Note 25 — NOTES[H] ON CERTAIN BIRDS FOUND IN NORFOLK.

There is every reason to believe that a species of Pelican, probably from its size P. crispus, was formerly an inhabitant of the East Anglian Fens; its bones have been found in the peat on three occasions, one of these being the bone of a bird so young as to show that it must have been bred in the locality, and therefore that the species was a true native and not a casual visitant. Bones of a species of Pelican have also been found in the remains of lake-dwellings at Glastonbury, in Somersetshire.

With regard to the species of the bird recorded by Browne and its origin, he is careful to point out that a Pelican had about that time escaped from the King's collection in St. James' Park, and to surmise that it might be the same bird; from what follows this seems probable, but as P. onocrotalus is believed to stray occasionally into the northern parts of Germany and France ("Dict. of Birds," p. 702) the occurrence of that species on the East Coast of Britain, where, even at present, it would find a state of things in every way suited to its requirements (guns excepted), would not be very extraordinary. Browne's Pelican was killed in May, 1663, and although Dr. Edward Browne visited St. James' Park in February, 1664, and saw "many strange creatures," including the Stork with the wooden leg (mentioned by Evelyn), he says nothing of the Pelicans, still it may be that it was from him that his father heard of the escape. Evelyn, in his Diary, mentioned that he visited St. James' Park on February 9th, 1665, and speaks of only one Pelican, which he states was brought from Astrakan by the Russian Ambassador as a present to the King; Willughby says distinctly that the Emperor of Russia sent the King two Pelicans, and further, that he took the description in his "Ornithology" from a bird in the Royal Aviary, St. James' Park, near Westminster; it seems therefore highly probable that Browne's bird was one of these which had escaped from confinement. But a rather curious circumstance arises out of this, the bird described by Willughby does not appear to be P. onocrotalus, but a similar species, P. roseus, found chiefly in Indio-China and westward to South-eastern Europe, but occurring as far west as the River Volga ("Cat. of Birds," B. M., xxvi., p. 466). In this Mr. Ogilvie Grant, the author of that section of the Catalogue, whom I consulted, agrees with me, and the locality whence the birds were derived, mentioned by Willughby, renders not unlikely. Onocrotalus in Browne's time was a general term for "the Pelican," and he probably knew but one species and one individual, the escaped bird from Charles II.'s Aviary. Browne's very miscellaneous collection was destroyed by the authorities at the time of the plague (see ninth letter to Merrett), and probably the remains of this Pelican perished with the rest.