344 BIRDS OF NORFOLK . 



opportunity of examining this bird in the flesh,* in 

 referring to my announcement of its occurrence in the 

 "Zoologist" for 1857 (p. 5427) makes the following 

 interesting remarks upon it in the same journal (p. 

 5593), his conclusions tending, however, with others to 

 a belief in its being a variety of S. gallinago, and not a 

 true species. Having mentioned the differences, though 

 slight, observable both in the description and plates of 

 this bird as given by Gould, Yarrell, Jardine and Selby, 

 Macgillivray and Meyer, he observes: "The above differ- 

 ences are slight, it is true, but all tend to show that the 

 plumage is not constant ; and when we consider to how 

 much variety ;S^. gallinago is subject, especially the under 

 surface of the wing, which presents every variety of mark- 

 ing from white to the other extreme, it requires no very 

 wide gap in the chain of the series to suppose ;S^. Sahmii 

 to be the result of an excess of colour in the same way 

 as the cream coloured varieties, which sometimes occur, 

 may be said to be due to an absence of colour." The 

 measurements of this bird, a female, as given by Mr. 

 Salvin, are as follows : — " Weight, four ounces ; whole 

 length, eleven and six-twelfths of an inch; length of 

 wing from flexure, five inches ; stretch of wings, 

 sixteen and nine-twelfths of an inch; beak measured 

 along the ridge, two and eleven-twelfths of an inch ; 

 along the edge of the under mandible, two and eight- 

 twelfths of an inch ; tarsus, one and five-twelfths of 

 an inch ; middle toe, one and three-twelfths of an 

 inch ; its claw, five-twenty-fourths of an inch ; outer 

 toe, one and one-twenty-fourth of an inch ; its claw, 

 two-twelfths of an inch ; inner toe, twenty-one-twenty- 

 fourths of an inch ; its claw, two-twelfths of an inch ; 



* A photograph of this Norfolk specimen, presented by Mr. A. 

 Newton, will be found in the Committee-room of the Norwich 

 Museum. 



