VOL. VI.] NOTES. 191 



Naumann, Vol. X., as having bro\\Ti eyes. When the young 

 are about half groMH the irides become whitish, and Mr. 

 Meade-Waldo informs me that the full-gro\Mi young have now 

 (October) dull white irides. F. C. R. Jourdain. 



IWRECORDED SNOW-GEESE IN GLOUCESTER- 

 SHIRE. 



In the second edition of his Manual (p. 406) Mr. Howard 

 Saunders stated that three Snow-Geese {Anser h. hyperboreiis) 

 appear to have visited Berkeley on the Severn, but no 

 examples were obtained. This was prior to 1885, but for 

 about four days (October 9th-12th) in 1901 five immature 

 birds in greyish plumage and three adults with black primaries 

 visited the same district (c/. A Treatise on the Birds of 

 Glouce-^fer shire, p. 55). This information was obtained from 

 Lord Fitzhardinge's head decoy-man, who also watched over 

 the movements of the wild geese on the Severn near Berkeley, 

 and arranged the shoots. His name was Nicholls, but he is 

 now dead. I often used to see him personally, and could 

 trust his statements so far as they went. He was a good 

 observer, and used field-glasses. These eight visitors came 

 about the time of the usual visit of the first lot of winter- 

 geese to the Severn. The latter arrived early in October, 

 in daily increasing numbers until there were calculated to 

 be some two thousand present about October 12th, and as 

 far as could be judged they were chiefly or all Pink-footed. 

 The eight visitors however, kept together and quite apart 

 from the other geese in flight, although they settled down 

 with them to a certain extent when grazing or watering. 

 Suddenly all the geese of every species departed on the 

 11th, 12th and 13th, except about forty Pink -footed. 



In November, 1906, three birds again appeared, and this 

 information was given to me at a personal interview with 

 Purcell, the well-known shore-gunner, who lives close to 

 the river, and against whom Lord Fitzhardinge brought the 

 famous action with regard to the shooting-rights along the 

 Severn. Purcell is a man of superior intelligence and obser- 

 vation. On this occasion all the birds seen were adults, 

 and Mere present for several weeks. In this case (as also 

 in 1901) great efforts were made to get a specimen, but without 

 avail. An interesting point which indirectly confirms the truth 

 of these reports is that the two witnesses were not merely 

 independent, but were naturally enemies of one another 

 and it is remarkable that all three occurrences were reported 

 from about the same district. W. Lock Mellersh. 



