122 The h'ish Naitiralist. June, 



and, by their light grey backs, deep velvety black gorgets 

 edged with white, and large patches of white on cheeks and 

 foreheads, I saw at once that they were two pairs of White 

 Wagtails in full nuptial plumage. I watched them more 

 closeh^ with a binocular, until they flew off north across 

 Malahide estuary. I thought at the time that they might 

 have been the same birds my friend noticed at Ringsend, 

 and w^ere travelling along the coast to northern Europe. 



Although keeping a good look out each spring-time, it w^as 

 not until the morning of Sunday, April 26th, 1908, a bright day 

 with a cool south-east wind, that I was rewarded with a sight 

 of a solitary White Wagtail on the pebbly shore behind the 

 Coastguard Station at Dollymount. It allowed me to approach 

 quietly to within a few yards, and I was able to see that it was 

 an adult female^ as it lacked the brilliancy of a male's shining 

 black and w^hite colouring. It displayed none of the restless 

 activity of the Pied Wagtail, but was very quiet and sedate in 

 its movements, kept watching the people passing, and occasion- 

 ally uttered a low call-note. On my approaching too closely 

 it took wing and flew over the buildings to another part of the 

 shore, where it allowed me again to get very close to it, and it 

 seemed to be reluctant to fl}^ off like common Wagtails when 

 disturbed. This time I was determined, if possible, to have 

 the bird authenticated, and in the afternoon my brother, 

 W. J. Williams, who was quite familiar with the species from 

 seeing it frequentlj^ about the houses in Norway, accompanied 

 me to Dollymount. The bird was still in the vicinity of the 

 Coastguard Station, and he instantly recognised it as a White 

 Wagtail. It later on took flight, and we watched it disappear 

 north, over the houses and trees of the Dollymount shore. 

 It is interesting to note that the date, April 26th, tallies with 

 the appearance of the birds on the west coast of Ireland, as 

 Mr. Warren informs me that they usuall}- arrive during the 

 last week in April and the first week in May, but that the time 

 depends on the weather conditions. With us the previous 

 week was intensely cold, and, on Friday night, April 24th, 

 there was a great snowstorm all over the country, but, on 

 Saturday, the snow had almost disappeared on the sea-coast, 

 and a rai-)id rise in temperature took place. 



Dublin. 



