6 OUR IRISH SONG BIRDS. 



as it flitted backwards and forwards from the Baron 

 Hill Woods, near Beaumaris, with a deep " Ho ho, 

 Ho-ho-o-o " this last with a peculiar tremulous sound. 

 In Ireland, however, we hear only the screech of the 

 Barn Owl,* or the " oop, oop," or the curious " quack, 

 quack," of the Long-eared Owl ; the voice of the Night- 

 jar being certainly the most remarkable of all Irish 

 birds. 



I do not think that anyone hearing this curious note 

 for the first time could believe that it proceeded from a 

 bird ; and it is equally difficult to imagine that the 

 Grasshopper Warbler's song can proceed from anything 

 but an insect. This latter song I have heard but 

 seldom ; but it is compared to the " running out of a 

 slick wheel," whatever that may be ; to me it seemed 

 more like the winding up of a small fishing-wheel. 



Birds of prey are, we know, deficient in song, as they 

 are in nest-making. It is said that the Woodchat 

 Shrike is an exception to this rule ; I have never, how- 

 ever, had an opportunity of judging from personal 

 experience, although I have frequently seen this bird in 

 France. 



Some birds really possessed of pleasant voices and 

 musical taste get but little credit for their vocal efforts. 

 Of these, perhaps, the Swallow is the most noted in- 

 stance ; on the other hand, the song of the Canary and 

 of the Chaffinch have been, in my opinion, far too highly 

 esteemed. 



In Ireland we know but little of the presence of the 

 "three feathered kings of song" the Nightingale, the 



This bird has also a "kek, kek, kek," often heard over Dublin at 

 night. 



