374 
MR. J. H. GURNEY ON THE LAPLAND BUNTING. 
common in Lapland and “extremely abundant" in Siberia, we may 
expect that their invasion will be repeated : in that case let us 
hope they will not be so persecuted. 
The sexes appeared to be evenly distributed, males preponderating 
a little. The female is decidedly a smaller bird than the male, as 
is the case with the Snow Bunting. With regard to the plumage, 
Dr. Power says that only one of the Cley birds had any attempt 
at dark cheeks and breast; but in this respect five or six Yarmouth 
males were nicely marked, particularly one of Mr. Connop’s 
obtained on November the 11th and one got on October the 30th. 
But a good many were like Dresser’s second plate, ‘ Birds of 
Europe’ (vol. iv. pi. 225), or the plate in the ‘ Linmean Society’s 
Transactions’ (vol. xv. p. 156), which represents winter plumage. 
Mr. Otty’s four now exhibited are in this dress. 
In Saunders’ ‘ Manual of British Birds ’ forty Lapland Buntings 
are set down for the whole of England. Six or seven of them, he 
says, were obtained near London, which one would not have 
expected. But forty is a number now trebled ; we will see what 
there is to account for this vastly increased migration, not spread 
over several years, but condensed into three months. 
The visitors were first noticed in Norfolk by that acute observer, 
Dr. G. E. Power, at Cley. On October 13th he saw a Snow 
Bunting and shot a Lapland Bunting, a single bird flying with 
Linnets by the watch-house. It rose from a little bush at the 
commencement of the “ marrams ” ; but afterwards, when the 
Lapland Buntings became commoner, they also became shyer, and 
took to the stubble-fields. The largest number seen by Dr. Power 
in one flock was eighteen, and probably they all came together, as 
they could not have been long over. The wind was north-east on 
October the 12th, with half a gale, and Dr. Power saw flocks of 
Skylarks coming over the sea. On the 13th it was north-east, and 
on the 14th he notes a gale from the south-east with rain, “Gold- 
crests along the sea-wall.’’ On the 15th (I quote from his journal) 
“wind light, N.W., but hard from the N.E. at night.” “Starlings 
in thousands,” “ Robins in hundreds,” and one very immature 
Bluethroat. Prom the 1 2th to the 29th Dr. Power’s memoranda 
record a succession of high winds from north-west, south-west, and 
north-east, with much rain. 
To the north-east winds we probably owe the Lapland Buntings, 
