DTTBUN NATFEAL HISTOBT SOCIETY. O 



thanks to its fearlessness, and thus verify my observation. The mere 

 fact of this bird's imitating the songs of its more favoured brothers of the 

 grove is a remarkable point in its history, as well as the singularity of 

 the season chosen for the display of this faculty — to wit, a time when 

 all other birds have ceased their song. This songster may well deserve 

 the name of English mocking-bird, and it appears strange that so in- 

 teresting a habit should have escaped the observation of our English 

 ornithologists, or else have been deemed too unimportant for notice. 



After some discussion, De. Charles Faekan read a paper — 



ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE MARBLED SWIMMING-CRAB (PORTUNTJS* MARMO- 

 REUS), AT BIRTERBIE BAY, CONNEMARA. 



In bringing this beautiful species, the marbled swimming-crab (iV- 

 tunu8 marmoreus), under the consideration of the Society, I was nearly 

 placing myself in a very unenviable position — ^namely, that of appro- 

 priating to myself the credit of adding the species to the Faima of Ireland 

 — this position resembling in every respect that of the jackdaw (as we 

 are told in ancient writing), who found himself, when the rightful 

 owners of the plumage with which he decked himself claimed their re- 

 spective properties, left naked and despised. 



Most fortunately, a reference to the printed reports of the Proceedings 

 of the Society for the years 1844 and 1845 saved me from this galling 

 infliction, which would have been doubly painful to me, since it fell to 

 my lot to read a paper by the late Mr. William M'Calla, before the 

 Society, in January, 1 845. By reading that portion of the report which 

 refers to Mr. M'Calla's discoveries, the Society will be put in possession 

 of the fact that his was the undoubted credit of being the first to place 

 Portunus marmoreus on the list of Irish Crustacea. 



The following is the extract : — " In the month of January, 1845, Dr. 

 Farran read a paper — Observations on the Productions of Roundstone 

 and Birterbie Bays, Connemai-a, chiefly the Crustacea, Sponges, and Zoo- 

 phytes, by Mr. W. M'Calla, being a continuation of Dr. Farran's paper 

 on the rare shells of that district. In that paper a well-arranged list 

 was given of Irish Brachyura, detailing twenty-seven species, and one 

 undetermined species and genus [^Thia polita']. By this list Mr. M'Calla 

 has added a species to the Fauna of Ireland — Portunus marmoreus — and 

 anothei^ not referable to any hitherto known genus of British Crustacea. 

 The additions to those already recorded make the Irish Brachyura to 

 amount to thirty-three species. Among the other sections of the Crus- 

 tacea he alluded to the occurrence of Nisoea bidentata, particularly in 

 the button-like front of Himanthalia lorea, and also to that of the very 

 interesting species, Nehalia herbstiif found under stones and lumps of turf 

 at the head of the bays." I have given the extract in full, so far as re- 

 lates to the two bays, as it gives some slight insight into Mr. M*Calla*s labo- 

 rious investigations, which he conducted with great skill and tact. I 

 now return to the discovery of Portunus marmoreus, the merit of which 

 discover}' has not been duly estimated. There is no difficulty in deter- 



