138 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 



county, and at least one authentic instance is known of 

 its breeding on Scoulton mere, near Hingham, although 

 both the shoveler and pochard have long ceased to 

 frequent that chief stronghold of the black-headed gull, 

 in Norfolk. Mr. Alfred Newton was informed by the 

 late Miss Hamond, of Swaff ham, that the nest of eight 

 eggs of the shoveler in the collection of her brother, the 

 Rev. Kobert Hamond (in the possession of Mr. Eobert 

 Elwes, of Congham House); were taken many years back 

 at Scoulton. 



The late Mr. J. D. Salmon in his MS. diary of natural 

 history occurrences in the neighbourhood of Thetford 

 (now in the Norwich Museum) has the following entries 

 respecting shovelers seen, during the summer months, 

 from 1834 to 1837, on what he then terms a small piece 

 of water on Stanford warren : 



1834. June 6th. A male shoveler and young ones 

 seen in the pond, but the female not visible. 



1835. May 10th. Eight shovelers' eggs found on 

 the warren (Stanford), placed on the ground with 

 scarcely any nest, found within a few days of hatching. 



1836. April 20th. Saw a pair of shovelers at Stan- 

 ford, and again on May 7th. May 18th, a nest found 

 with one egg. May 25th, saw the male bird. June 1st, 

 the young all hatched. 



1837. May 3rd. A male shoveler seen at Stanford pit. 

 These notes refer of course to the same birds, which 



Mr. Salmon, in a communication to London's "Mag. 

 Nat. Hist." for ]826, describes as having "hitherto 

 annually bred amongst some green rushes, on the war- 

 ren at Stanford ;" and to which Mr. Hewitson (" Brit. 

 Bds.' Eggs," vol. ii.), alludes in acknowledging the 

 receipt of a shovel er's egg from Norfolk, from Mr. 

 Salmon ; nor is there any reason to doubt that the 

 descendants of those birds have ever since frequented 

 the same locality. 



