194 The Irish Nahiralht. [August, 



As in the case of the IrhJi A^atiiralist, so, too, in the Zoolooist, 

 few records of the Ruff from Ireland have been publislied of 

 late years. Briefl}^, they are as follows : — 



^September Sth, 1S84.— One shot by Mr. Little (whilst looking 

 for grouse) on a lone flat moor near Tullylin, Co. vSligo. He 

 presented it to Mr. Warren, who draws attention to the fact it 

 was W\^ first vict ivith in the zvestern district of Ireland. (Mr. 

 Ussher informs me that it had occurred in Roscommon in 

 1864.) 



In 1896- there seems to have been a small immigration of 

 Ruffs to the west and south of Ireland. On September 4th 

 Mr. C. Gallagher shot a male on a grouse bog, a few miles from 

 the town of Easky, Co. Sligo. He gave it to Mr. Warren. The 

 bird was solitary and ver}' tame. Mr. Williams received three 

 the same autumn, and Mr. R. J. Ussher had two sent to him 

 from Belmullet, Co. Mayo. (See also Tabulated Records, 

 p. 191.) Mr. R. M. Barrington kindly informs me by letter that 

 he purchased a Ruff in the Cork markets in Februar}^ 1896. 

 Mr. Williams preserved it and tells me that it is a beautiful 

 male in full winter plumage. 



It only remains to mention, regarding the occurrence of 

 the Ruff in Ireland, that, assuming that it has not been over- 

 looked to any great extent, it seems to have been most fre- 

 quent during Thompson's time (having occasionall}^ occurred 

 on its vernal migration), to have subsequently diminished in 

 numbers, and to have, of recent years, been visiting our 

 shores in larger numbers again. As a vernal migrant it has 

 not for many years been noticed. 



Possibly its geographical distribution in Ireland is spreading. 

 This still remains to be fully seen. However, in Thompson's 

 time, with the exception of a few records from Kildare, 

 Dublin, Wicklow,Tipperary, Waterford, Clare, (?) and Kerry, (?) 

 the Ruff was confined in its visits to the north-eastern coast, 

 especially Down and Antrim. (See Table, p. 190-1.) 



Later, in 1864, it spread to Roscommon, where it has been 

 seen as late as 1893. Lastl}^ during the past 20 years, 

 it has been ol)served several times in Armagh, Sligo, Mayo, 

 Wexford, Cork, and once in Galway. (Table.) 



^ R. Warren iu 'Zoologist, 1884, p 429. 

 ' R. Warren in Zoologist, 1896, p. 384. 



