76 The Irish Naturalist. July, 1923. 



the opinion that the ox of Turkestan, which underwent 

 this transformation at approximately 7,000 years before 

 the Christian era, finally reached Europe after travelling 

 with the early Asiatic invaders through southern Russia.^ 

 Thus the ancestors of the Irish Kerry cattle which had 

 their origin in Asia probably reached Ire and from the 

 cont'nent during the late Stone Age. 



NOTES. 



Homing: Instinct in the Swift. 



On the evening of 19 April last I was on the look-out for Swallows, 

 whose arrival had been reported to me the previous day, when I suddenly 

 saw three Swifts flying from the south. They flew around in the usual 

 circles over our garden for some minutes, when one bird separated from 

 the others and swept down at great speed, but quite silently, and dashed 

 past the north side of the chrrch, and then rising again joined the others. 

 This performance was repeated four times, after which the bird remained 

 with the others, flying about over the ruins of the new barracks, where 

 members of the species nested in former years. This occurred between 

 6.30 and 7 p.m. I kept the birds under constant observation, and just at 

 8 p.m., one bird again separated itself from the others, a fourth bird had 

 in the meantime arrived, and dashed down past the north side of the 

 church about six times and eventually roosted there. 



As I had been keeping careful and constant watch in the garden for 

 some days, it is evident that these birds had just arrived. The north side 

 of the chvrch is much enclosed by houses, the hill rising rather abruptly 

 just there, yet two or three pairs of Swifts nest there every year. It would 

 be a most unlikely place for any stray Swift to visit, and hence it may be 

 assi med that the bird in que tion had either nested there or been reared 

 there. Otherwise why didn't the other three birds pay it a visit also ? 

 It is very interesting to note then that within ten or fifteen minutes of its 

 arrival at its native town, the bird actually visited its old nesting haunt, 

 and roosted there that night as it did also the following nights. I may 

 add that in this district our spring migrants have been exceptionally early 

 on their arrival this year. 



W. M. Abbott. 

 Fermoy. 



1 Duerst, J. M. : Animal remains from the excavations at Anau 

 (Turkestan). Carnegie Institution. Washington, no. 73, 1909. 



