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easy of access, and on it may generally be found some of the wading 
sea birds; this Island is only covered by water at spring tides, and 
is a perfect paradise of interesting plants and animals for the 
naturalist. Pegwell Bay has a large expanse of mud flat, some two 
miles in length and nearly the same in width at low water, these 
parts being the resort of hundreds of Sea Gulls, Terns, Sandpipers, 
Curlews, and Dunilins. 
The Greenshank appears only as a visitor. The Dunlin or Ox 
Bird is very common, frequenting the banks of the Stour from 
Grove Ferry to Pegwell. Curlews frequent our coasts in great 
numbers, but are very wary, and are in consequence seldom shot. 
The Great Snipe has been frequently met within our marshes, 
though it must still be reckoned a rare bird; it is perhaps ofttimes 
confounded with the Common Snipe, but when flushed it does not 
utter the scape cry, so universally the case inthe Common Snipe. I 
have no record of the Brown Snipe, but the Sabine’s Snipe was 
obtained from near here some few years ago, and is in Mr. Delmar’s 
collection. Although ornithologists consider this a mere variety of 
the Common Snipe, it differs so materially in plumage, and different 
specimens agree in respect of plumage, that I venture to retain it as 
a good species. Among the Common Snipe we find a slight 
differerence in size and plumage, due I believe to sex and period of 
the year. The Wood Sandpiper appears only occasionally, the 
specimen in Mr. Delmar’s collection was obtained from Fordwich, 
some years ago. 
FAMILY LARIDA).—(page 115). 
The Sandwich Tern, as its name implies, is found, or was found, 
at Sandwich in 1784, by Mr. Boys, and was named after him, 
Sterna Boyii. It was subsequently found in many other parts of 
Britain, and stated by Dr. Plomley to breed on the shingle banks 
at Lydd. It is still occasionally met with at Sandwich and Lydd. 
These being ocean birds, it is difficult to assign to them any exact 
locality, and the frequency of their occurrence is not so easy to 
determine. The Gulls, mostly immigrants, are somewhat in the 
same category, excepting those which I have before noticed as 
breeding here. 
Bonaparte’s Gull (Larus Philadelphia). This interesting 
addition to our fauna, I have on the authority of Lord Clifton, of 
Dumpton, Thanet, who writes:—‘‘ There can be no reasonable 
doubt as to Bonaparte’s Gull; English writers are most meagre in 
their descriptions of the species, so I went to the fountain head for 
my information, Dr. Elliott Coue’s work, published by the United 
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