PALLAS S SAND GROUSE IN NORFOLK. 443 



and went away at a great pace to the northward, and although 

 Mr. Boult spent two days in searching the neighbourhood with 

 a view to obtaining specimens, he did not see them again. 

 Mr. Boult has no difficulty in fixing the date, as he was at 

 school in 1875, and he distinctly remembers it occurred in the 

 first summer that he was at home. The Rev. Maurice C. H. 

 Bird, who first informed me of this interesting event, writes as 

 follows :— " I am quite convinced that Mr. E. J. Boult was right 

 as to the identification of the species. I am sure he knows at 

 sight any bird that would be likely to appear from among 

 the regular migrants, and he was well acquainted with the 

 appearance of Sand Grouse from specimens in Mr. Hume's 

 collection, killed at Winterton in 1863." 



It will be remembered that in June, 1876, a Pallas's Sand 

 Grouse was killed near Modena (Ibis, 1881, p. 206), and in 

 October of the same year two others were obtained in Ireland 

 (Zool. 1877, p. 24) ; but Mr. Boult tells me he was not aware of 

 these instances, and accordingly his evidence, as that of an 

 independent witness, is remarkably supported thereby. 



The present year has witnessed the most remarkable influx 

 of these birds hitherto recorded, and perhaps it might have been 

 well to have deferred these notes till I could make them more 

 complete; but as the matter is of so much interest, and the 

 county of Norfolk appears to have proved so highly attractive to 

 the interesting strangers, I have preferred, as was done on a 

 previous occasion, to make a first report, which I close on the 

 31st October, and hope early next year, should you again place 

 space at my disposal for that purpose, once more to return to 

 the subject. 



First arrival in Norfolk. — On the 13th of May the first 

 Norfolk birds were seen by Mr. E. B. Boult, who observed a flock 

 of fifteen feeding in a barley-field at Winterton, and they subse- 

 quently flew over his head towards the sand-hills on the coast. On 

 the 14th a flock was seen at Docking, and two were killed there 

 on the 16th, the first, I believe, which fell victims in this county. 

 On the 22nd they were seen at Yarmouth, on the 24th close to 

 Norwich, and from that time the records become so fast and 

 furious that it is impossible to follow them up in detail. 



Census of Numbers seen, and Distribution in the County. 

 — It is most difficult to form anything like an accurate estimate 



2 m 2 



