Notes, 127 



brood hatched, but believe it was, as the nest did not seem disturbed, and 

 I found young birds afterwards in the neighbourhood ; they may, how- 

 ever, have belonged to No. 5 nest, which was only thirty yards away. 

 No. 6 nest was peculiar, being built in furze, and when I found it one 

 bird was on the nest and the other sitting calling at doorway of a little 

 tunnel about nine inches long, which led to nest. No. 7, some young 

 hatched, but I think not all. Thus, out of seven broods, four were de- 

 stroyed, and three were successful, at least partially. Cattle did the 

 mischief to the Crakes' nests, but a Meadow Pipit's, which I found in same 

 circle, was, I believe, robbed by boys, as two eggs first disappeared, and, 

 ten days after, the other two were taken. With regard to the Corncrakes, 

 I came rather suddenly upon a brood one morning, and the old bird ran 

 oflf keeping within ten yards of me, and calling not at all unlike a par- 

 tridge. Upon another occasion, a crake with young flew at my dog, and 

 did not fly off until she saw me. It is the only time I have seen this 

 occur. I have also come upon mother and young in the early morning, 

 apparently sunning themselves in short dry grass, and it is wonderful in 

 what an incredibly short time the little black balls disappear in all direc- 

 tions when disturbed, the mother darting off" first, and lea\dng them to 

 look after themselves.— J. H. H. Swiney. 



MAMMALS, 



Breeding Habits of the Otter (Lutra vulgaris), and Souirrei, 

 (Sciurus vulgaris). I should be very much obliged if any reader of the 

 Irish Naturalist who has met with young Otters or Squirrels in the 

 wild state, would kindly inform me in what month he met with them. 



Bell (" British Quadrupeds," ed. 2, p. 278), says of the Squirrel that 

 '* the female brings forth three or four young in the month of June; " 

 but the experience of Mr. Blagg and Mr. Harting {Zoologist, March, 1891) 

 is opposed to this. The former gives instances of the birth of young 

 squirrels in January and March, and the latter in March and April. I 

 have myself met with them on the 28th of May in England, and, with 

 eyes still unopened, so late as August 14th in this county. I imagine 

 that, as is the case with some other rodents, such as the rabbit, rat, and 

 hare, the date of the production of the young of the squirrel must vary 

 more or less with the state of the weather and general food supplies. Is 

 there any reason why, in favourable seasons, the squirrel should not 

 breed tmce in the year; possibly those I saw on the 14th of August were 

 the second lot produced by the same parents that year } As regards the 

 otter, Mr. Southwell has discovered that the young are usually produced 

 in the winter months ; is this the case also in Ireland } 



Our knowledge of even the commonest Irish mammals is so very 

 meagre that naturalists must be always glad to have small points like the 

 above cleared up. There are other matters too which much need investi- 

 gation, such as the number of young produced at a birth, the length of 

 the period of gestation, the rate of growth and the general breeding 

 habits. I am at present engaged in collecting information relative to the 

 distribution and life-histories of our Irish mammalia, and should be very 

 pleased to correspond with anyone who takes an interest in these sub- 

 jects. — G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, Kilmanock, New Ross, Co. Wexford. 



The Irish Rat (Mus hibernicus, Thomps.) on Lundy Isi^and. In 

 November, 1891, I obtained a specimen of the melanistic variety of J/?^j 

 decumanus (v. hibernicus) shot on Lundy Island. I believe a similar specimen 

 has been obtained once before on the island. The specimen was perfectly 

 black, without any white markings. — H. J. Charbonnier, Bristol. 



