194 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 



the statements already quoted, and add the information 

 that a French naturalist, believed to have been Dela- 

 motte, offered Mr. Steward one hundred French birds 

 in exchange for his specimen. From the same source 

 Mr. Turner also learned that, as mentioned by Selby, 

 almost simultaneously another example had been taken 

 in Denmark — a fact confirmed by Kjeerbolling. The 

 occurrence was also recorded in 1834 by the Messrs. 

 Paget, but they give the 10th instead of the 9th of 

 February as the date — a discrepancy of no material sig- 

 nificance, and one which it would be hardly possible 

 now to remove. Harvey, into whose possession, as will 

 have been seen, the bird immediately passed, was a well- 

 known dealer in wild-fowl, at Yarmouth, before men- 

 tioned in this work, and has long been dead ; but Mr. 

 Stevenson, with his usual care, enquired into the matter 

 of his son, and left the result in writing. " The follow- 

 ing," he says, " is young Harvey's account of Steller's 

 duck from Caister. Harvey was quite a lad when he 

 saw a gunner, named George Barrow, returning from 

 shooting with the bird in his hand. He followed him to 

 the alley (the name of which he told me) with Bessey 

 [another gunner], who got the pratincoles [c/. vol. ii., 

 p. 65] and another man, and then went home and 

 fetched his father. When he [the father] arrived with 

 him, Barrow was going into Bessey's house with the 

 duck, and Harvey, senior, bought it, but did not know 

 what it was."^ 



The Eev. E. W. Dowell informed Mr. Stevenson 

 that, in September, 1835 or 1836, Harry Overton, a 



possesses a copy of Sheppard and Whiteai-'s " Catalogue," 

 formerly belonging to Mr. Briglitwell, of Norwich, containing 

 three water-colour drawings, one of which represents this speci- 

 men, and was probably made by Miss Brightwell about the same 

 time as the above. Yarrell also mentions another drawing of this 

 specimen, sent to him for the use of his work by Mr. Chai'les 

 Buckler. 



* The details above given were, of course, unknown to Mr. 

 Seebohm when referring ("Brit. Birds," iii., p. 613) to this speci- 

 men. He states that "there are several discrepancies in the 

 details of its subsequent history, which throw some doubt on the 

 authenticity of the alleged occurrence." It may be safely asserted 

 that the history of few captures made so long ago, and of equal 

 interest, rests upon better evidence. 



