1915- Pattkn. — EidcfDiicks at {nUlilrahidl, 



8i 



1840; two from Mayo, 1842.^ Watters^ whose book 

 iippcarcd a few years later, added nothing ; he simply 

 reiterated what Thompson had stated. After a lapse of 

 thirty-four years A. G. More,^ who regarded the Eider- 

 Duek as "a very rare winter-visitor," added some ten 

 reeords, repeating these, without additions, in the seeond 

 issue of his "List of Irish Birds" pubhshed five years 

 later, viz., in 1890. Ussher, however, by gleaning in a 

 most painstaking way from every available source of 

 information, published or unpublished, was able to show 

 in his book, which appeared only five years later,"* that more 

 than thirty records were extant. Filhng in many gaps which 

 his predecessors had missed, he was enabled to place the status 

 of the Eider-Duck on a different footing in Ireland. He 

 certainly removed the notion that the bird was an "extremely 

 rare " or even a very rare visitor, and he called it " a rare 

 and irregular winter-visitor." He pointed out the im- 

 portant fact that while records came from all sides of 

 Ireland, they were more frequent from the north coast, 

 especially Rathlin, where Eider -Ducks had been frequently 

 shot. He drew attention to the fact that it is surprising 

 that this island is not more frequently visited owing to its 

 proximity to Islay — twenty miles of watei" separating the 

 two — for the species breeds and' occurs in large flocks 

 in the latter island. vSince Ussher's book came out 

 remarkably few records from Ireland have been published ; 

 so much so that Dr. Hartert in' his book published twelve 

 years later, gives a total of " under forty recorded from all 

 provinces." He designates the Eider-Duck in Ireland 

 as a " rare vagrant." Between the publication of Ussher's 



1 Two from Kerry, 1843 and 1845 -0, named King -Eiders by 

 Tliompson, were many years afterwards identified as Common Eiders 

 by Ussher, vide " Birds of Ireland," 1900, pp. 211, 212. 



^ " Birds of Ireland," 1853, p. 213. 



'"List of Irish Birds," 1885, p. 31. 



* " The Birds of Ireland," 1900, p. 211, et seq. N.B. — The occurrences 

 recorded by Mr. Barrington in his work on " The Migration of Birds at 

 Irish Light -stations," which appeared the same 3'car, 1900, are incor- 

 porated in L^ssher's book. 



^ " A Hand-List of British Birds," 1912, p. 144. 



