374 - HIRUNDINEMS. 



Lough Dan. He saw the bird very well, as it admitted of his 

 approach within twenty yards : his description agreeing with the 

 A. Alcyon, the specimen was shown to him, and he at once iden- 

 tified his bird as being of the same species. On his return to the 

 country, he again met with and shot the bird, winch proved to be 

 A. Alcyon. It is now in the collection of Mr. Warren; the 

 other was purchased for the museum of Trinity College, Dublin. 

 " This kingfisher, said to be the only species inhabiting North 

 America, is migratory there, and like other birds which Tiave 

 visited Ireland and Great Britain from that continent, has ap- 

 peared about the period of migration. As an American bird, it 

 is fully treated of by Wilson,* Audubon,t and Richardson. % The 

 last author states, that in summer 'it frequents all the large rivers 

 in the fur countries up to the 67th degree of latitude/ It retires 

 to winter in the Southern States, and the West India islands 

 (Wilson and Richardson). Audubon remarks, that 'it is ex- 

 tremely hardy, and those individuals winch migrate northward to 

 breed, seldom return towards our Southern States, where they 

 spend the winter, until absolutely forced to do so by the great seve- 

 rity of the weather/ vol. v.p. 548. Tins is, I believe, the first notice 

 of the species being met with on the eastern side of the Atlantic." 



THE COMMON SWALLOW. 



Hirundo rustica, Linn. 



Is abundant in summer ; much more so than the other 



species of the family. 



Arrival. It arrives the second in order, being preceded by 



the sand-martin. The earliest appearance of the swallow that I 



have known about Belfast, was in 1846, when on the 30th of 



March, two birds exhibiting the long tail-feathers which denote 



H. rustica, were seen flying over the bay. On the next day, a 



single bird was observed on each side of its shores. A large 



flock of brent-geese was in the bay ; birds representing summer 



and winter being thus seen at the same time. The picturesque 



* Sir W. Jardine's edit., vol. i. p. 348. f Orn. Biog. vols. i. and v. 



% Fauna Bor. Amur. p. 339. 



