I9I5. 



Noics 



107 



Jays in Co. Cork. 



Mr. UssHER in " Birds of Ireland " mentions that Jays formerly inhabited 

 the valley of the Blackwater, Co. Cork, but were exterminated there for 

 the sake of their wing feathers, which are in great demand in the making 

 of salmon flies. He also mentions the species as occurring irregularly in 

 the county. A small colony appears, however, to have settled within 

 recent years in the woods of Convamore, Ballyhooly. My informant, 

 who was one of a shooting party there last Februar}'-, saw two of the birds 

 and heard others. The keeper told him that they came to the woods 

 about three years ago, and that he thought there were six or eight birds 

 there now. It will be interesting to see if they establish themselves here 

 again, though I fear they will have need of all their proverbial wariness. 



W. Abbott. 



The Rectory, Fermoy. 



White Wagtails in Co. Mayo. 



The White Wagtails as usual made their spring \'isit to the island of 

 Bartragh this season, a little flock of seven birds being observed on the 

 12th of ^lay at their usual haunt, the damp flat of coarse pasture between 

 the sandhills and the garden, and whenever a bird visits the island, it is 

 sure to be met in that locality. Since the 29th April, 1893, "^vhen I first 

 observed two birds on the island, obtaining a lovely male specimen (now 

 in the collection of the National Museum, Dubhn), a sharp look-out has 

 been kept for these birds every season between the 15th of April and the 

 first half of ]May, and it has been clearly and unmistakably proved, that 

 up to the present date the White Wagtails are regular spring visitors 

 to the island of Bartragh every season, when on their way to their northern 

 breeding haunts, the length of their visits depending on the state of the 

 weather. If a smart breeze of northerl}' or north-easterly wind is blomng, 

 their stay is prolonged for days, up to weeks, waiting for a change of wind 

 to the south ; then if it is only a gentle breeze, they suddenly disappear. 

 Frequently when arriving in calm weather, their stay may be only for a 

 day, or perhaps for a few hours. The flight that passes over Bartragh 

 on the northern journey evidently returns south by a different course, 

 for during the 22 years' observation of these birds on Bartragh, only once 

 were a pair observed in autumn, which shows that no southern flight 

 passes over Bartragh. ^ly esteemed and valued correspondent, Mr. T. 

 H. Nelson of Redcar, Yorkshire, informs me that White Wagtails pass over 

 the Isle of Man regularh' in autumn on their way to the south, and that 

 the flight passes the district where his friend resides, anii that he has often 

 trapped and put them in his aviary, in the hope of inducing them to breed 

 in captivity ; but what success he has had, I cannot say. 



Robert Warrex, 



Monkstown, Co, Cork, 



