DUBLIN NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 1 65 



the bird, as the man had to return to his home westward in the Reeks, 

 in which part of the country, in a mountain towards Cahirciveen, he had 

 taken the bird from the nest. Its much smaller size, and the peculiar 

 spotted markings which characterize the young state and bird of the first 

 year left no doubt on my mind as to the species. 



The Mergansers have been noticed to remain in Kerry throughout 

 the year ; and the Scaup Duck (Anas marila), with the eggs and the 

 young, has been taken in an inland lake. 



The bird which I now present to the Society, the Horned or Sclavo- 

 nian Grebe (Podiceps cornutus, P. obscurus, in the young state), and 

 which, in Thompson's Birds of Ireland, is quoted — " can be positively 

 announced only as an occasional visitant," was lately obtained at the 

 mouth of one of the streams near Lough Caragh, county of Kerry, where, 

 no doubt, others will be met. 



Through Europe this has the widest range of all the Grebes ; but it has 

 been considered as extremely rare in the British Isles. The markings 

 are very perfect in this specimen; but the dark frill and the bright 

 chestnut- coloured feathers or horns, which characterize the species, are 

 not shown except in the breeding season. It is distinguished by its 

 bright chestnut rufous-coloured neck, and by the rufous- coloured marks 

 passing from the base of the bill to and through the eye to the occiput. 

 This at once distinguishes it from the rare species, the Eared Grebe, P. au- 

 ritus, which has not the rufous-coloured neck ; the markings of the bill 

 are also characteristic, the bill of P. cornutus being black, tipped with 

 yellow, and the lower mandible marked with yellow, the belly silvery, 

 and of a soft, silky texture. 



Mr. J. B. Doyle remarked on the extreme interest of these observa- 

 tions. He thought it evident that, if we had more certain records of 

 this kind, many birds at present marked in our list as rare stragglers 

 would be found to be more frequent visitors, especially in the west. 

 There were many gentlemen resident in that part of Ireland who pos- 

 sessed interesting collections of birds captured in that district. He 

 might mention one. In the collection of Edward Burton Eyre, of Clif- 

 den, the following rare birds, all captured about the Burren, were to be 

 seen: — The Glossy Ibis (Ibis falcinellus), Bohemian "Waxwing (B. gar- 

 rula\ Siskin (Carduelis spinus), Sabine's Snipe (G. Sabini). He had 

 himself had the good fortune to have seen alive the specimen of the 

 Martinique Gallinule to which Mr. Andrews referred, and there could 

 be no doubt as to the circumstances connected with its capture. It was 

 found alive, but exhausted, in Brandon, in a creek, but died not long 

 after its capture. 



The Rev. Professor Haughton brought forward a motion by which 

 a new class of Members, to be called Associates, should be formed (vide 

 end of Transactions). Undergraduates of the University to be especi- 

 ally eligible for this class of Membership. The Associates to have pri- 

 vileges of Members, to be resident in or about Dublin, and to be elected 



