24 The Irish Naturalist. January, 



Albino Curlew near Londonderry. 



On I2tli November a pure white Curlew {Numenius arquatd), Ivinn., was 

 shot at St. Johnston, near Londonderry. 



D. C. Campbe;i,i,. 

 Tenipleniore, Londouderr}'. 



Strange Conduct of a Badger. 



At Castle Crine, in Clare, there is a fine old rath or fort in the 

 demesne not far from the house. It is circular, with an inner bank, a 

 ditch or moat, and an outer bank. The interior part has been converted 

 into a tennis ground, the moat into a walk, and the whole is an 

 interesting feature of the demesne, and a favourite haunt of the ladies 

 of the family. The banks of the rath have been the haunt of Badgers 

 from time immemorial, but no member of the family had ever seen one 

 unless it were trapped or dug out. 



One afternoon, last September, four ladies entered the walk in the 

 moat. A large Badger ran past them, actually touching the feet of one 

 of them, and entered a hole in the bank. Presently it showed itself, but 

 disappeared when one of the ladies clapped her hands, and the ladies 

 walked on. The Badger emerged again and followed them. A Retriever 

 which was with them attacked it, and a fight ensued, in which the 

 Badger seems to have got the upper hand, for the dog ran away and 

 took no further part in the proceedings, and the Badger again went to 

 ground. Three of the ladies then went to tell the gamekeeper what had 

 occurred, and the fourth remained to watch the earth. Luckily for her 

 at this juncture she picked up a thick stick, for the Badger came out 

 again, passed her, and gave chase to her three companions, and failing 

 to catch them, returned and attacked her, in a determine d m anner 

 She got behind a tree and dodged it as best she could, striking at its 

 head as it followed her round the tree. Meanwhile the shrieks of her 

 companions soon brought assistance. The coachman was the first on 

 the scene, followed by the keeper and the gardener, but before they 

 arrived, the plucky lady had stunned the Badger, and was no longer in 

 danger. The Badger turned out to be a very large female. The keeper 

 says that on the morning of the same day he killed, more than a mile 

 from the rath, a young Badger. This is an accurate account of a most 

 curious occurrence, and I hope that some authority on Badgers will let 

 us know if such a thing ever happened before, and what can be the 

 explanation of it. 



I may add that in my county (Louth) Badgers are certainly increasing 

 in numbers. They took up their abode in my own woods last summer 

 for the first time, and there is a colony in the rocks at Clogher Head. 

 In fact, they are all over the country, and in many places where their 

 presence is not suspected. They did good service here by rooting out 

 wasps' nests, which were very numerous last year. 



G. H. Pj?nti;and* 



Black Hall, Drogheda. 



