154 



of the fishing luggers that he had shot a bird or 

 two while on the North Sea that he wished to show 

 me. As I was aware he had been afloat for at 

 least a fortnight, I thought they might possibly be 

 getting unpleasant, but being assured they were as 

 fresh as when they were killed I told him to bring 

 them down for me to look at in the evening. The 

 specimens, which proved to be an immature Gannet, 

 a Pomerine Skua and a bird I could not determine, 

 stunk in such a horrible and fearful manner that I 

 requested him to take them away and let me see 

 them by daylight, when I hoped to be able to 

 examine the stranger more closely out of doors. * 



On arriving at his house on the following 

 morning I found that they had been sold by his 

 wife for sixpence to a musician as an old and two 

 young Hansers,f and were at that moment being 

 cooked for the Sunday's blow-out, much to the 

 disgust of his neighbours in the row, who were 

 almost poisoned by the stink. 



The specimen in the case was shot in the 

 Firth of Forth in August, 1874. 



See " Kough Notes," Vol. III., Plates 40, 41, 42. 



BLACK-THEOATED DIVER (SUMMER). 

 Case 220. 



Though but rarely seen in the south, this 

 handsome bird is still abundant in several parts of 

 the Highlands, it appears to be more partial to the 



* The bird was about the same size and make, 

 though slightly smaller than the Pomerine, of a 

 pale chocolate, with round white spots as large as 

 a threepenny-piece on the back and wings. 



In his " Kough Notes " on this species, page 5, Booth 

 states that he had, from his subsequent observations on the 

 species in captivity, no doubt that the bird was a light- 

 coloured specimen of the Pomerine in the third year's 

 plumage. 



t Norfolk name for the " Heron." 



