FASCICULA 



141 



never shall I forget the surprise and pleasure experienced 

 (on May 31st), on opening- a parcel-post package, to find 

 within, a pair of these strange and lovely birds. They 

 had just been shot on Holy Island, and were accompanied 

 by a letter asking" what they were, and stating that a 

 flock of sixty had arrived there on May 6th ; but that 

 "as they were destroying - his crop, the farmer had gx)t 

 liberty to shoot them." These two contained a few 

 grains of barley and a quantity of what certainly re- 



S 



Pallas' Sandgrouse (male). 



sembled turnip-seed ; on planting - the latter, however, it 

 proved to be the common field-runch, a noxious weed. 

 Thus, so far from destroying - crops, the sandgrouse were 

 really assisting to clean the land. 



The extent of wastes and sandlinks in that neighbour- 

 hood appeared to offer at least as congenial a haunt as 

 the wanderers were likely to find on British soil ; yet 

 all had disappeared shortly after midsummer. Later 

 in the year, others were observed there ; but these were 

 probably fresh arrivals. 



