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LOCAL JOTTINGS.— No. 2. 

 MONTGOMERY— NOETH WALES. 



By JOHN MATTHEW JONES, ESQ., M. Z. S., OF THB MIDDLE Tl^iMPLE. 



( Continued from Vol. II., page 211. > 



Weasel, (Mustek vulgaris.) — I shot a very singularly-marked specimen the 

 other day in the Butcher's Nursery. It was all white, excepting a large 

 blotch of its natural colour on the head, and a few spots on the back; 

 the tip of the tail is black. 



Snipe, (Scolopax gallinago.) — I have been out the last day or two in Stalloe 

 meadows on the look out for Ducks and Snipes. The Snipe is at present very 

 numerous for this part of the country, for I counted on the fourth of this month 

 about twenty in my ramble. These meadows are covered here and there with 

 large tussocks of coarse grass, and when the least rain comes on, are flooded 

 in most parts. It is here the Snipes love to feed and shelter themselves, and 

 the muddy parts are covered with their droppings; but it is only in wet 

 weather that they are to be found in these low meadows, for when the frost 

 comes on they take to the hills, and are found generally in pairs. We have 

 a great many springs hereabouts, and wherever one of these occurs, a soft 

 pulpy patch of green grass surrounds it, which never freezes, and it is in such 

 places the Snipes locate themselves during frosty weather. I have visited the 

 haunts of this bird in England, Scotland, and Ireland. In England I have 

 shot it on Parr Moss, a large bog situate between Liverpool and Manchester; 

 in Scotland, in Western Argyieshire; and at Clew Bay, County Mayo, in 

 Ireland. 



Wild Duck, (Anas boschas.) — There is a stream called "The Kemlet," about 

 four yards wide, and very deep, which runs through the before-mentioned mea- 

 dows, and when a frost takes place, divers pairs of Ducks come from Symore Park 

 to feed, and by creeping stealthily along you may now and then flush a couple 

 of these birds in some quiet bend of the stream, coming upon them suddenly, 

 presenting a glorious shot. These Ducks in the autumn, as soon as the corn 

 gets ripe, do considerable damage to the crops of wheat by alighting in it, 

 and pulling down the stalks to get at the ear. I have heard, the farmers 

 complain sadly; and indeed I think they have good reason, for it is no joke 

 to have fifty or sixty of these birds in the middle of a choice field of wheat, 

 pulling it down and eating the corn on all sides. They generally arrive in 

 the fields at dusk, and continue there till daybreak, when they fly back to 

 their decoys. 



Partndge, (Perdix cinerea.) — Strange to say, we have, although a bad breeding 

 time, had a very fine show of birds this last season ; and when our English friends 

 have been complaining loudly, we have made as good a bag as usual. I can 

 only account for this in one way. — In Wales here our fields nearly always slope 

 very much, and although a season may be unusually wet, the water immediately 



