OTES 



MIGRATION NOTES FROM RATHLIN ISLAND, 

 CO. ANTRIM, AUTUMN, 1913. 



During part of September and October, 1913, we were, in 

 Rathlin Island, off co. Antrim, and while there, observed 

 among others the following' species which are seldom recorded 

 from the north of Ireland. 



Greenland Redpoll {Carduelis I. rostrata). — On September 

 25th we procured a female Mealy Redpoll. This has been 

 examined by Mr, Witherby and pronounced to be of this 

 form, which has very rarely been recorded from Ireland. 

 The bird was accompanied by another, apparently a male. 



White Wagtail {Motacilla a. alba). — On September 12- 13th 

 off Ballycastle (on the mainland opposite Rathlin) we saw 

 between twenty and thirty White Wagtails on the seashore 

 among a much larger number of Pied Wagtails. A few 

 couples and single birds were seen on Rathhn on the 15th, 

 16th, and 18th, also associating with Pied Wagtails. 



Greenland Wheatear {(Enanthe oe. leucorrhoa). — Speci- 

 mens obtained from September 16th to 30th were all of this 

 form. 



Common Eider {Somateria m. mollissima). — On September 

 17th- 18th four Eider ducks were observed swimming in 

 Church Bay. On the 19th they were joined by a drake, 

 but on the next day three ducks were shot and the other 

 two birds had disappeared. On October 1st, however, 

 four more ducks were seen in the same place. The islanders 

 call this bird the " Shelduck," probably owing to the parti- 

 coloured plumage of the male, and say that it is not uncommon 

 in spring and autunm. The lighthouse -keepers say that 

 fifty or sixty Eiders are sometimes seen. 



TuRTLE-DovE {Streptopelia t. turtur). — On September 24th, 

 after a south-easterly gale, we saw a single Turtle-Dove. 



Mary G. S. Best. 

 Maud D. Haviland. 



LITTLE BUNTING IN YORKSHIRE. 



Mr. Thos. Stephenson, of Whitby, informs me that, on 

 October 6th, 1913, a Little Bunting {Emheriza pusilla) was 

 captured near that town, and was kept alive for nearly three 

 weeks. It was forwarded to Mr. W. Eagle Clarke, who 

 identified it and pronounced it to be a male. 



