138 Transactions. 



Kelton last November, the beak of which was peculiarly mal- 

 formed, the upper mandible being so much curved over the lower 

 as to make it appear almost impossible for the bird to feed. I 

 was, however, assured by Mr "West, who shot the specimen, that 

 it was in fairly good condition, although it is difficult to perceive 

 how it managed to pick up the food necessary for its existence. 

 During the months of December and January last five specimens 

 of the common heron [Ardea cinera) were sent to me from various 

 parts of the country for preservation. On examining the contents 

 of each bird's stomach I found four out of the five contained the 

 semi-digested portions of the common rat. These were not the 

 water vole, but the common long-tailed rat. In one of the herons 

 T found an unfortunate rat which had been swallowed immediately 

 prior to the bird being shot. It measured ten and a quarter 

 inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. There is 

 nothing new in the discovery of rats forming part of the heron's food, 

 yet I presume that these birds will add another little delicacy to their 

 bill of fare in the shape of those small though too numerous 

 mammals the voles. The angling community generally look upon 

 the heron as their enemy ; and while I am bound to admit its 

 partiality for fish, it is well to remember that the deficiency 

 created by its depredations in trout streams is amply counteracted 

 by its undoubted usefulness in other resj)ects as one of the most 

 active of nature's policemen. Even in a trout stream the heron 

 does some good by devouring the eels, which play such havoc 

 with salmon and trout ova during the spawning season. I am 

 indebted to Mi Henry Martin, of Dardarroch, for the following 

 note, and although it is three years since the specimens 'were 

 obtained, they were not recorded, and are therefore worthy of 

 mention here. He informed me that on the 1st of March, 1890, 

 three specimens of the American white-winged crossbill were 

 observed in Dardarroch woods, a male and female of which he 

 shot, and are now in his collection. I doubted his statement at 

 first, and remarked that it might be the two barred crossbill, 

 which in appearance is much similar to the American species, but 

 he assured me that they were undoubtedly the American species, 

 and could be seen at any time. He also informed me that the 

 common crossbill was seen throughout the whole of the year. A 

 fine specimen of a blackbird with a white head was sent to me 

 the other day from Holywood. Several blackbiids with white 



