ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT FOR NORFOLK. 165 



matured conclusions of Mr. Eagle Clarke (' Studies in Bird 

 Migration,' i. p. 25; ii. p. 29). There is a well-authenticated 

 story, vouched for by the late Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier (cf. 'The 

 Field,' July 9th, 1898), of a Homer Pigeon, released in the Shet- 

 land Isles, which, with a good wind at its back the whole way to 

 England, did five hundred and ninety-one miles in sixteen hours, 

 and this, though considered to be one of the fastest flights on 

 record, only works out at thirty-seven miles an hour. It is, 

 therefore, evident that a hundred miles an hour must be a very 

 unusual speed for a bird of whatever species. The fastest flight 

 on record of a monoplane up to the present has been only ninety- 

 seven miles, and of an express train much less. Supposing that 

 the birds seen by Mr. Riviere kept up a speed of twenty-five 

 miles an hour, they would have taken five and a half hours to 

 travel from Holland, or thirteen hours to travel from Denmark, 

 or thirty-four hours from Rossitten, in the Baltic, where, as will 

 be mentioned presently, Professor Thienemann reports " a great 

 migration " on Nov. 5th. 



Principal Rarities. — The principal Norfolk rarities for 1912 

 were : A Little Bustard and a Great Skua in January ; a White 

 Stork in April ; a Scops Owl in June ; a Squaeco Heron and a 

 Great Reed-Warbler in July ; a small flock of Barred Warblers 

 in September ; an Aquatic Warbler, a Nutcracker, two Ruddy 

 Sheld-Ducks, and a Porphyrio (but these latter had probably 

 escaped) in October ; a Glossy Ibis in November, and another in 

 December. 



I have copied all the notes in Mr. Jary's " Diary " about 

 the Spoonbill, as that is a bird of special local interest, but have 

 not thought it necessary to do the same with observations about 

 Terns and other water-birds seen on Breydon Broad, as they can 

 be obtained in extenso from Mr. H. P. Frederick, the Honorary 

 Secretary of the Breydon Wild Birds Protection Society, whose 

 balance-sheet, I am sorry to see, again shows a deficit. This 

 useful Society, started by the late Sir Edward and Professor 

 Newton, would collapse but for outside aid, in which case the 

 Spoonbills would soon disappear. 



The Weather. — The year's rainfall was unprecedented, owing 

 to the great cloud-burst on Aug. 26th, which brought down from 

 seven to eight inches of rain, and did enormous damage. For 



