316 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Variety of the Common Heron.— I have seen recently a Common 

 Heron, Arclea clnerea, which was caught on board a fishing-smack in the 

 North Sea, and brought, in the flesh, to the shop of Mr. Jefferies, of 

 Grimsby, for preservation. It is apparently an adult female in good bright 

 healthy plumage. The peculiarity of this bird is the very remarkable 

 abnormal colouring of the soft parts, so very different from the ordinary 

 type, so much so that Mr. Jefferies insisted it must be distinct. The 

 irides are red— that is, red-currant colour; lores a light purplish red; 

 posterior half of beak red, anterior yellow ; legs and feet red, the front 

 scutella on the tarsi almost coral-red, approaching in colour the same parts 

 in the French Partridge, and subsequently drying to a brownish red.— 

 John Cokdeaux (Great Cotes, Ulceby). 



Notes from Great Yarmouth. — During the shooting season of 

 1890-91 the following birds have been shot or seen in the vicinity of 

 Great Yarmouth :— Three Pectoral Sandpipers on Sept. 10th, 12th, and 

 13th. A Spotted Redshank, Oct. 3rd. Buffon's Skua, on Breydon Water, 

 Oct. 20th ; the crop was full of earthworms. A Pomatorhine Skua, same 

 date, on beach. Seven Purple Sandpipers in October. Large flocks of 

 Woodcocks on Oct. 20th, 29th, and first week in November. Storm Petrel 

 taken alive from a cat on 27th. Red-necked Phalarope on the 29th. Three 

 Polish Swans brought to market from the Broads, Oct. 30th. Six Shovellers 

 and several Scaups in market, Nov. 1st, and Long-tailed Duck on the 3rd. 

 Redshanks shot Nov. 8th and Dec. 22nd ; unusual here in winter. Eight 

 Shore Larks trapped early in November. Snow Buntings plentiful first 

 half November. Several Bearded Tits in market on Nov. 19th. Twenty 

 Swans seen on Breydon Nov. 29th. Hungry Hooded Crows seen chasing 

 Dunlins Nov. 30th. A Wigeon struck telegraph-wire on Dec. 7th. Three 

 Bewick's Swans, two mature, one young, in market Dec. 6th. A number of 

 dead Kittiwakes washed up on beach Dec. 14th. On Dec. 16th the sea off 

 Yarmouth was alive with Scaup and other " hard-weather fowl." Bewick's 

 Swan seen in the market on Dec. 20th; also, same date, two White-fronted 

 Geese, sixteen Pochards, twenty-three Scaups, twenty Tufted Ducks, one 

 Shoveller, nine Wigeon, and one Shellduck in the market. On the same 

 date nineteen Woodcocks in market, and a great number and variety of 

 other birds. Three Mute Swans (undoubtedly wild) in market Dec. 23rd. 

 Seven Wood Larks shot on Dec. 20th. During the last week in December 

 a great number of starving Black-headed Gulls were caught in clap-nets; 

 several were taken by boys by means of tubs, soletrunks, &c, tilted up by 

 sticks, and dropped over them by means of a long cord. Two Pink-footed 

 Geese in market Dec. 30th. Flock of Turnstones seen on beach Dec. 30th, 

 and two Bean Geese killed on the 31st. Saw two large flocks of Brent 

 Geese on Jan. Gth ; several shot on Breydon next day. Fork-tailed Petrel 

 fchot on the beach Jan. 6th, and a Little Gull (immature) on the 7th. Two 



