NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 15 
Sheld-ducks on the 20th, and six Shovellers on the 22nd, by 
Joshua Nudd. 
During the greater part of February and March we had snow 
on the ground. Prior to this there had not been more than one 
or two Fieldfares in the parish of Keswick, but simultaneously 
with the snow they appeared. The largest flock, consisting of at 
least sixty, settled on a grass field which had been lately used for 
ewes, where a good many,Swede turnips, mostly entire and quite 
uneaten, had been left. Into these they at once proceeded to 
drill holes, selecting any soft or rotten spot there might be to 
begin upon. For five weeks these poor birds fed on nothing else, 
and, from having been plump and shy, they soon became tame 
and thin, dropping in weight to 2} oz., and Redwings to 1} oz. 
When the snow cleared away, around each Swede turnip might be 
seen acircle of the flakes they had pecked off, and really it was 
incredible how much they had got off, many of the turnips being 
reduced to mere shells. Nor was any of this damage done by 
Wood Pigeons, which prefer turnips growing in a field where 
they can settle in a flock in the middle of the ridges. Here they 
peck holes, and let in the frost, doing more harm in this respect 
than the Fieldfares. At Northrepps the Partridges attacked the 
broccoli which was just above the snow, and took the hearts 
completely out of some—a charge I do not remember to have 
heard brought against them before, though I believe Wood 
Pigeons are guilty of it. Some of the hungriest Rooks fed with 
my Chinese Geese, eating maize, and even scraps of bread and 
potato ; and a Hooded Crow was so intent on enjoying a meal 
on a large mussel, on Brancaster beach, that he got caught by 
the beak and was made a prisoner! As usual during severe frost, 
Dabchicks had a hard time of it, and sometimes four or five were 
to be seen at Harford Bridge, below which the Yare widens a 
little, making the most of the water while they had it. A Puffin and 
a Guillemot, probably starved, were washed up at Overstrand. 
On March 19th 2000 Canaries were sent from Norwich to the 
United States, notwithstanding the bad weather, when many 
would most likely die on the voyage, New York being snowed up 
about that time. This is what a Norwich writer says about 
them :—“ Although the weather was piercingly cold [and a bitter 
east wind] while the waggon-load of live stock was being conveyed 
to the station, the singing from the birds could be heard in the 
