Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 35 



bird of them I never saw after-wards ; the reason I cannot assign, it 

 might be that they were hurt in coming from Scotland and died, 

 or wandered away, which I beUeve they are prone to do." 



John Inghs, gamekeeper at Glenarm Park, replied to some queries 

 on this subject in the following words in January 1841. 



" In reply to your note regarding black game, I am sorry I can- 

 not give you a very flattering account of them. There has been one 

 black cock here about four years. I have not seen him for the last 

 four or five weeks, but I suppose him to be still alive. I think it is 

 likely he came from Claggan, as I believe Lord O'Neil turned out 

 some there shortly before the bird was seen here. [I'he places are 

 about fifteen miles apart.] At the beginning of August 1839, 

 I went to Scotland and got nine young birds at Douglas Castle ; 

 two of them died on the passage ; I turned out the seven on the 

 hill near the place M'here the old cock used to haunt, but none of 

 them were ever seen afterwards that I know of. The reason I assign 

 for their not succeeding at this time is, that I think they were too 

 young, and not fit to manage for themselves without the help of the 

 old bird. In November 1839, I again went to Douglas Castle, got 

 six brace of full-grown birds, viz. seven hens and five cocks ; I got 

 them all safe over to Glenarm, where I kept them for two days, 

 feeding them on corn till they recovered from the effects of the 

 passage. I then turned them out in the park quite strong and 

 healthy to all appearance. Some time after one of the cocks was 

 found dead in the park ; he was quite light and thin of flesh. One of 

 the cocks was shot about the same time in Glenariff, about eight 

 miles from Glenarm. A few of them kept about the park all winter. 

 Sometimes one would be seen, sometimes two, and in the month of 

 March there were three hens and one cock seen together, but about 

 the beginning of May all the hens disappeared, and none of them 

 have been seen since. One cock kept the park all summer, and was 

 seen lately, which is all that I know of here, out of the twelve 

 brought over. One cock was shot about two months ago by a gen- 

 tleman near Ballycastle, [about twenty miles distant,] which is 

 likely to be another of them. Where all the hens have gone to I 

 cannot say. I am still in hopes that some of them may be alive yet, 

 as they are so much like grouse that people who are not acquainted 

 with them would take no notice of them. 



" I now come to your last query, which is. If they ever bred? 

 and if they did ?iot succeed, the reasons assigned for their not doing so? 

 Now I really confess I cannot assign any satisfactory reason what- 

 ever, as I have no doubt that full-grown birds would live as well in 

 Ireland as they do in Scotland, if they were only let alone. What 

 I am most doubtful about is, whether they will breed as well ; and 

 the reason I am doubtful about this is, that when I was in Scotland, 

 keeper with Lord Douglas, at Douglas Castle, where black game 

 are very plentiful, in hunting the dogs over the ground I used to find 

 all the young broods of black game, not aynong heath or moss ground 

 where young grouse generally are, but on white or green ground, where 

 sprat and rushes are plenty, and where you will seldom find young 



