40 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 



species, was discovered on a rushy marsh near Ranworth 

 decoy. The old birds had been watched by the broad-man 

 flying backwards and forwards with food, and on making 

 a search he soon found the nest containing three young 

 ones. Of these one only was feathered, the next partly 

 feathered mixed with down, and the smallest covered 

 with down only, showing that the hen bird, as is often 

 the case with the Eaptorial tribe, had begun sitting 

 after laymg the first egg. In the aviary of Mr. Gurney, 

 at Catton park, these nestlings thrived wonderfully, and 

 in a few weeks even the youngest had become fully 

 fledged, and all three exhibited the rich chocolate colour 

 peculiar to their immature plumage, with the facial disk 

 complete. On moulting their mature plumage, two out 

 of the three proved to be males, which lived in confine- 

 ment some four or five years, and one is now preserved 

 in the Norwich museum (British series (No. 23). The 

 female still survives. In May, 1862, two adult females 

 were shot about the same time, one at Surlingham 

 and the other on the coast near Cromer ; and an 

 old male, in Capt. Longe's possession, was killed at 

 Yarmouth in October. In the same year, about the 

 10th of August, three young birds, taken from a 

 nest at Sutton, were brought to one of our Norwich 

 birdstuffers, who, at my suggestion, forwarded a pair 

 alive to Mr. Bartlett, for the Zoological Society's 

 collection in London, and I have just seen (October 12th, 

 1864) a remarkably fine young bird, also taken from a 

 nest at Sutton, in the summer of this year, together 

 with another which died soon after. Tliis specunen 

 is now in the rich chocolate colour of its immature 

 dress, with the irides pearl white (instead of straw 

 yellow as in mature birds), and is in good condition 

 and very tame. In the summer of 1863, an extremely 

 perfect adult male, in Mr. Newcome's collection, was 

 killed at Feltwell; together with five other specimens 



