the Irish Coal-Titmouse. 519 



out this scheme never occurred. Recent events, however, in 

 the ornithological world make it imperative that immediate 

 steps should be taken to procure a representative set of 

 our resident Irish species. 



It was shewn by Dr. ITartert [Vog. pal. Faun. i. p. 790 

 (1910)] tliat the Dipper is represented in Ireland by a 

 perfectly distinct form, for which he proposed the name 

 Cinchis cinclus hibernicus. Shortly afterwards I drew 

 attention to the equally interesting fact that the Irish Coal- 

 Titmouse (which I named Parus hibernicus) was very differer.t 

 from P. biitnnnicus, the representative form of P. a/e?- found 

 in Great Britain and also in Co. Down in the north-east of 

 Ireland. More recently, the Irish Jay, also a well-marked 

 insular form, has been described by Mr. Witherby and 

 Dr. Hartert [Witherby's Brit. Birds, iv. p. 231 (1911)] as 

 Garrulus (jJundarius hibernicus. The distinctive characters 

 of the last-named bird had for many years been well known 

 to Mr. R. M. Barringtou and other Irish ornithologists, but 

 no one had given it a name. 



These interesting discoveries rendered it essential to delay 

 no longer in sending a collector to Ireland to obtain examples 

 of the resident birds from as many different counties as 

 possible. . 



Daring short visits paid to Co. Down in the month of 

 January 1904, and again in 1905, I obtained about one 

 hundred and fifty skins, and these represented practically 

 the only series of the resident Irish birds in the National 

 Collection. 



Early in January of the present year I sent j\[r. A. II. 

 Bishop to Ireland, and, thanks to the kindness of friends, 

 obtained permission for him to visit a number of estates in 

 different parts of the country and to collect without hindrance. 

 He commenced operations in the neighbourhood of Dublin, 

 subsequently moving on to Wicklow, Wexford, WaterforJ, 

 Kerry, Westmeath, Cavan, and Fermanagh. 



During the month he spent on this tour he collected about 

 three hundred skins, mostly of Passerine birds, and among 

 them obtained a fine series of over fifty examples of the 



SER. IX. VOL. V. 2 P 



