82 The Irish Naturalist. 



regions. The station of Admiral Jones, Balh'shannon, is in close proxi- 

 mity to the great limestone mountains of the Ben Bulben range, where 

 all the mosses cited by Mr. Baker are to be found. The newly-discovered 

 outlying locality for the plant in County Antrim is, therefore, remarkable 

 in respect to its geological character.— John H. Davies, Lisburn. 



ZOOLOGY. 



INSECTS. 



Bih.ag'iiini bifasciatum in Co. Cork. — Two specimens of this beetle 

 were recently sent me from Timoleague by Miss Donovan. I believe the 

 only previous obser^^er who has found this "longhorn" in Co. Cork is 

 Mr. J. M. Browne. Rev. W. F. Johnson has kindly told me that the 

 other Irish localities are Powerscourt and Delgany in Co. Wicklow, and 

 Newcastle, Co. Down. We may expect to see this and other species 

 increase and spread with the planting of fir woods. — G. H. Carpenter. 



AMPHIBIANS. 



The Warty Newt (Molge cristata) in Co. Down.— I have found a 

 3'oung Molge among some broken stones in a dry shady area on the north 

 side of my home. The walls of the area are six feet deep, and there was 

 no way by which the newt once in the area could get out again. It can- 

 not have got much to eat, which may account for its starved appearance. 



Two of the same species were got in the same place last autumn, but 

 one was smashed by my man for fear it might bite him ! The old absurd 

 ideas about them hold fast on the minds of the uneducated. I see that 

 Thompson sa3's he did not know the species, though Mr. Templeton had 

 found it in Ireland. — Rev. H. W. Lett, Aghaderg, Co. Down. 



BIRDS. 



WhinchaT (Saxicola rubetra) in Co. S1.1GO. — I have observed a con- 

 siderable number of Whinchats in the vicinity of Ballymote, and on June 

 7th, after a long search, I found a nest containing four half-Hedged young. 

 Col. W. G. Wood-Martin, in his "History of Sligo," does not include the 

 whinchat in his avifauna ; it seems strange that it should have been over- 

 looked. I have neither observed the Stonechat nor the Wheatear as yet ; 

 the Whinchat appears quite to take their place at Ballymote. — H. Lyster 

 Jameson. 



Arrivai, OF Summer Migrants. — The following dates of arrival were 

 observ^ed here: Maybird, April I3tli; Corncrake, April 24th; Swallow and 

 Sand-Martin, April 25th; Swift, May lytli.— Joseph M. McBride, Westport. 



The Parrot-crossbii,e (Loxia curvirostra, var. pityopsittacus).— 

 In his most interesting article on "The Crossbill in Ireland" {Irish Nat. 

 p. 31), Mr. R. J. LTssher remarks that "The Parrot-crossbill {xSiV. pilyopsit- 

 taais) was not recognised in Ireland until January, 18S9 {Zoologist, 1889, 

 p. 181)." About the year 1862 (I think), when I was a school-boy home 

 for the Christmas holida5'S, I shot a Crossbill at Kilderry in this county, 

 which I believe to have been of that variety. It was taken to England 

 for preser%^ation, but, unfortunately, with so little sviccess, that the spe- 

 cimen fell to pieces in less than a year. Its beauty made an impression 

 on ni}' mind that has not wholly faded even now.— W. E. Hart, Falmore, 

 Carrowmena, Co. Donegal. 



Woodpecker in Irei<and. — It is not very generally known that 

 Woodpeckers are seen or heard, at times, in Ireland. Sportsmen have 

 told me that they have heard tapping, as if against trees, in silent woods, 

 in Queen's County and Co. Wexford. About last February, one year ago. 

 the above-mentioned tapping was heard, and a bird was shot in Co. 

 Kildare.— W. Council, Carlow. 



