56 The Irish Naturalist. [Feb. 1896. 



Hoopoe {Upupa epops).—On& from Rosslea, Co. Fermanagh, 19th 

 September, a very curious date for the occurreuce of this bird, as it is 

 generally on the spring migration and usually in the south of Ireland 

 that it occurs. 



Richardson's Skua {Stenomrius crepidatus).—M\ the specimens of this 

 bird I have met this autumn belonged to the dark form ; one obtained 

 Rathangan, 13th August, a good many from Cliifoney, Sligo, during 

 September ; amongst them a curious variety with patches of pure white 

 on wings and breast. 



POMATORHINE Skua {Stercorarius pomatorhinus). — One from Killarney, 

 October loth, one on 14th, Ballinfull, Sligo, and another captured whilst 

 eating a good-sized chicken at Ballinastragh, Gorey, Co. Wexford. 



Squacco Heron {Anka ralloides). — A beautiful specimen of this bird 

 was shot at Waterville, Co. Kerry, 17th September, a young male in 

 second year's plumage ; the stomach was filled with remains of small 

 Crustacea ; I have heard of another shot in Co.C^ork same time, but have 

 not particulars. 



Great Northern Diver {Colymbus glacialis). — In full summer plum- 

 age, oDtained so late as i6th October, without a trace of the winter moult, 

 Kylemore, Connemara. 



A variety of the Bai,d Coot {Ftdica atra), with almost half the 



plumage pure white was obtained near Bnniskillen, and a Rock Pipit 



{Anthus obscurus) with head, wings, and part of breast white, was shot 



near Bray. 



Edward Wii.i,iams, Dublin. 



GEOLOGY. 

 Quartzltei — It might, perhaps, be worth mentioning that on the 

 occasion of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club excursion to Co. Donegal 

 last year, I secured in the quartzite specimens of suncracks, ripple- 

 marks, and raindrop marks, the two first being especially characteristic. 

 All three are small hand-specimens chipped off large slabs of the 

 formation, and were obtained in or close to the Seven Arches Cave, 

 Portsalon. Should they be thought of suflEicient interest either Mr. 

 Watts or Mr. Kinahan are very welcome to examine them. Their 

 general appearance, excepting, of course, the material, is wonderfully 

 like the Triassic sandstones of Scrabo, near Newtownards, Co. Down, 

 as the markings seem to occur chiefly on thin fine-grained bands, which 

 are of mud, in the Triassic stones. A lucky chance might even hit on 

 a fossil in some of these less altered deposits. 



Ai,EC. G. WiivSON, Belfast. 



The Denudation of the Chalk. — Prof. Cole contributes a paper 

 on this subj ect to the Geological Magazine for December, 1895. Particular re- 

 ference is made to the startling photograph, by Mr. R. Welch, showing 

 the condition of White Park Bay, Co. Antrim, after the great stOrni of 

 December, 1894— a chaotic expanse of great blocks of Chalk, resting on a 

 floor of I/ias, where on the previous day, and for years previously, an 

 uninterrupted expanse of smooth sand had stretched. 



