270 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Spoonbills near Great Yarmouth. — On May 10th I saw six Spoon- 

 bills (Platalea leucorodia) on Breydon. They were standing in line by the 

 edge of a " drain " on one of the " flats." They were evidently " taking a 

 nap," but on the near approach of my boat they all assumed a very 

 picturesque attitude, as if listening and watching my progress, Each one's 

 head was thrown at half a right angle, the neck craned into an S-shaped 

 posture, one leg being drawn up out of the water, — whether the left or right 

 I could not distinguish, as the evening was closing in. Presently they took 

 to flight in a long line, and in single file, with bills out forward and legs 

 nearly straight behind. They looked very much like Swans as they sailed 

 silently away towards another " flat." They made no sound whatever, nor 

 are they capable, I think, of doing so. I have seen several of these birds, 

 and kept a tame one many months, but never heard them utter the slightest 

 cry. The six Spoonbills kept about the neighbourhood several days. They 

 are very sociable birds, and an odd one is sure to associate with Gulls, as do 

 any small flocks that visit us ; while they appear to trust greatly to the 

 vigilance of the Gulls (mostly the " grey " or immature of the Greater Black- 

 backed species, which are virtually resident on Breydon all spring and sum- 

 mer) for intimation of any intrusion. The Gulls noisily take to flight, the 

 Spoonbills taking the hint after a preliminary look round, and making off 

 to a distance on their own account. — A. Patterson (Great Yarmouth). 



Black-breasted Partridges.— The Partridges with black horseshoes on 

 their breasts, seen in a local game-dealer's shop by Mr. R. H. Ramsbotham 

 (ante, p. 224), were doubtless examples of the Bearded Partridge (Perdix 

 daurica), which has now been offered for sale (sometimes as the Manchurian 

 Partridge) in the London markets for several years. The range of this bird 

 is described in Mr. Ogilvie-Graut's < Handbook to the Game Birds ' (vol. i. 

 p. 150), as " North-eastern and Central Asia, extending north to Dauria ; 

 east to Amoorland, Manchuria, and the mountains near Pekin ; west to 

 Dzungaria and the Tian-shan Mountains : and south to the sources of the 

 Yaugtze-kiang." Further particulars about this bird may be gathered from 

 a correspondence in the ' Field ' newspaper for March and April, 1898. 

 The Russian Partridges sold in the shops after the close season have the 

 horseshoe usually of a darker brown than it is in English birds, and the 

 plumage of the upper parts is perhaps of a colder, greyer tint. But the 

 unfortunate liberty to sell "Russian" Partridges in spring, at present 

 enjoyed by game-dealers, undoubtedly would enable an unscrupulous person 

 to sell English birds under that name long after the close season begins.— 

 O. V. Aplin (Bloxham, Oxon). 



[Quite recently in these pages (1898, p. 215), Mr. Dresser, under the 

 heading " Rare Partridges in Leadenhali Market," also gave a full account 

 of Perdix daurica and its range. — Ed.] 



