THE AVOCET. 
2^1 
Castlebridge, near Wexford. They were very wary, running on 
the slimes, and flitting away low under cover of the banks, like 
kingfishers.^^ He could not meet with these birds again, though 
going repeatedly in pursuit of them ; but they remained in the 
locality for some time, having frequently been seen by persons 
resident there. An avocet was obtained a few years since near 
Castletown, Bear Haven.* A pair of adult birds, in beautiful 
plumage, were shot by Wm. Crawford, Esq., in Cork Harbour, in 
January 1848 : the first about the 6th of the month, when both 
were seen together ; the second was procured three weeks after- 
wards : both specimens have been carefully preserved.^^t One was 
seen on the Dublin coast, in the same month, by Mr. E. J. Mont- 
gomery. The occurrence of others in the south has been 
reported to me, but not with sufficient accuracy for notice here. 
Avocets bred sparingly until of late years in a few of the fenny 
districts of the east of England ; but they are now only irregular- 
visitants to any part of that country. They are said by Dr. 
Eleming and Mr. Selby (but without any particulars being given 
or localities named), to have been met with in Scotland. Mr. Ed- 
monston, however, mentions Zetland as occasionally visited by 
them. They would appear not to migrate far north on the Euro- 
pean continent for the purpose of breeding ; but to keep chiefly 
to the south of the Baltic Sea. In June 1826, I was much 
interested in meeting with them about low marshy ground, 
between Leyden and Haarlem, in Holland. 
THE LONG-LEGGED PLOVEE. 
Himantopus melanoptems, Meyer. 
Characlrms himantopus, Linn. 
Is of extremely rare occurrence. 
In the winter of 1823 or 1824 — as recorded by me in the ^ Pro- 
ceedings of the Zoological Society^ for 1834 — Mr. E. Ball had. 
* Mr. G, Jackson, gamekeeper. 
t Dr. Harvey, of Cork. 
