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. Sabinii 
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. 
