292 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



serve as litter, firing, &c. The common Einged Snake is quite a 

 rarity in this part of the county, though not uncommon in the 

 neighbourhood of Ipswich. 



6th. Saw a male Eedstart this morning, sitting on the door 

 of a shed, the earliest arrival of this species of which I have 

 any note. 



10th. Wind N.E., with snow, very cold. A Lark was running 

 about just under my window, with feathers puffed out from cold, 

 and looking very feeble. A pair of Starlings, too, seemed much 

 pinched by the severity of the weather, and were unusually tame. 

 A few Yellowhammers were daily to be seen about some old 

 threshing-machines, searching for stray grains of corn ; at present 

 they are much commoner here than Sparrows. A Grey Crow flew 

 along the river this morning, cawing in a peculiar chattering 

 manner. Compared with the Book, some at least of these Crows 

 must be late breeders. I have known them to remain here as late 

 as April 14th. 



12th. A single Grey Crow seen again to-day. In Suffolk, 

 especially about the heaths and marshes near the coast, this bold 

 but wary marauder (locally known as the " Dun Crow ") is gene- 

 rally abundant during the winter. To some extent he takes the 

 place filled in warmer latitudes by the Vulture, and many a 

 wounded hare or pheasant ultimately falls to his lot. In some 

 districts if a duck be killed during the evening flight, and not 

 retrieved, it is pretty sure to be found early the following morning 

 completely picked by the " Dun Crows," the bare skeleton, with 

 a few scattered feathers, alone remaining to mark the spot where 

 it fell. Fresh-water mussels, Anodonta cygnea, are largely eaten 

 by these Crows, and not long ago I watched a party of them 

 engaged in searching for these molluscs, at low water, in the bed 

 of the river at Blaxhall. To guard against a surprise, each bird 

 took the precaution of flying with its prize to an open part of the 

 adjoining meadow, before breaking the shell, — just as Eooks, in 

 robbing a field of ripe wheat, carry off the ears to some bare 

 spot, well away from the standing corn and all other cover, before 

 eating them. 



15th. Warm and showery. Saw one large and two small 

 Tortoiseshell Butterflies. Frogs in full chorus to-night in a pond 

 at Farnham. 



17th. A specimen of Helix ncmoralls abroad to-day, the first 



