1902. Patten. — List of Birds west of Dingle, Co. Kerry, 127 



In these places I was attracted by a different group of birds, 

 and one which, to my mind, is the most fascinating, namely 

 the "Waders." It is not my intention in this prefatory note 

 to refer to all the different species I observed. I^et me say 

 here, however, that at ebb tide the sandy beaches were fre- 

 quented by flocks of Curlew, Oyster-catchers, Ringed Plovers, 

 Turnstones, and other species, which added greatly to the 

 charm of the district. Often have I seen the Curlew quit the 

 beach and fly to the ploughed fields over the cliffs, on the look- 

 out for earthworms, a favourite meal. Now and again the 

 Oyster-catchers left the sands and rested on the rocks ; a flock 

 of them making a pretty study in black and white. 



It was refreshing to turn one's ear to the mournful, plaintive 

 cry of the ** Waders," .so musical when contrasted with the 

 harsh screaming of the Sea-gulls, rendered more discordant by 

 the loud bassoon-like voices of the Cormorants. 



I^astl}^, as I continued my expedition through the interior 

 of the peninsula, I observed very few species. This fact did 

 not surprise me. Trees were practically absent, and warblers 

 and other sylvan birds did not abound. 



The ubiquitous Robin, the Wren, the Hedge Sparrow, the 

 Blackbird, and some other familiar birds w^ere, however, scat- 

 tered over the peninsula. The avi-fauna, west of Dingle, 

 contrasts with that of man}^ other districts. As one example, 

 take the Dublin coast. In the latter locality the Chough is now 

 absent, while it abounds in the former. Again, the Hooded 

 Crow and Rock-Dove are to be occasionally seen, and only in 

 small numbers along the Dublin coast, whereas west of Dingle 

 both these species are abundant. On the contrary, the Wood- 

 Pigeon, Rook, Jackdaw, and Magpie (all widely distributed 

 species), are not very plentiful about the western point of the 

 Dingle peninsula, although they are numerous and well known 

 along the coast-lands of Dublin. 



Finally, of rapacious birds, the Peregrine Falcon, and 

 Sparrow Hawk deserve special notice. These .species frequent 

 both districts, but west of Dingle the Peregrine is much more 

 common than about Dublin, whereas the Sparrow Hawk is 

 seldom met with in the mountainous and bare treeless parts 

 . of western Kerry, 



2 A 



