School: Gráinseach Ailt an Chaistín (St. Johnston)
- Location:
- Saint Johnstown, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: Seán Ó Seanacháin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1106, Page 12
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- (continued from previous page)in the summertime are the Starling they go to Norway. The woodcock goes to Norway. The wild-geese go to the Highlands of Scotland.
John Gallagher of Kilgort, St. Johnston, Co. Donegal says the corncrake does not go away in the wintertime at all but spends the winter lodged in a rat hole or rabbithole. This man is aged about 90 and is the oldest farmer in the district. All the old people believe the same thing about this bird.
The wagtail's tail always wags and he can never keep it at rest because he has three drops of the devil's blood in him. The wren is always hunted because it picked the drum and gave the alarm when Guy Fawkes was going to blow up the English House of parliament. The wren is also hunted because he said he was the king of all birds.
The cock robins fight every spring and kill each other and they never become any more numerous. The wrens never become any more numerous although they lay up to twenty three eggs every year and they are nearly all fertile. The greater number of the brood always die because they are so tiny and feckless.
