholesale slaughter of tame 
 pheasants, driven up by the beaters like barn-door 
 fowls," how comes it that, on many of the more highly 
 preserved manors, the best shots only are invited ? Is it 
 no honour to be named for the " outer ring" at 
 Holkham, to stop those "rocketers" which only crack 
 shots can hit? and even the " bouquet" at a "hot 
 corner" requires, for a successful personal result, a 
 certain amount of cool self-possession which might 
 prove invaluable under more trying circumstances. 
 Thus much, then, in defence of a system, to my mind 
 objectionable only when carried to excess ; but that it 
 is so, both in this and other counties, is evident enough 
 from the records of game killed to a limited number of 
 guns. 
 
 Without attempting here to discuss this vexed 
 question as affecting the interests of landlord and 
 tenant, it would seem as though, of late years, 
 the enjoyment of sport had become subsidiary, on 
 
PHEASANT. 373 
 
 the part of our larger game preservers, to the desire 
 to outvie one another in the amount killed on their 
 respective estates.* The rivalry of the masters extends 
 to the keepers, till, in many cases, the impression 
 on the minds of the latter appears to be that game 
 preserving is the end and aim of existence, and that 
 corn crops are sown in the first instance for game, 
 the surplus, only, to go towards the necessities of 
 man. Eggs must be procured at any price, losses 
 made good at any cost, and the young pheasants, 
 when fairly turned off, watched night and day till 
 near the end of the season, to afford, probably, after 
 all the trouble and expense, only two "big days," 
 though the game killed would be sufficient for at 
 least double the number, with more real enjoyment 
 and better shooting. Inasmuch, also, as the coverts 
 will not again be disturbed, and the cock pheasants 
 must of necessity be killed down close, none but the 
 best shots can be entrusted with that important duty, 
 the credit of the estate, as a gigantic game-preserve, 
 resting on their skill. Such is the "battue" on a 
 large scale at the present time. That fashion, with 
 all its changes, will ere long, even in this case, induce 
 moderation, and a " hecatomb" of slain be regarded 
 in "high" quarters as no longer "the thing" is more 
 than probable ; but if not, I believe the same desirable 
 end will be shortly attained by very different means. 
 Game birds, like poultry, in an artificial state of exist- 
 ence are liable to several very troublesome maladies, 
 and in the rearing of pheasants in such immense 
 
 * Here, after all, the main grievance consists in the ravages of 
 hares and rabbits when extensively preserved, the pheasants doing 
 comparatively but little harm; whilst they destroy, in large 
 quantities, many noxious weeds and insects. Amongst other 
 grubs, to say nothing of caterpillars, the pheasant is particularly 
 partial to the wireworm, one of the farmers' greatest enemies. 
 
374 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 numbers, the difficulty must arise of finding fresh 
 
 breeding grounds for the young birds, free from all 
 
 " taint," so fruitful a source of disease, and affording 
 
 the necessary " amount of insect food. The latter, I 
 
 suspect, in many of our over-stocked coverts must 
 be already scarce, if not wanting altogether in some 
 localities. 
 
 TETBAO TETEIX, Linnaeus. 
 BLACK-GKOUSE. 
 
 The Black-Grouse is a resident in Norfolk, though 
 entirely confined to one district in the neighbourhood 
 of Lynn, where alone the various attempts to naturalise 
 this species have proved successful, the birds either 
 dying in a natural way, or being killed off, beyond 
 the scope of their preserved boundaries, owing to the 
 want of a sufficiently extended range of wide open 
 country. In that neighbourhood, however, it seems 
 probable that this species has existed for a very long 
 period, fluctuating in numbers, but never wholly 
 extinct; and, of late years, they appear to have 
 increased considerably about Snettisham and Der-* 
 singham, on the L'Estrange estate, and on property 
 of Mr. Hamond at Bawsey, and Leziate, in the same 
 neighbourhood, where an ample extent of wood and 
 heath, wild in the extreme, and but slightly preserved 
 for other game, has afforded the three most essential 
 conditions of space, food, and quiet. In this locality 
 several couple are annually killed during the shooting 
 season, and they are also found in the autumn at 
 Sandringham, on the estate of His Eoyal Highness the 
 Prince of Wales, though I am not sure that they also 
 breed there. Through some notes on rare Norfolk birds, 
 
BLACK-GROUSE. 375 
 
 kindly supplied me by Mr. George Master, of London, 
 I learn that a hybrid between a cock pheasant and a 
 grey hen was shot at Snettisham about the year 1850, 
 by Luffman, Captain Campbell's gamekeeper, which is 
 still preserved at the hall. From the occurrence of this 
 bird, Mr. Master procured a blackcock from Norway, 
 which was turned off on Captain Campbell's estate, and 
 some few years later, he says " that part of the country 
 was full of black game, and I have seen as many as 
 twenty blackcocks in a flight at Sandringham myself, 
 when shooting with the former owner." I have looked 
 in vain for any mention of this species in the " House- 
 hold Book" of the L'Estranges, but it is somewhat 
 remarkable that Sir Thomas Browne, though stating 
 that "the heath poult (black-grouse), common in the 
 north, is unknown here, as also the grouse," still adds, 
 " though I have heard some have been seen about 
 Lynn." The late Sir Fowell Buxton, as I am informed 
 by his old gamekeeper, Lawrance Banwell, better 
 known as "Old Larry," to those Cromer visitors who 
 (( picnic" on the Beeston Hills, had a few pairs turned 
 off in that neighbourhood; but, although the soil was 
 well suited to them, and the heathery hills, bordered 
 by fir plantations, a very promising locality, yet the 
 range of these hills was far too circumscribed, and they 
 soon died off or were shot on adjacent manors. In 
 mentioning the name of "Old Larry" I cannot help 
 alluding to the great event of his life, and one of which 
 he is justly proud, in having been entrusted by the late 
 Sir Fowell Buxton, in the year 1838, with the arduous 
 and responsible task of bringing over from Sweden a 
 splendid collection of capercally or wood-grouse to 
 Scotland ; a present from Sir Fowell to Lord Breadalbane. 
 These fine birds had been collected with much trouble 
 and expense by Mr. L. Lloyd, as stated by Yarrell 
 (Brit. Bds., vol. ii., 2nd ed., p. 331), and thus com- 
 
376 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 menced the re-introduction of that noble species to 
 the Highlands, where, by strict preservation and care 
 in breeding, they have since become more and more 
 plentiful. Having, occasionally, heard rumours that 
 red-grouse were also turned off, some years ago, at 
 Sherringham, near Cromer, I am happy to be able, on 
 Mr. Upcher's authority, to state positively that such 
 is not the case ; the error has most probably arisen 
 from the fact that blackcocks were turned out on the 
 Sherringham Hills at the same time, I believe, as those 
 on Sir Fowell's property. These birds, as Mr. Upcher 
 informs me, " lived for several years, but gradually 
 became extinct, some being accidentally shot, mistaken 
 for other game (only a glimpse of them being caught as 
 they flew behind trees), or, straying away, were killed, 
 as strange birds, on adjoining properties." Mr. Upcher 
 has also communicated the following interesting note 
 with respect to the wood-grouse : " A cock and hen 
 capercally bred in confinement, but unfortunately, from 
 some cause or other, the hen and little ones died. The 
 cock was turned out in my woods, where he lived for 
 about six months, and then was found dead with a 
 fir-cone stuck in his throat. He had a collar with his 
 direction round his throat, which probably was the 
 cause of his choking." 
 
 SYRRHAPTES PARADOXUS, (Pallas). 
 PALLAS'S SAND-GROUSE. 
 
 No ornithological event, whether in our own or in 
 earlier times, of which we have any record, appears to 
 have excited such universal interest as the irruption of 
 this Tartar species into Europe, during the summer of 
 1863. The extraordinary numbers observed in various 
 

 CO 
 
377 
 
 localities, the strange beauty of their form and plumage, 
 added to the extreme rarity of specimens up to that time, 
 in either public or private collections, rendered them 
 objects of peculiar attraction to naturalists ; whilst the 
 frequent notices of their occurrence by the press, in all 
 parts of the kingdom, made the public generally familiar 
 with their abnormal migration. But few, however, of 
 those who, in 1863, took so warm an interest in the 
 appearance of these birds on our eastern coast were 
 probably aware that the Lynn museum contained a fine 
 male specimen, killed in that neighbourhood in July, 
 1859,* one of the first if not actually the first example 
 obtained in the United Kingdom. The occurrence of 
 this extreme rarity was at once made known to the 
 scientific world in a letter to the "Ibis" (1859, p. 472) 
 by the Rev. F. L. Currie,f who was at that time residing 
 in the neighbourhood of Lynn, and took a lively 
 interest in its museum collections. From this com- 
 munication it appears that the above specimen, in very 
 perfect plumage, was shot early in the month of July, 
 in the parish of Walpole St. Peter's, about two miles 
 from the Wash, and, as Mr. Currie remarks, " we must 
 congratulate ourselves upon our good fortune in securing 
 the bird at all, considering it was shot by a labouring 
 
 * On the 9th of the same month, as has been stated by Mr. 
 T. J. Moore and Mr. Alfred Newton in the "Ibis" (1860 and 
 1864), a second was killed near Tremadoc, in North Wales; on 
 the 23rd, a third, near Hobro, in Jutland ; and at the beginning of 
 October a fourth, being "one of a pair which had haunted the 
 sand-hills near Zandvoort, in Holland, since July, was shot at that 
 place." A fifth example was also killed at New Romney, in Kent, 
 in November ; and a pair are recorded, on good authority, to have 
 been procured in May of that year (1859) " in the government of 
 Wilna, on the western frontier of the Russian empire." 
 
 f Mr. Currie also inserted a shorter notice in the " Zoologist" 
 (p. 6764), in which journal the Welsh specimen had been previously 
 recorded by Mr. T. J. Moore (p. 6728). 
 3 c 
 
378 BIRDS OF NOEFOLK. 
 
 youth wholly unacquainted with its value, and who was 
 quite as likely to have plucked and eaten, or thrown the 
 prize away (the fate of many a valuable specimen), as to 
 have placed it in the hands of the Rev. E. Hankinson, 
 to whom the Lynn museum is indebted for this most 
 interesting specimen, beautifully mounted by Mr. 
 Leadbeater." It had been previously skinned, however, 
 by a local bird-stuffer, and the carcase unfortunately 
 was not preserved. It was solitary when shot, but 
 at least one other, apparently of the same species, 
 was observed in the neighbourhood about the same 
 time, though not procured. Mr. Currie's letter respect- 
 ing this remarkable addition to the avi-fauna of 
 Norfolk, was followed by a most elaborate and 
 interesting paper* in the same journal ("Ibis," 1860, 
 p. 105), by Mr. T. J. Moore, keeper of the free public 
 and Derby museum, Liverpool, accompanied with a 
 description and coloured plate of the Tremadoc bird. 
 From the above source, and the comprehensive and most 
 admirable history of the "Irruption of Pallas's Sand- 
 Grouse in 1863," published by Mr. Alfred Newton in the 
 "Ibis" for 1864f (p. 185), I am enabled to give the follow- 
 ing brief particulars of the true habitat of this Asiatic 
 
 * This had been previously read before section D of the British 
 Association at Aberdeen. 
 
 f This paper is accompanied by a " sketch map" of Europe, on 
 which is marked the name of each locality where this species had 
 been observed, the date being affixed in some cases, and the 
 probable direction of flight indicated by faint dotted lines. The 
 large mass of names (almost too densely crowded to be properly 
 legible), thus fringing, as it were, the entire eastern coast of Great 
 Britain, the "confusion worse confounded," in the counties of 
 Norfolk and Suffolk, is very remarkable ; and considering the extent 
 and value of the statistics contained in this paper, collected and 
 arranged in a geographical series with no small amount of labour, 
 it is much to be regretted that it has not since been re-published in 
 a form more accessible to the general reader. 
 
379 
 
 species and the earliest records of its appearance in 
 Europe. "This species (says Mr. Newton) was first 
 brought to the notice of Pallas by Nicolas Eytschof as 
 a dweller on the Kirgish Steppes, which may be taken 
 as extending eastward from the northern half of the 
 Caspian sea to the regions round Lake Balkach. In 
 1809, Professor Fischer, of Moscow, received through 
 the then Governor of Irkoutsk, Von Treskine, two well 
 preserved examples of this species from a much more 
 eastern locality the great steppes of Gobi (Mem. 
 Mosc. iii., p. 271). It was from a drawing and 
 description of one of these birds, sent him by Fischer, 
 that Temminck (Hist. Pig. et Gallinac. iii., pp. 282287; 
 took his account. In 1825, naturalists learned from 
 M. Drapiez (Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat. viii., p. 182) that 
 M. Delanoue had met with this species on the Chinese 
 frontier of the Russian empire." In 1853, Syrrhaptes 
 paradoxus is mentioned as a rarity by Herr Moschler 
 (Naumannia iii., p. 305) in a list of birds met with at 
 Sarepta on the Lower Wolga, which seems, according to 
 Mr. Newton's statement, "to be the earliest authentic 
 record of its actual occurrence in Europe," although 
 its name was included by Prince C. L. Bonaparte in his 
 " Geographical and Comparative List of the Birds of 
 Europe and North America," as far back as 1838. The 
 same author, however, in 1850, again omits it from 
 another list, " Conspectus Avium Europsearum," pub- 
 lished as an appendix to to his "Revue Critique de 
 P Ornithologie* Europeenne de M. Degland." 
 
 To the several specimens next in order of date, which 
 occurred in Western Europe in 1859, I have already 
 referred, and I may here add, on the authority of my 
 friend Mr. Swinhoe, and other consular and military 
 officers engaged in the North China campaign, that in 
 the winter of 1860 this species occurred in great abun- 
 dance on the plains between Peking and Tientsin, 
 3c2 
 
380 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 and on the banks of the river Peiho downwards, where 
 they were taken alive in clap-nets, and afforded an 
 abundant delicacy for the Anglo-French forces. In his 
 " Notes on ornithology between Takoo and Peking, 
 North China" ("Ibis," 1861, p. 341), Mr. Swinhoe 
 writes, "The market at Tientsin was literally glutted 
 with them, and you could purchase them for a 
 mere nothing. The natives called them "Sha-chee" 
 or sand-fowl, and told me they were mostly caught 
 in clap-nets. After a fall of snow their capture 
 was greatest; for, where the net was laid, the 
 ground was cleared and strewed with small green 
 beans. The cleared patch was almost sure to catch 
 the eyes of the passing flocks, who would descend 
 and crowd into the snare. It only remained then for 
 the fowler, hidden at a distance, to jerk the strings, 
 and in his haul he would not unfrequently take the 
 whole flock." The natives also described them as 
 abundant in summer " on the great plains of Tartary 
 beyond the great wall, where they breed in the sand." 
 Several gentlemen attached to the above-mentioned 
 expedition brought over live specimens of these sand- 
 grouse to England, and amongst others Mr. James 
 Stuart- Wortley presented no less than thirty-four to 
 the Zoological Society out of seventy-three which he 
 had originally started with. One of these birds, as 
 stated by. Mr. Newton, laid several eggs in confinement. 
 Mr. Moore thus clearly points out the differences which 
 exist between the genus Syrrhaptes and other forms of 
 sand-grouse, though having a general similarity in 
 shape, length of wing, and shortness of foot. "The 
 legs, instead of being feathered only in front, are 
 entirely covered down to the extremity of the toes with 
 short dense feathers ; the hind toe is wanting ; the toes 
 in front are much expanded, being united together 
 throughout their length, and forming a broad flat foot, 
 
381 
 
 the sole of which, is thickly covered with strong horny 
 papillae; they are terminated by equally strong, broad, 
 and flattened nails." Another and very marked feature 
 also consists in the first primary of each wing termin- 
 ating in a long filament like the two central tail-feathers 
 of other sand-grouse. The present appears also, on the 
 same authority, to have formed the only known species 
 of the genus Syrrhaptes "until, in 1850, Mr. Gould 
 figured and described a second, obtained by Lord Gifford 
 on the banks of the Tsumureri Lake, in the country of 
 Ladakh, under the name of Syrrhaptes tibetanus." 
 
 Thus much, then, as to the general history of this 
 remarkable species, whilst the subjoined list contains all 
 the particulars I have been able to collect, with reference 
 to its occurrence in 1863, in the counties of Norfolk and 
 Suffolk. Many of my readers will probably remember 
 that a large proportion of these local statistics . were 
 published at the time in the "Zoologist,"* (pp. 8708- 
 8718, 8849-8852, and 8957), when, through the kind 
 assistance of various ornithological friends, I obtained 
 such an amount of information as it would have been 
 impossible to procure, even a few months later, after the 
 novelty of the occurrence had somewhat abated. Of the 
 completeness of the facts thus supplied me in the first 
 instance, I have the best possible evidence in the very 
 few specimens that have since come under my notice, 
 as omitted from the original list; and though Norfolk 
 and Suffolk are unenviably notorious for the wholesale 
 destruction of these beautiful wanderers, yet a glance 
 at the localities on Mr. Newton's " Sketch Map" will 
 at least show that in no other portion of the United 
 Kingdom, were the records respecting them so fully 
 preserved. I have no doubt that the birds which 
 
 * They were also subsequently embodied by Mr. Newton in his 
 geographical series, " Ibis," 1864. 
 
382 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 appeared so simultaneously along the whole extent of our 
 eastern coast were members of one large flock, and, as 
 these evidently crossed and re-crossed the boundaries of 
 the two counties, when scattered into small parties by 
 constant alarms, it is better, I think, to adhere to my 
 original plan, and arrange my notes, of the various 
 individuals killed, according to the dates of their capture, 
 without reference to locality. 
 
 May 23rd. One female found dead on Yarmouth 
 beach. "The first intimation (writes Captain Longe) 
 of the Syrrhaptes paradoxus in this county was, as is 
 often the case, totally unheeded. On the 23rd of May, 
 Mr. Youell, the well-known nursery gardener, was 
 walking by the sea near the north battery, when he 
 saw a small bird washed up and down in the foam; 
 its beautiful markings attracted his attention and he 
 brought it home, but being very much knocked about 
 and slightly decomposed, he did not think it worth 
 keeping. One of his men, however, by name- Hunt, 
 skinned it and preserved the skin, and it proved to be 
 a female. There were no signs of shot marks about 
 it, and I do not doubt it dropped in the sea from 
 exhaustion, and was washed ashore by the tide." It is 
 particularly worthy of note, that this bird was first seen 
 the day following the capture of the pair, recorded in 
 the " Times" by Mr. E. J. Schollick, which were killed 
 in the Isle of Walney, on the 22nd of May ; the earliest 
 record on this occasion, of the appearance of these birds 
 in England. This one example, so accidentally observed, 
 marks in all probability the date of arrival on the 
 Norfolk coast of the large numbers subsequently met 
 with, and which no doubt remained unnoticed and 
 therefore undisturbed, till the first week in June. 
 
 May 28th. A female, at Thorpe, near Aldboro'. A 
 notice of this, the first specimen procured in Suffolk, 
 was inserted by Mr. Hele in the " Field" of June 13th. 
 
383 
 
 June 4th. One male and three females killed at 
 Waxham, Norfolk. Just twelve days from the appear- 
 ance of the first specimen, no others apparently having 
 been seen in the meantime, a small flock of eight or 
 nine birds were found by the Rev. Mr. Wheeler and Mr. 
 Gibbs, of Waxham, feeding in a grass field near that 
 village, which is situated on the coast, about fourteen 
 miles from Yarmouth. Four birds were shot, of which 
 two females were presented to the Norwich museum 
 (No. 176*) by Mr. Wheeler. These birds, singularly 
 enough, were the only females out of all that I examined 
 which exhibited any indication of a band across the 
 breast as in the males. In one it was very distinct ; in 
 the other, visible on each side close to the wings, 
 and indistinctly traceable across the chest. This may 
 probably denote the fully adult plumage of the female, 
 as the ovaries in each case were largely developed, some 
 eggs being about the size of a common hemp seed. 
 
 June 5th and 6th. Two males and one female killed 
 at Walberswick, near Southwold, Suffolk. The first of 
 these birds (female), as I learned from Mr. Spalding, of 
 Westleton, was shot from a small flock by a labouring 
 man on the shingle close by the sea. A male, winged 
 at the same time, was afterwards caught ; and a third 
 was secured by the gamekeeper to Sir J. Blois. Mr. 
 Spalding also adds, "I took my gun and had a walk 
 over the extensive heath of Walberswick, when I saw a 
 covey of about eighteen birds. They flew exactly like 
 golden plover, but I had no chance of a shot at them ; 
 another parcel contained seven, and another three 
 birds." 
 
 June 6th. A male taken alive at Elveden, near 
 Thetford, Suffolk. Of the capture of this bird, Mr. 
 Alfred Newton has sent me the following notes. It is 
 one of the few instances in which these birds appeared 
 so far inland, in either Norfolk or Suffolk, Elveden being 
 
384 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 situated near the border of the former, and about forty 
 miles from the sea. "It was brought to me (says Mr. 
 Newton) by a stable lad, who found it as he was exer- 
 cising a horse in the morning. He thought it had been 
 drenched by the previous night's rain, and so rendered 
 incapable of flight. But on inquiry I found that a 
 strange bird had been shot at and hit, two days before, 
 by a man in the employ of our clergyman, and this 
 was doubtless the cause of its being unable to get away 
 from the lad. From another source I learn that several 
 sand-grouse, or at least unknown birds, were seen, and 
 some of them killed about the same time on Wangford 
 warren, between Brandon and Lakenheath. The tenant 
 sent them at once to London, saying nothing about 
 them to any one. These last were probably some of 
 those that found their way to the shop-boards of Mr. 
 Bailey and the other London poulterers." This bird, 
 being only slightly injured, was sent by Mr. Newton to 
 the Zoological Gardens in London, to be placed with 
 others of its species, obtained some time previously from 
 China. 
 
 June 6th. One male shot on the beach at Yarmouth. 
 This bird, a fine old male, now in the possession of Mr. 
 J. H. Gurney, was killed by a man named Nudd, who 
 was walking on the north beach at Yarmouth, and 
 observed nine birds together, which he mistook for 
 plover. 
 
 June 8th. A female on Breydon wall, near Yar- 
 mouth. " Two sergeants of the militia artillery (writes 
 Captain Longe) were shooting on Breydon, when they 
 marked down about nine grey plovers (Squatarola 
 cinerea), which alighted on the stone wall of the 
 embankment. It was nearly nine o'clock in the 
 evening, and Sergeant Crowther got on to the bank 
 and managed to get a shot into them ; he noticed 
 one bird larger than the rest, and, singularly enough, 
 
PALLAS'S SAND-GROUSE. 385 
 
 this bird was the only one that fell to the gun. He 
 brought it to me, and it proved to be a female sand- 
 grouse, in very good condition. It did not, however, 
 possess the long tail feathers which all the other 
 specimens I have seen have done." 
 
 June 10th and llth. Eighteen birds, male and 
 female, shot on Horsey beach, near Yarmouth. Of 
 this, the largest flock observed in our eastern counties, 
 Mr. Rising has kindly supplied me with the following 
 particulars : e( On the 9th, while out walking on the 
 beach here, I saw a large flock of birds, more than 
 forty, which I mistook for golden plover. They rose 
 within fifty yards and flew seawards, returning back 
 over my head at about twenty yards high, quietly calling 
 out f click, click, 5 and returned to the spot whence they 
 rose. I felt strongly impressed from their cry that they 
 were a kind I had never seen before, although I had not 
 noticed then their peculiar tail feathers. On my way 
 home, the birds again rose, took a quiet circuit round, 
 making the same easy cry, and returned to the same 
 spot." On the following morning Mr. Rising went over 
 to Yarmouth, where he heard of the sand-grouse just 
 killed there, and felt sure that the Horsey birds were of 
 the same kind. Later in the day, his son, Captain Rising, 
 went down to the beach, where he found the covey in 
 the same locality, and succeeded in bagging ten; of 
 which six fell to his second barrel, and two other winged 
 birds were afterwards found. On the same evening 
 three more were secured, and three on the following 
 morning (llth), making in all eighteen specimens, 
 males and females, in nearly equal numbers. Of this 
 fine series, all but four or five passed into the hands of 
 a game dealer at Yarmouth, by whom they were sold to 
 various collectors, both here and at a distance, which 
 accounts for the different notices of these Horsey birds 
 which appeared in the " Times" and " Field ;" and the 
 
 3D 
 
386 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 female, noticed in the latter journal (June 13th) by 
 Mr. Ward, as "killed on a sand-hill, a few miles from 
 Yarmouth," was in all probability one of them. 
 
 June 10th and 13th. Six brace, males and females, 
 all shot at Holme, near Hunstanton, Norfolk. The first 
 pair of these birds were noticed by Mr. M. Dodman, in 
 the "Field" (June 13th), as killed at Titchwell; but 
 they were actually shot on the sand-hills at Holme, 
 an adjoining village. In a subsequent letter to Mr. 
 Southwell, of Fakenham, Mr. Dodman says, " Two brace 
 more have since come into my possession, one of which I 
 gave to a Mend (sent to Norwich on the 12th for preser- 
 vation), the other pair were too much shot for stuffing. 
 There have been as many as six brace or six brace and a 
 half shot at the same time, and at the same spot. A 
 pair are gone to the Wisbech museum, and the others 
 have passed into private hands. A pair were also seen 
 on the sand-hills at Brancaster, on Sunday last (June 
 7th)." In the "Field" of June 27th, Mr. Dodman 
 states, " A covey of sixteen were seen here (Titchwell) 
 on Sunday," the 21st inst. ; and those referred to by 
 Mr. F. Tearle (Hunstanton), in the "Field," of July 4th, 
 are evidently some of the birds above noticed. 
 
 June llth and 13th. Four females and one male 
 killed at Thorpe, near Alborough, Suffolk. Mr. Hele, of 
 Alborough, recorded these as well as the first Suffolk bird, 
 in the "Field" (June 13th and 20th) ; and Mr. Dix, of 
 Ipswich, also sent me further particulars, a pair of them 
 having come into his possession. As many as fifteen or 
 sixteen appear to have been seen in this locality up to 
 the 13th of June. 
 
 June 17th. One male killed at Winterton, Norfolk. 
 This bird was no doubt one of the Horsey covey, which, 
 as I had previously heard, had been seen since the 10th 
 on Winterton warren, situated close to the sea between 
 Horsey and Yarmouth. 
 

 387 
 
 June 20th. One female from Yarmouth, in the 
 possession of Mr. Newcome, of Feltwell. 
 
 June 22nd? One male shot at Morston, near 
 Blakenej. Of this bird, Mr. Woods, of Morston, kindly 
 sent me the following particulars : " I shot a sand- 
 grouse in one of my ploughed fields, about three weeks 
 since. There were nine when I first saw them. I 
 thought from their habits and appearance they were 
 golden plover in their summer plumage. When I saw 
 the description in the papers of the sand-grouse, I took 
 my gun to look for these strange birds, but found the 
 covey had dwindled to three, out of which I was lucky 
 enough to shoot one, which is now being stuffed at 
 Mr. Alcock's, of Blakeney." 
 
 June 24th. One male killed at Waxham, where 
 four of the earlier specimens were obtained. Mr. 
 Harvey, of Waxham, who shot it himself, says : " This 
 bird was killed in a turnip field near the sea banks; 
 another was seen the same day about the same place, 
 supposed to be a hen* On Friday (26th), about ten a.m., 
 a flock of from twelve to fifteen flew over the sea banks 
 in a south-east direction. They fly in the same order as 
 wildfowl, and frequently utter a peculiar clicking noise." 
 
 June 24th. One female at Kessingland, Suffolk. 
 This bird was sent up to Norwich to be stuffed for Mr, 
 Crowfoot, of Kessingland, who, in answer to my 
 enquiries, informed me that it was killed on that part 
 of the coast by a labouring man, out of a flock of twelve 
 or fourteen, which had frequented Mr. Bean's farm, near 
 the cliff, for a fortnight previously. Towards the end 
 of July, a flock of fifty or sixty strange birds, were also 
 seen flying to the southward in one flock, by some men 
 ploughing, near the marshes adjacent to the sea. 
 
 June 25th. A male killed somewhere in Suffolk, on 
 the authority of Mr. Spalding, of Westleton. 
 
 June 26th. Four females killed near the pit at 
 
388 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Blakeney, out of a flock of about thirty, by Mr. 
 H. M. Upcher, and Messrs. T. W. and J. E. Cremer, of 
 Beeston. These birds were sent up to Norwich to be 
 stuffed on the 27th, and on examination I found the 
 ovaries, in all but one, more developed than in any 
 previous specimens some eggs as large as small hemp- 
 seeds ; and several of the quill feathers in the wings had 
 been recently moulted. 
 
 June? In the "Field" of June 27th, Mr. Ward, 
 Taxidermist, of Vere Street, London, recorded a female 
 from Norfolk as recently sent to him, but this, I 
 have every reason to believe, was in reality a male, the 
 distinctive peculiarities of plumage not being sufficiently 
 known at the time. 
 
 July 1st. One female at Holme, near Hunstanton. 
 This bird, which also came into the possession of Mr. 
 Dodman, of Titchwell, was, as Mr. Southwell informs 
 me, found dead on the beach at Holme. " Its death was 
 caused by a shot wound. The contents of crop and 
 gizzard were precisely the same as in others from the 
 same locality; and judging from its full and healthy 
 appearance, its food must have agreed well with it." 
 Mr. Southwell gives the weight of the first pair killed 
 in this locality as nine and three-quarter ounces each, 
 male and female. I have no doubt whatever that whilst 
 staying myself at Hunstanton, in the beginning of June, 
 I saw more than once a small flight of these birds on the 
 beach at Holme. On one occasion I tried to get near 
 about four or five birds, which at a distance I took for 
 grey plover. They rose wild, however, and came over 
 my head out of shot, and their flight and cry the 
 latter quite new to me made me wonder at the tune, if 
 they could be anything I had never met with before. 
 
 July 7th. Mr. Thomas Dix, of West Harling, 
 informed me that a male bird was killed at Sizewell, 
 in Suffolk, on the above date. 
 
389 
 
 July 8th. Male and female from Yarmouth. These 
 birds, which are in the possession of Mr. Owles, of 
 Yarmouth, are supposed to have been killed near Caister. 
 They were sent up to Norwich on the 9th for preserva- 
 tion, when I examined them in the flesh. They were 
 neither of them in such good condition as most of the 
 earlier specimens; the keel of the breast-bone being- 
 sharper to the touch; nor were they so fat internally,, 
 though perfectly healthy. The colours of the plumage 
 in both male and female looked dull, and exhibited no 
 signs of moulting. In the former, the tail feathers were 
 half an inch shorter than usual; but both the tail 
 and wings in the latter were an average length. The 
 gizzards presented the same class of small seeds as in 
 others, with white flinty particles; but these both 
 smaller and less numerous than in many I had dissected. 
 The female, probably a young bird, contained a large 
 cluster of very small eggs ; none larger than a common 
 rape-seed. The male was evidently an adult specimen. 
 
 July 9th. Male and female. This pair, like several 
 previous examples, were killed on the sand-hills between 
 Holme and Hunstanton, and were purchased in a fresh 
 state at Lynn. Neither the crops nor gizzards presented 
 any variation from former specimens. 
 
 July 10th. Of a male killed at Croxton, near Thet- 
 ford, Mr. Cole, for whom the bird was preserved, has 
 supplied me with the following particulars : " It was 
 killed on my farm by one of the boys, about the 10th 
 of July last. There were four of them together at the 
 time, feeding on turnip seed ; the three remaining ones 
 were seen often afterwards, but could not be shot. Once 
 or twice, when riding, I got within shot, but never when 
 walking. Their flight is peculiar very sharp and quick, 
 with a humming sound." 
 
 September. Mr. Newton, in his paper in the ' ' Ibis" 
 (p. 204), records one specimen as killed at Methwold 
 
390 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 sometime in the above month, shot out of a flock in the 
 fen-lands, and others were supposed to have been seen 
 earlier abont Feltwell, and Hockwold. Mr. Newton saw 
 this bird at Leadbeater's, in London, but the sex is not 
 stated. Mr. Dix also states, in a recent letter to myself, 
 c ' A flock were seen abont the end of August or beginning 
 of September near Woodbridge, on some open heath- 
 land near the river towards Offord. There were eight 
 or ten in the flock, and were said to have been seen 
 there all the summer. These birds were in Lord 
 Eendlesham's neighbourhood, and I believe on his 
 property." To which I may add that two males, 
 probably obtained in that neighbourhood, were sent 
 late in the season to Mr. John Sayer, of Norwich, 
 to be re-stuffed and cased up for Lord Rendlesham. 
 Mr. Dix has also furnished me with the following 
 particulars of three birds killed at Santon-Downham, 
 some time in June or July: "They were shot (he 
 writes) by one of the keepers, and his son, who was 
 under keeper, told me of them. Though they were 
 thrown away, and no one saw them who knew what 
 they were, there can be no doubt about them, as, 
 without my describing the birds, he said f They had 
 short hairy legs with little feet like rats ; long feathers 
 in the tail, and very sharp wings, and were light brown, 
 spotted with black.' " 
 
 From this last date until the beginning of October, 
 I could not ascertain that any more birds were killed 
 in either county, although small detached parties, too 
 wild to allow their persecutors a chance, still frequented 
 their old haunts. During the last week in July, a flock 
 of about thirty were said to have appeared at Blakeney, 
 where others had been shot, but these disappeared the 
 following day ; and, about the end of July or beginning 
 of August, my friend Mr. Waters, of Arminghall, 
 near Norwich, saw some birds dusting themselves in a 
 
391 
 
 road-way, crossing one of his fields, which I have no 
 doubt, from his description, were sand-grouse. They 
 were very tame, and allowed a near approach before they 
 flew up, so that he was well able to determine, being 
 accustomed to all kinds of game, that these were a species 
 unknown to him. This is the only instance, I know, of 
 their visiting the vicinity of Norwich, and one of the 
 few cases in which they appear to have penetrated so far 
 inland. In the Yarmouth district my latest accounts 
 were to the 3rd of August, on which day (writes Captain 
 Longe) "a small flock of twelve or thirteen were seen 
 near Winterton, on the beach; and in the "Field" of 
 Sept. 26th, Mr. Fenwicke Hele states that a single sand- 
 grouse " was seen and shot at on the 18th instant," at 
 Alderton, near Alborough, Suffolk. 
 
 October 3rd. Three males killed at Holme-point, 
 near Lynn, Norfolk. These birds came into the hands 
 of Mr. Howard, of Hingham, who informed me that 
 only four were seen together at the time; the 
 fourth bird being also wounded, and lost. After that 
 date no others were noticed, and he believes that they 
 then quitted entirely that part of the county. I had 
 certainly given up all idea of examining any more 
 sand-grouse during that year, when summoned by the 
 bird-stuffer to inspect the last three; and though 
 sharing with other naturalists and sportsmen a regret 
 that so many of these interesting birds should have 
 been slaughtered during the nesting season, I was 
 glad enough of the opportunity afforded me of 
 observing the autumn plumage of the species, and of 
 comparing the tints of their freshly moulted feathers 
 with those of the earlier specimens. This vivid colour- 
 ing was particularly observable in the rich abdominal 
 band, the deep orange on the side of the head, the 
 dark markings on the back, and the sharpness of the 
 pencilled lines across the lower part of the breast. In 
 
392 BIEDS OE NORFOLK. 
 
 all of them the bar across the secondaries had a bright 
 chesnut hue, and the wing-coverts brighter and clearer 
 than in any previous examples showed a dark buff 
 edging to each feather, looking like some delicate water 
 mark. The wing primaries and middle tail feathers 
 were light greyish blue, with some appearance of the 
 e f bloom" observable on the feathers of herons and some 
 other birds. The first primary shaft, though beginning 
 to elongate, had not yet projected beyond the second 
 feather in any one of these birds, and the tail feathers, 
 of unequal lengths, had not attained their perfect 
 growth; varying from three inches to five inches, six 
 inches, and six and a-half inches. They were all in high 
 condition, indeed, more plump than any I had previously 
 handled ; one bird weighing ten and a-half ounces, and 
 two, together, exactly twenty-one ounces. Their crops 
 were filled with seeds, similar in character to those before 
 identified; and the gizzards, as usual, contained the 
 debris of such food, mixed with numerous small white 
 particles of flint. I could have wished that one at least 
 out of these three autumn specimens had been a female, 
 as the appearance of the ovaries so late in the season 
 might have shown some indication of the birds having 
 laid their usual number of eggs during the summer 
 months. The appearance of the testes in these adult males 
 certainly favoured the impression that although no nests 
 had been discovered in this district, yet that such might 
 have existed on the extensive sand-hills bordering our sea 
 coast, and the warrens of the interior ; more particularly 
 since these wanderers were known to have bred, during 
 that year, at certain places in Denmark and Holland.* 
 
 * Professor Beinhardt supplied Mr. Newton with information 
 respecting some nests of this species, found at Eingkjobing and 
 Nymindegal, on the west coast of Denmark. Early in June the 
 Professor received several living birds, which had been snared "on 
 their nests" in the above-named districts, together with four of their 
 
393 
 
 Mr. Southwell, of Fakenham, informed me at the time 
 that "a vague rumour" was current in his neighbour- 
 hood early in September, that a nest had been found 
 somewhere near Lynn; but adds, "I cannot discover 
 the slightest foundation for the report," and my own 
 enquiries failed to elicit anything satisfactory on this 
 point. 
 
 November? There is little doubt, I think, that these 
 birds were not seen in either Norfolk or Suffolk after 
 the middle of November, the following being the latest 
 notices of their appearance, in either county, that I 
 could authenticate either at the time or subsequently. 
 Mr. Dodman, of Titchwell, near Lynn, informed Mr. 
 Southwell that one was procured about the last week or 
 end of November, and in a subsequent letter says, 
 " From what I could learn it was a male bird. It was 
 
 eggs, one of the latter having been laid in the box which conveyed 
 the birds. " On two of the nests both the birds (in each case the 
 hens first and then the cocks) were caught on the 6th of June. 
 These nests were near one another ; and one, containing three 
 eggs, consisted of a slight depression in the sand, lined with a 
 little dry marram. The other had only two eggs, Was placed 
 among some ling, and furnished in a like manner. The third nest 
 was similar to the first, and was half-way up a sand-hill." More 
 nests were found at that time, but were unfortunately not pre- 
 served ; but, on the 27th of July, the same person who had taken 
 the first eggs, discovered at Bierregaard, in the same locality, " a 
 nest among some stones in the sand, and containing three eggs." 
 Snares were set, and both old birds taken; and in this interval, 
 one of the eggs was found to have been hatched. The other two 
 eggs being placed in wool near a fire a second chick was hatched, 
 but the third egg proved rotten. The young lived but one day, 
 and were not preserved. Another nest was also found the same 
 day (July 28th), and the two old birds obtained. From these 
 facts, it appears that Syrrhaptes is not polygamous, both sexes 
 sharing the duties of incubation, and that the normal number of 
 eggs is three. Whether these birds are " double brooded" seems 
 somewhat doubtful. 
 
 3E 
 
394 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 shot on a salt marsh, a different locality to that where 
 all the other birds were obtained in this district, which 
 were found on the marram or sand-hills ; but this may 
 be attributable to the birds having been disturbed from 
 the latter during the morning previous to being found 
 in the marshes." This specimen was killed at Holme, 
 near Hunstanton, where so many had been obtained 
 in the summer ; indeed, a certain number remained 
 about those preserved sand-hills from their first arrival, 
 and there, if any females did nest in this county, it is 
 quite possible they might have done so, without being 
 observed. The only other record of their appearance so 
 late in the year was contained in a communication to 
 the "Field" of November 28th, 1863, by Mr. Hele, of 
 Aldborough, in which that gentleman says, "a pair 
 were seen by Colonel Thellusson at Thorpe (Suffolk) one 
 day last week." 
 
 The total number of specimens, therefore, known to 
 have been obtained in the counties of Norfolk and 
 Suffolk, in 1863, amounts to just seventy-five birds, 
 the numbers of each sex, as far as ascertainable, being 
 very nearly equal. In the case, however, of the four 
 examples from Methwold and Santon-Downham, the 
 sex not having been recorded, I have reckoned them in 
 the subjoined table as two males and two females : 
 
 Norfolk.. . 60 . ..(Males 30 
 
 iFemales 30 
 
 Suffolk 15 (Males 8 
 
 (. Females 7 
 
 75 75 
 
 Excepting only in one or two instances, these birds 
 were found, in the above counties, either close to the 
 sea on the sand-hills and shingle, or in the immediate 
 vicinity, feeding in grass fields, or on open waste lands. 
 
395 
 
 In all cases they appeared in good condition, the 
 internal parts exhibiting signs of perfect health, and 
 the crops in most cases were filled with green food; 
 some few, however, had empty crops, but their gizzards 
 (extremely muscular) were filled with the debris of seeds 
 and small fragments of flint. No trace of animal or 
 insect food was, I believe, found in any of them, either 
 in our eastern counties or in other parts of England. Of 
 the first female picked up on Yarmouth beach, Captain 
 Longe says : " The gizzard contained an enormous 
 quantity of sma.ll stones and sand, some of the stones 
 were nearly twice the size of mustard seeds, and weighed 
 three-quarters of a dram." This I found the case in 
 most of them myself, but in some much more sand than 
 flints. The contents of the crops (in one case filling two 
 table spoons) were various, consisting, in the opinion of 
 several local botanists, chiefly of small yellow grass seeds, 
 mixed with the seeds and cases of black medick or non- 
 such (Medicago lupulina), sedge (Carex), dock (Rumex), 
 chickweed (Stellaria and Cerastium), and in some 
 instances, small sprigs of the biting stonecrop (Sedum 
 acre), so abundant on the sand-hills of our eastern coast. 
 Those taken from one of the Yarmouth birds, being of 
 four different kinds, were sown in pots under the care of 
 Mr. Youell, at his nursery grounds, and were proved 
 by this experiment to belong to Medicago minima, 
 Chenopodium album, Polygonum convolvolus, and Poa 
 annua. The plants were submitted to the editor of the 
 " Gardeners' Chronicle," who concurred as to their 
 identity. Three of the birds shot at Horsey, on the 
 10th of June, by Captain Rising, contained no other 
 seed in their crops than the Sagina procumbens (pearl- 
 wort). The seed of the Polygonum convolvolus was 
 probably mistaken for Rumex in the first instance. Mr. 
 Southwell, of Fakenham, who most kindly placed 
 his own notes on this species at my disposal, took 
 2 
 
396 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 considerable pains to ascertain accurately the plants on 
 which such birds as came under his personal observation 
 had been feeding, and the following statement was 
 received by him from no less an authority than Professor 
 C. C. Babington, of Cambridge, after an examination of 
 the different seeds from the crop of one of the Holme 
 specimens : " Most are the fruit and seeds of Arenaria, 
 or rather Lepigonum rubrum, numbered 1 on the 
 paper; 2, is a seed of Polygonum; 3, the tip of a 
 moss ; 4, seeds of another kind of Polygonum (they 
 must have been some time in the bird's crop, for they 
 have commenced growing) ; 5, appear to be fruiting 
 flowers of Poa ; 6, I fancy belong to Sagina or Arenaria, 
 but I have not succeeded in naming them to my own 
 satisfaction. All these names are, of course, open to alter- 
 ation, but I quite think that they are correct." Besides 
 the above, Mr. Southwell also distinguished the seeds of 
 Lepigonum marinum, of which there appears to have been 
 none in the crop submitted to Professor Babington ; and, 
 in a letter to myself, he adds, " I think we may consider 
 that their food in this country consisted entirely of the 
 seeds of plants proper to the sandy coast upon which 
 they were found. The fact of the seeds being all those 
 of British plants, probably shows that they had been 
 on the coast some days." Mr. Alfred Newton, to whom 
 the carcases of two of the Holme specimens were sent 
 by Mr. Southwell for the purpose of dissection, proposed 
 a careful examination of the small flinty substances 
 found so abundantly in the gizzards, suggesting that 
 some mineralogist might recognise in them ' f fragments 
 washed down into the Kirghish Steppes from the Altai 
 mountains ; or that the birds might have renewed their 
 stock of grindstones as they crossed the Ural." Acting 
 upon this hint, Mr. Southwell submitted some of them 
 to a geological friend, who writes as follows : ' ( As to 
 the stones found in the gizzard, I do not think they 
 
PALLAS'S SAND-GEOUSE. 397 
 
 were obtained on the Norfolk coast. I doubt whether 
 the sand there would afford such large grains. They 
 may have been picked up on their native steppes, and 
 probably the same stones may remain in the gizzard for 
 an indefinite length of time. The stones, so far as one 
 can see, seem to be fragments of quartz and felspar, 
 and are therefore probably granitic. I have shown them 
 to one of our best geologists, an F.Gr.S., who concurs 
 with me, and thinks that nothing decisive can be pre- 
 dicted from them. They could all be easily matched in 
 England." I may here add that the later specimens 
 dissected by myself, had fewer flinty particles in their 
 gizzards, and those much smaller in size and more 
 mixed with sand. In the early examples, the size, and 
 peculiarly angular appearance of these white fragments, 
 would attract the notice of any one accustomed to 
 examine the internal economy of granivorous birds ; and 
 as it is generally understood, that such stones are 
 retained in the gizzard so long as their triturating 
 powers remain unimpaired by the action of the stomach, 
 it is most likely that on their first arrival our Tartar 
 visitants contained their native grindstones. 
 
 From an examination of just thirty specimens, 
 consisting of fourteen males and sixteen females, I 
 was particularly struck with the general similarity 
 of the specimens according to sex. The less matured 
 males differed only from those more adult (judging from 
 the largely developed state of the testes) in having the 
 ground colour of the plumage somewhat duller, and 
 their darker markings less clearly defined; but the 
 extremely dark tints of some old males, especially in the 
 deep grey of the breast, and more clouded appearance 
 of the wing coverts, were, I imagine, attributable to old 
 and somewhat soiled feathers, which in a few weeks 
 would have been replaced by others. In one or two 
 fine old males, very recently killed (for the brighter 
 
398 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 portions of the plumage soon faded in the stuffed 
 specimens), the reddish orange of the head and neck, 
 the delicate pencil markings across the breast, the rich 
 buffy colouring of the wing coverts, bordered by a 
 reddish bar above the secondary quills, and the broad 
 abdominal band of blackish brown, mingled with buff, 
 were all extremely vivid ; as also the bars and spots on 
 the back and wings. But I did not find that such 
 specimens had in all cases the longest tail or wing 
 feathers, which are, doubtless, much subject to accident. 
 Amongst the females, the same degree of difference 
 exists, the young birds having a more mottled appear- 
 ance on the upper parts, the kestrel-like bars on the 
 back and wings being less clear. In old females the 
 black ring round the throat and the yellow tints of the 
 neck were extremely bright. In two only, as before 
 observed, was there the slightest trace of the pencilled 
 lines across the breast, so marked a feature in all males. 
 These, probably, were very old hens, though not more 
 brilliant in plumage than others ; and the one with the 
 pectoral band most distinct, had the gular ring very 
 faint, the yellow tints less vivid, and the first quill 
 feather of the wings scarcely elongated at all. In some 
 examples the quill feathers had been recently moulted, 
 as in the four females from Blakeney (June 26th), 
 and Mr. Dix informs me that in two he received from 
 Horsey, he found the secondaries and tail feathers full 
 of blood and about three parts developed, and some of 
 the back feathers were brighter and evidently new. 
 The following are the variations in length, of the tail 
 and wing feathers in both sexes, as far as I was able to 
 take them ; but the difference in length of the first 
 primary quill is owing more to the size of the bird (the 
 wing itself being larger or smaller), than to the elonga- 
 tion of the filaments. Thus, in one female, the wing 
 from the carpal joint measured nine inches, yet the 
 
399 
 
 primary shaft projected but very little. The females 
 have the same bright reddish hue above the secondary- 
 quills as in the males, and the abdominal band is in 
 some even deeper in colour and less mixed with buff. 
 All but one female I examined had elongated tail 
 feathers, and in this case they had evidently been shot 
 away : Tail feathers in males : 6 J inches, 7 inches, to 
 7^ inches. First primary of wing, measured from the 
 carpal joint: 8J inches, 9 inches, 9| inches, 9J inches, 
 to 10 inches. Tail feathers in females : 3J inches, 
 4 inches, 4| inches, 5 inches, 5J inches, to 6 inches. 
 Wings measured as above : 8 inches, 8| inches, 8| inches, 
 to 9 inches. 
 
 Tastes seemed to vary much respecting the edible 
 qualities of these strange birds, which, as far as my own 
 experience went, were in this respect, as much entitled 
 to their specific name of paradoxus, as for any of their 
 external peculiarities. Served up as " a delicious salmi" 
 at a dinner of the Acclimatisation Society, they were 
 said to have been pronounced (f admirable," but here 
 at least they were tried under the most favourable 
 circumstances, being cooked to perfection by a master 
 of the culinary art. Without all these advantages, and 
 with the great drawback of wanting their natural skins, 
 the first brace I tried were undoubtedly dry eating and 
 somewhat taseless, but presented from the great depth 
 of the sternum, a fine "breast" in quantity if not 
 in quality. On the next occasion I had them baked, 
 with the addition of a beef-steak to assist in preserving 
 their natural juices, and found them much more tender 
 and palatable ; the flesh suggesting the flavour of many 
 things, though scarcely one in particular. I should 
 say, however, that they resemble the French partridge 
 as much as any other game bird, as they want the 
 pungency of the quail, to which they have been likened 
 by some who have eaten them. Their only resemblance 
 
400 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 to grouse consists in the two colours of the flesh; the 
 outer portion being very dark, and that nearest to the 
 bone white. 
 
 To revert once more to the general history of this 
 strange invasion, as given in Mr. Newton's European 
 summary, the course of the invading host is there 
 traced " through more than thirty-three degrees of 
 longitude, from Brody in Gallicia, to Naran on the west 
 coast of Donegal; and it will be seen that towards 
 the western limits of Europe it extended over some 
 five and twenty degrees of latitude, from Biscarolle, in 
 Gascony, to Thorshavn, in the Fseroes.* * * * "I 
 rather doubt (says Mr. Newton) if the main body ever 
 reached England. Nearly one hundred is the largest flock 
 recorded as having been observed in this island at one 
 
 * With regard to the date of their appearance, the same author 
 writes, " Unfortunately I am at present ignorant of the exact times 
 of its first appearance in the most eastern localities. The earliest 
 date given with precision is the 6th of May, at Sokolnitz, in Moravia. 
 A week later the right flank of the advancing army had reached 
 Tuchel, in West Prussia ; on the 17th its centre was observed at 
 Polkwitz, in Silesia. On the 20th of May birds occurred at Wohlau, 
 in Anhalt, and on the Danish Island of Laaland. The following 
 day (the 21st) they had not only over-run the British dependency 
 of Heligoland, but had established themselves on the shores of 
 England, at Thropton, in Northumberland. The next day they had 
 penetrated to Eccleshall, in Staffordshire, and crossed the country 
 to Walney, on the coast of Lancashire. By the end of the month 
 they had arrived at the Faeroes." With the exception, therefore, of 
 the lapse of observations between the 6th and 14th of May, " the 
 Tartar horde seems to have swept uninterruptedly onwards in an 
 almost uniformly north-western direction, small bands detaching 
 themselves from the main body at intervals, and these again often 
 separating into pairs throughout the entire transit. Once arrived 
 at the borders of the ocean, if one may judge from the evidence 
 before us, many were driven back. Then they seem to have spread 
 themselves over the surrounding countries, seeking out, as was 
 natural, districts most agreeable to their habits." 
 
PALLAS'S SAND-GROUSE. 401 
 
 place, namely, Oswestry. The bulk of the invaders 
 seem to have been checked in their onward course by 
 the North Sea, and to have passed the summer on the 
 flat and sandy coast extending from Holland to Jutland, 
 both of which countries witnessed, as I have related, 
 attempts on the part of the colonizers to increase and 
 multiply. In Holland we have flocks of a couple of 
 hundred spoken of as frequenting the sand-hills in 
 June. (J. f. O., 1864, p. 69). At the beginning of July, 
 Professor Reinhardt informs me there were large flocks 
 in Jutland and Slesvig. About the middle of August 
 Dr. Altum tells us that bands of from ninety to a 
 hundred were still seen on the Frisian island of 
 Borkum. A month later, in September, a great flock 
 was observed at Pinneberg, in Holstein, and some time 
 in autumn a large flight on Norderney; while the 
 latest notice I can find of a numerous company being 
 seen together is on the 3rd of October, when a flock of 
 from one hundred and fifty to two hundred were seen at 
 Wittow, in Riigen, flying high in air from north- 
 west to south-east, and making probably for the land 
 of their birth." This last date, it will be observed, 
 corresponds exactly with the latest record of the appear- 
 ance of these birds in Norfolk. With regard to the 
 numbers which actually visited the European continent, 
 and those which are known to have met with an untimely 
 end, Mr. Newton is inclined to estimate the former, 
 from all sources of information, at not less than seven 
 hundred, the latter at about three hundred and forty- 
 five, adding "another hundred and fifty-five for birds 
 which, falling into the hands of ignorant persons, have 
 been altogether lost sight of." No wonder that so 
 extensive, and in every respect remarkable, an immigra- 
 tion of a strictly Asiatic species into western Europe, 
 should have led to a strange diversity of opinion 
 amongst naturalists as to the actual cause; some 
 
402 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 attributing it to atmospherical influences, such as " the 
 continuance of a week's violent north-east wind;" 
 others, " to the colonization of the valley of the Amoor 
 by the Russians, and the probably increased amount of 
 land sown with seed along the roads leading from 
 thence to European Kussia;" others, again, to the 
 effects of a supposed drought in the countries where 
 this species mostly abounds. After reading, however, 
 Mr. Newton's very plausible reasons for not attributing 
 the " exodus" to any of the above causes, or at least 
 for not receiving any one of them as the primary cause, 
 I think that most people will concur in his own 
 expressed opinion, that this " wonderful movement" is 
 attributable ff to the natural overflow of the population 
 of SyrrhapteSy resulting from its ordinary increase." In 
 support of these views he refers to the habits of this 
 species as observed in the basin of the Tarei-nor, a 
 lake situated in Dauria, about fifty degrees north and 
 one hundred and sixteen degrees east (from Greenwich), 
 under most favourable circumstances, by Herr Eadde 
 in the spring of 1856. There it arrives as one of the 
 earliest migrants by the 10th (22nd) of March, and two 
 immense flocks discovered in the island of the Tarei, 
 consisting each of at least a thousand birds, after 
 frequent disturbance, suddenly left the district altogether 
 to appear no more during that season, showing, as Mr. 
 Newton remarks, " that Syrrhaptes is subject to sudden 
 movements on a very large scale, and of a kind which, 
 at first sight, appear almost capricious." Its wondrous 
 powers of flight must protect all but the weaker members 
 from the attacks of falcons, while it is also known, from 
 Herr Eadde's observations, that the time of incubation 
 and the growth of the young is " short in comparison 
 with what it is in most ground-breeding birds," all points 
 indicative of a considerable and rapid increase of the 
 race, and the necessity from time to time of extending 
 
PALLAS'S SAND-GROUSE. 403 
 
 the limits of their range, and ee seeking pastures new." 
 This was by no means also the first occasion in which 
 examples of this species had been known to penetrate 
 so far to the westward of their normal range, for on 
 this point Mr. Newton writes as follows : " It got its 
 foot in Europe as long ago as 1853, it may be longer; 
 we must allow for the imperfection of our record. 
 In 1859 it comes again, the stress being now, with 
 time, severer: possibly more birds start, and the birds 
 that start reach a greater distance. In 1863, from the 
 same increasing pressure from within, still more come, 
 and come still further. If this notion be correct, unless 
 some physical change occurs in the Tartar steppes, which 
 may have the effect of relieving the pressure, another 
 outpouring may be safely predicted, and probably 
 the already thrice-found channel will be again used by 
 the emigrating population." It is not, however, Mr. 
 Newton's impression that the immense flock which in 
 1863 visited Europe, or the smaller flights which had 
 preceded it, started from Dauria, or the frontiers of 
 China. " On the contrary," he says, ee a little reflexion 
 will show that it is of course far more probable that the 
 birth-place of the European invaders was the western 
 extremity of their ordinary range the country imme- 
 diately on the other side of the Caspian Sea, whence, as 
 I have said, the species was first obtained and described. 
 But this is quite far enough off to make such a Scythian 
 exodus in these days sufficiently remarkable. Some 
 4,000 geographical miles is a pretty long journey, even 
 for a bird blessed with such powerful organs of aerial 
 locomotion, as Syrrhaptes paradoxus." Whether or not 
 any portion of these large flocks would have located 
 themselves permanently on our shores, if encouraged 
 thereto by a protective rather than a destructive policy, 
 remains an open question. It is I know a favourite 
 belief with many that they would have done so, and 
 3r2 
 
404 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 there are not wanting localities both, on our coast line 
 and in the interior of the county highly favourable to 
 their ascertained habits. In the "Ibis," however, for 
 1865 (p. 340), the editor remarks "There can be no 
 doubt that those ill-used voyagers entirely failed to 
 establish themselves in Europe. The last recorded 
 occurrence of a Pallas' s sand-grouse that we can find is 
 by Dr. Opel, who, writing on the 20th of July, 1864, 
 states (J. f. O., 1864, p. 312), that a live example, which 
 had flown against the telegraph wires, near Plauen, in 
 Saxony, was sent to the Zoological Garden, at Dresden, 
 about a month previously." 
 
 I have selected this species for illustration in the 
 present work, as one of the rarest and most beautiful 
 additions of late years to our local fauna; and those 
 who have had the opportunity of studying the actions 
 of these birds, either in a wild state or in confinement, 
 will at once recognise the master hand of the artist in 
 his perfect delineation of form, colour, and attitude. 
 The male is represented by the figure in the foreground, 
 the female by that crouching. 
 
 PERDIX RUFA (Linnaeus.) 
 EED-LEGGED PAETEIDGE. 
 
 Sir Thomas Browne, writing on the "Birds of 
 Norfolk" some two hundred years ago, remarks 
 " Though there be here very great store of partridges, 
 yet the French Eed-legged Partridge is not to be met 
 with." How sincerely would a portion, at least, of our 
 local sportsmen wish that the same could be said at 
 the present day; but as "ill weeds grow apace," so 
 the Trench partridge, once fairly introduced into this 
 country, is not easily got rid of, now that its qualities 
 
RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 405 
 
 as a game bird are not found to answer the expecta- 
 tions of its importers in the exact way they anticipated. 
 Its introduction into the Eastern Counties dates only 
 from the close of the last century, when, about 
 the year 1770, the Marquis of Hertford and Lord 
 Kendlesham are recorded* to have had large quantities 
 of eggs imported from the continent, and the young 
 birds, hatched under domestic fowls, were turned off 
 at Sudbourn and Eendlesham, in Suffolk, on the 
 respective estates of the above noblemen. From thence 
 they soon spread to other portions of the county, and 
 the adjoining parts of Norfolk ; and in Daniel's " Rural 
 Sports" we find the author speaking of a covey of 
 fourteen, discovered by himself in 1777 within two miles 
 of Colchester, which, in a very thick piece of turnips, 
 " baffled for half an hour the exertions of a brace of 
 good pointers to make them take wing, and the first 
 which did so immediately perched on the hedge, and 
 was shot in that situation without its being known what 
 bird it was." Others are also described by the same 
 writer as having been killed in 1799, at Sudbourn, f 
 where they were originally turned off. During the 
 
 * See an article by Dr. W. B. Clarke, of Ipswich, in Charles- 
 worth's " Magazine of Natural History" for 1839 (p. 142). In this 
 paper, which contains a most accurate description of the habits of 
 the red-legged species, the date of its introduction by the Marquis 
 of Hertford is given as about the year 1790, but, judging from 
 other records, it most probably occurred from fifteen to twenty 
 years before. 
 
 f I am not aware that any specimens of the Barbary partridge 
 (Perdix petrosa) have ever been met with in this county, but 
 Yarrell, who includes it amongst his "British Birds," states 
 that " two or three years ago, a bird of this species was shot by a 
 nobleman when sporting on the estate of the Marquis of Hertford, 
 at Sudbourn, in Suffolk, where it was considered that a few of the 
 eggs of the Barbary partridge had been introduced with a much 
 larger quantity of those of the more common red-legged bird." 
 
406 BIRDS OP NOKFOLZ. 
 
 next twenty years, they would seem to have increased 
 rapidly as, in 1826, they are thus referred to by Messrs. 
 Sheppard and Whitear " These birds are now very 
 plentiful in some parts of Suffolk. We have seen at 
 least one hundred and fifty brace in a morning upon 
 Dunmingworth heath ; and they are found in greater or 
 less numbers from Alborough to Woodbridge ; a few are 
 also sometimes seen in Norfolk."* It appears, however, 
 that other game preservers, in both Norfolk and Suffolk, 
 following the example of the Marquis of Hertford, 
 procured eggs from the continent, and were equally 
 successful in extending the breed. Mr. Alfred Newton 
 has furnished me with the following additional par- 
 ticulars, as communicated to him by his late father : 
 "The year after Lord Cornwallis died (1823) Lords 
 Alvanley and De Eos hired Culford; they had a 
 large number of red-legged partridges' eggs sent over 
 from France, which they distributed about the neigh- 
 bourhood, keeping, however, some at Culford. The 
 Duke of Norfolk had a good many at Fornham, so 
 also had Mr. Waddington at Cavenham. The eggs 
 were set under hens, and nearly all of them hatched. 
 This was the first introduction of the red-legged 
 partridge into West Suffolk. They had been plentiful 
 in the eastern division of the county several years 
 before, where Lord Hertford had introduced them." 
 Mr. Newton refused to have any eggs, but in a few 
 years the birds spread to Elveden, and thence, of course, 
 very readily into the adjacent parts of Norfolk. 
 
 At the present time, however, so altered are the 
 feelings of many game preservers with regard to this 
 species, that l^ie destruction of their nests is in some 
 places as rigorously carried out as of crows or magpies ; 
 
 * The late Mr. Utting, of Ashwelthorpe, was, I believe, the 
 first to introduce them into East Norfolk. 
 
KED-LEGGED PARTKIDGE. 407 
 
 and the destruction of the old birds, any how or at 
 any season, is regarded, at least by such individuals, as 
 anything but an unsportsman-like act. Much of this 
 antipathy originates in a very general belief that the 
 red-legs during the breeding season drive the English 
 birds from their nests, and appropriate them to their own 
 use ; but, although the French birds are undoubtedly 
 pugnacious, and both species have been observed fighting 
 and scuffling together in the spring of the year, I am 
 not aware that the charge of appropriation has been 
 fully proved. The red-legs commence laying earlier 
 than the grey partridge, and, as Mr. Newton informs 
 me, "are accustomed to drop their eggs in a desultory 
 way like guinea fowls;" yet, whilst the eggs of both 
 French and English birds (as occasionally, also, of 
 pheasants and partridges), are found in one nest, it is 
 seldom, I think, that the French bird is, in such cases, 
 the usurper.* On one occasion John Gaily, of North- 
 repps, gamekeeper to Mr. J. H. Gurney, saw a French 
 partridge stand and peck at the head of an English 
 bird when sitting, and at last drive her from the nest, 
 but even in this instance there is no evidence that the 
 red-leg afterwards took possession of it. In like manner 
 Mr. Edwards, of Keswick, was once witness to a strange 
 contest between a French partridge and a common hen, 
 apparently for the possession of a nest placed on the 
 side of a straw stack, f but, although the Frenchman 
 
 * The French partridge is the earliest to lay (though, from her 
 irregular habits, she is the latest to hatch her brood), and grey 
 partridges or pheasants will very often "lay to her eggs," as the 
 keepers express it. 
 
 f Mr. A. Newton has recorded in the "Zoologist" (p. 4073) the 
 discovery of a nest of the French partridge at Elveden, placed on 
 the thatch of a barley stack. The old bird was found sitting on 
 thirteen eggs, and would probably have hatched her young, had 
 it not been necessary to remove the stack before that time. In 
 
408 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 here proved the victor, it is doubtful which was the 
 rightful owner. If, however, to this grave charge, we 
 return the Scotch verdict of "not proven," the shy, 
 restless nature of this species, continually "footing it" 
 before the guns, and taking wing only when closely 
 pressed, or far out of reach of any ordinary fowling 
 piece, renders it particularly obnoxious to sportsmen 
 in the more closely cultivated and enclosed portions 
 of the county. In such districts, many are the vollies 
 of something more than small shot, called forth by the 
 provoking habits of these birds in the early part of the 
 season. No sooner do the guns enter the turnips at one 
 end of the field, than the wary Frenchmen are seen 
 topping the opposite fences one after another, alighting 
 again on the adjoining stubbles, and, with heads erect, 
 making off at a most incredible pace. Scattering them- 
 selves in all directions, they unsettle the English birds 
 that would otherwise lie well in good cover, and, of 
 course, from their running before the dogs, were still more 
 objectionable under the old style of partridge shooting 
 with pointers or setters. Thus trying his patience in 
 every possible way, it is no great wonder if the sports- 
 man, under such circumstances, delights to bag every 
 red-leg he can, and considers no distance too far, to " let 
 fly" at his feathered tormentors. Nor is he repaid, after 
 all his trouble and many disappointments, by securing 
 a delicacy for the table, the chief attraction of this 
 species consisting far more in its handsome plumage 
 than its edible qualities. Undoubtedly a fine old 
 
 the " Field," of June 20th, 1865, there is also a note by the Rev. 
 James Shirley, of Frettenham, describing the nest of a French 
 partridge placed about twelve feet from the ground on the top of a 
 haystack. Although the stack was being constantly disturbed, 
 fifteen young birds were hatched, and were seen in the act of 
 tumbling down the stack, when they were safely led off by the old 
 birds. 
 
RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 409 
 
 male, with its vermillion-coloiired beak and legs, its 
 dark gorget, and lovely feathers on the flanks and 
 thighs, is a very striking object, and contrasts well with 
 the more sombre and uniform tints of the common 
 partridge, when the day's "bag" is laid out for inspec- 
 tion. Unsuited, however, as is the usual style of shooting 
 to the habits of French partridges, they afford fine sport 
 in November and December, when most of the beet and 
 turnips are off the lands, as they then congregate on the 
 ploughed fields, and can be driven over the gunners, 
 placed under cover at convenient distances. In fact, 
 the " driving" system, now so generally adopted on the 
 large estates, is unquestionably the proper method of 
 shooting red-legs, and one which tries well the mettle 
 of the sportsmen, as they mount up higher than the 
 English birds, and fly, when well on the wing, at an 
 almost incredible pace. Yet, at the same time, it must 
 be remembered that such sport can be enjoyed only 
 with impunity on extensive manors, well stocked with 
 birds, since, if attempted too often within a limited 
 area, the partridges may be thus driven off the land 
 altogether, as surely as by the too frequent use of 
 the "kite" towards the latter part of the season. A 
 very effectual time also for reducing their numbers 
 is immediately after a good fall of snow,* before a 
 night's frost has hardened the surface. No longer 
 able to run, and still unwilling to fly till obliged to 
 take wing, they seem deprived for the time of their 
 usual sagacity, and seeking shelter in the thickest 
 hedgerows, if in the enclosed parts of the county, or 
 in the gorse and broom coverts of the light land 
 districts, afford excellent sport for a couple of guns, 
 
 * Dr. Clarke, in the paper before referred to, remarks 
 "Instances have been known of these birds alighting in the 
 middle of a field deeply covered with snow, into the depths of 
 which they sunk, and were afterwards taken out alive by hand." 
 SG 
 
410 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 " doubling" the fences with a steady dog to flush the 
 birds. Advantage is likewise taken by some persons of 
 the altered character of the red-legs when the snow is 
 on the ground, for by flushing them again and again, 
 and following them up directly, the birds become 
 sufficiently exhausted to be run down, one after the 
 other ; a method not unfrequently adopted by poachers 
 in districts not strictly preserved. Under similar 
 circumstances our English birds, if they seek cover 
 at all, betake themselves to the thickest plantations, 
 frequenting the hedgerows even less than at other 
 times, but they prefer, for the most part, the open fields, 
 where their dark forms are plainly visible on the white 
 ground, and where they are more difficult than ever 
 to approach within shot. There is no reason, however, 
 to suppose from this habit, that the red -leg is more 
 susceptible of cold than the grey partridge, as, with the 
 same opportunities of procuring food, I have never 
 found their condition affected by the sharpest weather ; 
 indeed, they come to us from a country where the 
 winters are uniformly more severe than our own. 
 
 They frequent both heavy and light lands; and I 
 have frequently found them plentiful on heavy-land 
 farms, where the English birds have been comparatively 
 scarce, thus filling a void; for as French birds thrive 
 well where, before their introduction, the grey partridge 
 was not found, it is unfair to suppose that the absence 
 of the latter is now owing to the pugnacity of the 
 red-legs. In such localities, by pursuing them in wet 
 weather, when the sticky soil prevented their running, 
 I have been pretty successful in making a bag; and 
 they may be readily killed during a drenching shower, 
 if the gun-caps or cartridges will but go off when 
 required. Strong on the wing, and not often affording 
 a close shot, they require very hard hitting, and will 
 frequently carry off the best part of a charge to die 
 
RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 411 
 
 of their wounds after a prolonged flight ; whilst many 
 a bird, when finally brought to bag, shows evidences 
 of former injuries from the long shots, so frequently, 
 though somewhat cruelly, made at them at almost 
 impossible distances. There is one other particular in 
 which the French partridge differs entirely from our 
 common species namely, in its habit of occasionally 
 perching in trees, flying up into the thick foliage like a 
 pheasant or wood-pigeon ;* an ac'tion which at first not 
 a little astonished our local sportsmen, many of whom 
 most probably entertained the same opinion as an old 
 veteran partridge-shot, who assured me that the first 
 time he met with a covey of red-legs, and some of them 
 took to the trees, ' ( he fully believed the birds had gone 
 mad." On one occasion, whilst shooting on a farm 
 where they were very numerous, I observed this course 
 adopted by single birds in three instances on the same 
 day, and more recently I have known a good-sized covey 
 flushed from the top of an oak timber, and single 
 birds, when chased from place to place in snowy 
 weather, fly up to and settle in the tops of oak pollards. 
 They may also be seen sitting occasionally in a long 
 row on the top of a wall, the ridge of a barn roof, 
 or on an ordinary park fencing. It is not an unusual 
 custom in this county, when nests of the grey par- 
 tridge have been mown out, or discovered in too exposed 
 situations, to transfer the eggs thus taken to a 
 French partridge's nest, and in several instances I have 
 known them successfully hatched, and the young birds 
 treated in every respect as her own by the foster 
 
 * M. Temminck was evidently unaware of this peculiarity, 
 when, in his "Manuel D' Ornithologie," he included the red- 
 legged partridge in his second section of " Perdrix proprement 
 dites," giving the following as the chief characteristics of that 
 group : " Us vivent dans les champs et ne se perchent point sur 
 les arbres." 
 3G2 
 
412 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 parent. It is said, however, that the running 1 habits 
 of the French birds* are generally fatal to the English 
 nestlings, which, to use a thoroughly Norfolk expression, 
 are " drabbled" to death in attempting to keep up with 
 such untiring pedestrians. I mention this, only as a 
 common belief amongst game-keepers, being unable 
 to vouch for its accuracy ; but I have more than once 
 observed, in the shooting season, a pair of old French 
 birds rise from the turnips at the head of a covey of 
 English, though, of course, it is quite possible that 
 in such cases the red-legs had "run up" the grey 
 partridges, and thus all had risen together. 
 
 French partridges, both on the wing and in the 
 field, are easily recognized at a distance by their larger 
 size and darker tints of plumage, to say nothing of the 
 difference in the noise of their wings in flying. When 
 alarmed they carry their heads erect, turning them in 
 all directions to catch the sound of any approaching 
 danger, and continue this even when running at their 
 greatest speed. If undisturbed, however, and feeding 
 leisurely, their appearance (as seen through a glass) 
 is very different, and with feathers puffed out and 
 rounded backs, whilst slowly searching the ground for 
 grain and insects, they look almost as large as pheasants. 
 They are partial to the shelter of thick hedge-rows and 
 plantations, but unless driven into such cover, are seldom 
 
 * M. Julian Deby, in his "Notes on the birds of Belgium," 
 published in the "Zoologist" for 1845-6, makes the following 
 statement respecting the red-legged partridge: "The habits of 
 this species differ materially from those of the common partridge, 
 the males leaving the females and assembling in coveys, while the 
 latter are sitting and rearing their young." I know of no English 
 author that has noticed this peculiarity, but red-legs at that 
 particular season are frequently seen consorting together on the 
 lands, whether all males or not I cannot say, and are then more 
 easily ridden down than at any other time. 
 
RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 413 
 
 found far from the outer fence, through which they can 
 run on the slightest alarm; and in walking quietly 
 up a wood side, where these birds are plentiful, it is 
 very usual to see one or more red- legs issuing from 
 the hedge bottom, and hurrying along under the bank. 
 They are fond also of basking in thick rushy carrs ; 
 and in low meadows will hide in the sedgy margins 
 of the watercourses, where I have shot them late in the 
 season when looking for snipe. 
 
 Both Mr. Lubbock and Messrs. Gurney and Fisher 
 have alluded to the supposed migratory habits of the 
 red-legged partridge, and my own enquiries amongst 
 naturalists and others residing in the vicinity of the 
 sea certainly confirm their statements as to small 
 coveys of these birds, generally in an exhausted condi- 
 tion, being regularly met with in the spring of the 
 year on various parts of the coast. My friend Captain 
 Longe, of Yarmouth, who has for several years paid 
 particular attention to the ornithology of that neigh- 
 bourhood, informs me, that in many successive springs, 
 about March or April, he has found French partridges 
 early in the morning, running about on the beach close 
 to the water; and, on one occasion, when the sands 
 were perfectly covered with their footmarks, he flushed 
 a covey of from twenty to thirty, which flew round 
 once or twice and then out to sea, still keeping on in a 
 direct course until he lost sight of them, although using 
 a good glass. Every year, about the same time, many 
 of these birds are captured under the boats or fish- 
 baskets lying on the beach, and others are run down 
 by lads in the gardens near the Denes, and sometimes 
 even within the town itself. In the spring of 1865, 
 I was told by Mr. Horace Marshall, also a resident 
 at Yarmouth, who has on more than one occasion 
 drawn my attention to this subject, that about the 
 first week in April (the usual time, he says, for their 
 
414 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 appearance) lie assisted in running down a fine male 
 bird close to the Britannia Pier, and one or two 
 others were captured on the same day. They have 
 been observed in like manner on the Suffolk coast, near 
 Lowestoffc, so exhausted as to allow themselves to be 
 picked up by hand. Mr. William Barclay, of Leyton, 
 who has taken much interest of late years in this 
 enquiry, also sends me similar information from Cromer 
 and adjoining villages on that part of the coast. In 
 a recent letter he says "I have shot a good deal 
 in the neighbourhood of Cromer the last few years, 
 and we always find the e Frenchmen ' very abundant 
 near the cliff, more particularly between Overstrand and 
 Trimingham, on shooting belonging to the Hoares and 
 Buxtons, where they breed extensively." A keeper, in 
 the employ of Mr. H. Birkbeck, who looks after the 
 game upon the Lighthouse Hills and adjoining lands, 
 informed Mr. Barclay that in 1865 they were particu- 
 larly numerous, and accounted for the fact by saying 
 "that more had come over than usual." At Cromer, 
 also, the beachmen seem to be fully aware of the annual 
 appearance of these birds on the coast about the end of 
 March, and the boys run them down on the sands, and 
 sell them in the town for sixpence each. On this point 
 both Mr. Barclay and myself have received reliable 
 testimony from one of the most experienced and intel- 
 ligent fishermen at that favourite watering place. In a 
 recent letter, in answer to my own questions, William 
 Mayes writes, "All the information I can give you 
 about French partridges is, that they come over about 
 the middle of March or beginning of April, some ten 
 or twelve in a flock; the wind mostly south-east and 
 south. I have seen them when I have been out to sea 
 four and five miles from land. There are none come over 
 in the autumn." That all these concurrent testimonies 
 are indicative of some migratory movement on the part 
 
RED-LEGGED PARTKIDGE. 415 
 
 of the red-legged partridge there can be no doubt, but 
 whilst it is by no means easy to decide* from what 
 portion of the continent we might look for an influx 
 of this species and there is really no place abroad that 
 these birds could have come from to alight on the 
 Cromer beach, the above statements are by no means 
 incompatible with the idea that emigration and not 
 immigration is the true explanation of this somewhat 
 difficult subject. In this view, I know, Mr. Alfred 
 Newton, who has paid much attention to the habits of 
 these birds, entirely concurs with me, and the very 
 fact that the French partridge was unknown in this 
 county till artificially introduced is one of the strongest 
 arguments against its vernal immigration at the present 
 time. On the other hand, after the success which has 
 attended the importation of this species and its rapid 
 increase throughout the Eastern Counties, it is far from 
 improbable that a certain portion should annually seek 
 to extend their area, and finding themselves stopped 
 by the German Ocean attempt to cross it. These 
 birds, or a portion of them at least (some, probably, 
 falling short and being drowned at sea), misjudging the 
 distance and their own powers of flight, would return 
 again to our shores in an exhausted state, and when 
 picked up under such circumstances, would very 
 naturally be regarded as foreigners just arrived on the 
 coast. Both Mr. Longe's account of the large covey 
 which, when disturbed by him in the early morning on 
 the sands, flew straight out to sea until lost to sight, 
 as well as the statement of William Mayes, that he has 
 seen these birds when four or five miles from land, are 
 quite in accordance with this supposition; and though 
 it is by no means an unusual circumstance during the 
 shooting season for partridges, when shot at in the 
 vicinity of the coast, to continue their flight out to sea, 
 returning in an extremely fatigued condition to the 
 
416 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 beach, there seems nothing to account for such marine 
 excursions in the spring of the year but some such 
 voluntary impulse as I have here suggested. Again, 
 these returned voyagers, failing in their attempt to 
 emigrate from their island home, would locate them- 
 selves, in all probability, in the vicinity of the coast, and 
 thus account for the large proportion of the red-legs 
 which, as Mr. Barclay remarks, are known to breed 
 by the sea at Cromer and adjoining villages ; whilst a 
 more than usual movement from the interior, in any 
 particular spring, would in like manner account for the 
 remark of Mr. Birkbeck's keeper " that more had come 
 over than usual." 
 
 It is not unusual to find the feet of these partridges 
 much clogged with dirt after continued wet on the heavy 
 land farms, but the most extraordinary instance of this 
 I ever met with, came under my notice on the 3rd of 
 December, 1860, and consisted of a French partridge's* 
 foot and leg, perfectly embedded in a lump of earth. 
 The poor bird had been observed limping about in a 
 very strange manner, and was, without much difficulty, 
 run down and secured, when it was found that the 
 lower half of one leg, with the foot, was embedded 
 in a mass of earth, which raised it considerably from 
 the ground, and necessarily kept the limb in a bent 
 position. This lump, measuring seven and a-half inches 
 in circumference, and weighing six ounces and three- 
 quarters, had become as hard as stone, and certainly 
 in that state accounted for the sufferer not having 
 been able to free itself from its incumbrance. Two 
 toes only were visible on one side, of which one 
 
 * This curious specimen was brought to Mr. Sayer, bird-stuffer, 
 St. Giles', in this city, by a gentleman who resides on a heavy land 
 Suffolk farm, where the bird had been taken, and when shown to 
 me the leg, from the fresh state of the sinews, had evidently been 
 but recently severed from the body. 
 
EED-LEGGED PARTKIDGE. 417 
 
 had the nail torn off level with the edge of the mass 
 itself. From the upper part protruded a short bit of 
 bent or straw, and this being entangled round the foot 
 had probably collected the soil by degrees, which had 
 hardened at night with the frost. I can only imagine 
 that the unfortunate bird, which was half starved when 
 taken, had been wounded in the leg, and was thus 
 unable to endure the pain of removing the earth when 
 
 it first began to attach itself. On subsequently showing 
 the limb, and its accumulations, to my friend Mr. 
 Newton, it struck him, at once, as a singular confirma- 
 tion of Mr. Darwin's theory of the transportation of the 
 seeds of plants by adhesion to the beaks and feet of 
 birds, and, as such, he exhibited and described it at a 
 meeting of the Zoological Society, on the 21st day of 
 April, 1863, a notice of which, with a very accurate 
 
418 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 illustration was published in the " Proceedings" for 
 that year. Through the kindness of Mr. P. L. Sclater, 
 the indefatigable secretary of the society, I am now 
 enabled to transfer to these pages the original woodcut, 
 and I am the more obliged for the opportunity of doing 
 so, since the specimen itself is no longer in existence. 
 
 The posthumous honours, however, to be paid to this 
 remnant of a " Frenchman" were not to end here. Mr. 
 Newton further requested permission to forward the 
 curiosity to Mr. Darwin, that eminent naturalist, in his 
 "Origin of Species" (pp. 362, 363), having cited an 
 instance in which he had " removed twenty- two grains 
 of dry argillaceous earth from one foot of a partridge," 
 in which earth e there was a pebble quite as large as the 
 seed of a vetch;" whilst the above mass of clay, as 
 remarked by Mr. Newton before the Zoological Society, 
 was " enormously greater than the quantity of earth 
 mentioned by Mr. Darwin, and sufficient to hold the 
 germs of a very extensive flora." How fully this suppo- 
 sition was borne out by subsequent investigation will be 
 seen by the following extract from Mr. Darwin's letter to 
 Mr. Newton (March 29th, 1864;, detailing the results 
 of his investigation: "I have examined (he says) the 
 partridge's leg; the toes and tarsus were frightfully 
 diseased, enlarged, and indurated. There were no con- 
 centric layers in the ball of earth, but I cannot doubt 
 that it had become slowly aggregated, probably the 
 result of some viscid exudations from the wounded foot. 
 It is remarkable, considering that the ball is three years 
 old, that eighty-two plants have come up from it, 
 twelve being Monocotyledons and seventy Dicotyledons, 
 consisting of at least five different plants, perhaps many 
 more. The bird limping about during the autumn would 
 easily collect many seeds on the viscid surface. I am 
 extremely obliged to you for sending me this interesting 
 specimen." 
 
RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 419 
 
 I never remember to have seen more than one 
 partridge that exhibited the slightest indication of a 
 cross between the French and English, and in this case, 
 unfortunately, the bird had been kept too long for 
 preservation. This specimen was killed at Holverstone, 
 in October, 1850, by a relative of mine, an old sports- 
 man, who quite concurred in my opinion, and I find 
 the following entry respecting it in my note book at 
 the time : " Feathers on the flanks and wing coverts, 
 the legs and part of the head decidedly French, the 
 breast, back, tail, and upper part of the head English." 
 M. Temminck refers to one instance of a hybrid between 
 these two species, and it is perhaps somewhat singular 
 that such should not occur more frequently.* Mr. 
 Lubbock has recorded a singular hybrid killed at Mr. 
 
 * In the "Ibis" for 1864 (p. 225) will be found a letter 
 from M. Leon Olph-Galliard with reference to a peculiar race of 
 partridges, not improbably of hybrid origin, termed Starna 
 palustris by Demeezemaker, a celebrated ornithologist, who has 
 examined, during the last fifteen years, some thirty examples, old 
 as well as young, killed in the neighbourhood of Bergues and 
 Dunkirk on the northern frontiers of France and Belgium. Two 
 other specimens have been also obtained in the market at Lyons 
 by M. Galliard, who thus describes the immature plumage: 
 "Meme disposition de couleurs que dans la Starna cinerea (grey 
 partridge). Les taches longitudinales du bas du corps sont mieux 
 marquees et plus apparantes, attendu qu'elles sont d'un blanc assez 
 pur, et rehaussees de chaque cote par une teinte noire assez foncee. 
 Les teintes generates sont un gris-cendre, un peu bleuatre. Gorge 
 d'un blanc-terne. Eectrices au nombre de 16, et tirant au cafe au 
 lait sombre." The old birds which are described as exactly 
 resembling one another, as do also the young " ont le jaune de la 
 tete et de la gorge comme la Perdrix ordinaire, ainsi que le fer 
 a cheval de la poitrine; mais les couleurs en sont tres-pales." 
 They are known to the sportsmen of the country as the marsh 
 partridge (Perdrix de marais), but though found singly and in 
 small coveys, " il semblait qu'elles ne recherchaient pas les Perdrix 
 ordinaires, ou qu'elles en dtaient rebutes." 
 3n2 
 
420 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Gurdon's, at Letton, in 1845, which was believed to 
 be bred between a red-legged partridge and a pheasant. 
 Varieties are also occasionally met with, though by no 
 no means common. A male shot at Saxlingham, in 
 September, 1863, had part of the breast white. The 
 rest of the plumage as usual; and Mr. Newcome, of 
 Feltwell, has one nearly white killed in that neigh- 
 bourhood in 1865. 
 
 PERDIX CINEREA, Latham. 
 COMMON PAETEIDGE. 
 
 If Norfolk owes its celebrity as an agricultural county 
 rather to an improved system of farming operations 
 than to the kindliness of its soil, it is unquestionably 
 indebted for unrivalled partridge shooting to its native 
 "sands and gravels" even more than to the extended 
 cultivation of land. As before stated, Sir Thomas 
 Browne, writing on the "Birds of Norfolk," remarks, 
 " There be here great store of partridges," and 
 such, no doubt, had been the case from time 
 immemorial; for, though the range of this species is 
 co-extensive with the inroads of the plough, it is 
 doubtful if the race is even now so abundant as when 
 the " staple products of the county were rye and 
 rabbits."* Though generally dispersed on both heavy 
 and light lands, it is on the "blowing sands" of the 
 
 * Mr. C. S. Eead, M.P., in a recent paper on "Norfolk Agricul- 
 ture," in " White's Gazetteer" (3rd ed.), speaking of the triumphs 
 effected by modern farming operations, says, " Less than a hundred 
 years ago Norfolk did not produce enough wheat to maintain its 
 scanty population. It appears that its staple products were rye 
 and rabbits ; the cultivation of wheat being entirely confined to 
 fertile lands to the east of the county, and the heavy soils to the 
 Bouth and interior of the county." 
 

 COMMON PARTRIDGE. 421 
 
 western and south-western districts that the grey- 
 partridge is found in such enormous quantities. There, 
 if not kept within due bounds by the sportsmen,, this 
 prolific race would overrun everything, nor is it possible 
 to estimate the numbers reared in any favourable season 
 in localities so suited to their natural habits.* Dry 
 summers, as a rule, are most favourable to the young 
 broods, but a long continued drought, such as has 
 been experienced more or less during the last three 
 years, proves fatal to great numbers when otherwise 
 strong and healthy; and in the wide open districts, 
 where the nests are most exposed to their depredations, 
 the rooks, unable to procure their natural food, will 
 hunt out and destroy the eggs of partridges and 
 pheasants, as well as those of peewits, Norfolk plover, 
 and the smaller ground-breeding birds. In the 
 eastern and more enclosed portions of the county, 
 however, where the " birds" are more affected by wet 
 seasons, and are easier of access at all times to the 
 sportsman, it is scarcely to be wondered at if a 
 greatly increased number of gunners, combined with 
 the modern style of shooting and the improvements 
 in fire-arms, should have told to some extent on their 
 numbers of late years. In this neighbourhood, at the 
 present time, from twenty to twenty-five brace in a 
 day is considered a good bag for two guns,f and yet I 
 
 * Mr. Alfred Newton, writing from Elveden, near Thetford, 
 "On the possibility of taking an ornithological census" ("Ibis," 
 1861, p. 190), observes " After some reflection, I have come to the 
 conclusion that the grey-partridge in this particular district is the 
 most abundant species we have ;" and, startling as this assertion 
 appears at first sight, I feel quite inclined to concur with him, the 
 wildness of the district being unfavourable to the claims of the 
 sparrow, whilst protection is in every way afforded to the partridge. 
 
 f We have had no very remarkable partridge seasons since the 
 autumns of 1858 and 1859, when the amount reared throughout the 
 
422 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 am credibly informed that in the same localities, some 
 thirty years ago, from forty to fifty brace a day were 
 not unfrequently killed. 
 
 The testimony of all practical ornithologists is 
 unquestionably in favour of the useful qualities of 
 the partridge;* indeed, as Mr. St. John remarks, 
 "most if not all granivorous birds amply repay the 
 farmer for their food by the quantity of weeds they 
 destroy during a great part of the year. An exami- 
 nation of the. crops and gizzards of many examples, 
 and at different seasons, has proved their chief suste- 
 nance to be grasses and their seeds, the leaves of 
 various noxious weeds, insects, and even mosses, 
 but although most plentiful in cultivated districts and 
 extending their range with an increased breadth of corn 
 land, the cereal crops in summer and early autumn are 
 sought rather as a shelter for themselves and nestlings 
 than for the attractions of the soft grain. As soon, 
 
 county was almost unprecedented in modern times. In the former 
 year, within four miles of Norwich, two good shots killed forty- 
 six brace of birds, in one day, out of two fields of turnips of not 
 more than forty acres in extent and the adjoining stubbles. 
 
 * Thompson, in his "Birds of Ireland," quotes the following 
 passage from J. Burn Murdock's " Observations on the game and 
 game laws" with reference to this species : " I do not believe they 
 even pull a single ear of corn from the stalk ; it is only after the 
 stubbles are cleared of the crop that they even feed upon grain at 
 all. In summer, insects and seeds of grasses, and in winter the 
 leaves of weeds and coarse grasses from below the hedges, consti- 
 tute their food; in the latter season they become upon such 
 nutriment exceedingly fat. During the continuance of a severe 
 frost, and when the ground has been covered to a considerable 
 depth by snow, I have repeatedly examined the crops both of 
 partridges and pheasants, and found them filled with the leaves of 
 grasses which grow by the edges of springs and water-rills that 
 have not been frozen ; and the birds on such occasions were in fact 
 fatter than at any other season of the year." 
 
COMMON PARTRIDGE. 423 
 
 however, as the harvest is over, the partridge becomes 
 a gleaner in the stubbles; and in hard weather, and 
 more particularly when the ground is covered with snow, 
 frequents the vicinity of the farmer's corn stacks, or 
 readily avails itself of any grain purposely scattered 
 for its use. Yet, even at such times, as shown by 
 Mr. Murdock's statement, it is by no means dependent 
 only on grain for support, but still seeks its favourite 
 green food by the side of springs and open watercourses, 
 and even in the longest and most severe winters 
 appears to suffer less privation than almost any other 
 species, and is then more than ever wary and difficult of 
 approach by the sportsman. 
 
 It is the custom, I know, with certain writers to run 
 down both the style of shooting adopted and the large 
 bags obtained in Norfolk and Suffolk, but whilst in the 
 first instance no allowance is made for those agricul- 
 tural changes which have compelled the sportsman to 
 alter his tactics, in the latter case a superabundance of 
 game admits of a very large amount of sport, without 
 subjecting local partridge shots to the charge of excess.* 
 
 * In these remarks I do not, of course, include exceptional cases 
 on some of our large estates where, for any special purpose such 
 as the decision of a wager, an almost incredible number of birds 
 have been killed to a single gun. Of such days the Sporting 
 Journals supply many records, all tending to show the marvellously 
 prolific nature of the partridge in Norfolk. On the 7th of October, 
 1797, the late Earl of Leicester, within an area of one mile on his 
 manor at Warham, bagged forty brace in eight hours, at ninety- 
 three shots, each bird killed singly ; and on the same ground the 
 day previously he killed twenty-two brace and a-half in three 
 hours. Mr. William Coke in his celebrated match with Lord 
 Kennedy, the former shooting in Norfolk and the latter in Scot- 
 land, on the same days in September and October, and in the same 
 season, bagged in the first day eighty and a-half brace on the 
 Wighton and Egmere manors, and on the second day eighty-seven 
 and a-half brace ; his opponent killing fifty and eighty-two brace, 
 at Montreath, on the same days respectively. [Yarrell, Brit. Bds., 
 
424 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 I had the good fortune to make my debut as a sports- 
 man in one of the midland counties, where, at that 
 time, the improvements in modern husbandry were 
 unknown. Well do I remember the tall reaped stubbles, 
 where the birds laid closer than in turnips now-a- 
 days; how beautifully the dogs worked, and how 
 easy it seemed to an old hand to kill double shots 
 to a steady point. Many a weary and fruitless round 
 was saved by the " quarterings" of the staunch old 
 pointer ; and when at length, arrested by the " tainted 
 gale," his stiffening limbs bespoke " attention," his 
 attitude as plainly showed the exact position of the 
 game. In the turnips, also, the " broadcast" system 
 rendered flight more easy to the birds than running, 
 and with no red-legs to teach them vagrant habits, the 
 coveys laid well to a steady f( point." Then, to crown 
 all as a paradise to sportsmen of the old school, there 
 were plenty of little " spinnies" at the corners of the 
 fields and thick double hedgerows so prodigal of space 
 that, but for the almost impenetrable undergrowth, a 
 donkey and cart might have been driven easily between 
 the fences. Woe to the unlucky covey marked down 
 in such strongholds, with a cool shot on either side 
 and a dog well up to his work. 
 
 That those who were accustomed in the "good 
 old days" to kill partridges after this fashion, more 
 
 vol. ii., 2nd ed., p. 376.] Of more recent and similar exploits, 
 I may also mention, on good authority, that the present Earl of 
 Leicester in a match with his brother, the Hon. E. Coke, killed 
 one hundred and thirty-seven brace, in one day, at Warham, and 
 the latter one hundred and one, on an adjoining farm. His lord- 
 ship has also killed in a short day at Egmere, one hundred and 
 three brace to his own gun. In September, 1858, ten or twelve 
 guns divided into two parties on portions of the Holkham estate, 
 also shot the extraordinary number of four hundred and fourteen 
 brace in two days. 
 

 COMMON PARTRIDGE. 425 
 
 especially since the chief enjoyment at that time con- 
 sisted in watching and profiting by the sagacity of the 
 dogs, should regard the present system with but little 
 favour is natural enough; but why sneer at the taste 
 of younger men who have adopted from necessity, and 
 not from choice, the shooting en battue of the last 
 twenty years? What sport, I would ask, with even 
 the best trained dogs, would be afforded now on our 
 closely mown stubbles ; or beyond a few " points" here 
 and there in a large field of turnips, what chance of a 
 bag when the birds, once alarmed, commence running 
 in all directions along the open drills ? There is but 
 little harbour in our highly cultivated lands, and the 
 trimmed fences, in many places, afford scarcely shelter 
 enough for a wounded bird. The " four-course" system 
 also, though a fine institution for farming purposes, 
 often puts the sportman to much difficulty, his success 
 depending greatly on the position of the crops ; a very 
 common answer to enquiries on any partridge farm, at 
 the commencement of the season, being ' ( we have plenty 
 of birds but the turnips lie so awkward this year." 
 Under these circumstances, then, the gunners have but 
 little chance of sport except by walking in line with 
 the beaters, and unquestionably there is no comparison 
 between the difficulty of such shooting and that under 
 the old system, as the birds rise unexpectedly and at 
 uncertain distances. By this method, now universally 
 adopted both in the enclosed and more exposed portions 
 of the county, very fine shooting is obtained on the wide 
 open heath-lands in the western and south-western 
 districts, when the birds, bred on the adjacent corn 
 lands, are either found basking on the outskirts, or are 
 driven on from the neighbouring stubbles. The guns 
 and beaters, advancing in line, drive the game forward 
 into the nearest coverts, and here and there, though 
 often at long intervals, thick belts of gorse and broom 
 3i 
 
426 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 offer a fatal shelter to the birds, and a hot fusillade 
 and a rapid addition to the bag repay the toil of the 
 sportsman. Later in the season, however, when the 
 birds become " packed," as it is termed (large coveys 
 consorting together for mutual safety), the "driving" 
 system, before referred to, is now commonly adopted 
 for both English and French birds. This is certainly 
 the perfection of sport for those possessed of the 
 necessary quickness and skill ; but to the uninitiated, at 
 least, it is nervous work, standing under shelter of a 
 fence or a lift of hurdles drawn with gorse, and peering 
 anxiously through the prickly screen to watch the 
 motions of the driving party. Coveys and single birds 
 are marked down at different points, and presently the 
 beaters, spreading out in line, are coming on. Now is 
 the time ! never mind that noisy heart of yours, that 
 will thump, thump, like an eight-day clock. Keep your 
 eyes open, grip your gun-stock tight. Whish ! Here they 
 come. Bang ! bang ! And the birds, killed high in the 
 air, fall dead some thirty yards behind the gunners. An 
 old hand, perhaps, bags his brace, though coming at 
 heaven knows what an hour ; for the pace of a partridge 
 thus flushed at a distance is something extraordinary. 
 Ask the novice, for instance, after such a flight, if 
 he got a shot that time ? " Shot ! What at ? I heard 
 you fire, and something came with a whish ! past my 
 head, but it was gone before I turned round." Yet 
 this style of shooting, which to sportsmen of the old 
 school would have appeared an impossibility, is now 
 accomplished with such certainty by the crack shots 
 of the day, that at Beechamwell, near S waff ham, 
 towards the close of the past season, a party of 
 guns killed four hundred partridges, in one day, by 
 " driving" only. 
 
 It is by no means an unusual circumstance for 
 partridges when flushed in the vicinity of the telegraph 
 
COMMON PARTRIDGE. 427 
 
 wires to fly against them in their head-long course. 
 At Larling, where the International Telegraph crosses 
 an extensive heath, preserved for sporting purposes, I 
 have known as many as six or eight birds thus killed 
 in one day when driven forward by the beaters ;* and 
 Mr. Alfred Newton informs me that when shooting at 
 Elden, near Thetford, he has seen 'five birds killed out 
 of a covey in the same way. They are also occasionally 
 found dead under the wires on foggy mornings, but this 
 more particularly in places where the wires have but 
 recently been introduced. 
 
 Having referred to the supposed migratory habits 
 of the French partridge I may here state that, in the 
 "Zoologist" for 1848 (p. 1965), Messrs. G-urney and 
 Fisher .have noticed the occurrence, in two instances, 
 during the autumn of that year, of small coveys of 
 English birds amongst the boats on Yarmouth beach, 
 and even in the town ; from which they infer an occa- 
 sional migration of the grey-partridge as well, quoting 
 YarrelPs remarks in favour of this opinion to the effect 
 that (( though stationary all the year in central Europe, 
 this bird is said to be migratory in the countries that 
 are at the limits of its geographical range, thus M. 
 Malherbe, in his Fauna of Sicily, says it visits that 
 island every spring and autumn, when on its passage 
 from North Africa to Italy and back." Whether or not 
 small flights of these birds ever reach our coast from 
 more northern localities! I have no present means 
 
 * In the " Zoologist" for 1865 (p. 9467), a very curious instance 
 is recorded of a covey of six or seven partridges striking the roof 
 of a house when covered with snow, by which four were killed, and 
 the rest more or less injured. 
 
 f The grey-partridge, found only in the southern parts of 
 Norway until the last few years, and even in 1851 unknown 
 further north than the latitude of Christiania (" Zoologist," 1851, 
 p. 3044), is now, as Mr, Newton informs me, rapidly extending its 
 area under the influence of increased cultivation. 
 3i2 
 
428 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 of deciding, but I cannot consider the above instances 
 as any proof of a migratory movement, since, occurring, 
 as recorded, during September or October, the appear- 
 ance of partridges on the beach under such circumstances 
 is, as I have before stated, easily accounted for. At 
 that season, if shot at in the vicinity of the coast, they 
 will occasionally, as is well known, fly direct out to 
 sea, and consequently return again to the shore in an 
 exhausted condition. 
 
 Some of my readers will probably remember amongst 
 the attractions at the Sydenham Crystal Palace in 1866, 
 a covey of thirteen grey-partridges, which enjoyed the 
 run of a commodious and well-constructed aviary in the 
 centre of the building. These birds (together with a 
 tame snipe in an adjoining cage) were of Norfolk origin, 
 having been presented by Mr. J. S. C. Stevens, of the 
 Manor House, Old Buckenham, and certainly in both 
 plumage and condition did credit to their native county. 
 Being liberally supplied with sand for the purpose, these 
 birds might be seen " busking" at all times of the day, 
 and exhibiting other traits which but rarely come under 
 the notice of even the naturalist or sportman. Occa- 
 sionally, also, the shrill call-note of the species seemed 
 to transport one far away from that busy scene, as some 
 member of the covey, with outstretched neck, gave forth 
 its well known cry. 
 
 Pied varieties are not unfrequently met with, and 
 some few years ago, during three or four successive 
 seasons, several beautiful specimens were shot on Colonel 
 Petre's estate, at Westwick, most exquisitely pencilled 
 with light-grey and delicate buff-coloured tints. 
 
COMMON QUAIL. 429 
 
 COTURNIX VULGARIS, Fleming. 
 COMMON QUAIL. 
 
 Sir Thomas Browne alludes to there being " no small 
 number of Quails" in Norfolk in his time, but although 
 still reckoned amongst our regular summer visitants, all 
 local authors, since the commencement of the present 
 century, agree as to the marked diminution in the numbers 
 of this species of late years. This change in its habits, 
 however, to whatever cause attributable, is by no means 
 peculiar to our own county, having been noticed by 
 Montagu, Selby, Jardine, Yarrell, and most other 
 British ornithologists, as observable throughout its 
 entire range in this country. Mr. A. G. More, who 
 has lately devoted much time and labour to ascertaining 
 the distribution, at the present day, of such species as 
 nest in Great Britain,* describes the quail as "thinly 
 scattered during the breeding season from the south of 
 England to the North of Scotland, yet there are few 
 counties in which the quail is considered to breed 
 annually ; nor can these be grouped in any manner so as 
 to show where the species is most numerous. It has 
 certainly decreased of late years in several districts, and 
 this apparently not owing to any cause that can be 
 discovered. In the west of Ireland the same diminution 
 has been noticed. * * * If there is any difference, 
 the range of the quail seems to incline rather to the east 
 side of Great Britain as well as of Ireland during the 
 breeding season." 
 
 As long since as 1826, Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear 
 thus mention the scarcity of quails both in Norfolk and 
 Suffolk, as compared with earlier periods of which they 
 
 * " On the distribution of Birds in Great Britain during the 
 nesting season," by A. G. More, F.L.S. "Ibis," 1865. 
 
430 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 had information : " This species used formerly to be 
 very common in the neighbourhood of Diss. It is now 
 become scarce, but still occasionally breeds in that part 
 of the county; and not long since two quails' nests 
 were found by some workmen mowing clover. In one 
 of them there were seventeen eggs; in the other 
 twelve. We have also received its eggs from the 
 neighbourhood of Hunstanton, in Norfolk. These 
 birds are also become scarce in those parts of 
 Suffolk where they formerly abounded." Mr. Lubbock, 
 in 1845, says ("Fauna of Norfolk") : "The quail has 
 become very scarce of late years. Formerly it was 
 common in the immediate vicinity of this city: often 
 found at Earlham, Thorpe, Plumstead, and other neigh- 
 bouring places. * * * I have not seen one in flight 
 for many years." In the following year, also, Messrs. 
 Gurney and Fisher, in their "Birds of Norfolk," 
 though including it amongst our regular summer 
 visitants, remark, that "its numbers are very limited, 
 and it is very local in its habits, showing a decided 
 preference to sandy soils. It was formerly a far more 
 numerous species in Norfolk than at present ; so much 
 so, that fifty years ago it was not uncommon for a 
 sportsman to kill on light lands, early in the month of 
 September, three or four brace of these birds in a day." 
 At present, although single nests are found from time 
 to time in almost all parts of the county, the great 
 stronghold of this species in Norfolk, during the summer 
 months, is in the rough fens of the south-western 
 district, in the neighbourhood of Feltwell, where, as 
 my friend Mr. Newcome informed me in 1860, he had 
 found them so plentiful that from ten to twelve couple 
 might be shot in a day; but he had only recently 
 discovered that they frequented those parts in such 
 large numbers. The birds are of course very difficult to 
 "get up" in such thick cover, and the nests are also 
 
COMMON QUAIL. 431 
 
 hard to find, but Mr. Newcome has eggs brought to him 
 nearly every year from the same locality. 
 
 With regard to this local abundance of a species, 
 elsewhere diminished very considerably in numbers, it is 
 well worthy of note that, as I learn from Mr. Alfred 
 Newton, the influx of quails to this particular locality 
 occurred subsequently to the drainage of the fen-lands 
 in that district, and thus the artificial change in the 
 nature of the soil, which expelled so many former 
 denizens of the swamp, would seem in its partially 
 reclaimed condition to have had unusual attractions for 
 this particular species. May we not find, in this one 
 fact, some clue to the cause of their scarcity of late 
 years both in this and other counties ? In Ireland, Mr. 
 Thompson describes them as most frequently flushed 
 by the sportsman "when walking across stubble fields 
 direct from one bog to another in pursuit of snipe ; and 
 Mr. Knox (" Birds of Sussex"), from personal experience 
 in the same country, speaks of them as "partial to 
 backward oat-stubbles on poor swampy soils, just verging 
 on the borders of the great red bogs," from which it is 
 evident that although partial to the vicinity of moist 
 grounds, a far drier soil is necessary to their existence, 
 with such shelter as would be afforded by reaped stubbles, 
 or thick rushy spots on the borders of cultivation. Now, 
 it is just this particular condition of things which has 
 ceased almost entirely to exist in Norfolk. From the 
 time, as Mr. Lubbock has well observed, that "the 
 extravagant prices caused by continual war excited a 
 general eagerness to enclose all available land," the 
 rough grounds bordering upon the actual swamps have 
 been most readily adapted to agricultural purposes, 
 whilst clean short stubbles are the rule and not the ex- 
 ception under the modern system of farming operations.* 
 
 * Mr. Thompson (Birds of Ireland, vol. ii., p. 69) remarking 
 (1850) on the increase of the quail in Ireland owing, as he believed, 
 
432 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 
 
 It is thus then, I believe, that local changes, the 
 commencement of which was contemporaneous with 
 the earliest records of the diminution of quails in this 
 country, may be considered as having had no little 
 influence in rendering them so scarce as a summer 
 resident. At the same time it is quite possible that 
 the numbers annually visiting our shores from the 
 continent may have also diminished considerably of 
 late years ; and that, too, from causes which European 
 ornithologists would be better able to explain than 
 ourselves. 
 
 Of other localities, besides the Feltwell district, in 
 which the nests or young of this species have been 
 found during the last twenty years, I may mention the 
 following, as either recorded by Messrs. Gurney and 
 Fisher in the " Zoologist," or in other ways coming 
 under my own observation : 
 
 1845. On the 15th of August a nest containing 
 eleven eggs, very recently laid, was taken in a grass field 
 near Yarmouth. 
 
 1848. On the 26th of August a female, with a 
 young one (quite small), was captured at Dray ton, near 
 Norwich. 
 
 1851. On the 28th of August the Eev. E. W. 
 Dowell flushed a bevy of six or eight, on a farm at 
 Besthorpe, which had no doubt been bred in that 
 neighbourhood. They rose so close to him that he was 
 able to distinguish the cock bird. 
 
 1850 ? Mr. Knights, a bird-stuffer in Norwich, in 
 
 to extended cultivation, also expresses bis surprise that under the 
 same conditions in England for the last half century, it should 
 have continued to decrease. This discrepancy, however, he accounts 
 for in the following terms : " The slovenly system of farming, 
 unfortunately too common in Ireland, is, however, greatly in their 
 favour, as the seed of weeds amongst the stubbles supplies these 
 birds during winter, and at other seasons, with abundance of food." 
 
COMMON QUAIL. 433 
 
 tlie summer of this year, received a nest and eggs 
 from Little Ellingham; and has had one since, but is 
 unable to remember the exact date or locality. 
 
 1861. A nest, mown out of the hay, was taken at 
 Northrepps, near Cromer. The eggs were subsequently 
 hatched under hens, but the young, unfortunately, were 
 destroyed by a weasel. 
 
 1862. A nest found in June, at Brampton, from 
 which two eggs in the museum collection were taken. * 
 
 Many more instances have no doubt occurred during 
 the same period, either passing unnoticed or unre- 
 corded, but the above will at least show in what various 
 localities these birds are still met with, though scattered 
 here and there in detached couples. 
 
 The frequent occurrence of this species during the 
 winter months, although generally considered as a summer 
 visitant only, has been noticed of late years in this county 
 as much as in the more southern counties of England ;f 
 
 * In the adjoining part of Suffolk, Mr. A. Newton tells me that 
 he had eggs brought to him, taken in the parish of Barnham, in 
 1849 and 1854; and that in 1851 a nest with eleven eggs was 
 found at Elveden on the 25th of June. Some of these last were 
 put under a bantam hen, and the young birds hatched and 
 reared. 
 
 f Montagu, writing from the south of England, remarks, " In 
 October they leave us and return south, leaving some few (pro- 
 bably of a later brood) behind to brave the severity of our winter." 
 Pennant, however, in his "British Zoology" has the following 
 very remarkable note on this species, which he describes as 
 " birds of passage, some entirely quitting our island, others shifting 
 their quarters." He then states on the authority of a friend, that 
 " these birds migrate out of the neighbouring inland counties into 
 the hundreds of Essex in October, and continue there all the 
 winter ; if frost and snow drive them out of the stubble fields and 
 marshes they retreat to the seaside, shelter themselves among the 
 weeds, and live upon what they can pick up from the algce, &c., 
 between high and low water. Our friend remarks that the time of 
 their appearance in Essex, coincides with that of their leaving the 
 
 3K 
 
434 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 and some few of the latter hatched ones, I believe, 
 remain with us throughout the year. Mr. Newcome 
 considers that a portion of those reared at Feltwell are 
 to be met with at all seasons, and it is not improbable 
 that others, having dispersed during the autumn months, 
 are amongst those flushed from time to time by the 
 sportsmen, chiefly from the turnips, in the eastern and 
 more inclosed parts of the county. In the winter of 1847, 
 as recorded by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher in the " Zoolo- 
 gist" (p. 1601), an unusual number of examples were 
 procured in various parts of the county during the month 
 of December ; amongst others, single birds being killed 
 at Eeedham and Bawburgh, two near Norwich, and a 
 pair, male and female, near Loddon. In looking over 
 my own notes for the last sixteen years, I find records of 
 their appearance in every month of the year except May 
 and June (the height of the breeding season), but of these 
 by far the larger proportion were killed in October, as if 
 indicative of a migratory movement;* whilst the few 
 obtained in November, December, January, and February, 
 have occurred almost invariably during severe weather, 
 or just previous to some sudden change to frost or snow.f 
 These have been also, in almost all cases, either adult 
 
 inland counties ; the same observation has been made in Hamp- 
 shire." I know of no confirmation of this very interesting 
 statement in any subsequent author. 
 
 * On the 31st of October, 1862, a quail was taken alive in 
 Colonel Black's garden at Thorpe, near Norwich, in a very 
 exhausted state. This bird came into the hands of Mr. F. Norgate, 
 of Sparham, who kindly communicated the fact with several 
 valuable notes on other species. 
 
 f In Ireland, according to Thompson, the large number remain- 
 ing throughout the year, both in severe and mild winters, has led 
 to their being looked upon, for many years past, as an indigenous 
 rather than a migratory species, in some parts being considered 
 as common in winter as in summer. 
 

 COMMON QUAIL. 435 
 
 females or young birds of the year. Mr. Alfred Newton 
 informs me that his brother Edward, when shooting, on 
 the 18th of February, 1853, on the borders of the fen- 
 lands, the ground at the time being thickly covered with 
 snow, shot a couple of quails that rose quite close to 
 him; and on examining the spot from whence they 
 sprang was convinced, by their mutings and other 
 indications, that they had never stirred from the place 
 since the snow first began to fall, two or three days 
 before. On the following day another was observed 
 near the same place. Mr. L. H. Irby has also recorded, 
 in the "Zoologist" for 1853, the fact of a female, 
 which had been seen near some stacks for several 
 days, having been shot at Threxton, near Watton, 
 on the 1st of March, the snow being then quite 
 deep. To the localities previously mentioned, from 
 whence I have known these birds sent to Norwich for 
 preservation, I may add Plumstead, Cossey, Earlham, 
 Wymondham, Attleborough, Ketteringham, Horstead, 
 Banworth, Wroxham, Tofb Monks, Rainham, Cromer, 
 Salthouse, and Blakeney. At Morston, near Blakeney, 
 as Mr. Dowell informs me, a few couple were generally 
 killed every season, and the same gentleman has more 
 recently killed one at Langham, in October, 1852, and 
 another at Dunton, in November, 1858. The only 
 bird I ever saw on the wing in this county was 
 flushed from a turnip field at Earlham, on the 6th 
 of December, 1852, and though scarcely the season 
 for a " squeaker" partridge, I believe, but for its pecu- 
 liar cry, I should not have fired at it; as it chanced, 
 however, I made a long shot and bagged it. This proved 
 an adult female, and, oddly enough, by one of those 
 strange coincidences for which there is no accounting, 
 I had only a few minutes before (remembering Mr. 
 Lubbock's remark that they were formerly plentiful in 
 that neighbourhood) enquired of an old gamekeeper in 
 3K2 
 
436 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Mr. Gurney's employ whether he had ever met with 
 this species about Earlham and Hellesdon, and his reply, 
 in the negative, was almost instantly followed by the 
 appearance of the bird itself. 
 
 I never remember to have noticed any particular 
 variation in the plumage of these birds, and was there- 
 fore more particularly struck with a specimen which 
 was killed on the borders of Household Heath, near 
 Norwich, in January of the present year. This bird, 
 which was at least one-third smaller than ordinary 
 examples, presented the same peculiarities as are said 
 to distinguish the small dark varieties of the common 
 partridge occasionally met with in heathery districts. 
 The whole of the ground colour of the plumage, com- 
 monly of a pale brownish yellow, was in this bird sooty 
 grey, particularly noticeable on the chin and throat ; 
 the usual light streaks, also, pervading the feathers of 
 the back and sides, forming two parallel lines on either 
 side of the shafts, were in this instance dark grey, and 
 the shafts of the feathers throughout, being pure white, 
 had the appearance of so many light hair lines standing 
 out in relief upon the dark back-ground. 
 
 Both Messrs. Gurney and Fisher and Mr. Lubbock 
 have included the VIRGINIAN COLIN, Ortyx virginianus 
 (Linn.), amongst the birds of Norfolk, several pairs having 
 been turned off early in the present century at Holkham, 
 by the late Earl of Leicester, but these, although thriving 
 well in the first instance, and giving some promise of 
 becoming acclimatized, have long since died off, and I am 
 obliged, therefore, to omit this species from the present 
 " List." Mr. Lubbock describes them as being of erratic 
 habits, scattering themselves about here and there, and 
 thus straying no doubt beyond the boundaries of the Holk- 
 ham estate, they were gradually killed off by persons 
 unaware of their history. The success which at first 
 attended the experiment is shown by the following extract 
 
CALIFORNIAN QUAIL. 437 
 
 from a letter to Mr. Henry Denny/ of the Philosophical 
 Hall at Leeds, from the late Eev. John Burrell, Rector of 
 Letheringsett, near Holt. After stating that two speci- 
 men s, killed in his neighbourhood, had recently come into 
 his possession, Mr. Burrell adds, "It is now (November 
 llth, 1825,) quite a colonized creature, and numerous 
 are the covies, which report says that the poachers 
 cannot destroy, its manners are so watchful and shy of 
 man." I may here state, however, that the supposed 
 nest of this species, " containing numerous white eggs," 
 recorded by Yarrell and Hewitson, on the authority of 
 Mr. Lubbock, to have been found in a marsh at Barton, 
 and of which Mr. Salmon had specimens, did not belong 
 to this species, but were, as Mr. Newton informs me, 
 merely varieties of the eggs of the common partridge. 
 They were sold at first under the name of teal's eggs. 
 Mr. Henson, of Cambridge, is said to have possessed one 
 of these birds, killed at Holkham, and Mr. Thornhill, 
 of Riddlesworth, has also a pair obtained, soon after 
 they were turned off, in the same neighbourhood. A 
 pair or two of the CALIFORNIAN QUAIL, Lophortyx 
 californicus (Shaw), were also turned out a few years 
 back in the neighbourhood of Attleborough, but have 
 since died off or been shot down. A fine adult male, 
 with a perfect crest, was killed in a turnip field near that 
 town, in October, 1858. 
 
 * This letter, with a few introductory remarks, was published 
 by Mr. Denny in the 13th vol. of the " Annals and Magazine of Nat. 
 Hist.'.' (1844). 
 
END OF VOL. I. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 Accentor alpinus, 90 
 
 modularis, 88 
 Accentor alpine, 90 
 hedge, 88 
 Accipiter nisus, 24 
 Agelaius phceniceus, 244 
 Alauda alpestris, 171 
 
 arbor ea, 179 
 
 arvensis, 175 
 Alcedo ispida, 314 
 Alpine Accentor, 90 
 Alpine Swift, 346 
 Ainmer yellow, 196 
 American meadow Starling, 245 
 American mottled Owl, 44 
 Anthus arboreus, 166 
 
 obscurus, 1 69 
 
 pratensis, 167 
 
 ricardi, 168 
 
 nipestris, 171 
 Aquila chrysaetus, 4 
 Archibuteo lagopus, 29 
 Ash-coloured Harrier, 35, 39 
 Astur palumbarius, 23 
 
 B 
 
 Barbary Partridge, 405 
 
 Barn Owl, 51 
 
 Barr "William, jun., hawking near 
 
 Norwich, 15 
 " Battue" shooting, defence of, in 
 
 moderation, 370 
 Bearded Titmouse, 150 
 Bee-eater, 313 
 
 Birdcatchcrs, practical knowledgeof, 178 
 Birds all do not pair in summer, 253 
 
 attracted in large numbers by 
 any accidental abundance of 
 food, 353 
 
 Birds deformed beaks in, 11, 184, 
 
 239, 276 
 difficulty of distinguishing certain 
 
 notes of, 126 
 hens assuming cock's plumage, 
 
 369 
 how to recognise by flight or 
 
 other actions, 129 
 imitating notes of others, 109, 
 
 128, 147 
 instrumental in transporting 
 
 seeds by means of their feet 
 
 and bills, 416 
 killed against telegraph wires, 
 
 11, 51, 54, 427 
 killed against light-houses, 11, 
 
 43, 135, 178, 198, 200, 251 
 large number of eggs laid by 
 
 some, 295 
 
 migration of, observed at sea, 93 
 migration of, arrested by strong 
 
 head winds, 187 
 perching on telegraph wires, 
 
 337, 342 
 plumage of, affected by food 
 
 in confinement, 179, 224, 
 
 231, 234 
 plumage of continental examples 
 
 brighter than insular ones, 
 
 222, 234 
 
 protection of rare and orna- 
 mental species desirable, 73, 
 
 152, 233, 300, 315, 381, 
 
 403 
 remarkable instinct of some, 
 
 260, 262, 265 
 small, migration of, in large 
 
 numbers, 232, 281 
 trustworthy as weather-guides, 
 
 92 
 used for table, and prices of in 
 
 olden times, 361, 362 
 
440 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Birds useful to farmers and gardeners, 
 22, 46, 52, 54, ^79, 143, 
 196, 200, 206, 211, 233, 
 270, 272, 352, 422 
 varieties of see VARIETIES 
 various notes of in each species, 
 
 124, 126 
 various temperaments of, in 
 
 confinement, 226 
 
 wholesale destruction of, depre- 
 cated, 143, 152, 196, 200, 
 210, 233 
 Blackbird, 83 
 Blackbird hawking 14 
 Blackcap, 125 
 Black-headed Bunting, 185 
 Black Grouse, 374 
 Black Redstart, 99 
 Black Woodpecker, great, 291 
 Blood Olf, 234 
 Blue-throated Warbler, 96 
 Blue Titmouse, 142 
 Bohemian Pheasant, var., 367 
 
 Wax wing, 154 
 Bomby cilia garrulus, 154 
 Brambling, 202 
 
 nesting in confinement, 204 
 Broads the, a summer's night on, 1 20 
 
 a summer's day on, 188 
 
 Brown Linnet, 227 
 Bubo maximus, 47 
 Bullfinch, 233 
 
 black variety of, in a wild 
 
 state, 234 
 
 pine or grosbeak, 234 
 Bunting black-headed, 185 
 cirl, 198 
 common, 184 
 lapland, 181 
 ortolan (not Norf.), 199 
 
 snow, 182 
 yellow, 196 
 Butcherbird or Shrike, 62 
 Buteo vulgaris, 27 
 Buzzard common, 27 
 rough-legged, 29 
 honey, 32 
 
 Californian Quail, 437 
 
 Calamophilus biarmicus, 150 
 
 Caper cally, re- introduction of into 
 
 Scotland, 375 
 
 Caprimulgus europceus, 348 
 Carduelis elegans, 222 
 
 Carrion Crow, 258 
 Certhia familiaris, 295 
 Chaffinch, 199 
 Chiffchaff, 133 
 Cinclus aquaticus, 68 
 
 melanog aster, 69 
 Circus ceruginosus, 35 
 cineraceus, 39 
 cyaneus, 37 
 Cirl Bunting, 198 
 CoalTitmouse*, 146 
 Coccothraustes chloris, 218 
 
 vulgaris, 214 
 
 Coffin bird, 300 
 Colin Virginian, 436 
 Columba cenas, 355 
 
 palumbus, 351 
 risoria, 360 
 turtur, 359 
 Common Buzzard, 27 
 Redstart, 98 
 Whitethroat, 128 
 Bunting, 184 
 Linnet, 227 
 Crossbill, 235 
 Starling, 247 
 Creeper, 295 
 Wren, 296 
 Swift, 343 
 Pheasant, 361 
 Partridge, 420 
 Coracias garrula, 310 
 Corvus comix, 260 
 corax, 256 
 cor one, 258 
 ,. frugilegus, 264 
 monedula, 277 
 Coturnix vulgaris, 429 
 Coucou roux, 309 
 Creeper common or tree, 295 
 Crow carrion, 258 
 
 method of breaking the shells of 
 
 mussels, &c., 260 
 hooded, grey- backed, Danish, or 
 
 Royston, 2*60 
 Crossbill common, 235 
 
 European white-winged, 242 
 
 parrot, 239 
 Cuckoo, 303 
 
 laying in reed warbler's nests, 
 117 
 
 singing by night, 121 
 titlarks and other small birds, 
 feeding young of, 167, 306 
 Ouculus canorus, 303 
 hepaticus, 309 
 
INDEX. 
 
 441 
 
 Curntca africapilla, 125 
 cinerea, 128 
 hortensis, 126 
 syhiella, 129 
 
 Cypselus alpinus, 346 
 ap^ls, 343 
 
 Danish Crow, 260 
 
 Dartford Warbler, 133 
 
 Dennis's, the late Rev. J. B. P. W., 
 
 collection of birds, at Bury St. 
 
 Edmund's, 28 
 Devilin or Swift, 343 
 Dipper, 68 
 
 not destructive to fisb, 71 
 Dove ring, or Woodpigeon, 351 
 
 rock, 358 
 Dove stock, 353, 355 
 
 turtle, 359 
 Draw-water, 222 
 " Driving," new system of partridge 
 
 shooting by, 409, 426 
 
 E 
 
 Eagle golden (not known in Norfolk), 4 
 
 white-tailed or cinereous sea, 1 
 
 Owl, nesting in confinement, 47 
 
 Eggs, varieties in, more numerous in 
 
 some seasons than in others, 82 
 Emberiza cirlus, 198 
 citrinella, 196 
 Tiortulana, 199 
 miliaria, 184 
 schaniclus, 185 
 Erythaca rubecula, 90 
 
 Falco cesalon, 21 
 candicans, 7 
 gyrfalco, 8 
 islandicus, 8 
 peregrinus, 9 
 rufipes, 19 
 subbuteo, 18 
 tinnunculus, 21 
 Falcon Greenland, 7 
 
 great northern, three forms 
 
 of, 8 
 
 Iceland, 8 
 peregrine, 9 
 red-footed, 19 
 Falconry in Norfolk, 10, 12, 27 
 Fern owl, or Nightjar, 348 
 
 Fieldfare, 75 
 
 Fire-crested Wren or Regulus, 138 
 
 Fishing hawk, 5 
 
 Flycatcher pied, 66 
 
 spotted, 65 
 French Partridge, 404 
 perch in trees, 411 
 supposed migration of, 413 
 foot of, embedded in a lump of 
 
 earth, 416 
 Fringitta, Calebs, 1.99 
 
 montifringilla, 202 
 
 Garden warbler, 126 
 
 Garrulus glandarius, 280 
 
 Goatsucker, or Nightjar, 348 
 
 Golden Oriole, 86 
 
 Golden-crested Wren, or Regulus, ] 34 
 
 Golden Eagle (not known in Norfolk), 4 
 
 Goldfinch, 222 
 
 cross with Canary (mule), 223 
 Goshawk, 23 
 Grakle Minor, 255 
 Gracula religiosa, 255 
 Grasshopper warbler, 104 
 Greenland falcon, 7 
 Great black Woodpecker, 291 
 grey Shrike, 61 
 spotted Woodpecker, 288 
 Titmouse, 139 
 Greenfinch, or green Linnet, 218 
 
 cross with Canary (mule), 
 
 221 
 cross with brown Linnet, 
 
 220 
 
 Green Olf, 221 
 Green Woodpecker, 285 
 Grey Wagtail, 163 
 Grey-headed Wagtail, 164 
 Grey-backed Crow, 260 
 Grey Partridge, 420 
 Shrike, 61 
 Linnet, 227 
 Grosbeak, or Hawfinch, 214 
 
 ,, green, or Greenfinch, 218 
 
 pine, or Bullfinch, 234 
 Grouse black, 374 
 
 red, not turned off in Norfolk, 
 
 376 
 
 Pallas's Sand, 376 
 Gyrfalcon, 8 
 
 H 
 
 Halieeetus albicilla, 1 
 Harrier ash-coloured, 35, 39 
 
 
442 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Harrier hen, 37 
 marsh, 35 
 montagu's, 39 
 Hawfinch, 214 
 Hawking, sport of, 12, 27 
 Hedge Sparrow, or Accentor, 88 
 Hen Harrier, 37. 
 Hirundo riparia, 338 
 rustica, 324 
 urbica, 328 
 Hirundines and Cypselida, effects of 
 
 cold on, 345 
 
 diminution in numbers of, 
 
 and probable cause, 338 
 Hobby, 18, 25 
 
 laying in the nest of the raven, 
 
 257 
 
 orange-legged, 20 
 pairing with Sparrow Hawk, 25 
 Honey Buzzard, 32 
 Hooded Crow, 260 
 Hoopoe, 298 
 House Martin, 328 
 
 Sparrow, 209 
 
 Household Book, the L'Estrange's, 
 
 extracts from, 16, 84, 213, 357, 362 
 
 Hunstanton HaD, ancient hawking 
 
 establishment at, 16 
 Hybrid's Greenfinch and Linnet, 220 
 French and English Partridge, 
 
 419 
 
 Hobby and Sparrow Hawk, 25 
 Pheasants, 365 
 Pheasant and Black Grouse, 
 
 368 
 Pheasant and Barn-door Fowl, 
 
 368 
 Pheasant and Red-legged 
 
 Partridge, 420 
 
 wild and domestic Turtle 
 Dove, 860 
 
 I & J 
 
 Iceland Falcon, 8 
 Jackdaw, 277 
 Jay, 280 
 
 Kestrel, 21 
 
 laying in the nest of the raven, 
 
 257 
 
 Kingfisher, 314 
 King Harry, black cap, 224 
 redcap, 224 
 
 Kite, 26 
 
 artificial, used in partridge 
 shooting, 409 
 
 Lanius collurio, 62 
 
 excubitor, 61 
 
 rutilus, 64 
 Lapland Bunting, 181 
 Lark shore, 171 
 sky, 175 
 wood, 179 
 Lesser Redpole, 230 
 
 White-throat, 129 
 
 spotted Woodpecker, 293 
 L'Estrange's, extracts from Household 
 Book of the, 16, 84, 213, 357, 362 
 Linnet common brown or grey, 227 
 
 summer plumage of, not re- 
 assumed iu confinement, 227 
 Little Owl, 59 
 Linota canescens, 228 
 
 cannabina, 227 
 
 linaria, 230 
 
 montium, 231 
 
 Lombe's, the late Mr. Edward, collec- 
 tion of birds at Wymondham, 20, 111 
 Long-eared Owl, 44 
 
 long-tailed Titmouse, 148 
 Lophortix calif ornicus, 437 
 Loxia bifasciata, 242 
 
 curvirostra, 235 
 
 pityopsittacus, 239 
 
 M 
 
 Magpie, 280 
 Marsh Harrier, 35 
 
 Marsh scenery, beauties of, in summer, 
 118, 187 
 
 Titmouse, 147 
 Martin house, 328 
 sand, 338 
 Meadow Pipit, 167 
 Mealy Redpole, 228 
 Melanite varieties, 41, 234 
 Melizophilus dartfordiensis, 133 
 Merganzer red-breasted, female assuming 
 
 male's plumage, 369 
 Merlin, 21 
 
 trained for hawking, 14 
 Merops apiaster, 313 
 Miller's, the late Mr. Steven, collection 
 
 of birds at Yarmouth, 60 
 Milvus ictinus, 26 
 Minor Grakle, 255 
 
INDEX. 
 
 344 
 
 Missel Thrush, 74 
 Montagu's Harrier, 39 
 
 melanite varieties of, 41 
 Motacilla boarula, 163 
 flava, 164 
 rayi, 165 
 yarretti, 160 
 Muscicapa atricapilla, 66 
 
 grisola, 65 
 Mules cross-bred birds so called, 
 
 221, 223, 360 
 
 ditto, as applied to hens in 
 
 cocks' plumage, 369 
 
 N 
 
 Nests, singularly constructed, or in 
 strange localities, 56, 65, 81, 82, 
 84, 117, 140, 145, 219, 269, 296, 
 297, 302, 326, 407 
 
 Nightingale, 123 
 
 Nightjar, 348 
 
 Noctua passerina, 59 
 tengmalmi, 60 
 
 Nucifraca caryocatactes, 281 
 
 Nutcracker, 281 
 
 Nuthatch, 301 
 
 Olf blood, 234 
 
 green, 221 
 Orange-legged Hobby, 20 
 Oriole golden, 86 
 Oriolus galbula, 86 
 Ortolan Bunting (not Norfolk), 199 
 Ortyx virginianus, 436 
 Osprey, 5 
 Otus brachyotus, 50 
 
 vulgaris, 44 
 Ouzel ring, 84 
 Owl American mottled, 44 
 
 barn, 51 
 
 eagle, 47 
 
 little, 59 
 
 long-eared, 44 
 
 scop's-eared, 42 
 
 short-eared, 50 
 
 snowy, 57 
 
 tawny, 54 
 
 tengmalm's, 60 
 Owls, catching fish, 53, 56 
 
 useful to farmers, 46, 52, 54 
 
 nesting in confinement, 47, 59 
 
 Pallas's Sand Grouse, 376 
 
 3 L 2 
 
 Pandion haliaetus, 5 
 Parrot crossbill, 239 
 Partridge, Barbary, 405 
 
 common or grey, 420 
 
 large "bags" of, made in 
 
 Norfolk, 423 
 
 red-legged or French, 404 
 shooting, old and new style 
 
 compared, 424 
 Parus ater, 146 
 caudatus, 148 
 ceeruleus, 142 
 major, 139 
 palustris, 147 
 Passer montamts, 206 
 ,. domesticus, 209 
 Pastor rose us, 253 
 Pastor rose-coloured, 253 
 Pel John, the falconer, 14 
 Penrice's, the late Rev. C., collection 
 
 of birds, at Plumstead, 311 
 Perdiz cinerea, 420. 
 petrosa, 405 
 rufa, 404 
 Perdrix de marais, 419 
 Peregrine Falcon, 9 
 
 hawking with, 13 
 Pernis apivorus, 32 
 Phasianus colchicus, 361 
 torquatus, 365 
 versicolor, 365 
 Pheasant Bohemian, var., 367 
 common, 361 
 cross with Black 
 
 Grouse, 375 
 ditto with Barn door 
 
 Fowls, 368 
 ditto with ringnecked 
 
 Chinese, 365 
 ditto with Japanese, 
 
 365 
 
 shooting, the " battue," 370 
 Phoenicura ruticilla, 98 
 suecica, 96 
 
 tithys, 99 
 
 Philomela luscinia, 123 
 Pica caudata, 280 
 Picus major, 288 
 martins, 291 
 ,. minor, 293 
 viridis, 285 
 Pickcheese, 142 
 Pied Flycatcher, 66 
 
 Wagtail, ]60 
 
 Pigeons, wonderful powers of flight of, 
 359 
 
444 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Pigeons breeding in church towers in 
 
 a half- wild state, 358 
 Pine Grosbeak, 234 
 Pipit meadow, 167 
 richard's, 168 
 rock, 169 
 tree, 166 
 Plectrophanes lapponica, 181 
 
 nivalis, 182 
 
 Pyrrhula enucleator, 234 
 vulgaris, 233 
 
 Q 
 
 Quail common, 429 
 californica, 437 
 
 R 
 
 Raptores migratory ; probable cause of 
 
 the young predominating, 1, 2 
 
 ditto, predominance of adult 
 
 females over males, 9, 21, 
 
 24 
 
 Raven, 256 
 Reed Pheasant, 1 53 
 warbler, 115 
 Red-backed Shrike, 62 
 Redbreast, 90 
 Red-footed Falcon, 19 
 Red-legged Partridge, 404 
 Redpole lesser, 230 
 
 summer plumage of, not re- 
 assumed in confinement, 231 
 mealy, 228 
 ditto, nesting in confinement, 
 
 229 
 
 Redstart black, 99 
 common, 98 
 female in male's plumage, 370 
 Redwing, 82 
 
 Red-winged Starling, 244 
 Regulus cristatus, 134 
 
 fire-crested, 138 
 golden-crested, 134 
 iffnicapillus, 138 
 Richard's Pipit, 168 
 Ring-dove, 351 
 ouzel, 84 
 Rock Dove, 358 
 Rock Pipit, 169 
 Roller, 310 
 Rook, 264 
 
 Rose-coloured Pastor, 253 
 Rough-legged Buzzard, 29 
 Royston Crow, 260 
 
 S 
 
 Salicaria locust ella, 104 
 luscinioides, 110 
 phragmitis, 108 
 strepera, 115 
 Sand Grouse, Pallas's, 376 
 Sand Martin, 338 
 Savi's warbler, 110 
 Saxicola ananthe, 102 
 rubetra, 10M. 
 rubicola, 100 
 Scops aldrovandi y 42 
 
 asio, 44 
 Scop's eared Owl, 42 
 Sea Eagle, 1 
 Sedge warbler, 108 
 Short-eared Owl, 50 
 Shore Lark, 171 
 Shrike great grey, 61 
 red-backed, 62 
 woodchat, 64 
 Siskin, 224 
 
 breeding in confinement* 225 
 cross with canary (mule), 223 
 Sitta europcea, 301 
 
 ccesia, 301 
 Skylark, 175 
 
 " flown at" with merlins, 14 
 Snow Bunting, 182 
 Snowy Owl, 57 
 Snow, first fall of in winter, 75 
 Song Thrush, 78 
 Sparrow hedge, 88 
 house, 209 
 
 takes possession of other 
 birds' nests, 249, 330, 
 340 
 
 tree, 206 
 Sparrow Hawk, 24 
 
 pairing with Hobby, 25 
 trained for hawking, 14 
 Spink or Chaffinch, 199 
 Spotted Flycatcher, 65 
 
 Woodpecker great, 288 
 Woodpecker lesser, 293 
 Starling American meadow, 245 
 common, 247 
 red-winged, 244 
 Starna cinerea, 419 
 
 palustris, 419 
 Stonechat, 100 
 Stock Dove, 353, 355 
 Strix flammea, 51 
 Sturnus vulgaris, 247 
 Surlingham Broad, description of, 120, 
 188 
 
INDEX. 
 
 445 
 
 Surnia nyctea, 57 
 Sylvia hypolais, 133 
 
 rufa, 133 
 
 sylvicola, 130 
 
 trochilus, 132 
 Syrnium stridulum, 54 
 Syrrhaptes paradoxus, 376 
 Swallow, 324 
 
 effect of cold late springs on, 
 
 345 
 Swift alpine, 346 
 
 common, 343 
 
 , effect of cold on, 346 
 
 Tawny Owl, 54 
 
 Telegraph wires destructive to birds, 
 
 11, 51, 53,427 
 Tenginalm's Owl, 60 
 Tetrao tetrix, 374 
 Thrush missel, 74 
 
 song, 78 
 Titlark, 167 
 Titmouse bearded, 150 
 
 blue, 142 
 coal, 146 
 great, 139 
 long-tailed, 148 
 marsh, 147 
 Tree Creeper, 295 
 Pipit, 166 
 Sparrow, 206 
 Troglodytes vulgaris, 296 
 Turdus iliacns, 82 
 merula, 83 
 musicus, 78 
 pilaris, 75 
 torquatus, 84 
 viscivorus, 74 
 Turtle Dove, 359 
 
 hybrid, 360 
 Twite, 231 
 
 U 
 
 Upupaepops, 298 
 
 Varieties, 26, 41, 47, 53, 75, 77, 82, 
 83, 84, 90, 103, 133, 146, 179, 
 184, 186, 198, 201, 206, 214, 221, 
 228, 229, 234, 253, 277, 279, 286, 
 
 296, 297, 302, 342, 349, 367, 420, 
 428, 436 
 Virginian Colin, 436 
 
 W 
 
 Wagtail grey, 163 
 
 grey-headed, 164 
 pied, 160 
 yellow, 165 
 Warbler blackcap, 125 
 blue-throated, 96 
 
 dartford, 133 
 garden, 126 
 grasshopper, 104 
 reed, 115 
 savi's, 110 
 sedge, 108 
 willow, 132 
 wood, 130 
 Waxwing, 154 
 Wheatear, 102 
 Whinchat, 101 
 White-tailed Eagle, 1 
 White-throat common, 128 
 
 lesser, 129 
 White-winged Crossbill (European), 
 
 242 
 
 Willow warbler, 133 
 Wind-hover, or Kestrel, 21 
 Wolley's, the late Mr. John, donation 
 to the Norwich Museum, 30. 
 156 
 discovery of the nidification of 
 
 the Waxwing, 156 
 Wood warbler, 130 
 Woodchat Shrike, 64 
 Woodlark, 179 
 Woodpecker great black, 291 
 great spotted, 288 
 
 green, 285 
 lesser spotted, 293 
 Woodpigeon, 351 
 Wren common, 296 
 fire-crested, 138 
 golden- crested, 134 
 Wryneck, 294 
 
 Yellow ammer, or Bunting, 196 
 YeUow Wagtail, 165 
 Yunx torquilla, 294 
 
NORWICH: 
 
 MATCHETT AND STEVENSON, PRINTERS, 
 MARKET PLACE. 
 
X) 
 
 \ 
 
8120.1.5 
 
 
 LIBRARY 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY