wb The Zoologist — February, 1866. 



water mark are wastes of clay soil, called " Saltings," immersed at higti 

 "springs," and covered with rank herbage. The shore is bounded by 

 an enormous extent of muddy sand, some twenty-five miles in length, 

 and which stretches out to sea for four or five miles at low water. 

 That part of this flat which lies near the shore is of a muddy nature, 

 covered in many places by a green weed. Near Tillingham this is a 

 great resort of hundreds of ducks and geese, and on most parts of it 

 thousands of waders and sea-birds may be seen feeding every day 

 during the winter. While the gulls fish with the receding tide, the 

 waders confine themselves to these " black grounds." The large island 

 of Foulness is backed by a perfect puzzle of smaller islands, embanked 

 and each surrounded by a creek some three or four hundred yards 

 wide at high water, though many of them are nearly dry when the tide 

 has ebbed. These creeks, the bottom of which is mud, form another 

 good feeding-ground. 



Among the following notes are some trifling observations on some of 

 the more common sorts of Grallatores frequenting the coast. 



Gray Crow. — The first gray crows I observed this winter were on 

 the 28th of October ; but further up the coast they were to be seen, 

 I should say, at a much earlier date. They are now pretty plentiful, 

 frequenting grass-lands, called " sailings," between the embankments 

 and the water. 



Snow Bunting. — Several examples of the snow bunting have 

 occurred here during the past week. It is rather an unusual occur- 

 rence, as the weather has been rather mild, and these birds are generally 

 found here only in the severe weather, in the depth of winter. Three 

 were seen in a stubble-field, consorting with skylarks; one of them 

 was shot and brought to me ; it was a male, in winter plumage. 

 Another was killed the day before. 



Turnstone. — This handsome bird is not very common, I believe, on 

 these sands. The sliore is of a muddy nature, and does not suit their 

 habits. Punctual to their time of arrival, however, small flocks of 

 young birds appeared on this coast during the last week in August and 

 first days of September. They confined themselves to the shingle, 

 and were not very shy. Several specimens were shot, all young birds. 

 They stayed about a week, and then disappeared, moving, most pro- 

 bably, to the south coast. 1 have not observed any since, but I hope 

 to ascertain during the winter whether many do frequent the extensive 

 sands of this coast. 



