Notes. 



A MP U I JU A NS. 



85 



The Frog in Ireland.— With reference to Dr. ScliarfT's very in- 

 teresting paper in the IrlsJi- Xaiurallsl for January, he may l)e interested 

 to know that the late Mr. Gage, of RathHn Ishmd, in answer to niv 

 enquiries, told me that the Frog had l)eeu introduced into Ratldin sn-end 

 times, but had always died out, although there are many bogs and swamps 

 which would seem suited to it. Both spawn and adult frogs had been 

 brought over from the nuiinland at different times, but neither succeeded. 

 — Robert PatteRvSon, Belfast. 



An article on the Frog in Ireland by Mr. W. b\ de V. Kane will appear 

 in our next issue. 



BIRDS. 



Waxwings (Ampelis garrulus, L.) in Ulster. Two specimens 



of this rare winter visitor have been recently shot. Mr. 1). C. Cam})bell of 

 Londonderry writes us : — " on 31st January my neighbour, Mr. l^x.ekiel 

 Bredin, slightly wounded and captured a bird which I found on exami- 

 nation to be a Waxwing in fine plumage. This is the first time I liave 

 met with the bird in this district." 



Dr. A. M. D'Evelyn of Ballymena sends us, under date 6th January, a 

 sketch and description of a second Waxwing, recently shot at Newferry, 

 on the River Bann. 



Autumnal Disappearance of Woodcock (Scolopax rusti- 

 cula). Previous to the year 1889, 1 firmly believed that all our homebred 

 Woodcocks deserted us in autumn, although it often struck me as being 

 very strange that a certain locality should suit a bird, both as a breeding 

 haunt, and also as a winter resort, and at the same time be found unsuit- 

 able in August and September. In that year I had discovered that I had 

 never found Woodcocks during these months, simply because I had 

 never taken sufiicient pains in looking for them. 



W^ithin about four miles from the place where I live, there is a typical 

 cock covert. It consists of a dense growth of birch, holly, stunted oak, 

 etc. ; one portion, having a southern aspect, slopes down to a narrow 

 strip of bog, which separates it from the heather. Every year some 

 birds breed in this wood. For the past three seasons I have visited it 

 early in August, in order to find out how many clutches there were; I do 

 this with the aid of my spaniel, and at the same time I calculate from 

 the appearance of the young how soon they will be fit to shoot. I 

 generally make my first bag about the middle of September. The old 

 birds are not fit to shoot then, but it is very easy to distinguish between 

 them, as the young are much brighter in colour. I sometimes, though 

 rarely, do make a mistake on a snap-shot, and then what a wretched 

 looking object my dog brings to my foot! I do not know any bird 

 which, in moulting, casts its feathers as freely as a Woodcock ; sometimes 

 a bird will show a perfectly bare patch on the back. It is no wonder 

 these birds, at this time of year, prefer to skulk in the thickest cover, 

 and depend on their wit rather than their wings for safety; in fact, until 

 their wing-feathers are grown, it is almost as hard to flush a Woodcock 

 as a Water-rail. The young birds, observing their parents' tactics when 

 menaced by danger, naturallvact in a similar manner, and continue to do 

 so until the withering of the 'Bracken renders concealment impossible. 



In the covert to which I have alluded, an observer might tramp to and 

 fro from morning till night any day in August, or early September, and, 

 unless assisted by a good dog, he will probably go away under the im- 

 pression that there was not a single Woodcock about the place. A 

 steady close-beating cocker spaniel is the best dog to put up cock during 

 these months; such a dog will not over- run a bird through excitement, 

 nor lose time with a series of fruitless sets. When I first found our 

 home-bred birds staving on till over-lapped by winter migrants, I men- 

 tioned the matter to a friend ; he merely ridiculed the idea, and since 



