I920 Notes. 107 



The Wren. 



At the risk of boring readers about this bird, the following notes 

 which I happened to take this year in reference to one particular male 

 and his nests, may be worth recording, and as corroborating my 19 19 

 notes (vol. xxviii , p. 85). 



His first nest A was begun and completed between 6th and 8th March, 

 A later one B was occupied by a mate, with the first egg about ist May, 

 and the brood was fledged about 5th June. Within ten days later this 

 same female (presumably) had lined a third nest C of the male, which had 

 been built more than two months earlier, and which I had often fingered. 

 The young in this nest were fledged on the 22nd July, leaving two infertile 

 eggs. On the second next night, that is as soon as the young were equal 

 to getting across a small open space, the young were roosting in A ; that 

 being the nest made by the male four and a half months earlier, and 

 which I had fingered scores of times. These young, with a parent, 

 continued to regularly roost in A up to at least August 5th (13 days) 

 when I left home. I have seen also the young being fed in this nest 

 in the evening after going to roost. B was about midway between 

 A and C, and twenty yards from each. 



J. P. BURKITT. 



Enniskillen. 



The Marten in Ireland. 



I was shown lately the skin of a Marten [Musteta martes) which was 

 caught in a rabbit trap at Mount Congreve, Co. Waterford, in April last. 

 It was that of a male, the throat patch being of a rather greyish colour, 

 so I fancy it was neither a very young nor an old specimen. As this 

 creature is apparently becoming more and more rare in Ireland it seems 

 worth while to put this occurrence on record. In the Zoologist for March 

 and April, 1894, Mr. J. E. Harting, Major G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton 

 and Mr. R. Patterson gave all known records of the Marten in Ireland 

 at that date. In the 26 years that have elapsed since that time I find 

 that there are only fifteen records of its capture in Ireland. in the Irish 

 Naturalist. They are as follows : — 



1895 . . Co. Waterford . . 2 



1896 . . Co. Galway . . 3 



1897 . . Co. Waterford . . i with cubs 

 1899 . . Co. Antrim . . i 



1899 .. Co. Galway .. i 



1899 . . Co. Down . . I 



1900 . . Co. Londonderr}^ . . i 

 1903 . . Co. Wexford . . 2 

 1903 . . Co. Londonderry . . i 

 1908 . . Co. Galway . . i 

 1915 .. Co. Kildare .. i 



Denis R, Pack Beresford. 



Fenagh House, Bagnalstown. 



