BIRDS OF THE ISLE OF MAN. 93 



1887, p. 272) mentions a specimen, from near Dorking, 26 inches 

 long. The largest British specimens in the Natural History 

 Museum measure nearly 2 feet (590 millims.). It is often stated 

 that females are larger than males, but this is not supported 

 by the material before me. The young at birth measure 6 to 

 6J inches. 



No statements as to size should be accepted unless the speci- 

 mens have been actually measured with a tape. The length of 

 the tail should be given, and the sex identified. 



In concluding I would urge on all who have an opportunity, 

 to take note of anything concerning the habits, time of pairing 

 and of parturition, number of young, food, &c. It is now known 

 that, in addition to small mammals (mice, voles, shrews, moles) 

 which form their ordinary diet, Vipers will take young birds 

 from the nest, lizards, and Batrachians, — thus drawing, for their 

 bill of fare, on the four classes of terrestrial Vertebrates. A 

 specimen from Hampshire which I recently opened contained a 

 shrew and a frog ; and Dr. F. Miiller, of Basle, found a Salamander 

 (Salamandra atra) in one from the Alps of Switzerland. 



BIRDS OF THE ISLE OF MAN. 

 By P. Ralfe. 



The following notes on some Manx birds, the result of 

 several years' observation, may be acceptable as relating to the 

 Ornithology of a locality seldom mentioned in this journal. 

 The fauna of the island, considering its isolated position and 

 its relation to lines of migration, deserves more attention, 

 I think, than it has yet received. It is observable that in 

 Mr. Christy's Index to British local Ornithology, the Isle of Man 

 is unrepresented. A list of Manx Birds, however, by Mr. P. 

 Kermode, has been published in the * Transactions of the Isle of 

 Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society.' * 



In the following pages I confine myself almost entirely to 

 what has fallen under my own notice, and have aimed only at 

 giving an idea of the more striking points in our local Ornithology. 

 I may remark upon the absence or scarcity of some familiar 



* A short article on the Birds of the Isle of Man will be found in ■ The 

 Naturalists' Note-Book for 1867,' a periodical in 4to, of which only three 

 volumes were published, 1867-69. — Ed. 



