ROLLER. 429 



British Museum,* of a specimen, killed near Crostwick in 

 Norfolk, May 14tli, 1644, and sent by him to Merrett. The 

 next known appearance of the species with us, is mentioned 

 by Wallace, who in 1700 (Account of the Islands of Orkney, 

 pp. 48, 49) sufficiently described an example, killed two or 

 three years before in Sanda, and received by him. Both 

 these occurrences were unknown to Pennant, when he, in 

 1768, as if for the first time, introduced the species to our 

 fauna (Br. Zool. ed. 2, i. p. 176, note ; App. p. 487), stating 

 on the information of Borlase, that one was shot near Helston 

 in Cornwall in the autumn f, and mentioning another, " seen 

 at large in our island," which may have been that recorded 

 in 1752 by Hill (Hist. Anim. p. 389) as observed by him in 

 Charlton Forest in Sussex. These four seem to be the only 

 examples known in Britain till the present century, since 

 which time about one hundred have been recorded, the 

 greater number of them having occurred not only in mari- 

 time counties, but within a short distance of the coast. The 

 reason of this is not far to seek. The conspicuous plumage 

 of the Roller challenges observation and therefore, according 

 to the custom of this country, pursuit. One may safely say 

 that hitherto scarcely an example has ever been seen here 

 without its death being compassed, and generally accom- 

 plished. A bird of such rare beauty has thus but a few 

 hours to live after reaching our shores. Following the many 

 records along the coast of Great Britain, we find that five or 

 six examples belong to Cornwall — all but one to the Land's- 

 End district, four to Devon, one to Dorset, four to Sussex 

 and as many to Kent, one to Essex — and that, strange to say, 

 on its inland border, about ten to Suffolk, thirteen or fourteen 

 to Norfolk, two or three to Lincolnshire, seven to Yorkshire, 

 two to Durham, eight to Northumberland ; one to the east of 

 Scotland — presumably in the lowlands ; Perth and Aberdeen 



* This is on a separate paper (MS. Sloan. 1830, fol. 31) appended by Wilkin 

 to Browne's 'Account of Birds found in Norfolk,' as though it had formed part 

 of that treatise. That Browne sent the bird to Merrett appears by another paper 

 in the same volume (fol. 42). 



t Of 1766, says Pennant ; but of 1765 according to Borlase's own note as since 

 printed (Journ. Roy. List. Cornw. no. iv. suppl. p. 41). 



