510 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Tue Autumn Miaration or Brirps at Cromer.—The following 
notes on the migratory birds observed here during the past autumn 
may be interesting:—About the 6th of October a Shag was caught in 
a fish-net at Runton, near Cromer, for the addition of which to my 
collection I am indebted to an ornithological friend. I did not receive 
it until the following week, but luckily I was able to save it. It is 
quite one of the rarest of Norfolk birds, though probably sometimes 
passed over for the Cormorant in its immature plumage, in which state 
my bird is. The great October migration of birds, for which the east 
coast is so good a place of observation, has this year been very interesting. 
Redstarts, Wheatears, Long-tailed Tits, Jackdaws, Woodcocks, and Rough- 
legged Buzzards have come trooping after each other in great waves, all 
bent on the same object. The two first-named were clearly going south, 
but the Jackdaws, Woodcocks, and a host of Larks, Starlings, Grey Crows, 
Fieldfares, &c., were going from east to west, while the invariable direction 
of the Gulls along the shore was from S.E. to N.W. On the 13th October 
I noticed a huge flock of small birds, which seemed to be entirely composed 
of Chaffinches, in a stubble on the cliff, which I am inclined to think must 
have come over the sea. Many Short-eared and a few Long-eared Owls 
appeared, and several Woodcocks were shot out of turnips, having dropped 
there directly on their arrival. I shot a Wheatear as late as October 26th, 
and on the same day saw a Green Sandpiper. The Rough-legged Buzzards 
have been the chief feature. The following list comprises only what have 
been seen during October within a few miles of Cromer :—16th, one seen at 
Trimmingham and one at Northrepps; 17th, one seen at Northrepps; 
18th, two seen at Runton, one at Cromer, and one shot at Barningham ; 
19th, one shot at Siderstrand; 23rd, one seen at Northrepps; 25th, one seen 
at Metton; 28th, one seen at Trimmingham and one at Northrepps. Pro- 
bably one or two are counted twice over. I hear one or two have been shot in 
other parts of Norfolk. On the 28th 1 saw a Grey Shrike at Trimmingham. 
It was on the topmost bough of a hedge, and allowed me to follow it for 
nearly an hour, flitting from one hedge to another, but always selecting the 
topmost bough for a look-out. Several others are reported in different parts 
of Norfolk, principally near Yarmouth. I hear that a Grey Shrike, doubtless 
the same bird, has been at Trimmingham for a month. I received a Storm 
Petrel from Ely on the 3rd of November, but I have not heard of any 
near Cromer. Yesterday (November 4th), when out shooting, we obtained 
two hen Pheasants beginning to assume the male plumage; this is 
not uncommon. A splendid Bohemian Pheasant was also shot on the 
3rd, and a light-coloured hen, supposed to be a female “ Bohemian,” on 
the 4th. ‘The male showed the white ring round the neck, which I have 
sometimes uoticed before in this race.—J. H. Gurney, Jun. (Northrepps, 
Norwich). 
