28 ANATID^. 



snow, when the " lords of the creation" do not anticipate it. 

 This is indicated by their exceeding restlessness, and by flap- 

 ping with their wings along the surface of the water. Their 

 doing so in one instance particularly noted (in January, 1837), 

 together with the tameness of the robins, led me, from having 

 before observed such indications, to predict the approaching change; 

 and next morning the ground was covered deeply with snow. 



THE GREY LAG GOOSE. 



Anser ferns, Gessner. 



„ cinereus, Meyer and Wolf. 

 Anas anser, Linn. 



Is of occasional, but rare occurrence in winter. 



To the fifth volume of the 'Annals of Natural History' I contributed 

 the following notice of the species : — " In the collection of R. Ball, 

 Esq. there is a specimen of this goose purchased by him in Dublin 

 market early in the winter of 1837, and stated to have been shot 

 in this country with two others exposed for sale at the same time. 

 Judging from its small size, the specimen is a female : it displays 

 the blackish markings disposed irregularly over the lower part of 

 the breast and the belly, considered by Temminck indicative of 

 very old individuals of both sexes (Man. d'Orn. TEur. t. 2. p. 819) 

 and which have generally been unnoticed in the descriptions of the 

 species. This is the fu'st Irish specimen of the true Wild Goose 

 or Grey Lag that I have seen, the Bean Goose being in this 

 country, as in England and Scotland, the common species, and, 

 with the White-fronted, on sale in our markets every winter." 



I have subsequently seen a few other Grey Lag Geese which 

 were brought from the interior of the country to Dublin market. 

 One was obtained in the winter of 1847, and three were there in 

 December, 1848.* On the 23rd of October, 1849, a fresh bird 

 offered for sale to the University Museum by a dealer in wild 

 fowl, who knows the species as distinct from the bean and white- 



* Mr. K. J. Montgomery. 



