30 
ANATIDiE. 
“ Mr. Donovan had, about the year 1811, near the Cove of 
Cork, a large flock of wild geese (A. ferus?) which he allowed to 
fly about his place, where they bred. They came to his whistle 
regularly. The young birds were sometimes killed for the table, 
and were considered by him much better than tame geese.” * 
The only positive notice of wild geese breeding in this island that 
I have met with, is that of Eutty, whose words are — “ There are 
two sorts [of “ wild goose, Anser ferus ”], the one a bird of passage, 
that comes about Michaelmas, and goes off about March ; but there 
is a larger kind, which stays and breeds here, particularly in the 
Bog of Allen.” Harris, in his f History of the County of Down* 
(1744), remarks : — “ In a red bog in the Ardes, near Kirkiston 
* * * is also [i. e. } in addition to the “land barnacle”] 
found the great harrow goose.” Smith, in his f History of 
Waterford 9 (completed in 1745), simply enumerates the “wild 
goose, Anser sylvestrisfl among the birds of the county; and, in 
his € History of Cork' (completed in 1749), says : — “The wild 
goose (Anser ferus ) is common in winter, and frequents the more 
uncultivated parts of this county.” The “ larger kind,” named 
by Eutty as breeding, implies at least that the white-fronted, from 
its being considerably smaller than the bean and grey lag species, 
is not meant. At that period, the latter is stated to have bred 
plentifully in the fens of England, though of late years they, as 
well as the bogs of Ireland, have been deserted by it. Although 
Harris says nothing of what he calls the “ great harrow goose ” 
breeding at the locality he names, an octogenarian friend informs 
me that a relative often told him of his having robbed the nests of 
wild geese at Kirkiston flow — “ red bog ” of Harris — near Kirk- 
cubbin : the period at which he did so was previous to the year 1775. 
Mr. Yarrell observes that “now whole winters pass away 
without a single example [of the grey lag goose] appearing in 
the London market” (vol. iii. p. 56). Sir Wm. Jardine and 
Mr. Macgillivray are silent on the subject of its occurrence at 
any period of time or season of the year in Scotland, consequently 
it was not met with during the breeding season in Sutherland, 
* Mr. R. Ball. 
