ioo AN EAST COAST NATURALIST 



him. To the surprise of the interested gunners, 

 the stricken duck fell with a thud upon the bottom 

 boards of one of the punts. An exceptional circum- 

 stance this indeed, where a gunner has his game 

 so neatly killed and retrieved without any effort 

 on his part. 



BIRDS ON A GAME STALL 



The late W. Dun-ant's game stall in Yarmouth 

 Market has for years been a resort of wildfowlers, 

 sportsmen, and men not wishing to be recognised or 

 known as either, but whose tastes brought them into 

 contact with various creatures, the snaring or shoot- 

 ing of which provides sport without much fear of 

 trouble at the hands of the rural policemen. The 

 stall has for many years been a most reliable gauge 

 of the numbers and species of birds frequenting 

 the locality at different seasons of the year. It had 

 been my practice to watch this " institution " care- 

 fully, for there was usually something interesting to 

 be seen, rarely a " good " bird to be discovered, and 

 frequently a great display of victims during the 

 prevalence of severe or stormy weather. Swans, 

 wild geese, ducks, shore-birds, land-birds were all 

 mixed up together in riotous confusion, and at times 



