262 



Till-; ZOOLOGIST. 



iii my list than in the insertion of doubtful pretenders to that honour. 

 Let me, in conclusion, express an earnest hope that the publication of my 

 pamphlet, with your remarks thereon, may result in a greater iuterest 

 being displayed in the Ornithology of a district which has hitherto escaped 

 much notice. — W. A. Durnfokd (Tankersley Rectory, Barnsley). 



MAMMALIA. 



Marten in Co. Clare. — I received from Co. Clare some time ago a line 

 specimen of a Marten, whether Maries abietum or M.foina 1 am nut quite 

 certain, hut incline to consider it the former. The following are the 

 dimensions, which seem to me above the average: — Entire length, from 

 tip of nose to end of tail, 29 in. ; length of head, 1 § in. ; tail, 12 m. ; ditto, 

 to end of caudal vertebra.', N> in. ; fore limb from head of humerus to end of 

 claws, C,', in. ; hind limb, similarly measured, */, in. Weight, '-l lbs. oz. — 

 J. FfoluotI Darling (Bayview, Clouakilty, Co. Cork). 



BIRDS. 



Choughs in the Co. Waterford.— Although these birds have decreased 

 very considerably since the time when a man who was commissioned by 

 Dr. Ball to shoot him one brought him in fourteen, and though, even 

 within my recollection, thev were decidedly more numerous, yet they may 

 still be found throughout the year at many points on the more precipitous 

 portions of the coast of Waterford. Thev do not always sliuu human 

 habitations, for I have repeatedly within the past mouth seen a pair feeding 

 in the field beside the house of a friend who lives over the cliffs in which 

 they breed. They were even observed there lately perched on the stable- 

 ruof. Their nest (in which there were no eggs on the 9th inst.) is placed 

 in a fissure, or recess, at the top of a cave some thirty feet high. The sea 

 forms the floor of this cave, except at low water. Over the nest is an 

 overhanging arch of conglomerate. On April 28rd 1 obtained a Chough's 

 nest with live eggs, the yelks of which were perfectly fresh, and of as deep 

 a colour as the bird's bill. The nest was in a lissurc over a cave, with rocks 

 overhanging it again, and could only be approached with a long ladder. 

 This nest is composed of line stems and small pliant bents, chiefly of 

 heather, of a much liner description than those used by any of the Coicidcc, 

 except the Jay, though among the foundation sticks are coarser pieces of 

 blackthorn. Internally it is composed of cow's hair, with a lining of sheep's 

 wool. There is a very peculiar feature : attached to the bottom of the nest 

 by a long twist of the same material is a regular little mop of wool, which 

 lay among or upon the eggs, and must certainly have helped to conceal 

 them and to keep them warm when the parent was absent. I have never 

 heard of the weaving powers of a bird being employed in a similar device. 

 On May 4th, while 1 was on the top ot a lofty cliff, my friend in the boat 



