A FEW AUTUMN NOTES. 577 
In Hastern Bohemia I shot, on November 26th, a Jack 
Snipe (Scolopax gallinula) in the middle of a wood of Scotch 
firs, where the soil was sandy and the nearest water was a 
long way off. The poor bird must have been driven there by 
the storm of that day and the previous night, for it lay quite 
exhausted on a sandy path, and allowed me to approach within 
a few yards of it. 
The Lapwing ( Vanellus cristatus) also remained remarkably 
long with us; on November 10th, a few days before the 
snow, I saw many on the great ploughed fields near Prague, 
a locality frequented by large flocks of these birds every 
autumn. During the time that the fields were covered with 
deep snow I saw none ; but on the 23rd, when a strong south 
wind freed the district from its white mantle in a few hours, 
I observed in the afternoon a large flock of Lapwings flying 
towards the south-east. 
The Coot (fultca atra) as well as the Moorhen (Stagnicola 
chloropus) stayed on a pond near Prague up to November 
12th, and only left their summer-quarters a day or two before 
the water was entirely frozen over. At the same time a 
large flock of Mallards (Anas boschas) appeared there, and 
were afterwards joined by some Garganey Teal (A. quer- 
quedula). 
I have now for several years observed this advent of fairly 
large flocks of ducks on these small sheets of water before the 
winter has quite begun; and this time the cunning birds did 
not allow themselves to be frightened away by the first snow 
and frost, for on November 22nd, as I was walking past a much 
smaller pool near the one above mentioned, I saw a large 
flock of Mallards on its perfectly frozen surface, and three 
days afterwards they were again contentedly swimming about 
among the rushes. 
The Sky-Lark and the Starling both left us in the middle of 
November. 
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