NOTES FROM ALDEBURGH. 17 



on some dry mud near A.'s cottage ; they seemed tired, and 

 proved to be a male and female in a transitional dress, their black 

 breasts being prettily marbled with white. During my forced 

 absence, from September 9th to 13th, A. secured a couple of 

 Sanderlings ; they were feeding by themselves on the patch of 

 mud patronised by the Phalarope of September 2nd, and proved 

 to be a mature male and female in winter plumage. 



On September 14th at flight time, a party of twelve or fourteen 

 waders came up from the north and pitched on the mud on the 

 Aldeburgh side of the mere ; punting within a few yards of 

 them, under cover of a bank, I recognised at least two or three 

 examples of T. subarquata, by their white tail-coverts and curved 

 bills : to make sure of their identity I went for a gun, but it 

 was too dark when I returned to make more of them. I searched 

 for them long and wearily on the 15th to no purpose, but next 

 day we saw four examples, two of which A. shot for me, killing 

 both at one shot. On September 18, a Thorpe fisherman 

 showed me as a vara avis a fine Corn Crake, which he had 

 picked up on the 17th on the beach, exhausted by a long 

 flight. After resting for twenty-four hours it went away south 

 happily enough. A few minutes later I came across a " red- 

 tail " which I felt certain belonged to the black Eedstart ; it 

 was shy, and after A. had missed one shot I decided to try to 

 trap it, thinking that as I trapped two examples abroad in 

 1881, with ease, I could probably take this bird. Unfortunately, 

 when I returned with a trap, I could find no traces of titys, 

 though I waited until dark and searched the neighbourhood 

 with all possible care. I do not think that there can be much 

 doubt that it was a titys, immature or female ; for the old male is 

 so easily recognised by the white alar patch. When first 

 seen it was searching for food in a manure heap, around which 

 it spent the morning ; there was no shelter except of nettles, 

 nearer than a thin hedge, distant perhaps seventy yards ; and its 

 cpaarters were close to or on the beach, whereas I have never 

 seen phcenicv/rw very near the sea ; moreover, it flew about the 

 hen-houses with the familiarity that this species haunts chalets 

 and cowsheds in Switzerland ; it actually entered one hen-house 

 but darted out just as I tried to shut it in ; its flight was that of 

 titys, and as far as I could ascertain it was certainly that bird. 

 I should have taken more pains to examine its dress had I not 



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