i6S The Irish Naturalist. July, 
Wilson (1797) tells us that the young were ready to fly by the 
middle of August ; and that great numbers, few years less than 
4,000 or 5,000, w^ere then captured, to be salted for food. 
When we think of the vast numbers of Shearwaters that must 
have bred in the Isle of Man, it is astonishing to find that for 
many years the species has been extinct there, certainl}' some 
time before 1827. Various causes are given ; the ravages of 
rats that escaped from a wrecked Russian ship, the rivalry of 
the Cpmmon Puflin, now so very dominant, on the Calf, the 
settlement of man and the building of the lighthouse. A few 
Shearwaters are occasionylly seen in summer in the sea round 
the island, as if to remind us of their once former greatness 
in the annals of Manx Ornithology. 
We now come to the autumn, winter, and occasional visitors 
to the Isle of Man, and these ma}^ for convenience be divided 
into three groups — (i) land birds, (2) swimming birds, and (3) 
wading birds, using the last two terms in the widest sense 
possible. 
1. Redwings and Fieldfares are regular winter visitors and 
fairly plentiful, the former frequenting the lowland pasture- 
lands, and the latter keeping to the uplands unless driven down 
by a spell of frosty weather, which is not common in Man. 
Both are widely distributed and common in Ireland. The 
Brambling being partial 10 woods, it is not surprising to find 
that in Man it is a scarce and uncertain winter visitor. In a 
phenomenal year of frost and snow (1897) ^ flock of fifty was 
seen. Flocks of thousands have been seen in the north of 
Ireland. The Snow Bunting is a regular winter visitor to 
both islands, though only in small numbers to Man. The 
Short-eared Owl has been mentioned before ; it is only neces- 
sary to add that it is a regular and by no means scarce visitor 
to Man, as it is to Ireland. 
2. Not much can be said of the winter " swimming " birds 
of Man. The island not possessing lakes of any size, or 
sheltered marine loughs, the ducks and geese that frequent 
our Irish waters are conspicuous by their rarity, as would be 
expected. The following is a condensed summary of their 
occurrences : — 
Grey Lag-Goose — Rare, i specimen recorded. 
White-fronted Goose — Rare, 4 specimens recorded. 
