121 
cnicebled by cold, or otherwise too crippled to leave their accus- 
tomed haunts, fell victims to the Hooded Crows. The Snipe also 
sought inland springs, or, if not leaving us altogether, tarried 
awhile on the coast ; and so also the Woodcocks, which, if sparsely 
sprinkled about inland, were in some localities plentiful enough by 
the sea. Ihe few decoys still worked, and especially those on 
button Iji'oad, near Yarmouth, fared well throughout the season, 
and neither the severe Aveather before Christmas, nor even the 
noisy onslaught of marsh-gunners thinning their ranks nightlj’’, 
Avhen the decoy “rose,” seemed to drive the Ducks from their quiet 
retreat by day; thouglx the open Avatcr in the “pipes,” and the 
cunning of the decoy-man and his confederates— the trained Dog, 
and decoy Ducks — lured many to destruction. 
I am indebted to my friend lAfr. Dcllin, of Yarmouth, for the 
following return of wildfowl received by one, oidy, of the 
game dealers in that town, between the Uth and 28th of 
J.)ocember, which, in variety and numbers, takes one back almost 
to^ old times, when, as recorded by blessrs. Paget in their 
‘Sketch of the biatural History of Yarmouth,’ Isaac Harvey, 
who then received the bulk of the birds killed in that neighbour- 
hood, had brought to him on one market day, in the Avinter of 
1829, “ no less than four hundred wildfowl of different descriptions, 
live hundred Snipe, and a hundred-and-fifty Golden Plover.” 
Wildfowl, Waders, etc., received from Dec. llrir 
TO Dec. 21st, 1878. 
Full Snipe 
447 
Herons 
4 
Jack Snipe 
21 
Kingfishers 
3 
Green and Golden Plover 
206 
Teal "■ 
35 
Grey Plover 
O 
Golden-eyes and other foAvl 
147 
Woodcocks 
14 
Duck and IMallard (220 
Waterhens 
41 
from Decoy) 
421 
Rails' 
2 
Great Plover 
1 
Water-Rails 
17 
Eared Grebe 
1 
Coots 
43 
Rough-legged Buzzards 
2 
Stints ' 
133 
Smews (male and female) 
2 
Owls 
13 
Sundries 
29 
llaAvks (various) 
4 
Grebes 
9 
1600 
Curlews 
2 
