624 The Zoologist— March, 1867. 



large one, and we were obliged to leave a good deal of it unsearched, 

 as the tide was ebbing fast, and if we had not water enough to pass 

 through the narrows by Island Mahee we should have a two-miles' 

 pull in the teeth of a very stiff breeze. As it was we just managed to 

 force our craft over the rocks ; five minutes more, and we should have 

 been too late. As we came through, two cuckoos were having a most 

 animated squabble, and during the day we saw quite a number of 

 these birds. 



I could not learu anything about the breeding of the Sandwich tern 

 on this Lough, but I observed several of the birds : the lesser tern is 

 found, but I did not see any myself. Herons, herring and lesser 

 blackbacked gulls were scattered over the gravelly islets, but I do not 

 think the latter breed here, nor could I hear of a haunt of the black- 

 headed gull. The lads were now very anxious to take us to some of 

 the larger and thickly wooded islands, where they said we might get 

 some wood pigeon's eggs, or young, a prize they considered far 

 preferable to scale duck's eggs. We were, however, deaf to this 

 inducement ; we had done very well, and after an unsuccessful]search 

 for the nest of another pair of mergansers, which allowed us to come 

 very near, we returned to Aidmillan, well contented with everything 

 and everybody, especially " Pilot," who had taken to me from the first. 

 Much as I should have liked to purchase the clever little dog, his 

 owners seemed so fond of him that I could not find it in my heart to 

 offer a price which they might not have been able to resist, so after 

 lightening the creel by blowing our eggs we stepped off again for 

 Comber, where we dined off the very toughest fowl my teeth ever en- 

 countered by sea or land. Force of circumstances has caused me to de- 

 vour smoke-dried monkey, but its toughness was nothing to that fowl. 



Our ramble was now over : the following morning R. returned to 



Belfast, whilst I pushed on for Dublin, through the beautiful scenery 



of the County Down, satisfying myself on the way that the golden 



eagles had been quite exterminated in the Mourne mountains, and 



seeing nothing worthy of ornithological record, except a siskin which 



flew close over my car, and settled on a fir-tree on the edge of a large 



plantation, so that I had a good look at it through my binocular. 



Considering the season and locality this bird was probably breeding. 



And thus ended a most delightful three weeks' excursion in Ireland. 



Howard Saunders. 

 Oakfield, Reigate, November, 18G6. 



