480 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Museum. It was a female bird, and had irides of a French 
grey ; the back, upper wing coverts, crown of head, throat, and 
under parts, are chocolate. The usual grey mask is in this 
specimen of a slaty tint; primaries sandy brown, tipped and 
margined with grey; secondaries and tail-feathers sandy brown, 
with broader, greyish margins; the bill, legs, toes, and claws, 
dark chocolate. 
An adult female Waterhen, of piebald colour, was caught by 
a fisherman in a marsh drain at Drayton, near Norwich, and 
brought to me alive on December 5th, 1885. A peculiarity in 
the colour of the irides of this bird was remarkable, one eye 
being of a deep red, the other hazel. Mr. Booth tells me he has 
seen a Great Crested Grebe which had eyes of different colours, a 
peculiarity in bird life seldom noticed. 
The Waterhen, although so common in the eastern counties, 
is subject to but little variation in colour. I have seen but two 
piebald examples in addition to the two sandy ones already 
recorded. 
Two very large Partridges, both cock birds, were killed in 
October, 1885, weighing 19 and 19} ounces, that is three or four 
ounces heavier than usual. 
The Hider Duck is of rare occurrence on the Norfolk coast, 
but has been met with on three occasions to my knowledge. In 
the latest instance an immature female was shot at Burgh 
St. Peter on December 30th, 1884, and weighed 2 lbs. 
A fine male Gadwall was killed at Merton November 11th, 
1885, and an immature male Long-tailed at Moulton, October 
23rd, 1885. 
A fine male Spotted Redshank was killed on the marshes at 
Burton Turf in August, 1885, and sent me by a friend; weight 
4A oz. 6 dr. avoirdupois. 
In the month of August an unusual number of Wood Sand- 
pipers made their appearance, and were shot in various localities. 
T had a male on the 18th, a second on the 17th, another on the 
93rd, and a male, killed at Thuxton on the 28th, and lastly a 
female on the 10th of September. All these birds were in 
immature plumage, and very fat. Their food had consisted 
principally of small insects. 
Two female Water Rails were obtained at Hingham and 
Horning, December 26th, 1884. The females are much smaller 
