Spoonbills near Great Yarmouth.— On May 10th I saw six Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) on Breydon. They were standing in line by the edge of a "drain" on one of the "flats." They were evidently "taking a nap," but on the near approach of my boat they all assumed a very picturesque attitude, as if listening and watching my progress, Each one's head was thrown at half a right angle, the neck craned into an S-shaped posture, one leg being drawn up out of the water,—whether the left or right I could not distinguish, as the evening was closing in. Presently they took to flight in a long line, and in single file, with bills out forward and legs nearly straight behind. They looked very much like Swans as they sailed silently away towards another "flat." They made no sound whatever, nor are they capable, I think, of doing so. I have seen several of these birds, and kept a tame one many months, but never heard them utter the slightest cry. The six Spoonbills kept about the neighbourhood several days. They are very sociable birds, and an odd one is sure to associate with Gulls, as do any small flocks that visit us; while they appear to trust greatly to the vigilance of the Gulls (mostly the "grey" or immature of the Greater Black-backed species, which are virtually resident on Breydon all spring and summer) for intimation of any intrusion. The Gulls noisily take to flight, the Spoonbills taking the hint after a preliminary look round, and making off to a distance on their own account.—A. Patterson (Great Yarmouth).
Black-breasted Partridges.—The Partridges with black horseshoes on their breasts, seen in a local game-dealer's shop by Mr. R.H. Ramsbotham (ante, p. 224), were doubtless examples of the Bearded Partridge (Perdix daurica), which has now been offered for sale (sometimes as the Manchurian Partridge) in the London markets for several years. The range of this bird is described in Mr. Ogilvie-Grant's 'Handbook to the Game Birds' (vol. i. p. 150), as "North-eastern and Central Asia, extending north to Dauria; east to Amoorland, Manchuria, and the mountains near Pekin; west to Dzungaria and the Tian-shan Mountains: and south to the sources of the Yangtze-kiang." Further particulars about this bird may be gathered from a correspondence in the 'Field' newspaper for March and April, 1898. The Russian Partridges sold in the shops after the close season have the horseshoe usually of a darker brown than it is in English birds, and the plumage of the upper parts is perhaps of a colder, greyer tint. But the unfortunate liberty to sell "Russian" Partridges in spring, at present enjoyed by game-dealers, undoubtedly would enable an unscrupulous person to sell English birds under that name long after the close season begins.—O.V. Aplin (Bloxham, Oxon).
[Quite recently in these pages (1898, p. 215), Mr. Dresser, under the heading "Rare Partridges in Leadenhall Market," also gave a full account of Perdix daurica and its range. —Ed.]
