NOTES FROM NORTH-WEST IRELAND. 483 



tains, about fifteen hundred feet up, feeding with a few Books on 

 a grassy slope. 



The Raven is another bird which never seems to increase 

 much here, but I expect in this case the young birds are driven 

 away by the old ones. A good many Ravens are trapped yearly 

 by the farmers, as they seem to think they do considerable harm ; 

 they will also tell you that if they trap a Raven the surviving one 

 will get another mate in a few days. It is impossible here, even 

 with a rope, to get at the nest, which is always built in an over- 

 hanging part of the cliff ; the young birds leave this nest about 

 the end of March. I only saw three pairs during August, but 

 they seem to wander a good deal at this time of year. 



There are always a good number of Peregrines to be seen, 

 and Kestrels are plentiful enough ; they were by far the most 

 common of the Hawks ; there were often four or five together, 

 and they seemed to annoy the Choughs very much, as they were 

 continually chasing them. I only saw two or three Sparrow- 

 hawks, and there was one Brown Owl round the house ; one pair 

 of the latter generally nest here. I could not find out where the 

 Eagles bred this year ; as a rule a pair breed anuually among the 

 mountains. For the last two years I have known where the nest 

 was, and am glad to say they are well looked after. 



In the middle of a little fresh-water lake there is a small 

 island, upon which numbers of Terns breed annually. The island 

 is round, and not more than ten yards in diameter ; it is com- 

 pletely overgrown with nettles, except round the edge, where 

 there is nothing but loose stones. I am sorry to say I was too 

 late to see much of the Terns ; there were a few Common Terns 

 about, and I feel sure I saw some Arctic Terns flying round. I 

 was also told on fairly good authority that a very little Tern bred 

 there ; also that eggs which were supposed to have been those of 

 the Roseate Tern were taken there this year. I give these state- 

 ments for what they are worth, not being able to corroborate 

 them from my own observation. I intend to visit the island 

 earlier another year. A few Black-headed Gulls also build on 

 the same island ; they are quite the most common of all the 

 Gulls I saw during August. 



Coming to the smaller birds, Wheatears could be seen every- 

 where, the highest point I found them at being two thousand feet. 



2i2 



