NOTES FROM NATAL. 243 



six contained eggs ; the eighth he was unable to reach, owing to 

 the depth of the mud ; nor would he have reached any of them 

 had he not made use of two pieces of board to prevent his 

 sinking. We expected to have seen a larger colony of Gulls, for 

 there was ample space, even on the last lough, for the nests of 

 many more birds ; but, from what we heard from a man who was 

 cutting turf beside the water, there was the usual number of 

 birds there. 



In the summer of 1855, when visiting Lough Talt, in the Ox 

 Mountains, Co. Sligo, I saw a few pairs of the Common Gull that 

 had bred on two small islands in the lough, and found the young 

 just fledged, and in one nest an addled egg. Shortly afterwards, 

 however, that place was deserted by the Gulls as a breeding 

 haunt, in consequence of boats being placed there for trout- 

 fishing ; and as the lough was often fished, especially in May, 

 the birds were never undisturbed in the nesting season. 



I never saw the bogs so bare of birds, for during the long 

 time we walked over them, visiting a number of loughs, not a 

 Snipe was seen; only one Grouse, a Curlew, and the pair of 

 Dunlins already mentioned, which I think must have been the 

 owners of the nest found. It was certainly rather early for the 

 Dunlins to pair, for the next day I saw a flock of over two 

 hundred individuals on the shore here, and nearly all in summer 

 plumage. 



ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NATAL. 

 By Majors E. A. Butler and H. W. Feilden, and Capt. S. G. Reid. 



(Continued from p. 212.) 



Drymcexa affinis (Smith), Tawny-flanked Grass Warbler.— 

 A single specimen, male, obtained by Eeid at the Umgeni Eiver, 

 near Durban, on the 26th December. 



Drymceca hypoxmtha (Sharpe), Saffron-breasted Grass War- 

 bler.— Not uncommon in the Newcastle district, where we all 

 obtained specimens. It is a conspicuous bird, in spite of its shy 

 habits. We usually found it in the neighbourhood of water, 

 especially in bushes among rocks and high grass. 



Cisticola natalensis (Smith), Natal Fantail Warbler.— Eeid 

 shot two specimens of this Grass Warbler— one, a female, at the 



