NOTES. 141 



on a pair of Great Black-backed Gulls found breeding by 

 Mr. H. Scroope on a grassy island in Lough Conn in north 

 Mayo (the name of the lough is written " Corm " loc. cit., 

 but this is apparently a misprint). Mr. Warren says that 

 this is the first instance he has known of the Great Black- 

 backed Gull breeding on an inland fresh-water lake in Ireland. 

 It is at least nine or ten miles from the sea, and twelve or 

 fourteen miles from Downpatrick Head, the nearest breeding 

 haunt on the coast. The grassy island in question was also 

 frequented by Black-headed Gulls, and the destruction of 

 their eggs by their larger relatives must have been enormous. 

 Mr. Scroope took the three eggs of the Great Black-backed 

 Gull in order to prove the correctness of his identification, 

 as a pair of Lesser Black- backed Gulls had frequented the 

 lake for some years jiast, and their fledged young were seen 

 accompanying their parents. — Eds.] 



SOOTY SHEARWATERS OFF THE WEST COAST 

 OF IRELAND. 



When on my yacht on August 17th, 1911, off the west coast 

 of Ireland, between Eagle Island and Black Rock, I saw a 

 large number of Sooty Shearwaters {Fuffmus griseus) ; there 

 was a strong south-westerly breeze at the time. The following 

 morning, when the wind had changed to the north-west and 

 the sea was calm, I returned to the same place, hoping to 

 have another look at them, but they had all gone, as also the 

 Manx Shearwaters of which there had been a great number 

 the previous day. M. Bedford. 



[The above is an interesting addition to Mr. H. Becher's 

 observations in the autumn of 1892, 1899, 1900, and 1901, 

 when he saw considerable numbers of Great and Sooty 

 Shearwaters off the extreme south-west of Ireland (c/. 

 Vol. II., p. 372).— Eds.] 



FULMAR BREEDING IN IRELAND. 

 Mk. R. J. UssHER gives a full account in the Irish Naturalist, 

 1911 (pp. 149-152), of the important discovery of the Fulmar 

 {Fulmarus glacialis) breeding in Ireland. 



On July lOth, 1911, Mr. Ussher was on the northern coast 

 of Mayo, and was told by a boatman that there were white 

 " Cawnoges " in one of the cliffs, and that they had appeared 

 there some four years ago, and were increasing. On pro- 

 ceeding to the place Mr. Ussher found that these birds 

 were nesting in a great sea-cliff some 700 feet high, and on 

 ledges scattered here and there he counted on July Uth 



