498 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



were noticed on a rocky islet. A single Whimbrel, Numenius phtsopus, was 

 seen feeding on the rocks. Making for a famous pigeon-cave in a break ot 

 the rock-bound coast, called Tralong Bay, another Kingfisher, a very hand- 

 some one, was descried, and I was anxious to secure it, but it completely 

 baffled us. Our boatman called it a " Wood-picker," and every now and 

 then, in the course of our unsuccessful chase, would ask, " Is the Wood- 

 picker a skilful bird, sir?" By "skilful" he explained that he meant 

 clever at concealing itself, like a Snipe. Our bird probably betook itself to 

 a hole in the rocks, a usual expedient of the Kingfisher. Arrived at the 

 pigeon-cave we put fifteen or twenty pigeons on the wing, of which we 

 bagged not more than five. We then visited another cave, also reputed 

 to be well stocked with pigeons. We found but one bird here, a disap- 

 pointment somewhat made up for by an exploration of the cavity in which 

 we found ourselves. The cave-tunnel runs in fully a hundred yards under 

 the ground till it meets a vertical shaft bringing down the light of day to a 

 boiling vertex, where the inrush of the sea finds its onward progress checked. 

 In stormy weather the furious agitation of the waters is said to furnish a 

 grand and impressive spectacle to an observer venturous enough to watch 

 the scene of turmoil down the shaft. Sea-spleenwort, AspUniwm marinum, 

 grows on the upper part of the cave's sides towards the mouth, completely 

 lining the rock, where fresh water was trickling down in the roof. I saw 

 the first Redwing this year on October 5th, flying over a wood in company 

 with four Mistletoe Thrushes; the latter are very common just now ; since 

 the 5th I have seen fourteen or fifteen. — C. Donovan, jun. (Myross Wood 

 Leap, Co. Cork). 



Early appearance of Wigeon. — Apropos of a note on this subject 

 (p. 424), the following may be interesting; — The 1st of August in this 

 neighbourhood is looked forward to with some degree of interest by the 

 sporting community, whose chief object is to slaughter the numerous wild- 

 fowl which frequent the river, but whose longings are happily held in check 

 by the Wild Birds Protection Act till the above date. A friend of mine 

 informed me that in the early morning of the first day's shooting he heard 

 what he thought was the distant note of Wigeon passing high overhead ; 

 and this supposition was subsequently confirmed, for in the evening of the 

 4th or 5th August he saw two Wigeon killed out of a flock of three. Last 

 season I saw several Wigeon which had been killed on the river exposed for 

 sale in the first week of September, which I thought early for the species 

 so far south. Whilst on the subject of the appearance of Wigeon iu summer, 

 I may state that in June, 1880, a cow-boy came to inform me that in driving 

 his cows near the river he had on several occasions seen a very handsome 

 duck fly out of the rushes, and had tried to kill it with his catapult. Seeing 

 a male Wigeon iu a case, he pointed to it, and said " That is the sort of 

 duck I mean," about which, of course, I thought he was mistaken ; but not 



