G18 The Zoologist— March, 18G7. 



oar glasses, aud anon shouting to raise an eagle, if there was one, but 

 no success followed our exertions, and a female merlin, which skimmed 

 across the ravine, was the only raptorial bird we saw. As we con- 

 tinued our descent the glen became more and more wooded, until, on 

 passing a police-barrack, we emerged at the head of Lough "Veigb, 

 and found ourselves in a narrow path overshadowed with trees, which 

 we followed along the shores of the lake for about six miles, occa- 

 sionally regaled by the notes of the thrush, to which our ears had for 

 some days been strangers. Evening was coming on, and we were 

 glad to meet our cai - , which had gone round to the cross-roads, and 

 get safely to Letterkenny. Here we met a gentleman who had seen 

 an eagle over Glen Veigh only a few days before. Thanks to his 

 shooting, we were regaled with rook-pie, respecting which great 

 mystery was observed at the inn, for it seems that the people in this part 

 of the country will not eat rooks if they know it ; however, under the 

 name of " pigeon pie " it had been severely punished before it came 

 to us. 



Car to Rathmullen, and boat across Lough Foylc, which in the 

 winter, the boatmen told us, swarms with bernicle, brent, widgeon, &c, 

 brought us to Buncrana, whence we proceeded to Malin Hall, which 

 boasts of one of the largest rookeries I ever visited. Not only is the 

 number of nests great, but the dimensions of some of them are 

 enormous : one in particular consisted of a mass of sticks about six 

 feet deep by four feet wide, and was built round seven or eight stems 

 of considerable thickness. I should imagine that these rooks do not 

 destroy their nests and rebuild them again every year, as some are 

 supposed to do. There is also a heronry close to the rookery, and the 

 unfortunate herons get dreadfully bullied by their black neighbours ; 

 indeed the moment one of the former appears it is the signal for two 

 or three rooks to attack him at once, and it was very interesting to 

 watch their evolutions, each striving to mount above the other. The 

 heron's nests were easily accessible, and were, if I recollect rightly, 

 built in sycamore trees, the same as those of the rooks. All the young 

 birds could fly well, but they seemed to hang about the nests a good 

 deal. 



A rattling run, during which we saw numerous gannets fishing, with 

 now and then a Manx shearwater, and other commoner sea-birds, 

 brought us to Portrush, where we carefully examined the Skerries for 

 terns, but they had not begun to breed, and very few had arrived, the 

 rocks being abandoned to oystercatchers and rock pipits, the latter 



