Mealy Redpoll in Co. CarlowAuthor(s): Denis R. Pack BeresfordSource: The Irish Naturalist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Apr., 1911), pp. 78-79Published by: Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25523785 .

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78 The I? ish Naturalist. April,

Luvarus imperialis on the Coast of Donegal.

On September 8, 1910, a strange fish was left stranded at Walker's

Bay, Killybegs, Co. Donegal, where we were spending our summer holiday. It measured 4 ft. 3 in. in length, weighed, as far as we could, estimate, about a hundredweight, had a shiny porpoise-like skin, and quite brilliant

scarlet fins and tail of mackerel shape. Had we known at the time

what an exceedingly rare fish we had found we should have made an

effort to preserve it, for it was quite fresh and in perfect condition, except for absence of eyes and slight damage to its head. The eyes had

evidently been pecked out by the gulls, which hovered around it in large numbers. We did, however, remove the scarlet fins and tail and gave them to our host to preserve, but I am sorry to hear from him that his

efforts were not successful, and they have gone the way of all flesh.

We were unable to find any fish resembling it in Yarrell's British Fishes*

the only book to which we had access, at the time, but a recent visit

to the Natural History Museum at South Kensington enabled us at once

to identify it as a specimen of Luvarus imperialis. As far as I have

been able to discover this fish has been recorded on only four previou8 occasions in the British and Channel Isles. By the courtesy of Mr. G.

A. Boulenger I am able to give the following details and references.

Luvarus imperialis is a rare pelagic fish, found in the Mediterranean, and has been occasionally observed on the Italian and Sicilian coasts.

Two were thrown ashore on the Cornish shore in 1866 (Day's British

Fishes). One was captured at Seven Heads, Co. Cork, in 1901. This

specimen was fully described with illustrations by Mr. Longfield, of

Enniskean, in the Field of November 23, 1901, and by Dr. R. F. Scharff,

Irish Naturalist* vol. x. p. 190. The fourth was found in 1902 at St.

Martin's, Gurnsey (Boulenger, Field* October 25, 1902). I may add

that the specimen I have described was seen by several people besides

myself and my sons, including Colonel Sinclair, of Ballyloughan, Bruckless,

Co. Donegal, and the Rev. J. T. Davies, of the King's School, Chester, who was a member of our party, and was the first person actually to see it.

W. J. Constable.

Uppingham.

Mealy Redpoll in Co. Carlow.

While out shooting rabbits here on December 26th last, in a young fir plantation, a Robin settled on a tree near me, closely followed by another small greyish bird that I had never seen before. Wherever the

robin went this other bird followed it, and being struck by this behaviour

I looked carefully at the second bird and at once saw that it was quite unknown to me. I was able to have a very good look at it as it sat on

a tree not two yards from me. The bird was of a uniform speckled

browny grey with darker bars across the wings and had a bright crimson

patch on the top of the head. As soon as I got home I looked it out

in Morris's "

British Birds "

and had no difficulty in recognising it as a

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igu. Notes. 79

Mealy Redpoll (Linota linaria, Linn). This identification I have since

confirmed by looking at the stuffed specimens in the Natural History Museum in Dublin.

Mr. Ussher in his book on "

The Birds of Ireland "

says of this species, that it is "a very rare winter visitor, chiefly taken oh the western

islands." There is only one previous record of its occurrence in the

province of Leinster, viz., at Levitstown, Co, Kildare, on 9th February,

1876, which is also the first record of its appearance in Ireland.

Denis R. Pack Beresford.

Fenagh House, Bagnalstown.

The Irish Coal-Tit.

Referring to Mr. Nichols' note on the so-called "

Irish Coal-Tit"

(,p. 45, supra), it may be of interest to mention that Mr. Ogilvie Grant

very kindly showed me a large series of freshly killed specimens at the

British Museum which were obtained by him from Ireland quite recently. Most of these differed from the ordinary English type?a few markedly so?others were almost identical with it, and intermediate forms were

observable. So far as I know Irish naturalists were unaware of any local variation in the Coal-Tit, and Mr. Grant deserves credit for the

discovery ; but he will, I think, ultimately recognise that the Irish bird

is not "

a well marked species," and is rather an ill-defined race without

(to borrow from the weather charts) "

any steep gradients."

Richard M. Barrington.

Fassaroe, Bray.

The Ulster Coal-Tit.

In the autumn and winter months the Coal-Titmouse is often to be

seen in the woods here, flitting busily about among the underwood in

large flocks, and usually accompanied by Blue Titmice, Golden-crested

Wrens, and other little birds. They are always on the move from place to place, and disappear at times for weeks together. In the nesting season they are less common. All are of the ordinary Parus britannicus

type. Once only, in the winter of 1909-10, in such a flock, I got a

momentary view of one that puzzled me very much at the time?a Coal

Titmouse, apparently, with a crest like that of the Golden-crested Wren.

Was it, perhaps, P. hibernicus ? W. E. Hart.

Kilderry, Co. Donegal.

Landrail in December.

It may interest readers of the Irish Naturalist to know that on the

2nd of December a Landrail was killed in my garden by one of my dogs. It was in very poor condition. I have never seen one in this country so

late in the year. J. H. H. Swiney.

Belfast.

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