Page:The Natural History of Ireland vol1.djvu/54

 In but one instance, has the osprey in a wild state come under my observation in Ireland. This was on the 13th of July, 1834, at the Lower Lake of Killarney, when a single bird appeared for short time in view, displayed its mode of fishing, and struck at some prey on the surface of the water. The species was familiar to me, as I had previously become acquainted with its appearance and manner of fishing at the lakes of Lucerne and Maggiore. A fine specimen, purchased in 1833 in Dublin, — and now in the Belfast Museum, — was said to have been killed in the Queen's County a few years before that time. One is recorded as having been seen in August, 1835, at Oughterard, county of Galway,* in which district others have been shot. One was obtained at Garristown, county of Kildare, on the 23d of October, 1837, where it had been seen for about three weeks before being killed.t Two were procured on the 19th of October, 1839, at a pond near the Kingstown and Dublin Railway : one of them which came into Mr. R. Ball's possession weighed 2| lbs., and was 22 inches in length. The periods of occurrence of five only of the preceding birds were noted: one appeared in the month of July, one in August, and three in October.

My friend Mr. Richard Langtry, on his return to Belfast in November, 1839, from three months' shooting at Aberarder, in Inverness-shire, mentioned his having seen an osprey at Loch Ruthven in the month of August, and watched it for some- time. This bird had no sooner captured a fish than it was follow- ed by a gray crow, which harassed it for about a quarter of an hour, when both pursuer and pursued disappeared from Ins view together. The crow once struck the osprey, which however kept firm hold of its prey, though unable to commence its repast. This being the only osprey which my friend had seen in Scotland, though some months there every year in the shooting season, he remarked, how much more common it is about some of the small lakes and rivers in Canada, where one would appear in view about every half hour during the day. At Mud Lake they were parti-

in this island, has to my knowledge been yet recorded, although we might expect it to do so.

Mag. Nat. Hist. ix. 128.

f Mr. T.W. Warren.