OBSERVED IN HERTFORDSHIRE IN 1885 . 
63 
Gannet (Sula lassaiia). —A young gannet, with down still on its 
head, was picked up alive near Brocket Hall, on September 29th, 
and has been mounted by Mr. Luff, of St. Albans. Last year I 
recorded the taking of a disabled gannet at Cromb Hyde, near 
Sandridge. The repetition of an occurrence generally so unusual 
in Hertfordshire is worthy of remark. 
Bittern ( Botaurus stellaris). —Mrs. Hodgson, of Abbot’s Langley, 
informs me that two bitterns were shot near the Tring Reservoirs 
in 1884. Mr. W. Hill, jun., of Hitchin, reports the killing of one 
of the same species in February, 1885, at Orton Head. 
Partridge ( Perdix cinerea). —Partridges have been very abundant 
during the season, probably more so than for many years past. Mr. 
A. J. Copeland informs me that a partridge’s nest was found, on 
the 17th of June, on the top of a straw rick 12 to 15 feet from the 
ground. I have before recorded a similar fact, but the occurrence 
is a rare one. 
Moorhen {Gallinula chloropus). — Mr. Frederick Seebohm, of 
Hitchin, writes to me that a pair of moorhens hatched a brood of 
eight on a pond in his garden. Curiously enough they built three 
nests, and the male-bird might frequently be seen fathering a 
portion of the brood on one nest, while the female mothered the 
remainder on another. What requirement the third nest was in¬ 
tended to supply it appears difficult to suggest. 
Coot ( Fulica atra). —Mr. Henry Lewis reports having seen several 
coots, with their young, on water, at Nortonbury. 
Albino Sports. —I have again several reports of albino sports. 
On the 18th of September a white sparrow was observed by Mr. 
H. Lewis, among a flock of others, on No-man’s-land, near St. Albans. 
Mr. N. Thrale kindly sent me the skin of a sparrow, which he 
states to have been one among several others, with white on wings, 
tail, and head. He suggests that these may have been the young 
of a pair that nested near his house last year, one of which he dis¬ 
tinctly remembers as possessing similar markings. Sports are not 
generally hereditary, but the incident is a very interesting one. 
Mr. Thrale also reports a robin with a white head; a chaffinch, 
which he has in his possession, also with a white head; and a 
blackbird, which he has observed for three consecutive years, with 
white head and neck. 
General Remarks. —I may report that golden plovers have been 
numerous in the Hertford and Royston districts. They but rarely 
visit the western side of our county. Flocks of dotterel have again 
visited the Royston downs, and the stone-curlew, or Norfolk plover, 
appears to be a regular summer migrant to the same locality; it 
has frequently been known to nest, and has now been reported for 
several successive years. Redwings and fieldfares are probably the 
most generally distributed of all our winter visitants. Redwings 
are the first to arrive, reaching Hertfordshire during the month of 
October. They are followed by fieldfares, after the interval of 
a fortnight or three weeks. The former frequent shrubberies and 
well-wooded districts; the latter prefer open fields, and may very 
