DUBLIN NATURAL HISTOEY SOCIETr. 119 



I believe the Eedstart {Ph. ruticilla) is a rare bird in Ireland. I 

 once shot two in the County Wexford ; I gave the skins to Mr. Glen- 

 non. Many years ago I found a specimen of Bulwer's Petrel {Thallas. 

 Bulweri) dead on the sea-shore at Kilmore, County "Wexford, but it was 

 in too advanced a stage of decay for preservation. I have, however, no 

 doubt whatever of its identity, and it does not appear to have been ob- 

 served before. 



A LIST OF THE SWIMMING BIfiDS (nATATOEEs) OBSEEVED TO EEEaUENT 

 THE DISTEICTS OF THE COUNTIES MAYO AND SLIGO WHICH BOEDEE ON 

 KILLALA BAY AND THE TIDAL PAETS OF THE EIVEE MOT. BY EOBEET 

 WAEEEN, JUN., COEEESPONDING MEMBEE. 



[Read March 7, 1862.] 



Wild Swan iCygnus ). — This fine bird is often seen passuig over- 

 head on its way to the mountain lakes of Erris, to which it is a regular 

 winter visitor. I have only once seen them on the tidal part of the Moy, 

 viz. during the severe weather of 1860. On the 28th December, I ob- 

 served three birds, feeding in company vdth a large flock of widgeon, 

 close to the Moyview shore ; it being flood-tide, they fed closer to the 

 land as the water deepened, and, as I watched them from behind a fence 

 while they were feeding, I remarked they occasionally uttered a low, 

 sweet note. After some time, the rising tide brought them withia shot; 

 and, although I severely wounded two (one having a broken wing), they 

 unfortunately got away, my dogs being afraid to follow them, and my 

 boat being at the time several feet deep under snow, I was unable to 

 secure them. On the 30th of same month, a flock of twenty-two was 

 seen flying up the river, closely followed by a small flock of five. All 

 that were observed had the adult plumage. In some years they are very 

 abundant on the Erris lakes. I have been credibly informed by a gen- 

 tleman who was shooting with a party in Erris, in the winter of 1856, 

 that on one day they saw upwards of forty swans on the lake. 



Bean Goose {Anser segetum). — Is a regular winter visitant, I saw 

 a wounded bird of this species become quite domesticated in the poultry- 

 yard of a person in Ballina. 



White-fronted Goose {A. alhifrons). — Is also a regular winter visi- 

 tant, and much more numerous than the Bean Goose. Both species are 

 frequently shot by the country people, who watch for them on their 

 flight to and from the feeding grounds. 



Shelldrake {Anas tadorna). — A small flock of this fine bird may be 

 occasionally seen in winter frequenting the sandy flats of the bay and 

 river, which are bared by the tides at low water. In their mode of 

 flight they appear to me to resemble the geese much more closely than 

 the duck tribe. 



Shoveller {Anas clypeata). — I have only once seen. On the 1st of 

 January, 1862, when widgeon shooting on the river, I observed a fine 



