434 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



A few Tevns were about ; tbey nest on one island in the lake. 

 The last White-fronted Geese were seen that day. 



Corncrakes were now numerous, far more so than I have 

 seen them for about six years ; they might be seen and heard in 

 the hayfields every evening. 



A little way from here, on May 3rd, a Sedge-Warbler was 

 singing, and from this date they might be heard every day. 



The next day we set off to the northern end of Lough Mask. 

 On the way we found a colony of Sand-Martins nesting in the 

 sides of a raised road across a bog ; there is a great scarcity of 

 sand-pits in the country, and it is not uncommon for Sand- 

 Martins to nest in turf banks (see Ussher's ' List of Irish Birds,' 

 p. 17). 



In the' hills near Lough Mask birds were extraordinarily 

 scarce — only a few Meadow-Pipits and Cuckoos ; in one bay we 

 saw a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, and Common Sandpipers 

 were about the shores. 



An arm of the lake goes back into the country like a river 

 and then forms a small lake : here there were no less than 

 eighteen Mute Swans ; also a few Terns and a flock of Curlew 

 along with some Whimbrels. 



Finches were to be found in flocks on the newly sown oats at 

 the end of the first week of May, nearly all having deserted the 

 yards. 



On May 11th, after half an hour's search, we found three 

 young Redshanks, which could not have been hatched many 

 days. 



An interesting record is that of the occurrence of a Nightjar 

 at the Blackrock. It landed there exhausted in October last and 

 died in a few days. 



A pure white Curlew was shot by a local fowler last winter. 



