272 On the Physical and Geographical Distribution 



503,* in North America 471, t in Australia 636,t in the 

 world 5000. + 



The neighbourhood of Belfast, including the Bay,§ maybe 

 considered too fully dwelt upon throughout this work ; but 

 what is alluded to in this locality should, unless mentioned 

 as of a local nature, be viewed in the light of an epitome of 

 the general habits or economy of the species. Notes, which 

 may seem too fully given, are interesting in a statistical 

 point of view, as the rapid changes made by man on the 

 material world, affect birds to a great extent. Nowhere is 

 this more required than in connection with the place just 

 named, as railways lately constructed on both sides of the 

 bay, have diminished to a great extent the feeding ground of 

 the Grallatorial and Natatorial birds. Interesting peculiari- 

 ties respecting the locality, and the changes effected, will be 

 found noticed under curlew, and other species. The great 

 increase of shipping of late years, and the steam-vessels in 

 particular, have already had great effect upon them. The 

 swivel-guns, too, tell a deadly tale. The adjacent Strang- 

 ford Lough, owing to its comparative retirement, is becoming 

 annually more and more resorted to by birds which would 

 otherwise remain in Belfast Bay. But on this subject, the 

 following information on species, at particular periods, is 

 given, that we may judge of the changes which have taken 

 place, either as to their decrease or as to their increase. 

 Those which have decreased in number shall be first con- 

 sidered. According to the Topographia Hiberniae of Giraldus 

 de Barri (^Cambrensisj, written towards the end of the twelfth 

 century, the crane was very common in Ireland, about a 



* Prince Caniiio's Comparative Catal., Birds, Europe and North America, 

 1838. 



t Gould's Introduction to Birds of Australia, 1848. 



J Strickland, Report on Ornithology, British Association Reports, 184 -i, 

 p. 218. It has been lately remarked that, although this is about the number 

 accurately known, there may be in the world 6000 species. — (Agassiz and 

 Oould's Principles of Zoology, p. 3, 1848.) 



§ The plate in Hawker's Instructions to Young Sportsmen, &c., entitled 

 *' Approaching Wild-Fowl preparatory to the Flowing Tide," gives a good idea 

 of the gullets, as they are called, of Belfast Bay. 



