1905' USSHHR. — Biy'ds met tvith on Connaught Lakes, 131 



Of the Black-headed Gull I found dense assemblages 

 breeding on two stony islets in lyOUgh Key, though in 1896 theSQ 

 had been repeatedly robbed of their eggs to feed pheasants. 

 I was interested to watch these gulls chasing moths on thQ 

 wing over a field near that lake in the evening twilight. 



The Lesser Black-backed Gull may be met with on Though 

 Key in summer. It probably breeds in some lonely bog in 

 the district. Common Terns also nest on the stony islands 

 of all the lakes, and in 1891 I found five nests below tho 

 margins of the sod of a very small islet overlooked by the 

 pleasure-grounds at Rockingham. The next time I visited 

 it, the brushwood had overgrown it so much that there was 

 no room for the Terns, but a Tufted Duck nested in the 

 centre. 



The Great Crested Grebe breeds on those lakes, on whose 

 waters its quaint form adds variety to the diverse bird popu- 

 lation so representative of the woodland, the marsh, and the 

 inland waters, including also species that one expects to find 

 rather on the sea-coast. 



On the west side of the Moy estuary, in the County Mayo, 

 a shallow piece of water, with marshy shores, is named 

 Rathroeen Lake. On the single island that this lake contains 

 Mr. Warren discovered a colony of Sandwich Terns breeding 

 in 1858, and they continue to nest there in the midst of a 

 host of Black-headed Gulls, the place being carefully pre- 

 served ; great numbers of Mallards and Teal breed round the 

 lake, and Redshanks and I^apwings also take advantage of 

 this excellent asylum. Being close to Killala Bay, the Terns 

 have ample fishing-grounds, whence they may be seen flying 

 to the lake with sand-eels in their bills. These fine birds are 

 the feature of interest in the bird-life of the place, only one 

 other colony of Sandwich Terns being known in Ireland, in 

 an Ulster county. They are not merely distinguished from 

 the Common Terns by greater size and breadth of wing, but 

 by their proportions, the large head and shoulders reminding 

 one of the form of a fish, and contrasting with the propor- 

 tionally short tail and hindquarters. The cry is also very 

 distinctive. 



In the month of June, as one views the island from a 

 neighbouring rising ground, its centre seems paved with 



