i/2 THE FOWLER IN IRELAND. 



and birds habitual to the south, such as Teal and 

 Golden Plover, will betake themselves to France 

 and Spain, not to return. 



THE POLISH SWAN (Cygnus immutabilis) in Ire- 

 land is very rare, or I would rather say seldom shot ; 

 for out of the vast number of swans that visit that 

 country in severe winters, it may be presumed the 

 so-called Polish bird is not unfrequent. A Polish 

 Swan was shot at Kinsale, January 1881, and pre- 

 served by Rohu, of Cork. I killed one out of two 

 on the coast of Kerry the same month and year. 

 Though many swans were about, both Hoopers and 

 Bewick's, this pair were always alone, as were the 

 other species. The one I shot was an old male 

 without any knob, snow-white, and with slate- 

 coloured legs and feet. 



Here is an anecdote connected with this bird. A 

 gunner who had been specially taught, by reason of 

 previous mistakes, the reverse position of colour 

 on the bill of tame and wild swans, happened 

 to notice two birds of this species on a small 

 mere in county Galway. Fearing another error, 

 he spared both. He described one of them as 

 having a large black knob at the base of the bill, 

 which the other had not to the same extent. He 

 added, " this last was either a wild or a young 

 bird." I visited the spot next morning with a gun, 

 to find that one bird was an escape from some 

 private lake, and the other a so-called Polish Swan 

 that had acted the part of a decoy. I fired without 

 success ; and this bird I never saw again, though 

 often sought for. I had most unluckily a " light 

 single," the only gun procurable. Both these birds, 



