1903 The Green-backed Gallinule 59 



under pot culture), and nearly half a thimbleful of clean 

 even-sized grit, which, in the independent opinion of two 

 witnesses, was supposed to be sea-sand. Hickling Broad 

 has no sandy margins, and this sand might easily have been 

 picked up from the seaside marram banks, upon which 

 various beetles abound in the summer months. Other 

 locally procured Gallinules' gizzards have contained white 

 sandy particles, and this to such an extent as the birds 

 would have found a difficulty in picking up piece by piece in 

 the vicinity of our inland waters, however necessary for their 

 digestion. It may be urged, in contrariety, that sea-worn 

 pebbles would be useless for such a purpose ; but all our 

 subsoil sand, wherever it does crop up, has the edges 

 similarly rounded off. The three other 1897 birds were 

 shot around Barton Broad on July 21, August 3, and Sept- 

 ember 11, — the places where they met their ends being 

 some two or three miles farther west than Hickling, showing 

 that these five birds were working away from, not towards, 

 the coast. 



As to no Porphyrios having been met with in the months 

 of February, March, April, or May, this fact cuts both ways, 

 being partly for, and partly against, the migrational theory. 

 Captives, as aforesaid, would be most restless at the periods 

 of autumnal and vernal migration ; but they would also be 

 especially liable to escape during the wintry weather of the 

 first three months in the year. I have made several inquiries 

 concerning imported Porphyrios of Messrs Baily & Son, 

 Castang, Cross, A. E. & W. Jamrach, and Zache & Co., and 

 they have all most courteously replied. The sum-total of 

 their evidence goes to prove that very few Gallinules, com- 

 paratively speaking, arrive in England during the first six 

 months of the year. With some supply and demand has 

 decreased since 1890, with others no recent variation has 

 been observable, whilst in one case the West African trade 

 (i.e., in Green-backs) has increased within the last twelve 

 years; and this informant states that, "unlike many of 

 the beautiful fowl which were plentiful twenty years ago, 

 and are not now procurable, this bold, clever, hardy, and 

 prolific bird holds his ground and increases " ; and further, 

 " I receive most in October and November." This same 



