Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 4 (1846).djvu/136

1302 recent publication,* that some years since a pair were in the habit of nesting in the steeple of the church at Gorton, near Yarmouth.

Another pair not long ago frequented the cathedral at Norwich ap- parently for the same purpose, but the female being shot while in the act of chasing a tame pigeon in the heart of the city, their intention was frustrated. The following account is given by the late Mr. Hunt of Norwich, in his work on British Ornithology, of a peregrine falcon which had previously frequented the same locality. " A bird of this species was observed to take up its residence in the spire of Norwich cathedral ; it arrived at the cathedral about the middle of September, and left it about the first week in March, and continued to do so for eight successive years. It was generally to be seen near the top of the spire, and invariably on that side which by sailors is called the lee- ward, from whence it used to fly at pigeons and other birds which were so unfortunate as to approach its station." A young male peregrine falcon was killed in the autumn of 1843, by dashing during the night against one<Qf the lighthouses on our eastern coast. The legs of this specimen were observed to be of a yellowish white colour, while in a female, apparently of the same age and in similar plumage, which oc- curred about the same time, the colour of the legs was a greenish blue, (Zool. 442).

Hobby, Falco subbuteo. The hobby occurs in Norfolk as a sum- mer visitant, but the specimens obtained are far from numerous and are generally in immature plumage.

It occasionally breeds in the county, and an instance of its doing so occurred at Brixley near Norwich in the spring of 1844. An imma- ture specimen of the hobby was shot some years since whilst sitting on a church tower in the centre of the city of Norwich. The occur- rence of this species at Yarmouth so early as the month of February, is noticed at page 248 of the 'Zoologist.'

Red-footed Falcon, Falco rufipes. About six examples of this bird are known to have occurred in the county of Norfolk. The last, an adult male, was procured in August, 1843, and is recorded in the 'Zoologist,' page 350.

Merlin, Falco æsalon. Occurs in Norfolk in September and through- out the autumn and winter months, at which times of the year the young are not unfrequently met with ; but the old birds are decidedly rare.

'Observations on the Fauna of Norfolk, and more particularly on the Districts of the Broads.'