104 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



amount of black diminished in the moult ; these black-chinned 

 Bramblings are not a very uncommon variety, and are the exact 

 reverse of the white-chinned Goldfinch, which is sometimes 

 called a " cheverel," and was described by Madarasz as Carduelis 

 albogularis. The black-chinned Brambling does not seem to 

 have yet received a name in science. 



April. 



4th.— A pair of Garganey Teal seen (A. Nudd). Now un- 

 common anywhere, and practically extinct in West Norfolk. 



8th.— Another pair of Garganey (Bird), evidently going to 

 nest, if they had not already begun on a rush-tuft. 



11th.— A Sheldrake seen on Saham Mere, which is twenty- 

 four miles from the sea (A. W. Partridge). 



12th.— First Buff; three Water-Rails' nests (Bird). 



16th. — Hoopoe at Morston (R. Wood). Two Spoonbills on 

 Breydon (B. Dye). 



18th. — A few Gadwall, and one Tufted Duck only at the 

 meres on Wretham Heath, where, owing to the drought, there is 

 very little water (T. Southwell). 



19th. — First Grasshopper Warblers heard (Bird). 



May. 



3rd. — Mr. Patterson saw an Iceland Gull being mobbed by 

 other Gulls at Breydon " Knowle." Thirteen Whimbrel at 

 Hickling; and immediately afterwards two Garganeys (Bird). 



8th. — Six or seven Spoonbills to be seen on Breydon muds, 

 where they allowed themselves to be viewed by several people ; 

 and again, a few days afterwards, by Mr. Patterson and Mr. Dye, 

 with the Iceland [or Glaucous] Gull mentioned above ; and nine- 

 teen Bar-tailed Godwits. These are the same Spoonbills alluded to 

 by Mr. Farman (Zool. 1899, p. 366), and three of them afterwards 

 moved on to Cley (Pashley) ; while the Gull moved its quarters to 

 Horsey Broad, where it was seen by Mr. Bird. Mr. Patterson has 

 already described the manner in which these Spoonbills walked 

 (Zool. 1899, p. 270) ; and, again, it was his opinion that Spoonbills 

 are incapable of uttering any sound. I was quite of the same 

 opinion until a short time ago, when two Spoonbills in confine- 

 ment, which had been dumb for a long time, suddenly, under the 



