548 INIr. W. R. Ogilvie-Graiit on 



been known to come within nine feet of a stranger (not tlie 

 ])arlv-keepei-) who offered them bread, and tliis witli a dozen 

 people standing by, not a single bird, but five of them 

 together. Sucii tameness is surely extraordinary in the 

 case of a wild bird of this description. 



Again, the Whoopers are quite masters of the Mute 

 Swans. They chase the domesticated birds away in their 

 eagerness to secure a tit- bit. Even the Whooper cygnets 

 can do this. Their antipathy to strange dogs is another 

 marked peculiarity, though they are perfectly friendly with 

 the park-keeper's black retriever, because they know it. On 

 one occasion a warning " IIonk-Honk" greeted a collie dog 

 that was galloping along the river bank. The dog ventured 

 into the water, and was promptly chased out of it by the 

 AVlioopers. And this is not a solitary instance of their 

 objection to strange dogs. 



Three of these birds left Carlisle on Sunday, the 26t!i of 

 March last. They were adults, and the five that remained 

 comprised two adults and three cygnets. This happens to 

 be the last date of which I have any record. 



These particulars are extracted from notes sent to me bv 

 ]\lr. T. L. Johnston, of Carlisle : the photograph was taken 

 by Canon Bower of the same place. 



XX. — On the Irish Coal-Titmouse (Parus hibernicus). 

 By W. li. Ogilvie-Grant, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 



(Plate X.) 



The absence of a proper series of skins of Irish birds has 

 frequently been complained of by those who consult the 

 collection in the Natural History Museum, many species, 

 especially among the Passeres, being either very poorly repre- 

 sented or wanting. For years past I liad hojjed to make a 

 collecting-trip through Ireland in order to rectify this un- 

 satisfactory state of affairs, but the opportunity for carrying 



