50 The Irish NaUiralist. iFebruary, 



It must, however, be noted that among the twenty-three (not bracketed) 

 species wliich Mr. Ussher enumerates in his Introduction are two which, 

 in the body of the list, are not accorded by him specific dignity. These 

 are the Greenland Redpoll {Linota rostrald) and Holboell's Redpoll (Z 

 Holhcelli), which appear in the list merely as forms oi Linota linaria, the 

 Mealy Redpoll. The occasional if not annual occurrence of the Green- 

 land Redpoll on some of our western islands is of so much interest, not 

 merely in itself but for its general suggestiveness, that it is much to be 

 wished that the question of its status as a permanent form with a distinct 

 distribution could be freed from all ambiguity or doubt. 



Besides the additions there are the subtraheuda, wliich, as compared 

 with the list of 1890, are not inconsiderable, amounting altogether to 

 fourteen. Those who are familiar with Mr. Ussher's well-known work, 

 "The Birds of Ireland," will not need to be told what most of these 

 withdrawals are. In general, the author follows the late ^Ir. Howard 

 Saunders in refusing admission to all American birds not sufficiently 

 aquatic in their habits to render it likely that they could have crossed 

 the Atlantic without aid from vessels. Mr. Usslier has, however, fol- 

 lowed a more severe rule in his present list than he did in the " Birds of 

 Ireland" as regards those species whose place in the British list is 

 beyond challenge, but which have hitherto figured in the Irish only on 

 the strength of occurrences not very conclusively attested. The species 

 which in the present list are relegated to brackets after having in the 

 " Birds of Ireland " enjoyed the honour of full admission, are eight in 

 number, and of these one only — the Noddy Tern — belongs to the category 

 of birds withdrawn from the Britannic-aswellas from the Irish list. The 

 remaining seven are the Marsh Titmouse, Crested Lark, Lesser Spotted 

 Woodpecker, Goshawk, Kite, Little Egret, and Collared Pratincole. In 

 bracketing these seven species, I\Ir. L^ssher does not commit himself to 

 the opinion that they were all erroneously recorded as Irish, but he 

 recognises that the evidence in their favour is less complete than a 

 cautious investigator of data would desire. 



The withdrawal of the eight species above named practicall}' counter- 

 balances the additions made to our list since the publication of the 

 " Birds of Ireland " in 1900. The number of species then included was 

 288. It IS now, according to Mr. Ussher's text, 2S6, or, counting the 

 three recent additions announced by Mr. Barrington, 289. In future it 

 seems probable that all the changes will be in the nature of additions, 

 since-no one will accuse I\Ir. T.'ssher of having, in the present list, ad- 

 mitted, any species on evidence that had not been sufficiently well 

 weighed. 



Two. slight- errors may be noted: there are 28 records of the Rose- 

 coloured Starling in the '' Birds of Ireland,'' not 20 as stated (p. 21); the 

 Antrim specimen of the American Black-billed Cuckoo is not the 

 property of Mr. II. Blake-Knox (p. 25), but is in the possession of Miss 

 Rea of Belfast, the sister of the late Dr. Rea, who shot it., 



C. B^M. 



