458 APPENDIX. 



This bird, though said to be a female, sings a little : being kept in the 

 kitchen, its song is always prompted by the music of the frying-pan, 

 and so long as this is heard so is the song of the bird as an accom- 

 paniment. It lives on hemp-seed, refusing canary-seed altogether, 

 and is a further illustration (see Sky-lark) of the former seed tending 

 to melanism. Bull-finches kept by the owner of this bird lost their 

 beautiful pink breasts by feeding on hemp-seed. The hybrid died in 

 the plumage just described, and was presented to the Belfast Museum. 



Rasores. — Hybrids between the male silver pheasant {Phasianus 

 vydliemerns) and female common pheasant (P. colchicus) have been 

 produced at Seaforde, county Down ; and between the male common 

 pheasant and domestic bantam fowl {Gallus domesticus), kept by E. K. 

 Sinclaire, Esq., at Belfast. Although this hen laid many eggs, one only 

 was productive ; the hybrid resembled more its female than its male 

 parent. 



Natatores. Anatidce. — Black Sivan [Cygnus atrata, Lath.), male ; 

 Mute Swan {Cygnus olor), female. — In the proceedings of the Zoolo- 

 gical Society of London for 1847 (p. 97), the following appeared. — 

 " Account of a black and white mottled swan on the water in the 

 demesne of the Earl of Shannon, Castle Martyr, county Cork ; by 

 Maurice Glencon, gamekeeper. 



"In the year 1843, a male black swan paired with a white female 

 swan ; she laid six eggs, and hatched four cygnets. Before they got 

 to the age of six months, three of them met with untimely deaths. 

 This bird [the remaining cj^gnet ?], in 184.5, paired with its father, 

 and laid four eggs, which came to nothing. It is very like the father 

 about the head, but about the body it resembles the white swan. It 

 lives on the water with others, black swans and white swans, and agrees 

 with both. 



" The above statement may be relied on as authentic and correct, 

 because I have witnessed it from beginning to ending." Castle 

 Martyr,- June 1847. 



The pairing of a male black swan with a Bewick's swan, but from 

 which no young resulted, has been noticed at p. 21. 



Mute Swan {Cygnus olor), and Follsli Swan {C. immutahills). — Mr, 

 Yarrell mentions that a Polish swan has paired with a mute swan on 

 the waters in the gardens of the Zoological Society, Phoenix Park, 

 Dublin (vol. iii. p. 227, 2nd edit.). Mr. E. Ball informs me that the 



