THE SPOTTED REDSHANK. 
201 
alighted on the beach at a short distance^ which was scarcely done^ 
until it became my victim. Immediately on lifting the bird,, 
though I had never seen one before^ I knew it to be the spotted 
redshank from recollection of BewicFs beautiful figure of that 
species. It was admirably killed for being stuffed^ not a speck 
of blood being on any part of its plumage, or a wound anywhere 
visible. To prevent the possibility of its plumage being even 
ruffled from contact with my pocket, the bird was carried in my 
hand, and when I reached home, was most carefully (as I 
believed) laid aside, preparatory to my absence for a few hours. 
Alas ! however, on my return, the beauteous prize was missing, 
but was eventually discovered ; — served up at the dinner-table, in 
company with a curlew and other vulgar denizens of the shore. 
My boyish mortification may easily be imagined, as my good for- 
tune in having obtained so fine a specimen of a bird never before 
known to visit the Irish coast had been the all-engrossing thought 
of the day. 
An observant shore-shooter, who killed 108 redshanks at 
a shot from his swivel-gun, in Belfast Bay, early in Sept. 1846, 
remarked one of them to be not only different from all the rest, 
but to be of a species which he had never before seen. There 
can be little doubt, from his description, that it was a spotted red- 
shank. Wm. Crawford, Esq., of Lakelands, near Cork, who 
shoots much on the water, is certain of having occasionally 
met with tliis bird, but has not preserved a specimen.* 
There can be no doubt of its occurrence more frequently than 
we are aware of, though not coming under the eye of the naturalist. 
The species having apparently visited Cornwall as frequently as any 
other part of England, we should expect to meet with it more 
particularly in the south of Ireland, It is oidy a rare or occa- 
sional visitant to that country, and cliiefly to the southern and 
eastern counties. Its occurrence in Scotland was unknown to 
Mr. Macgillivray ; but Sir Wm. Jardine has seen two individuals 
which were shot at the same time in the Eritli of Eorth.t On the 
* Dr. J. 11. Harvey, 1848. 
t rit. Birds, iii. 201. 
