X PREFACE. 



anything approaching a just census of the number killed or seen. 

 Many communications were sent me after the immediate interest of 

 the subject had ceased, owing to the visitors having taken their depar- 

 ture ; and still greater was the number of announcements in provincial 

 papers of the wholesale and, I fear too often, wanton destruction of 

 these beautiful birds. From an examination of all the sources of in- 

 formation within my reach, and totally disregarding the accounts of 

 " immense flocks," with which we were frequently entertained, the 

 following statistics appear to approach accuracy. 



1 . Direction : east to west : the birds appearing simultaneously 

 along great tracts of the eastern coast and proceeding directly in- 

 land. 



2. Locality : the eastern or coast districts of Durham and York- 

 shire in the north, and of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent, in the 

 south : the exception of Lincolnshire is probably only one of observa- 

 tion and not of fact. In Scotland (Zool. 2769) the northern counties 

 were generally but sparingly visited : the other recorded localities ap- 

 pear exceptional. 



3. Date : chiefly the month of January ; but the dates of instances 

 in which the birds were actually killed is given below. 



1849, November 4 Total in November 4 



„ December, 1st, 2nd, and) .„ 



3rd weeks] M 

 „ „ 4th week 24 Total in December 37 



1850, January, 1st „ 79 



2nd „ 119 



„ „ 3rd „ 153 



„ ,, 4th „ 78 Total in January 429 



„ February, 1st „ 49 



„ „ 2nd „ 33 



» ,, 3rd „ 16 



„ „ 4th „ 7 Total in February 105 



„ March 11 Total in March 11 



586 Total number 586 



4. Number : on this subject but a slight approximation to the 

 truth can be made : we may fairly suppose, first, that the majority 



