292 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 



session of Mr. Stevenson. The late Mr. Alfred Master's 

 collection contained a very fine adult bird, which was 

 was killed at Yarmouth. 



In Mr. Lubbock's copy of " Bewick " occurs the 

 following note on this species : — ^' 1824, November 

 9th A striking instance of the voracity of this bird 

 occurred to me to-day. I shot one, which fell from 

 a broken wing, but, the wing being fractured nearly 

 close to the body, the impetus of its fall stunned it ; on 

 recovering it very gravely raised itself on its latter end 

 and vomited eleven flounders, or butts, as they are pro- 

 vincially termed at Yarmouth; the one first swallowed, 

 at least last ejected, was hardly acted upon perceptibly 

 by the gastric juice, so rapid had been the work of 

 destruction." 



SULA BASSANA (Linnaeus). 



GANNET. 



Mr. Stevenson has left the following notes on the 

 gannet, which, although written about the year 1862, 

 are equally applicable to the present time : — 



This species " occurs on the coast nearly every 

 autumn, and occasionally, also, in spring, their move- 

 ments being chiefly regulated by the shoals of fish 

 which at certain seasons frequent our shores. At these 

 times they attend upon the herring boats, in the roads 

 off Yarmouth, and most of the specimens taken are 

 either shot from the smacks or captured with a hook 

 baited with some tempting morsel. Captain Longe 

 has seen several killed on Breydon during the last 

 five years, and one or two at Hickling. He says, 

 'the usual times of their appearance on the Norfolk 

 coast are between the months of September and 

 December, and again in March and April,' although, 

 as he suggests, the fact of examples being obtained 

 in January and February may probably be accounted 

 for by the fishermen being employed for the most part 

 during those two months. One or two of the finest 



