12 . The Irish Naturalist. January, 1922. 



Birds of Hillsborough, Co. Down. 



In an interesting paper by Nevin H. Foster {Proc. Belfast Nat. Hist. 

 and Phil. Soc, 1920-1921) a list of the birds of the neighbourhood of the 

 village of Hillsborough, with notes on the habits and distribution of the 

 different species is given. The district referred to is a small circular 

 area eight miles in diameter with Hillsborough as centre, and situated 

 chiefly in Co Down but partly also in Co. Antrim. The list contains 

 109 species (exclusive of those whose status is doubtful;, of which 76 

 have been known to breed in the district, a large number for so small 

 an area. The paper has been mostly compiled from the writer's notes 

 since 1902, and all the available avifaunal records have been consulted 

 and included, so that the list cannot but be regarded as nearly complete. 

 It may be stated that all the specimens of Coal Titmouse obtained in 

 the district are referred in the paper to Pavus ater britannicus,' also that 

 no specimens ol P. a. hiberniciis has been observed although closely 

 looked for, and that no mention is made of the occurrence of an inter- 

 mediate form. The size and weight of eggs taken in the district are 

 recorded. 



What Bats are common ? 



The difficulty of distinguishing different species of bats on the wing 

 is a cause of much uncertainty as to which species are common in Ireland, 

 and which the reverse. I, therefore, think it well to ask the Irish 

 Naturalist to publish the result of a record I have kept of the bats (fifty- 

 five in number) that were brought to me for identification at Ballyhyland 

 since I began paying special attention to these animals. They were as 

 follows : — 



Pipistrelle {Pipistrellns pipistrellus) . . 37 



Long-eared Bat [Plecotus auritus) . . . . 10 



Hairy-armed or Leisler's Bat [Nyctalus Leisleri) 6 



Whiskered Bat [Myotis mystacinus) . . . . 2 



55 



I think these figures are satisfactory evidence that the Whiskered Bat 

 is much the scarcest of the four species named (at least in County Wexford), 

 and the Pipistrelle considerably the commonest. The Long-eared Bat, 

 however, would have been brought to me more frequently but for the fact 

 that it is so easily recognised and is well known not to be rare. The 

 high-flying habits and strong flight of the Hairy-armed Bat are also 

 probably among the reasons for its being seldom captured. Neither of 

 these considerations will apply to the Whiskered Bat, which flies low, 

 like the Pipistrelle, and in similar situations. Daubenton's Bat, though 

 known to occur in the neighbourhood, was never taken, and is probabl\ 

 still less common than the Whiskered. 



C. B. Moffat. 



Dublin. 



