1 68 The Irish Naturalist. [June, 1896 



REPTILES, 

 A Stray Snake near Coleralne. — On the evening of April 22nd, a 

 lady friend called to tell me that she had killed a snake in her garden, 

 which is in the immediate vicinity of Coleraine. Itis upon the right bank 

 of the river Bann, and about a quarter of a mile south of the town. She des- 

 cribed the reptile's hiss and her own alarm in such a graphic way, that 

 in spite of the legend about our Patron Saint and his expatriation of all 

 Ophidians, the incredulity with which I at first regarded her story gave 

 way, and I accompanied her to the spot and found upon a grass plot in front 

 of her house the newly-killed snake. It is a Ringed Snake {Tropidontus 

 natrix) measuring twenty-five and three-quarter inches in length. In 

 depriving it of its supposed power to do harm she had not used it 

 gently. Nevertheless, though somewhat mutilated, the specimen was 

 well worth preserving, and so I committed it to a bottle of spirits. It is 

 not necessary to say that Ringed Snakes are not native here, but where 

 this one came from, or how it came here, I have been as yet unable to 

 make out. 



James BeIvIvAS, Cronbannagh, Coleraine. 



BIRDS. 

 Scarcity of Land Rail. — For some reason the Corncrake is either 

 very late to come or very scarce this year in this district. While the 

 Cuckoo has been here since istli April, and is plentiftil, I have only heard 

 one Corncrake on 14th May, where they usually abound. 



C. H. WaddeIvI<, Saintfield. 



Arrival of Spring Wllgrants In Londonderry District. — 



The Chiff-chaff" was as usual our earlier visitant; it reached us on 31st 

 March. The Sandmartin and Swallow were much behind their usual 

 time ; the former arrived on 12th April, and the latter on 13th April, 

 The Willow Wren was also very late of coming ; I did not hear its song 

 until 23rd April. The Cuckoo was first heard on 21st April, and the 

 Corncrake on 22nd April. 



D. C. CampbEI.1., Londonderry. 



The Magpie In the Isle of Man. —Referring to Mr. C. B. Moffat's 



note in your April number (p. 116), I may mention that the Magpie is 



an introduced species in the Isle of Man. In the history of the Island 



by Bishop Wilson' (cp. 1698-1755) it is stated — "It is not long since a 



person, more fanciful than prudent or kind to his country, brought in a 



brood of Magpies, which have increased incredibly, so as to become a 



nuisance." 



P. Rai,fe, Laxey, Isle of Man. 



1 In Manx Society's Publications, vol. xviii. The exact date of the 

 work does not seem to be given. 



