102 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Sanderling. — I saw three or four about the stones and sands 

 east of Afon Wen. 



Bar-tailed Godwit. — The great terraced shingle-bank which 

 begins a little to the east of Pwllheli is stopped abruptly by the 

 low rocky headland of Pen-y-chain. East of this again the 

 coast-line is formed of green-topped low earthy cliffs, full of 

 stones and some bands of rock, all wasting. Near the Afon 

 Dwyfawr this merges into sand with marram-grass, and a point 

 of this runs out between the river-mouth and the sea ; the river 

 itself runs out rapidly through firm banks. The sea along this 

 stretch of coast goes out rather a long way, and exposes a pebble 

 strand, strewn in places with big boulders, and interspersed with 

 bands of sands ; the stones are often thickly covered with 

 bladder-wrack well below high tide, and there is a suspicion of 

 .Zostera marina in places. West of the mouth of the Afon Wen, 

 and again about the mouth of the Afon Dwyfawr, there is an 

 extensive waste of pebbles and boulders. All this makes a very 

 favourable haunt for certain kinds of waders and some other 

 birds. Here, on Feb. 2nd (a bright sunny day), as I crept up to 

 the edge of the low cliff and looked over, I saw a very pretty 

 sight. Among the boulders a lot of birds were sitting about. A 

 dozen or so of Wigeon, some Curlews, and Oystercatchers I 

 made out before they took the alarm, but my attention was 

 riveted on quite a score of Godwits ; some were quite grey- 

 looking on the back, others browner. 



Curlew. — Numerous ; good big herds, up to fifty or sixty 

 birds, seen on grass and ploughed fields, and grassy headlands ; 

 and a still bigger one once on the sands, and some about the 

 pebble shore, &c. By the 11th they were getting the sweet 

 tremulous trill of whistles to some extent ; other cries were 

 " kly-yike " and " coor-leee." 



Woodcock. — None seen this month about the mountains at 

 Aberdaron, where in frosty weather at this time of the year one 

 gun has killed five in a day. 



Snipe. — I had no opportunity of beating marshes, where I am 

 told the Snipe- shooting is good sometimes. But I flushed a 

 Snipe on the 11th from dwarf gorse and stunted heather on 

 the top of Llanbedrog headland, the landward end ; a very 

 dry spot. 



