OCCASIONAL NOTES. 67 



correspondents met with anything similar amongst English Hares? — 

 A. Williams (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 



Black Rat in the Channel Islands. — The present distribution of 

 the Black Rat being a matter of interest to zoologists, the following notes 

 concerning it may be acceptable. It is still pretty numerous in Jersey, 

 especially in the eastern part, and in Guernsey. In Sark, where its rights 

 have not been disputed by its brown relative, it is abundant. The fact of 

 no vessels coming alongside in this latter island, all landing of goods and 

 passengers being effected by means of small boats, accounts of course for 

 the non-introduction of the Brown Rat. How the Black Rat came there, 

 or whether its occupation of the island dates from the time that it was 

 continuous with the mainland, are interesting matters for speculation. — 

 J. Sinel (" Bagot," Jersey). 



Cormorants breeding on an inland Lake. — Towards the end of 

 June, 1876, while driving through the Ox Mountains, Co. Mayo, I noticed 

 a large number of Cormorants, Phalacrocorax carbo, roosting on an island 

 in a lake, Lough Attymas, about eleven miles from the sea. On making 

 inquiry among the peasants I was informed that about eight years previous 

 to my visit there had been a cabbage-garden on this island which was made 

 a cover for the illicit distillation of whisky, or "poteen," and when the still 

 was discovered and seized by the police, the spot was first taken possession 

 of by a colony of Herons, Ardea cinerea, which built their nests on some 

 small sallows and bushes, and they continued to frequent the spot regularly 

 for a few years until they were driven off by the Cormorants ; these latter, 

 coming in large numbers, held undisputed possession of their lonely home 

 until I visited their retreat. There had not been a boat on the lake 

 for several years, so I was obliged to send one out from Ballina, and this 

 proved so leaky that I had great difficulty in carrying out my project, but on 

 reaching the island I saw a wonderful sight ; the bushes half-dead, killed, 

 I suppose, by the fresh guano, were laden with nests wherever room could 

 be found, and the ground was so closely occupied that I had considerable 

 difficulty in walking without treading on the nests. The old birds were so 

 tame that they would not fly away when I landed, so I went round and 

 drove them away with an oar, but as fast as I had chased them off on one 

 side they returned on the other, so I left them alone and betook myself to 

 examining the nests ; where the still had formerly been placed was a 

 circular wall about 2i ft. high, and the nests were crowded as close together 

 on the top as they could be: there were, I should say, seventy or eighty 

 nests altogether on the island, and in the greater number of them were 

 young ones ; but I took three or four dozen of eggs. The stench was 

 intolerable, and, when I walked under the trees, the young birds above 



