1911-12.] c 2 , 



recently passed through Mr. Stendall's hands, and are now beauti- 

 fully mounted for exhibition. Some of these birds, though shot 

 in the early part of the last century, are in perfect condition, and 

 among the most interesting may be mentioned the example of 

 Sabine's Gull, Xema sabinii, the first recorded specimen for the 

 British Isles ; Bonaparte's Gull, Larus Philadelphia, from the 

 River Lagan, the first British specimen ; Bonaparte's Sandpiper, 

 Tringa fusicollis; the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Tringites rufescens ; 

 the American Bittern, Botaurns lentiginosus, shot near Armagh in 

 November, 1845 ; the first authenticated Irish specimen of the 

 Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, a bird common in many 

 parts of England, though of very rare occurrence in Ireland ; the 

 Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca ; the Black-necked Grebe, Podicipes 

 nigricollis, one of our rare Winter visitants ; the first Irish 

 specimen of the Surf Scoter, (Edemia perspiciliaia, a duck of 

 North American origin ; the Pink-footed Goose, Anser brachy- 

 rhyncus ; and, lastly, a beautiful specimen of a Falcon. The last- 

 mentioned bird was but a year old when captured in County 

 Donegal in 1859, and was described at that period as an Iceland 

 Falcon, Falco islandits. Recently, however, our local ornitho- 

 logists have been inclined to refer the specimen to the Gyr- 

 Falcon, F. gyrfako. This latter had been considered by some 

 merely the Scandinavian variety of the Iceland Falcon, which is, 

 again, closely related to the Greenland Falcon, F. candicans. At 

 the close of the discussion which followed, in which the Chairman 

 and Mr. Robert Patterson were the chief speakers, it was proposed 

 by Mr. Patterson, and seconded by Mr. Stelfox, and passed, 

 that the following resolution should be sent to the municipal 

 authorities: — " That the Falcon on exhibition to-night should in 

 our opinion be submitted to English authorities before being 

 definitely named and placed on exhibition before the public." 

 Mr. Stendall having replied to several queries, the meeting 

 terminated. 



