T9o6. Patterson. — Bh-ds of Ireland and the Isle of Man. i6i 
feet and its cliffs, precipices, caves, and stacks, harbour an 
immense number of rock-loving birds. The one little ravine,, 
with its few low trees and bushes, is much prized by migrating 
small birds. The greater portion of the south shores of Man 
is devoid of cliffs, but we meet them again in the east, low to 
Santon Head, and higher north of that point, to Douglas Bay, 
and again high but interrupted from that to Maughold Head, 
beyond which the rocks gradually subside into the sands of 
Ramsay Bay, which begins the northern level portion Dien- 
tioned at first. 
IV. The Southern I^owi^and. At the south of the moun- 
tain district, as at the north, is a level tract, in this case much 
smaller and apparently quite devoid of water. The coast is 
low, rocky, and weedy, and this is the best ground for Waders 
and Ducks. There are two fine stretches of sand, with 
shingle banks, and on one of them the Sheldrake is resident. . 
From the above condensed summary of Mr. Ralfe's descrip- 
tion, two points at once strike us ; (i) the absence of timber 
(2) the scarcity of fresh water. Timber is scarce and com- 
paratively small owing to the high winds, while only 314 acres 
are under water. When we come to examine the wood-loving 
and water-loving birds, it will be seen how much the avifauna 
of Man has been affected by the want of trees and lakes. 
Taking the breeding birds first, (residents and migrants) 
and omitting the very common species which are found in 
both islands, we come upon some noteworthy differences. 
The central hill district would appear to offer many places 
suitable for the nesting of Ring Ouzels, and yet " the Ring 
Ouzel has never hitherto been recognised here as anything 
but a passing migrant " (page 12), though it must be added that 
a subsequent paragraph states that nests and young have been 
seen in the Maughold district ; but the eggs do not appear to 
have been actually obtained yet. In Ireland there are only 
four counties from which this bird is excluded, and these are 
not mountainous. Almost the same could be said of the 
Wheatear in Man, which "though common and plentiful as a 
passing migrant, is scarce as a nesting-bird," (page 14), 
although in this case a few nests have been found. In Ireland 
Wheatears are not uncommonly seen in March, but on 17th 
February, 1887, several were noted at the Chickens Rock 
