Birds— Mollusks. 3175 



man, this daily butchery of rare and beauteous birds? — W. H. Cordeaux; Canterbury, 

 June 8, 1851. 



The Great Snipe (Scolopax major) breeding in Norfolk. — In the April of 1846, I 

 found a nest of the great snipe, containing four eggs, one of which is now in my col- 

 lection, the others were broken by a boy who was with me, whilst stepping into my 

 boat. The nest was placed in a tuft of grass, in some marshes at Belaugh, near Wrox- 

 ham, in this county. T had a good opportunity of observing both the birds, as they 

 did not rise in the usual quick manner of the common snipe, but much more leisurely, 

 and continued to hover round the nest for some little time. A male specimen of this 

 bird was shot near Lowestoft, in Suffolk, the latter end of April in this year. — P. E. 

 Hansell ; Thorpe, next Norwich, June 6, 1851. 



Occurrence of the Eared Grebe (Podiceps auritus) at Yarmouth. — Two fine speci- 

 mens of the eared grebe, male and female, in full summer plumage, were shot at Yar- 

 mouth on the 17th of April last. The eggs in the female were in a forward state — the 

 size of a small marble. The birds are now in the possession of/. Green, Naturalist; 

 1, East Road, City Road. 



Hybrid between the Common Mallard and the Pintail Duck. — About the second 

 week in March, a beautiful hybrid duck, between the common mallard (Anas Boschas) 

 and the pintail (Anas acuta) was shot near Standlake, Oxfordshire, and was brought 

 into the Oxford market for sale, among other wild fowl ; but having fallen into the 

 hands of Mr. Osman, the Taxidermist, I eventually was fortunate enough to obtain 

 possession of it. Although these hybrids have not unfrequently been bred in confine- 

 ment, I am not aware of one having ever been before shot in its wild state. — A. M. 

 Norman; Christ Church, Oxford. 



Occurrence of the Egyptian Goose at Yarmouth, and the Pink-footed Goose at Ely. 

 Two specimens of the Egyptian goose ( Anscr JEgypliacus), male and female, in a wild 

 state, were shot by a fisherman, off the Yarmouth coast, on the 28th of April last; and 

 on the 3rd of May, 1851, three examples of the pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhyn- 

 chus), one male and two females, all old mature birds, were shot at Ely, Cambridge- 

 shire. All the above are now in the possession of J. Green; 1, East Road, City 

 Road. 



Occurrence of the Egyptian Goose on Derwent Lake.-— On the 2nd of this month a 

 fine specimen of this rare bird was shot on Derwent Lake, by Mr. Thos. Hudspitb, 

 game-keeper to H. C. Marshall, Esq., and is now in his possession. This, so far as I 

 am aware, is the first instance of this bird having been met with in this district. — J. 

 Harrison; May 19, 1851. . 



Occurrence of the Puffin (Alca arctica) in Winter. — On the 27th of February, I 

 picked up on the Chesil Beach, five specimens of the puffin, all dead. The only diffe- 

 rence in their plumage from that of summer, was that the bill was not so vividly co- 

 loured, and the cheeks are of a dark lead-gray. One individual was caught alive on 

 the rocks under Portland, in the month of January: it was very emaciated. We have 

 had a long succession of South-westerly gales. The above five individuals had evi- 

 dently been dead ten days or a fortnight. — William Thompson ; Weymouth. 



Note on the Pholas dactylus, or Sussex Piddick. — While residing here having had 

 opportunities of studying the habits of Pholas dactylus, I have endeavoured, during 

 the last six months, to discover how this mollusk makes its hole or crypt in the chalk, 



