DUBLIN NATTJEAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 123 



bank. I at first thought them to be young Common Terns ; but shortly 

 after they commenced to hawk after some insects, and the very sudden 

 and adroit twists and turns which they made while in pursuit of their 

 diminutive prey at once told me that they were birds which I was unac- 

 quainted with ; and, on shooting a pair, I saw that they were the Black 

 Tern in the immature plumage. One of these is now in your Museum. 



Black -headed Gull {L. ridihundus). — Is resident in very large num- 

 bers ; they breed on a small lake, midway between Killala and Ballina. 

 In the centre of the little lake there is a small island, nearly circular, 

 and only about fifteen yards in diameter, upon which the nests are placed 

 so thickly that it is almost impossible to walk without damaging either 

 nests or eggs. When last I visited the island, I counted upwards of 

 two hundred nests, with eggs and young ; and under some bushes, 

 amongst the very thickest of the gulls' nests, I discovered two wild ducks' 

 nests, containing eight and nine eggs, upon which the females were 

 sitting, apparently unmolested or disturbed by their noisy neighbours. 

 There is also a very extensive colony breeding on Lough Cloonagh. 



Kittiwake {Lar. rissa). — This pretty gull breeds in thousands on the 

 shelves and ledges of Downpatrick Head and the adjacent clifi's. 



Common Gull {L. canus). — Is very numerous in winter, and a few 

 pairs breed on a rocky islet in Lough Talt, in the Ox Mountains, county 

 of Sligo, about twelve mUes from the sea. This is the only breeding 

 haunt that I know of. 



Herring Gull (Z. argentatus). — Is very common, and breeds in large 

 numbers on the lofty cliffs of Downpatrick Head. 



Lesser Black-backed Gull {Larus jussus). — I have but seldom seen 

 in this locality. 



Great Black-back Gull (Z. mannus). — Is common in the bay 

 throughout the year. About twelve or fifteen pairs breed every summer 

 on the flat grassy top of the lofty pillar-like rock off Downpatrick 

 Head. This rocky pillar is situated about one hundred yards out from 

 the mainland, from which it is separated by deep water ; its sides are 

 perpendicular, and I should say some hundred feet in height ; so that 

 the gulls are able to rear their young in perfect safety, unmolested by 

 man. 



Iceland Gull (Z. Islandicus). — Is occasionally seen. I shot an im- 

 mature bird near Bartra, in December, 1851 ; and I saw one flying with 

 some Herring Gulls, also in the same locality, in December, 1854, and 

 again on the 7th of May, 1855, one passed close to the dwelling-house 

 at Moyview. I think, from the whiteness of its plumage, it must have 

 been an adult bird. On the 24th of December, 1861, 1 observed an im- 

 mature bird in a ploughed field at Moyview ; and from that date up to 

 the 26th of January, 1862, it continued to frequent the fields and shores 

 about Moyview. It was very tame, so much so that I thought it a pity 

 to shoot it ; so that I tried to take it alive with a baited hook ; but, un- 

 fortunately, it was so seriously injured by the hook, that it only survived 

 its capture a few hours. This specimen is now in your collection. 



Glaucous Gun (Z. glaucus). — On the 19th of December, 1859, I 



