124 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Blakeney. Mr. Pashley stuffed one which exhibited a perfect 

 melanism, with just an indication of straw-colour on the acuminate 

 feathers of the neck— an old bird with a nice tail. As far as I 

 know, not a single Pomatorhine turned up, unless a large dark Skua 

 swimming off Cromer Pier was one; but I could not be certain, 

 It is most unusual for a year to pass without a Pomatorhine Skua, 

 and with only one Glaucous Gull ; but ten well-identified Little 

 Gulls were seen by different correspondents during the autumn (of 

 which five were observed in October), and this is good as against 

 one in 1895, and three in 1894. We ought to have plenty of Little 

 Gulls, because they are so common in Heligoland. As if to 

 make up for the extraordinary abundance of the Little Auk in 

 1894-95, the two winters since have scarcely produced any ; while 

 the Lapland Bunting, so common in 1892, has been scarcely seen, 

 No Eagles are reported, and only two Bough-legged Buzzards, 

 and but one Fulmar as against ten in 1895. 



During the autumn of 1896 the following very rare visitors 

 came in from over the sea : — White-winged Tern, Gull-billed 

 Tern, Sabine's Gull, Greater Shearwater, and Aquatic Warbler, all 

 presumably with a west wind ; Icterine Warbler, Pallas's Warbler, 

 and Bed-breasted Flycatcher, presumably with an east wind ; 

 Barred Warbler, with a south wind ; and Greater Spotted Cuckoo, 

 with a north wind. These instances alone show how very much there 

 is still to be learnt as to wind influence, and there is no better post 

 of observation than our rounded seaboard for diligently noticing 

 its bearing on migration. Migratory birds which come to Norfolk 

 in autumn, flying against a west wind, as was the case with three 

 of those here named, were not so numerous in 1896 as they have 

 sometimes been. Such birds are undoubtedly always more in 

 evidence than those which come across the North Sea, flying with 

 an east wind. The reason is evident, because if the wind is 

 with them — -i. e. east or north-east — they leaving the Naze of 

 Norway, or some more southern place, at one or two o'clock in 

 the morning (or later in the case of the Hooded Crow and Rook), 

 make land at Cromer, Cley, or Yarmouth before any but the 

 earliest fishermen and shore-gunners are abroad. On the other 

 hand, if they come across the North Sea against a west wind, and, 

 unless it be very light indeed, there is a certain amount of labour 

 attending the passage, which accounts for their being seen long 



