September, igii. The Irish Natui-alist. 149 



THE FULMAR PETREL BREEDING IN IRELAND. 



BY R. J. USSHER, D.L., M.R.I. A. 



On the loth of July, 1911, in company with my friend Herr 

 Lindner, a German pastor and a most observant ornithologist, 

 I was greatly surprised to find a colony of Fulmars breeding 

 on a lofty, perpendicular cliff on the north coast of Mayo. 

 I had previously only seen this species on the wing when 

 out at sea off the west coast, and I had never visited a 

 breeding-place ; so I will describe the birds as I found 

 them. It may help others to identify them elsewhere, and 

 I trust that when they do so they will do nothing to disturb 

 or molest these new settlers. 



My boatmen told me in reply to my enquiries about 

 shearwaters that there were white " Cawnoges " in one of 

 the cliffs, and that they had first appeared there about 

 four years ago, and were increasing. 



They took us to the place referred to, a cliff 700 feet high. 

 It forms a bastion, battering a little at the bottom where a 

 colony of Kittiwakes are breeding. All its central portion 

 is perpendicular, and it overhangs a little at the top, while 

 the grassy slope above it comes down quite steeply affording 

 no standing-ground to work a rope if one wanted to descend. 

 Small colonies and scattered pairs of Razorbills and Puffins 

 were in occupation of nooks and ledges on the face of the 

 cliff, but high up my conductor pointed out to me some 

 few birds on the wing, seemingly about the size of Herring 

 Gulls, but differing from any gull in form, the wings being 

 stretched straight out and not shewing the angle at the 

 carpal joint so conspicuous in a flying gull. These birds 

 were gliding in circles, sometimes giving a few quivering 

 flaps, but usually holding the wings level and motionless. 

 We saw one or two alight on the great cliff beside birds 

 that resembled them, and were doubtless their mates. 



Next morning we climbed the mountain of which this 

 awful cliff forms the edge, and, finding the spot, I examined 

 it from the projection of the next cliff-top with a 12-power 

 Zeiss binocular. I could now see from above the birds 



