126 The Irish Natnralist, June, 



From the summit of the clififs I could see, almost dail}^ the 

 Hooded Crows, those carrion lovers and useful scavengers, 

 revelling in a meal of marine offal which had been cast aside 

 by the hardy fisherman after his arduous daily toil. Fierce 

 battles often ensued between the crows and sea-gulls over, 

 perhaps, an especially dainty morsel of fish. 



The wide open sea, as I watched it from the cliffs, never 

 looked lonel)\ Far from it, it was teeming with bird life. 

 Gannets were busily fishing, and these birds, by their size 

 and wonderful aerial movements, first arrested my attention. 



What ardent bird-lover is there who is not filled with en- 

 thusiasm as he watches these expert anglers? See them ! 

 They have surprised a shoal of mackerel, and now, with 

 closed wings, and with the speed of a cannon-ball, they are 

 plunging head foremost through the air into the waves 

 beneath. 



. I first witnessed Gannets^ fishing in Dundalk Bay, on the 

 east coast. From a steamer 1 w^atched their movements. So 

 sudden was the plunge, and so great the splash, that for a 

 moment I almost failed to recognise the form of a bird, and 

 could well have believed that some mighty power was hurling 

 huge boulders into the waters from some great quarry over- 

 head. 



Continuing my observations from the cliffs, many other 

 forms of bird-life presented themselves to me. Wisps of 

 Terns, frail and slender, compared with the more powerful 

 Gannet, were fearlessly plunging through the angry surf in 

 pursuit of fish. Guillemots; Razorbills, and Puffins thickly 

 studded the open sea, appearing as specks from my lofty 

 observatory. Sable-plumed Cormorants and Shags were 

 sitting in numbers on the tops of the uncovered, wave-swept 

 rocks, ever and anon fanning their wings in the warm sun- 

 shine. Beside them rests the purer-plumed Seagull, an 

 embodiment of elegance and grace. 



But mighty cliffs and deep seas do not form the sole environ- 

 ment of this peninsula. Charming sandy beaches beautifully 

 studded with shingles, shells, and seaweeds, are to be found 

 about Ventry, Smerwick, and Dingle.^ 



^ A flock of over 50 birds. 



2 To these may be added a long, tougue-Uke stretch of sand called 

 Inch. 



