120 DUBLIN NATFEAL HISTOKT SOCIETY. 



male amongst a flock of -widgeon. It was apparently in adult plu- 

 mage, as its colour was very brilliant. 



Wild Duck (Anas hoschas). — Is very numerous here, and much more 

 so than they appear to the casual observer, chiefly on account of the 

 place tliey frequent by day. Some remain in the bogs, but the great 

 body of them keep out in the open bay, just outside the violence of the 

 surf that continually breaks on the Bartra sands. During very stormy 

 weather, the great flock rests on the unfrequented sands at the western 

 side of Bartra. I have often found their nests (in small bogs) contain- 

 ing from eight to fourteen eggs. 



Gad wall {A. strepera). — This rare duck I have met twice. In the 

 first instance, in the winter of 1855, 1 observed a small flock of five birds 

 feeding on the sands, at low water, on the Sligo side of the river ; and 

 again, on the 6th of March, 1856, I shot an adult pair, male and 

 female, out of a flock of seven, as they were feeding on the Moyview 

 shore, in company with some widgeon. The patch of buff on the tail- 

 coverts of the male, and the peculiar carriage of their heads and bills, 

 induced me to aim at them rather than at the widgeon, of which IkiUed 

 a pair also at the shot. 



Pintail {A. acuta). — This elegant-looking duck visits the bay and 

 river nearly every winter, in limited numbers, and associates with the 

 widgeon on their feeding grounds. In December, 1856, 1 shot a splen- 

 did pair (male and female, in adult plumage), from amongst a flock of 

 widgeon, near Bartra. 



Teal {A. crecca) Is seldom seen in any numbers on the river, 



imless driven by severe frost from the inland waters and bogs ; but then 

 flocks of fifty to one hundred individuals may be seen on the tidal parts 

 of the river, where they remain until the frost disappears ; on the night 

 succeeding which event, they all, with the exception of a few strag- 

 glers, depart for their usual inland haunts. Although of comparative 

 easy approach in its inland haunts, yet on its visit to the sea-side I have 

 always found it the most wary of the ducks, and the most dijQicTilt to be 

 shot from a boat. 



"Widgeon {A. penelope). — In very large numbers frequent the bay 

 and river ; some arrive as early as September, but the great body of 

 them do not make their appearance before October, and they take their 

 departure for their summer quarters in March; but generally a few 

 stragglers remain until the middle of April. In the early part of winter 

 they are considered very good for the table, but towards spring they 

 acquire a rank and fishy flavour. This change may be partly attributed 

 to the approach of the breeding season, and partly to a change of food, 

 because towards spring the supply of zostera, or widgeon -grass, is ex- 

 hausted, and they substitute the laver, or sloke, which grows in great 

 abundance on the stony shores of the river and bay. 



Black Scoter {A. nigra). — In the winter of 1 857, a pair were observed 

 to frequent the river near Bartra for some weeks. 



Pochard {A. ferina). — I have met only once, when I shot a female 

 on the river, near Moyview. 



