Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 1 (1877).djvu/312

286 in May, and frequently in August, when many still retain some of their summer plumage.

Oystercatcher, Hæmatopus ostralegus.—Common, and may be seen sometimes in flocks of a hundred birds. I have not yet discovered any breeding haunt in the district.

Heron, Ardea cinerea.—There are several heronries in the district, so that the species is not uncommon.

Curlew, Numenius arquata.—Frequents the bay and estuary in immense numbers, and even in summer a good many may be seen about the shores, although, so far as I am aware, none breed within the district.

Whimbrel, Numenius phæopus.—A spring and autumn migrant, appearing in May, and again in August, but in autumn it is not seen in such numbers as in spring.

Redshank, Totanus calidris.—A very common species, and early in July a few, on their return from the breeding grounds, may be seen assembling on the shores of the little islands near Roserk Abbey (probably birds bred in the district). About the end of the month hundreds of both young and old assemble at the same place, and some of the young have the feathers of the wings not quite pointed, showing that their nesting-place could not be far away, since no birds with the wings not fully grown could take a long flight. Their early gathering also seems to indicate the nearness of their breeding haunts. These large flocks remain about Roserk for about a month or six weeks, after which they separate into smaller flocks, and by the end of October their numbers have diminished down to the usual winter stock of Redshanks frequenting the shores.

Spotted Redshank, Totanus fuscus.—I first met with this rare bird in the great frost of January, 1867: it was feeding in a little muddy bay between Moyview and Killanley, and, as I was returning from snipe shooting, I wished to discharge my gun, as a preparation for washing, and seeing a Redshank feeding a long way off I took a chance shot at it, and fortunately knocked it over. My dog fetched it, but as it was nearly dark at the time I only remarked that its bill and legs were very long and slender, and thinking it merely a variety of the Redshank I put it into my bag, unconscious of having secured such a prize—the second example of the species known to have been obtained in Ireland. My next meeting with the Spotted Redshank was in January, 1869, when one day my