9 494 Birds. 



the capture of this rare petrel at Worthing. Under the impression 

 that every capture of so rare a bird may prove of interest, I beg to 

 record the fact of a specimen having been taken close to Beverley, 

 some years ago, which is now in my collection, and is the only speci- 

 men I have seen or heard of captured in this Riding. My specimen 

 was taken alive by some drainers as it was flapping helplessly exhausted 

 in the mud of a " grip" near to Bentley Wood, about two miles from 

 Beverley : this was in the autumn of 1854, It was killed, and taken, 

 in the flesh, to J. P. Martin, of Cottingham, gamekeeper to Mr. Ring- 

 rose, of that place, from whom I bought it, and heard the details of 

 its capture. ^ 



Wild Swans. — On Saturday moraing last two wild swans passed 

 over Figham, oue of our common pastures, and close to the town of 

 Beverley: they were flying in the direction of the River Hull, but- 

 must have passed over it, as I have not since heard of them, and 

 there were several shooters up the river on that day. This is the 

 first instance during the present season of the wild swan having 

 appeared in the neighbourhood of Beverley. 



W. W. BOULTON. 



Beverley, January 30, 18C5. 



Ornithological Notes from Norfolk. By Henry Stevenson, Esq. 



During the first week in November a Sclavonian grebe, in winter 

 plumage, was shot at Surlingham, and a gray shrike somewhere in the 

 county. On the 14th a common dipper was killed near Buxton Mills, 

 and was presented to the Norwich Museum : on dissection 1 found it to 

 be a male, and the stomach contained only fragments of the legs and 

 elytra of a small water beetle and Notonecta. A bittern for sale in our 

 fish-market on the 19th. Woodcocks have been unusually plentiful 

 on our coast this autumn, and at least one hundred couples have been 

 killed in some favourite coverts near the sea, belonging to Lord 

 Hastings : amongst them was a curiously pied variety, having all the 

 primary quills in the right wing pure white, except the fourth ; the 

 wing-coverts on that side also white ; in the left wing the three first 

 quills and one or two covert feathers only were pure white : the rest 

 of the plumage as usual. On the 21st a forklailed petrel was picked 

 up dead at Bradenham, evidently driven inland by the severe gales 

 which prevailed about that time : it proved to be a young male, and 

 its starved condition and weather-beaten plumage told a sad tale of 

 privation. 



