LITTLE GULL- 321 



Probably the earliest Norfolk specimens were a pair 

 in Mr. E. S. Preston's collection, said to have been killed 

 on Breydon, in December, 1829, the same severe winter 

 which produced the Steller's duck. One in Mr. New- 

 come's collection, which was purchased at the dispersal of 

 Mr. Stephen Miller's birds in 1853, must have been pro- 

 cured several years before that date ; Mr. Gurney has also 

 an example, which was killed on a pond near the New 

 Mills, within the city of Norwich, in November, 1844. Dr. 

 Babington mentions a male bird which was killed at 

 Yarmouth, on the 18th January, 1850 ; Mr. Dowell saw 

 a young one in company with terns and common gulls, 

 at Blakeney, on the 5th August, 1851. It was met with 

 in Norfolk again in 1861, 1867, and 1869, and, from the 

 latter year till the present time (1889), I have notes of 

 its occurrence in varying numbers every year, with the 

 exception of 1874, 1876, 1877, 1878, and 1885. Out of 

 twenty-nine recorded instances of examples of this species 

 occurring in the county of Norfolk (several individuals 

 having occasionally been met with at one time) there are 

 only two in August ; one in September ; but thirteen in 

 October, and seven in November : again only two in 

 December ; one in January ; two in February ; and 

 one in April ; thus showing that it is much more fre- 

 quent on its autumnal migration, after the breeding 

 season, than at any other time. Mr. Dowell speaks of 

 his August bird as being a young one and very tame, 

 allowing him to pass within a few yards of it after the 

 commoner gulls had taken flight; the other August 

 bird, shot on the 25th, described as a very young one, 

 will be found recorded in the "Zoologist"" for 1873, 

 p. 3716. The April example, a beautiful adult male, 

 was shot in 1888 out of a flock of five on Hickling 

 Broad, on the 27th of that month ; another was wounded 

 at the same time, but not followed, and the bird killed, 

 which is now in Mr. Connop's collection, narrowly 

 escaped being food for the ferrets. Nothing could 

 exceed the beauty of the pure tints and lovely roseate 

 breast of this exquisite little gull. This is the only 

 Norfolk example in breeding plumage with which I am 

 acquainted. 



A remarkable influx of these birds occurred on the 

 2 s 



