1 88 WILD LIFE ON A NORFOLK ESTUARY 



stiffen. Not long after came along a ' bosun skua,' as he 

 called it [a Buffon's skua], and this with a left-hand shot 

 he killed. When this was cool he wrapped the two birds in 

 his handkerchief and made for home, when, trudging along 

 by the edge of the water, the skua of yesterday came flying 

 towards him ; this he also secured. Later in the day he 

 took the ' fork-tail ' to a local collector, who was then living 

 at Gorleston, who offered him two guineas for it, honourably 

 enough telling him if he could get more, to do so. Hurr 

 took the bird to Norwich, and left it with Stevenson, who 

 was then too ill to see him, but who eventually sent him 

 three guineas for it, which, with what he obtained for the 



A RARE VISITOR. SABINE S GULL 



others, made him, he said, ' a good day's work.' This Sabine's 

 gull realised no less than eleven guineas at Stevenson's sale 

 in September, 1887." 



Hurr once obtained a commission from a London 

 millinery firm, when gulls' wings and plumage were in 

 demand for the adornment (?) of ladies' heads, "to shoot 

 gulls until further orders." One day he killed twenty odd 

 gulls of various species, including one black-headed gull. 

 They called off their original offer of two and sixpence for 

 each large gull and one shilling for every small one, but sent 

 him ten shillings for this consignment, " for the small gull 

 and his trouble" Afterwards he sent them as many gulls as 

 altogether brought him in twenty-five pounds. His practice 



