50 Patten : Migratory Movements of certain Shore-Birds. 



high water. The beach inside the sand-dunes, i.e., between the 

 sand-hills and the road at Dollymount is composed of soft 

 estuarine mud, thickly top-dressed with slimy green seaweed, 

 and forms a feeding-ground for numbers of ' waders ' On the 

 far side of the sand-hills, a charming beach presents itself, 

 where the sands, covered at full tide by the open sea, are ribbed 

 and firm. Some shore-birds, notably the Sanderling, prefer 

 this ground. Here, then, it is seen that within the confines of 

 one area, which, when the tide is out, measures roughly three- 

 miles in length by one in breadth, an excellent natural habitat 

 is afforded. 



Having already incorporated a considerable amount of 

 information in my work on ' The Aquatic Birds of Great Britain 

 and Ireland,' published at the end of the year 1906, it seems 

 unnecessary to overload this paper with statistics ; indeed, 

 to avoid going over old ground, I purpose dealing only with a 

 small number of species, which may be regarded of special 

 interest, because of the increased information which I have been 

 able to secure regarding their movements. 



To give one an idea of the number of different kinds of 

 Limicoline birds alone which are included in the avi-fauna of 

 the North Bull, I here append a complete list, all of which I 

 have observed : — 



Great Plover (Oedicnemus scolopax) 

 Ringed Plover [Aegialitis hiaticola) 

 Golden Plover [Charadrius 



pluvialis) 

 Grey Plover {Squatarola helvetica) 



Purple Sandpiper {Trtnga striata) 

 Knot {Triiiga canutus) 

 Sanderling [Calidris'jirenaria) * 

 Ruff {Machetes pugnax) 



Lapwing IVanellus vulgaris) I Common Sandpiper [Totanus 



hypoleticus) 

 Common Redshank {Totanus 



calidris) 



Turnstone {StrepsHas interpres)* 

 Oyster-catcher {Hcematopus 



ostralegus) 

 Avocet {Recurvirostra avocetta) 

 Grey Phalarope {Phalaropus 



fulicarius) 

 Jack Snipe {Gallinago gallinula) 

 Common Snipe {Gallinago coelestis) 

 Dunlin {Tringa alpina) 

 Little Stint {Tringa minuta)* 

 Curlew-Sandpiper {Tringa subar- 

 quata) 



Only those species to which an asterisk is suffixed will be 



dealt with here. 

 — I do not intend to touch upon Web-footed birds in this 

 ■gg^per, but may say in passing, that of the orders Anseres and 



GavicB, large numbers of species are to be found in this vicinity. 



Naturalist, 



Spotted Redshank {Totanu'i fuscus) 

 Greenshank {Tetanus canescens) 

 Bar-tailed Godwit {Limosa lap- 



ponica) 

 Black-tailed Godwit {Limosa 



belgica) 

 Curlew {Numenius arquata) 

 Whimbrel {Numenius phoeopus) 



