A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 26. Black Rat. Mus rattus, Linn. I have seen a drawing of a typical M. rattus made by W. Arderon, F.R.S., from a Nor- wich killed specimen in 1749. He speaks of the species as 'very mischievous' and evidently regarded it as a rarity. Messrs. Paget speak of it in 1834, as still remaining at Yarmouth, ' though its numbers are gradually decreasing,' and Mr. Lubbock, in 1845, merely observes ' that it is still occasionally found in the City of Norwich.' The only Norfolk killed ex- ample I ever met with, until those I shall shortly have to mention, was at Lynn, where I saw a single specimen about the year 1850. From this evidence I was inclined to think the species had long been very rare in this county, and in 187 1 I was constrained to speak of it as probably extinct as a native. In 1896, Mr. Patterson discovered this species in considerable numbers in certain localities in Yarmouth, where it seems to have estab- lished itself, and from that time to the present, he has had no difficulty in obtaining all he required. I have several times obtained Mus alexandrinus in Norwich, and Mr. Patterson has sent me specimens from Yarmouth. Pro- bably both these forms are importations from southern ports in grain ships. 27. House Mouse. Mus muscu/us, Linn. Common. 28. Wood Mouse or Long-tailed^ Field Mouse. Mus sylvaticus, Linn. Common. 29. Harvest Mouse. Mus minutus, Pallas. Common. 30. Water Vole. Microtus amphlhius, Linn. Bell — Arvicola amphibius. Common. The black variety is often met with in Norfolk, and an albino has been killed. 31. Field Vole. Microtus agrestis, Linn. Bell — j^rvkola agrestis. Common. Mr. Lubbock speaks of this species as ' the mouse of the marshes, the staflF of life, as it were, of the weasel and the kestrel hawk.' (In the Fauna of Norfolk, edit. 2, p. 10, I have inadvertently quoted this remark as applied to M. sylvaticus.) 32. Bank Vole. Evotomys glareolus, Schreber. Bell — Arvicola glareolus. Not uncommon, probably frequently passed unnoticed. 33. Common Hare. Lepus europaus, Pallas. Bell — Lepus timidus. Varieties with ' fur like chinchilla,' parti- coloured, and perfectly black, have been recorded. 34. Rabbit. Lepus cuniculus, Linn. Common. A black or silver-grey race of rabbits has long been established about Thet- ford and Brandon. CETACEA 35. Atlantic Right Whale. Balana biscay- 36. Common Rorqual. Balanoptera musculuSy ^«i/V, Eschricht. {Balana glacialis, Bon- Linn. {Balanoptera physalis.) naterre.) ^ n ■ c ^ or ' ay no means infrequent oii our coast, The only reliable record of the occurrence several have also been stranded or washed of a true Balana on the Norfolk coast is one ashore dead. mentioned by Messrs. Paget in their Nat. Hist, of Yarmouth, under the head of B. mysticetus. Granting this to have been a right whale (which there seems to be no reason to doubt), from the season of the year — 8th July, 1784 — as well as from its small size, it could only have belonged to this species which occurrence on the Norfolk coast. inhabits the temperate seas of the northern hemisphere ; it is known as the Atlantic right S^- Sperm Whale. Physeter macrocephalus, whale, and is now of very rare occurence. 37. Lesser Rorqual. Balanoptera rostrata. Fab. [Balanoptera acuto-rostra, Lac6- pWe.) Much less frequent than the preceding species. I have only four records of its
- The names in brackets are those advocated by
Dr. F. W. True, of the United States National Museum, in his revision of the names of the European Whalebone Whales {Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., xxi. 617-635). 250 Linn. The occurrences of several stranded ex- amples of the sperm whale on the Norfolk coast are recorded by Sir Thomas Browne about the year 1626, the skull of one of which is still to be seen in the court yard at
