248 ]\1T).K. 



ford, by a lad while out shooting Blackbirds and Snipes. 

 Considering it a hen of the former, he sold it to Dr. Robert 

 Burkitt, who skinned and preserved it : the sex, however, 

 was not noted. The specimen was exhibited by the late Mr. 

 Thompson at the meeting of the British Association held at 

 Cork in August, 1843 ; and the brief notice in that part of 

 the ' Report ' of the Association for that year which contains 

 the " Transactions of the Sections " (p. 71) seems to be the 

 first printed announcement of the occurrence. In May, 1845, 

 the same gentleman made known (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 

 XV. p. 308, note) a few more particulars of the fact, as above 

 given, and in January, 1846, Dr. Burkitt presented the sldn 

 to the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin, where, however, 

 it is unfortunately not at the present time forthcoming. 



Dr. Burkitt most kindly allowed me the use of his bird 

 for this work, and the figure and description here given were 

 taken from this British-killed specimen. 



By Thompson, and in former editions of this work, the 

 specimen just mentioned was referred to the Ciulor figured 

 by Le Vaillant in his ' Oiseaux d'Afrique ' (pi. 107, fig. 2) 

 and, in 1818, named by Vieillot (Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. 

 XX. p. 258) TnnJns aurigaster ; but a comparison of Le 

 Vaillant's figure with the description of the bird shot in Ire- 

 land has for some time convinced several ornithologists, and 

 among them the present Editor, that this reference was 

 erroneous. The Ciidor, though belonging to the same 

 genus, differed very remarkably in plumage, possessing a 

 head which, if not black, was decidedly darker than the 

 shoulders and back, while the throat and lower parts gene- 

 rally were white. In the Waterford bird, on the contrary, 

 the head was but little darker than the rest of the upper parts, 

 and the lower parts, or at least the throat and breast, were 

 but little lighter. There can therefore be no doubt as to 

 the latter having been mistaken for Le Vaillant's Cudor, 

 which, it may be mentioned, has been shewn by Prof. Sun- 

 devall not to be an African bird at all, but a species long 

 known from Java ; while, on the other hand, the description 

 which follows, and a coloured drawing of the Waterford bird, 



