388 MR. CLARKE ON NATURAL HISTORY OF THETFORD DISTRICT. 
must, I think, be considered good for an inland district.* For 
a week in the early part of May, 1899, a Nutcracker ( Nucifraga 
caryocatactes ) was observed by Mr. T. Baring of Hockham, 
in a plantation of firs near Thetford, On September 9th, 
1902, a Roller ( Coracias garrulus) was seen at Rushford, and 
on October 29th, 1898, after severe gales, a young Gannet 
(Sula bassana) was shot between Barnham Common and 
London Road, Thetford. While shooting by the river Thet 
at Brettenham on August 12th, 1899, Mr. Fergusson secured 
a Little Bittern ( Ardetta minuta ). In the spring of 1903, two 
Ruddy Sheld-duck ( Tadomci casarca) were seen several times 
on the river at Euston, and on April 13th, 1906, I saw two at 
Langmere by one of the round ponds south of the bluff. When 
they rose they came towards me uttering harsh cries, subse- 
quently settling down by the long pool, where I watched them 
through field glasses for some time. On February 17th, 1906, 
a female in good plumage was shot near Thetford (probably at 
Wretham). There is a possibility, the Rev. R. B. Caton thinks, 
that these birds may have wandered from Elveden, where 
some are preserved. Red Grouse ( Lagopus scoticus) were 
turned out at Elveden by Lord Iveagh about 1902, and as 
they have since bred with comparative success, are perhaps 
entitled to be added to our local list. Two Curlew-Sandpipers 
( Tringa subarquata) were shot at Thetford in the autumn of 
1904 and preserved. In September, 1903, Mr. W. A. Dutt 
and I identified a Sooty Tern ( Sterna fuliginosa ) which was 
found lying dead on Santon Downham Heath at the end of 
March or beginning of April, 1900. This was a new species 
for Norfolk and Suffolk and the sixth English specimen 
recorded ( vide vol. vii. p. 753). About February 12th, 1899, 
a Great Black-backed Gull ( Lams marinus) was shot on 
Brandon Heath by Mr. F. W. Parrott. 
In addition to species not previously recorded for the district, 
notes relating to birds in my previous list may perhaps be of 
some interest. Several variations in the plumage of common 
* On February 10th, 1907, the Rev. R. B. Caton found a Little Owl 
( Athene nochta) hanging by a cord from an alder tree at Great Fakenham. 
This species has not previously been recorded for the district, and makes the 
total 193. — W.G.C. 
