140 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



September. 

 2nd. — Four Land-Bails were seen by Mr. P. C. Bird to cross 

 the road at Beeston, and on the 18th one I was shot at Keswick, 

 where it is now a rarity. The only other note made in Septem- 

 ber — usually a prolific month— was the shooting of a Shoveller! 

 on the 23rd at Hempstead, and, later, that an unusual number of 

 that species came to Hoveton. 



October. 



1st. — W., 2. A Little Bustard shot at Barton Bendish (Sir 

 Digby Pigott) is the earliest in point of date yet recorded for 

 Norfolk. Its usual month for visiting us is December. 



2nd. — N.W., 2. Thousands of Starlings passing in from the 

 coast at Brunstead (M. C. Bird) may have been a portion of the 

 " incredible numbers" which are said to have flown over Hun- 

 tingdon at this time (' Field,' October 31st) ; 1914 may almost 

 be called the Starling year for the eastern side of England, and 

 one wonders where they all go to. 



3rd. — A Flight of Gulls. On October 3rd there was a fresh 

 wind (force 4) from the north-west, in which quarter it had been 

 with some variations for several days. Continuous flocks of 

 Gulls t (principally Herring -Gulls, Great Black-backs, and Lesser 

 Black-backs) were passing Sheringham during the afternoon, all, 

 as usual, going against the wind, and following the line of the 

 coast westwards, and no doubt they were passing Cromer at the 

 same time, where their direction would have been N.N.W. 

 Begularly as October comes in is this phenomenon to be seen on 

 the rounded coast of North Norfolk, and especially at Cromer. 

 Flocks of the species named, with a few Black-headed and 

 Common Gulls (but no Kittiwakes)- -averaging fifteen or twenty 

 in a party — slowly wend their way, all in the same direction, 

 hugging the coast and invariably flying more or less against the 

 wind. Sometimes this goes on so long that one wonders where 

 all the Gulls can possibly come from. I imagine they eventually 

 return far out to sea, or at any rate out of sight of land when 

 the opportunity offers of doing so with a wind to their liking. 

 The direction of their flight would then be less often towards 

 Norfolk than towards the shores of Belgium, from whence they 

 could again work their way against the wind to England. How 



