NOTES AND QUERIES. 115 
what demoralised by the stress of weather, and numbers skirted the 
north coast of Norfolk. Two Pink-footed Geese were shot at Palling, 
and brought to market. I saw one with which an attempt had been 
made to keep it alive, the wing having been cut. It fretted and 
died, and cnly weighed five pounds. Some Brent Geese were also on 
sale; for a number of years past this species has been rare off this 
coast. Three or four Little Auks were secured, and two or three 
Little Gulls. I saw a flock of Larks come straight in from sea on 
the 18th. A keeper living near Hickling reported thousands of 
Mallard and Wigeon on the Broad, and about five hundred Pochards, 
Tufted Ducks, and Scaups. He observed one morning fifty Sheld- 
Ducks, eleven Goosanders, two immature Black-throated Divers, one 
immature Red-throated Diver, two Smews (one a very old male), 
and several adult Golden-eyes, besides many. Curlews, Dunlins, 
Ringed Ployers, and Sanderlings. Snipes were abundant, Jack- Snipe 
unusually so. On the 17th five Long-tailed Ducks were seen by 
another competent observer. On the 27th I saw two Smews in the 
market, one of them an exceedingly beautiful adult female; it is 
rather remarkable that adult males are always scarce here. Two or 
three Bitterns appear to have been seen; one found hiding in a 
stranded fish-basket was turned out by a gunner and promptly shot. 
It may be interesting to add that an observer, whose rambles favour 
West Norfolk, writing to a local paper, remarks that the Gadwall has 
not only become “ settled’”’ on the West Norfolk meres, but is de- 
cidedly increasing. He states that in 1850 a pinioned pair were 
turned out at Narford ; that ‘these increased, spread to other pools 
in the vicinity, and have probably been strengthened by immigrants 
from the Continent. Some years ago it was computed that the 
number which frequented one private water alone was from 1400 to 
| 1500 birds, and that upwards of 1000 pairs then bred in that part of 
the county. . . . Ihave seen flocks of over a hundred on six different 
sheets of water. On one occasion I saw a Gadwall on Fowlmere 
followed by twenty-two ducklings, evidently two broods.” Such an 
1 easily bred fowl, and one quite on a par with the Mallard for edible 
purposes, should certainly be encouraged to extend its range.—A. H. 
| Parrerson (Ibis House, Great Yarmouth). 
AMPHIBIA. 
Bothriceps huxleyi in South Africa. — The. Karoo-beds (Permo- 
_triassic) of South Africa are remarkable for the number of important 
fossil vertebrates they contain. These include many types of reptiles, 

