50 



The Irish Naturalist. 



April, 



IRISH SOCIETIES. 



BELFAST NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



February 15. — -A lecture was delivered by J. R. H. Greeves on " Sea 

 Birds," the President (S. A. Bennett) beingin the chair. The lecturer dealt 

 with the auks, terns, and gulls, leaving the rest of our numerous sea birds 

 for future consideration. In the course of his address, which was illustrated 

 by a series of lantern slides, most of which were new to members of the 

 Club, and a fine show of preserved specimens from the Belfast Museum, 

 he demonstrated the common descent of the above-mentioned families from 

 an ancestor which must in some respects have resembled the modern 

 plover. Mention was made of discoveries by members of the Club and 

 others in recent years, such as the breeding of the Great Black-backed Gull 

 and Herring Gull in County Down in 1920 ; the Sandwich Tern in Strang- 

 ford Lough in 1906, the first and almost the only record for the district ; 

 and the first inland breeding-place of the Herring Gull in Ireland on the 

 Antrim hills, in 1902. The Club is particularly indebted to the Belfast 

 Museum authorities for specimens of Bonaparte's Gull, shot on the 

 Lagan in 1848, and Sabine's Gull from Belfast Lough in 1822, which were 

 much admired. 



The paper was spoken on by Professor Gregg Wilson, Rev. W. R. Megaw, 

 N. H. Foster, J. A. Stendall, and the President, and the meeting closed 

 with the election of one new member. 



DUBLIN NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



February 10. — Athole Harrison dealt with the subject of " Bird's 

 Eggs," pointing out how remarkably those of different species differ in 

 shape, number, and colour, and offering suggestions (many of them 

 grounded on his own experience) as to the probable reasons for such 

 variation. After a short discussion on Mr. Harrison's paper, J. de \V. 

 HiNCH gave an account of the evidence recently collected in proof of Post- 

 Glacial variations in the Irish climate, showing by strong cumulative 

 testimony that during a part of the period that followed the Ice Age 

 our summers must have been considerably warmer than they are now. 

 Specimens of many of the marine animals that formed the basis of the 

 argument were exhibited, and evoked much interest.. 



March 10, — F. W. R. Brambell read a paper on " The Crossbill, 

 Siskin, and Brambling in Co. Wicklow." Pie referred to the general range 

 of these birds in the Old World and in Ireland, and described their habits 

 in connection with feeding, nesting, etc. Their coloration in relation to 

 protection was also dealt with. 



