286 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



crop, besides trefoil leaves and sundry indigestible bits of 

 wood. It has often struck me what indigestible things 

 birds eat. With us in East Norfolk the food of the 

 " Cushat" in November and December would appear to be 

 almost exclusively acorns, and the number they can stow 

 away in their dilatable crops is very great 



Greater-spotted Woodpecker. 



A Greater-spotted Woodpecker dissected by me, and 

 which proved to be a male, had almost entirely shed the 

 red crown of immaturity, without in the least assuming a 

 red occiput. Mr. Plant has recorded an instance of its 

 quite doing so (Zoologist, 2824), and his bird was going to 

 nest. So it appears that there is a period — though a very 

 brief one — in which the sexes of this species are not dis- 

 tinguishable. 



Snipe. 



December 7th, 1875. Saw five Snipes which were killed 

 at one shot flying. 



Peregrine Falcon. 



It has been doubted if a Peregrine in its wild state will 

 tackle a Heron, but the following extract from a letter from 

 Mr. A. D. Stark to my father, dated December 15th, 1852, 

 respecting a young female Peregrine which he gave to him, 

 would seem to show that this is occasionally the case : — 



" It was shot on the river wall between Thorpe and Rockland 

 by a wherryman, who was on board his wherry at the time. It 

 had struck a Heron to the ground, and appeared so far to have 

 cowed him that he dare not move, and it was enabled to make two 

 subsequent strikes. Whilst it was in the act of making a third 



