1 86 The Irish Naturalist. [August, 



LESSER BEACK-EACKED GUEE NESTING 



IN CO. KIEDARE. 



BY J. E. PAL:MER. 



In his paper on the " Distribution of Birds breeding in 

 Ireland," published by Mr. Ussher in the Irish Naturalist 

 for March, 1897, the hitherto known breeding-localities of 

 the Lesser Black-backed Gull were increased by the addition 

 of Co. Westmeath. Co. Kildare may now be added. 



For years I have thought it likely that these gulls nested 

 in some of the large bogs in Kildare or King's Count3% having 

 often seen them flying to and fro in the spring and summer 

 months between the Dublin coast and Co. Kildare, generally 

 following the river Liffey or the Grand Canal. It was not till 

 last year that I got a clue to their inland haunt ; and on 

 visiting the locality — a very large bog — a few of the birds 

 were to be seen, but I did not find w^here they were 

 nesting. So to throw further light on the matter, on the nth 

 June I visited the place accompanied by Mr. Edward 

 Williams. The bog is a wet one. It is a portion of that 

 large part of the Bog of Allen lying between Edenderry and 

 Rathangan. It is in Co. Kildare, not very far from the 

 borders of King's County. 



On crossing the bog to where I had before seen the Leseer 

 Black-backed Gulls we visited a colony of several hundreds 

 of Black-headed Gulls. When at a distance we saw several 

 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the wing among them, but 

 these had disappeared when we got to the colony. Fortunately 

 we turned our steps in w^hat proved to be the right direction, 

 for Mr. Williams soon caught sight of a number of Lesser 

 Black-backed Gulls. They were scattered over the bog, 

 standing on slight elevations, evidently keeping a look-out 

 and watching us. 



As we approached within a few hundred yards the birds 

 gradually rose, and while we w^ere in the vicinity of their 

 nests they remained on the wing uttering their cackling 

 alarm note which so closely resembles that of the Herring 

 Gull. They kept at a greater distance from us than the 

 Black-headed Gulls had done, and were less vociferous, and 



