Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/151

Rh the birds carefully counted, and shot as late as Dec. 8th. In such a year as this the Partridge was numerically the next most abundant species to the House Sparrow in Norfolk and Suffolk; most people would put the Chaffinch third, and I should say the Sky Lark fourth; but after a great wave of Thrushes, Rooks, or Goldcrests, either of these species would be in the ascendant. If Partridges had anything of the Sand Grouse in their nature such a multiplication would cause a migratory exodus. The same causes which contributed to the plenty of Partridges gave us a rare season of Pheasants, and one plump hen was shot at Hading with the upper mandible prolonged to 3¾ in., and twisted like a corkscrew (see fig.). An ordinary Pheasant's bill is an inch, so it is extraordinary how such a growth remained unbroken. Another curious Pheasant, though not shot on the same occasion, was a hen assuming cock's plumage, combined with partial albinism, which produced an altogether motley garb.

Thanks to legislation, our Terns this year had a pretty good time, one reliable witness finding as many as one hundred eggs or small nestlings in a single day at Blakeney; and Mr. E. Ramm believes they were not much molested, except by Rooks, or, it may be, by a pair of Carrion Crows, whose presence I have long suspected there. The close-time ends rather too soon for Norfolk Terns, as on August 1st Mr. T.E. Gunn saw several eggs still lying about, and a good many young birds just leaving the nest; and on the 28th I was given a young one with down on its head. The Lesser Tern seems to leave Norfolk rather earlier than the Common Tern, and very few remain after Sept. 20th. I did not see any on the 28th, but there were several Common Terns left, and one Sandwich Tern. At the close of September, some, following the course of the river, came even as far inland as Norwich. As for the Sandwich Terns, they were again very much in evidence. Mr. H. Pashley was told by reliable fishermen that on one or two days there were actually more Sandwich than Common Terns off Stiffkey and Wells, and beautifully mottled examples were repeatedly seen at the mouth of the Glaven, in pursuit of sand-eels,—an increase which, in such a handsome species, is gratifying.

Arctic Skuas, immature and changing, were comparatively plentiful all through August, September, and October, at or near