Birds. 3755 



place is supposed to be the best ground for woodcocks in Norfolk. Felbrigg near Cro- 

 mer, and Holkham also, have a high reputation for the number of woodcocks usually 

 killed there, and this year their character has not forsaken them ; for at the former 

 place 27, 30, 15, and 21 respectively were killed on four days in the second and third 

 weeks of December ; and at the latter 29 in one day, about the same time. Now, on 

 the other hand, Fakenham Wood, considered the most favourable locality in this part 

 of Suffolk for these birds, was beaten at the end of October, with a slaughter of three 

 only, while often 15 or 20, and on more than one occasion 30, have been killed there 

 in years by no means extraordinary. Nor can it, I think, be urged that this short- 

 coming was only in consequence of the wood having been shot through early in the 

 season, for I was told by an eye-witness that when the wood was drawn by the hounds 

 only a week ago, he did not see a single bird, although he was on the look-out all the 

 time. Here, at Elveden, the number of woodcocks killed has certainly been above 

 the annual average for the preceding ten years, but at the same time it has fallen still 

 shorter of the returns for the seasons ending in 1850 and 1844. I should observe that 

 the places in Norfolk that I have mentioned above as having been frequented this sea- 

 son by a great number of these birds, are at no great distance from the sea, and the 

 same may be said of the other localities to which report has assigned a like visitation ; 

 it may therefore be that owing to so much of the country being under water, to the 

 very mild weather, or to some other such reason, the woodcocks have been either con- 

 strained to haunt the places at which they first lauded, or else have had no induce- 

 ment, in the shape of scarcity of food, to quit them. These suggestions, and the true 

 solution, I leave to the readers of the ' Zoologist.' — Alfred Newton; Elveden Hall, 

 January 7, 1853. 



Occurrence of the Little Auk (Uria Alle) in the City of Durham. — The late gales 

 have brought to our coast many rare northern visitors, but I think the circumstance 

 of the little auk (Uria Alle) being taken so far inland as the heart of the city of Dur- 

 ham, is almost unprecedented. A fine specimen was discovered by some workmen on 

 Friday fortnight, the 26th ult., in the garden of E. Shipperdson, Esq., in the South 

 Bailey, not far from the banks of the river Wear. It had apparently been just killed 

 by a cat, as it was quite warm, and torn in the breast. The specimen is in the hands 

 of Mr. Proctor, of the University Museum. — H. B. Tristram ; Castle Eden Parson- 

 age, December 9, 1852. 



Occurrence of the Puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Winter off the Isle of Wight. — A 

 dead puffin was picked up on the 4th of this month in Whiteeliff Bay, perhaps a vic- 

 tim to the late stormy weather. — A. G. More ; Bembridge, Isle of Wight, January 

 10, 1853. 



Occurrence of the Sooty Tern (Sterna fuliginosa) in England. — I have the plea- 

 sure to record the occurrence of a bird near Burton-on -Trent, new, not only to the 

 Fauna of Britain, but also to that of Europe. About four months ago it was reported 

 to me that a strange bird had been killed at Tutbury, near this town, which, as my 

 informant said, was a gull-billed tern. Being at the time very much engaged in bu- 

 siness, and knowing that the specimen was not leaving the neighbourhood, I did not 

 hurry to visit and examine it; in the mean time the bird was purchased by H. W. 

 Des Vceux, Esq., of Drakelow Hall, and added to his collection of indigenous speci- 

 mens. On seeing it there a few days ago, T at once saw that it was no previously re- 

 corded British species; and on referring to Wilson, Latham, &c, it became evident 

 that it was the sooty tern, {Sterna fuliginosa). Considering that this species is so 



