104 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



winter. The recent visitation of Bustards was heralded in ' The Field* 

 of the 20th December last, by an announcement from Mr. William 

 Sewell, of Tillingham Hall, Essex, that a Great Bustard had been shot on 

 Dec. 9th, by the bailiff to Mr. Robert Page, on Bridgewick Farm, Dengie, 

 Southminster, and had been forwarded for preservation to Mr. Ashmead, of 

 Bishopsgate Street. It proved to be a hen bird, weighing 8 lbs. 5 oz., and 

 was in good condition. (2.) " During Christmas week," as I am informed 

 by Dr. John Lowe, a Great Bustard was shot at Llanrhwdw, near Llan- 

 elly, in Carmarthenshire, and was taken to Mr. Hugh Nevill, of Llanelly, 

 for identification. He reported it to be a female bird, weighing between 

 8 and 9 lbs., and in very fair condition. It was forwarded for preservation 

 to a birdstuffer at Carmarthen. Mr. Nevill writes that it was found close 

 to a river, where he believes he saw it himself one evening about a fortnight 

 previously, when returning home in the dusk ; but the light failing, he was 

 unable to make certain of the species, which attracted his attention by its 

 conspicuous size. (3.) On January 2nd Mr. J. Bourne, of Ampfield 

 House, Romsey, Hants, was out Partridge-shooting, and, on taking up his 

 position for a Partridge " drive," on the edge of a kohl-rabi field, was 

 surprised to see what appeared to be a Wild Goose rise from the centre of 

 the field, and fly in the opposite direction very slowly. About half an hour 

 later the same bird came over his head about twenty yards high, affording 

 an easy shot, and was bagged. He found it to be a hen Bustard, which 

 was subsequently ascertained to weigh 10 lbs., and measured 5 feet from 

 tip to tip of wing. He announced these facts in ■ The Field ' of Jan. 10th 

 last. (4.) We next hear from several correspondents of a Great Bustard in 

 Sussex, variously reported to have been shot in the marshes " near Rye," 

 "near Winchelsea," and at "Westfield" ('Field,' Jan. 24, 1891). It 

 appears on further enqui.iy that the actual locality was Pett Level, between 

 Winchelsea and Fairlight (' Field,' Feb. 7, 1891). It was shot on Jan. 6th by 

 Charles Cooke, who sold it to Mr. E. Vidler, of Havelock Road, Hastings, 

 and this also proved to be a female bird, weighing 7 lbs. 10 oz. It was in 

 plump condition, the crop containing dry grass. (5.) In ■ The Field ' of 

 Jan. 24th, Mr. H. H. B. Law, of Burgh Hall, Melton Constable, Norfolk, 

 reported that a Little Bustard was caught in a field at Stiffkey ; but in the 

 following issue of that journal (Jan. 31st) several correspondents — viz. Mr. 

 Southwell of Norwich, Col. Feilden, Mr. T. J. Mann, and Mr. Law him- 

 self—wrote to correct this statement, and gave further particulars. From 

 their letters it appears that on Jan. 19th a female Great Bustard was picked 

 up dead in the " drift "or roadway leading from Stiffkey windmill to the 

 marshes. It had been shot at by a Stiffkey man, whose dog afterwards 

 found it, and it was then purchased by Mr. S. J. Bell, of Stiffkey, who 

 presented it to Mr. T. J. Mann, of Hyde Hall, Sawbridgeworth. By the 

 time it reached its destination, however, it had been too long dead for pre- 



