324 The Irish Naturalist, October, 1907. 



Ornithomyia avicularia on Starlings. 



A large flock of these birds was crossing the Antrim Road at 8 o'clock, 

 p.m. on 15th August. They were flying very swiftly. About a dozen 

 struck the telephone wires and fell, most of them dead. I examined a 

 dead bird, and one with a broken wing that my son picked up. The 

 dead bird was an old male half through the moult ; the wounded one 

 appeared to be a female of the year, a few feathers only were moulted on 

 each side of the breast. 



My attention was called by the movements of a fly that was running 

 over the plumage. I secured it in a glass-topped box. I noticed other 

 parasites on the bird and on my hands. Some of these I put in the box 

 with the fly, which I sent to the editors for identification, and find it to 

 be Ornithomyia avicularia. This fly was apparently distended with blood. 

 It runs very swiftly, and can proceed with equal ease in three directions, 

 either to right, to left, or forward. These motions are very noticeable, 

 and mark it off from common flies. 



H. L. Orr. 



Belfast. 





Common Heron breeding at Portmarnock. 



Last year a pair of Herons successfully brought up three young in an 

 old Magpie's nest in a small grove at Beechwood. This year the same nest 

 was occupied, probably by the same pair of birds, and two or three were 

 reared. About a quarter of a mile from this grove on the same townland 

 another pair of Herons enlarged an old Wood-Pigeon's or hawk's nest in 

 - a beech-tree and hatched out three young, but one unfortunately was 

 blown off the nest by a strong gale and killed. It is quite interesting to 

 find so large a bird nesting a little over seven miles from Dublin City. 

 There is every likelihood, I think, that a heronry will be established, as 

 every care is taken of the old birds during the breeding season. The 

 Common Heron cannot be looked upon as increasing its breeding range 

 in County Dublin, for up to the middle of the last century a heronry of 

 some size existed close to Malahide Castle, and till quite recently a few 

 pair nested annually at Newbridge, Donabate. At the latter place they 

 were so much harassed that they were obliged to abandon this site. The 

 present birds breeding at Beechwood most likely were members of the 

 Newbridge heronry. 



J. Trumbu^i,. 

 Malahide. 



Dolphin in Moy Estuary. 



In the Zoologist for June Mr. Robert Warren records the occurrence of 

 a Dolphin, believed, to be Delphinns delphis. The carcase, mutilated and 

 decomposed, came ashore near Moyview. 



