310 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



and besides the cutting caused by the jaws, there are the formidable cross 

 spikes to which your correspondent calls attention ; they would penetrate 

 anyone's ankle on each side (speaking from memory) to a depth of over an 

 inch. — A. H. Cocks (Thames Bank, Great Marlow). 



BIRDS. 



Barred Warbler in Ireland.— On his return from Belmullet, a few 

 weeks ago, my friend Mr. R. J. Ussher sent me, for determination, a 

 warbler, which turns out to be a female Barred Warbler, Sylvia nisoria, 

 now to be for the first time recorded as an Irish bird ; and I am glad to 

 say that Prof. Newton, who has very kindly examined the specimen, confirms 

 my identification. Mr. Ussher informs me that the present example was 

 obtained, by the venerable ornithologist Dr. Robert J. Burkitt, at Belmullet, 

 in the remote north-west of Mayo, on the 24th September, 1884, about the 

 same date when several others were captured in England. To Dr. Burkitt 

 Irish Ornithology is already indebted for the record of the Great Auk, the 

 Gold-vented Thrush, and the Spotted Eagle Owl, all of which he obtained 

 in the vicinity of his former residence at Waterford ; and it is interesting 

 to find one who commenced collecting birds in 1839, and is now eighty-four 

 years of age, adding one more rarity, Sylvia nisoria, to the Irish avifauna. — 

 A. G. More (Science and Art Museum, Dublin). 



Protective Colour of Birds' Eggs. — On July 7th, while walking with 

 a friend on the Wicklow coast, near Kilcoole, I found a nest of the Ringed 

 Plover, with three eggs, after a long and careful search, having seen the 

 bird near the spot running along the shore. I drew my companion's 

 attention to the admirable manner in which these eggs, laid without shelter 

 on the open shore, were protected from discovery by their resemblance to 

 surrounding objects, and, for our amusement and instruction, I made the 

 following experiments: — Walking backwards and keeping my eyes fixed 

 on the nest, I found that the eggs ceased to be visible at about fifeen yards ; 

 at ten yards they were conspicuous as long as the eye was fixed on them, 

 but on my turning my back to the nest for an instant it was some minutes 

 before I could see the eggs again. This for myself, who am well accustomed 

 to finding nests such as this. My companion found that while there was 

 no difficulty in seeing the eggs at ten yards as long as the eye was fixed on 

 them, yet on looking away for a moment he could not find them again, and 

 even when I walked to w 7 ithin three paces of the nest, and pointed at it 

 with my walking-stick, it was still several minutes before he again caught 

 sight of the eggs. Once seen they were quite conspicuous. Near the 

 same place we found some nests of the Lesser Tern after a very long 

 search, having seen the birds rise from the shore. From the foot-marks, 

 it was evident that, while searching, one of us had actually stepped over 

 a clutch of three eggs lying in the sand, without seeing them. In a 



