272 The Irish Natiiynlist. [November, 



BIRDS. 



The Ruff in Ireland. 



It gives me the greatest possible pleasure to see in the pages of the 

 {Irish Natufalist {supra p. 247), ]\Ir. Ussher's remarks ou m}' recent paper 

 on the Natural Histor)' of the Ruff. I am ouly too glad to learn more of 

 the subject in question from my brother ornithologists, and one of my 

 chief objects in contributing articles to the Irish Natiiralist has been to 

 invoke discussion, enough of which it is a regrettable circumstance 

 seldom arises. Mr. Ussher suggests that " the discontinuance of shooting 

 in spring" may account for more recent absence of records at that time 

 of year. This is true as far as records made from shot specimens are 

 concerned, but if the Ruff during more recent years has been protected 

 in spring its numbers as a vernal migrant should have tended to increase 

 rather than diminish, and it at least should have been seen (c/en if not 

 shot) by competent observers looking out for it, and yet we hear of no 

 such observations for many years past. I am aware that it is often 

 necessary to shoot a bird to identify it, but the Ruff in nuptial plumage 

 is so conspicuous that a good observer with a field-glass should be able 

 to satisfy himself as to its identit}' without at all times securing the 

 specimen. Is it not likely that the decrease of Ruffs in spring in Ireland 

 has accompanied a similar decrease in England, as we know that in the 

 latter countr)- the Ruff is now seldom observed, even as a vernal migrant 

 and in counties where it formerly bred ? According to IMr. vSaunders, 

 drainage has greatly restricted the haunts of the Ruff. 



I certainl}' agree with Mr. I'ssher's idea that the spread of interest in 

 ornitholog}' may go towards accounting for thegreater number of records 

 of the Ruff from the western part of Ireland, but in addition it is worth 

 noting that during Mr. Warren's residence for many years in Killala he 

 did not obtain a specimen till 1S84, and that from Sligo. Since then 

 several RulTs were taken in Connaught (as tabulated in my article), and 

 I am not aware that these birds were shot by people very specially 

 interested in the science of ornithology, but rather b}- sportsmen looking 

 for grouse and such like. 



Lastly, Mr. Ussher says he cannot concur with my remark that sports- 

 men, as a rule, are keen observers, and hence few strange birds pass them 

 unnoticed. I do not mean that sportsmen are at all accurate observer. 

 They often shoot a species because they do not know what it is. In this 

 way we are indebted to them for many records of more or less rare birds, 

 sometimes really rare ones. 



I know a gentleman who some short time ago shot a Squacco Heron. 

 He said he shot it because he did not know what it was. He was, to my 

 mind, a keen observer, because he saw the bird, but not an accurate 

 observer, as he did not know it. I have received examples of Water 

 Rails, Nightjars, Short- eared Owls, and other species detected by the 

 sharp eye of the sportsman, and shot birds which an ordinary observers 

 might altogether overlook. Are we not indebted to sportsmen for 

 sending to our markets rare Ijirds from time to time, which subsequently 



