224 The Irish Na in ra list. 



Coleoptera at Courtown, Co. Wexford On a recent trip to 



Courtown, Co. Wexford, Mrs. Tatlow was kind enough to collect what 

 Coleoptera she met with during her stay. In the collection thus made 

 are some examples of the local Bcnibidium pallidipenne taken under debris 

 at the mouth of the river north of Courtown ; there are also Nebria 

 complanata, Anchomenus marginalise A. oblong us, Pteroslichus vernalis, Staphylinus 

 civsarius and many other species of more common occurrence. — J. N. 

 Halbert, Dublin. 



FISHES. 



The Allis Shad (Clupea alosa, L.) in the Erne. — Mr. Allingham 

 of Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, has forwarded me a specimen of the Allis 

 Shad from the River Erne, with the remark that the fishermen called it 

 a "French Herring." This species of Shad is extremely like the " Twaite 

 Shad," which occurs chiefly in the South of Ireland — indeed, the only 

 reliable method of distinguishing the two species is by means of the " gill 

 rakers." These are processes projecting from the outer gill-arch, and 

 are well seen by lifting up the gill-cover at the side of the head. In the 

 Allis Shad, there are from 60 to 80 of these processes, whilst the other 

 has only from 20 to 30. Both the species are in the habit of ascending 

 rivers from the sea, in order to spawn. Although Dr. Day records their 

 having both been obtained in Ireland, yet Thompson, in his Natural 

 History of Ireland, appears to entertain some doubt whether the Allis Shad 

 should be admitted as Irish. — R. F. Scharff, Dublin. 



BIRDS. 



American Golden Plover (Charadrius clominicus) in Ire- 

 land. — On the 12th of September, whilst examining a lot of Golden 

 Plover which had been forwarded from Belmullet, Co. Mayo, to our 

 Dublin market, I picked out a bird of this species, an adult, still retain- 

 ing a good part of the black of the summer plumage on the breast. It 

 differs greatly from our European bird {Charadrius pluvia lis) in many ways, 

 being much longer in the tarsus, the axillary feathers being smoky 

 black (in our bird pure white), and a broad band of white over the eye. 

 I think I am correct in saying one or two specimens have occurred in 

 Heligoland, and one in Scotland, but the species has hitherto been un- 

 detected in Ireland. — Edward Williams, Dublin. 



Spotted Redshank in Dublin Bay. — The Spotted Redshank 

 (lotanus fuscus) is usually considered a very rare Irish bird, but from the 

 number of times I have met the species, I should be inclined to say it is 

 far commoner than is supposed. In the month of September, 18S8, two 

 birds passed me with a peculiar note, on the marsh at the North Bull, 

 which I could not identify at the time, but having heard the note of the 

 Spotted Redshank a good many times since, I have no doubt were birds 

 of this species. In September, 1890, one was shot out of a flock of 

 Common Redshanks at the Bull. On the 23rd September, 1891, I ob- 

 tained a beautiful specimen on the marshy point in Baldoyle Estuary. 

 October 3, 1892, I saw one at the same point, but owing to its excessive 

 wildntss, I failed to get a shot at the bird. This year, while out shooting 

 with my friend, Mr. C. Patten, on 7th September, one passed us at about 

 a hundred yards, just opposite Dollymount, on the North Bull. The note 

 of the bird is a peculiar twitter, quite unlike the bold whistle of the 

 common species, but the most distinguishing mark is the absence of 

 the broad white bands on the wings so conspicuous in our ordinary 

 Redshank.— Edward Williams, Dublin. 



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