CAPTURES OF PALLAS’S SAND-GROUSE. 101 
On the 23rd of August, I had five specimens brought to me 
by Mr. Thomas Bates, a bird stuffer residing in Newcastle, who 
received them from Belford, where they had been killed. They 
were all females except one, and all were deeply in the moult. 
They were afterwards sold at a game dealer’s shop in Newcastle 
during the meeting of the British Association in this town. 
On the 26th of September, I bought a very fine female of the 
same dealer, and he informed me that he had just sold a male 
specimen. These were shot near Berwick-upon-Tweed, and 
had both very nearly completed their moult. 
About the 5th of October, the same dealer had other three 
specimens, two females and one male, which were captured near 
Bamborough. These specimens had also nearly come through 
the moult. JI am informed that several other specimens were 
taken in that neighbourhood; and also that Mr. Snowdon, 
gunsmith, residing in Alnwick, has either two or three which 
were killed near that tuwn. 
On the 24th of November, a female was brought to Mr. 
Proctor, of Durham. It had flown against a telegraph wire, 
and was found lying on the ground dead. From the state of 
the specimen, it was thought it must have been killed five or 
six days. This bird, which I had an opportunity of examining, 
had completed its moult, and was in fine fresh plumage. 
I have lastly to record that Hutchinson, a fisherman at 
Whitburn, tells me that he saw, about the middle of June, two 
flocks of these grouse settle in the standing corn near that 
village. 
From the above notes it appears that twenty-two or twenty- 
three specimens of this beautiful and rare visitant have been 
taken during the year in this neighbourhood, nearly all of which 
Ihave seen. Seven were males, twelve females, and of three 
the sex was not determined. A few other individuals have 
occurred near Berwick-upon-Tweed, and are not included in 
this number, which, though large, falls far short of the whole 
that have actually visited our district. 
They usually appeared in flocks composed of both sexes, but 
did not settle for any length of time in any one locality. 
