i88 The Irish Natit7alis.t. September, 



Saturday, September 12th. — This day was fairly fine, but 

 cold. In the forenoon I watched a party of seven Stonechats, 

 parents and five yoting, feeding on the road near the hottse ; 

 they were accompanied by Sparrows, Linnets, and Meadow- 

 Pipits. At 2.30 p.m. my wife and I started for a walk to 

 Barnaoeara Bay. On our way we noticed enormotis numbers 

 of Rooks and Daws, some picking on the strand, others 

 perched on the rocks. The tide, which had been ftiU at abotit 

 II a.m., had ebbed considerabl,v, and great qtiantities of sea- 

 weed were cast up on the beach. Searching amid the weed 

 my wife poked otit with the pole of a tent a fine specimen of a 

 Guillemot. Having picked the weed off^ it seemed to me that 

 the bird was larger than the average ; I was also struck by its 

 dark, almost black, gloss}' back, mticli more like that of a 

 Razorbill than of a Guillemot. On opening the wings I 

 further noticed with interest the profuse handsome chequering 

 of the axillaries and tinder wing-coverts. These feathers 

 were beatitifull}' marbled with black and white. The very 

 dark and glossy back answered to the description given of 

 Brunnich's Guillemot, but the beak, though stouter than that 

 of the average Common species, hardl}' corresponded to that of 

 the rare western form. However, to remove all possibility of 

 doubt I decided to compare it with the skin of a Brunnich's 

 Guillemot in the Dttblin Musetim. 



Sunday, September 13th. — At 10 a.m. Mr. Wilkins and I 

 started on a tandem bicycle for Barnageara to look for a 

 Curlew-Sandpiper which my companion believed he heard the 

 previous evening. On ottr way we noticed Razorbills and 

 Gulls in conflict. When the former came to the surface amid 

 a flock of Gulls they were immediately set upon, and were 

 obliged to dive ; however the Gulls were not to have it 

 altogether their own way, for frequently they received severe 

 bites in their feet inflicted by the stout beaks of the divers. 

 Regarding this interesting habit, Mr. Wilkins writes me : — 

 '^ One Stinday in the summer of 1908, when otit boating, we 

 saw a flock of Gulls and great nttmbers of Razorbills and 

 Gtiillemots all swarming after the herring-fry just off Barna- 

 geara. As we drew near we noticed Black-headed Gtills con- 

 stantly springing out of the water, with the same suddenness 

 as one would spring off a nettle barefooted. We learned that 



