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The Scottish Naturalist

A Magazine devoted to Zoology

With which is incorporated

“The Annals of Scottish Natural History”

EDITED BY

JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.,

Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish JVLuseum

AND

PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.

Assistant Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish JVLuseum

ASSISTED BY

EVELYN V. BAXTER, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. W. EAGLE CLARKE, I.S.O., LL.D.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. ANDERSON FERGUSSON, F.E.S.

H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.

1927

EDINBURGH: OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 Paternoster Row

1927

No. 163] 1927 [January- February

EDINBURGH: OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 Paternoster Row

Price 2S. Annual Subscriptioit^ payable in advance^ 12s, 6d. post free

The Scottish Naturalist

A Magazine devoted to Zoology

With which is incorporated

“The Annals of Scottish Natural History”

EDITED BY

JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.,

Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish JS/Luseum

AND

PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.

Assistant Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum

ASSISTED BY

EVELYN V. BAXTER, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. W. EAGLE CLARKE, I.S.O., LL.D.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. ANDERSON FERGUSSON, F.E.S.

H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., P'.R.S.E., F.Z.S.

All Articles and Communications intended for publication, and all Books, etc.,

for notice, should be sent to The Editors, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the Publishers,
Messrs Oliver and Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh.

Authors of General Articles will receive 25 Reprints (in covers) of their Contributions
gratis. Additional Copies, in covers, may be had from the Printers, at the ordinary prices
ruling, provided such orders accompany the Manuscript.

EVERY i^ATURALIST SHOULD READ

The following major articles which have appeared in recent
numbers of The Scottish Naturalist : — ^

Notes from the Scottish Zoological Park :

The King Penguins. (Illustrated.)

Sunspots and Animal Plagues. (Illustrated.)

The Hawfinch in Scotland. (Illustrated.)

Increase of Mountain Hare in Scottish Lowlands.

The Food of the Ptarmigan.

New Facts about the Hive Bee.

Mixed Plumages in a Brood of Hybrid Crows.

Human Transport and Wild Life. (Illustrated.)

The Whale Remains of the Carse of Stirling.

Records of Birds new to Britain.

A Rat Migration.

Abnormal Coloration of Scottish Mountain Hares. (Illustrated.)

Annual Reports on Scottish Ornithology, including Migration. (Illustrated.)
White Wild Geese. (Illustrated.)

The Labrador Falcon — a new British Immigrant. (Illustrated.)

Notes on Fishes from the Clyde Area.

As well as numerous shorter notices of interesting events in the

Wild Life of Scotland.

{ Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.)

The Scottish Naturalist

No. 163.] 1927 [January-February

SCOTTISH BIRD SANCTUARIES.

The issue of the first Report of the Committee appointed
by Viscount Peel to consider the establishment of Bird
Sanctuaries in the Royal Parks of Scotland marks a
notable step in a movement destined to be of immense
importance in the preservation of wild life. In the creation
of reserves where wild creatures may live at liberty, free
from man’s destructive meddling, Britain has lagged behind
many, perhaps most, civilised countries, and even now she
has nothing to compare with the great expanses of territory
set aside in many states for behoof of their native animals.

It may be said that these colonies of ours and other
foreign lands are not oppressed as we are with the burden
of industrial civilisation, a vast population which encroaches
upon the waste places and makes the creation of reserve
areas next to impossible. But there is another side to the
argument, as the naturalist sees it, for it is just where
population is greatest and the open spaces are most
threatened that the native fauna is in greatest danger of
extermination. It is here, therefore, that the most strenuous
efforts ought to be made to save a remnant of the original
inhabitants of the land for the pleasure of future generations.

The first Government Sanctuary in Scotland, which
includes Duddingston Loch and surrounding ground to
163

A

2

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

the extent of 40 acres, is due, first, to a generous gift to
the nation by W. H. Askew, Esq., of Ladykirk, of that part of
the Loch and surroundings which was not part of the Royal
Park of Holyrood, and secondly, to a gift by His Grace the
Duke of Abercorn, of acres, without which the Sanctuary
could not have been made self-contained. The report
shows that H.M. Office of Works and the Committee which
advises the Office in this matter have shown praiseworthy
activity, and that many steps have been taken to add to
the seclusion and attractiveness of the area from the birds’
point of view.

The m.ain lines of endeavour are indicated in an
Appendix to the Report, on “ Duddingston Loch and its
Bird Life.” They follow three different lines: “First, by
preventing the actual depletion of the resident bird-life
which has till now taken place through the destruction of
nests and eggs by trespassers ; secondly, by adding new
cover, which may afford nesting sites during spring and
summer for more birds and greater variety of birds,
particularly of the smaller kinds ; and thirdly, by providing
shelter and a natural food-supply during the autumn and
winter, which may induce migrant birds to halt awhile on
their southward journey.”

From lists which are included in this account it appears
that “at the outset of its existence as a Sanctuary
Duddingston Loch and its immediate surroundings
possessed a bird population made up of seventeen resident
and breeding species, forty regular visitors and sixteen
casual or occasional visitors. As four of these occur both
as nesters and as regular winter visitors and have therefore
been included in both lists, the total number of different
species of birds recorded from the area of the Sanctuary
is sixty-nine.” Copies of this interesting Report may be
had from H.M. Stationery Office, 122 George Street,
Edinburgh, at a cost of sixpence.

While the sanctuary at Duddingston Loch is the first
Government reserve in Scotland, municipal effort, inspired
by the Scottish Branch of the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds, has already been responsible for the

EDITORIAL NOTES

3

creation of similar places in Glasgow. They have been
eminently successful. In Dawsholm Park, for example,
nesting boxes and feeding tables have been erected and
the result has been an increase in some resident birds and
a marked appreciation by the public of the opportunities of
closer acquaintance with the birds. Of 36 nesting boxes
erected, 17 were occupied in 1925 and 27 in 1926, Tits
being the chief tenants. Twenty-four species of birds
nested, the most remarkable in a town area being the
Sandpiper and Skylark, and many other birds were seen in
the park, including a Woodpecker. The success of the
Glasgow public park sanctuaries ought to encourage the
formation of similar happy hunting grounds for birds and
for the populace in every large town in Scotland.

■SiJ ^

The history of Scottish legislation regarding birds and
beasts is of very great interest, for it reveals, as only
contemporary documents can reveal, the current and
fluctuating opinion concerning them and their relationships
to man. Apart from the legislation controlling fisheries,
which is voluminous, birds play by far the greatest part of
any group of animals in Scottish law, and therefore unusual
interest attaches to a pamphlet on “ Birds mentioned in the
Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, 1124 to 1707” by
Mr Hugh S. Gladstone, reprinted from the Transactions
of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and
Antiquarian Society for 1924. From the enactments, which
are quoted in chronological order and are accompanied by
a running commentary by the author, it can be seen how
at one time the desire to increase food-supplies and at
another time the love of sport, particularly the sport of
hawking, determined the nature of the prohibitions and
the species of birds protected. Many other matters of
general interest are discussed, such as the fixing of market
prices for many different food birds in 1551, and again the
fixing of prices of fowls and eggs in 1647 to circumvent
the “abuses and extortionate demands from officers and
soldiers.” The pamphlet will well repay being browsed over
by any ornithologist with the historical sense.

4

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Frederick Gordon Pearcey, one of the last survivors
of the scientific staff of the great Challenger expedition,
which contributed more material for scientific research and
added more to the knowledge of the inhabitants of the sea
than any other British expedition, died at Bristol on
26th January, at the age of 70 years. As a youth of some
17 years of age he accompanied the Challe^iger^ when she
sailed in 1872, and when on the return of the expedition
the rich harvest of marine plants, animals and ocean deposits
was brought to Edinburgh, Pearcey was appointed to the
staff of the Challenger Office under Sir Wyville Thomson
and Sir John Murray. With the latter he also worked at
the floating marine station which was situated near Granton,
and at Millport on the Clyde. In 1886 he was attached
to the zoological department at Owens College Museum,
Manchester, and was afterwards appointed to the scientific
staff of the Scottish Fishery Board. From 1905 he had
been zoologist in the Bristol Museum. Pearcey’s original
work dealt largely with two groups of marine animals, and
numbers of his preparations of the Foraminifera are to be
seen on exhibition in the Royal Scottish Museum, in
Edinburgh, where he spent the most formative period of
his scientific career.

ON THE DECREASE OF ELACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 5

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN

SCOTLAND.

By Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter.

CONTENTS.

I. Introduction.

II. Data under Faunal Areas and
Counties.

III. Possible Reasons for Decrease.

IV. List of Works to v,^hich

Reference is made.

I. — Introduction.

The study of the fluctuations in number of birds, in a given
area, over a given period, is a fascinating though laborious
one. The chief difficulty is want of data of every kind ; to
be of much use these must extend over a long period ot
years and comprise information on the birds themselves,
on the weather and on changes in the country-side, such
as planting and drainage, with their resultant effects on
the nesting sites and food supply. It is curious how
impossible it is to get a complete series of facts relative
to any of these, over even as short a space of time as the
last fifty years.

Blackgame seem to be easily affected by external
conditions, and therefore tend to be unstable in numbers.
That they have long been inhabitants of Scotland there
is no doubt ; four hundred years ago Hector Boece wrote :
“ In Scotland are many more cocks and hens which eat
nothing but seed, or crops of heather. Such are great
numbers of Blackcock and Hens, not unlike to a Pheasant,
both in quantity and savour of their flesh ; but they have
black feathers and red eyebrows” (i3)d In 1529 Black-
game were set before James V. in the great feast in
Atholl ; in 1551 an attempt was made to fix a standard

^ The numbers in parenthesis indicate as follows : the first is that
of the work referred to in the list of references which concludes this
paper ; the following number or numbers are volume and page references.

6

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

price for them in Scotland ; in 1600 they were protected
by statute of James VI., and there were subsequent acts
protecting them (i. 266, 267). In 1871 Gray wrote:
“ This fine game bird is common on all the mountain
ranges, hilly districts, and patches of upland heath,
extending from the north of Sutherlandshire to the Mull
of Galloway” (10. 230). Of recent years, however. Black-
game have decreased considerably in Scotland ; the object
of this paper is to discover the extent of this decrease, and
as far as possible, the causes which have brought it about.

About the end of the eighteenth century Blackgame were
spreading into localities where they had not been known
before, and thereafter became plentiful. In 1845 came a bad
outbreak of Grouse disease, which, we are told, also affected
the Blackgame and they decreased in numbers. They rallied
again, however, as, by 1861, we find that record bags were
being got at Drumlanrig, and the improvement continued in
Dumfriesshire for about thirty years ; 1888 to 1895 were years
of increase and plenty in many parts of Scotland. The latest
decrease has been going on steadily for some time, but we have
cheering evidence of a turn of the tide in 1925 and 1926.

Sutherland.

North Sutherland. — In St John’s day (1848) Blackgame
abounded in “the numerous and extensive plantations of
the Duke of Sutherland,” and extended throughout the
country where there were patches of wood and where
protection was afforded them (37. i. 133). Harvie Brown
says, of this area in 1887, that Blackgame were then
distributed throughout the eastern district, irrespective of
wood or covert, but were more restricted in the west and
confined to birch coverts and the loch and river sides, being
seldom seen on open ground (20. 205). Thereafter they
became much scarcer, and, with the exception of a local
increase in Strathnaver and district in 1895 and for two or
three years before that, have steadily decreased in numbers.
An old keeper, writing in 1925, says they have been
becoming scarcer for the last forty years ; and adds that

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 7

forty years ago it was quite common in the north and
west of the county to make a bag of forty to fifty brace of
Blackcock alone, whereas at the present day (1925) it is rare
to see one Blackcock. Lieut.-Commander E. J. Fergusson
writes (21st October 1926): “The whole three months we
were in Eriboll I only saw one Greyhen. They are practically
non-existent now in that quarter.” Mr Milburn has kindly
informed us that on Hope, on the north coast, they have
decreased, although they were never very plentiful there.

Caithness, — The old reports from Caithness show that
Blackgame used to be common there, and we find them
described, in 1868, as “more abundant, probably about
Berriedale, than on the bleak open moors of the north,
east, and centre of the county, though a few occur everywhere
where suitable situations are to be found” (20. 206).

Writing from Sandside, Thurso, Mr Nicol MacNicol
says : “ I am sorry to say that in this district they are
extinct. When I came to Caithness, in 1873, there were
quite a nice lot of them to be seen, but they gradually
dwindled down, until now, for a good many years, there is
not a bird to be seen. The late Mr Pilkington did a good
deal in the way of trying to increase the stock by getting
fresh blood from Dumfriesshire and elsewhere, and turning
them' down here and at Shurrey, but they gradually went
down. Of course they died when we had Grouse disease,
and they never seemed to get up in any quantity. About
fifty years ago there were quite a lot of them about
Langwell, and always a few coveys on Braemore. I doubt
if there are many there now, as there are very few now
about the Helmsdale Strath, where there used to be a good
many.” Mr Nicolson, Watten Lodge, writes : “ I understand
there are a few birds at Langwell, but, as far as I know,
that is the only place where any are to be seen now.”

North-west Highlands and Skye.

Of this area, as a whole. Dr Harvie Brown, writing in
1894, says: “Resident, not abundant, restricted to districts
where rushes and cover prevail” (19. 265).

8

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

West Sutherland. — In the Old Statistical Account of the
Parish of Edderachillis, vol. vi., p. 298, in 1793 there are
stated to be “ plenty of Blackcocks.” A keeper kindly sends
us the following note ; “ I remember, about sixty years
ago, in the south-west of Sutherland, Blackgame were quite
numerous, but in my experience for the last forty years
they are on the decrease.”

West Ross. — Hinxman and Eagle Clarke say that
Blackgame were fairly abundant round Gairloch in 1893
(34. 1892-94, 409). At this time they were increasing at
Gairloch and about Loch Torridon where they were fairly
numerous, though decreasing at Applecross and Dundonnell
(19. 266); but Mr Osgood Mackenzie, writing in 1921, says
that at that date there was not a single head of Blackgame
round the head of the Gairloch (30. 259). In this district
they seem to wander very much ; most of those reared at
Attadale are said to leave in autumn, and it is suggested
that they probably go to better feeding grounds and larger
woods (19. 266).

The most striking testimony to the decrease of the
species in this area is that of Mr Osgood Mackenzie,
he says : “ The Black Grouse is a bird of the past as far as
this part of the country is concerned. Even on my small
property I used to kill from twenty to thirty brace of
Blackgame in a season. In 1915 as far as I know, only
one pair remained, but the old Greyhen was shot by
accident, and the cock, which was a very old acquaintance,
disappeared. . . . Along the shores of Loch Maree my
mother once counted sixty Blackcock on the stooks of a
very small field, and the old farmer, to whom the patch of
oats belonged, told her he had counted one hundred the
previous evening. The keeper on that beat told me quite
lately that along the loch side, a stretch of country of from
twelve to fourteen miles, he knows of only one Blackcock ”
(30. 258).

About Loch Carron and Loch Kishorn a large decrease
is noticed, and at the latter place hardly any have been seen
for the last ten years.

Skj/e. — MacGillivray says in 1837 Blackgame were

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 9

abundant in Skye (ii. i. 156), and Harvie Brown in 1904
refers to this species as resident in the wooded parts of
Skye but apparently scarce (19. 266). But here, too, it
seems to have decreased until now it is quite the exception
to see a Blackcock in Skye. Of Raasay, Boswell, writing
in 1773, says, “there are Blackcock in extraordinary
abundance” (31. 320), and Blackgame were plentiful in
Raasay up to about 1915 though now very few are to be
found there. Lieut-Commander E. J. Fergusson referring
to Scalpay, says, “used to be common, but last year (1924)
I do not remember seeing one.”

Moray.

In 1895 Blackgame are described as widely distributed
in Moray area, but nowhere as common as formerly, and
decreasing in most places (18. ii. 146).

S.-E. Sutherland. — All the data available for this division
show that Blackgame have decreased. Harvie Brown in
1895 says: In this “district of our area they have been
practically extinct for many years, where formerly they were
very abundant, and we ourselves have noticed their gradual
decrease for more than twenty years” (18. ii. 147). Mr
Sergeantson, writing from Brora in 1925, says: “There is no
doubt they have decreased very much during the last forty
years ; v/here at one time they were numerous they have now
almost disappeared.” About Golspie they had decreased
very much in the last twenty years until three years ago,
when they began again to increase.

East Ross and Cromarty. — In 1792 we find that
Blackgame abounded in the parishes of Dingwall and
Kincardine (33. iii. 6 and 515), and for some time after
this they seem to have been abundant. Of East Cromarty,
in 1894, Millais says: “Old sportsmen . . . will tell you
that when they were boys it was not uncommon, during
the harvest time, to see the low ground swarming with
birds, flocks of four or five hundred being often seen. This
is literally true, for, sixty years ago, that was about the
best district in Scotland, though now it puzzles the shooting
163 B

10

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

tenants there to get a few brace for the table” (25.82). Of
late, too, a serious decrease is recorded in East Ross, and we
have notes of this from a good many places.

East Inverness, — There are some indications in East
Inverness of an earlier decrease and recovery. In the time
of the old Statistical Account, 1791 to 1799, Blackcock seem
to have been very numerous in some parishes, then to have
decreased, and about the eighties of last century to have
become more plentiful. In two days’ covert shooting at
Guisachan, in 1889, one hundred and fifty Blackcock were
killed (25. 100). There is no doubt, however, that a serious
decrease again took place : this is recorded from many parts
of the country, and from this we have, as yet, no record of
recovery.

Nairn. — At Farr, where there used to be 200 to 300
Blackcock, a most serious decrease is noted.

Morayshire. — In 1793 Blackgame were described as very
numerous in Cromdale (33. viii. 254), while St John tells us
that a considerable number frequented the rough ground
about the Culbin Bar from 1847 to 1854. Harvie Brown
found no alteration in the numbers about Forres in 1894,
but reported fluctuating numbers about Castle Grant,
“ where some years they appeared very abundantly, while
in other years they were quite as remarkably scarce ”
(18. ii. 148, 149). Of recent years, however, there would
appear to be a decrease in Morayshire. Mr William
Ogg, writing of Findrassie in 1921, says: “Used to be here
but none so low down now,” while the head-keeper at Altyre
tells us that they have decreased enormously there in the
last twenty years, and only a few pairs are said to nest in
the woods about Gordon Castle and at Rothes.

Banff. — In this county we find that only a stray one was
seen now and then in the Cabrach, from 1840 to 1850 (4. 352),
after which time they became more numerous and then
decreased until, in 1919, we are told there were “only a few
in the Cabrach of late years.” Harvie Brown, in 1894, says :
“ It is included in all lists from Cullen, in the north-west part
of Deveron inland, over most suitable areas . . . and fairly
common about Rothiemay. We did not find it very common

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND ii

about Keith, but much more so at Auchluncart. . . . Over
all the district and watershed of Deveron, however, it cannot,
perhaps, be described as common or abundant” (i8. ii. 148).
Mr Steuart Menzies writes in 1925: “Up to about 1890
there were plenty of Blackgame about Arndilly and we
always killed a fair number, 80 to 100, in a season. Since
then they have gradually, but surely, disappeared, and now
I do not think you could find 100 in all Banffshire, anyway
not above 40 or 50 killed all over the county.” Blackgame
are said to have spread to the lower parts of Banffshire of
late years, but to have decreased considerably in some places
(4.352). At Dufftown, in 1918, they were said to be very
common and to be fairly numerous about Tomintoul, though
reduced in numbers by disease in 1917. Serious reductions
of late years are reported from Cullen, and the species is
described as very scarce in Glenlivet.

Dee.

Blackgame are described as abundant in Dee in 1903
(17. 162).

Aberdeen. — In the old Statistical Account (1793)
told there were a few Blackcock at Logie Coldstone (ix. 512).
In 1840 to 1850 John Yeats heard that Blackgame were then
plentiful in the young plantings at Glenkindie on Deeside.
Here of recent years a decided decrease has taken place of
which we have notes from several localities. On Deeside,
too, they are decreasing, and Mr Seton Gordon says they
are noticeably fewer than formerly at a fighting ground on
the upper reaches of the Dee (27. 130). Admiral A. M.
Farquhar writes : “ As far as I have been able to gather, and
from my own observation, I should say Blackgame at Deeside
are now about stationary in numbers though, of course, they
are far fewer than they were about thirty years ago;” while
Major Barclay Harvey writes that from the information
supplied by several correspondents on Deeside and from
his own observations, there would seem to have been no
great change in recent years, though formerly there were
more than there are now. He adds that it is “ not a great
country for them, and only a few are shot every year.”

12

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

At Skene, where a few used to be got every year, Miss
Hamilton tells us that none is now found. Coming farther
north we find them decreasing markedly about Huntly, and
they are said to be very scarce about Methlick and Tarves.
In 1895 they were said to be common about New Pitsligo
but scarce about Gight, and to have appeared at Delgaty
near Turriff about 1905, but Mr Hugh Trail writes, “ never
saw any about Buchan 1910-21.”

North Kincardine, — On the Durris Hills very little
increase or decrease in numbers seems to have taken
place for a number of years.

Tay.

Fairly abundant in some parts of the area.

South Kincardine — William McCallum, keeper on Glen-
bervie, tells us on that and the neighbouring estates there
were some Blackgame up to 1916, but since then they
have almost disappeared and now it is rare to see a
single bird.

Forfar. — In some parts of Forfarshire Blackgame were
very plentiful, and we have few notes of decrease in this
county. At Kincaldrum, however, we hear that in the
last twenty years there has been a decrease, and Professor
MTntosh has kindly informed us that there has been a
decided decrease at Nevay owing to cutting of woods.
A few pairs used to breed regularly at Kellymoor in the
parish of Arbirlot, but Mr Hunter tells us that there
has been none there for ten years at least, though a few
nest on the Carrot Hill.

North Perth. — The old Statistical Account mentions
Blackgame in several places in Perthshire, and the birds
must have been spreading in the end of the eighteenth
century, as their first appearance in the woods about Cluny
and at Little Dunkeld is mentioned. After this they seem
to have become abundant in this county and have remained
so in some parts though they have fluctuated considerably
in others. About Murthly and at Meigle we are told
there is no decrease, while at the Blackmount and in the
neighbourhood of Crieff they are reported as very plentiful.

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 13

To look at the other side of the picture: at Dalnaglar in
Glenshee a decrease took place between 1863 and 1878
(12. 1 21), at Rohallion they had decreased very considerably
between 1881 and 1889 (25. 58), and Colonel Campbell,
writing in 1894, says, “ the Black Grouse .... is steadily
decreasing in most parts, not only of Perthshire but of
Scotland” (14. 14). Colonel Drummond Hay believed them
to have become scarcer, Godfrey did not see many about
Lochearnhead or the head of Loch Rannoch, but found
some about Loch Eigheach, though Harvie Brown saw quite
a number in this district in 1874 (21. 282). In 1908 a
considerable number were at a lekking ground at St Fillans.
At Logie-Almond good bags were got up to 1921, after
which there is a marked decrease; by 1924 a serious
diminution in numbers is recorded from Baledmund and
Fincastle in the Pitlochry district, and they had become
very scarce at Chesthill and Roro in Glen Lyon. Signs
of recovery were apparent in 1925 at Bolfracks, Chesthill
and Fincastle, and at the last-named the improvement was
maintained in 1926.

North Fife. — Mr Berry writes that he introduced Black-
game at Kinshaldy where they established themselves, but
since the Forestry Commission took it over they have been
exterminated in the interests of the young trees.

{To be contmued.')

14

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

NOTES

Night-Heron in Glasgow. — Glasgow has been favoured with
a visit of an immature Night-Heron {Nycticorax ?iycticorax) which
was first discovered early in November, at a time of boisterous
weather, on a tree on the steep sloping bank of the Kelvin, in the
Botanic Gardens. The discoverer, Mr Brown, at the time did not
know what it was. Mr W. Hunter sent a description of its appear-
ance to The Glasgow Herald^ and Mr George Rose, basing his
opinion on this notice, suggested that it was a Night-Heron in
immature plumage, with which view Mr Hunter then concurred.
With Mr Nicol Hopkins, and in the company of Mr Brown, I had
the pleasure, on 8th December, of seeing it perched on a tree-
branch 30 feet from the ground, but, by ascending the bank
behind the tree, we got nearly on a level with it and examined
it with Goerz and Ross glasses. It was resting on one leg with
its head drawn back and its feathers bunched out and, with its
crow-like head and moderately long and slightly decurved bill, it
made a notable silhouette. Its brown plumage with large dull
white spots on the wing-coverts and wing-feathers, and the other
features in its appearance just detailed, made it a bird easy to
identify. It was still to be seen on 13th December, as Mr Alex.
Ross tells me, but he failed to find it on the day following when
the conditions were much more favourable for observation. It is a
new species to this district but two have been shot near Kilmarnock.
One, recorded in Gray’s Birds of the West of Scotland as shot “ many
years ” before the publication of that work (1871), was destroyed some
years ago by a fire which wrecked Kilmarnock Museum. The other
was an immature bird, shot in the autumn of 1888, and recorded
in The Field, 1896, p. 848, by Boyd Alexander. — John Paterson,
Glasgow.

Little Auk at Aberlady, East Lothian. — On 13th December
1926 a female example of this species was obtained at Aberlady.
The bird was very fat, and showed no sign of grease fouling. The
stomach was empty. — Oliver H. Wild, Cheltenham.

Buff-coloured Thrush in Coll. — On 9th November 1926,
while visiting the Island of Coll, I observed on the outskirts of
the village of 'Arinagour a buff-coloured Thrush with white throat.
From the postmaster I learned that it had been frequenting the
neighbourhood for three weeks. — Douglas G. Hunter, Arbroath,

SOME RECORDS OF LARGE FOXES

15

SOME RECORDS OF LARGE FOXES.

By H. W. Robinson, M.B.O.U.

The question is often asked among hunting people and
others, “What is the average weight of a fox?” and
invariably no answer is forthcoming. The reply is that
(except in Cumberland) weights over 17 lbs. are exceptional
for a dog, and over 14 lbs. for a vixen. In certain parts of
Cumberland dog foxes average 19 or 20 lbs.

The following are records of some exceptionally large
animals. Mr E. A. Vaughan, writing to The Fields 8th
February 1913, states that Mrs W. H. Spek’s hounds, the
Seavington, recently dug out a fox in Dorsetshire which was
bagged, bag and fox weighing 25 lbs., which, deducting
4 lbs. for the bag, would make the fox about 21 lbs.

Mr George Bolam,the well-known naturalist, was present
on 2nd December 1896 in Northumberland at the weighing
of a dog fox, killed by a shepherd and his dogs on Cheviot,
which weighed 22J lbs., having no white tag to the brush
and a puggy head. Joe Bowman, the veteran ex-huntsman
of the Ullswater Hounds, recalls one of 23 lbs., killed
on Crossfell, where foxes average 19 and 20 lbs. This
23-pounder was 52 inches from tip to tip, with the white
tag on the end of his brush 4 inches in length.

Frank Gooding, late huntsman of the Monmouthshire
Hunt, writing in The Field of 15th February 1913, says that
after a two hours’ run he killed a dog of 24 lbs., whose brush
was 15J inches round. Mr F. C. W. Rushworth writes to
The Field of 4th March 1916, to ask if 28 lbs. 14 oz. is not an
abnormal weight for a fox ! Pie states that one was killed
recently of that weight at Upwood, near Keighley, Yorkshire.

Mr Joseph Duff of Bishop’s Auckland, Durham, writing
in The Zoologist in 1849, records an “ Extraordinary example
of the Common Fox” found shot on 30th January in that
year by Robert Halem, animal preserver. “The weight was
70 lbs. : I did not see it weighed, but was so informed by
two respectable men who did.” Mr Duff measured it and
found it to be 4 feet 9 inches in length (57 inches) from tip to

i6

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

tip, the tail being normal or a bad one no longer than that
of an ordinary fox. It also stood i foot loj inches at the
shoulder, and as he carefully took other measurements it
is a pity that he did not weigh it also. It is very obvious
that 70 lbs. was a mistake for 17 lbs., which was probably
its weight.

Gull attacking Bat. — On the slopes of Cassillis Downans,
Ayrshire, on 26th March 1910, a party of seven members of The
Natural History Society of Glasgow were the witnesses of a short
but tragic aerial encounter, between a Kestrel and a common Bat
( Vesperngo pipistrelliis\ in which the latter was the victim, as
described in The Glasgow Naturalist^ ii., p. 127. Paterson was
one of the party and supplied the information in the note referred
to. The incident was an unheard-of one at the time, but a year or
so later, a similar incident, which took place in Wales, was recorded
in British Birds. A more surprising incident, considering the
creatures involved, now falls to be recorded. On 17th November
1926, Paterson had a mission to the flooded meadows on the left
bank of the Kelvin at Summerston, and was accompanied by
Hopkins. It was a fine afternoon with a clear sky. While stand-
ing together on the river bank Paterson heard Hopkins remark,
“What’s this?” and finding he was looking overhead, did likewise,
to see at an altitude of 120 feet two gulls and a bat engaged in a
one-sided fight. The bat quickly became disengaged from one of
the gulls, but the other, an immature Black-headed Gull, continued
the attack for two or three hundred yards, in an easterly direction,
till the bat was lost to sight and the gull returned to our neighbour-
hood defeated. The whole incident was over in four or five minutes,
but during the flight eastwards the gull made a series of stoops, all
of which missed their mark, being deftly avoided, the bat each time
suddenly appearing 2 or 3 feet above the gull. — Nicol Hopkins
and John Paterson, Glasgow.

Black-tailed Godwits in Forfarshire. — Not since 1922
have so many Godwits been observed on the Elliot foreshore as
during the past autumn. Nearly all were of the Bar-tailed species,
most of which occurred towards the end of September and beginning
of October, when parties numbering from two or three to seven
were seen. On the i8th and again on the 27th a Black-tailed
Godwit was observed feeding on the foreshore. On arrival the
birds were usually quite tame, but after being fired at by gunmen
they became very wary.-— Douglas G. Hunter, Arbroath.

THE BRITISH WILLOW-TITMOUSE IN THE CLYDE AREA 17

THE BRITISH WILLOW-TITMOUSE IN THE

CLYDE AREA.

By John Paterson.

Mr Walter Stewart’s article on “The Willow-Tit in
Lanarkshire” {ante 1926, pp. 147-50) is admirable and
welcome.

I think the earliest notice of the species, Pa7'us
atricapillus kleinschniidti^ Hellm. (under the name “ Marsh-
Tit” of course), in Lanarkshire, will be found from the pen
of R. L. Alston, in The Ibis, 1865, and the Zoologist iox the
same year. The information which Alston communicated
to Dresser {Birds of Europe, iii., p, lOi) is substantially the
same as that which appears in Gray’s Birds of the West
of Scotla7td (p. 106). In the past thirty years, many

ornithologists, both from the east and the west, have
acquired information about the Willow-Tit in Lanarkshire
beyond that which they inherited from .the Alston tradition,
but the full and accurate account of its occurrences in the
county by Mr Stewart was needed.

Within the area covered by Mr Stewart’s narrative
there is nothing to add, but it may be pointed out that
in The Annals of Scot. Nat. Hist., 1898, p. 48, the Rev.
J. D. W. Gibson mentioned seeing a pair at Muirglen,
near Lanark. I have long known it, in the nesting season,
in several of the localities in the orchard country mentioned
by Mr Stewart, and it is interesting to recall that the late
William Evans, writing to me on 2nd November 1900,
remarked that “on Saturday last ... at Cartland Crags
and Cleghorn Glen . . . saw our friends the Marsh-Tits.”
Mr Stewart’s narrative covers that part of the county
from Lanark to the entrance of the North Calder Water
on the right bank, and to the entrance of the Rotten Calder
on the left bank a little farther down. On the right bank,
north and west of the junction of the North Calder and the
Clyde, the only locality Mr Stewart mentions is “on the
Kelvin at Kirkintilloch,” which is well to the north, in an
outlying isolated patch of Dumbartonshire.

163

c

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Some scattered references to the species in Lanarkshire
west and north of the North Calder may be noted. Jas. Jack
saw two pairs, near Airdrie, on loth November 1911, and he
tells me he believes it has nested in Torryburn Glen. In
September 1914, 1 saw it in willows on the Clyde at Daldowie,
and one shot on this sector of the river on 26th September
1898 is recorded {Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc..^ Glasgow^ vii. (N.S.),
p. 61). Farther to the west I saw it in Cadder Wilderness
(31st December 1911), and a little farther west still, at
Fossil Marsh, Wm. Rennie saw seven on 22nd December
1918 (Scottish Naturalist, 1918, p. 121). The statement
that it used to be “fairly common as a nesting species” at
Fossil Marsh {Glasgow Nat.., v., p. 53), is perhaps credible.
A screen of wood covering the entire western side of the
marsh was removed many years since.

A really interesting patch of Lanarkshire, however,
beyond the North Calder, in which the Willow-Tit has
long been known as a familiar bird at all seasons, is that
lying between Coatbridge and Stepps. It is a curious
region physically, difficult to drain, possessing some planted
mixed woods and others chiefly of natural birch, alder, willow
and poor pine (owing, I suppose, to the roots quickly reaching
water). It is largely moss land, and has three lochs, Lochend,
Woodend and Bishop Loch. It connects directly with the
point at which Mr Stewart’s narrative stops, and it is a most
characteristic bit of Willow-Tit country.

The course of the Clyde, from Lanark to its junction with
the North Calder, is north-westerly, but turns at this point to
a more westerly direction, and if we leave the river here and
hold to a north-westerly course, we reach Stepps, so that on
the right bank of the Clyde the Willow-Tit is characteristic,
at all seasons, from Lanark in a north-westerly line to Stepps.
Continuing this line Stirlingshire (Baldernock Farish) is
entered, and we pick the species up again at Bardowie
Loch where I have seen it several times. The screen of
trees, natural and planted, round this pretty loch, should
suit it admirably for nesting purposes. In a recent year,
Nicol Hopkins has seen it in a wood beyond Bardowie,
towards Milngavie. Still proceeding north - west the

THE BRITISH WILLOW-TITMOUSE IN THE CLYDE AREA 19

Allander Water is soon reached, on the left bank of
which, between Clober and Craigallian, are wooded and
wet slopes, with birch and alder and a remarkable develop-
ment of bird-cherry {Pj'unus Padus). For several decades
this stretch of the Allander has been known as a Willow-Tit
haunt. In February 1926, a lively correspondence took place
in the columns of the Glasgow Herald which was started by
a correspondent who claimed to have seen there “a group of
Marsh-Tits, in all, ten birds.”

In the northern half of Clyde, this patch on the Allander
Water seems to be the Willow-Tit’s last stronghold towards
the west and north-west. Beyond that, in the picturesque
counties of Dumbarton and Argyll, as well as in the islands
of Bute and Arran, the species is unknown, unless for what
follows relating to Dumbartonshire.

In the Autobiography and Memoirs of George Douglas^
Stk Duke of Argyll (1823-1900), i., p. 70, he says that he
could not find the Marsh-Tit, though he had carefully
searched for it at Ardencaple (at the entrance to the
Gareloch, where he was born and spent his youth). He
had written to Dresser {Birds of Etirope, iii., p. loi)
that ; “ I have never seen it in Argyll or Dumbartonshire,
whilst its closely-allied congener, the Coal-Tit, is very
abundant. This is a curious case of restricted distribution
which it is difficult to connect with any special conditions
of food and climate.” His Grace had evidently not had
his attention drawn to the fact that at a meeting of the
Natural History Society of Glasgow, on 27th February
1872, “Mr James Lumsden exhibited a specimen of the
Marsh-Tit {Parus palusDis') from near Loch Lomond ”
{Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc.., Glasgow, ii., p. 181).

In ^ Guide to the Natural History of Loch Lomond (1895)
the same gentleman says of this Tit: “Rather scarce . . .
but have seen the bird during winter” (p. 30). This seems
to be all that has been published relating to the Willow-Tit
in Dumbartonshire. I may now add the following : In the

months immediately preceding his death, in 1918, I received
several letters from R. S. Campbell of Achnashie, Rosneath,
Gareloch, and complete lists of birds seen and notes on

20

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

many species. The notable garden at Achnashie is described
by the late Dr Landsborough in the Trans, and Proc.
Botanical Soc,^ Edin. Mr Campbell spent much time both
afloat and ashore studying birds. To attract Tits, he had
cocoa-nuts suspended under the verandah, opposite his
sitting-room window. He writes : I was a little puzzled

about the Marsh-Tit at first and watched it very carefully,
comparing with Blue- and Coal-Tits. I quite satisfied
myself that it had not got the distinctive white spot on the
nape of the neck of the Coal-Tit, nor had it the white bars
on the wings of the Coal-Tit. It was a little larger than
the Coal-Tit, about the same size with Blue-Tit. . . .” He
appears to have first seen it in October and November
1902, and he has a note that he put up the cocoa-nut on
8th April 1904, and that Great-, Blue-, Coal-, and Marsh-Tits
visited it during April. Mr Campbell’s experience and
Mr Lumsden’s would seem to show that one need not
despair of coming upon the Willow-Tit in Dumbartonshire,
where, however, it appears to be a rare bird. When we
proceed west from Dumbarton into Argyll, we are, so far
as the Willow-Tit is concerned, “ into the blue,” and nothing
can be said about it meantime.

Turning now to the left bank of the Clyde, Mr Stewart’s
narrative stops at the point where the Rotten Calder enters
the Clyde, unless for a reference to it in the breeding
season near Busby on the Cart, i.e.^ the White Cart, which
is the boundary here between Lanark and Renfrew, and
another reference to it on the Lugton, near Caldwell, at
which point we are into Renfrewshire. It was seen in
a recent year on the Lanarkshire side of the boundary,
near Rutherglen, by Nicol Hopkins. But we are now into
Renfrewshire, and I may say I saw it at Caldwell, in August
1907, in a little wood admirably suited to its needs. I
have also seen it in Pollok Estate, and remember well
the irruption of this species in the Giffnock district in
the winter of 1896-97. One procured in this district in
1910 proved to be, as one would expect, the Willow-Tit
{^Glasgow Naturalist., iii., p. 45). So far, nesting in Renfrew-
shire has only been announced from the western end of the

THE BRITISH WILLOW-TITMOUSE IN THE CLYDE AREA 21

county, and there but rarely (SCOTTISH NATURALIST, 1915,
p. 127). It should be noted, however, that the nest watched
by Barr and Craig, on which a bird sat April to July 1893,
without laying an egg, “ was in Lochwinnoch Parish ” (M.
Barr, hi lit., 8th Nov. 1896), which is in Renfrewshire.

As far as I know, the earliest reference to the Willow-
Tit in Ayrshire is in the report of an excursion of the
Andersonian Naturalists’ Society to West Kilbride, on
4th April 1892, in which it appeared, under the name
Marsh-Tit of course, on the authority of Walter Brown.
I expect the exact locality would be Ardneil Bank, near
West Kilbride. This steep, wooded bank faces the sea and
is under the picturesque red porphyry cliffs “ The Three
Nuns” and their associated red sandstone cliffs. Here I
saw several Willow-Tits in January 1897. I have also a
note that several were seen there in November of that year
by John Robertson, by whom also it has been observed at
Barrhill in South Ayrshire (Anna/s Andersonian Nat. Soc.,
iv., p. 57). R. W. S. Wilson tells me he saw a pair, at
the bottom of Fairlie Glen, many years since. This is
within a couple of miles of Ardneil Bank above mentioned.
It may well have been known to Charles Berry of Lendal-
foot, in the south of the county, at or before this time (1892),
but my earliest acquaintance with its occurrence there,
through Berry, was in 1896. According to him it was not
uncommon and bred in his district — but was far more
numerous in winter (Glasgow Nat., 1, p. 8). In April 1904,
it was reported to me to occur at Glendoune, below Girvan,
by R. C. Ritchie. Nicol Hopkins tells me that chiefly during
the autumn and winter months, between 1906 and 1921, he
saw the species at various points near Darvel, viz., Lanfine
policies, Bankhouse Wood, sides of Glen Burn, Lindsay
Burn, Tongue Burn, and Water of Irvine. On 5th May
1911 he saw a pair which were evidently nesting on the
Tongue Burn. In 1912 he noted a family party in a small
wood early in July. In July 1919 he again saw a family
of young on the Glen Burn, being fed by their parents.
Down was still adhering to the feathers of the young. At
New Cumnock, in July 1915, he saw a few on the sides

22

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

of the Afton Water. E. Richmond Paton says it has been
seen in the Craufurdland Woods (near Kilmarnock), and he
has seen it in March in Mochrum Woods near the sea {The
Birds of Hareshawmuir^ p. 34). The Ayrshire records are
well scattered over the county, and I cannot resist the
opinion that, were the county “ worked,” it would yield
many more.

I think we may conclude that, as far as present know-
ledge goes, Lanarkshire, by the Clyde and its tributaries
from the Falls to near Glasgow, is the headquarters of the
Willow-Tit in “ Clyde,” with this reservation, that when
Ayrshire finds a monographer of the species like Mr
Stewart, some modification in the conclusion may be needed.
For it must be remembered that we have no detailed
knowledge of the ornis of the Garnock, Irvine, Ayr, Boon,
Girvan and Stinchar, and their tributary streams.

Mr Stewart says the glens of the Rotten Calder and its
tributaries have no equals as haunts of the Willow-Tit in
Lanark. It may be so, and I demur with respect, but has
any other stream and its tributaries been worked like the
Rotten Calder near where Mr Stewart resides? Is his claim
not influenced by the growth of his knowledge? He wrote
in British Birds^ v., p. 133, that he had always known a few
pairs to nest there. He now writes, no doubt in the light of
later knowledge, of twenty pairs. Looked at geographically
no reason appears to support the claim. The distribution of
the species being continuous in a north-west line from Lanark
to Stepps, it seems extraordinary that its headquarters
should be found at the limit of its continuous range on the
left bank. Comparisons would only be safe were one of
the great post-glacial gorges that seam the sides of the Clyde,
or all the gorges and their tributaries, “ worked ” as the Glen
of the Rotten Calder and its tributaries have been. Would
it be too much to suggest that its distribution in Lanarkshire
has probably not altered so very much since a time “ not
long after the Palaeolithic period,” unless that it is now more
confined to the glens, at moderate elevations up to the
500 feet level or a little more, where, from time immemorial
there has been wood, any other changes in its status, the

THE BRITISH WILLOW-TITMOUSE IN THE CLYDE AREA 23

explanation of which we can guess at, being attributable to
the advent of man, followed by the clearance of wood, and
later, by cultivation of the flatter lands and the drainage
this has involved.

Another point of interest in Mr Stewart’s paper is the
statement that the nest of the Blackcap is often fomid (the
italics mine) near that of the Willow-Tit. If that be so, and
Mr Stewart would supply the same exact details of the
distribution of the Blackcap in Lanark (and in Scotland as
far as he knows it) as he has done for the Willow-Tit, we
would be as much indebted to him again as we are now for
his admirable paper.

The Grey Lag Goose in Renfrewshire. — As a further step
in defining the species of the grey geese which pass to and fro over
Renfrewshire, I have to record fifteen Grey Lag Geese at Castle
Semple Loch on 30th November 1926. Their cries mingled with
the chorus of the sixty or more Whooper Swans present on the
loch. The geese rose on the wing from the margin but after flying
round settled on the water, where they were led in swimming by
one bird, possibly a gander, some space ahead. Several times they
were in flight and for a time they slept with heads tucked over. The
white nail on a pale-coloured bill was noted, but no white on face or
black markings underneath could be distinguished. The latter could
not have been conspicuous or they would have appeared as the birds
wheeled past. Mallard, Teal and Widgeon were in large numbers
on the same occasion, and in bringing the telescope into line a fine
Golden-eye drake in full plumage with white eye patch came into
view. — Thomas Malloch, Johnstone.

Sandwich Terns in Argyll. — As we can find no record of
Sandwich Terns in Argyll we think it may be of interest to report
two seen by us when yachting. We were going from Tobermory
to Barra on ist June 1910 and saw two Sandwich Terns off
Ardnamurchan Point. — Evelyn V. Baxter and Leonora Jeffrey
Rintoul, Largo, Fife.

Strange Habit of the Common Snipe. — While walking
between the road from St Andrews to Guardbridge and the River
Eden, on 7th January 1927, my attention was called to what

24

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

appeared to be a dead branch of furze in a grass field. On closer
inspection it proved to be a group of four Common Snipe, huddled
close together with their bills towards the centre, flat on the grass.
The complete stillness of the group was wonderful and a few yards
away squatted another group of three. Presently, two from this
party joined the other four, keeping as near the ground as possible ;
the only remaining Snipe was almost invisible, with its bill thrust
into a tuft of grass. Later they all flew away together with zig-
zagging flight and protesting cries. — Doris M. Wilson, St
Andrews.

Pseroe Snipe in the Outer Hebrides. — Among six Snipe
sent from Langass, North Uist, in October 1926, by Lieut. -Col.
W. Anstruther Gray, we found one which we thought belonged to
the Faeroese race. Surgeon Rear-Admiral Stenhouse kindly
examined it with us and confirmed our identification of it as Capella
gallinago fcRroeensis. Few records of this form have yet been
authenticated in Scotland, the only localities from which it has
previously been recorded being St Kilda, Fair Isle, Tiree, and East
Ross. — Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter.

Note on an Ichneumon (Stenichneumon trilineatus,
Grav.), parasite of the Magpie-moth {Abraxas grossulariata,
Steph.). — In the autumn of 1925 I reared a large number of larvae
of the Magpie-moth {A. grossulariata) infesting black currant and
gooseberry bushes at this time in the Yoker district, near Glasgow.
An Icheumonid was found to have parasitised 25 per cent, of the
individuals placed in rearing. This parasite has been determined
by Dr Waterston, of the British Museum (Nat. Hist.), as Ste7iich-
neumo7i trili7ieatus^ Grav. — Alexander Cuthbertson, Salisbury,
South Rhodesia.

Bivalves and Anemones on Whale’s Skull.— About 2nd
February the trawler Ge7ieral of Leith brought up in the trawl net
the skull, 4 ft. 10 in. long, of a Bottlenose Whale. Clustered
within the hollows of the skull were several examples of a rare
bivalve mollusc, Adula si77ipso7ti, which has the curious habit of
growing almost exclusively on the submerged skulls of whales.
Barnacles were also present in numbers, as well as specimens of
a pale and almost wartless Sea Anemone, which has been identified
by Mr W. Edgar Evans as a typical example of the deep water
condition or variety known as Urticma felma^ var. crassicorTzis (Cuv.).
— A. C. Stephen, Royal Scottish Museum.

NOTES ON THE COCCID^ OF SCOTLAND

25

NOTES ON THE COCCIDHi OF SCOTLAND.

By E. Ernest Green, F.E.S., F.Z.S.

Our knowledge of the distribution of Coccidae, in the
British Islands, is still very incomplete and is dependent
upon the work of a small number of observers, few of whom
have more than a superficial acquaintance with this obscure
but interesting family of insects.

This lack applies more particularly to Scotland, from
which country I have received material from three persons
only, namely, from Dr R. Stewart MacDougall and the late
Mr W. Evans (both working in the neighbourhood of
Edinburgh), and from Mr Philip Harwood (collecting at
Rannoch). Nor have I knowledge of any published records
(other than those noted in Newstead’s Monograph) of
Coccidse from North of the Tweed.

In the present paper I propose to confine my remarks to
the indigenous species. Introduced species, occurring in
plant houses, are of little or no importance in the study
of distribution.

Newstead’s Monograph of the British Coccidce (1901 -1903)
refers to eight species only as occurring in Scotland. The
fact that, during a pleasant and profitable fortnight spent
with Dr MacDougall, in August of last year (1925) at
Gullane, I was able to collect thirteen distinct species in
this single (and not especially favourable) locality, shows
that these insects only require looking for, and that a
sustained study in other localities would, almost certainly,
add many more to the following list, with a reasonable
probability of the discovery of species either new to science
or additions to the British list. It may interest intending
workers to know that, during a residence at Camberley
of eleven years, I have discovered ten new species in this
one locality.

163

D

26

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

ANNOTATED LIST OF SPECIES RECORDED FROM
SCOTLAND, TO DATE.

ortheziint:.

I. Orthezia cataphracta (Shaw).

Coccus cataphractus ; Shaw, Nat. Misc., v., PL clxxxii.

(1794)-

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc., ii., p. 233, PL Ixxv., Figs.

9-13 (1903).

Green, Proc. S. Lojid. Ent. and N.S. Soc.y 1922, PL vi..

Fig. I la.

In June (1902) Newstead “found the species plentiful in
suitable spots on many of the main islands in the Western
Hebrides, including St Kilda ; and Mr J. Macnaught
Campbell . . . has sent the species from Dalmellington,
Ayrshire.”

I received the species from Mr W. Evans, who found it
occurring under moss at Ahkengall, Lammermuir Hills,
Haddington (25th October 1913).

I found the insect, commonly, at the base of grasses, at
Moffat, Dumfries (August 1919), and, under moss, on road-
side banks, at Huntly, Aberdeenshire (July 1922).

Mr Philip Harwood sent me particularly fine specimens,
taken amongst moss “on the summit of Graysell, near
Rannoch, Perth ” (May 1922).

The species was found, in profusion, by Mrs MacDougall
and myself, at the base of grasses on Monument Hill, near
Haddington, and, more sparsely, on the cliffs of Canty Bay
(July 1925).

O. cataphracta is more essentially a northern species.
Newstead gives the distribution as “Greenland, Norway,
and other parts of Northern Europe” ; and Cockerell records
the species from Siberia. My only record from the south
of England is from Budleigh Salterton, Devon. Fresh
specimens of the insect are remarkably ornamental, the
dorsum being closely covered with compact, white, flattened,
waxy lamellae, symmetrically disposed on each side of a
median line.

NOTES ON THE COCCID/E OF SCOTLAND

27

2. Newsteadia floccosa (De Geer).

Coccus floccosus ; De G., Mem. Ins., vii., p. 604 (1778).

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc., ii., p. 242, PI. Ixxiv., Figs.

i-iS (1903).

The only Scottish record, for this species, is that given
in Newstead’s Monograph, where it is noted as occurring
“in the principal islands in the Western Hebrides, including
St Kilda.” I myself failed to find it when collecting in
Dumfries, Aberdeen, and Haddington. In my experience
the insect is more common in the southern counties
of England, though its occurrence in the Hebrides proves
that it is able to exist in the extreme north of our
islands.

N. floccosa is smaller and of more delicate structure than
O. cataphracta, and may be recognised by the looser texture
of its waxy covering and by its pale (straw coloured) limbs.
Like cataphracta, it is to be found under moss and in the
matted debris at the base of grasses.

3. Ortheziola vejdovskyi, Sulc.

Sulc, Sitzb. K. Bohni. Ges. Wiss., No. 44, p. 5 (1894).

Green, Proc. S. Lond. Ent. and N. H. Soc., 1922, PI. vi.,
Fig. lib.

Of this species, also, I have but a single Scottish record.
In September 1905, I received a few examples taken, by
Mr Evans, “ from crevices in the bark of a log, at
Haddington.”

Like its allies, O. cataphracta and N. floccosa, Ot'theziola
vejdovskyi conceals itself beneath moss, or under stones and
logs of wood. It occurs more frequently in Wales and the
south-western counties of England. From a reference to
my figure (cited above) it will be seen that, in general
appearance, the insect somewhat resembles cataphracta ; but
it may be recognised by the absence of waxy lamellae upon
the central area of the dorsum, the derm of which remains
naked and exposed.

28

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

ERIOCOCCIN.E-

4. Eriococcus INSIGNIS, Newst.

Newstead, Ent. Mo. Mag., xxvii., p. 164 (1891); Mom
Brit. Cocc. ii., p. 198, PL Ixxi,, Figs. 1-8 (1903).

Green, Proc. S. Lo?id. Ent. and N. El. Soc., 1922, PL v.,
Fig. 8g

I found this species, sparsely, on grasses, at Gullane,
Canty Bay, and on Monument Hill — all in the county of
Haddington (August 1925).

E. insignis constructs its smooth, elongate-ovate, white
ovisacs (which completely enclose the insect) upon the
blades of various low-growing grasses. Newstead mentions
Agrostis vtdgaris as a frequent host. The adult female insect
has a continuous marginal fringe of stout spiniform setae.

5. Eriococcus greeni, Newst.

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc., ii., p. 200, PL Ixxi., Figs.
14-16 (1903).

Green, Proc. S. Bond. Ent. and N. H. Soc., 1922, PL v..
Fig. 8 A

The record, for Scotland, is based upon a single example,
taken by me on Monument Hill (August 1925).

E. greeni has the same habitat as, and superficially
resembles, insignis. The ovisacs may be distinguished by
the presence of a few erect glassy filaments, projecting from
the closer felted substance of the sac. The adult female
insect has no conspicuous fringe, but the dorsum is irregularly
clothed with spiniform setae.

6. Eriococcus devoniensis (Green).

Rhizococcus devoniensis ; Green, Ent. Rec., viii., p. 260
(1896).

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Coec., ii., PL Ixii., Figs. 9-13 (1903).

Taken, by the writer, on Erica tetralix, at Huntly,
Aberdeen (June 1922). Apparently confined to the “Cross-
leaved Heath ” and probably to be found wherever its host
plant occurs. The presence of the insect is indicated by a
curious distortion of the stalk of the plant which is often
reflexed at the point of attack During the summer, the
orange yellow females are exposed. In the autumn they
are concealed within globular white ovisacs.

NOTES ON THE COCCID^ OF SCOTLAND

29

Lindinger is incorrect in referring this species to
Eriococcus ericce of Signoret. The form and disposition of
the spiniform setae are quite distinct in the two species.
Moreover, E. ericw^ according to Lindinger, affects Erica
arborea^ carnea, mediterranea and scoparia ; while E.devoniensis^
in this country, attacks Erica tetralix only.

DACTYLOPIIN^.

7. Cryptococcus fagi (Baer.).

Coccus fagi ; Baeren sprung, Zeit.f. ZooL^ p. 174 (1849).

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc.^ PI. Ixx., Figs, i-io (1903).

Newstead, on the authority of Miss Ormerod, records the
species “ from Dalkeith Park, near Edinburgh.” I have
observed it, sparingly, on the stems of beech trees, in Roslyn
Glen (August 1925). Dr MacDougall {in litt.) reports that
it occurs commonly in both East and West Scotland.

C. fagi (commonly known as “the Beech Coccus”) has
attracted considerable attention (and some alarm) by its
massed attack upon the stems of beech trees, more
particularly in the southern parts of England. The small,
globular, honey-yellow females are concealed beneath an
accumulation of flocculent, white secretionary matter. The
“Beech Coccus” is the sole representative of the genus
Cryptococcus^ but has a distribution extending throughout
the greater part of Europe. It is peculiar in retaining
vestiges of the posterior limbs, while the anterior and
median pairs are entirely wanting. It is remarkable that
the male of this abundant insect is still unknown.

8. Phenacoccus aceris (Sign).

Pseudococcus aceris ; Signoret, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. (5),
V., p. 329 (1875).

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc., ii., p 176, PI. Ixii., Figs.

1-9 (1903).

Green, Proe. S. Lond. Ent. and N. H. Soe., 1922,
PI. vi., Fig. 10.

Many effete ovisacs of this species were observed, upon
gorse, on North Berwick Law (August 1925). Newstead
“ found it sparingly at Oban.”

30

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

The females of Ph. aceris mature relatively early in the
year. The ovisacs are, usually, fully charged before the end
of May. The mature female, before oviposition, is of a
delicate green colour, dusted with white powdery secretion.
The minute males, which are on the wing early in May,
may be recognised by the presence of four long, stout, white
caudal filaments. Though gorse appears to be the favourite
food plant, I have taken the species upon plum, lime, oak,
and peach.

9. Pseudococcus walkeri (Newst).

Dactylopius walkeri ; Newstead, Ent. Mo. Mag.^ xxvii.,
p. 328 (1891); Mon. Brit. Cocc.^ ii., p. 169, PI. Ixv.,
Figs, i-io (1903).

I found this species, in profusion, on grass {Hordemn^
sp.), at Aberlady Bridge (August 1925). Unlike many of
its allies, it does not shun the light, but takes up a prominent
position on the upper surface of the narrow blades of grass.
The arrangement of the waxy tassels is adapted to the form
of its support, being weakly developed on the sides of the
body, but strongly produced on the two extremities, thus
greatly increasing the apparent length of the insect, while
reducing its apparent width. As noted by Newstead, the
insects are unusually alert and active. Upon the slightest
disturbance of the grass, they release their hold and fall
to the ground.

10. Trionymus pulverarius (Newst).

Ripersia pulveraria ; Newstead, Ent. Mo. Mag., xxviii.,
p. 145 (1892).

Dactylopms pulverarius ; Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc..^ ii.,
p. 174, PI. Ixvi., Figs. 4-6 (1903)-

Commonly, at the base of grasses (principally Festuca
ovina), concealed between the stems and the ensheathing
bases of the leaves (August 1925).

A slender, elongate species, without conspicuous tassels.

(7<? he continued.')

BOOK NOTICES

31

BOOK NOTICES

The Birds of the British Isles. (Series III.) By T. A.
Coward, M.Sc., F.Z.S., etc. London : Frederick Warne & Co.

Ltd., 1926. Pp. ix + 308. Price los. 6d.

To the two volumes of this series which he has written, and which
have been accepted as the most attractive and most useful of all the
lesser books on British birds, Mr Coward, after an interval of six years,
adds a third. It is less essential for the general naturalist than its
predecessors, which included all but the very rare birds, but its 68
coloured illustrations reduced from Lord Lilford’s plates, are as
beautiful as those which added charm to the earlier volumes, and
there is much to interest the bird-lover as well as the ornithologist on
the outlook for the rarer bird visitors to these islands.

The work consists of a series of unrelated sections ; a long and
excellent chapter on migration is followed by short discourses on the
meaning of “ British, birds ” and nomenclature. The characteristic
migratory and other habits of all the birds on the British list, discussed
family by family, forms the largest section, and contains many odd and
interesting scraps of information, as well as data regarding movements
to and from Britain. Sixteen “sub-species” have been added to the
British list since the last volume appeared and these are described
briefly, as well as two new species recorded in 1925 in the Scottish
Naturalist. Finally, a complete list of British birds is supplied, with
a short note defining the status of each form in this country. Each
of these sections contains material with which the serious student of
British birds ought to be familiar.

More than once Mr Coward emphasises the need for closer observa-
tion and the difficulty of reaching finality. He expresses, and rightly,
strong views about the inordinate slaughter of rare visitors. It would
be impossible to complete such a work without a slip, and as such
must be regarded the statements that Waxwings visit this country
“intentionally” (p. 29), whereas their presence is due to the accident
of a south-easterly wind, and that their invasions are probably due to
overcrowding or immediate weather conditions (p. 22), whereas the
primary cause of the invasion of 1921 was almost certainly failure of
the food-supply in Scandinavia.

One Touch of Nature. By F. W. Tickner, D.Lit, B.Sc. London ;

University of London Press, Ltd., 1927. Pp. viii -1- 187. Price

2S. 6d.

An excellent idea, well wrought out, lies at the foundation of this
work. It is to convey the attraction of various moods of nature by a
few selected and lengthy extracts from the works of writers of high

32

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

repute. Selection has fallen upon Gilbert White of Selborne, Henri
Fabre, Richard Jeffries, W. H. Hudson, Warde Fowler, and Edward
Thomas. The personal quality of the observations is emphasised in
short, biographical chapters on each of these authors, written with
sympathy and simplicity, and illustrated each by a portrait. The book
will be read with pleasure and prized by many a youthful naturalist.

Microscopic Fresh-Water Life. By F. J. W. Plaskitt. London:
Chapman & Hall, 1926. Pp. xi + 278. Price 13s. 6d. net.

The ponds, ditches, and pools of the country-side teem with micro-
scopic living organisms and their study is a fascinating and absorbing
one. It is, moreover, one which may be pursued anywhere and at any
time. For those interested in or particularly for those desiring to
begin such studies, Mr F. J. W. Plaskitt has written a useful guide.
The language is simple and non-technical and a useful glossary of the
few scientific terms used is appended. The methods of collecting and
the simple necessary apparatus are dealt with ; the comimon objects
likely to be found are described, and in addition to the discussion of
microscopic plants and animals, a chapter on the higher plants is
included. In his desire to make the book simple the author has at
times unfortunately lapsed into unscientific and inaccurate writing and
there are numerous misspellings. There can be nothing but praise,
however, for the numerous illustrations, many of them microphotographs
which are admirable in characterisation and definition.

Records of Birds Bred in Captivity. By Emilius Hopkinson,
C.M.G., D.S.O., M.A., etc. London: H. F. & G. Witherby,
1926. Pp. ix + 330. Price 15s. net.

The breeding of captive animals has long been a source of pleasure
and amusement, but the indications are that this subject, now become a
highly specialised branch of zoological science, is to take a leading part
in the discovery of truths of vital importance. Dr Hopkinson’s book,
though it has not been planned with such a view, will form an excellent
handbook for the scientific worker. Its lists of birds which have bred
in captivity, and of their known hybrids, form the most complete guide
yet published for the use of the aviculturist ; but they also indicate to the
experimenter who seeks to probe the complex truths of heredity, the
birds which are most suited for study and with which success in breeding
and crossing is most likely to be attained. For this purpose the full
references and index are of great value. It may be noted that a
redundant comma in the explanation of the index makes a sentence
unintelligible as it stands.

THE NATURALIST

A Monthly Illustrated Journal of Natural History for the North of England

Edited by T. SHEPPARD, M.Sc., F.G.S., The Museums, Hull, and
T. W. WOODHEAD, Ph.D., M.Sc., F.L.S., Technical Col., Huddersfield.

Wii/i the assistance^ as Referees in Special Departments^ of

Geo. T. Porritt, F.L.S., F.E.S. ; John W. Taylor, M.Sc. ;

Riley Fortune, F.Z.S.

AH Communications to be addressed to —

THE EDITORS, “THE NATURALIST,” THE MUSEUMS, HULL

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GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF EUROPE
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CONTENTS

PAGE.

Scottish Bird Sanctuaries ; and other Editorial Notes . . r

On the Decrease of Blackgame in Scotland (7h be contmued) —

Leo7iora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter . . 5

Some Records of Large Foxes — H. IV. Robinson^ M.B.O.U. . 15,,

The British Willow-Titmouse in the Clyde Area — Jo^n Paterson 17

Notes on the Coccidae of Scotland {To be continued) — E. Ernest

Greeji^ F.E.S., EZ.S. . . . . .25,

Notes :

Night- Heron in Glasgow — /o/m Pater so?t^ 14 ; Little Auk at
Aberlady, East Lothian — Dr Oliver H. Wild^ 14 ; Buff-
coloured Thrush in Coll — Douglas G. Hunter^ 14 ; Gull
attacking Bat — Nicol Hopkins and John Paterson^ 16 ;
Black-tailed God wits in Forfarshire — Douglas G. Hunter^

16 ; The Grey Lag Goose in Renfrewshire — Thomas
Malloch, 23; Sandwich Terns in Argyll — Evelyn V.

Baxter and Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul^ 23 ; Strange Habit of
the Common Snipe — Doris M. JVilson, 23 ; Faeroe Snipe
in the Outer Hebrides — Leo7tora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn
V. Baxter^ 24 ; Note on an Ichneumon Parasite of the
Magpie Moth — Alexander Cuthbertson^ 24 ; Bivalves and
Anemones on Whale’s Skull — A. C. Stephe7i^ 24

Book Notices . . . . . . .31

FOREST, STEPPE, AND TUNDRA

Studies m Animal E7ivironment
By MAUD D. HAVILAND (Mrs H. H. Brindley)

With 8 plates, 8 text-figures, and a map. Demy 8vo. 12s 6d net.

The author describes in turn the tropical forest of South America, the
Steppe, the Tundra, and the forest of Northern Asia, and in each case gives
a general account of the animals, their relation to physical conditions, to
plants, and to each other. A bibliography is appended to each section.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, Fetter Lane, LONDON, E.C.4

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The .
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Naturalist

No. 164] ^927 [March- April

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The Scottish Naturalist

A Magazine devoted to Zoology

• With which is incorporated

“The Annals of Scottish Natural History”

EDITED BY

JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.,

Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish JVLuseum

AND

PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.

Assistant Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish JHuseum

ASSISTED BY

EVELYN V. BAXTER, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. W. EAGLE CLARKE, I.S.O., LL.D.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. ANDERSON FERGUSSON, F.E.S.

H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.

All Articles and Communications intended for publication, and all Books, etc.,

for notice, should be sent to The Editors, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the Publishers,
Messrs Oliver and Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh.

Authors of General Articles will receive 25 Reprints (in covers) of their Contributions
gratis. Additional Copies, in covers, may be had from the Printers, at the ordinary prices
ruling, provided such-orders accompany the Manuscript.

EVERY NATURALIST SHOULD READ

The following major articles which have appeared in recent
numbers of The Scottish Naturalist : —

Increase of Mountain Hare in Scottish Lowlands.

The Food of the Ptarmigan.

New Facts about the Hive Bee.

Mixed Plumages in a Brood of Hybrid Crows.

Human Transport and Wild Life. (Illustrated.)

The Whale Remains of the Carse of Stirling.

Records of Birds new to Britain.

A Rat Migration.

Abnormal Coloration of Scottish Mountain Hares. (Illustrated.)

Annual Reports on Scottish Ornithology, including Migration. (Illustrated.)
White Wild Geese. (Illustrated.)

The Labrador Falcon — a new British Immigrant. (Illustrated.)

Notes on Fishes from the Clyde Area.

Notes from the Scottish Zoological Park :

The King Penguins. (Illustrated.)

The Great Skua in Shetland^

Some Records of Large Foxes.

As well as numerous shorter notices of interesting events in the

Wild Life of Scotland.

{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.)

The Scottish Naturalist

No. 164.] 1927 [March- April

THE SCOTTISH ZOOLOGICAL PARK.

Until the Zoological Society of London announced the
other day that it had purchased some 400 acres under the
Dunstable Downs to be formed into a garden of the latest
type, the Scottish Zoological Park at Corstorphine within
the city of Edinburgh, with its 74 acres, was credited with
being the largest zoological garden in Europe. Not only
was it the largest. The beauty of its site and its natural
amenity are unrivalled, and since its inception, in 1912, the
development of the Park has been along the most progressive
lines, so that at one and the same time the natural features
have been retained and the animals have been allowed in
many cases the greatest permissible freedom.

It must strike the observer, accustomed only to the older
type of zoo and its serried rows of cages, with something of
a shock of surprise and pleasure to come upon the polar bear
enclosure at Corstorphine, with its natural masses of rock
and deep pool, the one dominated by a bear in seeming
freedom and other the scene of perpetual swimming feats.
The penguin enclosure, the lions’ den, the sea-leopards’
pool, and the open duck and flamingo ponds, flanked by
their masses of reeds and flowering shrubs, are equally
happy evidences of the new methods of showing animals
at their best.

164

E

34

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

All this, as well as the great waders’ aviary, the popular
and attractive tropical bird house and reptile house, have
been achieved with but the slenderest resources. The Park
was hardly set agoing, in 1912, when the country was
plunged into the great war, and for some years income
was insufficient to meet expenditure and progress was all
but stopped in a fear for the very existence of an institution
which had already begun to assume a national importance.
Since then all the surplus income of the Zoological Society
of Scotland, amounting during these years to over 10,000,
has been spent upon the development of the Park. But
there is still much to be done : many natural enclosures
have still to be made, many present cages and confined
spaces must be done away with, and above all the 40 acres
of undeveloped ground, hitherto used as a golf-course, must
be brought within the ambit of the Park itself.

The last is a scheme of some magnitude. It will make
available for mountain animals, such as wild sheep, goats
and chamois, some of the finest rocky masses on Corstorphine
Hill. It will open up large grassy ranges for bison, deer and
the like, and it will throw open to the public the most
imposing view in the neighbourhood, stretching southward
across the Midlothian plain to the Pentland Hills and
northward across the Firth of Forth to the hills of Fife
and the southern Highlands.

Such schemes cannot be accomplished with the surplus
moneys derived from the Park itself, or else the improvements,
many of them crying necessities, must be thrown back for
many years, to be attained only by slow and laborious yearly
nibblings. Accordingly the President and Council have
issued an appeal to the public of Scotland who share in the
benefits of the Park, and to whose support its success has
been due, for a sum of £2^,000, which they regard as
sufficient for the developments outlined above. In support
of the appeal a Midsummer Carnival and Fete is to be held
in the Park in June. The Park deserves well of naturalists.
Its present success and the lines on which it has been
developed are but a foretaste of still greater possibilities,
and we heartily commend this appeal, the success of which

EDITORIAL NOTES

35

will make the Scottish Zoological Park one ol the most
attractive in the world. We understand that copies of the
appeal, which summarises the history of the Park and
contains many beautiful illustrations of the present enclosures
and of the ground still to be developed, may be obtained
from the Director-Secretary at the Park, to whom, or to
the Treasurer, Bailie T. B. Whitson, 21 Rutland Street,
Edinburgh, subscriptions may be sent.

^ ^ic- *

A new journal, styled Natural History Magazine^ is to be
issued quarterly by the British Museum (Natural History)
at South Kensington. The first number contains a series
of short notices describing recent additions to the collections
in the departments of zoology, entomology, geology, and
botany. The object of the Magazine is to bring before the
public in simple language some of the more notable or
more interesting objects in the collections, and accordingly
the articles are full of information, pitched in somewhat
didactic strain. There seems to be no intention to use
the Magazine as a means of publishing original contribu-
tions to scientific knowledge. The first number contains
14 illustrations, and the price is is.

% ^ %

American birds have been reported from Great Britain
on so many occasions that it must be taken for granted that
several species are capable of the long-sustained flight which
the journey demands, but it is seldom that the evidence is
so clear as in the case of the Kittiwakes reported by
Mr Witherby in the January number of British Birds. A
Kittiwake ringed on the Fame Islands on 28th June 1923
was recovered in Newfoundland in August 1924, and a
second ringed at the same place on 30th June 1924 was
recovered in Labrador on 28th October 1925. It is possible
that these birds may have followed ships across part of
the Atlantic, but the author considers that the repeated

occurrence suggests more than a chance crossing.

^

Lord Scone contributes “ Field Notes on some Birds of
Perthshire and the Faunal Area of Tay” to the Trans-

36

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

actioits and Proceedings Perthshire Natural History Society
for 1925-26. There are several new records for the Area,
including Tengmalm’s Owl, a Snow Goose, and others
which have already appeared in the Scottish Naturalist.
Mr John Ritchie writes a short account of “Coccidiosis in
the Brown Hare,” and interesting papers deal with local
archaeology and botany.

* *

Statistics of the Wood Pigeons he has shot at Capenoch
yearly from 1899 to the present time have been sent us by
Mr H. S. Gladstone. They suggest some points of interest,
such as that the influx of immigrants from the Continent is
less marked than it was fifteen to twenty years ago, and that
unusually large numbers of Wood Pigeons occur in south
Scotland at fairly regular intervals of years. But the
numbers are not sufficiently great to confirm these sugges-
tions, and we should welcome from anyone interested a
list of his yearly Wood Pigeon bags, over as long a period
as possible, so that the problems may be further analysed.

A new “sport” has been announced in the newspapers —
the hunting down and shooting of ducks from aeroplanes.
It is on a par with the running down of antelopes by
motor car, although the aeroplane hunt suffers from the
“ weakness ” that “the sportsman has to be attended by a
motor boat to pick up the victims.” It is to be feared that
many a victim will not have so fortunate an end, and we
trust that the Wild Birds Bill, which makes such shooting
illegal, may speedily become law and put a stop to this
barbarous form of recreation.

DESTRUCTION OF METHIL DOCK GATES

37

AN ACCOUNT OF THE DESTRUCTION OF
METHIL DOCK GATES BY MARINE ORGANISMS.

By James Ritchie, M.A., D.Sc.

In the year 1897 new dock gates of timber were erected at
Methil, on the southern coast of Fife in the Firth of Forth.
By 1925 these gates had been so destroyed, that in November
of that year they had to be removed, and new dock gates of
steel have been erected in their place.

The damage to the wooden gates was caused by the
boring of small crustaceans, none of which exceeded a
quarter of an inch in length, and examination of the gates
has afforded some interesting information regarding the
rate of deterioration in British waters of wooden structures
attacked by these pests. Notwithstanding the admirable
work in collecting records, carried out by the Committee
of the Institution of Civil Engineers appointed in 1916 to
“ investigate the deterioration of structures of timber, metal
and concrete exposed to the action of sea-water,” detailed
knowledge regarding the activities of crustacean borers is
still far from perfect. For the opportunity of contributing
to that knowledge I am indebted to Mr W. A. Fraser,
Engineer-in-Chief, Southern Scottish Area of the London
and North-Eastern Railway, and his assistants, who sub-
mitted the first specimens for examination and in addition
to supplying information, photographs, and further facilities,
presented several sections of the damaged timber to the
natural history collections in the Royal Scottish Museum.

General Account of Damage. — The dock gates were
mainly built of yellow or Kauri pine, with supporting
posts of greenheart, the surface being faced with boarding
of greenheart. Practically all the exposed surfaces were
attacked, and so much was the timber eaten away in parts
that if inch iron bolts, once wholly embedded, projected
free for a distance of up to i and 2 feet. The appearance
of the gate in its final stage of disrepair is well shown in
the accompanying photograph taken after its removal. The

38

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

gates were damaged from the bottom, touching the mud, to
almost high-water level, but the greatest destruction was
caused below mean low-water mark. It was also noticeable
that the surface facing the open sea had suffered more
extensive damage than the inner surface, this being due

Side view of dock gate at Methil, showing damage done by boring crustaceans.
The position of the original face of the gate is indicated by the free ends of the
iron bolts.

to the disintegrating effect of waves buffeting the bored
timbers.

The Animals responsible for the Damage. — Close in-
spection showed that the wood was riddled by immense
numbers of tiny perforations, which lay so closely together
that the surface timbers were utterly honeycombed and
fragile. Two crustaceans in various stages of growth were
found in the burrows ; in the larger, about 2 mm, in

DESTRUCTION OF METHIL DOCK GATES

39

diameter, were examples of an Amphipod, Chelura terebjans^
and in the lesser, little more than half the size, were
specimens of an Isopod, Limnoria lignorum^ the Gribble.
Both species are well known as timber destroyers, and the
association of the former with the latter is remarkably
constant: “It is, indeed, probably to be found associated
with Limnoria all round the coasts of Southern and Western
Europe, as well as the shores of North America.”^ This
distribution must be very greatly extended by Dr Caiman’s
record of the same association from Simon’s Town, South
Africa,^ and Professor Chilton’s from Auckland, New Zealand.^

In view of this world-wide association, it is remarkable,
that although the presence of LUnnoria has long been
recognised in the Firth of Forth, Chelura has not hitherto
been detected in that area. Many expert workers,
Henderson, Scott, Leslie and Herdman, Evans, and others,
have investigated the crustacean fauna of the Forth, the
latest being Dr W. T. Caiman, who examined wood from
Leith Docks (1920) and found that there Limnoria occurred
alone. It would appear, therefore, that Chelura is rare in
this estuary, and that its distribution is very local. It is
just possible that the isolated occurrence at Methil may be
due to a comparatively recent settlement of the species
brought thither in timber from some other port; and if
that be so the spread of the pest in the Firth from this
centre of dispersion can only be a matter of time and a
source of new danger to wooden structures in the estuary.

Relative Amount of Damage caused by the two Species. — ■
The presence of the Gribble in damaged timber is so
familiar, that to that species, even when Chelura accompanies
it, the destruction is as a rule mainly attributed. This, if
the Methil Dock Gates can be taken as typical, is placing
the blame upon the wrong shoulders, for Chelura is by

^ Bate and Westwood : A History of the British Sessile-eyed
Crustacea. London, 1863, vol. i., p. 507.

^ W. T. Caiman, “On Marine Boring Animals ” m Deterioration of
Structures in Sea- Water. First Report of Co7nmittee of the Institution
of Civil Eiigineers.^ 1920, p. 78.

^ C. Chilton, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.^ 1914, Ser. 8, vol. xiii., p. 380.

40

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

far the more dangerous of the two bad partners. Allman
in his account of the destruction caused by Chelura terebrans}-
showed some insight into the true relationship of the two
species : “ upon the whole,” he says, “ Chelura would seem
to be a still more destructive creature than Lhnnoria}'‘ and
Bate and Westwood regard it as “ one of our most injurious
xylophagous crustaceans ” {British Sessile-eyed Crustacea^
vol. i., p. 505).

This was certainly the case at Methil, owing partly to
the greater damage caused by the individual Chelura as
contrasted with the individual Limnoria^ but more markedly
because of the enormous preponderance in numbers of the
former. From two preserved pieces of wood, having together
a volume of rather less than 4 cubic inches, and neither more
nor less riddled than other typical portions of the structure,
a gentle shaking in fresh water produced 226 crustaceans
of which 205 were Chelura and 21 were Lhnnoria. These
numbers by no means represent the full population of the
pieces of timber, for many individuals were left in the
tunnels, but there is no reason to doubt that they represent
roughly the relative abundance of the species — 90-7 per cent.
Chelura^ 9-3 per cent. Lvmioria. In addition to its numerical
superiority, it must be remembered that Chelura is a
considerably larger animal, and this means much where
numbers are great. The burrow of an adult Chelura
measures about 2 mm. in diameter, whereas that of Lhnncria
is very little over half the size.

Amount and Rate of Damage. — The rate at which these
small crustaceans can destroy timber has been estimated,
though without very great precision, on several occasions.
Of Chelura terebrans Bate and Westwood say {Sessile-eyed
Crustacea^ vol. i., p. 505): “ It is commonly found associated
with Limnoria lignorum., but, fortunately for piles and other
marine woodwork, it is not so prolific as that species. Its
excavations, are, however, much larger and more rapidly
executed. It is in fact so destructive that it will destroy a
piece of Memel timber thirteen inches square in less than
ten years.” While the Methil Dock Gates disagree with the
^ Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 1847, vol. xix., p. 361-70.

DESTRUCTION OF METHIL DOCK GATES

41

above statement as to the relative numbers of Chelura^ they
amply confirm the account of extensive and rapid damage,
for the preponderance in numbers and activity of Chelura as
well as the actual borings suggest that the damage at Methil
must be set down almost entirely to that form.

Two recent observations on the rate of destruction
from very different parts of the world are quoted here for
comparison with the Methil results which follow. Of the
timber structures in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand,
Mr W. H. Hamer wrote H “Generally speaking the life
[of totara timber] may be stated as fifteen years . . .
12 inch by 6 inch and 10 inch by 5 inch lower walings and
lower ends of braces of this timber meet on piles at from
3 to 4 feet above extreme low water of spring tides, and
in eleven to twelve years these have become entirely useless
for their purpose, the ends being completely eaten away by
Limnoria and Chelura.”

Of a timber pile at Fleetwood in Lancashire, Mr D. C.
Rattray says : “ This pile had formed one of the outer row
of piles in the structure for 30 years and it has been
attacked mainly below zero [that is low water of spring
tides] where the pile, originally 14 inches, has been reduced
to inches square.” ^ The succeeding sentence suggests
that the damage has been done by Limnoria.

The Methil Dock Gates referred to here were erected
in 1897; they were removed in November 1925. The
samples which are described below, and which had thus
been immersed for twenty-eight years, were taken from
the structure at a position 1 1 feet from the base of the
gates and about i foot below low-water mark. They
represent a fair sample of the damage done below the level
of low-water, which exceeded that done between low- and
high-water mark.

The first sample is a slab of greenheart which formed
part of a facing board. The original thickness of this
board was i j inches. The back or protected surface of the

^ “ Deterioration of Structure in Sea Water.” First Report of
Committee of the Institution of Civil Engineers., 1920, p. 190.

^ Above-mentioned Report, p. 99.

164

F

42

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

board has not been affected, so that all the damage is due
to excavation from one surface only. No portion of the
wood now attains the original thickness, although a few more
resistant portions project as narrow ridges or bosses up to
a height of iy\- inch. The greater part of the surface, how-
ever, has been scooped away, so that in places only |th inch
of wood remains, and over most of its area the sample of
the facing board is no thicker than |th inch. Destruction
has been less rapid on this board owing to the presence of
young mussels, the attaching strands or byssus of which
have held together the honeycombed surface of wood and
partially protected it from the destructive action of the
waves.

The second sample is a portion of a post of yellow or
Kauri pine. This has been attacked upon two adjacent
surfaces only, two having been backed up in the solid
structure of the gate. Originally the post showed a cross
section 17 inches square, but attack from two surfaces has
so reduced it that in one direction it measures at a
minimum 8J inches and in the other 4 inches. At their
least active site the borers have destroyed inches deep
in twenty-eight years, at their most active 13 inches deep
of wood have been removed. As a result the 14-inch
length of post, the original volume of which contained
4046 square inches, has been reduced to about 847 square
inches in twenty-eight years — almost four-fifths of the
volume has disappeared.

The third sample, also a square post of yellow or Kauri
pine with 17 inch sides, exhibits almost as strikingly the
amount of damage which may be accomplished. At its
deepest, 1 1 inches of the solid wood has been gouged out
and both exposed sides are remarkably eaten away, leaving
fairly regular surfaces, the average thickness of the block
as it now is being in one direction 13 inches and in the
other only 9 inches.

Through this block a if inch solid iron bolt passes, and
the presence of the iron has had the effect of preventing
to some extent the damage in its immediate neighbourhood,
the burrowing coming to a stop apparently where the wood

DESTRUCTION OF METHIL DOCK GATES

43

has become impregnated with iron rust, so that a thin layer
of undamaged wood remains jacketed round the iron.

Contrasting with the yellow pine posts is a rectangular
post of greenheart, originally loj by 14 inches in section.
Notwithstanding that this post seems to have been exposed
on all four surfaces, the damage has been exceedingly slight,
so that the decrease from the original size is not noticeable.
The condition of this post, as well as that of the surface
boarding of greenheart, shows that this wood is much less
susceptible to the attacks of these boring crustaceans than
the softer yellow or Kauri pine.

The destruction caused by Chelura and Limnoria is
confined to surface excavation, and the need for an actively
moving current of water to bathe the gills seems to confine
operations to the superficial ij inch of wood. It is only
after this superficial layer has become so honeycombed that
it falls to pieces of its own weakness or at the beating of
the waves, that the crustaceans proceed to further depths,
which now satisfy the condition of being within the survival
limit from open water. It is to a large extent this biological
concentration in a strictly limited area which makes serious
the destruction of the minute boring crustaceans, and it is
this habit also which explains how much more active and
dangerous boring becomes in troubled waters where the
disintegration of the riddled timber and the boring of the
crustaceans are hastened by the action of waves.

The influence of physical conditions upon the rate of
destruction makes it difficult to compare the actual boring
rate of the crustaceans in different places. But our sample
No. 2 has been reduced from a square section of 17 inches
to an average of approximately 6 inches square; and
since only two adjacent faces were attacked, a depth of
1 1 inches in one direction was removed in twenty-eight
years. This gives an average yearly destruction of 0-39
inch. But the destruction must be progressively great with
the years, for the progressive multiplication in numbers of
the crustaceans must mean that at first destruction is less
than the average and later exceeds the average.

In the case of the Fleetwood pile, which I have referred

44

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

to above, the destruction taking place on all sides measured
5 J inches in thirty years, or o-i8 inch a year in one direction.
Since the Methil damage was due mainly to Chelura and
that at Fleetwood to Limnoria^ the difference in the yearly
average may give a rough indication of the relative
destructiveness of the two borers, although an accurate
comparison could only be obtained after making allowance
for the relative interference of wave action in the two
different situations.

Eastern Lesser White throat on Hyskeir. — On 21st
October 1926 I procured a Lesser Whitethroat on Hyskeir, which,
on being examined at the Royal Scottish Museum, proved to belong
to the eastern form Sylvia curruca affinis. This race of the Lesser
Whitethroat has not before been obtained in Scotland except at Fair
Isle, and this is therefore a first record for the west of Scotland as
well as for the Inner Hebrides. — John Bain, Hyskeir Lighthouse.

A Large Dog Otter. — Recently I obtained, by accident, in
Rhidorroch Forest, Ullapool, Ross-shire, a large dog Otter, which
was caught in a trap set for a fox, a long way from sea or river. He
was dead when I got him, and judging by the appearance of the
ground had made a desperate struggle to get away, but the weight
of the trap eventually drowned him in the bog where it was set.
The length of the Otter from snout to tip of tail was 47J in. and
the weight 2 1 lb. — Donald Ross, Glastullich, Ullapool.

Leach’s Pork-tailed Petrel in Dumfriesshire. — A Leach’s
Fork-tailed Petrel was picked up, on the railway line, near Annan
on 15th September 1926 after stormy weather, and was submitted
to me for identification. — Hugh S. Gladstone, Capenoch.

Young John Dory off Western Inverness-shire. — An

interesting example of a John Dory i^Zeus faber) was received at
the Royal Scottish Museum in the end of March from Mr W. H.
Henderson, Mallaig. It was caught off-shore there in the ordinary
course of fishing operations. The John Dory is a southern form,
which is sparingly distributed in Scottish waters. The present
specimen is a young individual, only 3^^ in. in length. — A. C.
Stephen, Royal Scottish Museum.

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 45

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN

SCOTLAND.

By Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter.

{Coniiniied from page 13.)

Forth.

This is not one of the best Blackgame areas, but here too
it is evident that there is a decrease.

South-west Perth. — Blackgame abounded on the moors
at Aberfoyle in 1794 (33.^ x. 1 19), and about Callander in 1878
they were said to be common but decreasing (34. 1878-80, 60).
From Stronvar, near Balquhidder, where they were said to
be “not scarce” in 1873 (36. 1873-74, 9) we hear they are
decreasing, there being “not one in thirty of what there used
to be,” while in 1924 they had almost died out at Braco and
other places in the neighbourhood. At Doune a serious
decrease took place between 1918 and 1924, but 1925 showed
a marked recovery.

East Sthlingshire. — Dr Harvie Brown (39. 1866-70) says
that there were Blackgame in very small numbers at Dunipace
and Larbert, while in the same magazine (1867, 898) he
records that in Stirlingshire they were gradually becoming
scarce in some places, whilst in others they were increasing.
About 1858 Blackgame were common about a mile from
Dunipace but after the land was drained they all disappeared;
they returned, however, in 1875, and increased slowly but
steadily up to 1878 (12. 125). Mr McGrigor, writing of
the Carron valley in Stirlingshire says : “ There has been a
considerable decrease of these birds during the past fifteen
years or so, but during the last two years I think there has
been a slight increase.”

Kinross-shire. — Blackgame nest in some numbers at
Arnot Tower, and Mr Tullis tells us that they are not
decreasing in the county.

^ The numbers in parenthesis indicate as follows : the first is that
of the work referred to in the list of references which concludes this
paper; the following number or numbers are volume and page references-

46

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Clackmannan. — We are told by Admiral Moubray that
Blackgame are decreasing at Kennet.

South Fife. — On the south side of the East Lomond,
Blackgame have decreased in numbers, but one or two
have been shot on Deveron every year since 1911, and at
Brummie there were more than usual in 1926.

West Lothian. — Mr John Pagan, North Mains, Bathgate,
writes : “ They only inhabit the western and southern part
of the county and in small numbers, therefore almost any
decrease would have been noticeable, but they do not seem
to be diminishing here.”

Midlothian. — In Midlothian a good many used to breed
on the Pentlands (36. 1871-72, 153) and they also used to
breed in Bavelaw wood which is now cut {loc. cit. 1924, 12).
“ A few appear annually about Penicuik in November and
stay most of the winter, when I expect they go to the hills
to breed ” (R. Cowan). Mr Francis Cowan tells us they are
not common on the Pentlands, but that when a wood was
being replanted a year ago a fair number of the birds
appeared.

East Lothian. — In 1843 Blackgame were resident on the
Lammermuirs and were plentiful there in 1867 (8. 21).
Miss Tunnard tells us that they are now decreasing, and
Captain D. M. Anderson writes: “ In the days of my youth
I used to see a lot of Blackgame, and have not seen any
for some years. I have consulted Major Houston, who
owns Marykirk, and he tells me they have not got any
there for a long time, though the keeper says there are
two or three broods hatched there every year. At Yester
they have not shot any for some time, but Major Baird at
Wedderlie got about forty-two Blackcock this year. Else-
where in East Lothian they have decreased almost to
extinction.”

Tweed.

Mr A. H. Evans writes, in 1911, of this area generally,
“ Blackcocks and Greyhens are specially characteristic of
our Border hills, where they are perhaps as plentiful as any-
where else in Britain. . . . Most of our sporting authorities

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 47

agree that Blackgame is increasing in the district, though
locally banished by drainage and cultivation ; the cause of
this is no doubt the more efficient protection of game as
compared with the days of old, but even in Selby’s time
the increase was becoming apparent. The statements of
course refer to the hill districts in particular, for the low-
lying moors have been much altered in character, and often
no longer maintain a stock of birds. Such is the case at
Lamberton, just north of Berwick-on-Tweed, where they
became extinct about 1870” (22. 184). This, however,
was before the biggest decrease took place.

Roxburghshire. — Under Oxnam (33. xi. 318) we read,
“ game abounds here, amongst which may be reckoned the
beautiful Blackcock.” From inquiries made in the county
we find that here, too, there was a serious decrease after
1915, but this year (1926) there is a distinct improvement,
and they are reported to be nearly as abundant now as
formerly. Major Steel of Philiphaugh, writing of the
decrease in Roxburgh and Selkirk, says : “ There is no
doubt that Blackgame have decreased enormously since
pre-war times all over this part of the country, but more
so in Roxburgh than Selkirk.” At the head of Teviot
where, in 1909 and 1910, 138 and 144 Blackgame were
shot, by 1922 they had decreased almost to vanishing
point. Here, as in a good many other parts, there were
signs of improvement in 1926.

Berwickshire. — Mr Muirhead says Blackgame were
unknown in the neighbourhood of Lauder in the early
part of the nineteenth century. Thereafter they seem to
have colonised this district, as in 1924 we hear there is a
very appreciable decrease in their numbers about Lauder
and on their playing grounds on the Lauder Lammermuirs.
At Oxton Blackgame are said to have decreased very con-
siderably during the last eight years. On a stretch of eight
miles along the south side of the Lammermuirs, lying to the
north of Weststruther, which is the best Blackgame country
in the county, the evidence of five correspondents shows that
Blackgame were more numerous thirty years ago ; twenty
years ago there was considerable decrease, but of recent

48

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

years there has been a tendency to increase again. Along
the Upper Whitadder valley for a distance of eight miles,
extending into East Lothian, three correspondents agree
that there has been a great decrease which started long
before 1900. No recent increase is reported ; in fact the
bags for the last five years are the poorest since 1906. At
Marchmont, Blackgame are decreasing, but at Rathburn they
tend to increase. Lord Home says that 1922 and 1923 were
exceptionally bad years at the Hirsel.

Peeblesshire. — Here, too, there seems to have been a
decided decrease in the number of Blackgame, though Mr
Blackwood says : “ The Black Grouse is fairly common
throughout the county wherever the hills are grass covered,
but it also occurs, though not nearly so commonly, on the
heather-clad hills” (29. 470). In the north-west a very
large decrease is reported, amounting to about 70 per cent,
on the outlying hills of the Moorfoot range, but on the
Pentland side the decrease is not so marked. The decrease
began about thirty years ago and has been going on gradually
since. At Cardon, Broughton and Rachan they are also less
numerous than they used to be.

Selkirk. — We have little data from Selkirk, but what we
have shows that the decrease is operative in this county
also, though not to the same extent as in some others. At
Dryhope and Kirkstead there was a decided diminution up
to 1924, but Major Steel says : There is no doubt that 1925

was a real good Blackgame year and there was a considerable
improvement in the 1925 bags as compared with 1922 and
1923, and in 1926 we have reaped the benefit of the good
year in 1925, also I think 1926 was a fair Blackgame year.”

Argyll and the Inner Hebrides.

Blackgame decreased greatly in this area, in some parts
almost to the point of extinction, but there are cheering
signs of recovery.

South Inverness. — In 1877 Blackgame were plentiful on
the south side of the river in Glen Spean, below Roy
Bridge (39. 1877, 382), but we have no recent information

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 49

from this part. They were common in Lochaber in 1881
(34. 1881-83, 160). In 1892 they were fairly abundant in
north-west Glen Mamie and Arisaig (16. 158). Hugh
Stewart, keeper, Achdalian, writes : “ The first considerable
decrease in this district was in 1908, that being a very
wet summer and nesting conditions being unfavourable. A
steady decline went on till 1924, when they were at the
point of becoming extinct, this, however, was the turning
point, and 1925 came with its warm and genial summer so
suitable for nesting that a great increase in the numbers is
to be recorded.” At Kinlochmoidart they are now extinct,
at Lochailort we are told they have never been plentiful and
are not decreasing, while at Torcastle, Banavie, there had
been a decrease for the last eight or nine years but there
was an increase in 1925.

Noi'th Argyll. — In the higher parts of Appin Blackcock
abounded in 1791 (33. i. 487), while in 1794 in Kilmore and
Kilbride it is said : “There are Muirfowls, black and red, but
not in such numbers as formerly, owing to burning the heath
and the increase of the sheep ” (33. xi. 128).

During the twenty years up to 1896 Blackgame increased
in numbers at Ardnamurchan, “the policy being to shoot
them only at late autumn drives and take all sporting

shots at Greyhens.” The species used to be plentiful

about Loch Awe, and there were a fair number at a place
in this neighbourhood in 1922, “but by far the larger
portion were old and no doubt barren Greyhens.”

Writing from near Oban Admiral Farquhar says: “In
Argyllshire, as far as I can make out, Blackgame have
decreased very much of late years,” and this is corroborated
by other observers. An increase is however recorded in
1926 about Taynuilt and Duror.

A^idl. — In 1837 Macgillivray tells us that the Black
Grouse was plentiful in Mull (ii. i. 156), and in 1871 they

were much more numerous there than the Red Grouse

(10. 230), while in 1890 Graham states that ten Blackgame
might be met with on the moors and mosses to one
Red Grouse (9. 229). Thereafter a decided decrease took
place, and we find in 1892 that, in certain districts of
164 G

50

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Mull at any rate, they were decidedly on the decrease
(i6. 158). Mr Scott writes: “In 1916-17 there were
plenty of Blackgame, last year (1925) I was in Mull from
May to November and saw two,” and Mr R. C. Cowan
says: “I have an estate in Mull where Blackgame used
to be plentiful but have only shot two cocks in the last
three seasons ; I do not think I have seen a dozen in
that time.”

I mier Hebrides. — The Old Statistical Account tells us that
in 1794 there were plenty of Blackgame in Islay and some in
Jura (vol. ix. 278 and vol. xii, 322). In 1871, according to Mr
Elwes, “-they were increasing rapidly in the north part of Islay”
(10. 230), and about 1874 stubbles there are described
as “dotted with Blackgame” (34. 1874-78, 72), while in
1891 they were still plentiful in Islay and Jura (16. 158).
Up to 1898, Mr Ramsay of Kildalton tells us Blackgame
were prosperous in Islay, and he considers that they had
been fairly stationary in numbers since 1840. From 1899
to 1902 they had a very severe set back, but in 1902-3
recovered themselves, and this was maintained with slight
fluctuations till 1908-09, when a considerable increase took
place, and in 1910-11 there was another very great increase.
This happy state of affairs continued up till 1914 after which,
during the War, all game suffered to a certain extent, though
Blackgame were less affected than Grouse. “ The season
of 1918-19, however, was exceptionally wet and was followed,
as far as Islay was concerned, in 1920, by the worst outbreak
of disease among Grouse that ever occurred in my time. It
was a disastrous year for Grouse, but for Blackgame it was
even worse. I find that in 1920 we only killed four Blackcock,
whereas in previous years we had at times killed as many as
twelve brace at one stand. From that year on till 1924, by
the common consent of all the proprietors in the island, we
stopped shooting Blackgame, with the very happy result that
to-day, 1926, there are, I believe, in Islay as many Blackgame
as during the past fifty years.”

In Jura Blackgame had decreased steadily till five years
ago, since when they have increased considerably, as we
are informed by Mr Campbell.

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 51

In Gigha the inhabitants afifirm that “Blackgame were
at one time present, but . . . there are none now,” in 1891
(16. 158).

Clyde.

Clyde does not seem to have been as much affected as
some areas, but here, too, there are considerable fluctuations
in numbers.

South Argyll. — We read of the abundance of Blackgame
in Kintyre in the end of the eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries; up to 1845 they were exceedingly plentiful there
but an outbreak of Grouse disease occurred in that year and
a large proportion of the stock died, in fact, it is said, that
the Grouse and Blackgame in Kintyre have never really
recovered from this outbreak (24. 25). By 1895 they were
again plentiful enough to ensure good bags, and thereafter
there was considerable fluctuation in numbers. In 1914
there were about two hundred birds on some Blackgame
country in Kintyre, in 1918 thirty, by 1922 they had
increased to about eighty again, hardly any having been
shot in the three preceding years, and in 1923 Blackgame
there failed to rear their young (23. 1924, 516).

In Carradale a very marked decrease took place between
1905 and 1921, at Ormsary and Achaglachgach we are told.
Blackgame increased up to 1905, owing it is thought to a
policy of shooting all the old Blackcocks and Greyhens ; we
have, unfortunately, no up-to-date information from these
places so cannot tell whether this increase was permanent.
A decrease is reported about Lochgilphead and Kilmun.
We have an interesting series of notes kindly sent us by Sir
Norman Lamont of Knockdow which show that Blackgame
have decreased very markedly there since 1913. Before this
date the numbers were very much greater but fluctuated
considerably from year to year.

Dumbarton. — Gray describes the species in 1871 as very
abundant on the Loch Lomond range of hills (10. 231), but
at Arden on Loch Lomond Blackgame showed a decided
decrease between 1870 and 1878 (12. 122). Records of bags
from the highest shootings on Luss show that Blackgame
have decreased by one half from about 1870 to 1918. In

52

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

1910 Blackcock were still found in fair numbers in upland
shootings within the ten-mile radius from Glasgow Cross
(26. 1910, 54).

Wes^ Stirling. — In the New Statistical Account we are
told that, in Buchanan Parish, the Red Grouse was super-
seded by the Black Grouse, but Mr Bartholomew writes
that now “this is not a good Blackgame country, they are
practically only winter visitors.”

Renfrewshire. — In 1895, in their list of the birds of East
Renfrewshire, Messrs Paterson and Robertson say: “A
breeding species in Mearns and Eaglesham. About a
hundred cocks have been shot on one estate in a season ”
(2. 1895, 229).

Lanai'k. — Lord Lamington tells us that this species has
decreased enormously at and about Lamington. Fifty
years ago they were very plentiful, and even five years ago
they were not uncommon, but by 1924 they had almost
disappeared. In the valley of Douglas there are still a good
many Blackgame, but between Carstairs and Thankerton
they have decreased.

Ayrshire. — Ayrshire does not seem to have been as
greatly affected by the decrease as some other counties ;
we are told that they are holding their own in Fenwick
Parish and Hareshawmuir, Muirkirk, Blairquhan, Kirkbride,
in fact, at all these places, except Muirkirk, a slight increase
in the last few years is noted At the Mair we are told
that there are more “than for a good few years,” due largely
to the fine weather in June and July last year (1925). On
the other hand there is a letter in The Field (28/8/24)
referring to a marked decrease in Ayrshire as a whole
since the late seventies and eighties ; and Mr J. B.
Ferguson writes at Kilkerran and Balby in 1871, 494
Blackgame were killed “at the Grouse drives; I see there
were bags of 20, 30, and up to 45 Blackgame in a day
I remember them there and on North Balloch in great
numbers. Of recent years 50 on Balby and 30 on the other
ground would be more like year's bag.” Since 1916 there
has been a marked decrease at Alton Albany, near Girvan.

{To be concluded.')

BIRD NOTES FROM FAIR ISLE, 1 926

53

BIRD NOTES FROM FAIR ISLE, 1926.

By Surgeon Rear-Admiral J. H. Stenhouse.

I REVISITED Fair Isle in the autumn of 1926, remaining on
the island from 8th September to 6th October. Previous
to my arrival there had been a small immigration of
birds from the Continent, and three Barred Warblers were
observed in August; a female on the 13th and males on
the 14th and 27th. The chief feature of the migration
season was the almost total absence of small Passerine
birds whose winter quarters are in Africa. In the Ornitho-
logische Monatsberichie of November 1926 there is published
an account of an enormous migration of small birds (esti-
mated at at least 70,000, over 1000 were caught and ringed)
which passed over Heligoland from the 2nd to 4th September.
Of this great movement nothing was seen in our northern
isles ; but it is more than likely that the early departure of
these birds in such very large numbers is correlated with
their absence from our coasts last year.

The usual migrants from the Faroes and Iceland, Wheat-
ears, Meadow Pipits, and White Wagtails, were present in
normal numbers, but from the 8th until the 24th September
the only Continental visitors seen were two or three Willow-
Wrens, one Whinchat, and a Brambling. After the latter
date, birds, eg. Thrushes, Robins, Bramblings, Goldcrests,
etc., which winter in the British Isles and Southern Europe,
began to put in an appearance, and with the frequent occur-
rence of easterly winds, their movement continued until
the date I left the island. There were few rarities : a male
Lanceolated Warbler, Locustella lanceolata, was obtained on
26th September, and a male Eversmann’s Warbler, Phyllo-
scopus b. borealis^ on the 27th ; both these occurrences being
the fourth recorded for Fair Isle and the fifth for the British
Isles. Three Yellow-browed Warblers were observed.

I may here add that after my departure, a female Short-
toed Lark, Calandrella b. brachydactyla.^ was obtained by

54

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Mr George Stout on 19th October, and on ist November
two Jackdaws, a pair, which I am unable to distinguish
from our British bird.

It may be of interest to state that for these last two
years Tree Sparrows, which had been resident on the
island for many years, have not been seen. The islanders
are of opinion that Hooded Crows had exterminated them
during the breeding season of 1925 ; a pair of Crows nested
that year in the cliffs which the Tree Sparrows frequented.
There has also during this past year been a remarkable
diminution in the numbers of House Sparrows on the
island : formerly they were quite numerous and to be
found round almost every croft, but during this past
autumn no more than a few pairs were seen and these
only at one place where there used to be hundreds.
Human agency may have had something to do with their
scarcity, but the enormous reduction in their numbers
appears to point to some epidemic disease having taken
a heavy toll.

One other bird seen may be mentioned. This was a
Herring Gull w'hose plumage had been dyed red. When
first seen by me only the wings were coloured ; the bird
was evidently moulting and after the middle of September
it was not again seen or identified. The islanders knew the
bird quite well : they stated that in the spring there was
much more red on its feathers, and that it had nested
during the summer at the north end of the island. This
may have been a bird bearing a ring. German ornithologists
have been advocating marking “ringed” birds by dyeing
part of their plumage, but I have been unable to obtain
any account of a Herring Gull having been so treated.

NOTES ON THE COCCID^ OF SCOTLAND

55

NOTES ON THE COCCID^ OF SCOTLAND
By E. Ernest Green, F.E.S., F.Z.S.

{Concluded from page 30).

11. Trionymus hibernicus (Newst.).

Dactylopius hibemicus ; Newstead, E7it, Mo. Mag.,
xxxi., p. 167 (1895); Mon. Brit. Coco., 11., p. 172,
PL Ixvi., Figs. 7-9 (1903).

This species occurred, in abundance, in moss at the base
of grasses and small herbaceous plants, at Gullane (August
1925). It constructs large, irregular ovisacs — often of a
yellowish tint. The adult female is larger and stouter than
T. pulverarius which it otherwise somewhat closely resembles.

Newstead has taken isolated examples “in the Western
Hebrides, including St Kilda.”

12. Ripersia europ^a, Newst.

Newstead, Ent. Mo. Mag., xxxiii,, p. 167 (1897).
Newstead does not include this species in his Monograph
of the British Coccidce. At the date of publication (1903)
of his second volume it had not been recorded from the
British Isles; but he informs me that, since that date, he
has received material from several English localities. I am
including it, in this Scottish list, on the strength of a single
adult female and numerous nymphs, taken in soil from a
crevice in rocks on North Berwick Law (August 1925).
Though not completely typical, the characters of this
specimen are closer to those of R. europcea than of any of
the allied species. I am unwilling to distinguish it by a
varietal name until I have had an opportunity of examining
further material.

13. RhizceCUS HALOPHILUS (Hardy).

Coccus halophilus ; Hardy, Cochenilie in Algeria (i860).
Ripersia halophila ; Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc., ii.,
p. 192, PI. Ixix., Figs. 8, 9 (1903).

Newstead records the species from “several of the islands
in the Western Hebrides, including the extremely isolated

56

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

St Kildan group (Hirta).” Miss D. J. Jackson found it upon
the roots of heather, at Evanton, Ross (February 1921).

R. halophilus is, probably, the smallest and most incon-
spicuous of any of our British Coccidae, and is rendered still
more so by its concealment in the soil, at the roots of small
grasses and herbaceous plants. Its presence is indicated by
a deposit of delicate pulverulent secretion — often of a bluish
or iridescent tinge.

LECANIIN^.

14. Lecanium capre^. (Linn.).

Coccus capi'CCB ; Linnaeus, Syst, Nat.^ Ed. xii., i., p. 741
(1766).

Lecanium caprecB ; Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc.^ ii., p. 105,
PI. liv.. Figs, i-ii (1903).

Of this species, Newstead remarks — “apparently very
local in Scotland.” It has a wide range of host plants,
including hawthorn, apple, elm, sycamore, oak, alder, willow,
hazel, lime, and horsechestnut, occurring singly or in relatively
small colonies on the smaller branches of the tree.

15. PULVINARIA VITIS RIBESI^, Sign.

Pulvinaria ribesice ; Signoret, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. (5),

iii., p. 43 (1873).

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc., ii., p. 55, Pis. xlvi.. Figs. 1-14
and xlvii., Figs. 1-7 (1903).

Scottish records, mentioned in Newstead’s Monograph
(on the authority of Miss Ormerod’s Report for 1889), are
as follows: — “Macduff, Banffshire; Glenmuick, Ballater,
Aberdeenshire; Stonehaven, Kincardine; Edinburgh City;
Arbroath ; and Berwick-on-Tweed.”

Dr MacDougall has observed it “in considerable quantity
on Flowering Currant in an Edinburgh park.”

Newstead confines the varietal form to plants of the
currant family, and refers examples from other plants (vine,
alder, birch, sallow, etc.) to the typical form — vitis (L,).

I must confess that I have never observed any structural
characters to justify the separation of the two forms.

NOTES ON THE COCCID.E OF SCOTLAND

57

16. Eriopeltis festuc^ (Fonsc.).

Coccus festucce ; Fonscolombe, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr.^ iv.,
p. 216 (1834).

Newstead, Mofi. Brit. Cocc., ii., p. 21, PL xxxviii., Figs.

i-io (1903).

I found this species, abundantly, on grasses on Monu-
ment Hill, Haddington (August 1925). A small (usually
parasitised) form occurred, sparsely, on Festuca ovma^ at
Gullane.

Newstead refers to E. festucce as “this extremely local
insect.” My own experience leads me to believe that it is
actually very widely and generally distributed. I have
found it in every suitable locality in which I have seriously
searched for it. But it requires looking (or rather groping)
for, though the relatively large, shaggy, white ovisacs are
conspicuous enough when located. After depositing its eggs,
the spent female works its way out, through an aperture at
the anterior extremity of the sac, and falls to the ground
where it shrivels up and dies.

17. Luzulaspis LUZUL^ (Dufour).

Aspidiotus luzulce ; Dufour, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. (4), iv.,
p. 207 (1864).

Signoretia luzulce ; Newstead, Brit. Cocc.^ ii-) p. 27,
PI. xL, Figs. 1-12 (1903).

I took this species, sparingly, at Moffat, Dumfries
(August 1919); and again, commonly, at Gullane, Hadding-
ton (August 1925). It affects various species of “wood
rush,” more particularly Luzula campestris and, as Newstead
remarks, prefers “ a shaded and rather moist position,” where
it is usually concealed amongst the surrounding grasses.
I have, however, occasionally found it in open, well-grazed
pastures where the snow-white ovisacs occurred in such
abundance that the infested area was noticeable from a
distance of some yards. Like the preceding species, the
spent females vacate their ovisacs after oviposition. If,
therefore, specimens are required for study, they should be
gathered early in August.

164

H

58

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

1 8. Luzulaspis SCOTICA, Green.

Green, Ent, Mo. Mag"., August (1926).

When searching for Coccidae, near Aberlady Bridge,
I found examples of a species that superficially resembled
L. luzulcB. The fact that they were infesting an undeter-
mined species of grass, and that the ovisacs appeared to be
unusually long, led me to suspect that they might be distinct
< — an impression that was corroborated after examination
of properly stained preparations. It was then seen that
these specimens differed, in important characters, from
luzulcB. I have now described the insect as a new species,
under the above name. The principal difference lies in the
character of the marginal setae, which in this species are
spiniform, while those of luzulce are trichiform.

19. Physokermes abietis (Geoff.).

Chermes abietis rotundus ; Geoffroy, Hist. Abr. Ins., i.,
p. 507 (1762).

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc., ii., p. 132, Pis. Iviii., Figs,
i-ii, and lix.. Figs. 1-5 (1903).

I found this species, in some abundance, on Spruce Firs
in Roslin Glen (August 1925). It is confined to the spruce
and, probably, occurs in many other Scottish localities ; but,
though of relatively large size, its cryptic form and coloration
render it a very inconspicuous insect. It may easily be
mistaken for an undeveloped bud of the plant.

DIASPIN2E.

20. ChIONASPIS SALICIS (Linn.).

Coccus salicis ; Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., Ed. x., i., p. 456

(1758).

Newstead, Mon. Brit. Cocc., i., p. 180, PI. xix., Figs. 1-9
(1901).

I have records of this most abundant and widely dis-
tributed species from two Scottish localities only. I found
it, abundantly, on Ash, at Moffat (August 1919), and
Dr MacDougall {in litt.) informs me that it occurs commonly
“ in both east and west of Scotland.”

NOTES ON THE COCCIDyE OE SCOTLAND

59

21. Lepidosaphes ulmi (Linn.).

Coccus ulmi ; Linnaeus, Syst. Nat.^ Ed. x., i., p. 455 (1758).

Mytilaspis pomorum (Bouche) ; Newstead, Mon. Brit.

Cocc.^ i , p. 194, PI. xxiv., Figs, i-ii (1901).

The lack of published records, for this species — which
probably is present in every garden and orchard throughout
the country — is still more remarkable. There are no
published records. But Dr MacDougall {in litti) remarks
that the species occurs commonly in gardens around
Edinburgh.

The foregoing list, comprising twenty-one names only,
is but a poor proportion of the sixty-four indigenous species
at present known to occur in the British Isles. There are
common and conspicuous species, such as the “Oyster-
shell Scale” (Aspidiotus ostrecEformis)^ the “Rose Scale’’
{Aulacaspis rosce)^ and the “ Peach Scale ” {Lecmtiuni persicce)^
that must surely occur within the Scottish Borders. The
present paper has been compiled partly in the hope that the
meagreness of the list may spur northern entomologists to
remedy the defect.

A rough analysis of our sixty-four British species shows
that twenty-seven of them affect trees and shrubs, while the
remaining thirty-seven are found on or amongst low herbage
or even below the surface of the soil. It should be under-
stood, therefore, that a collector of Coccidse must be prepared
to spend much of his time prone upon the ground, groping
and grubbing in the herbage.

6o

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

NOTES

Risso’s Dolphin stranded in Caithness. — On 21st March
vve received a message from the Receiver of Wreck, Wick, that on
the 1 8th a toothed Whale had been stranded on the coast of
Caithness, near Wick. The Whale was 10 ft. long, of a whitish-
yellow colour, and distinctive features were that it possessed no
teeth in the upper jaw and in the lower jaw four teeth on each side,
the sockets of which (for the teeth had disappeared) indicated teeth
about I inch in diameter; also that the flipper measured i ft. 7 in.
in length. All these characters, colour, size, length of flipper, and
particularly number of teeth, indicated without doubt that the
specimen was a Risso’s Dolphin, Grampus griseus, of which only
a single specimen has been recorded from Scottish coasts during
the period 1913-26, covered by Sir Sidney Harmer’s investigations,
a lo-foot individual stranded near Stirling on 25th August 1919.
— James Ritchie.

Records of Large Poxes. — In the Scottish Naturalist
(1927, p. 15) Mr H. W. Robinson draws attention to one of
28 lb. 14 oz. reported as killed at Upwood, near Keighley, in The
Field of 4th March 1916. I investigated this “record” at the time
(see The Naturalist^ 1 916, p. 1 73). The story was a pure concoction
founded upon an ordinary dog fox. The “ Upwood,” really Bingley,
is only about six miles from my house across the moor. The largest
dog fox that I have actually weighed around here (and he was a
very fat balloon-bellied fellow — of the “Lowland” race) turned the
scales at i6| lb. We had previously guessed him to weigh nearer
20 lb. than 19 lb.

Around Skipton several foxes have been reported at 18 lb. (and
one at 21 lb.), but I doubt if they were accurately weighed — even
if weighed at all. I wrote (and enclosed a stamped envelope for
reply) to the man who was supposed to have shot the 21 lb. fox.
But he never replied. — Harry B. Booth, Ben Rhydding, Yorks.

Wild Geese alighting on Trees. — A field-length down from
my home at Norlea, Tarbolton, Ayrshire, is a large meadow of about
200 acres, which used to be flooded in winter to supply a mill
(“Willie’s Mill” of Burns), but which is now meadow all the year
round. Since ever I can remember, this meadow has received its
annual quota of Wild Geese, Grey Lag, and is a favourite feeding
ground for them. This reason, 1926-27, there are roughly 150 to

NOTES

6i

200 of them, although on 3rd February even the latter number
seemed to be considerably added to. Being so close at hand, it is
my fortune to be able to study these Geese very carefully, even with
the naked eye at most times, and of course every other evening one
is lying in ambush on the chance of a shot at them — only about
four have been shot this winter, however.

Now about mid-January, all Friday night and Saturday forenoon
there were such torrential rains that the main ditch in the meadow
overflowed and the whole meadow was under water, so that when
the Geese arrived their feeding grounds were submerged. They
accordingly went to the potato-field, and there settled for a time,
although there was practically nothing in the way of food for them.
They were most interesting to watch as they were quite unsettled,
and more so when a mist began to enshroud the meadow. Occasion-
ally three or four took the air, flew round in a circle, purely for
inspection, and then realighted. This procedure lasted for some
time, till at last the whole flock rose en masse and flew towards
their accustomed feeding ground. This being still more flooded,
and the mist having thickened, they alighted head to wind in the
lea-field, a most unusual proceeding, and, as a matter of fact, not at
all safe for them. Here occurred the incident that has originated
this note : about 20 or so actually settled, with difficulty I admit,
on three trees bordering the meadow. Luckily my pigeon boy was
with me and I drew his attention to them on the trees, and I also
got my father to come out to see them, and even to him, an elderly
man, they were plainly visible.

My idea is that all arranged routine being upset by the weather
conditions, and having to settle, although only temporarily, on
comparatively unknown ground, with of course its attendant
unknown dangers, they took this curious precaution. — Alec. T.
Crawford, Tarbolton.

Further Records of Breeding of Pochard at Duddingston

Loch. — With reference to the reported breeding of the Common
Pochard in 1926 at Duddingston Loch, I have to record that this
species also produced young in 1924 and 1925 at the same place.
In 1924, two young (with one female) were under my observation
for a period of five weeks, at the end of which the young were old
enough to join the adult Pochard on the loch. Towards the end of
May 1925, a female put six young on to the water. I did not see
them again after the 8th of June, when they were about three weeks
old. Apparently the 1925 young were not reared. — J. M. Dewar,
Edinburgh,

62

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Unusual Colour Variety of Haddock. — A very unusual
variety of the common Haddock was caught on 7th February in the
North Sea off the entrance to the Firth of Forth. It was presented
by Mr Young, Newhaven, to the Natural History Department of
the Royal Scottish Museum, where it is being prepared for
exhibition. Instead of the ordinary haddock colour, greyish on
the back, with a black lateral line, dark blotch on the side and
bluish-black fins, this specimen is of a golden yellow on the upper
surface shading into a warm silvery colour underneath, parts of the
body being suffused with pale tints of lemon-yellow and pale salmon
pink, but there is no dark colour and the side blotch has disappeared.
This extraordinary fish, in spite of a coloration which must have
made it conspicuous in the sea, and exposed it to more than usual
dangers from hungry foes, had survived to reach a length of
lyjin. It was probably three to four years old. Such unusually
coloured examples are extremely rare; they most likely represent a
stage in the colour-absent condition known as albinism. — James
Ritchie.

The Golden Eagle in Galloway. — In 1918 I contributed to
The Scottish Naturalist a note on the Golden Eagle in Galloway
in which I stated that : —

“The Golden Eagle last reared a brood in this district in 1835. ... In 1905
a pair returned to Cairnsmore and built an eyrie, but failed to hatch the solitary
egg that was laid therein.”

Such was the information that reached me at the time; but
the following now comes from Mr William Edward Hopkins, game-
keeper at Gelston Castle, whom I have long known as a thoroughly
competent observer : —

“ I was surprised to come across an article by you where the Golden Eagle in
1905 laid only one egg and then deserted. Believe me, she laid three, for it was I
who found the eyrie and showed it to Major M‘Haffie.^ The reason she deserted
was the putting of an extra man whose sole duty was to watch the eyrie, which he
did from the hill of Corwar about 700 yards distant. He reported that he had
not seen the birds for some days, and I was instructed to investigate. I found the
eyrie deserted and the eggs addled. I believe they were presented by Her Grace
of Bedford to the late Mr Service of Dumfries. Her Grace, in her anxiety to
preserve, defeated her own ends.”

I regret that the rest of my former note remains correct, namely,
that at least one of this pair of eagles was shot near Kirkcudbright
in the following winter. — Herbert Maxwell, Monreith.

^ Agent to the Duke of Bedford, who has rented the shootings of Cairnsmore
for many years.

BOOK NOTICES

63

Sweden to Britain — Migration of Rough-legged
Buzzard. — In a recent number of The Scotsman^ it was announced
that a Rough-legged Buzzard, bearing a ring inscribed “ Riksmuseum,
Stockholm, B. 189,” had been captured at Moy Hall, Inverness-
shire. This information was sent to Professor Einar Lonnberg,
from whom the following reply has been received : “ I am much
obliged for your kind letter concerning the Rough-legged Buzzard
marked with our ring B. 189. It was ringed as a young bird in the
nest the 13th July 1926, on the mountain Mullfjallet in the Swedish
province Jamtland, almost at the geographical centre of Sweden.
As far as I know, it was the first bird of this kind from Sweden
which has been stated to migrate to Great Britain. Other Rough-
legged Buzzards, ringed in the northernmost parts of Swedish
Lapland, have travelled towards the south or even south-east, the
most remote points of recovery being, according to Professor
Jagerskiold, resp. Hungary and a place south of Moscow. It is,
however, possible that the Rough-legged Buzzards from our southern
mountains and from those of Norway migrate in a south-western
direction, like so many other Swedish birds. It is a pity that
such a bird as this should be considered as ‘vermin.’” — Einar
Lonnberg, Naturhistoriska Riksmuseum, Stockholm.

BOOK NOTICES

Kinabalu: The Haunted Mountain of Borneo; an Account
OF ITS Ascent, its People, Flora and Fauna. By Major
C. M. Enriquez, F.R.G.S. London: H. F. & G. Witherby,
1927. Pp. xix-fi99. Price los. 6d. net.

The expedition which ended with an ascent of Kinabalu (13,455 ft-),
started from Taiping in the Federated Malay States as a collecting trip,
having as its objectives birds, butterflies, spiders, and a miscellany of
vegetable and animal remains. Major Enriquez describes his journey
well and vividly, and the assiduity with which he attended to the natural
history aspect of his journey is shown by his collections of 3 rats,
12 squirrels, 2 shrews, 140 birds, 218 kinds of butterflies, 24 species of
spiders including 4 new to science, about 50 mosses, etc. But to our
mind the lists of birds and butterflies, all carefully set out in appendices,
are less valuable and certainly less interesting than the author’s field
observations. The solitary living thing seen at the very summit of the
mountain — a Golden-billed Blackbird, the profusion of birds at 800 to
1100 ft., their abundance even to 4900 ft., their scarcity thereafter, so
that above 10,000 ft. only three species were seen, all make vivid
impressions, as also do the accounts of the dimorphic butterflies and of

64

THE SCOTTISH naturalist

the hunting of the great six-inches Bornean butterfly, Thauria aliris^
which “costs as much in hard work, expense and organisation as a
tiger skin — perhaps more.”

A Botanist in the Amazon Valley. By R. Ruggles Gates,
B.Sc., Ph.D. London: H. F. & G. Witherby, 1927. Pp. 203.
Price 7s. 6d. net.

His training and experience as a professor of botany in the University
of London and formerly a lecturer in zoology in the University of
California, have fitted the author to make the best of both natural
history worlds in an area famous in the annals of naturalist travellers,
I'he narrative is that of a six-weeks’ sojourn in the Amazon Valley where
Professor Gates had planned to make a limited botanical survey, and
the botanical aspect dominates the story. For a great part of the
journey up the Amazon the opportunity for study is severely limited by
the distance of the bank from the fairway and the close fence of trees
and scrub on the river’s brim which conceals the background. The
main observations, therefore, are confined to the land visits — in Manaos,
Teffe and Para. Many interesting notes are made, but the writing gives
the impression of hurry and lack of finish, and makes a poor contrast
with the classics of the Amazon Valley with which one unconsciously
compares it. There are many photographs.

The British Hydracarina. By Chas. D. Soar and W. Williamson,
Ray Society, London 1927, Vol. ii., pp. viii-t-215. Twenty
plates.

The second volume of this handsome monograph makes its
appearance within a couple of years of the first, a short space of time
when the laborious nature of the description and characterisation is
considered. It continues the systematic account of the Water-mites,
dealing with the members of ten sub-families of the Hygrobatidse, and
indicating for each species, as well as distinctive characters, the detailed
distribution in Britain and general distribution throughout the world.
There are many fine figures, and six of the plates are beautifully printed
in colour. The authors are to be congratulated on completing another
stage of a valuable work.

The Bird Book. By Enid Blyton. London : George Newnes, Ltd.
N.D. Pp. 124. Price 3s. 6d.

Attractively got up for children, with several striking colour plates
and a large number, of excellent black-and-white illustrations, this work
deals freshly and interestingly with the bird world. The authoress
knows her birds and describes their habits well, and her arrangement
of facts in general chapters dealing with nests, eggs, young birds, birds
at play, beaks and feet, migration, and the like, adds to the suggestive-
ness of the work, which in the hands of a teacher would afford the basis
of many a good lesson in nature-study.

THE NATURALIST

-A Monthly Illustrated Journal of Natural History for the North of England

Edited by T. SHEPPARD, M.Sc., F.G.S., The Museums, Hull, and
T. W. WOODHEAD, Ph.D., M.Sc., F.L.S., Technical Col, Huddersfield.

With the assistance^ as Referees in Special Departments of

Geo. T. PoRRiTT, F.L.S., F.E.S. ; John W. Taylor, M.Sc. ;

Riley Fortune, F.Z.S.

AH Communications to be addressed to —

THE EDITORS, “THE NATURALIST,” THE MUSEUMS, HULL

Annual Subscription, 15s. Single Numbers, is. 6d. net

LONDON: A. BROWN & SONS, Ltd., 5 Farringdon Avenue, E.C.

RECENTLY PUBLISHED

THE BORDERS AND BEYOND

ARCTIC . . . CHEVIOT . . . TROPIC

Being the experiences of a life-time devoted to the direct study
of nature in her wildest forms

By ABEL CHAPMAN. Author of “Bird Life of the Borders,” and of Works
on Spain, Norway, British East Africa, and the Sudan. With Nineteen Coloured
Plates by W. H. Riddell and 170 Sketches by the Author. Maps, Diagrams, etc.

Large 8vo. 512 pp. 25s. net.

SAVAGE SUDAN

ITS WILD TRIBES, BIC CAME, AND BIRD LIFE

By ABEL CHAPMAN

Author of “ On Safari in British East Africa,” “ Wild Spain,”

“ Bird-Life of the Borders,” etc.

With 248 Illustrations^ chiefly from Rough Sketches by the A uthor

Large 8vo. 472 pp. 32s. net.

GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF EUROPE
AND NORTH AFRICA

By Colonel R. G. WARDLAW RAMSAY, President of the British Orni-
thologists’ Union, 1913-1918, Fellow of the Zoological Society. With a
Biographical Memoir by William Eagle Clarke, LL.D.

Crown 8vo. 368 pp. Cloth, 12s. 6d. net.

LONDON: GURNEY AND JACKSON, 33 PATERNOSTER ROW

EDINBURGH; TWEEDDALE COURT

CONTENTS

PAGE.

The Scottish Zoological Park ; and other Editorial Notes . 33,

An Account of the Destruction of Methil Dock Gates by Marine

Organisms {Illustrated) — -James Ritchie^ Af.A., D.Sc. . 37-

On the Decrease of Blackgame in Scotland — Leonora Jeffrey

Rintoul a7td Evelyn V. Baxter {Continued from /. 13) . 45.

Bird Notes from Fair Isle, 1926 — Surgeon Rear-Admiral J. H.

Stetihouse . . . . . . *53

Notes on the Coccidse of Scotland — E. Ernest Green^ F.E.S.,

EZ.S. {Concluded) . . . . . • 5S

Notes :

A Large Dog Otter — Do7iald Ross^ 44; Risso’s Dolphin stranded
in Caithness — Dr Ja77tes Ritchie^ 60 ; Records of large
Foxes — Harry B. Booths 60 ; Eastern Lesser Whitethroat
on Hyskeir — John Bain^ 44 ; Leach’s Fork-tailed Petrel in
Dumfriesshire — Hugh S. Gladstone^ 44 ; Wild Geese
alighting on Trees — Alec. T. Crawford.^ 60; Further Records
of breeding of Pochard at Duddingston Loch — Dr J. M.

Dewar., 61 ; The Golden Eagle in Galloway — Sir Herbert
Maxwell, 62 ; Sweden to Britain : Migration of Rough-
legged Buzzard — Einar Loiinberg, Stockhohn, 63 ; Young
John Dory off Western Inverness-shire — A. C. Stephen, ;

Unusual Colour Variety of Haddock — Dr fas. Ritchie, 62.

Book Notices ....... 65

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The .
Scottish ^

Naturalist

No. 165]

1927

[May- June

EDINBURGH: OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 Paternoster Row

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The Scottish Naturalist

A Magazine devoted to Zoology

With which is incorporated

“The Annals of Scottish Natural History”

EDITED BY

JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.,

Keeper^ Natural History Department^ Royal Scottish JVLuseum

AND

PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.

Assistant Keeper, Natural History Department , Royal Scottish NLuseum

ASSISTED BY

EVELYN V. BAXTER, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. W. EAGLE CLARKE, I.S.O., LL.D.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. ANDERSON FERGUSSON, F.E.S.

H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.

All Articles and Communications intended for publication, and all Books, etc.,

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EVERY raATURALIST SHOULD READ

The following major articles which have appeared in recent
numbers of The Scottish Naturalist : —

Increase of Mountain Hare in Scottish Lowlands.

The Food of the Ptarmigan.

New Facts about the Hive Bee.

Mixed Plumages in a Brood of Hybrid Crows.

Human Transport and Wild Life. (Illustrated.)

The Whale Remains of the Carse of Stirling.

Records of Birds new to Britain.

A Rat Migration.

Abnormal Coloration of Scottish Mountain Hares. (Illustrated.)

Annual Reports on Scottish Ornithology, including Migration. (Illustrated.)
■Vyhite Wild Geese. (Illustrated.)

The Labrador Falcon — a new British Immigrant. (Illustrated.)

Notes on Fishes from the Clyde Area.

Notes from the Scottish Zoological Park :

The King Penguins. (Illustrated.)

The Great Skua in Shetland.

Some Records of Large Foxes.

As well as numerous shorter notices of interesting events in the

Wild Life of Scotland.

{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.)

The Scottish Naturalist

No. 165.] 1927 [May-June

RED-DEER IN SELKIRKSHIRE IN
PREHISTORIC TIMES.

By James Ritchie, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.

Red-DEER existed in the lowlands of Scotland well into the
sixteenth century, and the likelihood is that they survived
in greatest numbers and made their last stand in the great
Ettrick Forest which extended over Selkirkshire and beyond
its borders. In my account of The Influejice of Mail on
Animal Life in Scotland (p. 208) are given some early
references to the Red-deer of Selkirk.

“In a charter of 1328, King Robert the Bruce conferred
on the Monks of Newbattle an annual donation of five harts
at the feast of St Cuthbert’s Translation, to be taken from
his forest of Selkirk. There, too, Bruce’s successor, David II.,
hunted; in 1330 his Chamberlain paid 24s. for ‘a chalder of
large salt for salting the king’s venison at Selkirk,’ and in
the following year, i6s. for salt for the venison at Ettrick
Poorest. In 1334 David renewed the grant made by his
father to the Priory of Newbattle.”

In the sixteenth century James V. held a great hunting
in the south country, when with “ Nobles and Gentlemen of
Scotland with him to the number of twelve thousand Men,”
he is said to have slain in Ettrick and the neighbouring
valleys “eighteen score of Harts.”

165

I

66

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

But we have little definite knowledge of the distribution
and quality of Red-deer in Selkirkshire in prehistoric times.
In the Edinburgh Encyclopcedia of 1830 William Laidlaw
states that in the marl mosses of Selkirkshire, skulls of the
Stag {Cervus elaphus) have been found, and Dr J. A. Smith
recorded Mr J. Pringle Pattison’s observation that Red-deer
horns had occasionally been found in the borders of the
Haining Loch.^ He gives some of the dimensions of two
sets of antlers preserved at The Haining. That seems to
be the sum total recorded about the prehistoric Red-deer
of Selkirkshire.

To these meagre facts I would add a few more, since,
through the kindness of His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch,
I have had an opportunity of examining the prehistoric
Red-deer antlers preserved at Bowhill, not far from the
meeting-place of Yarrow and Ettrick.

There are four pairs of antlers, each well developed,
completely grown, and attached to the skull. The deer to
which they belonged must, therefore, have died, as it were,
in harness and in the neighbourhood of the place where their
remains were found. Moreover, since mature Red-deer shed
their antlers about March or April and the new antlers are
still developing until late summer, the Bowhill deer must
have died during the autumn or winter months.

Unfortunately no information has been preserved regard-
ing the finding of the antlers, but their appearance, black in
colour and polished with age, suggests that they had been
preserved in peat and not in the marl deposits, and there
can be no doubt that they were found in the neighbourhood
of Bowhill, and probably during the period of farming
activity, when marl deposits were exploited and draining
operations strenuously carried on, in the latter half of the
eighteenth century.

The dimensions in inches of the antlers are shown in the
table on next page.

No. I is at present in the smoking-room, Nos. 2 and 3
in the corridor, and No. 4 in the outer hall. The crown

* Proc, Soc. Antiq. Scot., 1881, p. 54.

RED-DEER IN SELKIRKSHIRE IN PREHISTORIC TIMES 67

tines of No. 3 and the ultimate tine of the left antler of No. 4
have disappeared, making certain of the measurements only
approximate.

It is impossible to say what degree of selection took
place in choosing the antlers for Bowhill, but it seems
probable that all the reasonably perfect antlers would be
preserved ; it is also likely that the deer which died and
became immersed in the bog were average and not
exceptional examples of their race. Assuming, therefore,
that these are average heads we get some notion of the
relative proportions of the prehistoric deer of Selkirkshire
compared with modern Scottish Red-deer.

No. 1.

No. 2.

No. 3.

No. 4.

K. L.

R.

L.

R.

L.

R.

L.

Number of points .

9 9

7

6

6

6

6

6

Length along curve

35 43i

32|

33i

?

40I ?42l

Circumference of
beam above burr

9i 9i

9

9

8 8

Greatest span .

38i

35i

? 33i

34i

In the first place these prehistoric heads ’are all “royals”
or better, and whereas a royal or 12-pointer is nowadays
reckoned a good stag, the average of royals indicates that
the old Selkirkshire deer reached a much higher level of
antler development. It might be almost assumed that in
those days even the 18-pointer was no exceptional animal.

At the present day the antlers of a very fair royal would
measure several inches under three feet along the curve,
would have a span of about 2 J feet, and a beam circumference
of to 5 inches. The length of the Selkirkshire antlers
exceeds, but not greatly, that of first-class modern Scottish
heads, nor is the span very much greater. In the expansive-
ness of the “head,” therefore, there would seem to have been
a relatively small decrease since prehistoric days. But it is
a different matter with the massiveness of the antlers ; here
the modern 4J to 5 inches of circumference must be con-

68

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

trasted with the 8 to 9I inches of the old heads, approximately
double the girth. This massiveness of build is carried on
throughout the antler, and gives prehistoric antlers their
characteristic appearance, for the feature which impresses
itself upon the observer is the heaviness, massiveness, and
almost dumpiness of the old heads, the last appearance
being suggested by the great increase in girth unassociated
with corresponding increase in length and span.

Staphylinus compressus, Marsh, in Arran. — The only
note of the occurrence of this Staphylinid in Scotland is contained
in the late Dr Fowler’s Coleoptera of the British Islands (vol. ii., p. 258),
where he mentions the capture of a single specimen by himself in
the island of Arran during August 1879. Since then, so far as I am
aware, it has not been noticed by anyone either in Arran or on the
mainland, although it is a large insect (13.15 mm.), and not likely to
be overlooked. It was accordingly with considerable interest that
I received from my son, during August 1924, a fine male of the
species which he had found crawling amongst the grass in front of
our house at Catacol in the northern part of Arran. On looking
into the recorded distribution of the beetle in the British Isles I find
that in England, although never common, it seems to be somewhat
widely spread throughout the southern counties, but that there does
not appear to be any record of its occurrence north of Grimsby in
Lincolnshire. It has been taken, however, in the Isle of Man,
while in Ireland it is found locally and usually not far from the coast
in the provinces of Ulster, Leinster and Munster. As Dr Fowler
remarked, it is evidently very rare in the north, and its occurrence
again in Arran after an interval of forty-five years is noteworthy. —
A. Fergusson, Glasgow.

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 69

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN

SCOTLAND.

By Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter.

{Concluded from page 52).

Bute. — Mr W. Evans, writing in 1895, says : “ In suitable
ground in the southern half of the island . . . but more
especially on the birch-clad slopes skirting the shores of
North Bute, Black Grouse were common (2. 1895, 146.);
and the Rev. J. MacWilliam informs us that there is no
sign of diminution in Bute.

Solway.

This used to be a great Blackgame country but they
decreased materially ; there are now signs of recovery.

Dumfriesshire. — At the end of the eighteenth century
there were no Blackcock at Hutton or Corrie (33. 13, 579)
but they must have colonised the latter place, as we find
that they diminished very much there between 1848 and
1878, there being not one bird in the latter year for ten
in the former (12. 123). Fluctuations in this county are
recorded as long ago as the end of the eighteenth century
when Blackgame were said to be decreasing in some parts,
for example at Sanquhar and Closeburn but increasing at
Moffat and plentiful in some other parishes in the county
though rarely to be met with at Wester Kirk. By 1834,
judging from reports in the New Statistical Account, the
species had increased and was extending its range. It
reached its apogee in the late sixties and early seventies,
and the record bag of 247 was shot at Glenwharrie on
4th October 1869 (35. 35). About 1870 they are said to
have been very plentiful in Upper Nithsdale, but since that
time “ a steady decrease must be recorded for which it is not
altogether easy to account” (6. 320). Mr Norman Smith,
writing in The Field (28/8/24), says that Blackgame were
very numerous in Dumfriesshire in the late seventies and

70

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

through the eighties ; now there is a marked decrease. On
a certain moor in this county the head of Blackgame is said
to be about half what it was thirty years ago. Taking
Dumfriesshire as a whole the decrease seems to be general,
though 1910 was an exceptionally good year for Blackgame
there (7. 91). Mr Gladstone tells us (35. 35, 36) that in that
year four guns shot 235 Blackgame, of which 163 were
cocks, in the four days from 24th to 27th October.

The following valuable note is sent us by Mr James Still,
Drumlanrig; “Taking all ground into account they have
decreased considerably, but on some of the ground here,
which for many years has been noted for Blackgame, they
were slightly on the decrease, from 1900 to 1922 when there
was a marked improvement, and again in 1923 when they
were as good as they were twenty-five years ago. In regard
to the other ground where they were not so numerous prior
to 1900 they are rapidly falling off and are at present a rare
bird.” In 1925 an improvement is reported from Moniaive.
Blackgame have been “fairly plentiful in the Langholm
district this year,” 1926.

Kirkcudbright. — This used to be a great Blackgame
county : they are mentioned in the Old Statistical Account
as being numerous in several parishes. Macgillivray (ii.i.
159) writes that they were particularly .abundant at Barton
in 1831, and by the time of the New Statistical Account
they seem to have been spreading, as we read “scarcely a
Blackcock to be seen in 1809 in Kirkgunzeon parish, Kirk-
cudbright, now out-numbering the Grouse.” Mr Service
(38. 15) says that Blackgame were very plentiful in the
county up to 1902, while Mr J. G. Gordon writes, “they
were very numerous about 1910 and very good for a year
or two after, but there were hardly any before the War.”
On the Holm of Dalquhairn we hear of decrease in numbers
after 1911, but in 1925 there was a decided recovery. At
Cairnsmore they are said to be decreasing.

Wigtownshire. — Gray, writing in 1871, says: “The bird
has become tolerably common in the south-west of Scotland,
It wanders to the very verge of the rocky headlands,
Burrowhead and the Mull of Galloway and even to the

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 71

heights above Portpatrick ” (10. 231). But here, too, there
has been considerable fluctuation in numbers; in 1903 they
were fast increasing on the moors and 1905 seems to have
been a particularly good year. Lord Stair says he does not
think Blackgame had decreased materially on Lochinch
up to 1918, but since that time, owing to a succession of
extremely bad nesting seasons, they have become markedly
fewer in number. He also informs us that there are very
few on Monreith up to 1924. Mr Gordon writes that
Blackgame began to recover on Inhillart moor in 1924 and
in 1925 they had increased remarkably there.

Reasons suggested for the Decline of

Blackgame.

We have received manifold suggestions as to the reasons
for the decrease in the number of Blackgame and we shall
now proceed to consider these. Having regard to the
general nature of the decrease throughout the country, it is
obvious that the cause or causes must be more than local.
No doubt local causes operate in some areas, in addition to
the common cause, which would account for the decrease
being more rapid in some parts than others.

A good many correspondents have suggested that a
cycle of bad weather is the main cause for the decrease in
numbers of the Black Grouse, and in our opinion there is a
good deal to support this theory. In quite recent years, for
example, the decrease associated with a series of bad seasons
up to 1924 was very marked, while in 1925 and 1926, which
were both very fine summers, there was a considerable
increase in the number of Blackgame in many parts of the
country. Bad weather operates, not only by destroying
many of the young birds but also by lowering the vitality
of the old ones and thus predisposing them to disease ;
this kills many and apparently, as the evidence of several
correspondents goes to prove, renders those that recover
disinclined to breed for several seasons after an outbreak.

Changes in environment have also been suggested as
possible causes, and no doubt these have had some effect on

72

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

the numbers and distribution of the birds. Drainage of
land, decreasing the stock of sprit-rush, one of their favourite
foods, would naturally tend to induce the birds to leave the
areas affected. Some correspondents state that many of the
young chicks fall into the drains and are lost. The decrease
of cropping and the increase of bracken have been mentioned
as possible reasons; burning great areas of bent land late
in the season ; timber cut and not replanted ; and want
of young Scots fir plantations have also been suggested.
These have, no doubt, a local influence, but we cannot think
they are sufficient to account for the general diminution
in numbers. There seems to be some notion that the
Capercaillie drives Blackgame away, but as Dr Harvie
Brown, in his book on The Capercaillie in Scotland^ has
ably demonstrated, the connection between the increase
of the Capercaillie and the decrease of the Blackgame
is attributable to a common factor. This he states is the
drainage of the land, and the increase of trees which
improves conditions for the Capercaillie but renders them
less suitable for Blackgame. Two correspondents suggest
that Pheasants persecute Blackgame and even drive the
Greyhen oiT her nest.

During the War, Hoodie Crows, Foxes, etc. increased
much in many parts of the country. Some of our corres-
pondents blame their depredations, and no doubt this has
had some effect on the numbers of Blackgame. We have
also reports from various districts of the extermination of
Blackgame by order of the Forestry Commissioners in the
interests of the planting done by them.

Considerable difference of opinion seems to exist among
sportsmen as to the effect of shooting or not shooting
Greyhens. For the decrease seven blame indiscriminate
shooting, nine state that too many Greyhens are shot, nine
that too few Greyhens especially old ones are shot, and two
that too many young cocks are shot, from this it is difficult
to draw any definite conclusion.

From all the evidence we can gather, we consider that
Blackgame are unusually susceptible to external conditions ;
they seem to find it hard to adapt themselves to changes

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 73

either of climate or environment. As we have indicated in
our detailed survey of the reasons given for their decrease,
we consider that a series of bad seasons is the principal
cause, but there are various contributory factors of which,
in our opinion, the chief is change in environment,
produced by drainage and cultivation. While we attach
importance to some of the other reasons given, we
consider them to be local and of an entirely subsidiary
nature.

In other countries a similar state of affairs exists ; in
England the decrease is widespread and serious and in a
good many places Blackgame are now extinct.

It struck us that it might be interesting to inquire
whether the typical Lyrurus t. tetrix of continental Europe
was also decreasing in numbers. We find that in Holland
a decrease is reported everywhere, more marked in some
places than in others; the reasons suggested being the
great drought of 1921, and the increase of cultivation and
afforestation. In Sweden there was a marked decrease
about forty years ago and there has been a recovery of
recent years, the reason suggested is an outbreak of
disease. Periodical decreases are also stated to have taken
place in Finland and Norway. In Switzerland, on the
other hand, though nowhere very plentiful, Blackgame are
inclined to increase owing to prohibition of shooting in
spring.

We have had a great deal of kind help in this inquiry
not only from correspondents in Scotland but also from
foreign ornithologists. Of our own countrymen no fewer
than 125 have sent us information from the length and
breadth of Scotland. Where so many have helped us it
is impossible to mention all by name, but we wish to
thank them individually and collectively for all their kind-
ness and courtesy, and to say how much we appreciate all
the trouble they have taken. To our foreign confreres, too,
we owe most grateful thanks, these are specially due to
Baron Schnonchaert van Schanberg, Holland and Switzer-
land, Dr Buttikofer, Switzerland, Dr Bluaaw, Holland,
and Professor Dr Einar Lonnberg, Sweden,

165

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74

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

IV. — List of Works to which Reference is made.

The following abbreviations have been used in this paper :
where no reference to published matter is given the informa-
tion is contained in letters written in reply to inquiries made
by us, or is the result of our own observations : —

1. Animal Life in Scotland, 1920, James Ritchie.

2. Annals of Scottish Natural History.

3. Avifauna of Buchanan, Horn, 1880.

4. Birds of Banff and District, 1919, A. E. Mahood.

5. Birds of Berwickshire, 1889-95, L. Muirhead.

6. Birds of Dumfriesshire, 1910, H. S. Gladstone.

7. Birds of Dumfriesshire, Notes on the, 1923, H. S. Gladstone.

8. Birds of East Lothian and a portion of the adjoining- Counties, 1867,

W. P. Turnbull.

9. Birds of Iona and Mull, 1890, H. D. Graham.

10. Birds of the West of Scotland, 1871, R. Gray.

11. British Birds, History of, 1837-52, W. Macgillivray.

12. Capercaillie in Scotland, 1879, J* A- Harvie Brown.

13. Cosmographe and Description of Albion, 1526, Hector Boece.

14. Distribution of Birds included in the Avifauna of Perthshire,

1895, A. J. Campbell. (Reprinted from Trans. Perthshire
Soc. Naturalist.)

15. Early Annals of Ornithology, 1921, J. H. Gurney.

16. Fauna of 'Argyll and the Inner Hebrides, 1892, J. A. Harvie Brown

and T. E. Buckley.

17. Fauna of Dee, The Vertebrate, 1903, G. Sim.

18. Fauna of the Moray Basin, 1896, J. A. Harvie Brown and T. E.

Buckley.

19. Fauna of the North-west Highlands and Skye, 1904, J. A. Harvie

Brown and H. A. Macpherson.

20. Fauna of Sutherland, Caithness and West Cromarty, 1887, J. A.

Harvie Brown and T. E. Buckley.

21. Fauna of the Tay Basin and Strathmore, 1906, J. A. Harvie Brown.

22. Fauna of the Tweed Area, 1911, A. H. Evans.

23. Fields The.

24. Game and Gim^ 1926, February and March.

25. Game Birds and Shooting Sketches, 1894, J. G. Millais.

26. Glasgow Naturalist.

27. Hill Birds of Scotland, Seton Gordon.

28. History of British Game Birds, A Natural, 1909, J. G. Millais.

29. History of Peeblesshire, Chap. XL, Vertebrate Fauna, W. T.

Blackwood.

30. Hundred Years in the Highlands, 1921, Osgood Mackenzie.

31. Life of Samuel Johnson, 1791, James Boswell.

32. New Statistical Account of Scotland, 1832-1845.

ON THE DECREASE OF BLACKGAME IN SCOTLAND 75

33. Old Statistical Account of Scotland, The, 1791-99.

34. Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society.

35. Record Bags and Shooting Records, 1923, H. S. Gladstone.

36. Scottish Naturalist.

37. Tour in Sutherlandshire, 1849, C. St John.

38. Vertebrate Zoology of Kirkcudbrightshire, 1896 and 1902, R. Service.

(Reprinted from Max%velVs Guide Book to the Stewarhy of
Kirkcudbright^ 6th and 7th editions.)

39. Zoologist.

NOTES

Common Pochard breeding at Duddingston Loch. — In

the March- April number of the Scottish Naturalist, we observe
a note stating that the Common Pochard bred on this loch in 1924
and 1925.

In the account we gave of the Pochard breeding there last year,
we mentioned that this species has frequented the loch in large
numbers during the winter months for many years past, and within
recent years a few have remained well into the late spring, and in
July 1925 we observed a flock of nearly thirty males, but no females.
These occurrences naturally suggested the possibility of the Pochard
becoming a breeding species, and accordingly the loch was carefully
watched by several competent observers, but there was no evidence
of young until 1926, and we can only conclude that these records for
1924 and 1925 are a case of mistaken identity.

The Tufted Duck has bred there for the last few years, but no
capable observer could mistake the young of these two species, and
we should also have thought that anyone conversant with the slow
extension of the Pochard’s breeding range in Scotland, would at
once have recorded such an interesting observation. — David
Hamilton and J. Kirke Nash.

White Wagtails in Duddingston Bird Sanctuary. —

When in the bird sanctuary at Duddingston on the evening of
6th May my attention was attracted by a light-looking bird perched
on the boundary wall. Observation through the glass at once
indicated a White Wagtail {ffotacilla alba), and within a few
moments I had the pleasure of noting it to be one of a flock of
eight or nine. I had them in view for some time as they flitted
about among the grass tussocks looking for food. I revisited the
spot a day or two after but saw no more of these passing migrants. —
J. Kirke Nash.

76

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Woodcock breeding in Royal Botanic Garden,
Edinburgh. — On the morning of nth July 1925 I learned that a
Woodcock with young had been seen among the azaleas. Enlisting
the services of my friend Mr R. M. Adam with his camera, we made
a short search and discovered the bird under a dense clump brooding
two of her chicks. These were photographed by Mr Adam, and
while he was so engaged I crawled under the bushes and found •
another chick. As I held it in my hand the old bird suddenly
appeared running rapidly round me and approaching now and then
to within a foot or two, all the while uttering a peculiar hissing sound.

Pictures having been secured of the first two chicks the third
was carried into the open and placed on the grass. After getting
it to settle down quietly by placing my hands over it for a few
moments, Mr Adam obtained one or two exposures but the chief
interest to us was the extraordinary antics of the parent bird.
She moved rapidly round us with erect and fully-expanded tail,
wings drooping, and continuously tap, tapping with her long bill in
the grass.

It was a wonderful display of parental anxiety, the ostensible
object of which was an endeavour to lead us away from the chick.
Apparently realising the futility of her efforts she finally flew off
and the little one was allowed to seek the shelter of the bushes.
Returning again, after the interval of an hour, with my daughter
who was anxious to see the Woodcocks, I succeeded in finding them
near the same place. I actually had my hand on the mother’s back
before she flew off leaving all her four chicks exposed to view.
When I placed two of them on the grass the old bird at once
returned and repeated her former tactics.

On the morning of 25th July I had an excellent opportunity of
seeing the peculiar mode the rising bird has of carrying its tail when
suddenly disturbed from its young. It rose almost at my feet from
a clump of syringa bushes with its tail drooping down between its
legs, and had it been any distance from me I could easily have
imagined it was carrying a chick. I only gave her a momentary
g lance and looked for the chicks. One lay almost at my feet with
its eye fixed on me. I watched it for a few moments observing that
it was well feathered, and I then turned to look for the old bird
when, to my astonishment, the chick suddenly flew off, skimming the
ground until it reached the shelter of some rhododendrons over a
hundred yards distant. This was only fourteen days from the time
we first found the chicks in the downy stage. — J. Kirke Nash.

WOOD BURROWING, AT PUPATION, OF A SAWFLY 77

THE WOOD BURROWING, AT PUPATION, OF
THE SAWFLY, ALLANTUS {EMPHYTUS)
PALLIPES, SPIN.

By Charles F. Craigie, B.Sc., University College, Dundee.

Allantus {E7Uphyttis) pallipes^ Spin. (Enslin)^ is found as a
caterpillar on plants of the genus Viola. The details of
pupation in nature are not known, and under experimental
conditions only certain of the burrowing phenomena are
related in a paper by Chawner and Peacock^ as follows:
“The fully-fed larva, head foremost, bores a tunnel into
rotten or soft wood, the burrow being just wide enough
for it. The excavation ends blindly, and the entrance hole
is plugged, but not tightly, with sawdust made by the larva.
On examining the tunnels a few days after making, most
of the larvae have been found with the head pointed towards
the open end, so permitting an easy escape for the future
imago. Ensconced in its burrow the larva has its head
and posterior tucked closely ventrad. How the caterpillar
orientates itself finally in its burrow has not been observed,
but in one case a specimen just after finishing its boring
was found with a peculiar twist in its body as if attempting
to reverse its head towards the open end. Specimens in
captivity have never been observed to leave the completed
burrow and re-enter tail first.” It ought to be added that
in quiescence the thoracic region is somewhat humped, the
prolegs pointing backwards, and crossed distally. This
quotation, and an account of the boring of a fern-living
Tenthridinid larva, Thrinax mixta^ Kl., by Peacock,^ seem
to constitute most of our knowledge on the details of
pupation burrowing.

In view of this paucity of facts, Professor Peacock handed
material over to me in order further to investigate the
problem. The material consisted of larvae from a pedigree
strain of six years’ standing, and belonged to the hibernating
generation of the year 1926. They were contained in glass-
topped entomological tins (4 in. diameter, in. depth) in

73

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

which they had been reared. They were fully fed, and just
about to bore.

Larval Boring.

Individuals up to the number of five were isolated in
suitably-sized tins of the same type and provided with soft
wood. In certain cases cylinders of elder pith (2 in. long,
f in. diameter) were provided, and in other cases both wood
and pith were placed in the same tin.

In soft wood the burrows were found to be of two kinds.
One type had a single shaft running parallel to the grain,
and the other was |_-shaped with a short entrance gallery
running against the grain and a longer main shaft running

Fig. I. — Sectional side view of wood burrow of Allantus pallipes showing larva in
pupation position. Somewhat diagrammatic.

with the grain. Careful examination of completed tunnels
showed them to be closed by a compact plug near or at
the entrance. The heads of the larvae faced towards the
entrance hole (Fig. i). Hence interest centred round the
following queries: (i) Does the larva turn within the
burrow? (2) If so, how? (3) How is sealing effected?

An obvious method of ascertaining whether orientation
occurred within the burrow was to plug the entrance hole
while the larva was in the gallery with the head still
innermost. For this purpose plasticine was used, it being
easily moulded, applicable at any time, readily removed,
and sufficiently solid and resistant to prevent its being
rammed off by the larva in possible attempts to escape.
It had a further use, namely, that of marking the position
of the entrance hole, which usually is not easily detectable
once the larva has completed operations.

WOOD BURROWING, AT PUPATION, OF A SAWFLY

79

Thirteen specimens boring into wood, just when the
posterior end had cleared the rim of the entrance, were
imprisoned by placing a small piece of plasticine firmly
over, but not within, the aperture. The plasticine was
removed at periods varying from eight hours to sixteen
days, and in all cases the heads of the larvae were found
directed towards the mouth of the gallery. Orientation
must therefore have taken place within the burrow. Six
similar experiments, with six specimens boring into pith,
showed that four had turned while two had not, but, in
the last two cases, the seals probably had been removed
too soon.

Chawner and Peacock ^ state, “ the boring instinct is
transitory and only lasts a matter of four days,” and when
soft wood was used my experiments confirmed this. The
same result was obtained in one pith experiment, the larva
actually making three burrows. The sealing operation had
been artificially prevented for the first two borings by the
removal of the larva from the burrow, but the third burrow
was never sealed.

Under unnatural and artificial conditions the larvae may
forsake their burrows, and once this occurs their equanimity
seems to be disturbed, for any one larva may partially bore
and discard burrows up to as many as three in number. For
example, certain specimens in their tin were submitted to a
train journey and to inspection in strong artificial light that
same night. During the next four days, four of the larva
alternately bored and crawled at large, each making at least
two unsealed burrows. Their behaviour struck one as being
agitated, and was certainly different from the normal. It
therefore seems reasonable to suppose that the abnormal
conditions were the cause of the unusual behaviour.

These same larvae at the end of the fourth day were placed
in old burrows, and imprisoned with plasticine. A day later
two were removed for experiments with pith. One larva
crawled for two days and made no attempt to bore, but
the second, after crawling for four days, bored into the pith
but did not seal. Hence this specimen in a period of eight
days had bored into soft wood at least twice, had spent a

8o

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

night artificially imprisoned in a burrow, and had bored into
a different medium at least four days later. We may there-
fore conclude, whatever other questions are raised and left
unsettled by these observations, that the larva is endowed
at pupation with considerable reserve power sufficient to
give it three chances to make, unsealed, a suitable burrow.

In another case, exceptional in these experiments, the
caterpillar’s head was seen at the entrance, but half an hour
later had been replaced by the posterior. So situated, it was
imprisoned by a seal of plasticine in the burrow which was
[_-shaped. Sixteen days later the plasticine was removed.
The burrow was full of sawdust and the larva had vanished.
Investigation showed a curious condition of affairs. The

Fig. 2. — An unusual burrow (sectional side view) of Allantus pallipes. The first
excavation is filled with loose sawdust pushed into it during the boring of the
second burrow. The arrows show the probable course taken by the larva
during these proceedings. The larva is shown in the final pupation position.

caterpillar had bored a new tunnel in the same straight
line as the old, but pointing in the opposite direction, and
its head was now directed towards the common entrance
of the old and new workings. This could only have been
managed by a somewhat complicated series of events, as
follows : the larva must have revolved through a half-circle
in the first burrow, then bored afresh, the new sawdust being
pushed into the old working, then in the second excavation
it must have revolved again through a half-circle to succeed
in occupying the correct position for the final duty of sealing
(Fig. 2).

Larval Orientation.

A burrow opened seven days after sealing had the
following millimetre dimensions: length, 9-4; diameter at

WOOD BURROWING, AT PUPATION, OF A SAWFLY 8i

the blind end, 2-i ; at the middle, 2-2 ; and at the plug, 1-9.
The larva in its final position, head towards the entrance,
measured in millimetres: 9-2 long, i-8 across hunched
thorax, and i-6 across posterior loop. How then does the
larva manage to revolve in such a confined space? A hint
was possibly obtained by Chawner and Peacock,^ when
they observed in one case that a specimen just after boring
had a peculiar twist in the body as if attempting to reverse
its head toward the open end. In my experiments I have
been fortunate to witness the turning of the larva, but in
one case only. A larva had bored into wood at a region
about 9 mm. from one end of the block and had made an
L-shaped burrow. Boring proceeded until the posterior
end of the larva had just cleared the rim of the entrance,
and then the head broke through the wood at the distal
end of the burrow, the block of wood evidently being too
short to permit the full extent of excavation. Despite this
accident the larva' did not forsake its workings at the new
aperture, but within the tunnel went through an interesting
performance, which, though curious, would certainly appear
to be the usual behaviour in a normally formed cul-de-sac.
The larva was watched through the binocular microscope,
and its performance may be aptly described as a “slow
motion forward and downward somersault,” the body
moving like the caterpillar band of a tractor or army
tank. During the revolution the head and tail of the
larva gradually disappeared from view at the original sites,
while just within the distal aperture the back of the thorax
and abdomen passed slowly by (no muscular effort being
observed) until finally the tail appeared, ventral side up,
at the distal hole, and the head was seen in like position
at the entrance, the caterpillar lying on its back. The
operation lasted about thirty minutes. This particular
larva evidently demonstrated how the final pupation position
is attained. In this example the larva forsook the burrow
at the hole of entry, crawled away, and within the next
two days bored afresh and “capped” its final resting-
place.

165

L

82

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

The Plugging of the Burrow.

I have only once observed the plugging of the burrow
following the process through the binocular microscope.
The head of the larva was just below the entrance level,
and the mouth parts almost touched the rim. The labium
was thrust forwards, and a tiny drop of liquid silk exuded
from its spinning pap so that the fluid became applied
exactly at the rim. Sawdust was then emitted from the
mouth to the silk drop, and, almost at the same time,
spread with the silk right and left by the outer surface
of the mandibles which worked simultaneously and slightly
separated. Immediately after this the larva “ducked” in
the burrow, the head being hidden by a thoracic hump for
about two seconds, when it again arose and the flow of silk
and plastering of wood was repeated. Where the sawdust
is procured from, whether from a store in the burrow or
freshly chewed from the burrow wall, I cannot say. The
silk never appeared in threads, but always in drops. The
extension of this rim of co-mingled silk and sawdust was
obtained by the larva working clockwise and concentrically,
no variation being observed, and the seal was finally closed
at about the geometric centre. The whole process of
plugging lasted about five hours.

The plug is closely compact, quite firm, and even hard.
It is shaped like a shallow bowl, with the inner aspect
concave, and fits the tunnel exactly. Sometimes the larva
bores just sufficiently deep to allow of its lying comfortably
in the burrow, the plug then being situate across the
entrance. At other times the larva may bore in a
considerable distance and then the mouth of the burrow
may be filled with loose sawdust inner to which stretches
the plug.

It has not been found possible to give absolutely accurate
times for the various stages. The boring process varies
considerably in duration, and does not seem to depend
upon the condition of the medium, because larvae supplied
with the same piece of wood of uniform softness vary in
their rate of boring. A further complication lies in the fact

WOOD BURROWING, AT PUPATION, OF A SAWFLY 83

that one larva may bore more than one tunnel. Again, the
larva may postpone its turning for some time after the
excavation is completed, and, in one case as noted above,
the larva turned three times in the same burrow. Sealing
does not occur immediately after orientation, in one case,
for example, four hours elapsing before the operation
commenced. The following times, however, are definitely
known : —

Time to excavate . . 2J hr. (i case).

„ turn . . Nearly J hr. (2 cases).

„ plug • . 5tV observed).

I have no figures to show the duration of the whole
process, but judging from the above times for separate
activities, and supposing the larva worked steadily and
continuously, we may judge it to be about eight hours.

In nature it is probable that soft wood is utilised during
pupation, but in the laboratory other material may be
utilised. For instance, a number of tests were made in
which larvae were provided with pith {vide supra). This
material, one would think, would be eminently suitable
for boring, being softer and looser in texture than soft wood.
However, in three experiments in which both soft wood and
pith were placed in the same tin, the larva invariably used
the wood, not even sampling the pith. In five experiments,
in each of which one larva was provided with pith alone,
burrows were excavated. In a sixth experiment two larvae
bored into the same piece of pith. In four cases the boring
was unusual, for the tunnel took a spiral course just beneath
the periphery and at the time of examination had reached
a length of about 20 mm,, i.e.^ more than twice the length
of a larva. In three of these cases the tunnel started from
the cut end of the pith, and in the other proceeded from the
slightly harder periphery. One other larva bored from the
cut end and made a straight burrow of normal length ;
another, commencing at the periphery, made a normal
L-shaped tunnel; a third bored diametrically and straight,
almost to the opposite point of the circumference. The

84

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

reason for the interesting spiral type of excavation is
elusive, for the pith was of the same consistency throughout.

Only one specimen sealed itself in pith but the process
was not observed. In another case the larva attempted
sealing in exactly the same manner as described above, its
efforts persisting for two days. At first the co-mingled
silk and sawdust were placed on the rim of the entrance,
but a few hours later the sawdust, without silk, was “spat
out” clear of the burrow, so that a “crater” was formed
about 2 mm. outside and encircling the rim. This
“crater” ring was about 2 mm. broad and i mm. high.
A day later the larva forsook the burrow and did not
attempt to bore again. It cannot be said whether the
boring observed was the first attempt or the last of several,
but probably the larva had spent its reserve power in the
futile attempt at sealing. On opening, the burrow was
seen not to be deep enough for the larva.

In two cases the gallery in pith was completed in three
hours, and in one example revolving took less than one
hour.

It is of interest to note that the larva can also bore and
seal in cork, and in the compressed peat utilised in certain
types of entomological boxes.

In conclusion, I wish to acknowledge the kindness of
Professor A. D. Peacock not only for the provision of
material but for helpful criticism in writing this paper.

REFERENCES.

^ Enslin, E., “Die Tenthredinoidea Mitteleuropas,” Ento. Zeit.

Jahrgaiig^ 1912, pp. 239-40.

^ Chawner, Miss E. F., and Peacock, A. D., “Observations on the Life-
Histories and Habits of Allaiitus pallipes^ Spin., and Pristiphora
pallipes^ Lep. (Hym. Tenth.),” E?itomologist^ vol. Ivi., 1923.

® Peacock, A. D., “The Biology of Thrinax mixta^ Kl., and T. macula^
Kl.,” Proc. U7iiv. Durhajn. Phil. Soc.^ vol. vi., Part 5, 1923.

THE CRANE-FLIES OF THE CLYDE ISLANDS

85

THE CRANE-FLIES OF THE CLYDE ISLANDS
{^Studies on Clyde Crane-Flies).

By Alexander Cuthbertson.

In this paper is summarised our present knowledge of the
crane-flies of the Clyde Islands. For brevity the list of
Arran species published by F. W. Edwards*^ will be used as
a basis, mention being made only of the local crane-flies of
special interest.

Isle of Arran.

Edwards’ list^ contained over seventy species, two
being described by him later ^ Dicrano^nyia halterella\ and
Tricyphona lucidipenjtis. In 1924^ two more were added,
and Tipula cheetliami described from Loch Ranza district.
Adelphomyia fuscula^ Loew., was recorded by the same
author^ and Tipula truncorum^ Meig., by the present
writer.^

In addition to the above the following species have been
recorded only from this isle : —

Dic7'anomyia dumetoi^uniy
Meig.

Dicra?iomyia pilipennis^ Egg*
Helius duhius^ Edw.

P seudolimnophila lucoruni^
Meig.

Limnopliila bicolor ^ Meig.
Tricyphona littoralis^ Meig.

„ schummeli^ Edw.
Erioptera diuturna^ Walk.
Ormosia hederae^ Curt.

Molopliilus cinereifrons^ Meij.
„ flavus^ Goet.

„ medius^ Meij.

„ pleuralis, Meij.
Lipsothrix errans^ Walk.
Tanyptera atrata, Linn.
Tipula alpium, Berg.

,, hortulana^ Meig.

„ montiuniy Egg.

„ pruhiosa^ Wied.

Isle of Bute.

During the period April to October 1926, the writer
studied the crane-flies of the St Ninian’s Bay district. Prior
to the short papers on the. distribution of the adults^ swarm-
ing activities, ^ larval habitats,^ and photophilous species,^
nothing had been published on the local Tipulids.

86

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

The following species have
other isles : —

PtycJioptera alhimana^ F.
Geranoinyia unicolor ^ Hal.
Lhnonia dilutior^ Edw.
Limnophila filata^ Walk.

not been recorded from the

Adelphoinyia nielseni^ Kuntze.
Prionocera turcica^ F.

Tipula staegeri^ Niel.

„ subnodicornis^ Zett.

On Inchmarnock, a small islet off the west coast of Bute,
over twelve species of crane-flies were collected by the writer
on 28th May 1925, being for the most part species which
are subaquatic or moist-soil dwellers in the early stages.
Limonia dilutior^ Edw., was first recorded in Scotland from
this locality.*

Greater Cumbrae.

In Mr Henderson’s list of Clyde Tipuloidea {Brit. Assoc.
Handbook^ 1901), Cumbrae localities were given for eight
species of wide distribution, including Dicranomyia didy^na^
Meig. In July 1924, the writer collected in the Fintry Bay
district, and certain records of the occurrence of adults and
larvae have been published.^* ^ Some notes on Spiders of
the genus Zilla predatory on local crane-flies are given by
the writer.^

The following appear to be known only from this
locality : —

Limo7iia flavipes^ F.

„ rufiventris^ Strobl.
Dicranomyia morio^ F.
Dicranota guerina^ Zett.

Gonomyia dentata., Meij.
Tricyphona claripennis^ Verr.
Tipula rufina., Meig.

„ scripta.^ Meig.

Summary.

Arran has the richest fauna, viz., eighty-three species.
This may be explained in a general way by its large size,
extensive areas of natural woodland, numerous burns and
mountain tarns due to the high rainfall (although this last

* An interesting blackish aberration of Dicraiiomyia auhimnalis.^
Staeg., was found in early summer and late autumn in shady places
along the margins of burns in Bute and Inchmarnock. This un-
described form closely resembles the northern variety recorded by the
writer from the Hebrides (Scot, Nat., 1926, p. 53).

THE CRANE-FLIES OF THE CLYDE ISLANDS

87

feature is common to all the islands). Next to Arran comes
Bute (fifty-nine species), then Cumbrae (twenty-seven
species), and Inchmarnock (twelve species). The following
table shows the relative distribution of the fauna in families
and sub-families : —

Family.

Arran.

Bute.

Cumbrae.

Inchmarnock.

Gen.

Spp.

Gen.

Spp.

Gen.

Spp.

Gen.

Spp.

PTYCHOPTERID/E

I

I

I

I

I

I

...

...

Anisopodid^ .

2

3

2

3

2

2

I

I

Tipulid^ —
Limoniinse

19

55

30

41

II

18

6

7

Tipiilinae.

3

14

3

14

I

6

2

4

Totals .

25

73

36

59

15

27

9

12

Apart from the dark variety of D. autmnnalis and the
predominance of aquatic and sub-aquatic species, there is
little peculiarity in the fauna of these isles. There are
published records of over 180 species in the West of Scot-
land, which is more than double the number of crane-flies
known to occur in any one island in the Firth of Clyde.

Bibliography.

Studies on Clyde C7'ane -flies.

1 Cuthbertson, A., “Additions to the Local List,” Entom.^ 1926, pp. 1-4.

2 Cuthbertson, A., “The Swarming of Crane-flies,” Ent. Mo. Mag..,

1926, pp. 36'39-

2 Cuthbertson, A., “ Larval Habitats of some Local Species,” Ent. Mo.
Mag.., 1926, pp. 84-88.

^ Cuthbertson, A., “Some Photophilous Crane-flies,’’ Entoni.., 1926,
pp. 27-28.

® Cuthbertson, A., “Spiders as Natural Enemies of Crane-flies,”

Nat,^ 1926, pp. 1 27- 1 29.

® Edwards, F. W., “Diptera Nematocera from Arran and Loch Etive,”
Scot. Nat.., 1921, pp. 59-61, 89-92.

^ Edwards, F. W., “British Limnobiidas. Some Records and
Corrections,” Ent. Soc. Lond.., 1921, pp. 194-230.

® Edwards, F. W., “ Notes on some British Species of the Genus Tipula,”
E7it. Mo. Mag., 1924, pp. 81-85.

® Edwards, F. W., “Additions to the List of British Crane-flies,” Ent.
Mo. Mag., 1926, pp. 31-35.

88

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

THE SPIDER FAUNA OF THE WESTERN
ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND

By W. S. Bristowe, B.A., F.Z.S.

The July of 1922 was spent cruising amongst the islands off
the West Coast of Scotland in a 16-ton yawl, and most of
the time spent ashore was given up to the collection of
spiders. Ten islands were visited, but in most cases I only
had a few hours on each, owing to my companions being
yachtsmen rather than naturalists, and in this time I
naturally cannot claim to have made anything like an
exhaustive collection on any of them.

In the present paper I have combined all the scattered
records of other collectors with mine to form a list of the
spiders known up till now from these islands. The islands
visited in chronological order were as follows : —

The Isles of the Sea or Garvelloch Isles (outside Scarba),
Kerrera (Oban), Mull, Eigg, Rum, Skye, Priest Island and
two of the Summer Isles off Ross and Cromarty, the Outer
Hebrides (Lewis and Harris), and the Shiant Isles (off
Lewis).

On the whole the spider faunas of the different islands
up the coast of Scotland appear to be very similar. All the
species found on the islands are common on the m.ainland,
but the converse is far from being true.

It is said that broadly speaking the temperature falls
1° F. for each degree of latitude north or south of the
equator, and that the same fall occurs for every 300 ft. rise
in altitude. The faunas of mountain tops and arctic regions
are often compared, but in these comparisons the lowness of
the temperature is usually looked upon as the limiting
factor. In actual fact the rmige of temperature is probably
of equal importance or, to include another factor, namely
wind, which would in practice be difficult to eliminate from
our consideration, we can put forward another factor of
importance which can be called “exposure.” It is probable
that both “temperature” and “exposure” as defined above

SPIDER FAUNA OF WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND 89

act as limiting factors on different species, and, whilst
realising that they cannot really be sharply differentiated,
since the temperature varies appreciably with exposure,
some notes follow which show the effects on distribution of
these two roughly defined factors.

Web-building spiders are restricted to the more sheltered
situations on the islands. Teh'agnatJia exiensa is a wide-
spread and hardy species found from the Mediterranean to
Lapland and from temperate to arctic North America.
This species is common on the islands but its relatives
T. solandrii and T. pinicola, although found quite far north
on the mainland, do not even approach the west coast of
Scotland. These species are most commonly met with in
woods. Of the 40-odd Epeirids recorded from arctic
regions the majority are restricted to the mainlands of
arctic Europe and America. No representatives at all of
the family Attidae were found and the only one recorded
in this list is Euophrys erraticus^ from Arran, which is
otherwise common under stones on the mainland. About
20 species have been recorded from arctic regions, but
these are chiefly from the mainlands of arctic Europe and
America as in the case of the arctic Attidae.

The most successful forms are those which live under
stones, etc. (Linyphiidae, Lycosidae), or in holes and burrows
{SegestiPa^ Textrix^ Amaurobius and certain Lycosids). These
will escape to a great extent both the limiting factors with
which we are dealing. Major Kingston has shown how on
Mount Everest at 17,000 ft. the temperature beneath a stone
varied through only 12° F. during the twenty-four hours,
whilst in the same period the temperature of the air varied
through 44° F.

If our contention is correct, namely, that exposure is
an important limiting factor, in comparing the faunas of
mountain tops and the arctic, we should make the com-
parison more especially with arctic islands. In the course
of our cruise a number of mountains were climbed, and
although some were on the mainland I give below a list
of the species collected on each. On 8th July I climbed
* Geographical Journal^ May 1925.

165

M

90

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Halival (Rum). At the summit of this mountain, which is
2300 ft., several alpine-arctic plants grow, such as Silene
acaulis and various Saxifrages. By turning over the stones
amongst these I obtained the following spiders : —

Robertus lividus.
Leptyphantes zimmermannii.

„ pallidus.
Ceratinella hrevipes,
Centromerus prudens.
Macrargus ahnormis.

Cryphoeca silvicola.
Trochosa teridcola.
Tarentula pulverulenta.
N emastoma lugubre

(Opilionid).

On the following day the weather forced us to stay in
Loch Nevis, so we set out on foot to climb Ladhar Bheinn
(3300 ft.). A very heavy mist descended on this mountain,
however, so we had to content ourselves with a 2000 ft. one
close to it. Here I collected the following : —

Robertus lividus.

L ep typhan tes zim m erm anni i.

„ ericceus.
Centromerus prudens.

Macrargus abnormis.
N emastoma lugubre
(Opilionids).
Mitopus morio.

On the way down I found the webs of Epeira cornuta in
a valley between the two mountains a few hundred feet from
the summit.

On 1 2th July we anchored in Broadford Bay (Skye) and
I climbed Ben-na-Caillich (2400 ft.) which is one of the
Red Hills. On the way up, at 1000 ft., I captured Lycosa
traillii^ which looks like an overgrown L. amentata. At the
summit by turning over stones I collected the following: —

Robertus lividus. Maro falconerii.

Leptyphantes zhmnermannii. Neriene rubens.

„ whymperi. Poeciloneta globosa.

On our return journey we again came to Skye, anchoring
this time in Loch Scavaig (25th July) and ascended one of
the Cuillins, Sgurr Dubh-Nada-dheinn (3000 ft.). Conditions
at the top of this mountain were very different. Vegetation,
consisting of Silene acaulis^ Saxifraga oppositifolia^ etc., was
very scarce, and the summit really consisted for the most

SPIDER FAUNA OF WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND 91

part of jagged bare rock. The best part of an hour’s hunting
produced but three species : —

Hilaira frigida. Coryphoeus holmgreni. WalckencBra capita.

When we reached Lochinver on i8th July (our turning
point) we climbed Suilvin (2400 ft). The following were
collected : —

Robertus lividus.
Leptypha^ites zimmermannii.
Hilaira frigida.

Caledonia evansii.
Macrargus ahnormis.

Pceciloneta globosa.
Tarentula pulverulenta.
Nemastoma lugubre
(Opilionid).

An examination of these lists shows us immediately that
all the species are either forms which live under stones, or
in the case of Tarentula and Trochosa, burrow manufacturers
which wander about on the ground when conditions are
favourable. I noticed that just below the summit on the
lee side of the mountains the number both of species and
individuals always increased rapidly, and by comparing my
results with those of Dr R. Jackson from some of the
higher mountains of Scotland, one finds that two extremes
of altitude exist in any given locality : —

1, The extreme altitude at which a species will occur

at the summit (limiting factor “ exposure”).

2. Extreme altitude below a summit (always greater

than the last owing to the limiting factor here
being “temperature”).

Three of the commonest species on the islands are
Meta meidancE^ Segestria senoculata, and Textrix denticulata.
None of these are found at high altitudes, nor do they extend
into the arctic (the nearest approach being Textrix in the
Orkneys). It seems probable, therefore, that temperature
governs the distribution of these species. Lycosa pullata^
Tarentula pulverule?ita^ Robertus lividus and the Opilionid
Nemastoma lugubre on the other hand are limited to a
greater degree by exposure than temperature. Their range
extends into the arctic and they are to be found at fairly
high altitudes on the Scottish mountains. The Lycosa does

92

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

not seem to like the summits, but Dr Jackson records it on
the Cairngorms in sheltered situations at between 3000 and
3500 ft. Tarentula^ Robertus^ and Nemastoma have been
collected on summits at 2400 ft, but in the Cairngorms
below the summit at between 3000 and 3500 ft. The hardiest
species appear to be Hilaira frigida^ Coryph(xus holmgreni^
Leptyphmites whymperi^ and Walckenaera capita. The first
two have been found at the summit of the Cuillins (3000 ft)
and Cairngorms (4300 ft.), and their range in the arctic
includes various islands and is probably wide — HilaRa
has been recorded from Greenland and Jan Mayen, and
Coryphaeus from Nova Zemlya, Spitsbergen, Bear Island,
and Jan Mayen. Leptyphantes whymperi^ which I found at
the summit of Ben-na-Caillich (2400 ft.), was found by
Dr Jackson at the summit of the Cairngorms (4300 ft), and
on Ben Nevis above 4000 ft wherever stones occurred
amongst the snow. This species has been recorded from
Greenland. WalckencEra capita was one of the three
species at the summit of Dubh-Noda-dheinn (3000 ft.) and
Dr Jackson found it at the summit of Cairntoul (4200 ft.).
This species has not been recorded from the arctic up to
the present time.

Before leaving the subject of distribution I should like
to draw attention to the similarity of the spider fauna of
the western islands of Scotland to that of (i) the Irish
Islands, and (2) the Norwegian Islands. Mr D. Pack
Beresford records 108 species from Clare Island which is
situated off the west coast of Ireland. His list includes
all the species most commonly found on the Scottish Islands
such as Segestria senoculata^ Textrix denticulata^ Cryphoeca
silvicola, Amaurobius siniilis^ Robertus lividus^ Macrargus
abnormis^ Erigone aixtica^ Tetragnatha extensa^ Meta meriance^
M. segmentata^ Lycosa pullata^ Trochosa terricola^ Tarentula
pulverulenta^ Xysticus cristatus, and the Opilionid Nemastoma
lugubre. In addition three Attids are recorded, namely.
Neon reticulatus^ Euophrys frontalis^ and Heliophanus cupreus
“in sheltered nooks facing South or West.”

Conditions experienced on the Norwegian coast are very
similar to those on the west coast of Scotland ; when near

SPIDER FAUNA OF WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND 93

Bergen for a short time during the summer of 1921 I made
a small collection of 42 species, and this was sufficient to
show how strikingly similar the spider faunas of the two
regions are. All w'ere British species and the list included
all the most typical Scottish forms such as : —

Segestria senoculata^ Textrix denticulata^ Lycosa pullata^
Trochosa terricola^ Aniaurohius fenestralis^ Robertus lividus^
Theridion bellicostim, Leptyphantes zimmermannii^ Erigone
arctica^ Poecilorieta globosa, Macrargus abnormis^ Meta
meriancB^ and the opilionids N emastoma lugubre^ Megabunus
diadema^ and 0bisiu7n muscorum.

The majority of spiders included in the list which follows
belong to the dominant section which have colonised the
whole of the British Isles. A few are typical southern
species such as Drassodes pubescens^ Xysticus pini^ Lycosa
annulata ; but only single records for these species exist,
and it is possible that the identification is at fault. Some
are northern species — Erigone arctica^ Walckencera capito^
Theridion bellicosum^ and Lycosa traillii for instance — and
three may be classed as arctic forms, namely Coryphoeus
holmgreni^ H Hair a frigida, and Leptyphantes whymperi.

I am indebted to Mr E. J. Pearce and Mr H. B. Cott for
small collections of spiders from Jura and Skye respectively,
and, in addition, I am including an unpublished list of forty
species made by Mr A. Pickard from the island of Colonsay
and written into a copy of his uncle’s paper on “ The Spiders
of Scotland,” published in The Entomologisty 1877 (the late
Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge). This paper has recently come
into my possession and, seeing that Mr A. Pickard was in
the habit of sending his uncle spiders to identify, the list is
in all probability perfectly trustworthy. A list of species
has been collected from the records of the late Mr W. Evans
for Arran and Bute, which embodies the earlier records of
F. L. Grant, O. P. Cambridge, and Professor Traill. In
addition to solitary records for which references are given
later, I include a list of the spiders of St Kilda made by
O. P. Cambridge and records of Chelifers from some of the
islands published by R. Godfrey.

With these additions the list comprises 140 spiders (one

94

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

of which, Micryphayites beahis^ Camb., is new to Scotland),
1 1 Harvest spiders, and 3 Pseudo-scorpions. I am greatly
indebted to Dr A. Randell Jackson, who has himself
made valuable additions to our knowledge of the Scottish
Spider Fauna, for examining practically all the spiders I
collected and checking my identifications.

The initials inserted beside the different localities refer
to the records and collections of the following : — W. S. B. =
W. S. Bristowe ; O. P. C. = Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge ;
H. B. C. = H. B. Cott; W. E. = W. Evans; R. G. = R.
Godfrey ; F. L. G. = F. L. Grant ; J. E. H. = Rev. J. E.
Hull ; E. J. P. = E. J. Pearce ; A. P. = A. Pickard ; Simon =
E. Simon ; Strand = E. Strand.

Oonops pulcher^ Tempi. .
Segestria se?ioctilata, Linn. .

Drassodes lapidosus^ Walck.

troglodytes^ C. L. K. .

pubescetis, Thor.
Pfostheshna petiverii^ Scop.

Micaria puHcaria^ Sund. .
Ciuhio7ia trwialis, C. L. K.

holoserica^ De Geer, .

reclusa^ O. P. C.
diver sa^ O. P. C. .
comta^ C. L. K. . .

terrestris^ Westr.

Aranehi.

Bute (W. E.).

Bute and Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay
(A. P.) ; Isles of the Sea, Eigg,
Kerrera, Priest Is., Summer Is.,
Lewis (W. S. B.).

Bute and Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay
(A. P.); Skye (H. B. C.) ; Eigg,
Rum, Skye, Kerrera, Mull, Priest
Is., Shiant Is. (W. S. B.).

Bute and Flannan Is. (W. E.) ; Mull
(W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.). A southern species.

St Kilda (O. P. C.) ; Priest Is., Summer
Is. (W. S. B.).

Colonsay (A. P.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Orkneys (O. P. C.);
Lewis (W. S. B.).

Bute and Arran (F. L. G.); St Kilda
(O. P. C.) ; Colonsay (A. P.)

Bute (W. E.).

Bute (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.).

Bute and Arran (W. E.).

{To be contifiuedl)

NOTES

95

NOTES

Large Dog Otter. — I was rather surprised to see in your last
issue a dog otter weighing 21 lb. described as large, for in my
article on the length and weight of otters in The Annals of Scottish
Natural History (1909), I gave the average weight of an adult dog
otter as more than this, viz., from 21 to 24 lb. At the same time,
and also in the 1901 vol., I gave instances of really large dog otters,
viz., those on record of over 30 lb. in weight. The largest otters I
ever came across were those living in the sea in the Inner Hebrides,
and it would be interesting to have statistics of such from readers
living or visiting these islands, for some of the skins I saw in farm-
houses and crofts there must have belonged to enormous otters of
30 or more pounds in weight. — H. W. Robinson, M.B.O.U., etc. .

Gannets on the Bass Rock. — As I have not seen many
notices concerning the time the first Gannet’s eggs are laid on the
Bass Rock, it may be of interest to state that the first egg was found
this year on ist April, which is earlier than usual.

As I have, as yet, had no returns from the 100 young marked
there with rings last year, perhaps your readers will examine any
dead Gannets they may come across for rings and record the same,
especially so as the only two records of those marked there in a
former year are somewhat puzzling. — H. W. Robinson.

Hawfinch nesting in Kirkcudbright. — On 21st April, I
was handed a Hawfinch which had been picked up dead near
Dalskairth, Maxwelltown, Kirkcudbright. Last year (1926) a pair
of these birds nested at Dalskairth and hatched their young, which,
however, were destroyed just before they could fly. — Hugh S.
Gladstone.

Great Snipe in Forfarshire. — A rushy marsh at Elliot
is a favourite resort of snipe on arrival from oversea. On 13th
August last what at first sight seemed to be a very small Woodcock
feeding along the muddy margin of the marsh proved to be a
Great Snipe. Several Common Snipe were partly visible in the
vegetation on the opposite side, thereby enabling the two species
to be compared. Probably it was the same bird which was seen
again on the i6th on a grassy plot occasionally subjected to flooding,
and finally on the 20th at the marsh. — Douglas G. Hunter,
Arbroath.

96

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

BOOK NOTICES

Elementary Botany. By W. Watson, D.Sc. London : Edward
Arnold & Co., 1926. 8vo. 368 pp. and 225 figs. Price
6s. 6d.

This book is essentially written for students, and hence contains in
moderate compass a good deal of technical information. The order of
the subjects treated in the various chapters (I. to XXXI.) is somewhat
unusual, but if the volume be perused carefully a satisfactory knowledge
of the science will be gained, especially if the very helpful illustrations
and their legends are thoroughly studied. We venture to think the
absence of a glossary may be felt, since the technical terms are only
explained on their first appearance, and if not mastered on a first
reading a double reference must be made, first to the index and then
to the page concerned. The style throughout may perhaps be regarded
as a little too condensed, due no doubt to the fact that an unusual
amount of ground is covered in a volume of less than 400 pages. But
the book is a good one, well printed in clear type, and the printer’s
errors are few. In the legend to Fig. 88 (p. 123) candicle should be
caudiclej p. 282, line 4 from bottom, than should be that; Index, p. 362,
plumule is misplaced.

Islands near the Sun. By Evelyn Cheesman, F.E.S., F.Z.S.
London: H. F. & G. Witherby, 1927. 8vo. 236 pp., 9 plates
Price I2S. 6d. net.

This is a well-printed, interesting, and entertaining record of rambles
and scrambles in the “ P'ar, Fair Society Islands” by one who writes
racily and well, and is at the same time a competent entomologist.
The accounts of the habits of a solitary wasp on pp. 30-31, the turret-
building caterpillars on a fungus (pp. 31-32), the crowd of longicorn
beetles on a felled tree (pp. 101-102) and the swarms of flying earwigs
described on p. 102, may be selected as examples of the author’s powers
of observation and gift of relating her entomological experiences. The
other incidents and accidents, of a nature common to most travellers,
are happily told, and we can cordially recommend the book to anyone
interested in the inhabitants, human and otherwise, of remote and little-
known islands.

THE NATURALIST

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PAGE.

Red-Deer in Selkirkshire in Prehistoric Times — -Ja77ies Ritchie^

M.A., Z>.Sc. ...... 65,

On the Decrease of Blackgame in Scotland — LeoTiora Jeffrey

Rintoul aTtd Evelyfi V. Baxter i^Coitcluded') . . . 69.

The Wood Burrowing, at Pupation, of the Sawfly, Allantus

(E77iphytus) pallipes^ Spin. — Charles F, Craigie^ B.Sc. . 77-

The Crane-Flies of the Clyde Islands — Alexander Cutlibertso7i . 85,

The Spider Fauna of the Western Islands of Scotland — W. S.

Bristow e^ B.A., F.Z.S. . . . . . 88-

Notes :

Large Dog Otter — H. W. Robuison^ 95 ; Gannets on the Bass
Rock — H. W. Robmson^ 95 ; Hawfinch nesting in Kirk-
cudbright — Hugh S. Gladsto7ie^ 95 ; Great Snipe in
Forfarshire — Douglas G. Himter^ 95 ; Woodcock breeding
in Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh — J. KFke Nash, 76 ;
Common Pochard breeding at Duddingston Loch — David
Hamilton a7id J. Kirke Nash, 75 ; White Wagtails
in Duddingston Bird Sanctuary — J. Kirke Nash, 75 ;
Staphylinus coi7ipressus, Marsh, in Arran — A. Fergusso7t, 68.

Book Notices ...... .96-

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The Scottish Naturalist

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EDITED BY

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Keeper^ ISfatural History Department^ Rovai Scottish JVLuseum

AND

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ASSISTED BY

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EVERY NATURAUBT SHOULD READ

The following major articles which have appeared in recent
numbers of The Scottish Naturalist : —

Increase of Mountain Hare in Scottish Lowlands.

The Food of the Ptarmigan. .

New Facts about the Hive Bee.

Mixed Plumages in a Brood of Hybrid Crows.

Human Transport and Wild Life. (Illustrated.)

The Whale Remains of the Carse of Stirling.

Records of Birds new to Britain.

A Rat Migration.

Abnormal Coloration of Scottish Mountain Hares. (Illustrated.)

Annual Reports on Scottish Ornithology, including Migration. (Illustrated.)
White Wild Geese. (Illustrated.)

The Labrador Falcon — a new British Immigrant. (Illustrated.)

Notes on Fishes from the Clyde Area.

Notes from the Scottish Zoological Park :

The King Penguins. (Illustrated.)

The Great Skua in Shetland,

Some Records of Large Foxes.

As well as numerous shorter notices of interesting events in the

Wild Life of Scotland.

{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.)

The Scottish Naturalist

No. 1 66.] 1927 [July-August

WILD BIRDS PROTECTION.

The Wild Birds Protection Bill is dead, and we profoundly
regret its death. It was an advance on the Acts at present
in force, and although it was based on the plan of the old
Acts, it laid its finger on several of the weaknesses which
experience had shown to exist in their application, and
endeavoured to correct them. It was not a rare birds
protection Bill, as has been so often alleged against it, for
it protected all birds during a close season which for most
birds covered the whole of the breeding period. The fact
that owners and occupiers had certain rights anent certain
birds outside a lengthy scheduled list, was not the serious
blot that has also been alleged, for after all owners and
occupiers are mostly sensible persons, and there is no
evidence that they chased and destroyed birds in the close
season for the fun of the thing to demonstrate their right
to do so. For the first time the Bill protected the eggs of
birds ; and it offered County Councils, as the present Acts
do, the opportunity of extending the list of protected birds
and eggs.

But the C7'ux of legal bird protection is the effectiveness
of the law, and there the old Acts failed ; for it is notorious
that their provisions were often ignored, and that often the
long lists issued at the instance of County Councils gave
no protection to the birds named in them. A law generally

i66 N

98

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

disregarded is worse than no law at all, and the Bill did its
best to ensure that the birds should be in reality protected,
by increasing the powers of the police and by increasing
the penalties which could be imposed upon breakers of
the law.

The Bill was withdrawn because the Government gave it
to be understood that it could offer no facilities for a con-
tested measure. It is interesting to analyse the alternatives
which its opponents suggested. The great plea was for the
protection at all seasons of all birds. The plea for the
indiscriminate protection of all birds seems to us to be
based upon a fallacious reading of nature. In the first place
all birds cannot be protected. An example or two from the
present schedule of absolutely protected birds will illustrate
the point. Under the schedule Owls are absolutely protected,
but the protection of the Little Owl means the destruction
of many song birds, much more attractive and useful than
their destroyer. The Fulmar is protected, and now it is
driving Gulls and other cliff-nesting birds from the haunts
which they have tenanted from time immemorial. Skuas
are protected and they have driven the Whimbrel and
other interesting birds from their foretime breeding places.
Yet the Whimbrel also is protected. No one suggests that
the Fulmar or the Skuas should be black-listed. What are
we to do? Withhold our hand and let the weaker ones go
to the wall? Even under the old schedule, much maligned
as it has been, the protection of one bird means the dis-
appearance of another. All birds cannot be protected^ and the
attempt to protect all would result in the unwanted increase
of the stronger and more combative, and the disappearance
of the weaker.

In the second place it seems to be assumed that by
the protection of all birds their number can be increased,
shall we say pressing the argument to its limit, to infinity.
But it may be taken for granted that as many birds live in
the country, and only as many, as the food available will
support. The increase in numbers of one species means the
decrease in numbers of other species using the same food
supply. And here again the stronger birds will spread at

WILD BIRDS PROTECTION

99

the expense of the weaker. In other words, the birds that
by their very commonness have shown their ability to make
way will become more common still and the rarer birds
will become still more scarce. It is perhaps the one good
mark to be reckoned to the bird-nesting boy that it is the
common birds he helps to keep in check.

In the third place, and closely linked with the question
of food supply is the question of territory — the fact that
each nesting pair, except amongst colonial species, reserves
to itself a certain stretch of ground from which it drives all
intruders of the same species. No amount of all-round
protection will break the stern laws of nature and pile up
the numbers of a species in any given area.

It is said, let us by protecting all the birds get back to
the natural conditions of things. Even if we wished we can
no longer do so, for already man’s crops and his cultivation
have so altered the balance that no return is possible.
But indeed the bird population of our country is far higher,
just because of man’s presence, than that of the wild country
before man came. There are fewer birds in the Yellowstone
Park than in the surrounding agricultural districts. The
worst of it is that the increase of birds also means increase
of competition, and before competition the weaker birds go
to the wall. A “Rare Birds Protection Bill” has been the
unjust slogan of its opponents; of course it protects rare
birds, but that simply means that it was endeavouring to
save for the country the weaker members of the fauna which
are being edged out by competition ; that in other words
it was endeavouring to retain or restore something of the
original balance of nature which man’s interference has so
grievously upset. J. R.

lOO

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

NOTES

An Adder at Sea. — I have forwarded to the Royal Scottish
Museum an Adder which was found under peculiar conditions.
On the evening of i8th July the Adder was discovered swimming
across Lochcarron from north to south at a point where the loch
is roughly 2 miles broad. It was swimming with its head above the
sea at a fairly quick rate. When those who were fishing in the boat
noticed its approach they made some splashing noise with the oars.
It then lowered its head to almost the level of the sea. The sea
was quite calm and the evening warm, the time was about ii p.m.
The fishermen took it into the boat alive. The point at which it
was taken into the boat was miles from the shore; it was heading
for the opposite coast, half a mile away, and was evidently vigorous
enough for the effort when it was taken into the boat. The Adder
is rare on the north side of Lochcarron. — Rev. D. Maclean, D.D.,
Comraich, Lochcarron.

Bonito in Solway. — A good example of the Belted Bonito,
Pelamys sarda^ was taken in the Solway off Creetown on 13th June
and was sent to The Royal Scottish Museum. It weighed yf lb.
and measured from tip to tip 26 inches. — Adam Birrell, Creetown.

Black Water Vole in Argyllshire. — An example of the Black
Water Vole, Microtus amphihiiis reta^ found on 8th April 1927 at
Tombreck, Inveraray, Argyllshire, was recently presented to the
Royal Scottish Museum by Mr Angus Cameron. Along with a
Curlew and a Red Grouse the Water Vole was retrieved by a terrier
from the den of a fox, situated at an altitude of 1500 feet above
sea-level. The animal is a male, of rather large dimensions, the
measurements in the flesh being: — head and ^ body, 190 mm.,
tail, without terminal hairs, 102 mm., hind foot, without claws,
32 mm., length of ear 15.5 mm., weight, 165.25 grams. The
colour is a very dark brown approaching black, though less
definitely black than in some examples of this form. The limits of
the distribution of the Black Water Vole in Scotland are not yet
known, but its occurrence in Argyllshire is of interest in view of
the statement, once made by Lydekker {British Mammais, 1895,
p. 218), that it was unknown in that county. — James Ritchie.

THE EUROPEAN PARTI-COLOURED BAT IN SCOTLAND loi

A LONG FLIGHT — THE EUROPEAN PARTI-
COLOURED BAT {VESPERTILIO MURINUS)
IN SCOTLAND.

By James Ritchie, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.

There has hitherto been no record of the presence of the
Parti-coloured Bat ( Vespertilio murinus, Linn.) in Scotland,
and a solitary individual, taken at Plymouth in the early
thirties of last century and now in the Natural History
Museum at South Kensington, is the only example hitherto
found on British soil.

On 31st March 1927, a bat was found alive on the island
of Whalsay, Shetland, and as bats are scarce in the Shetlands
it was sent to the Royal Scottish Museum by Mr G. T. Kay
for identification. Examination of the external characters,
and particularly of the skull, showed it to be an example
of the Parti-coloured Bat, Vespertilio 7nurinus^ amongst the
distinguishing features of which to ordinary observation are
the speckled back, the dark brown being frosted over by
whitish markings due to the presence of pale tips on the
hairs; the pale greyish-white under surface with margin
of self-coloured whitish hairs where the wing meets the
body ; the low, broad, and rounded ears ; and the relatively
large size.

The Parti-coloured Bat is a native of northern and
central continental Europe, ranging from southern Norway
and central Sweden south to the Alps, and from France
eastwards to Asia. It occurs particularly in mountainous
and wooded regions.

On the strength of a couple of records this species cannot
be regarded as a native of the British Isles. In size and
colour it is conspicuous, and were it a regular inhabitant
of this country it could scarcely have escaped more frequent
observation. It can be regarded only as a rare straggler,
the access of which to Britain has hitherto carried with it
a suggestion that man may have been partly responsible
for its presence. The Plymouth example already referred

102

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

to was found suspiciously near a large aeaport, and another
which, either alive or just dead^ came into the hands of
John Hancock, and according to him was taken “ I am
almost sure, on board ship, undoubtedly off Yarmouth
Roads, in the year 1834,”* suggests that shipping may more
than once have been the means of transportation. A few
hours more and the Yarmouth specimen might also have
become an alien on British soil.

The Shetland specimen is less open to the suspicion
of having been transported by man. Shetland has no
important seaport and there is no regular shipping route
between Shetland and the Continent. It may be suggested
that the bat, having been carried part of the way on board
ship, escaped, and completed the journey on wing. While
this is a possibility, the evidence points rather to another
possibility, that the Shetland Bat traversed the North Sea
unaided.

Bats are not unknown to migrate. Although there is
little or no evidence of their deliberate crossing of consider-
able stretches of sea, nevertheless they have been met in
numbers 20 miles from land, and several American species
have been found on the Bermudas, 600 miles from the
mainland ; although here the possibility of human transport
cannot be altogether excluded. Amongst the European
species several seem to perform movements which suggest
local migrations, and amongst these the Parti-coloured Bat
and its close relative Nilsson’s Bat {Eptesicus nilssont) are
thought to carry out annual north and south migrations.
It is possible, therefore, that the Scottish visitation had its
origin in a normal migration by the Parti-coloured Bat in
its native quarters in southern Scandinavia.

Whalsay is an island 13J miles from Lerwick, so that
there is no obvious connection between the presence of the
bat and a shipping port ; but on the other hand the position
of Whalsay, the furthest east and nearest to the Continent
of all the Shetland Isles, except the much smaller Out
Skerries, is just that most favourable for the landing of
a migrant approaching from the east.

* Barrett Hamilton^ History of British Mammals^ iQiOj P- I39-

THE EUROPEAN PARTI-COLOURED BAT IN SCOTLAND 103

It is hard to suppose that a bat flies with the strength
of wing or the compelling urgency of a bird, and its weak
flight is much more subject to the influence of the wind
than that of birds, although even they largely owe their
presence in Britain during migration to the direction and
force of the wind. To this source we turn for an explanation
of the journey of the Parti-coloured Bat. From the 15th to
the 2 1st of March the wind between Shetland and south-
western Norway tended to be westerly and southerly, and
migration from Norway would have been impossible. But
from the 22nd March till the end of the month there was
always a touch of east in the wind, and days particularly
favourable on account of both wind direction and force were
the 24th, with a wind varying from north of east to south-
east and an average velocity of 38 miles per hour ; the 26th,
wind S.E., velocity averaging 18 miles per hour ; and the 27th,
wind in Norway and Shetland due E., velocity in Norway
35 m.p.h., and in Shetland 10 m.p.h.

The suggestion, therefore, is made that the Shetland Bat
by it own powers of flight supplemented by strong easterly
winds covered, at a minimum, the 220 miles of North Sea
which separate the nearest point of the Continent from
the Shetland Isles ; and that it made the journey probably
within a week of its capture.

Some of the chief measurements of this rare visitor,
of which the greatest expanse of the wings was 8J inches,
are, in mm.: — head and body 58; tail 37; forearm 42;
thumb, without claw 5-8; lower leg 15; hind foot without
claws 8-5. The dimensions of the elements of the wing
skeleton and of the skull agree with those given by Miller
{Catalogue of the Mammals of Western Europe^ 1912, p. 241).

104

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

STUDIES OF SOME LANARKSHIRE BIRDS.

The Raven.

By Walter Stewart.

This fine bird, whose presence so greatly enhances the
wild life of any district, has now, after long years of
persecution, but a precarious existence in Lanarkshire.
Figuring prominently in the place names, it must, in bygone
times, have been quite a feature in the bird-life of the
county. In the Middle Ward both North and South Calder
Waters have their Raven’s Craig, and within the past
half-century tradition named Forrestburn Craig, that wild
and bleak part of Shotts “ Hills,” as a former haunt of the
“ big black corbie.”

In the Lanark district of the Upper Ward, towards the
end of the eighteenth century, the rocky gorges of the
Clyde and its tributary the Mouse were often resorted to
by the Raven, while in the parish of Carstairs occur such
place names as Ravenstruther and Corbie Hall, no doubt
ancient haunts of tree-nesting Ravens. In the upland
parishes we have visited several “ Raven’s Gills,” now
haunts of the Merlin, Kestrel and Ring-Ouzel.

Macgillivray {British Birds^ 1837, vol. i., p. 510), quoting
his friend Mr Hogg of Stobbo Hope, Peeblesshire, writes
of the “ Ravens which traverse the wilds of Dumfries,
Peebles, Roxburgh and Selkirk shires,” being mostly bred
on three farms at the head of Moffat Water. To-day this
wild district seemingly still sends forth its quota of Ravens,
for in the Elvanfoot district of Lanark, in May 1922, 17
of these grand birds were seen at one time circling at a
high altitude. Carrion of some kind had no doubt enticed
them thither. The Rev. John Christison {New Statistical
Account of Scotland, 1835), writing of Biggar Parish says:

“ the Raven is occasionally seen passing to his haunts in
Tinto,” and the Rev. James D. W, Gibson writes (“Birds of

STUDIES OF SOME LANARKSHIRE BIRDS

105

Carmichael Parish,” Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1897, pp. 201-19)
“One of a pair of Ravens which frequented Carstairs woods
was trapped by Mr R. Gray, gamekeeper at Westraw”;
of Tinto as a Raven haunt he further writes : “ Alas ! these
no longer claim it, although seventeen or eighteen years
ago there was on Tinto a nest from which three young
birds got away (Mr R. Gray)”; “two were killed on Tinto
ten years ago” (Mr T. Cranston). Also that “Mr Edward
Stoddart, head gamekeeper, Eastend, has kindly informed
me that he killed one on Scant Hill, Symington. Last
season Mr A. Telfer observed it on the hills above Douglas.”

In Lanarkshire at present we know of three nesting
sites of this bird, all quite near to the county boundary,
while at short distances into neighbouring shires are three
more. Of this total, during the past seven years, seldom
more than one has been occupied in any breeding season.
All are more or less accessible, consequently young Ravens
are very seldom reared. In fact it is notorious how easily
eggs of the Raven or other rare bird can be marketed,
even in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, where we have
heard of at least one resetter of these prohibited goods,
who is known to dispatch them to the United States.
For the naturalist this is a sad state of matters: on the
one hand are those who spare this fine bird but regard
its eggs as reasonable perquisites, while on the other are
the shepherds at all times keen to accomplish its destruction.

In spite of this, however, we have isolated instances
of young Ravens being reared in these accessible nesting
sites, notably one young bird from a Lanarkshire nest in
1922. In early February of that year, a pair of Ravens
appeared in the Coulter Fell district, and soon commenced
their wonderful courting antics, when it at once became
apparent that the occupation of a new nesting site was
in prospect. At the spot in question — a steep rugged
bank rising from a small stream — there existed a low,
very accessible shelf, from which, in previous years, several
fine clutches of Peregrine Falcon’s eggs had been taken,
and no doubt now repose in Yankee cabinets. But this
site was not chosen, building operations being commenced
166 o

io6

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

some nine feet directly above it. A seemingly more
difficult or impossible place could hardly have been chosen,
and it required hard and persevering work before the feat
of fixing the large foundation sticks of heather was
accomplished, after which time the building progressed
rapidly, a smallish nest being the result of the Ravens’
labours. How many eggs were laid we cannot tell. At
one time the nest contained four, then two, and finally
one, and just when incubation commenced a third Raven
appeared on the scene.

About this time a wonderfully interesting incident was
accidentally and unwittingly brought to light by the egg
thief, who had seemingly used the Peregrine’s nesting shelf
as a footing to reach the nest above, but this must have
belied its appearance of solidity, become detached and
tumbled to the bottom, proving to be not a shelf of stone
and earth, but in reality the ample proportions of a long-
buried Raven’s nest. How long it had been buried we
cannot guess, albeit the layer of mossy earth which con-
cealed it was some four inches deep, and although the
lining pad of wool was still intact, the huge pile of heather
stalks was extremely rotten.

From the sole remaining egg in the nest above, a
healthy youngster was hatched, and in the beginning of
May was already on the wing. Our gratification at so
interesting a “corvine” event was somewhat tempered
with regret, that the demands of rookery “census” taking
precluded us from giving it the attention it merited.
However, we are under a debt of gratitude to Mr R.
Somerville, gamekeeper, who with a friend secured one
or two good photographs of the nest, two of which we
now possess.

Through the entire summer, into the beginning of
autumn, the Ravens, four in number, roosted at the nesting
site. What relationship, if any, the odd bird bore to the
breeding pair we cannot tell, but the toleration shown it
was quite remarkable.

Early in June the nest was annexed by a pair of Kestrels
and a full clutch of eggs laid, but these were not allowed

STUDIES OF SOME LANARKSHIRE BIRDS

107

to hatch, although the Ravens did not interfere with them.
About the end of January 1923, the Ravens again arrived,
no doubt with the intention of resuming possession, but
a severe snowstorm in early February compelled them to
withdraw from the district, as it turned out, for good.
Such a quantity of snow drifted over this part of the steep
rocky bank and on to the nest that when the thaw set in,
the nest, borne down by the weight, was precipitated to
the bottom. Probably remembering the amount of trouble
incurred in laying the foundation of this nest in the previous
season, the birds made no attempt at rebuilding it, moving
instead a few miles farther south into an adjacent Lanark-
shire parish, where they were known to nest. During
1924 and 1925 a pair of Ravens have often been observed
on both sides of the south-west county boundary, and
have no doubt already nested.

It is well known that the Raven is no dainty feeder,
carrion of all sorts forming its principal diet ; and of this
a never - failing source of supply is provided by the
ubiquitous rabbit, which swarms in many parts of these
uplands, and amongst which a deadly parasitic disease,
which kills and weakens large numbers, is seldom absent.
Young hares and grouse chicks are also preyed upon, as
are also young, weak and sickly lambs.

io8

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

SOME ABNORMAL EGGS OF WILD BIRDS.

By Rev. J. M. M‘William.

In looking over any more or less extensive collection of
birds’ eggs, one is accustomed to see a number of abnormal
eggs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what may
be called “normal” abnormalities, types of freak eggs that
occur regularly.

Miniature eggs are found not uncommonly. My experi-
ence suggests that these may occur in the proportion of
one to every thousand or two thousand. Considerable
evidence is available to show that these dwarf eggs occur
more frequently in some groups of birds than in others.
They are frequently enough found with the Pheasant and
the Lapwing, and they are not uncommon with Gulls and
Ducks, while comparatively few are found with the small
passerine species, though of course they may be more
easily overlooked amongst these. Still there seems to
be little doubt that they are rarer in some groups than
others. They have been discovered with at least forty
species of British birds.

In som.e cases they contain yolk and in others they
do not, the second type occurring more frequently. In
the great majority of cases only one or two dwarf eggs
are found in a nest, but complete clutches have been
recorded. Dr N. F. Ticehurst records in British Birds
(vol. xix., p, 72) that in 1894 and again in 1902 he found
a nest of Song-Thrush with complete clutches of dwarf
eggs in both cases in the same locality. When there is
only one miniature egg it may be produced at any stage
of the clutch. In May 1926 I had under observation a
Robin’s nest on Bute, and the fourth egg laid was a
miniature. It contained no yolk. In the same month I
found on Bute a nest of Song-Thrush with two miniature
eggs and no others. These both contained yolk. I have
found two miniature eggs, with rough shells, in a nest of

SOME ABNORMAL EGGS OF WILD BIRDS

109

Tufted Duck in which the other eggs were normal, and I
have found a single miniature egg in a nest of Wigeon.

So far as my experience goes these miniature eggs are
usually deeply coloured. The Robin’s egg which I have
mentioned was distinctly deeper in colour than the others
of the set. The two miniature eggs of Song-Thrush were
beautifully coloured. A miniature egg of Pheasant in my
collection is very dark in colour.

Eggs are sometimes found of abnormal shapes. I have
taken an egg of Waterhen which can be best described
as being of the shape of a sausage. The most remarkable
malformed egg in my possession is one of Partridge, which
has raised ridges of a spiral shape on the shell. It is
believed that eggs rotate in the process of being laid and
this egg bears out that view. In general, malformed eggs
have little apparent significance.

The elaborate scrollings on some eggs deserve careful
attention. No adequate suggestion has been made to
account for these extraordinary markings. They are
common, of course, in some species, while in others they
’occur only occasionally. Perhaps one egg out of a hundred
of Oystercatcher is well scrolled. Amongst the Gulls a
very few are found of this type. I have an egg of Lesser
Black-backed Gull, taken by myself on Inchmarnock, with
the large end covered with the most intricate scrollings.
The other eggs in the nest were blotched in the ordinary
way. It is difficult to conceive how these scrolls are
produced, especially in view of the fact that the same
individual bird may produce eggs that are not scrolled.
The markings show no observable pattern. They are
not found in straight lines or spirals, nor are the lines
parallel with each other. If the colour was deposited on
an egg from minute colour-glands, and the egg received
the colour in moving down the oviduct, one would expect
to find something of this sort, but after the most careful
examination of very many scrolled eggs I have never been
able to detect any regular pattern. Other naturalists have
stated that they have seen traces of a spiral pattern in the
colouring on the eggs of the Sparrowhawk, but I have not

no

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

had the same good fortune. The mystery is heightened
by the fact that though the eggs of a clutch may differ
greatly from one another, yet each of these eggs may be
imitated in a succeeding clutch. In 1915 I took in County
Sligo a set of two eggs of the Arctic Tern, each egg of
which was very distinct from the other, and each definitely
unusual in colour and shape. Nine days later I found in
the same place another pair of eggs, each of which matched
one of the eggs in the first set. In such cases the pre-
sumption is that we have two sets by the same individual.
Naturalists who have had the good fortune to have had
under observation successive clutches laid by the same
individual bird over a series of years have observed great
similarity of the eggs in different years. The questions
connected with the colour-patterns of eggs present problems
that can apparently only be settled by careful systematic
dissection of birds. It looks as if it may turn out that the
scrolls are deposited while the egg is at rest by some
agent that moves at random over the surface of the egg,
as a pencil moves over paper.

Eggs referred to in this paper were exhibited by me
at a meeting of the Royal Physical Society in March 1927,
when a paper on Abnormal Eggs of the Domestic Fowl
was read by Dr F. A. E. Crew. At that meeting, through
the kindness of Mr J. G. Gordon of Corsemalzie, I was
able to show a list of the abnormal eggs in his large
collection.

BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE AT FAIR ISLE

III

BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE AT FAIR ISLE:
FIRST OCCURRENCE IN SCOTLAND.

By Surgeon Rear-Admiral J. H. Stenhouse.

A FEMALE example of the Black-winged Pratincole {Glareola
Nordmanni) was observed at Fair Isle on i8th May and
secured by a boy who brought it to me on the following
day. The bird was in very poor condition ; its stomach
and gullet were crammed with flies of the genus Fucellia
(a seaweed breeder), many of which (at least over lOo)
were still alive, though the bird had been dead about
twenty-four hours. It had evidently been blown across the
North Sea by the easterly winds of the 15th and i6th May
and become hopelessly lost.

This is the first recorded occurrence of this Pratincole
in Scotland ; in England it has been met with seven times
in Sussex and Kent, and once near Northallerton in York-
shire.

The Black-winged Pratincole has an eastern breeding
range, extending from the Danube mouth and Southern
Russia to West Siberia. It winters in West and South
Africa. It is easily distinguished from the Collared
Pratincole by its black axillaries and underwing coverts ;
the latter has these parts chestnut.

Wild Cat in Dumbartonshire. — I have to report the capture
of a Wild Cat by my keeper at Glenfalloch, Ardlui, Loch Lomond-
side, on 9th June. After careful examination and to satisfy myself
I took it to Messrs Kirk, taxidermists, 18 Gibson Street, Glasgow,
where it was examined for length of intestines. Coupled with our
examination Mr Wotherspoon there certified it a true Wild Cat. I
am reporting to you for your information as I have not known of
one being taken in our district for many years. — Geo. Christie,
Alexandria.

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

1 12

A NEW SCOTTISH AQUARIUM.

By T. H. Gillespie.

Twelve years have passed since, through the generosity
of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, the Zoological
Society of Scotland became possessed of a grant of Z^io,ooo
for the erection of a National Aquarium in the Scottish
Zoological Park. While the war continued nothing could
be done beyond the discussion of plans, and at its end
it became evident that a sum which seemed sufficient in
1915 was quite inadequate for the purpose when building
costs had been trebled. There was only one course open —
since the grant could not be increased — and that was to
wait until the high tide of prices should recede, the fund
in the meantime increasing steadily by the addition of
the accumulating interest. The interval of waiting was
not, however, an unqualified evil ; on the contrary it afforded
fruitful opportunity for the continued consideration and
revision of plans and of the innumerable details which had
to be adjusted. The delay was especially useful in view
of the completion of the new Aquarium in the London
Zoological Garden three years ago ; much information
was obtained from that source, and in the light of the
knowledge gained many improvements and valuable modi-
fications were made on the Society’s original plans. It
was not until July 1925 that the actual work of building
was begun. It is at last completed, and the Aquarium
has been formally opened by the Earl of Elgin, as Chairman
of the great Trust to whose beneficence it owes its being.

The event is one of outstanding importance not only
to biologists, educationists, students, and others specially
interested, but to all nature and animal lovers, for it is
the first and the only large institution, designed according
to the most modern principles, for the public display of
aquatic life, not only in Scotland, but in Britain, apart
from London and Brighton.

The great importance of an aquarium lies in that it

A NEW SCOTTISH AQUARIUM

113

enables us in effect to go beneath the surface of the water
and to see the fish and other aquatic creatures pursuing
their daily life and to watch their movements and habits
as clearly as, outside, we can observe lions, bears or
monkeys, sometimes more effectively, for the fish are less
conscious of our presence.

To provide and maintain a large and efficient aquarium
is by no means so simple a matter as one might imagine,
and a very great deal of thinking and planning and of
money have been expended on this newest attraction of
the Zoological Park. The building itself must necessarily
be of very solid construction — the need for strength is
evident when it is realised that the water in the exhibition
tanks weighs nearly two hundred tons ■ — and elaborate
provision must be made for the circulation and aeration
of the water in the tanks and the maintenance of its purity
and clearness, upon which not only the pleasure of the
observer but the health and life of the inhabitants depend.
All walls, floors and beams are of concrete, built on a re-
inforcement of interlaced steel rods. The fronts of the
tanks are of plate glass an inch and a quarter thick, and
sheets even of that thickness are no more than sufficient
to bear safely the pressure of the water three and a half
feet deep behind them. The water, which is constantly
flowing through the tanks, enters them with great force
through fine nozzles placed just above the surface and the
jet of water carries down with it a quantity of air bubbles
which reach nearly to the bottom of the tank, whence they
rise in a gradually diffusing cloud. The oxygenation of
the water is further aided by compressed air delivered to
the bottoms of the tanks through glass tubes from a
mechanical compressor.

The entrance of the Aquarium, which faces west, leads
into a large, handsome and brightly-lit hall. In its floor are
two large sunk pools, and the hall will contain a number
of table tanks, and be furnished with seats and decorated
with palms and foliage plants. In the eastern wall of the
hall, opposite the entrance, is a doorway leading into the
main tank hall, and here one finds a very different and
166

p

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

114

Photo] [J. C. McKechnie.

Pike.

Photo]

Perch,

[J. C. McKechnie.

A NEW SCOTTISH AQUARIUM 115

a very beautiful effect. Along each side and across one
end of the hall, which measures some seventy feet by forty,
are the glass fronts of the tanks, each in a bay formed by
the projecting pillars supporting the roof. The tanks are
lighted from an invisible source above, and except for the
small amount of diffused and reflected light from the tanks
themselves the hall is entirely dark, the whole of the walls,
floor and ceiling being painted black. The effect is as if
one were in a very dark room looking through a row of
windows into a brightly-lit garden or rather a series of
gardens, for each window gives a different view. The

Photo] ^ ^ ^ [/. C. McKechnic.

Loch Leven Trout.

tanks are arranged with rockwork, plants and sand, and
no two are alike. Various kinds of rock are used — water-
worn sandstone from the East Lothian coast, boulders of
conglomerate of beautiful colouring from a similar source,
weathered rocks from several of the quarries round Edinburgh,
columnar fragments of basalt from Arthur Seat, masses
of limestone rock from Westmorland, whin from the Park
itself, and others, and the contrast of the different rocks
and their arrangement is enhanced as far as possible
by the plants and animals placed among them. There
are thirteen large tanks in this hall, and from it the visitor
passes, still in semi-darkness, into a narrower hall of similar
length, where the tanks are smaller, two feet high instead
of three and a half, and numbering twenty-three in all.
The illumination of the tanks is, in the ordinary case, by

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

1 16

daylight, but in dull weather and after dark (if the Aquarium
should be open at night), the tanks can be lit just as brightly
by a series of special daylight electric lamps arranged out
of view above the tanks.

The Aquarium was originally planned as, and it is
hoped will one day be, a combined fresh and salt water
one, but in the meantime] the compelling reason of poverty
has restricted it to fresh water only. In spite of all that
could be done to economise on the building the fund avail-
able was insufficient to include the cost of the large reservoirs
and pumping and circulating apparatus required for a sea-
water installation. For this a further sum of ^10,000 to
^12,000 is required, and whenever it is available salt water
will be brought in. Undoubtedly the absence of many
sea animals is to be regretted, both from the educational
and pleasure-giving points of view, but there is abundance
of life in lake and river to satisfy both. A number of the
tanks are provided with the means of supplying water
warmed to tropical temperature, and not only British and
temperate fish but also many of the brilliantly-coloured
fresh-water fish of the tropics will from time to time be
exhibited.

The general scheme for the Aquarium was formulated
by Dr Allen, Director of the Marine Biological Station
at Plymouth, and the detailed plans were prepared by
Mr Alexander N. Paterson, A.R.S.A., of Messrs Paterson &
Stoddart, Architects, Glasgow. Acknowledgment must be
made of the advice and assistance freely given by Dr
Chalmers Mitchell, Secretary of the Zoological Society of
London, and Mr E. G. Boulenger, Director of the Aquarium
there.

Goldfinches in Midlothian. — The occurrence of the Goldfinch
in the Lothians is now rare. On the 19th February last we had an
excellent view of four of these beautiful birds searching for food
among the scattered branches of some recently felled trees in the
neighbourhood of Colinton. They only remained under observation
for a few minutes, being disturbed by a passing train. Presumably
they were a wandering party as they were not seen again. — David
Hamilton and J. Kirke Nash, Edinburgh.

SPIDER FAUNA OF WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND 117

THE SPIDER FAUNA OF THE WESTERN
ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND

By W. S. Bristowe, B.A., F.Z.S.
{Co?icluded from page 94).

Chiracatithium carnifex^
Fabr.

nutrix^ Westr. .
Agroeca proxima^ O. P. C.

sp. imm

Dictyjia arundinacea^ Linn.

Amaurohius s wit its, Bl. .
fenestralis, Stroem.

Cryphceca silvicola, C. L. K.
Textrix denticulata, Oliv. .

Hahnia montana, Bl.
Tegenaria derhamii, Scop. .

Theridiott sisyphhwi, Clerck

dettticulaium, Walck. .
hellicosum, Simon .
tepidariorum, C. L. K.
lineatum, Clerck
varians, Hahn .
Robertus lividus, Bl. .

arundineti, O. P. C- •

Arran (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.).

Bute (W. E.).

Shiant Is. (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ;
Orkneys (O. P. C.) ; Priest Is. and
Summer Is. (W. S. B.).

Summer Is., Isles of the Sea (W. S. B.).

Arran (F. L. G.) ; St Kilda (O. P. C.) ;
Orkneys (O. P. C. and J. E. H.) ;
Colonsay (A. P.) ; Priest Is., Shiant
Is. (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Rum at 2000 ft.. Priest
Is., Summer Is. (W. S. B.).

Arran, Ailsa Craig (W. E.) ; Colonsay
(A. P.) ; Orkneys (O. P. C.) ; Isles
of the Sea, Priest Is., Shiant Is.,
Lewis (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Lewis (W. S. B.).

Arran (F. L. G.) ; St Kilda, Orkneys
(O. P. C.) ; Colonsay (A. P.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Isles of the Sea
(W. S. B.).

Bute (W. E.).

St Kilda (O. P. C.).

Arran (F. L. G.).

Arran (F. L. G.) ; Colonsay (A. P.).

Colonsay (A. P.).

Colonsay (A. P.) ; St Kilda, Orkneys
(O. P. C.) ; Faroes (Strand) ; Skye
4 $ $ s. (H. B. C.) ; Isles of the Sea,
Eigg, Rum at 2000 ft., Skye, Priest
Is., Summer Is., Lewis (W. S. B.).

Kerrera, Lewis (W. S. B.).

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

1 18

Pholcojnnia gibbum, Westr.
Tapinopa longidens, Wid, .
Stemonyphafites lineatus^
Linn.

Linyphia clathrata^ Sund. .
tria?igularis^ Clk. .
piisilla^ Sund.
peltata^ Wid.

Labulla thoracica^ Wid.
Leptyphantes zi77imerman7iii
Bertk.

leprosus^ Ohl.
te7iuis, B1

77ie7igit, Kulcz. .

ericcEus, B1

77li7lUhtS, B1

why77iperi^ F. O. P. C.

flavipes^ B]

Leptypha7ites pallidus^ Cb. .

blackwallii^ Kulcz. .

te7iebricola^ Wid.
terricola^ Clk.

ob scums, B1

BathyphaTites gracilis, Bl. .

co7icolor, Wid. .
7iigri7ms,^Q^\i.
Hilaira frigida, Thor. .
T77ieticus reprobus, Cambr. .
sylvatmis, Bl,
huthwaitii, O. P. C. .

affiTtis, Bl

Maro falco7ierii, A. R. J.
Bolyphatites luteolus, Bl

Tiso Vagans, Bl

Bute (W. E.).

Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran and Bute (W. E.),

Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.).

Arran and Bute (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran and Maiden Is. (W. E.).

Skye (H. B. C.) ; Rum at 2000 ft.,
Isles of the Sea, Skye, Lewis
(W. S. B.); Jura(E. J. P.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.).
Colonsay (A. P.) ; Orkneys (O. P. C.) ;
Skye (H. B. C.) ; Kerrera, Priest Is.
(W. S. B.).

Shetland (J. E. H.) ; Priest Is.
(W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Skye (H. B. C.) ;

Eigg (W. S. B.).

Shetland (J. E. H.).

Skye (W. S. B.).

Skye (H. B. C).

St Kilda (O. P. C.) ; Kerrera, Rum at
2000 ft. (W. S. B.).

St Kilda, Orkneys (O. P. C.) ; Colonsay
(A. P.).

Jura (E. J. P.).

Bute (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran and Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay
(A. P.).

Arran (W. E.) ; St Kilda (O. P. C.).
Arran (W. E.).

Skye at 3000 ft. (W. S, B.).

Orkneys (O. P. C.).

Arran (W. E.).

St Kilda (O. P. C.).

Faroes (Simon).

Skye (W. S. B.).

Orkneys (O. P. C.); Shetland (J. E. H.);
Faroes (Strand).

Arran (W. E.); St Kilda (O. P. C).

SPIDER FAUNA OF WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND 119

Erigone de7itipalpis^ AVid. .
lofigipalpis^ Sund. .
af'Ctica, White .

atra^ B1

promisciia^ O. P. C.
Neriene nibejis, Bl. .
Dicymbium 7iigrum^ Bl. .

Diplocephalus fuscipes^ Bl. .

E7it elec era trifro7is, O. P. C.
Savig7iia fro7itata^ Bl. .
ETiidia bituberculata^ Wid. .

Go7igylidiu77i de7itat7nn, Wid.

agresle, Bl

Rhabdorica diluta^ O. P. C.
Pepo7iocra7iiu77i ludicrum^
O. P C.

CTiephalocotes curlus, Sim. .

a77ibigims^ O. P. C.
ArceoTtcus crassiceps^ Westr.
PocadicTieTTtis pu77iila^ Bl.

PorrhoTmna pyg77iceu77i^ Bl.
WalckeTiaera ac7i7ni7iata^ Bl.

capita^ Westr.
7i7idipalpis^ Westr. .
Cor7iicularia cuspidata^ Bl.

Ceratmella brevipes^ Westr.

brevis^ Wid

Ce7itro77ierus bicolor ^ Bl. .

prudens^ O. P. C. .
C077ci7i7ius^ Thor.
Coryphoeushol77igre7ii^ Thor.
MicroTieta viaria^ Bl.
AgyTieta subtilis, O. P. C. .
cauta, O. P. C. .
decora, O. P. C. . .

Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.).
Arran, Bute (W. E.).

Kerrera, Lewis (amongst seaweed on
the shore (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Mull (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; St Kilda (O. P. C.).
Colonsay (A. P.); Skye (W. S. B.).
Bute (W. E.); St Kilda (O. P. C.) ;
Skye (H. B. C.). .

Arran, Bute (W. E.) : Colonsay

O. P. C. ; Lewis (W. S. B.).

Isles of the Sea (W. S. B.).

Arran, Bute (W. E.); St Kilda (O. P. C.).
Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; Orkneys

(O. P. C).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.); Colonsay (A. P.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Lewis (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.).

Bute, Arran (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Rum (W. S. B.).
Kerrera, Skye, Priest Is. (W. S. B.) j
Jura (E. J. P.).

Bute (W. S. B.).

Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ;

Shiant Is. (W. S. B.).

Skye at 3000 ft. (W. S. B.).

St Kilda (O. P. C).

Orkneys (O. P. C.) ; Isles of the Sea
(W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Priest Is., Rum at
2000 ft. (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.).

Bute (W. E.) ; Orkneys (O. P. C.) ;

Rum (W. S. B.).

Rum at 2000 ft. (W. S. B.)

St Kilda (O. P. C).

Skye at 3000 ft. (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.).

Jura (E. J. R).

Skye (W. S. B.).

Jura (E. J. P.).

120

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Halorates reprobuSy O. P. C.
MicryphantesbeatuSy O. P. C.

Dismodicus bifronSy Bl. .
Macrargus abnormisy Bl. .

Oedothorax retusuSy Westr.
Poeciloneta glob os ay Wid.

Nesticus celluIafiiiSy Clk.
Ero furcatay Wid. . . .

Pachygfiatha degeeriiy Suiid.

Tetragnatha extensay Linn.

Zilla x-7wtafay Clk. .

atricay Clk

Meta segmefitatay Clerck

meriancEy Scop. .

7iie7iardiy Latr. . . .

Epeira cor7iiitay Clerck .

diade77iaiay Clerck . .

quadratay Clerck .

cuciirbitmay Clerck
Philodro77ius aureoluSy Clk.
Xysticus cristatuSy Clk. .

kochiiy Thor.
erraticuSy Bl.
pmiy Hahn . .

Pisaura 77iirabiliSy Clerck .

Kerrera (amongst seaweed. W. S. B.).
Isles of the Sea (new to Scotland.

W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ;
Skye (H. B. C.); Rum at 2000 ft.,
Skye, Lewis (W. S. B.).

Kerrera (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; St Kilda, Orkneys
(O. P. C); Skye (H. B. C); Skye,
Priest Is., Lewis (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.); St Kilda (O. P. C.).
Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; St Kilda (O. P. C).
Arran, Bute (W. E.); Lewis, Shiant Is.
(W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.); Jura (E. J. P.) ; Isles
of the Sea, Eigg, Rum, Mull, Skye,
Priest Is., Lewis, Shiant Is. (W. S. B.).
Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.).
Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.).
Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.);
Skye (H. B. C); Jura (E. J. P.);
Mull, Priest Is. (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; St Kilda, Orkneys
(O. P. C.) ; Eigg, Isles of the Sea,
Priest Is., Lewis (W. S. B.).

Ailsa Craig (W. E., 1898); Eigg (in
cave, W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ;

Eigg, Rum, Skye, Lewis (W. S. B.).
Arran (W. E.); Colonsay (A. P.);
Isles of the Sea, Eigg, Rum, Mull,
Priest Is., Lewis (W. S. B.).

Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ;

Skye (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Jura (E. J. P.).

Arran, Bute (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ; St
Kilda, Orkneys (O. P. C.) ; Kerrera,
Mull, Priest Is., Lewis (W. S. B.).

St Kilda (O. P. C.).

Colonsay (A. P.) ; Skye (W. S. B.).
Arran, Ailsa Craig (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.).

SPIDER FAUNA OF WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND 121

Pirata piratica^ Clk.

Trochosa terricola^ Thor.

leopardus^ Sund.
rnricola^ Degeer
picta^ Hahn .
Tarentula piilveriilenta^
Clerck

barbipes^ Walck.
Lycos a a7ue?itata^ Clerck

herbigrada^ Bl. .
trailii^ O. P. C. .
palnstris^ Linn. .

agricola^ Thor. . .

pullata^ Clk.

annulata^ Thor.
nig ri ceps, Thor. .

prativaga, C. L. K. .
mo7iticola, C. L. K.
Euophrys erraticus, Walck.

( = P. knorrii of L. Koch from Arran).
Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; St Kilda,
Orkneys (O. P. C.); Colonsay (A. P.);
Eigg (W. S. B,).

Flannan Is., 1905, Arran (W. E.);
Colonsay (A. P.) ; St Kilda (O. P. C.) ;
Jura (E. J. P.); Mull, Rum, Skye,
Priest Is., Summer Is., Lewis, Shiant
Is. (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.); Colonsay (A. P.).
Arran (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.); Arran (= T. aculeata
O. P. C.); Colonsay (A. P.); Jura
(E. J. P.); Kerrera, Rum, Skye
(W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ; Skye
(H. B. C.) ; Kerrara (W. S. B.).
Colonsay (A. P.).

Skye (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ;
Skye (H. B. C.); Faroes (Strand);
Summer Is., Shiant Is. (W. S. B.).
Kerrera, var. maritima (W. S. B.).
Arran (W. E.); Colonsay (A. P.);
St Kilda, Orkneys (O. P. C.) ; Isles
of the Sea, Eigg, Rum, Kerrera,
Mull, Skye, Summer Is., Lewis,
Shiant Is. (W. S. B.); Skye (H. B. C);
Jura (E. J. P.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran, Bute (W. E.) ; Colonsay (A. P.) ;
Mull, Summer Is., Priest Is., Lewis,
Shiant Is. (W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran, Bute (W. E.); Colonsay (A. P.).
Arran (W. E.).

Phalangidea.

Mitopus 77iorio, Fabr. . . St Kilda, Orkneys (O. P. C.) ; h'aeroes

(Strand) ; Rum, Skye, Priest Is.,
Shiant Is. (W. S. B.).

166 Q

122

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Phalanghwi opilio^ Linn. .

Megabimus ifisignis, Meade

OHgolphus tridtns, C. L. K.
agrestis, O. P. C. .
alpimts^ Herbst.

palpinalis^ Herbst. .
ephippiatus^ C. L. K. .
Neniasto7na luguh'e, O. F. M.

Liolmnum rotn7idnm^ Latr. .
Flatyhmus cor7iiger, Herm.

Arran (W. E.) ; Orkneys (O. P. C.);

Kerrera, Rum (W. S. B.).

Orkneys (O. P. C.) ; Lewis (W. S. B.);

Probably M. diade77ia.

Orkneys (O. P. C.).

Bute (W. E.).

Arran, St Kilda, Orkneys (O. P. C.) ;

Faeroes (Simon).

St Kilda (O. P. C.).

Orkneys (O. P. C.).

Arran (W. E.) ; St Kilda, Orkneys
(O. P. C.) ; Faroes (Simon); Jura
(E. J. P.) ; Eigg, Mull, Skye, Priest
Is., Summer Is., Lewis, Shiant Is.
(W. S. B.).

Arran (W. E.).

Arran (W. E.).

Chernetidea.

Ohisiu77i 7nuscoru77i^ Leach .

Chtho7iius tetrachelatus^
Preyss

Ideoro7icits ca77ih7'idgii, L. K.

Arran (W. E.) ; Maiden Is., Island
More, Rough Is., Skye (R. G.) ;
Jura (E. J. P.) ; Rum (W. S. B.).
Maiden Is. (R. G.), Kerrera (W. S. B.).

Maiden Is., Kerrera, Arran, Rough Is.
(R. G.).

Refere7ices to the Literature fro77i ivhich Records have bee7i collected.

D. Pack Beresford, Proc. Irish Acad.., 1911.

Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge, E7ito77iologisf^ 1877, p. 204 ; Atiu. Scot.
Nat. Hist.., 1894, p. 18 ; A7t7t. Scot. Nat. Hist.., 1905, p. 220 ; Scottish
Naturalist, 1906, p. 55 ; Proc. Dors. N. H. aTtd A. F. C., 1906, p. 72.
W. Evans, Brit. Ass. Handbook 07i Nat. Hist, of Glasgow a7id the West
of Scotland, 1901, p. 319 ; Co7tt'ributions to A7in. Scot. Nat. Hist.,
1895, 1905, 1908, 1909, 1910.

R. Godfrey, Co7itributio77s to An7i. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1908, pp. 91 and 155 ;
1909, pp. 22 and 153 ; 1910, p. 23.

F. L. Grant, A7i7t. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1894 ; Trans. N. H. S. Glasg.,
vol. iv., pp. 153, 282.

J. E. Hull, Scottish Naturalist, 1911.

A. R. Jackson, Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin., vol. xix., 1914 ; ibid.,
vol. xix., 1915.

E. Simon, A7i7i. Soc. e7it. Fr., tome lx., 1891; Bull. Soc. e7it. Fr., 1898.

E. Strand, Nass. ver. Nat., 1906 ; Fau7ta Arctica, 1906 ; Arkiv.

For Zoolog., 1913.

REGENERATION OF WALKING LEGS IN SPIDER CRAB 123

ON REGENERATION OF THE WALKING LEGS
IN THE SPIDER CRAB.

By Michael Perkins, M.A., F.E.S. (Mackinnon Research
Student of the Royal Society).

From the Zoological Laboratory^ Cambridge.

It is a matter of commonplace knowledge that crabs and
other Crustacea can throw off their limbs and regenerate
them afresh, nor is it surprising that this remarkable
phenomenon of “autotomy” should have attracted a vast
deal of research in spite of which there yet remain many
points of interest for investigation. In the crabs or Brachyura
separation of the limb always takes place at a special
“breaking-joint” across the fused basis and ischium which
together form the second basal segment of the leg, and
in other Crustacea the joint between basis and ischium is
made use of in a similar way ; in this plane there is
developed a diaphragm which is traversed by the blood
vessels and nerves, and which by contraction occludes the
former so that no bleeding takes place after throwing off
the limb. In course of time a bud of regenerating tissue
grows out from the scar and becomes differentiated into
the segments of the future limb more or less directly in the
case of the lobster, but by a more complicated process in
crabs and some other Crustacea such as the Isopoda. In
these the new limb grows within the bud, forcing it to expand
until the original scar-tissue constitutes a membranous sac
one or two cells thick enclosing the new limb which
ultimately bursts its prison or more frequently is released
at the next succeeding moult. It is a little surprising that
in the midst of so much accurate work only two observers —
Goodsir and Paul — have pointed out clearly that the
regenerating legs of crabs are folded on themselves three
times within this sac.

In the case of crabs with relatively short and slow-
growing legs, such as the common shore-crab (Carcinus), and
the edible crab or Fa.r tin” (Cancer) y the necessary flexures

124

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

for this folding take place as one would expect at the future
joints of the limbs or else a comparatively short joint, the
carpus, is packed into the apex of the bud in a more or
less transverse position ; but the long and swift-growing legs
of spider crabs necessitate some interesting modifications.

Hyas araneus^ a common crab of northern shores, is
especially suitable for these observations ; being subject

Legs from Hyas araneus^ L. (all females). Viewed from in front, dorsal surface
uppermost. I. Right fourth thoracic. II. L. second th. III. R. fifth th.
IV. L. fourth th. (normal, not regenerating).

Coxa; B Basis ; I. Ischium; M. Merus ; C. Carpus; P. Propus; D. Dactylus,

to the rough life of the intertidal zone it is particularly liable
to autotomy, whilst it is of sufficient size to display very
clearly the manner in which the new limb is folded. In the
course of two tides search at Port Seton specimens were
obtained of every stage. The first peculiarity is that the
terminal three joints (carpus, propus, dactylus) push out
a secondary bud as a diverticulum from the original
enclosing sac, and this separated portion may burst
independently ; secondly, the quick growth of the merus
brings it across and round the apex of the sac so that it
is abruptly flexed upon itself. Thus it happens that the

REGENERATION OF WALKING LEGS IN SPIDER CRAB 125

largest and stoutest segment of the leg is bent double upon
itself during regeneration, appearing at first sight as if the
basal and distal halves had developed side by side by
longitudinal fission of the same mass of tissue.

REFERENCES.

Goodsir, H. D. S. (1845), “The Mode of Reproduction of Lost Parts
in Crustacea,” Article XI L, p. 74, in Goodsir’s Anatomical and
Pathological Observations (Edinburgh, 1845).

Paul, J. H. (1915), “Regeneration of the Legs of Decapod Crustacea
from the preformed Breaking Plane,” Proc. Roy. Soc.^ Edinburgh,
XXXV., p. 78.

Two Species ofColeoptera new to Scotland — Coenoscelis
pallida, Woll., and Apteropeda globosa. 111. — I sometimes do
a little collecting in the Penton district on the north-west borders
of Cumberland, where the River Liddell is the dividing line between
that county and Dumfriesshire. I collect on both sides of the
stream which is a rocky one (limestone) with, on the Scottish side,
a considerable area of woodland with a rank undergrowth of coarse
grasses, wood-sage, woundwort, garlic, bluebell, hemlock, etc. One
afternoon in July I spent some time sweeping among this under-
growth for insects, and among the various beetles brought to light
the most interesting were the two above-named species.

Of C. pallida only one individual was secured. This is a very
small insect, easily overlooked, or passed by as the ubiquitous
Micramhe vini^ Pz. Probably for this reason it appears to be rare
everywhere, most records of its capture being from the south
of England. I have, however, taken it once in Cumberland by
sweeping in a similar sort of locality.

A. glohosa was represented by two specimens. It also is a scarce
species in England, but fairly widely distributed, and it has been
recorded from Ireland. In Cumberland I have found it sparingly
in three separate localities, all woodland ones by the sides of
streams, where it was associated with the Blue Cranesbill. None of
this plant was observed in the Penton locality.

I am informed by Mr Anderson Fergusson that neither of these
insects has been recorded from Scotland, and at his suggestion I send
these notes.

The locality is embraced in the Solway faunal area. — F. H. Day,
F.E.S., Carlisle,

126

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

A Crossbill Influx from Continental Europe. — There is
some evidence that an unusual number of Crossbills have been seen
in various parts of Scotland from the far north to the south, during
the summer. From the places at which some have appeared, it may
be taken for granted that they are natives of Continental Europe,
and that a widespread but not very intense migratory movement
has been taking place across the North Sea. To such periodic
irruptions Crossbills are subject, the last extensive movement having
taken place in Scotland in 1909, though in 1911 and in some
subsequent years occasional individuals or small groups have been
seen. The following notes regarding the presence of Crossbills have
been received by the Editors.

Crossbills in Shetland. — For the past week, ist to 6th July, a
number of Crossbills have been in this district. I enclose the skin
of one, which may be of interest. — W. Laidlaw McDougall,
Sumburgh, Shetland.

[The skin sent was that of an adult female Crossbill of the typical
or Continental race, Loxia c. curvirostra. — Eds.]

Crossbill in North Uist. — The remains of a Crossbill were found
washed up on the shore (north shore of Vallay), and have been sent
to Mr Malloch, Perth, to be made into a skin. This was about
9th July. This Crossbill is smaller and darker in colour than the
Crossbill shot here in 1916. — George Beveridge, Lochmaddy,
N. Uist.

Crossbills in Sutherland. — In a letter describing an ornithological
journey in Sutherland, where the first three weeks of July were spent
in the north-west from Melvich, by Durness and Cape Wrath, to
Rhiconich and Scourie, Mr Arthur B. Gillett of Oxford writes : — “We
were in great luck to come upon some considerable flocks of Crossbills.”
These may have been native birds, but the numbers and the district
suggest that they were more likely to be immigrants.

Crossbills in Inverness-shire. — In the pine woods of Strathspey
the stock of Crossbills is regulated by the amount of food available
in the way of tree seeds. In seasons such as 1925 and 1926, when
the crop of pine cones was a complete failure, these birds almost
vanished. In the spring of 1924 I saw seven nests, but in the past
three nesting periods did not find one, although last March I knew
of two pairs of birds in the district. In the last week of July we had
a big immigration of Crossbills, and they are now common all over
the district. They are now more numerous, as far as my observations
go, than at any period since 1909. In addition to pine and other
tree seeds. Crossbills are fond of the galls of the spruce-gall aphis
{Chermes abietis). They have several times visited a spruce tree

BOOK NOTICES

127

near my house, and have the ground underneath littered With
fragments of galls. Last month I saw a few Crossbills in the
Norwegian forests, but thought that they were rather bolder in build
and brighter in colour than our native-bred specimens. — W. M. (in
Scotsman, 13th August).

Crossbills in Berwickshire. — I wonder if many of your readers
interested in such things have noticed an influx of Crossbills this
summer. We have them in our Lauderdale woods, and several
days lately I heard their musical clinking notes as the birds passed
overhead, and saw others in spruce and fir trees about the house.
Bird-loving friends have remarked their presence elsewhere, and one
wonders if this overflow of what are evidently Continental birds is
general throughout parts of the country where the Crossbill is not
in evidence at other times.

The last visitation of the kind here was in 1911, when they may
have nested in Berwickshire. In 1917, again, we saw them, and
one day had a small flock feeding on rowans close to the house. —
Rev. W. McConachie, Lauder (in letter to Scotsman of 6th August).

BOOK NOTICES

British Wild Fruits and how to Identify Them. By Richard
Morse, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. London: The Epworth Press, March
1927. Pp. 64. Price IS. 6d. net.

In this little book, which can be easily carried in the pocket, may be
found figures and brief descriptions of some 78 plants and their fruits,
forming a useful companion during a country ramble in the late summer
or autumn. The illustrations are on every right-hand page and are
alternately photographic process-blocks and line drawings. They are
all satisfactory, while the descriptive paragraphs (on the left-hand
pages) are concise and accurate. We notice one misprint only, viz.,
the repetition of the word “button the last line of p. 18. The author
may, perhaps, be justified in the veiled optimism shown at the end
of the Preface, where the words “ First edition, March 1927 ’’occur — a
somewhat unusual practice.

Days with the Golden Eagle. By Seton Gordon, in collabora-
tion with his wife. London: Williams & Norgate, Ltd., 1927.
Pp. XX -I- 176. Price 12s. 6d. net.

Mr Seton Gordon has done much to make popular a knowledge of
the birds of the Scottish mountains, and we may be sure that his latest
work will spread more widely an interest in and add to the glamour

128

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

that surrounds the finest of all our native birds. His book makes
interesting reading, largely because of the vividness which comes from
the relating of personal experiences, but he wisely includes many stories
he has learned from stalkers, and his “ highland stories ” and “ traditions ”
of the eagle contain germs of an animal folk-lore which is rare in
Scotland. Apart from these the main portion of the book is devoted
to a very complete account of the life of the Golden Eagle and to the
various regions of country which it frequents.

Mr Gordon is of opinion that the Golden Eagle is in no danger of
extinction in Scotland. That is our own opinion, for we have seen in
a wild part of Scotland the occupation of new eyries. But while the
deer-forest can bear without equanimity the increase, it is a different
story with the grouse-moor and sheep-farm. These aspects of the
activities of the eagle are reasonably discussed, and the weighty opinion
of the Duke of Portland, who writes an informative Introduction, cannot
be ignored : — “ I fear that it cannot truthfully be asserted that eagles
are absolutely harmless with regard to young lambs, grouse, and very
young deer fawns, but I think that the harm alleged to have been done
by them has perhaps been exaggerated.” The greatest danger to the
existence of the eagle comes from a different source — “it is decreasing
in the Central Highlands, but I think that this is owing to egg collectors
rather than to game preservers.”

There are many excellent photographs, that of the hen eagle arriving
at the nest (p. 136) being a wonderful study of the braking action of
wings and tail, and Mr J. C. Harrison contributes a series of pencil-
drawn head-pieces and several plates which, if somewhat highly coloured,
are otherwise accurate and artistic.

Tropical Aquarium Fishes. How to Breed and Rear Them.
By A. E. Hodge, F.Z.S. London: H. F. & G. Witherby,
1927. Pp. 128. Price 7s. 6d. net.

The opening of large aquaria of attractive design in the Zoological
Gardens in London and the Scottish Zoological Park has given a fresh*
stimulus to the home aquarium on a small scale. The cold-water
aquarium tank is an old-established favourite, but few realise the
attraction and possibilities of pleasure which lie in a warmed tank
stocked with tropical fishes of unusual shape and striking colour.
Mr Hodge shows with what simple apparatus such a tank can be set
agoing, for “most of the tropical fishes likely to fall into the hand of
the amateur will thrive and multiply in a tank scarcely large enough
to accommodate a single Goldfish in comfort.” He discusses the
keeping of such fishes from many aspects — feeding, disease, suitable
associated plants, etc. ; and his account of representative tropical fishes
suitable for the small aquarium furnishes abundance of material from
which selection may be made to suit the aquarist’s fancy.

THE NATURALIST

-A Monthly Illustrated Journal of Natural History for the North of England

Edited by T. SHEPPARD, M.Sc., F.G.S., The Museums, Hull, and
T. W . WOODHEAD, Ph.D,, M.Sc., F.L.S., Technical Col., Huddersfield.

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PAQB

Wild Birds Protection . . . . . • 97

A Long Flight — The European Parti-coloured Bat (yVespertilio

murinus) in Scotland — -James Ritchie^ M.A., D.Sc. . . loi

Studies of some Lanarkshire Birds. The Raven — Walter

Stewart . . . . . . .104

Some Abnormal Eggs of Wild Birds — Rev. J. M. William . 108

Black-winged Pratincole at Fair Isle : First Occurrence in

Scotland — Surgeon Rear-Admiral J. H. Stenhouse . iit

A New Scottish Aquarium — T. H. Gillespie {Illustrated) . 112-

The Spider Fauna of the Western Islands of Scotland — W. S.

Bristowe^ B.A.y R.Z.S., {concluded) . . . .117

On Regeneration of the Walking Legs in the Spider Ciab

{Illustrated) — Michael Perkins^ M.A., P.R.S. . . 125.

Notes;

Black Water Vole in Argyllshire— fames Ritchie^ 100 ; Wild Cat
in Dumbartonshire — George Christie^ 1 1 1 ; A Crossbill Influx
from Continental Europe — 126 ; Goldfinches in Midlothian-—

David Hamilton and J. Kirke Nash, 1 16 ; An Adder at Sea —

Rev. D. Maclean, D.D., 100 ; Bonito in Solway — Adam
Birrell, 100 ; Two Species of Coleoptera new to Scotland —

F. H. Day, 125.

Book Notices . . . . . . 127, 12S

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The Scottish Naturalist

A Magazine devoted to Zoology

With which is incorporated

“The Annals of Scottish Natural History”

EDITED BY

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K.eeper ^ l^aturai History Department^ Royal Scottish JVIuseum

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ASSISTED BY

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LEONORA J. RINTOUL, F.Z.S., H.M.B.O.U. ANDERSON FERGUSSON, F.E.S.

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All Articles and Communications intended for publication, and all Books, etc.,,
for notice, should be sent to The Editors, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the Publishers,
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Authors of General Articles will receive 25 Reprints (in covers) of their Contributions
gratis. Additional Copies, in covers, may be had from the Printers, at the ordinary prices
ruling, provided such orders accompany the Manuscript.

EVERY NATURALIST Si^OOLO READ

The following major articles which have appeared in recent
numbers of The Scottish Naturalist : —

Mixed Plumages in a Brood of Hybrid Crows.

Human Transport and Wild Life. (Illustrated.)

The Whale Remains of the Carse of Stirling.

Records of Birds new to Britain.

A Rat Migration.

Abnormal Coloration of Scottish Mountain Hares. (Illustrated.)

Annual Reports on Scottish Ornithology, including Migration. (Illustrated.)
White Wild Geese. (Illustrated.)

The Labrador Falcon — a new British Immigrant. (Illustrated.)

Notes on Fishes from the Clyde Area.

Notes from the Scottish Zoological Park :

The King Penguins. (Illustrated.)

The Great Skua in Shetland.

Some Records of Large Foxes.

On the Decrease of Blackgame in Scotland.

The Destruction of Methil Dock-gates by Marine Organisms. (Illustrated.)
Red Deer in Selkirkshire in Prehistoric Times.

As well as numerous shorter notices of interesting events in the

Wild Life of Scotland.

{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.)

\

M0V2 2'i927 ^

'5^TJONA1u._^

The Scottish Naturalist

No. 167.] 1927 [September-October

MOSQUITOES EN SCOTLAND.

The climate of Scotland is not one of the proud boasts of
the Scottish people: it resembles too much the wine of
which the Frenchman bragged — “the quality of this wine
leaves nothing to be hoped for.” Yet the Scottish climate
has its merits, not the least of which is that its dampness, its
sunlessness, and its coldness have saved us from many of the
pests which make existence a burden in more tropical lands.

We possess a single species of poisonous snake, which is
seldom seen, and the bite of which has never been known
to kill a grown man. Our worst insect pest is perhaps the
insignificant midge, which may make a warm moist day on
the moors of the Highlands one continuous irritation ; but
though it may ruffle the temper, the midge cannot blast
the health. Fondly we had hoped that we had escaped
the terror of those larger blood-suckers, the mosquitoes,
which, the transporters of malaria, carry disease and death
in other climes. Yet the prevalence of malarious ague in
Scotland a century and a half ago gave warning that in
these days mosquitoes must have been common, and it was
one of the mysteries of the ebb and flow of animal life that
in relatively so short a time a common insect should have
disappeared from the country-side.

Now we find that the disappearance was not as com-
plete as had been supposed. Records of the occurrence of
anopheline mosquitoes here and there have been slowly

167 R

130

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

accumulating, and these and many new records have been
brought together by Professor J. H. Ashworth in an account
of “ The Distribution of Anopheline Mosquitoes in Scotland ”
{Proc. Roy. Soc., Edin..^ 1927, vol. xlvii. p. 81). In fifty-two
different localities, ranging from Berwickshire to Sutherland
and from Argyllshire to the east coast, mosquitoes have
been retrieved, and the list, though probably still far from
complete, is sufficient to show that these pests are very
widely distributed throughout Scotland.

From the disease point of view the three species identified
by Professor Ashworth are not equally notorious. The most
important host of benign and malignant tertian malaria is
Anopheles maculipennis^ and this is the rarest of the Scottish
species. Yet there is a single case where, in 1919, in the
heart of Scotland, malaria has been carried, probably from
an infected soldier, to a native who had never been
abroad. But the harmfulness of mosquitoes does not end
with malaria. All three species readily attack man indoors
or out-of-doors, and frequently swelling, inflammation, and
septic sores have been the result. Indeed so notorious has
been the harm to the people in the neighbourhood which
followed the breeding of mosquitoes in neglected, weed-
grown ditches on an estate in the west of Scotland, that it
has been laid down in the Sheriff Court that it is incumbent
upon a proprietor to prevent such a nuisance to health by
keeping his ditches in good order.

It is not at all likely that mosquitoes will again become
in Scotland the plague they must have been in the eighteenth
century, but there is a threat as well as discomfort in their
presence. It is a matter, therefore, of something more
than academic scientific interest that, so far as possible, a
complete record of their occurrence throughout Scotland
should be known, and we appeal to naturalists to forward
to the Royal Scottish Museum for identification, from
any locality, any specimen which they suspect of being a

mosquito. J. R.

^ ^

An English visitor, Mr Arthur Gillett, who made a tour
for bird-study in Sutherland during the summer sends us

EDITORIAL NOTES

131

a letter which contains an observation worthy of further
examination. He says that what interested him most was
a kind of line of division between the west and the east.
Certain birds, such as the Black-headed Gull, were very
common along the east, right up to Melvich, and west of
Tongue he hardly saw one. A similar sort of distribution
applied to Swifts, Swallows, and Martins. Scarcely one of
any of these birds was seen west of Tongue, but they were
at once encountered again at Lairg as the traveller came
east on his return journey. The statement as regards the
west coast applies only as far as Scourie, which was the
southern limit of that portion of the journey, but it would
be interesting to know whether there is a real faunal barrier
between east and west, and to what extent its limitations
apply to other species of animals. Our Scottish naturalists
might well keep this point in view during their northern
wanderings.

^ ^

Excellent scientific work continues to be carried out by
the Scottish Marine Biological Association at Millport, and
the Annual Report for 1926-27, which has just been issued,
bears evidence of the value of continuous and intensive
investigation of an interesting sea area. One of the striking
results, which could only have been reached by regular and
painstaking work, is that the flood of diatom life, of vital
importance to the food supply of fishes, seems to take place
independent of the amount of sunshine in the early part of
the year, contrary to the results obtained at Port Erin in
the Irish Sea and at Plymouth. Mr Orr and Miss Marshall
are to be congratulated on the successful conclusion of
their long-continued plankton observations. Many other
contributions of value are indicated in the list of papers
published as the result of research work at the Station.
The Council notes that the Association has failed, by a
comparatively small amount, to raise the quota of income
from local sources, prescribed in order to obtain an equivalent
grant from the Development Commissioners, and makes
an appeal, worthy of all support, for increased financial
assistance from members and friends.

132

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Melanism in a Mountain Hare. — While shooting on 13th
August on Gilchristland, in the parish of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire,
the keeper who was nearest me raised a pure black Mountain Hare
(^Lepus timidus scoticus). The hare crossed in front of me, but was
unfortunately partially hidden by brackens and so I failed to procure
the specimen. On its emerging from the bracken I had a splendid
view of it, at a distance of 60 or 70 yards. It was about three-
quarters grown, and, as far as I could judge, completely black.
It was most unfortunate that I did not procure the specimen as it
is, I believe, the first case of melanism in Mountain Hares reported
from the south of Scotland. — A. Bryce Duncan, Dumfries.

[The appearance of melanism in the introduced Mountain Hares
of southern Scotland has not previously been noticed. Although
odd examples have occurred in a few districts in northern Scotland,
the only area where melanic specimens have been known to occur
regularly is a limited district on the southern border of Caithness
(See Scot. Nat., 1926, p. ii). — Eds.]

Temerity of an Arctic Tern. — The behaviour of an Arctic
Tern {Sferna paradiscea) at the Loch of Mey, near the north coast
of Caithness, showed a courage and fearlessness unusual even in
this bird, whose boldness when danger threatens its eggs or young
is well known. On the afternoon of nth July there were several
clamorous Terns scattered about the shores of the loch, and one,
hovering above a grassy islet was obviously nesting there. When
I waded out to the islet the Tern’s excitement and clamour increased,
and, although I never actually saw the young birds, I felt sure
that they were concealed somewhere in the lush growth of
marigolds, marsh-cinquefoil and flags. As I walked too and fro
bare-headed, particularly when I was at one spot, the Tern repeatedly
stooped at me with frenzied screams, and presently I felt a sharp
blow on the back of my head. During the next few minutes the
bird stooped again and again with amazing vehemence and spirit,
sometimes rising again steeply without touching me, but more
than twenty times it struck the cloth hat I had put on after the
first blow. The attack was always from behind. The impression
I got was of a smart peck, and although I could not, of course,
see the bird at the moment of impact, I have no doubt that the
blow was delivered with the bill — a Tern's customary mode of attack.

Just before I left the place another Tern appeared and shared
the hostile demonstration of its mate, but it was impossible to tell
whether both, or the first bird only, struck the subsequent blows. —
Chas. Oldham, Berkhamsted.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926

133

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1926.

By Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter.

Introduction.

An important point brought out by a long series of Annual
Reports is that there is no such thing as a standstill in
nature. Things are in a constant state of change, increases
and decreases, extensions and declines, new species coming
and old species becoming extinct. To chronicle these at
the time a wide series of notes is necessary and these are
valuable for future comparison, as well as for showing from
year to year the present events and tendencies. We are
indebted to our recorders for these, and we should like to
thank them for the trouble they have taken and the
systematic way in which they have kept their notes. Since
the last Report was published we have lost two of our valued
recorders, Mr Balfour Kirk, Burntisland, and Mr Macdonald,
Aberdeen. They have sent us notes over a long period of
years and we shall much miss their kind help.

Our best thanks are due in the Northern Group of
localities to : Sim Baigrie, Bressay ; Surgeon Rear-Admiral
J. H. Stenhouse ; George Stout and others. Fair Isle; Jerome
Wilson, Fair Isle. In the Eastern Group to: Major A.
Stables, Elgin; N. Miller Johnston, Montrose, etc.; W. J.
Dewar, Arbroath ; D. G. Hunter, Arbroath ; Lt.-Commander
E. J. Fergusson, Pitlochry ; Lord Scone, Scone Palace ;
Captain A. Wilson, Bridge of Earn ; Patrick Murray, Broughty
Ferry; Henry Boase, Dundee; Professor W. McIntosh,
Nevay; William Berry, Tay field ; W. Urmston, Aberdeen ;
A. Everard and D. Wilson, St Andrews ; Right Hon. Sir John
Gilmour, Montrave; J. H. Gaskell, Balchrystie; D. J. Balfour
Kirk, Burntisland ; A. Harley, Kirkcaldy ; the Lightkeepers,
Bell Rock ; Ian Hay, Edinburgh. In the Western Group to :
George Beveridge, Vallay; John Bain, Hyskeir; Iain Ramsay,
Islay; James McKillop, Islay; James Bartholomew, Glen-
orchard; Thomas Malloch, Johnstone; Samuel Hopkins,
Darvel ; Nicoll Hopkins, John Robertson, Richard Graham,

^34

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

M. Anderson, Robert Wilson, William Rennie, Mrs Graham,
R. G. Ramsay, G. W. McAllister, D. Macdonald, William
Jamieson, D. McKillop, and Mrs K. V. Graham, all of Glasgow ;
T. Thornton Mackeith, Kilmalcolm; Lt. - Commander G.
Hughes-Onslow, Barr; E. Richmond Baton, Hareshawmuir ;
Sim Baigrie, Ailsa Craig. In the Southern Group to: W. T.
Blackwood, Peebles ; T. G. Laidlaw, Halmyre ; A. Farquhar,
Stobo ; J. R. Simpson, Selkirk ; A. J. Rintoul, Ancrum ;
K. Mitchell Innes, Chirnside ; A. A. Falconer, Duns ; Rev. W.
McConachie, Lauder ; H. S. Gladstone, Capenoch ; A. D.
Stewart, New Abbey.

The year 1926 had no outstanding ornithological
happenings. With the exception of some very early
arrivals of both summer and winter visitors, migration
followed a very normal course. One new bird was added
to the Scottish list and there were a fair number of
uncommon visitors. The summer was good and the nesting
season a successful one. There are some good records of
the returns of ringed birds. During 1926 some interesting
ornithological papers appeared, relating to birds in Scotland,
to which we would refer our readers. Of these we might
mention: in the SCOTTISH NATURALIST, Bird Notes on Fair
Isle, Wild White Geese, Bird Notes from Eigg, The Willow-
Tit in Lanarkshire, The Great Skua in Shetland; in British
Birds (Magazine) Some Notes on the Golden Eagle, Notes
on the Courtship of the Tufted Duck and its Distribution
in Scotland, Proportion of Male and Female Duck on the
Tay Estuary, On the Distribution of the Southern and
Northern Guillemots in Great Britain, as well as many short
notes in both Journals.

The following abbreviations have been used in this
Report : —

1. = Scottish Naturalist.

2. = British Birds (Magazine).

(L.) = Lantern.

Bird New to Scotland.

Only one bird was added to the Scottish list in 1926,
namely, the Labrador Falcon, an immature female of which

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 135

appeared on Stroma, in the Pentland Firth, on 25th July.
This Northern Falcon had not previously been recorded
from Europe (i. 1926, 137).

Birds New to Faunal Areas and Uncommon

Visitors.

A good many records come under this heading in 1926,
a large proportion being again from Fair Isle.

A Hawfinch appeared at Fair Isle on 27th April, a
Scarlet Grosbeak was recorded there on 2nd April and
another on 4th November, and Ortolans at the same station
on I2th May and nth November. On 19th October a
Little Bunting visited Fair Isle and Lapp Buntings were
reported from this island, single birds on 27th April, 6th,
13th, and 2 1st September, ist and 27th October and 9th
November, and three on 7th September. A Short-toed
Lark was recorded at Fair Isle on 19th October (i. 1927, 53),
while Wood-Larks frequented this island from 3rd November
to the end of the year, as many as twenty being there at one
time in December. This station sent the only notes of
uncommon Wagtails, one or two Blue-headed Wagtails on
19th April, 30th May, and the first week in June, and a
Grey-headed Wagtail on 6th November.

A Continental Blue Titmouse was secured on Lair Isle
on 20th October, this being the first record of this subspecies
for Shetland and second for Scotland (i. 1926, 168). A
Waxwing was reported from Perth on 20th February
(2. xix. 288), Eversmann’s Warbler visited Fair Isle on 27th
September (i. 1927, 53), while Yellow-browed Warblers
were there from 26th September to 4th October, and on the
Isle of May (three or four) from 26th to 28th September.
Fair Isle recorded a Lanceolated Warbler on 26th September
(i. 1927, 53), and Barred Warblers from 12th to 14th August
(i. 1927, 53), while a Siberian Lesser Whitethroat visited
Hyskeir on 21st October, this being a first record for the
Inner Hebrides and indeed for Western Scotland (i. 1927, 44).
Four or five Black Redstarts were on the Isle of May on
27th September and the species was seen there till 2nd

136

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

October, while single birds were noted at Fair Isle on 15th
October and 3rd November, and near Guardbridge (N. Fife)
on 3rd November.

A Red-spotted Bluethroat was seen from about mid-
August till 7th September in the Royal Observatory
Grounds, Edinburgh (i. 1926, 160), and a Green Woodpecker
was reported as having been seen near Megginch (Perthshire)
in October. A Scops Owl was got on Foula (Shetland) on
loth May (i. 1926, 68), and Hen-Harriers were noted at Barr
(Ayrshire) from i6th January to 8th February, 20th March
to 8th April, and 22nd November to 24th December, while
one at the Isle of May on 6th October was the first record
for the island. An Osprey was recorded from the Isle of
May on 21st May and one at Glenkindie (Aberdeenshire)
on 2nd June {Fields ist July 1926, p. 31).

Two Glossy Ibises occurred on Islay in 1926, and from
early November to 13th December an immature Night
Heron frequented the Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, this being
the third record of the Night Heron in Clyde (i. 1927, 14).
From 19th December 1925 to 20th February 1926 a Bittern
was observed at Charterhall, Berwickshire (i. 1926, 132),
A pair of Garganey were seen on Morton Loch (N. Fife)
from 1 2th May to the end of the month and a Smew drake
at the Isle of May on 30th September. A Red-necked
Grebe frequented Fair Isle from 26th October to ist
November, while one or two Green Sandpipers were on
the island from 7th to 14th August.

A Black-tailed Godwit was reported from Elliot (Forfar-
shire) on i8th and 27th September (i. 1927, 16); a Great
Snipe at the same locality on 13th, i6th, and 20th August
(i. 1927, 95), and one at Fair Isle on 4th October. A
Roseate Tern was seen at Elliot on loth September
(i. 1926, 168), and at this station Little Gulls were present, one
on i6th January, an immature bird on 24th September, and
an adult on 28th September and 15th October (i. 1926, I74)-

Extension of Breeding Range.

Jays are said to be extending their range in Dumfries-
shire, where permitted to do so, and in Kirkcudbright we

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 137

have a record of a pair of Hawfinches having a nest and
young which were, however, destroyed just before they were
able to fly (i. 1927, 95). This is the first record of the
species breeding in Kirkcudbright. The Blackcap is usually
known in South Fife only as a passage migrant, but in
1926 a pair bred at Burntisland, as we were told at the time
by the late Mr Balfour Kirk. A Whitethroat’s nest, the first
recorded for Caithness, was found at Dunbeath on 8th June
(2. XX. 177).

On 4th June we saw a female Pintail and a family of
downy young on a small loch in N. Fife ; this is the first
time this duck has been recorded nesting in N. Fife.
Extensions of breeding range of the Pochard are reported
from Duddingston Loch (i. 1926, 130; and 1927, 61 and 75)
and from Ayrshire and Renfrewshire (i. 1926, 131). Eider,
too, are spreading, and were found nesting for the first time
near the Kyle of Lochalsh (i. 1926, 92). Goosander are
established as breeding birds in Dumfriesshire, two females
with young ones being seen on the River Annan (i. 1926, 140)
and Great Crested Grebes are spreading in Kirkcudbright,
two pairs were found on a loch from which we have no
previous record. It is believed, however, that one pair has
bred there for the last two years.

Fulmars have extended their range to the Islay cliffs,
where they are now nesting, having been seen there for
several years, and Sandwich Terns bred on the Isle of
May, the first time they have been recorded as nesting
there since the days of Jardine.

Increase and Decrease of Scottish Breeding

Birds.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reports
that their Watchers find an increase in numbers of various
species of birds breeding in Shetland. On the Isle of
Noss, Eiders are becoming more plentiful. Gannets are
increasing rapidly and displacing the Guillemots on some
of the ledges, and Fulmars are still increasing. Oyster-

catchers have been becoming more numerous for several
167 s

138

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

years, and this season there is a remarkable increase; in
some places where, formerly, there were half a dozen nests
there are now scores. The largest number of Arctic Terns
which has nested since the Watcher went there is recorded
in 1926, there were also large numbers of Lesser and Greater
Black-backed Gulls, the former much harried by the Great
Skuas, of which twenty pairs nested, the largest number
yet recorded for the island. Arctic Skuas are also more
numerous and are spread out over the island. On Herman-
ness, the breeding birds are increasing, on Yell, Wheatears
are “ certainly more plentiful,” and two nests of Quail are
reported from Bressay. In Orkney the increase of breeding
birds reported in 1925 is well maintained in 1926, while
from Ailsa Craig comes a note of a slight increase in the
number of Puffins.

It is pleasant to record undoubted signs of a considerable
increase in the number of Goldfinches in the south of Scotland.
We have evidence of this over a wide area on the eastern
Border and also in notes sent to us from Dumfriesshire.
Goldcrests are said to be increasing at Duns, Berwickshire,
while at Darvel, Ayrshire, there is an increase of Tree-
Pipits, and at the Morton Lochs, N. Fife and at Loch
Spynie, Moray, unusual numbers of Sedge-Warblers were
seen this year. Whinchats were very plentiful at Halmyre,
Peeblesshire, and Dippers are increasing at New Abbey,
Dumfriesshire.

Duck of various kinds are distinctly on the increase in
Islay, and Mr Ramsay says he thinks this is “ largely to
be attributed to the fact that Gulls on the moors are being
brought within reasonable limits, so that the young of other
birds have a chance of flourishing. Of Teal and Mallard
there are quite a number inland, though on the coast the
Gulls still triumph.” Shoveler are undoubtedly increasing
in Fife, where they are now a common breeding Duck; Red-
shanks are increasing at Halmyre, and Golden Plover and
Curlew in Islay, Woodcocks in Fife, and Moorhens in Fife
and Forfarshire.

There are few notes of decrease in numbers of breeding
birds, which is satisfactory, but one of these, namely that

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 139

of the Tree Sparrows on Fair Isle, which, we are told, have
been extinct as breeding birds for the last two years, is very
distressing. This and the fact that they have also ceased
to breed on the Isle of May make us wonder if they are
decreasing generally as breeding birds, and we should be
specially grateful for observations on this point.

House Sparrows, too, are less plentiful on Fair Isle
(i. 1927, 54). Long-tailed Tits have decreased in numbers
at New Abbey, Dumfriesshire, and at Baledmund, Pitlochry,
and no Chiffchaffs were seen or heard at Bowhill this year.
From Darvel we have notes of a decrease in the number
of Wood - Warblers, Cuckoos, Common Sandpipers and
Corncrakes, and, we are told, Sedge-Warblers have been
remarkably scarce near Capenoch of late years, where Ring-
Ouzels too are “much scarcer than in years gone by.”
Professor McIntosh reports that Swallows have deserted
Nevay Park, and from Halmyre, Peeblesshire, comes a
record of scarcity of Corncrakes.

Summer and Nesting.

The summer of 1926 was dry and warm, and nesting of
many species is recorded. In some places birds were late
in arriving, but these were successful in rearing broods as
the autumn was so fine.

Two pairs of Song-Thrushes, one pair of Golden Plover,
a few Snipe, four pairs of Arctic Skuas and about twelve
pairs of Corncrakes are among the birds which bred on
Fair Isle. The Watchers for the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds, in Orkney and Shetland, send favourable
reports of the nesting of the rarer species under their care.
Other birds, too, were found nesting, for example Quail,
which nested in several places in Shetland (i. 1926, 186).
For information on the breeding birds on Eigg we would
refer our readers to Mr Charles Connel’s interesting paper
(i. 1926, 141). Mr Ramsay sends us some valuable notes
on the birds nesting in Islay, he reports that “Sheld-duck
bred at Laggan Point, which they have not done for years,
and one pair were in Lochindaal, Red-throated Divers have

140

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

bred with us as usual.” He also records unusually large
flocks of Golden Plover at the end of July.

Turning now to records from the mainland of Scotland,
Siskins were recorded as nesting in the neighbourhood of
Pitlochry, and three pairs of Garden-Warblers were found
nesting near Halmyre, Peeblesshire. About a hundred
young House-Martins were reared during the season there,
and this species and Swallows were both about three weeks
late at Logiealmond, but, in many cases, nested on into
September, as did the House - Martins at Errol Park.
Lord Scone tells us he saw a good many House-Martins
about Logiealmond at the end of October and from thirty
to forty at Errol Park early in November. Kingfishers are
reported from various parts and seem to have reared their
young successfully. Great Spotted Woodpeckers nested
within 200 yards of Capenoch House, Dumfriesshire, and
are also recorded from Peeblesshire, while Nightjars nested
commonly in S. Ayrshire. We have notes of Peregrines
from several of their old eyries, and are told that Buzzards
still breed inland in Ayrshire and that there were six
occupied nests in the heronry at Lochloy, Nairnshire, in
1926. Whooper Swans were again reported in summer in
Scotland, and we hope they will be allowed to nest in peace
and become a regular breeding species. Slavonian Grebes
are reported from their old nesting haunts, and the broken
egg of a Greenshank was found on the ground in the south
of Scotland, where these birds bred last year. About forty
pairs of Woodcock nested in the woods round the house at
Balbirnie, S. Fife. In a note made thereon 28th August we
find “ at this time of year they are met with in family parties
in the garden, on the avenues, etc.” A pair of Black
Guillemots spent the summer about the Isle of May, but
we never found a nest nor saw any young, and Capercaillie
bred at Melville, N. Fife.

From Balchrystie, E. Fife, we have notes of activity in
the rookery. On 7th January Rooks were seen bowing to
each other and displaying over their nests in the early
morning; on ist February one was “sitting or standing on
a nest,” and on 4th March they were carrying sticks for

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 141

nests. A Raven’s nest was nearly completed at New
Cumnock (Ayrshire) on 22nd February, and Thrushes and
Blackbirds began to build at Scone in the last week of
February, “ most stopped again in a few days, owing to a
severe cold spell,” but by 14th March many Thrushes’ nests
there were ready for eggs. By the end of the month there
was a Magpie’s nest at Darvel, and Missel Thrushes, Dippers,
Lapwings and Stockdoves all had eggs.

With April came more reports of nesting; a Great
Spotted Woodpecker was heard at Bowhill, Selkirk, on the
4th, but it is believed that it did not remain to nest. On
7th April a Thrush’s nest near Arbroath had four eggs of
a pale greenish blue with a few small rusty spots at the
larger end (i. 1926, 92). During the month came records
of nests of Chaffinches, Teal, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover,
Snipe, Woodcock and Black-headed Gulls, as well as those
already mentioned. On 20th April a Shoveler’s nest with
twelve eggs and one egg of a Pheasant was found on the
Muir of Rossie, and on 23rd a full-fledged young Thrush
was seen at Largo, Fife. On the 25th a fine male Hawfinch
is recorded at Bowhill, and on the same day a Thrush’s nest
was found at Glenorchard in a hole at the foot of a tree.
In the last week of April and the beginning of May Great
Spotted Woodpeckers were seen and heard and three nesting
holes found at New Abbey, Dumfriesshire.

In May there was the usual increase in the number
of nesting notes, the early breeding birds had young, while
the summer visitors had begun to nest. By the middle
of the month Long-tailed Tits at Selkirk had young. Razor-
bills and Guillemots’ eggs were seen on the Isle of May
on the i6th, and Kittiwake’s eggs on the 19th. On i8th May
a Wood-pigeon’s nest with three eggs was found at Scone,
and on the 20th a Wood-Warbler’s nest was found at Oliver,
Tweedsmuir; this bird is said to be scarce in Peeblesshire.
On the 23rd a Merganser’s nest with thirteen eggs was
reported from Kilchattan, Clyde; a pair of Yellow Wagtails
were found breeding in Midlothian ; and on the 25th a
Moorhen’s nest was found, 15 ft. up, in a Douglas fir tree,
at Lahill. The House-Martins nesting at the Grove, Largo,

142

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

are reported to have “ a long spell of building in the afternoon
as well as in the early morning,” they slept in the half-
finished nest. The young hatched on 24th June, flew on
2 1st July, and the second brood flew on iith September.
On 30th May a Dunlin’s nest, with two eggs just hatching,
and another, with four eggs, were found on the merse at
Gullane, while in Ayrshire a pair of Dunlin had hatched
off at an altitude of 1500 ft. by the end of May.

On 5th June a Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen
feeding young at Thirlestane Castle, and during this month
a Dunlin’s nest containing four eggs was found in the
Cairngorms at a height of 3300 ft. (2. xx., 234). A Tree-
Pipit’s nest, with five eggs was reported from Old Wark,
Selkirkshire, on 13th June, while on the 20th a Skylark,
at Glenorchard, “had made a muddy road like a rat’s run”
into her nest, which contained three young. An adult
Snipe was caught on 1st July on a nest with three eggs,
the bird could not fly owing to moult of the primaries. On
the 2nd, on the Caithness coast, the Fulmars had not hatched,
but were sitting on the ledges with their mates beside them.
At Arbroath, on the loth, a Corncrake’s “brood of young
was exposed by hay-cutting,” and a pair of Goldfinches
had two young at Johnstone, Renfrewshire, on the 15th.
On the 20th a Willow-Warbler in Ayrshire had a nest on
the top of a clipped yew hedge about 8 ft. high.

By August most of the nesting was over, but a few
records were sent of belated nests ; on the 4th a Corncrake,
in Ayrshire, was sitting on seven eggs, one being rather
larger than a Robin’s. On the nth a Wood-Pigeon still
had eggs in a nest at Shambellie, Dumfriesshire. On
1 8th August Hawfinches, both old and young, were in the
manse garden at Lauder, and a Long-eared Owl at Hare-
shawmuir had a fresh egg on the 23rd, a very late record.
A half-fledged Lapwing is recorded from Dalwhinnie on
1st September (2. xx., 298), and young Swallows were
in the nest at Glenorchard on 8th September. A Wood-
Pigeon’s nest, with a fresh egg, was found at Hareshawmuir
on the 7th October, while at Scone this species went on
nesting into November. Lastly, we have a note of Rooks
at their nests at Johnstone on the morning of nth December.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 143

Winter.

In the winter of 1925-26 there was a good deal of frost
and snow, and this had considerable effect on the bird-life
in Scotland. Most of the notes of numbers of winter visitors
in January 1926 came from the south and west, to which,
presumably, the birds were driven by the cold in November
and December 1925. Continental Song-Thrushes were
recorded from Bute (i. 1926, 60), a considerable number of
Whooper Swans were noted at Fossil Marsh, Vallay (O.H.),
Glenorchard, and Castle Semple Loch. A record bag of
Woodcock was got in Islay on 21st January, 156 being
shot in one day, and large numbers of Bar-tailed Godwits
visited the Outer Hebrides. Great flocks of Lapwings were
in Fife and Forfar in January and February, and Duck
were reported from many places but nowhere in any
great number.

The winter of 1926-27, on the other hand, was quite
unusually mild and open, and Lapwings stayed in the
centre of the country and in the north more than usual.
There were a very great many immigrant Blackbirds in
East Fife. A great scarcity of Duck was recorded from
the Lake of Menteith. Mallards were said to arrive usually
in large numbers in September, but there was no influx
in 1926. Duck were scarce, too, on the lochs in Fife, this
being probably the effect of the mildness of the winter
farther north.

Ringing.

The returns of ringed birds become more valuable every
year, and there are some of particular interest in 1926.
Several birds have been recovered after a period of years,
for example, a Blackbird ringed as a nestling at Torrance,
near Glasgow, on 14th June 1920 and recovered where
ringed on nth March 1926 (2. xx. 244). A Cormorant
ringed at Castle Loch, Mochrum, on 14th June 1919 and
reported from Cape Santa Maria (Algarve), Portugal, on
19th January 1926 (2. xx. 49), and a Woodcock ringed at
Balmaclellan, Kirkcudbright, in the summer of 1914 and got
again at Moniaive, Dumfriesshire, on 30th November 1926

144

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

(2. XX. 249). There are a good many records of birds
ringed in this country and recovered abroad : thus, a Mallard,
ringed at Leswalt, Wigtownshire, on 6th March 1924, was
recovered at Aurich, Hanover, 25th March 1926 (2. xx. 247),
another ringed at the same place on 5th March 1926 was
recovered at Gotland, Baltic Sea, on 29th October 1926, and
yet another ringed at Leswalt on 12th March 1926 was got
again at Lake Gapern, Alster (Wermland), Sweden, on 12th
August 1926 (2. xxi. 60). A Gannet ringed at the Bass
Rock in July 1926 was recovered at Fecamp, Seine Inferieure,
France, in early November 1926 (2. xxi. 87), and another
ringed at the Bass in August 1926 was got again on 31st
October 1926 at Argenton, Finistere, France (2. xxi. 87),
and a third ringed at Ailsa Craig on 19th July 1924 was
recovered twenty miles north-west of Muckle Flugga, Shet-
land, on 9th June 1926 (2. xx. 248). A Sandwich Tern,
ringed at Tentsmuir, Fife, on 30th June 1923, was got again
at Goulven Bay, Finistere, France, on 20th September 1926
(2. xxi. 89), while a Herring Gull, ringed near Auchmithie,
Forfar, on 30th June 1925 was recovered at Loon-Plage
(Nord, France), on 17th May 1926 (2. xx. 249). A Razorbill,
ringed as a young bird on Handa Island, Sutherland, on
26th June 1926, was reported near Haugesund, Norway, on
2ist September 1926 (2. xxi. 89), and this completes the
list of Scottish birds recovered abroad in 1926.

The usual winter movement to Ireland was shown in
the records of a Starling, a Song-Thrush, a Blackbird, nine
Lapwings, a Greenshank, and a Woodcock, all ringed as
young birds in Scotland and recovered in Ireland in winter.
There are very many returns of birds at or near the place
where ringed, space does not permit of all being enumerated,
but mention must be made of the most outstanding records.
A Starling, ringed as an adult at Broughty Ferry on 21st
January 1926, was caught there again on 12th February,
and again in early May at Montrose where it was nesting
(2. XX. 242). A Pied Wagtail, ringed at Torrance on 29th
May 1923, was recovered at Scotstoun Hill, Glasgow, on
1 2th April 1926 (2. XX. 45). The records of House-Martins
ringed at Glen Esk are very remarkable ; eight of these

• REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 145

birds are recorded as having been ringed there, all were
recovered at or near the place of ringing the year after, none
being more than four miles away, two were found dead in
new nests (2. xx. 246 ; 5. xxi. 58).

We have only been able to notice these records very
briefly, and we would advise all who are interested in this
subject to read Mr H. F. Witherby’s valuable papers in
British BBds (Magazine).

Plumage.

A Jackdaw wdth white feathers in its wings is reported
from Arbroath on 27th August, while a pure white Starling
was seen at Elliot, Forfarshire, in the second and third
weeks of June. A sandy-coloured Sparrow was at Lauder
on 1 8th August, and a pair of Meadow-Pipits at Allershaw,
Lanarkshire, reared a brood which contained two pure white
birds (i. 1926, 189). A buff-coloured Thrush with a white
throat was seen on the island of Coll on 9th November
where it had been for about three weeks (i. 1927, 14).

From Fair Isle we have a note of a cream-coloured
Redwing being on the island from 22nd October to 5th
November, and a Blackbird with white wings was seen there
on i6th November. A beautiful semi-albino Blackbird has
lived in St Andrews throughout the year, “ it has a pure
white head and neck, a white spot on the rump, it is
speckled elsewhere as if the tips of the feathers were black
and the bases greyish-white. The bill yellow but paler than
normal, the legs quite yellow.” On i6th October a “White
Wild Goose” visited the Lake of Menteith, a cream-coloured
Eider was in the sea off Tentsmuir Point (Tay) on 4th
September, while two Coots with white feathers in the wings
were seen on Clatto Loch, Fife, on 23rd July.

Habits, Food, Etc.

Each year seems to bring more to go under this heading ;
it proves that the general public are taking more interest
in the observation of birds, as many of these notes come

from casual observers and not from our regular recorders.

167 T

146

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Several Starlings’ nests on the ground in rotten roots
of trees were found at Glenorchard, and the Curator of the
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, when going through
the rock gardens between 8 and 9 A.M. on 2nd June noticed
two Linnets struggling to free themselves from some plants
of the catchfly {Silene viridiflord)^ the buds of which are
very sticky, almost like bird-lime. He had considerable
difficulty in releasing the birds, their feathers were so badly
stuck to the buds of the Silene. Curiously enough, on the
9th of the same month, a House Sparrow was found firmly
stuck in the melted tar on the road at Largo, Fife. A
Crested Tit at Ardgye (Elgin) was so tame that it fed from
a lady’s hand. The following note came to us from Dumfries-
shire : “In a nesting-box a Blue Tit put a heap of moss
and down ; three days later I looked at it and the jumble
had taken the shape of a nest, quite finished but with no
eggs in it ; three days later I looked again at it and there
were eleven eggs in it. I am absolutely certain there were
no eggs in it on the last occasion when I looked before
there were eleven.” Our correspondent says he never saw
more than one bird at the nest at the same time.

A friend in St Andrews told us that a Missel-Thrush
built a nest in the wisteria on her house and built into
it a small handkerchief which was left on the green to
dry. Some Jackdaws tried to pull the handkerchief out
and disturbed the nest, so the Missel-Thrush transferred
the nest, including the handkerchief, to an adjoining holly
bush. There it laid its eggs and hatched out its young,
after which the owner untwisted her handkerchief and took
it out safely ! On 22nd September “ every Robin ” at Scone
Palace “sang unceasingly from 5.30 P.M. to 7 P.M. I never
heard such song before.” At Whitehall, Chirnside, some
Swallows built a nest just outside the side door, where the
telephone wire runs out ; one morning (about 8th July), after
a very heavy shower, the nest was found washed down on
to the ground and with it the four little Swallows, of which
one was dead. The finder picked up the three living ones,
put them in a round basket and hung it up on the wire,
and in about half an hour the parent birds were feeding

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 147

them and they flew safely. The Swallows reared another
brood in the basket.

At a house near Fintry, Stirlingshire, the Sparrows
took possession of a House-Martin’s nest, but the House-
Martins built in the female Sparrow and she was found
starved to death inside the nest. A House-Martin’s nest
near Largo fell down, and when it was replaced on a tin
the parent House-Martins built it up again and fed the
young all the time. On 6th June an adult Cuckoo was
seen in Peeblesshire, followed by three Meadow-Pipits.
One of the Pipits had a beakful of insects, it hopped in
front of the Cuckoo and attempted to feed it but was
repulsed. This occurred three times, after which the Cuckoo
flew off, followed by the Pipits. Our correspondent adds,
“ It seems an extraordinary instinct that prompts the Pipit
to feed the Cuckoo. 1 have seen three or four Meadow-
Pipits feeding one immature Cuckoo.”

At Halmyre, Peeblesshire, a Kestrel and a Tawny Owl
were flushed from old nests of the Carrion Crow in adjacent
trees, while on i8th May an adult male Sparrowhawk
was killed by striking the telephone wire at the same place.
A curious and interesting instance of Grey Lag -Geese
alighting in trees in a flooded meadow at Tarbolton is
recorded in the Scottish Naturalist (1927, 60), and
a flock of Wild Geese (sp. ?) awakened the people of
Innerleithen early in the morning of nth September. They
hung about for two hours, evidently bewildered by the lamps.
Tufted Duck are recorded as having been shot at flight
at Glenorchard, and a Manx Shearwater was seen in Largo
Bay on 29th April just fluttering through the tops of the
little waves, going upwind — feeding? Young Great Crested
Grebes on Kilconquhar Loch were heard whistling with
a curious shrill note unlike any we have ever heard young
of this bird use.

Mr Ramsay, Islay, sends the following interesting
observations on the habits of Red-throated Divers: “We
were up watching for duck in the beginning of August
when we saw one of the parent Divers coming in and
circling round the Loch. We both of us kept quiet and

148

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

squatted and after a little we saw the young one come
out and call from the reeds, whereupon the parent bird
came down and fed it on the loch with what seemed to be
an eel. It then left and circled up into the air and went
off in the direction of Lochindaal. Shortly after, what we
were certain was the other parent bird, came up and fed
the young one and so they continued to do at intervals of
about fifteen to twenty minutes till we left. They seemed
to be bringing the food to the young one from tho sea — a
distance of over two miles.”

A great many Lapwings at Glenorchard made very late
nests in potato and turnip fields, “ they were mostly destroyed
by the plough, etc. Why they went to the potato and
turnip fields I don’t know, as there were plenty of quiet
grass fields in which they usually nest.” Lord Scone
records nine Redshanks seen late in November running
about on the tarred surface of the road, half a mile north
of Perth. They let the car pass without rising and when
he stopped and went to investigate he found they were so
very tired they were only just able to fly over into the fields.
Black -headed Gulls in Islay ate young Lapwings and
chickens, quartering the ground for the young Lapwings
and refusing to be driven off by the parent birds, and from
Hareshawmuir we have a note of their being twice found
in the act of “picking Plovers’ eggs off the ploughed fields.”
Mr Connell refers to the large amount of corn eaten by
Herring Gulls (i. 1926, 174). A Black-headed Gull’s attack
on a Bat is described in the SCOTTISH NATURALIST (1927,
16), and a curious habit of the Common Snipe in the same
number (p. 23).

On 23rd August in the Firth of Clyde young Herring
Gulls, still squealing after their parents, were seen to have
learnt how to break open shell-fish by carrying them in
the air and dropping them on the shore and rocks. A
Moorhen flew out to sea at Skateraw on 26th July and lit
on the water in spite of a very heavy swell which was
running.

{^To be continued.)

STUDIES OF SOME LANARKSHIRE BIRDS

149

STUDIES OF SOME LANARKSHIRE BIRDS.

The Jackdaw.

By Walter Stewart.

The Jackdaw, like its congener the Rook, has no doubt
existed in Lanarkshire for time immemorial, always famous
as a frequenter of buildings in city, town or village, and as
the tenant of many of our ancient ruins. Yet in spite of
this it figures little in our country folklore or place names.

A remarkable feature in the natural history of this bird
is the gradual change which its status and habits have
undergone, so that to-day in Lanarkshire its habitat has
largely shifted to the wilds. This change has been noticeably
progressive during the past forty years or more, with the
result that the populous Middle and Lower Wards area
now barely contains one-fourth of the county’s Jackdaw
population.

To give an approximate estimate of this population in
Lanarkshire to-day is not such a simple matter as in the
case of the Rook; nevertheless, after careful consideration,
we are persuaded that it amounts to almost three-fourths
of the latter’s numbers, which in the spring of 1922 were
approximately 40,000. Its increase, however, has been
much more rapid than that of the Rook, and if the rate
of increase be maintained for another quarter of a century,
the Jackdaw will most assuredly outstrip that bird in
numbers, a prospect by no means inviting.

No other bird, except the Starling, has shown such
extraordinary adaptability, and in no way do we find this
better exemplified than in its choice of nesting sites.
These we have endeavoured to classify in the following list
into the different nesting colonies, giving order of precedence
to those which we consider of greatest antiquity.

Rocks.

This class of nesting site is probably used by about ten
per cent, of the country’s Jackdaws. No appreciable increase
has been noticeable for some time, probably owing to the

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

150

fact that all available sites are occupied. As we should
expect in so adaptable a bird, the style of nest is always
found to suit the site, the deep fissures being filled up with
huge heaps of sticks, whereas in many of the small holes
only grass and wool are used. Again, in places where ivy
or other creeper overhangs the face of the rocks, we find
an extremely picturesque hanging nest of small dimensions,
supported between the creeper and the rock, the creeper
being parted curtainways to allow access to the nest.

The following are the principal rock colonies: —

Shotts. — At Forrestburn Craig a small one. Several
isolated pairs in other parts of the hills.

Blantyre. — At the Priory a few pairs in the interstices
of the steep rocky bank.

Hamilton, — At Cadzow on the Avon a fairly large colony.

Lesmahagow . — At Craignethan Crags a huge colony.

Lanark. — At Cartland Crags, Mouise Gorge, and Falls
of Clyde very large colonies.

Hollow Trees.

Somewhere about five per cent, is our estimate of the
number using these nesting sites.

Blantyre. — At Blantyre P'arm a small colony ; also a
few pairs at Blantyre Priory, where we found the hollow at
the foot of an old ash tree being shared with a pair of
nesting Stockdoves.

Bothwell. — At Tannochside a small colony.

Old Monkland. — At Douglas Support a small colony.

Hamilton. — At Cadzow Forest is probably to be found
the largest of this class of colony in Scotland. Some of
these giant oaks house quite a little colony in themselves.
Rev. William Patrick, New Statistical Account of Scotland.,
1835, writes: “The Jackdaw, although he in general prefers
old ruins for his breeding place, builds here abundantly in
the holes of the old oaks in Hamilton wood.”

Douglas. — Several pairs in Castle policy. In A few
Rough Notes on Douglas Parish, i860, the author writes:
“Jackdaws are numerous about Douglas Castle, and build
in holes of the aged trees.”

STUDIES OF SOME LANARKSHIRE BIRDS 15 1

Lanark. — A few pairs. At Braxfield Rookery we found
a Jackdaw’s nest on the ground, entirely in the open,
between two root shafts of a sycamore.

Coulter. — Many pairs nest in these old hollow trees.

Ancient Buildings and Ruins.

Jackdaws favouring these places we estimate at about
eight per cent, of the total. Not the least interesting feature
in these colonies is the huge piles of sticks which are used
to fill up the spacious fireplaces and chimneys of these
picturesque ruins.

Bothwell. — At Bothwell Castle ruin is a fairly strong
colony.

Robert Gray, Birds of the West of Scotland, 1871, writes:
“ By far the largest colony of Jackdaws 1 have ever seen.”
At Tannochside House old dovecot is a small colony. At
Carfin House a small colony.

Carnwath. — At Eastshield Tower a small colony.

Covingto7i. — At Covington Tower a fairly large colony.

Liberton. — At Shieldhill in the picturesque old dovecot
a small colony.

Lamington. — At the ancient Tower is a fairly strong
colony.

Crawford. — At Crawford Castle a small colony.

Lesmahagow. — At Craignethan Castle a small colony.

Modern Buildings.

Probably ten per cent, of the Jackdaw population yet
nest in this class of site, the chimney being the principal
place.

Glasgow. — Several small colonies.

Cadder. — At Garnkirk and Chryston a small colony.

Old Monkland. — At Gartsherrie and Coatbridge small
colonies.

New Monkland. — At Airdrie a small colony, numbers
of which make daily raids on the pigeon-nests at the Court
House and Clock Tower.

Hamilton and Motherwell. — Small colonies.

Carmunnock. — At Castlemilk a small colony.

152

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Avondale. — In Strathaven is one of the largest colonies
(chimney) we have yet seen.

Lanark. — At Braxfield House (unoccupied), a small
colony.

Crawford. — At Telfer’s Bridge a small colony.

This is not by any means a complete list of chimney
nesting Jackdaws.

Rabbits’ Burrows.

Forty years ago, in White’s Natural History of Selborne,
we first read of Jackdaws nesting in rabbits’ burrows, and
in the following spring, while spending a few days at
Lamington, had the good fortune to be introduced to one
of these colonies, and participate in an egg-collecting raid
with some local schoolboys. The modus opej^andi was
very similar to that of boys in Gilbert White’s time, a long
stick, into one end of which a nail had been inserted, being
pushed into the burrow, then twisted into the nesting
material, and the nest gently pulled out.

During these forty years this class of Jackdaw colony has
increased rapidly, in fact in many parts of the uplands they
keep using up the supply of nesting sites provided by the
ubiquitous rabbit, till at the present day we should think
quite thirty-five per cent, of the county’s Jackdaws nest
underground. Many of the colonies are very large, indeed
one at Greenhill, Wiston, raided by schoolboys on two
consecutive nights in the spring of 1922, yielded some twelve
hundred eggs.

The principal colonies are at the following places : —

Dunsyre. — On Dunsyre Hill.

Carnwath. — Several in Newbigging district.

Dolphinton^ Walston and Biggar.- — Several small colonies.

Culter. — i\t the Crags, and at Birthwood very large
colonies.

Wandell and Lamington. — Many large colonies on the
hills.

Crawford.— in the eastern division of the parish.

Crawfordjohn. — Colonies now extend some miles west of
the village.

STUDIES OF SOME LANARKSHIRE BIRDS

153

Wiston and Roherton. — Several very large colonies along
the Tinto foot-hills.

CarmichaeL — One or two small colonies. Rev. James
D. W. Gibson, B.D. (“Birds of Carmichael Parish,” yd Scot.
Nat. Hist. ^ iSgy, pp. 201-18), writes: “Abundant; specially
so during winter. Among its nesting haunts may be
numbered some rabbit burrows on the very easy southern
slope of Carmichael Hill.”

Trees.

During the past decade tree-building colonies, especially
in coniferous trees, have made a much more rapid increase
than underground ones, with the result that now probably
thirty per cent, are nesting in rook manner. At all
coniferous rookeries the Jackdaw percentage shows a rapid
increase, indeed one at Newbigging in 1922 had quite fifty
per cent, of its nests owned by Jackdaws.

A marked change in architecture is also taking place, for
whereas thirty-five years ago the large domed nest was the
rule, now it is the exception. Following this style of nest
came a somewhat huge structure of a slightly shallow cup-
shape, but even this style is being superseded, and in recent
years has been followed by a small, slimly built, cup-shaped
structure, almost entirely composed of moss, grass, and wool,
sticks, except for a few small pieces at the foundation, being
dispensed with. This style of nest is usually found in
spruce plantations, often contiguous to underground colonies,
and may have been adopted by Jackdaws forced to leave
their underground sites; or, on the other hand, the supply of
these sites may have given out.

Lanark. — At Cleghorn large numbers nest in and around
the rookery. Some of the very large Scots firs in the policy
are wholly taken over by this species.

Carnwath. — Exceedingly numerous in all the coniferous
plantations.

Liberton. — Several large colonies in fir plantations (small
trees).

Culter. — Now nests in plantations near the Crags.

167 u

154

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Notes on Habits.

A peculiar habit, that of mud-daubing their eggs, which
Jackdaws practise on rare occasions, first came to our notice
in the years 1889 and 1890, at a large (now defunct)
coniferous rookery at Yonderton, Lesmahagow. Within
this rookery many Jackdaws nested, the nests with few
exceptions being of the domed style, the others cup-shaped.
Curiously enough it was in the open nests that we found the
mud-daubed eggs, two nests in 1889 and one in 1890. This
presented to a youthful mind something of a problem, which
we at once solved by ascribing to the owners of the open
nests the rather crude intention of producing in their eggs,
a resemblance to those of their neighbours, the Rooks.

These incidents, almost forgotten, as we had never
again seen mud-daubed eggs, were vividly recalled, when
Dr Wigglesworth wrote {British Birds ^ 4, p. 176), of having, in
May 1908, and again the following May, found mud-daubed
eggs of the Jackdaw in a Scots fir plantation in Cheshire.
Several other cases, also in England, were reported in later
issues of the same Magazine, amongst them one case in
which cow-dung instead of rnud had been used. There is
little doubt that this practice is not recently acquired, indeed
the little evidence we possess, rather points to its being
isolated instances of the survival of an almost forgotten
habit, practised at a time when the Jackdaw’s enemies, such
as Ravens, Hooded and Carrion Crows, were much more
numerous than now.

We previously referred to the gradual change in the
Jackdaw’s status and distribution as a Lanarkshire bird, and
to the fact that little more than 25 per cent, of its numbers
are now to be found in the area which comprises the Lower
and Middle Wards.

Regarding its feeding habits in this area we heard few
complaints from agriculturists or game-preservers, although
gardeners and nurserymen were up in arms against the bird.

Of the sparsely populated Upper Ward we have a different
story to tell ; in fact there is little to choose between the
Jackdaw and the badly-behaved Rook of that area. Added
to this, is its rapid increase, which bodes little good to either
agriculture, game-preserving, or bird-life in general.

STUDIES OF SOME LANARKSHIRE BIRDS

155

In these remote, high-lying districts much grain is
consumed, especially in the late harvests, such as was
experienced in 1923. During September of that year we
often had colonies of Jackdaws under observation, and their
fondness for grain, preferably green and unripe, greatly
astonished us. In justice to this bird, however, we must
credit it with more dainty feeding manners than the Rook.
We did not find it so prone to damage and break the stalks
of grain by trampling them, nor yet to gorge itself with the
whole heads of the grain, and afterwards eject the husks.
Instead we found it adaptive enough to extract the milky
core in the most approved House-sparrow fashion.

When all is said, however, the damage to crops must be
considered infinitesimal, when compared with that inflicted
on the native avifauna ; indeed it is no exaggeration to
assert that three pairs of Jackdaws are as great a pest in
these upland districts as a pair of Carrion Crows.

The habit of hunting and quartering the ground in small
packs of six or eight renders them simply demoniacal, in
fact sitting birds, even so large as the Wild Duck or Grey
Hen, are helpless against their concerted attacks. We have
several times of late witnessed these attacks, and find them
proceed as follows. Immediately a sitting bird is located,
the pack of egg-hunters alights around it. Then one after
another they make a feint at it, until at last in desperation
the bird is goaded into making a rush at her tormenters.
Now is the time to secure the booty, and the eggs are
speedily scattered out of the nest and secured by the
marauders, the sitting bird being quite lucky to be left in
possession of one or two. The nest of the Red Grouse, with
the doughty male bird always in close attendance, proves
a much more difficult crib to crack.

The rapid increase of the Jackdaw in the wild uplands
of Lanarkshire is, no doubt, largely to be attributed to the
presence of hordes of rabbits, a pest which ought to be
drastically thinned out, and all burrows filled in. Both
Rabbit and Jackdaw are incongruities in these districts,
and do not fit into Nature’s scheme of things. For many
years the rabbit stock in these districts has suffered from

156 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

recurring outbreaks of a noxious parasitic scab, and the
fact that it has also broken out in lowland districts of the
county, always on ground beside Jackdaw colonies, points
to something stronger than mere coincidence. There can
be no doubt that many of the burrows which the Jackdaws
take over in the spring are in a badly infected state ; added
to this is the number of dried-up carcasses and skins of rabbits,
which have succumbed to this loathsome disease, everywhere
lying about, and used by this bird as nesting material.

The roosting habits of the Jackdaw are very similar to
those of the Rook, with which they mingle during the winter
months, in the daytime on the feeding grounds and at night
at the winter roost. Immediately Rooks commence to roost
at their respective rookeries in the early nidification days.
Jackdaws also roost at these places, not always at the
rookery nearest to their nesting place, however.

No firmly established habits seem to be adhered to, for
whereas at one colony both birds will remain overnight at
the nest as soon as the first egg is laid, at another both will
retire to some rookery each night until the full clutch is
laid ; while at yet another the female Jackdaw will be found
alone after the eggs have become incubated.

What the conditions may be which govern the Jackdaw’s
choice of a rookery for spring and summer roosting are not
easily determined. Bardykes Rookery (tall beech), distant
about one mile from the famous Bothwell Castle colony,
although established in 1901, was not utilised for roosting
by these Jackdaws until 1906.

In the Middle and Lower Wards area migratory move-
ments of the Jackdaw population are confined to an exodus
of the bulk of immature birds in October, practically all the
adults remaining to pass the winter in company with the
local Rooks. In the Upper Ward, however, where the huge
colonies are only summer residents, as soon as the fields
are cleared of crops, an almost complete exodus of both
adults and young takes place, the percentage remaining to
pass the winter with the Rooks, being very small indeed.
No overseas Jackdaws seem to penetrate wdthin the county’s
boundaries during winter.

SOCIABLE PLOVER — FIRST OCCURRENCE IN SCOTLAND 157

THE SOCIABLE PLOVER— FIRST OCCURRENCE

IN SCOTLAND.

By Patrick H. Mackenzie, Lieut.-Commander, R.N.

On the 3rd November 1926 while walking up Woodcock in
a turnip field in North Ronaldshay, Orkney Isles, I saw a
bird, standing at the edge of the field, which I took to be a
Golden Plover. The sun was almost setting and the light
was bad. Although Woodcock were not scarce in the field,
the bird in question was by itself. Taking it for a Golden
Plover I shot it, and was surprised on looking at it to find
that it was no ordinary bird but one I surmised to be a
Sociable Plover, an identification which was confirmed later
by Dr Ritchie at the Royal Scottish Museum, to which I
sent the bird. Had I known at the time of shooting what
it really was it would probably still have been in the land of
the living.

[The above is the first record of the occurrence of
the Sociable Plover, Chethusia gregaria^ in Scotland. The
example is a female in the plumage of the first winter.
The Sociable Plover breeds in the steppes of Eastern
Europe and Western Asia, wintering in Arabia, Eastern
Africa and onwards to India. It occurs but rarely in
Western Europe, and in England has been seen only on
three occasions in flocks numbering from three to six.
From Ireland there is a single record. The majority of
the visitors to the British Isles have occurred on the
northward spring migration, the only autumn individuals
being an immature bird shot in the autumn of i860 in
Lancashire, the Co. Meath specimen on ist August 1899,
and the present Scottish example. The last is being
mounted for exhibition in the British Bird Hall of the
Royal Scottish Museum. — Eds.]

158

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

NOTES

The Crossbill Influx of 1927 {continued from p. 127). —
Records which have been received in Scotland and in England
indicate that the Crossbill immigration, of which we published several
records in our last number, is one of unusual magnitude. Apart
from the large numbers of records, this fact is emphasised by
our correspondents, one of whom observed that 300 occurred at
one time on Fair Isle, while another estimates that “thousands'’
must have passed through the Ardlui district of Dumbartonshire.
Further records of the appearance and movements of Crossbills
would be welcomed.

Crossbills m Canna, Argyllshire. — In a recent letter Mr Alan
C. Thom, Junior, of Canna, tells me that two Crossbills were
observed on the island at Corrogan on 31st August in a cornfield
that was being cut. This species — examples of which I am
familiar with in Mr Thom’s collection — has visited Canna in
previous years. — J. Kirke Nash, Edinburgh.

Crossbills in Perthshire.- — On 22nd July I saw in a wood on
a slope of Glen Tummel a flock of thirty or so Crossbills, mostly
females and young birds. They were feeding on larch cones and
were very tame. Next day, amongst a few others, I had a good
view of a male in fine plumage. It was feeding a young one. The
birds stayed in the vicinity four or five days. — Douglas G. Hunter,
Arbroath.

Crossbills in Dm?ibarto?ishire. — I wonder if your readers in
other parts have noted the great influx of Crossbills this year ; here,
in Dumbartonshire, it has been a remarkable spectacle and has
continued without intermission since early August till mid-September.
The clinking note has been heard at all times of the day, but
especially at even. The birds are rather darker to the eye than the
full-plumaged Continental species should be, but this may be on
account of the autumn plumage or the predominance of young birds.
The visitation is the first I can remember on Loch Lomondside,
and I am sure never in the last twenty-five years has there been
such an overflow. They are so numerous that they must be of
Continental origin.

They visit our beech trees as well as the larches. It is amusing
to watch their operations with a larch cone, which they eat held
in one claw parrot-like. If a cone is dropped they drop likewise
to the ground and retrieve it. In the midst of a wood, I have

NOTES

159

a small rock garden with built streams and lily pond. On the
surrounding trees the Crossbills have gathered these last few week-
ends and evidently delight to drop on the water surface swallow-like,
only with heavier thud and head more in air and tail down. As
they strike the water with their legs and tail, they bounce to the
side of the pond and rest, and then back to beech tree. The
performance is repeated several times, as if they could not make
out what the water reflection meant. Others come to drink, but
this they do in the little streams of the rock garden and standing
in them.

The birds are very bold and allow approach to within a few
yards.

The number which has passed through the district must run
into thousands. The trek seems to be south in flocks of ten, or
twenty or even fifty. For the last two weeks they have largely
outnumbered any other species. — G. H. Christie, Ardlui.

Crossbills in Dutnbar ton shire. — On 9th September I saw three
Crossbills near the head of Loch Lomond (Dumbartonshire),
one of which was an adult male. Judging by the number of
“worked” cones lying beneath the clump of Scots firs in which
I saw the birds there were probably others about, but I had no
time to investigate. I was surprised to see them feeding on such
apparently unripe cones. I have visited this district for many years
in September and sometimes earlier or later in the year as well,
but have never seen Crossbills there before. I had already seen
numbers in England in July of this year. — Guv Charteris, London.

Crossbills in Sutherland. — The following remarks supplement
the short note which appeared on p. 126 of last issue.

We came across the Crossbills on Mr Pilkington’s estate about
10 miles to the east of Melvich. There were three plantations,
one about a mile from the shore, a second rather nearer, and a third
a mixed plantation of fir and other trees round the house. In
each of these plantations we came upon flocks of Crossbills. Nearly
all the birds were green, some had a little red as though they
might have been young males. I myself did not see any male
entirely red, though I think my nephew said he saw one mostly
red. The biggest flock was in the plantation round the house and
we were able to show these birds to the old gamekeeper who has a
considerable knowledge of birds and who expressed great astonish-
ment at seeing so many and, I understand, so early in the year
(this was on Sunday, loth July). He said he thought they must
have just come across from the Continent. We were both very

i6o

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

much interested in seeing them, as neither of us had seen them
before and their metallic cry was curious. — Arthur B. Gillett,
Oxford.

Crossbills in the Outer Isles. — The following notes record
the presence of Crossbills in the extreme Outer Hebrides. Mr
Manson, gardener at Eishken Lodge, Lewis, reported their occur-
rence amongst the fir trees surrounding the Lodge, as a group of
thirty to forty birds about the beginning of August. These were
identified by Mr Duncan Mackenzie, Stornoway. From Mr
Mackenzie I learned also of another group in the woods of
Stornoway Castle at the same time.

As is well known the Lews is practically destitute of trees. The
two localities mentioned are the best wooded spots in the Outer
Hebrides, and the birds were noted to be feeding upon fir and
larch cones there.

Of even greater interest was their appearance as a small flock
of about thirty on North Rona. This island is about 40 miles
north of the Butt of Lewis without any intervening islands. It is
uninhabited, quite treeless, and apparently bare of the usual food
of the Crossbill. One of our party, however, distinctly made the
observation that the birds were eating the seeds of sea pinks
{Armeria maritima), which are found very extensively in North
Rona. North Rona is very inaccessible except under the most
favourable circumstances. The party consisted of a geologist,
an expert agriculturalist, several visitors, and the sheep farmer with
several assistants. The whole company numbered about twenty men.
Many observations were made regarding rocks, plants and animals
and are being dealt with. It is hoped that these facts regarding
Crossbills will however be of interest to those ornithologists who
have followed the extensive migratory movements of these birds
in Scotland. The date of this expedition was the 29th July when
specimens of a male and female Crossbill were obtained. — J. Wilson
Dougal, Edinburgh.

Crossbills at Fair Isle. — Mr George Stout reports that Crossbills
began to arrive on Fair Isle in the first week of July, and it was
estimated that at one time at least 300 were on the Island.
They had practically all disappeared by the end of the month.

THE NATURALIST

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CONTENTS

PAGE

Mosquitoes in Scotland; and other Editorial Notes . . 129

Report on Scottish Ornithology in 1926 {to be continued) —

Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter . . 133

Studies of Some Lanarkshire Birds. The Jackdaw — -Walter

Ste7vart ....... 149

The Sociable Plover — First ^Occurrence in Scotland — Patrick

H. Mackenzie^ Lieut.-Commander, R.N. . .157

Notes :

Melanism in a Mountain Hare — A. Bryce Duncan^ 132; Temerity
of an Arctic Tern — Chas. Oldha7n^ 132 ; The Crossbill
Influx of 1927 {continued from p. 127), 158; Crossbills in
Canna — J. Kirke Nash ; in Perthshire' — Douglas G.

Hunter \ in Dumbartonshire — G. H. Christie \ in Dum-
bartonshire— Hon. Guy Charteris ; in Sutherland — Arthur
B. Gillett \ in the Outer Isles — J. Wilson Dougal \ at Fair
Isle — George Stout.

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EVERY NATURALIST SHOULD READ

The following major articles which have appeared in recent
numbers of The Scottish Naturalist : —

The Whale Remains of the Carse of Stirling.

Records of Birds new to Britain.

A Rat Migration.

Abnormal Coloration of Scottish Mountain Hares. (Illustrated.)

Annual Reports on Scottish Ornithology, including Migration. (Illustrated.)
White Wild Geese. (Illustrated.)

The Labrador Falcon — a new British Immigrant. (Illustrated.)

Notes on Fishes from the Clyde Area.

Notes from the Scottish Zoological Park :

The King Penguins. (Illustrated.)

The Great Skua in Shetland,

Some Records of Large Foxes.

On the Decrease of Blackgame in Scotland.

The Destruction of Methil Dock-gates by Marine Organisms. (Illustrated.)
Red Deer in Selkirkshire in Prehistoric Times.

Studies of Lanarkshire Birds.

A New Scottish Aquarium. (Illustrated.)

As well as numerous shorter notices of interesting events in the

Wild Life of Scotland.

{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.)

The Scottish Naturalist

No. 1 68.] 1927 [November-December

A REMARKABLE WHALE INVASION.

The newspapers have already drawn attention to the
extraordinary visitation of whales which took place in the
Dornoch Firth about the 19th of October, but it will be
some time before the full scientific value of the occurrence
can be appreciated. We know that the great school of
whales belonged to a species, the False Killer, Pseudorca
crassidens, the remains of which have been found in fossil
condition in the fens of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire,
but living representatives of which, as Mr Hinton put it,
have been sought in vain by science in all the seven seas
for eighty years. Yet the species has been found as far
away as Tasmania, and in the North Sea odd examples
occurred on the coasts of Denmark and Holland in 1862,
and in 1861 a school of about 100 appeared in the Bay
of Kiel.

Till now, however, little has been known about the
False Killer and its habits, and the investigations of Mr
Hinton are certain to add much to our knowledge of the
mysterious visitor. As it is, fresh light has been thrown
upon its habits.

The first reports stated that the school had come to grief
through following a shoal of herring into Dornoch Bay.
But that was a mistake. Other than cuttle-fishes nothing
was found in their stomachs, and that this is a habitual food
was shown by the numerous marks of the suckers of cuttle-
168

X

i62

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

fishes upon the skin of the whales, where the victims had
laid a last frantic hold in the effort to draw away from the
crunching teeth of their captors.

Probably the tragedy began in a frantic chase after
a shoal of cuttle-fishes in the Firth, and the stranding of
one or two individuals in the shore shallows, a treacherous
area on an ebbing tide. It is suggested that the well-known
solicitude of these great mammals for distressed members
of their kind may have completed the misfortune.

The writer was much impressed by such an incident
pictured in the famous Arctic film “Nanook.” A walrus,
one of a considerable herd, had been harpooned close to the
shore by an Eskimo, and at once the other members of the
herd, instead of m.aking for open water, gathered about
their wounded comrade, and one large bull could be distinctly
seen endeavouring to link tusks and drag it away from the
shore to which the natives were hauling it by main force.

A similar regard for one or two distressed individuals
may well have induced the Dornoch whale school to linger
in the neighbourhood until they also found that the tide
had left them without hope of escape. It is a remarkable
and telling fact that on the succeeding flood tide several
members of the school were seen to be afloat and found
their way to deep water with a clear run to the open sea,
but that, instead of escaping, they swam about in the
neighbourhood and indeed made their way up the Firth
till they stranded again.

The description of this incident by the writer in The
Scotsman^ drew very remarkable testimony to the solicitude
of whales from a native of Orkney, Mr Andrew Eunson of
Edinburgh, who in earlier days had engaged in the whale
driving for which the islands used to be famous. So well
established in the minds of the whalers of Orkney was the
tendency of whales to remain in the vicinity of their
grounded companions, that the habit was taken for granted
and determined the distribution of the spoil of a successful
drive. The moment when the first whale was driven ashore,
and not the grounding of the whole school, was the critical
point of the hunt. Thus all boats and persons engaged

EDITORIAL NOTES

163

before the first whale grounded became shareholders with
a stake in the whole school, while boats and persons
engaging in the drive after the first grounding were simply
paid for their labour at the customary rates„

Mr Eunson instances one particular case where, in
July 1891, a school of whales, doubtless Ca’aing or Pilot
Whales, was driven into Inganess Bay on a Saturday. By
twelve o’clock midnight 40 whales had been driven ashore
and killed on Wideford Sands. Religion and material gain
struggled to decide whether the good work of slaughter
should be continued on the Sabbath, but a “ firm belief that
the whales would not leave the vicinity of their slain decided
the matter in favour of Sunday observance, and work was
stopped.” The belief was justified : “ All day on Sunday
the whales roamed Inganess Bay, but did not make for the
open sea.” At twelve o’clock on Sunday night, boats were
launched and the remainder of the school — about 74 — were
driven ashore on Berstane Sands, about two miles from
where their companions lay. It is an instructive story.

J. R.

^ ^ ^

The Transactions of the Galloway Natural History and
Antiquarian Society for 1924-25 is a bulky volume of 288
pages, containing much of local interest. Original articles
on various aspects of Dumfriesshire antiquities dominate
the volume, but it also contains Mr H. S. Gladstone’s “Birds
mentioned in the Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland,
1 1 24-1707,” to which reference has already been made in
these pages, and “ Notes on some Galloway Birds,” by Mr
G. H. Williams. The latter contains two curious records — •
that of the nesting of a species of Tinamou, a South
American bird introduced by a Galloway proprietor in 1920
to inter-breed with his Pheasants ; and that of a prolonged
sojourn, from 6th December 1919 to i6th January 1920, of
a pair of Snowy Owls in a moss in the Stewartry. They
exhibited two peculiarities of habit, quartering the moss in
broad daylight, and hovering after the manner of Kestrels.

164

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

The question of mosquito control has assumed so great
importance that a British Mosquito Control Institute was
erected in 1925 on Hayling Island, Hampshire, under the
directorship of Mr J. F. Marshall. The director has recently
published a useful and fully illustrated handbook on the
“Principles and Practice of Mosquito Control” in response
to enquiries originating in the British Isles and in many
other parts of the world, and short two-day anji three-day
instructional courses in mosquito control work have just been
instituted, the first course commencing in December 1927.

Crossbills in Shetland. — We noticed our first Crossbill while
on the boat on Friday evening the 15th July, when about twenty
miles west of Duncansby Head. There was a strong easterly wind
blowing and the bird fluttered in a hungered condition on to the
rail on the port side of the boat. The peculiar crossed bill was
quite discernible, and the bird would have rested for some time had
not a movement by some passengers caused it to fly off to the
leeward. We again noticed several Crossbills, about six in all, on
Sunday the 17th July, near to Lerwick. They were feeding on
what appeared to be dandelion seeds or roots which abounded on
a field close to the sea. We did not take particular notice of the
birds excepting that in coloration they were of a darkish green
relieved with some lighter and darker feathers. The crossed bill
was quite evident. During the week 17th to 24th July, we noticed
them very often at different places round the shores of the
Shetlands. — John Young and R. L. Brown, Glasgow.

Crossbills in Perthshire. — Mr W. White reported to me that
he had seen a flock of ten Crossbills on Kinnoul Hill, Perth, on
the 30th October. — John Ritchie, Perth.

Velvet Scoter in Lanarkshire. — On the Clyde near
Thankerton, Lanarkshire, I shot a Velvet Scoter Duck (female),
on 29th January 1927, the day after that very violent gale, when
you will remember wind of over 100 miles an hour was recorded in
Glasgow and district. I was actually engaged in stalking some
other duck when the Scoter came flying straight upstream and
passed me at a distance of about 80 yards, when I shot it with
my 8 bore gun. It was against the light and I did not notice
anything unusual about it, except that it was rather dark in the
colour, until I picked it up. — T. Ranken, Edinburgh.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 165

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1926.

By Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter.

{Coficluded from page 148.)

Migration Conditions Month by Month in 1926.

January.

This was an open month with some snow in the third
week. Movement of Lapwings and Golden Plover is
recorded, possibly early returns to inland haunts and
subsequent return to the shores driven down by the snow.
A big arrival of Woodcock in the third week is recorded
from Islay.

Februaiy.

The movements in February were very normal, being
chiefly returns of our partial migrants to their inland breed-
ing places. A very large arrival of Dunlins is recorded at
St Andrews, and there are notes of movements of Skylarks
at lighthouses and other stations throughout the month.
The weather was open and there was a marked absence
of northerly winds ; in the first fortnight winds were mainly
between east and south, and in the second fortnight between
south-east and south-west.

March.

Most of March was mild with moderate winds chiefly
from the west in the first fortnight, northerly in the third
week, and southerly and south-easterly in the last week.
The arrivals of our partial migrants and departure of winter
visitors continued and increased. We have notes of arrivals
of summer visitors and passage migrants in the third week,
several of the former being unusually early. All these
movements were stronger in the last week of the month.

i66

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

April,

During the whole of April the winds were chiefly from
some easterly quarter. There were some very early arrivals
of summer visitors, the immigrations of these strengthening
as the month went on. Winter visitors were leaving and
some passage migration is recorded, and there were a few
uncommon visitors. A marked movement is reported from
Fair Isle from the 26th to the end of the month.

May.

May shows a steady immigration of summer migrants
lessening as the month went on, late winter visitors were
leaving and there was some passage migration, but hardly
any uncommon visitors are recorded. In the first half the
wind was chiefly from some northerly quarter and thereafter
variable and light to end of the month.

During June a few late passage migrants were making
their way through Scotland and one or two Turtle Doves
are recorded.

July.

The weather in July was warm. Throughout the month
we have notes of the return of Gulls and Waders to the
shores after nesting and of movement of our own birds
through the country. During the last week there were
arrivals of overseas Waders and departures of Swifts.

A tigust.

During this month the weather was mainly of a westerly
type, and the movements proceeded normally. In the first
half we have many notes of our Waders leaving their breeding
places and in flocks on the shores, while throughout the
month arrivals of overseas Waders are reported. A small
but steady stream of passage migration is recorded and
departures of summer visitors which intensified as the
month advanced. In the second half some early arrivals
of winter visitors took place and a few uncommon visitors
are recorded.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926

167

September.

The wind during September was chiefly westerly, but
from 25th to 27th there was a short spell from the east.
There was no big rush during the month, there were the
usual departures of summer visitors, while winter visitors
arrived in ever increasing numbers, some of the records
being extremely early. There was a small steady stream
of passage migration and some uncommon visitors reached
our shores.

October.

In October the principal movement was that of winter
visitors and passage migrants ; this was specially marked
on 5th and 6th October and from the 21st to the 26th, both
with an easterly type of weather. There are an unusual
number of Swallows recorded during the month and a fair
number of rarities occurred.

November.

In the first half of November the wind was almost
always in the south-west ; the same type of movement is
recorded as that in October. A number of late summer
visitors still remained and there were arrivals of winter
visitors and passage migrants. In the third week there was
a short easterly spell and a continuance of the movement
which dwindled away in the end of the month.

December.

December, which was an open month, showed little
movement.

NOTES ON THE MOVEMENTS OF BIRDS IN 1926,
ARRANGED UNDER SPECIES.

Raven, Corvus corax corax. — Nine Ravens arrived at Fair Isle
on i8th November.

Hooded Crow, Corvus cor?nx cornix. — Hoodies were noted at
the Bell Rock on 19th March and at Hyskeir on 20th and 27th
April. Movement occurred at the Bell in autumn on i6th August,
2nd September, and 13th October; a big arrival took place at

i68

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Bressay in the first week of September and at Fair Isle on 14th
October, while from loth to i8th November there was a considerable
immigration at Fair Isle.

Rook, Corvus frugilegus frugilegus. — Northward migration of
Rooks was reported from Fair Isle on 9th February and from 19th
to 31st March, and return movement at the same station on 14th
October and from 4th to 22 nd November, hundreds arriving at
sunset on 5th November.

Jackdaw, Coloeus mo7iedula spertnologus. — Two Jackdaws were
recorded from Ailsa Craig on i8th March, many at Bressay during
the first week of September, and several at Fair Isle from 20th
October to i6th November.

Starling, Stur7tus vulgaris vulgaris. — Movement was reported
from the Bell Rock lantern on loth January, 6th and 26th February,
from Hyskeir between 12th and 20th February and nth to i6th
March, a flock at Ailsa Craig on 17th March, and many arrivals at
Fair Isle on 29th March. Big flocks were seen near Largo on 28th
April and 13th May, while on 8th July 150 were at Hyskeir. Two
Starlings visited the Bell lantern on i6th September, and from
5th October to 9th November considerable movements took place at
Hyskeir, the Bell Rock, Isle of May, and Bressay.

Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes coccothraustes.- — Single
birds were noted on 24th January at Selkirk, 25th April at Bowhill
(Selkirkshire), and 27th April at Fair Isle.

Greenfinch, Chloris chloris chloris. — Movements of small
numbers of Greenfinches took place at Fair Isle on 13th and 15th
March, 4th and 6th April, and 19th May, at Ailsa Craig on 17th
March, and the Isle of May on 27th May. Movement was again
noted at Fair Isle from 25th October to 27th November, and Hyskeir
from 23rd to 31st December.

Siskin, Carduelis spmus. — Siskins were reported near Largo on
13th January, at Selkirk on 24th January, Fair Isle on 13th March,
and Selkirk on 5th December.

Twite, Carduelis plavirostris flavirostris. — Movement was noted
at Hyskeir between 14th February and i8th March, at Fair Isle on
22nd March, and Ailsa Craig on 2nd May. There were many
Twites on Fair Isle on 22nd August, and at Bressay during the first
week in September, while from loth October onwards fluctuating
numbers were seen on Hyskeir, and almost all had left Fair Isle
on 8th November,

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 169

Mealy Redpoll, Carduelis linaria linaria. — Single birds were
observed on Fair Isle on 27th March, 19th and 21st May, 24th
September, and 12th October, and six there on 25th November.
On 6th October some Mealy Redpolls were seen at Spittalhaugh,
Peeblesshire.

Linnet, Carduelis cannahina cannahina.- — Small movements
took place at Fair Isle between 27th Febiuary and 26th March, and
again from 26th April to 21st May ; single birds were on the Bell on
nth and 27th April, on Ailsa on 9th May, Isle of May on i6th
May, and two there on 17th May. Two visited Fair Isle on 2nd
September, and fluctuating numbers from 8th to i8th November.

Scarlet Grosbeak, Carpodacus erythrinus eiythrinus. — See
P- 135-

Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs cee/ebs. — A male Chaffinch arrived
on Hyskeir on 20th January and stayed three days, and a female
appeared there on 23rd January. On 14th February a steady stream
of Chaffinches going S.E. was observed at Scone, a few were on
Ailsa Craig on 26th February and i6th March, and movement was
noted at Fair Isle from 24th March to 4th April and 20th April
to 6th May.

The first reappeared at Fair Isle on 24th September, and a lot
of movement was noted from this station, the Bell Rock, Isle of
May, and Hyskeir from ist October to 22nd November.

Br AMBLING, Fringilla montiprmgilla. — Single birds were reported
at Hyskeir on nth and 12th January and 15th and i6th February,
while from i6th March onwards a good deal of movement was
observed. Last seen Hareshawmuir on 27th April, Isle of May (?)
on 23rd May, and Fair Isle (?) on 30th May. First seen in
autumn on Fair Isle on 17th September and Isle of May on 23rd,
while from 24th September to 15th November much movement
took place at these two stations, Bressay, Hyskeir, the Bell Rock,
and mainland localities.

House Sparrow, Passer domes ticus domestiais. — Two appeared
on the Bell Rock on 2nd September.

Tree Sparrow, Passer mo7itanus 7nonta?ius. — Single birds were
seen on Fair Isle on 17th and 29th April and the Isle of May from
24th to 26th May. Seven were at Hyskeir on 15th October and
two near Selkirk on 7th November.

Corn Bunting, E77iberiza calandra cala7idra. — On 14th March
a Corn Bunting was at the Hyskeir lantern and one was on the

168 Y

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

170

Isle of May on 17th May. From 27th October to 26th November
small movements were noted at Fair Isle, many at Bressay on
9th November and a few there on 6th December.

Yellow Bunting, Emberiza citrinella citrinella. — Two were
seen on Ailsa Craig on 26th February and eleven at Fair Isle next
day, and one there on ist April. A considerable passage took
place at Fair Isle from 26th April to 3rd May. Return movement
was recorded at this station between 27th October and 23rd
November.

Ortolan Bunting, Emberiza hortulana. — See p. 135.

Little Bunting, Emberiza pusilla. — See p. 135.

Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus schoeniclus.- — Increases were
noted in Fossil Marsh on 24th January and 14th March, and Reed
Buntings at Fair Isle on 28th March, ist April, and 26th to 28th April.
A decrease was observed at Fossil Marsh on 22nd September, and a
few at Fair Isle off and on from loth October to 13th November.

Lapland Bunting, Calcarius lappo?iicus lapponicus. — See p. 135.

Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax fiivalis. — A Snow Bunting was
at the Bell lantern on 7th February at 3 a.m. and one at Hyskeir on
i8th, 22nd, and 23rd April. First seen in autumn at Fair Isle on
13th September, the Isle of May on 23rd September, and thereafter
to 31st October much movement was reported from these two
stations and Hyskeir, the height of the movement being on 22nd
October.

Short-toed Lark, Cala?idrella brachydactyla brachydactyla. —
See p. 135.

Wood Lark, Lullula arborea arborea. — See p. 135.

Skylark, Alauda arvensis arvensis. — From 2nd to 26th February
a good deal of movement was reported from our southern lanterns
and stations, probably returns of breeding birds. Another spell of
movement took place between 9th and 24th March, but this time
Fair Isle was included in its scope, “innumerable flocks” being
seen there on 13th March and smaller numbers the other
days : these were probably birds returning to Europe. Single birds
visited Hyskeir on 12th April, 2nd and 5th May, and the Isle of
May on 26th and 27th May. Big movements were reported in
autumn between 12th September and 7th October, and again from
2 ist to 27th October, and large immigrations took place at Fair Isle
on 4th and 20th November. Two or three Skylarks were seen
occasionally on Hyskeir in December.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 171

Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis trivialis. — First reported from
Glenorchard on 13th April, Scone on i6th, Halmyre (Peeblesshire)
on 20th, and Kilmun (Argyllshire) on 22nd April. Thereafter we
have many notes of arrivals, and passage migrants were observed
on the Isle of May and Fair Isle up to 24th May. Autumn
movement was recorded on Fair Isle between 19th August and
27th September and from the Isle of May from 23rd September
to 4th October, with a late straggler on Fair Isle on 29th October.

Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis. — Two reached the Bell Rock
on 26th February, and from loth March to i8th April there were
many records of arrivals of Meadow Pipits. Many were on Ailsa
Craig on 2nd May. Autumn movement had begun by 20th
July and continued steadily till 5th October, by which time most
of our Meadow Pipits had left.

Blue-headed Wagtail, Motacilla flava flava. — See p. 135.

Grey-headed Wagtail, Motacilla flava thunhergi. — See p. 135.

Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava rayi. — Was first noted at
Bardowie (Clyde) on 17th April, Bridge of Weir on 21st, and
Hareshawmuir on 24th April; with further arrivals to 9th May.
Last seen Possil Marsh on 4th September, Troon on the 8th, and
Hogganfield Loch on 23rd September.

Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea cinerea. — One at Mallaig on
20th January, and returns were reported from Selkirk on ist March,
Hareshawmuir on 12th March, and Oban on 4th April, while one
was on Fair Isle on 8th May. Autumn movement was reported
from 28th August to 27th October.

White Wagtail, Motacilla alba alba. — Northward passage was
recorded pretty steadily from Fair Isle from 21st March to 19th
May, from west coast stations, chiefly Hyskeir, from 17th April to
22nd May, and from Portobello on 20th April, and the Isle of May
on 17th May. Hyskeir noted autumn passage from 8th July to
28th August, Fair Isle from loth July to nth September, and
east coast stations from 24th July till 2nd October.

Pied Wagtail, Motacilla alba yarrelli. — Returns to breeding
places were recorded from 9th February to 29th March, and a few
off and on at Fair Isle from 26th March to 8th May. Autumn
movement took place between 16th August and 4th October.

The Continental Blue Titmouse, Parus coeruleus c(x.rule^^s.
—See p. 135.

172

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

The British Willow Titmouse, Parus atricapillus kleinschmidti.
— One was reported from Selkirk on 3rd January.

Goldcrest, Pegulus regulus. — A Goldcrest was on Ailsa on
1 6th March. Emigrant Continental Goldcrests (^Regulus regulus
regulus') were reported from Fair Isle from 3rd to 30th April and
an immigration of this race between 24th September and 6th
October from various northern and eastern stations. A British
R. r. a7iglorum was on the Isle of May on 4th and 5th October and
a Goldcrest on Fair Isle on 2nd November.

Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio collurio. — A female was on
the Isle of May on 24th May.

Waxwing, B omby cilia gar r ulus. — Seep. 135.

Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata striata. — First reported
from Duns Castle on 12th May, Netherlee (Clyde) and Glenorchard
on 15th, and Selkirk on i6th May, with further arrivals to the end of
the month. Departures were chronicled from 15th August to 14th
September, and six visited the Isle of May on 2nd October.

Pied Flycatcher, Muscicapa hypoleuca hypoleuca. — Single birds
were observed at Duns on 12th May, near Spottiswood on 13th,
and Newark (Selkirkshire) on 17th May, and a pair near Lauder on
3rd June. The only autumn record came from Fair Isle on 12th
September.

Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita collybita.—AxYVVdiis were noted
at Rouken Glen on 2nd and 4th April, Helensburgh on i ith April?
and Duns on i8th May, while on 4th October a bird of this race
was got on Fair Isle.

Scandinavian Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita abietinus. — A
bird of this subspecies occurred on the Isle of May on 27th
September, and single birds, probably this form, visited Fair Isle on
1 2th May, 30th and 31st October.

Willow Warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus.- — Early arrivals
took place at Oban on 4th and Johnstone on 8th April, while from
loth April to mid-May many immigrants were noted. Birds on
Fair Isle, Ailsa Craig, and the Isle of May up to the end of May
were doubtless passage migrants, and some 7nay have been P. t.
eversjtianni. By 7th July drift through the country was apparent,
many departures took place in August and early September, and
the last mainland record came from Lauder on 27th September.
Passage migrants in small numbers were seen on Fair Isle fairly
often from 7th August to i8th September, single birds (subsp.f?)

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 173

on Hyskeir on 4th and 5th October, and at Fair Isle on i6th and
30th October and 22nd and 23rd November.

Wood Warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix sibilatrix. — Arrivals
were recorded from Garnkirk on 25th April, Aitkenhead (Glasgow)
on 5th May, Helensburgh on 6th May, and Selkirk on 8th May.
Passage migrants visited Fair Isle on 26th, 27th, and 30th April.

Eversmann’s Warbler, Phylloscopus borealis borealis. — See
P. 135-

Yellow-browed Warbler, Phylloscoptis humeiprcemhwi. — -See
P- 135-

Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella 7icema 7icevia. — Was reported
from Helensburgh on 3rd May.

Lanceolated Warbler, Locustella la?iceolata. — See p. 135.

Sedge - Warbler, Acrocephalus scheEnobcenus. — Arrivals were
recorded at Summerston on 2nd May, various other localities in
Clyde on 5th May, and to mid-May in other parts of Scotland.
Sedge-Warblers on Fair Isle and the Isle of May from 15th to 30th
May were probably passage migrants. Movement was observed at
Fossil Marsh on 15th August, last seen there 4th September and
Thrieply on 8th September.

Barred Warbler, Sylvia nisoria nisoria. — See p. 135.

Garden Warbler, Sylvia borm.- — First reported from Duns on
13th April, a very early record, near Colinsburgh (Fife) on 8th May,
Selkirk on 9th, Johnstone and Rouken Glen on nth May, with
further arrivals to i8th May. One or two were seen on the Isle of
May from 20th to 25th May, and one at Fair Isle on 22nd June,
13th August, and 24th September. Three were on the Isle of May
on 27th September and one at Flyskeir (L) early on 5th October.

Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla atricapilla. — Recorded from Duns
on 12th May, and one was at Fair Isle on 30th May. Single birds
were at the Bell Rock on 2nd and 9th September, Fair Isle on
27th September (cJ), 13th and 30th October, and 22 nd November
( $ ), Isle of May on 5th October ( d ), and at Bowhill, Selkirk-
shire, a female was seen on 15th November and found dead on
17th December.

Whitethroat, Sylvia coni7nunis conwimiis. — One was noted on
1 6th April at Fair Isle, and one or two passage migrants there on
26th and 30th April. Arrivals were recorded at Fairlie (Ayrshire)
Oil 20th April, Garelochhead on 3rd May, and Lauder on 5th May,

174

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

with further immigration to 17th May. Whitethroats at the Isle of
May from i6th to 27th May were probably passage migrants, as
was one at Fair Isle on 15th June. Autumn movement was
apparent by i8th July, last seen Invergowrie on 12th September
and Lauderdale on 22nd September. Passage migrants were on
Fair Isle on 23rd and 24th August and 7th September, and
a Whitethroat on the Isle of May from 29th September to
3rd October.

Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca curruca. — Passage
migrants visited Fair Isle on 26th, 27th, 29th, and 30th April,
1 6th and 29th May, and the Isle of May on 22nd May. In
autumn records came from Fair Isle on 8th, 20th, 22nd, and
23rd August and 5th September, and the Isle of May on 29th
September.

Siberian Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca affinis. —
See p. 135.

Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris. — Throughout March, April, and
the first week of May steady movement of Fieldfares was noted.
Last seen Fair Isle on loth May, Glenorchard on 14th, Hareshaw-
muir on 22nd, and Isle of May on 26th May. Extraordinarily early
returns were reported : viz., a Fieldfare on Fair Isle on 5th August,
one there ist and loth Seprember, and five at Ballater on ist
September. A big movement began on 5th October and many
arrivals took place up to 20th November. About Christmas a few
visited Fair Isle.

Mistle Thrush, Turdus vis civorus viscivorus. — Was “moving”
at Dalwhinnie on 23rd August and Selkirk on loth October and
one visited the Isle of May on 24th September.

Continental Song Thrush, Turdus philomelus philomelus. —
Movement of this race was reported at Hareshawmuir on 6th March,
Hyskeir on 14th and i6th March, and Fair Isle between 6th March
and 4th May. On 25th September immigration of this race began
and lasted till ist November; this was noted at Bressay, Fair Isle,
Isle of May, Hyskeir and Hareshawmuir, and stragglers were seen
at most of these stations in November and December. The periods
of greatest arrival were 6th October, 22nd to 24th October, and
31st October.

British Song Thrush, Turdus philomelus clarkei. — Local
movements of this subspecies were recorded in East Fife on
8th January and Mallaig on 20th January and returns to inland
breeding places during February. “Moving” at Dalwhinnie on

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926

175

24th August, one was got on Fair Isle on 13th September, and
some were passing the Isle of May between 21st and 27th
September, and all had left Lahill by 15th October.

Redwing, Turdus musicus. — One or two were at the Bell Rock
(L) on loth January and 7th February, last seen at Lahill on
25th March. Autumn immigration began on 24th September and
continued steadily up to 22nd November, the largest arrivals being
from 5th to 8th October, 22nd and 31st October, and 4th November.
There was a “big arrival” at Lahill on nth December and a few
at Fair Isle about Christmas.

Ring Ouzel, Turdus torquatus torquatus. — Seen at Fair Isle
on 26th, 28th, and 30th April. One at the Bell Rock on 24th
September and a movement from 3rd to 6th October at Fair Isle,
Hyskeir, North Berwick, and the Isle of May. On 8th October one
was seen in Moffatdale, and Ring Ouzels on the Lammermuirs on
1 2th October.

Blackbird, Turdus 77ierula TTierula. — ^Reported from the Bell
lantern on loth January and 6th February. From 4th to 25th
March distinct movement was recorded from Fair Isle, Hyskeir, and
Lahill, and a few on Fair Isle on 26th April. Blackbirds were
“moving” at Dalwhinnie on 29th August and small numbers were
on the Bell Rock on 9th and 24th September. A big movement
took place between 3rd October and 20th November and was
recorded by many stations, the main arrivals being on 5th and
6th October, 22nd and 31st October, and 4th November.

Wheatear, CE7ia7ithe oe7ia7ithe (E7ta7ithe. — First reported from
Ailsa Craig on 20th March, Hareshawmuir on 24th, and Kilmacolm
on 28th March. After this arrivals continued throughout April and
up to mid-May. Wheatears were on the move by 21st July and
this continued through August and September; last seen Isle of May
on 5th October, Elliot (Forfarshire) on 8th, Hyskeir on 13th, and
Isle of May on i6th October.

Greenland W heatear, OEfiaTithe ce7ia7ithe leucorrhoa. —
Passage was recorded from the Isle of May and Hyskeir between
5th and 27th May. On loth August some were seen on the links
at Burntisland, and passage was noted between 21st September and
1 6th October at Isle of May, Fair Isle, Hyskeir, and Musselburgh.

Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra rubetra. — First reported at Darvel
on 26th April, Glasgow on 5th May, Halmyre (Peeblesshire) next
day, and Hareshawmuir on 7th May. Passage continued on the
Isle of May up to 24th May. Movement through the country

176

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

was apparent by 20th July and many notes came from mid- August
to mid-September. Last seen Fossil Marsh on 26th September,
Galston and Fair Isle next day.

British Stonechat, Saxicola torquata hibernans. — Stonechats,
probably this race, were reported from Fair Isle on 26th February,
Hyskeir from i6th March at intervals to 12th April, Ailsa Craig on
i8th March, 28th April, and 2nd May, and again from Hyskeir on
6th October.

Redstart, Pho’nicuriis phoenicurus phoenicurus. — Arrived at
Loch Goil on 20th April, Rutherglen on 9th May, and Duns on
1 8th May. A few were passing Fair Isle from 26th to 30th April
and the Isle of May from 21st to 25th May. Autumn drift was
showing by i6th July and there were a good many notes of
movement up to 22nd September: last seen Isle of May on
6th October and Fair Isle on iith November.

Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochrurus gibraltariensis. — See
P- 135-

Norwegian Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica gcetkei. — See p. 136.

Continental Robin, Erithacus rubecula rubecula. — A Robin
was at Fair Isle on 26th February, one at Hyskeir from 14th to
17th March, and a few at Fair Isle from 19th April to 4th May.
Return movement was noted at Fair Isle from 28th September to
23rd November, and a few appeared there about 25th December
and stayed till the end of the year. A Robin at Hyskeir on 4th
and 5th October may have been of this race, and a Continental
Robin was at Lahill on 12th October.

British Robin, Erithacus rubecula melophilus. — Two were on
the Isle of May on 27th September.

Hedge-Sparrow, Prunella modularis. — One or two Hedge-
Sparrows were on Fair Isle from 19th to 29th April and again on
7th and 8th October, these probably being of the Continental race.
From 2ist September to 4th October one or two were on the Isle
of May and one at Hyskeir on 15th October: we cannot assign
these to a subspecies.

Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes troglodytes, — One was noted on
Hyskeir on 5th January, 6th and 7th May, one on the Isle of May
from 29th September to ist October. Seventeen were on Hyskeir
on 5th October, nine or ten on 6th and 15th October, and one
on 25th October, and one on the Bell Rock on 14th October.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 177

Swallow, Hirundo rustica rtistica. — Very early records came
from River Ettrick on 4th April, Buchlyvie (Stirlingshire) next day.
New Galloway on 8th and Pot Loch (Selkirk) (20) on loth April.
After this there were many notes of arrival up to the end of April.
In May, up to the 28th, Swallows were passing Fair Isle, Hyskeir,
and the Isle of May. By mid-August departures were beginning
and there were constant notes of autumn movement throughout
September and up to 24th October. Last seen Aberlady (8) on
28th October, Errol on ist November, Burnmouth (3) on 9th and
Lundin Links (Fife) on 17th November.

House-Martin, Delichoji urbica urbica. — First reported from
Hareshawmuir on nth April, Kilmacolm on i8th and Possil Marsh
on 20th April. After this many arrivals were recorded up to mid-
May, and passage was observed on Fair Isle and the Isle of May
from 20th to 28th May. By 16th August autumn movement was
apparent, and continued during September and the first half of
October. Last seen Largo on 22nd October, Earlston, Berwick-
shire, on 26th October, and Errol, Perthshire, on 14th November.

Sand-Martin, Riparia riparia riparia. — First reported from
Gullane, Summerston, Possil Marsh, and Elvanfoot on 5th April,
River Yarrow next day. River Gryfe, Renfrewshire, and River
Teviot on 7th April. Thereafter arrivals were noted to 2nd May.
Passage took place at Fair Isle, Isle of May, and Hyskeir between
28th April and 26th May. On i8th August hundreds, “like bees
over the water up and down stream,” were seen at Walkinshaw
(Clyde). Last seen Possil Marsh on 4th September, Bridge of
Weir on the 5th, Thrieply, Forfarshire, on the 8th, and near Largo
on 12th September.

Swift, Apus apus apus. — First noted at St Boswells on 30th
April, Loch Goil on 1st May, Capenoch on 3rd and Selkirk on
4th May, with further arrivals to the middle of the month. Passed
the Isle of May on 21st and 25th May and Fair Isle on iith and
22nd June. Records of departure came throughout August, last
seen Arbroath on 4th September, Fair Isle on 5th and Perth on
13th September, and a very belated bird at Trinity, Edinburgh, on
13th November.

Nightjar, Caprimiilgus europceus europcBus. — An adult male
was found dead at Twatt, Birsay, Orkney on 20th May, and another
at Sanday, Orkney, on 15th June (i. 1926, 132). Nightjars were
noted at Kilmun (Argyllshire) on 31st May.

168

z

178

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Green Woodpecker, Ficus viridis virescens. — See p. 136.

Cuckoo, Cuculus cmiorus canorus. — First observed at Capenoch
on 14th April, Darvel on the 23rd, Helensburgh on the 25th, and
Halmyre and Hareshawmuir on 26th April, Thereafter arrivals
took place to mid-May; one was on the Isle of May on 21st May
and one on Fair Isle on nth June. Last seen, all young birds,
at Colinsburgh on 19th August, Balcomie (E. Fife) on 26th August,
and the Isle of May on 25th September.

Long-eared Owl, Asio otus otus. — One was on Fair Isle on
7th August and two on 12th November.

Short-eared Owl, Asio flamnieus flatfimeus. — A Short-eared
Owl was reported from Fair Isle on 20th March, 30th August, and
nth to 22nd November.

Scops Owl, Otus scops scops. — See p. 136.

Labrador Falcon, Falco rusticolus ohsoletus. — See p. 134.

Merlin, Falco columbarius ccsalofi. — Single birds were noted at
Hyskeir on i6th and 17th March, Vallay (O.H.) on 13th April, and
Fair Isle on 13th May. From 3rd September to 5th November
movement was reported from Fair Isle, Isle of May, Bell Rock,
Hyskeir, and mainland stations. At the Bell Rock a Merlin was
at the lantern all night on 4/5th October, killing and eating small
birds.

Kestrel, Falco tinnu7iculus tinnmuulus. — Passage was recorded
at Fair Isle between 22nd March and 26th April, and again between
22nd August and 17th November, while the Isle of May reported
Kestrels from 26th September to 6th October.

Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetus chrysa'etus. — One was noted
in South Ayrshire in spring and summer.

Rough-legged Buzzard, Buteo lagopus lagopus. — Two or three
were seen frequently between i6th September and 6th October in
Sutherland (i. 1926, 188), and two or three at Fair Isle from 14th to
22nd October, 5th and 6th November.

Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo buteo. — One passed the Isle of
May on 19th May.

Hen Harrier, Circus cyaiteus cyaueus. — See p. 136.

Sparrow Hawk, Accipiter nisus nisus. — One visited the Isle of
May on 6th October.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 179

Osprey, Pandion haliatus halicBtus. — See p. 136.

Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus falcinellus. — See p. 136.

Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax. — See p. 136.

Bittern, Botaurus stellaris stellaris. — See p. 136.

Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus. — There were a good many
notes of Whoopers up to mid-March; last seen Fossil Marsh on
i8th March, Fair Isle on 22nd, Loch Shalloch on 23rd March,
and at the mouth of the Tay about mid-April. First noted
in autumn at Fair Isle on 8th October, Castle Semple Loch on
22nd October, and Carsebreck (Perthshire) on 6th November.

Bewick’s Swan, Cygnus hewickii bewickii. — Six were at Fossil
Marsh on 31st January; last seen Bishop Loch (Clyde) on 31st
March. One was found dead in the sea at Aberlady (i. 1926, 178)
and eight were on Bishop Loch on 20th October, and six at
Summerston on 12th December.

Grey-Lag Goose, Anser anser. — Movements of Grey-Lags were
noted in the Outer Hebrides in March, and on 30th November
fifteen were on Castle Semple Loch (i. 1927, 23). Big movements
of “Grey Geese” were reported from i8th March to 30th April,
and on 15th May forty-five “Grey Geese” went north over the
Ochils. From nth September to 21st October many arrivals
were recorded.

White-fronted Goose, Anser albifrons. — Thirty went south
at Vallay (O.H.) on nth September, and movement was noted
there from 8th to 14th December.

Bean-Goose, Anser fabalis fabalis. — Thirty were reported on
28th February and fifty on 20th March, also an arrival on 7th
October, all at Hareshawmuir.

Pink-footed Goose, Anser brachyrhynchus. — Recorded at
Pollock Park (Renfrewshire) on 14th February, and one was shot in
Peeblesshire on 4th March. By loth September three were seen
in the Tay.

Barnacle-Goose, Branta leucopsis. — Northward movement was
reported during March; last seen Vallay (O.H.) 20th April and
Hyskeir on 27th April. On 15th October eight were seen on the
Treshnish Islands, and next day arrivals took place at Hyskeir
and Vallay.

Brent-Goose, Branta bernicla bernicla. — Six were observed at
Fairlie Shore, Ayr, on 6th January and one at Fair Isle on 3rd
and 4th September.

i8o

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Mallard, Anas platyrhyncha platyrhyncha. — Movement was
noted in February and March, and by 8th April the big winter
flock in Largo Bay had quite broken up, only one pair being left.
From 24th September to the end of November much movement
was reported, the biggest numbers being between 3rd and 5th
November.

Teal, Anas crecca crecca. — Flocks were noted at Vallay on
25th February and Hareshawmuir on 28th February, and two Teal
at Fair Isle on 26th May. From 19th August to 4th November
a good deal of movement, mostly of small numbers, of Teal was
reported, but there were many at Glenorchard on 8th November
and at Castle Semple Loch on 30th November (i. 1927, 23).

Garganey, Anas querquedula.—^&Q p. 136.

WiGEON, Anas penelope. — A good deal of movement was noted
from the end of February to the end of March, and again from
14th August to the end of November.

Pintail, Anas aaita acuta.— K pair was on Fair Isle on 2nd
April and two at Glenorchard on 8th April. Single birds were
noted on Fair Isle on 6th October and Hyskeir on 21st October
and a few on River Eden (N. Fife) on 3rd and nth November.

Shoveler, Spatula clypeata. — Two drakes were on Fossil
Marsh on 21st March and a pair at Hareshawmiuir on nth April.
On Gad Loch (Clyde) and Morton Loch (N. Fife) on 6th October,
Lochwinnoch on 12th October, and three drakes on Possil Marsh
on 26th December.

Pochard, Nyroca fe7'ina ferina. — Six arrived on Possil Marsh
on 2 1 St February, three were on Coodham Loch (Ayrshire) on
2ist March, and ten on Knapps Loch (Renfrewshire) on 28th
March. On 17th August four were on Castle Semple Loch, one
arrived at Duns Castle Loch on 19th September but left shortly,
and arrivals took place at Knapps Loch on 15th October.

Tufted Duck, Nyroca fuligula. — About twenty were on Possil
Marsh on 21st February, nine on Knapps Loch on 28th March,
one on the Gilston Pond (Fife) on 21st April; the last drake left
Duns Castle Loch on 2nd May and one visited Fair Isle on
1 2th May. Tufted Duck returned to Knapps Loch on 15th October,
and arrivals took place on Duns Castle Loch between 28th
November and 12th December.

Scaup, Nyroca marila 77iarila. — There was a great flock of
Scaup at St Andrews on 22nd January and five were on Possil

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 181

Marsh on 7th March. One visited Fair Isle on 21st October and
3rd November, and some were on River Eden (N. Fife) on 3rd
November.

Goldeneye, Bucephala cla7igiila dangtda. — Last seen Coodham
Loch (Ayrshire) on 21st March. Arrivals were reported at Duns
Castle Loch on 23rd October, Tay Estuary on 27th October, and
Fair Isle on 3rd November.

Long-tailed Duck, Clmigula hyemalis. — Last seen Balcomie
(E. Fife) on 6th April and Vallay (O.H.) on i8th April. Returned
to the Isle of May on 30th September and Fair Isle on 12th
October.

Black Scoter, Oidemia nigra nigra. — A female was on Castle
Loch, Mochrum, on 27th May.

Goosander, Mergus merganser jnerga^iser. — One or two were
seen at Barr (Ayrshire) on 14th and 27th January and at Giffnock
quarries (Renfrewshire) on 3rd February, while sixteen were on
Balgray Dam on i8th March and seven on Morton Loch (N. Fife)
on TSt September.

Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator. — Movement was
recorded during March and April. By nth September about fifty
had returned to Lunan Bay (Forfarshire), and further movement was
noted up to 24th November.

Smew, Mergus albellus. — See p. 136.

Gannet, Sula bassana. — Some Gannets were about Ailsa Craig
on 26th January, one or two adults in Largo Bay on 14th March,
and two in the Holy Loch (Clyde) on 22nd March.

Storm Petrel, Hydrobates pelagicus. — One was at the Isle of
May lantern on 9th August.

Leach’s Fork - tailed Petrel, Oceaitodronia leucorrhoa
leucorrhoa. — One was found dead near Annan (Dumfriesshire) on
15th September (i. 1927, 44).

Manx Shearwater, Puppinus pu-ffi777is pujflnus. — About fifty
were off Ardnamurchan on 26th March, one struck the Hyskeir
lantern on loth April, and there were two very large flocks off
Kinghorn and isolated birds elsewhere in the Firth of Forth on
28th May. Thirty- five were seen off the Isle of May on 23rd
September, while on 29th September there were twenty there and
seven in the Sound of Mull.

i82

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis glacialis. — On nth November one
was found in a field near St Andrews.

Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus cristatus. — Had
returned to Thrieply by 28th February and one was on Castle
Semple Loch on 17th August. At Johnstone on 8th October and
back on the Tay Estuary on 21st October.

Slavonian Grebe, Podiceps auritus. — Single birds were reported
from the Isle of May on 4th October and Fair Isle on i6th and
17th November and 7th December.

Red-necked Grebe, Podiceps griseigena griseigefia. — See p. 136.

Black-throated Diver, Colymbus arcticus arcticus. — One was
on River Eden near Cupar on 15th January and one was seen at
Hyskeir on 5th June, while two were in Lunan Bay on iith
September.

Red-throated Diver, Colymbus stellatus. — Last seen Balcomie
(E. Fife) on 6th April, two were on the Gryffe Reservoir on 6th
June, and several in Lunan Bay on iith September.

Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus palumbus. — Large flocks were
seen about Largo up to 8th May, single birds visited the Isle of
May on 23rd and 27th May and Fair Isle on 4th June, and two
were on Fair Isle on 15th June. In autumn one or two visited the
Isle of May on 28th September and 6th October and Fair Isle on
20th November, while there were big arrivals in East Fife on
nth December.

Stock-Dove, Columba oenas. — Had returned to its nesting site
at Hareshawmuir by 13th March. Flocks of Stock-Doves were
reported at Abernethy (Fife) on 7th August, Ged Loch (Clyde)
on 24th September, and Maybole on 24th December. Single birds
occurred at Fossil Marsh on 29th September and Fair Isle on
3rd November.

Turtle-Dove, Streptopelia turtur turtur. — One was on Fair
Isle on 25th May and two on 30th, and during June about half a
dozen visited this island. Single birds were reported at Auchenbrae
(Dumfriesshire) on 15th June, Cockburnspath on 20th June, Fair
Isle on Iith September, and Vallay (O.H.) on 6th October.

Oystercatcher, Hcematopus ostralegus ostralegus. — Large flocks
were recorded at Fairlie (Ayrshire) on 12th January and “thousands”
at St Andrews on 2nd February, while on 22nd February great
numbers were on the shore at Burntisland. Returns to inland

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 183

breeding grounds were noted to 14th April, but as late as 7th May
there was a big flock in Largo Bay, and by 12th August great
flocks has returned to River Eden (N. Fife),

Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula hiaticula. — Several
arrived on Fair Isle on 25th February, twelve were seen there on
20th September and two on 4th December.

Golden Plover, Charadrius apricarius. — Movement was noted
from loth March to 19th May; many of the notes come from Fair
Isle and may refer to emigration of Ch. a, altifrons^ the earlier ones
probably being returns of our breeding Ch. a. apricarius. From the
end of July right on to nth November movement was again
recorded: great flocks were at the River Eden (N. Fife) on 12th
August, and one of the Northern Ch. a. altifrons was identified,
otherwise it is very difficult to say to which race they belonged.

Grey Plover, Squatarola squatarola squatarola. — A male in
summer plumage was at Aberlady on i8th October (i. 1926, 178),
and six Grey Plover at St Andrews on 3rd November.

Lapwing, Va^iellus vanellus. — From mid-January to mid-February,
great flocks of Lapwings were reported from many mainland stations
and returns to breeding sites from 20th February to loth March.
From 14th March to 14th April there were many records of passage
from Hyskeir, Fair Isle, and the Bell Rock. Single birds were on
the Isle of May on 21st and 28th May and Hyskeir on 3rd and
7th June and four on Fair Isle on 15th June.

Small movements were reported from Fair Isle, Hyskeir, the
Bell Rock, and Isle of May intermittently from 9th July right on to
22nd November. Movement was noted at Dalwhinnie on 26th and
29th August, and many at Glenorchard and Strathblane on 3rd
November, “countless hordes” at River Eden (N. Fife) on nth
November, and great numbers at Possil Marsh, Summerston,
Renfrewshire, and Melrose on 12th December, and between Largo
and St Andrews on 15th December.

Turnstone, Arenaria mterpres interpres. — Last seen Largo
Bay on 7th May, Isle of May on 27th, and Hyskeir on 31st May.
First reported in autumn from Hyskeir on 8th July, Skateraw (E.
Lothian) on 26th July, and Ardross (S. Fife) on 5th August.

Ruff, Philomachus pugnax. — Single birds were recorded near
Largo on 23rd August, Morton Loch (N. Fife) on 14th September,
and Aberlady on nth October (i. 1926, 178).

Sanderling, Crocethia alba. — One was reported from Largo
Bay on 14th March and twelve on 8th April. From 26th July to

184

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

13th September southward passage was noted at Skateraw, Largo
Bay, St Andrews, Tentsmuir Point, and Fair Isle.

Knot, Calidris canutus cariutus. — There were few records this
year, one in summer plumage on Troon shore on 20th July. Three
near St Andrews on i2th August, seven at Vallay (O.H.) on 14th
August, and two at Hyskeir on 30th September.

Dunlin, Calidris alpina. — On 9th February Dunlin were
arriving in small flocks all day at St Andrews, till by 3 p.m. there
were thousands, and enormous numbers were observed there from
15th to 22nd February. A few were on Fair Isle on 27th March,
and the first arrived at Flareshawmuir on 1 1 th April ( C. a. schinzii)
to breed. Hyskeir reported small movements from 12th April to
29th May, and from this station and Fair Isle from 8th July to
14th October. Great flocks were seen at River Eden (N. Fife) on
12th August.

Curlew Sandpiper, Calidris testacea. — Eleven were observed
at Carrends near Elliot (Forfarshire) on 8th August.

Little Stint, Calidris minuta. — On 12th June two were seen
at Vallay (O.H.).

Purple Sandpiper, Calidris maritima maritima. — Last seen in
Largo Bay on 7th May, Isle of May on i8th May, and Hyskeir on
2nd June. Returns were noted at Hyskeir on 12th July, Bell Rock
on loth August, and Fair Isle on i6th August.

Common Sandpiper, Tringa liypoleucos. — There were very early
returns this spring. River Ettrick on 28th March, Eaglesham
(Renfrewshire) on 3rd April, Hareshawmuir on 7th, Halmyre and
Helensburgh on nth April. After this arrivals were noted to the
end of the month: single birds on Hyskeir on 12th May, and Fair
Isle on 27th May. Movement through the country was apparent
by 9th July; last seen River Eden, N. Fife, on 12th August, and
Hareshawmuir on 23rd August.

Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus. — See p. 136.

Redshank, Trmga totanus totanus. — Returns to breeding
grounds were reported from inland localities between 3rd and i6th
March, while in the first half of August movement to the shores
took place.

Greenshank, Tringa nebularia. — From 6th July to i8th
August some movement was recorded from Halmyre, Balgray Dam,
Hyskeir, and East Fife, and a Greenshank visited Hyskeir on
6th October.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1 926 185

Grey Phalarope, Phalaropus fiilicaj'ius. — Single birds were
noted at Hyskeir on 19th, August and Fair Isle on 15th November.

Bar-tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica lapponica. — Many were
at Vallay (O.H.) on 7th January and at St Andrews on 7th February.
Autumn arrivals were reported at Elliot (Forfarshire) on 27th July,
River Eden on 12th August, and on to the end of September.

Black-tailed Godwit, Lijjiosa limosa lUiiosa. — See p. 136.

Curlew, Nume^iius arquata arquata. — Returns to inland
breeding grounds were noted from 25th February to end of March,
while autumn movement had begun by 13th July and was recorded
throughout August.

Whimbrel, Nicnie^iius phcBopus phceopits.- — First reported at
Ailsa Craig on 21st April, Vallay (O.H.) on 29th April, Hyskeir
next day, and at Islay in the last week of April. After this many
notes of passage came up to 21st May. Southward movement was
observed at many stations between 27th July and 2nd October.

Great Snipe, Capella 7iiedia. — See p. 136.

Common Snipe, Capella gallmago gallmago. — Movement of
Snipe was noted in February and March and one visited Hyskeir
on 3rd May. Small movem.ents were observed in August at
Hyskeir, Fair Isle, and Fossil Marsh. From 29th September right
on to 4th December almost continuous movement was reported
from many stations ; the greatest numbers noted were at Fossil
Marsh and Fair Isle on loth October, Fair Isle on ist and 19th
November, Fossil Marsh on 14th November (flocks seen arriving
from the North, about 80 observed), and Largo on 29th November.

Faeroese Snipe, Capella gallmago faeroensis. — One was obtained
at Langass (O.H.) in October (i. 1927, 24), and very probably some
of the Snipe in the big autumn movement noticed above were of
this race.

Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes 7ninimiis, — Very early autumn records
were noted, one at Corsewall on 6th August (2. xx. 133) and one at
Vallay on 2nd September. From 20th September to 29th November
a good many arrivals took place and were reported from both island
and mainland stations.

Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola rusticola. — Great numbers were
on Islay, 156 being shot by five guns on 21st January {Fields 11.2.26,
p. 233). Northward movement was noted at Fair Isle from
19th March to loth April. Autumn arrivals took place from
19th September to 23rd November, the height of the movement
168 2 A

i86

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

being in the first half of November, and single birds were on Hyskeir
on ist and 7th December.

Sandwich Tern, Sterna safidvicensis sandvicensis. — First seen
Lundin Links (Fife) on 17th April, last seen Isle of May on
22nd September, Queensferry on 8th October, and Arbroath on
nth October.

Roseate Tern, Sterna dougallii dougallii. — See p. 136.

Common Tern, Sterna hirundo hiru7ido. — First seen in Largo
Bay on 9th May and at Langbank (Clyde) on 12th May. Last
noted Lunan Bay on nth September, Hareshawmuir (80 flying due
south) on 20th September, and the Isle of May on 2nd October.

Arctic Tern, Sterna ?nacrura. — Arrivals were recorded at
Vallay (O.H.) on 12th May and Flyskeir on i8th May.

Little Tern, Sterna albifro7is albifro?is. — Four were reported
at Vallay on 8th June and a Little Tern was at the Hyskeir lantern
on 5th October.

Little Gull, Larus mmutns. — See p. 136.

Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus
tuscus. — One visited the Isle of May on 19th May.

British Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus ajflnis. —
First noted Erskine Ferry (Clyde) on loth March, and Glasgow
harbour next day, and arrivals of this bird were reported up to
13th April, while departures took place from August to October.

Great Black-backed Gull, Larus 7narmus. — Big arrivals
were seen on the Isle of May on 24th September and ist October,
the birds in each case passing on next day.

Glaucous Gull, Larus hyperboreus. — A few were recorded on
Fair Isle on ist February, and one immature at Gourock Pier on
22nd April. An immature bird was at the Isle of May on 22nd
September, one on Fair Isle on 6th November, and a few there on
1 8th December.

Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides. — Single birds were reported
from Fisher Row, Forth, on 15th January, Fair Isle on ist February,
Bell Rock on 21st October, and Hyskeir on 20th December.

Great Skua, Stercorarius skua skua. — One or two were seen
at Dhu Heartach on 2nd September, Fair Isle on 18th, and the
Isle of May from 22nd to 24th September.

Arctic Skua, Stercorarius parasiticus. — One was noted at
Vallay on 5th August, and Arctic Skuas were seen on our east
coast between 23rd August and i6th October.

REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1926

187

Black Guillemot, Uria grylle grylle. — Single birds were
seen at the Bell Rock on 21st January and 23rd April, and at Ailsa
Craig on 8th May, while two were about the Isle of May during
May. Many Black Guillemots were noted at Bressay on 2nd and
3rd October.

Little Auk, Alle alle. — Early reports came of single birds
between Fetlar and Yell (Shetland) on i6th August (i. 1926, 161),
and Fair Isle on 15th September (r. 1926, 161). A few were about
Fair Isle on yth December and many there on i8th December, one
at Aberlady on 13th December (i. 1927, 14), and one near Broughton
(Peeblesshire) in December.

Corncrake, Crex crex, — First noted Bridge of Weir on 21st
April and Hareshawmuir next day, and after this records of arrival
came to the middle of May, while several birds reached Fair Isle
on 26th May.

Water Rail, Ralius aqiiaticus aquaticus. — Single birds were
reported at Fossil Marsh on 4th January, Scone on 14th February,
Isle of May on 2nd October, Possil Marsh and Selkirk on 24th
October, Dairsie (Fife) on 30th October; two at Fair Isle on
1 8th and 26th November, and one there on 4th December.

Coot, Fidica atra atra.- — A Coot was found dead on the Isle
of May on 17th May, and one visited Fair Isle on 20th May.

Quail, Cotu7'nix coturnix. — One was on Fair Isle on 1 7th
September, and another on 23rd September.

NOTE.

Sociable Plover, Chethusia gregaria. — Since this report was
written, the first Scottish record of this species, from North
Ronaldshay, appeared in this magazine (p. 157).

168

2 a 2

i88

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

NOTES

Whooper Swan in Inverness-shire in June. — When in
a very wild part of Inverness-shire on 17th June of this year, I saw
on a loch about three-quarters of a mile away a white object which,
on looking through my glasses, I found was a Swan. The bird
kept at one end of the loch, which was roughly about a mile in
length by a quarter of a mile wide, and as I approached showed
signs of uneasiness but did not move far away, so that I was
able to identify it as a Whooper. As I reached the edge of the
water it began to utter a rather loud, harsh, double note resembling
the distant barking of a dog and continued to do so at short
intervals during the time I remained at that end of the loch.
Having in mind the fairly recent nesting of this species in the
Western Highlands I searched for but failed to find a second
bird, although a gentleman fishing a neighbouring loch assured me
that two Whooper Swans (probably a pair) frequented this same
loch all through the breeding season of last year.

In any case the presence of a Whooper Swan at such a late
date is, I think, noteworthy.- — W. J. Ashford, Blandford.

Great Snipe in Lanarkshire.^ — On 13th August 1927, on the
Douglas Castle ground, I shot a Great Snipe. The bird was shot
in a very wet place, on which there was a great number of
Common Snipe. The weight of the Great Snipe was 8 oz., and the
Common Snipe which I photographed with it weighed 3! oz. I am
told this is the first time the bird has been got in Lanarkshire. —
Henry Douglas-Home, Douglas Castle.

Kingfishers on Migration. — While shooting on the morning
of ist October at the mouth of the Tay, I observed many waders
passing in a south-easterly direction, which carried them over the
extreme east point of Tentsmuir, and out to sea in the direction of
the Isle of May. One such flock contained many Knots, Bar-tailed
Godwits, and Sanderlings, and along with it was a party of King-
fishers. Subsequently other parties of Kingfishers were noticed,
and in all they may have numbered somewhere about thirty
individuals. — John Berry, Tayfield.

Waxwing in Perthshire. — MrMacgregor, Factor of Dalguise,
tells me that early in November he observed a Waxwing feeding on
the berries of Viburnum at Dalguise; he got close up to the bird. —
John Ritchie, Perth.

NOTES

189

Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus^ in Bute. — On 27th
September 1927 I shot a Spotted Redshank at the dam at Loch
Fad, in Bute. My attention was first attracted to it by its note,
as it flew past me at a considerable distance. The single note of
this bird is entirely different from the triple note of the Common
Redshank. There was another Spotted Redshank on the dam
at the same time, but it was rather wild, and I made no attempt
to secure it. The bird that I shot was a female, with dark ashy-grey
back, and the under parts white, delicately streaked with pale grey.
I intend to place it on loan in the Bute Natural History Museum.
This is a new species for Bute. — -J. M. M‘William, Rothesay.

Palmated Newt in Caithness. — As the distribution in
Scotland of the Palmated Newt {Molge palmatd) is still imperfectly
known, it may be worth while to record the occurrence, last July,
of mature individuals in Coghill Loch on Holborn Head. I saw
larval Newts in other places near Thurso and near Wick, which were
probably of this species, but, failing to find adults, would not
identify them with certainty. — Chas. Oldham, Berkhamsted.

Viviparous Lizard in Inverness-shire.^ — K much-battered
and damaged example of the Viviparous Lizard i^Lacerta vivipara) has
been received from Arthur Sims. It was killed on i8th September by
his playmates on a heather-clad hillock “at the foot of Glen Feshie,”
and not far from Kincraig. In May 1893, Mr W. Evans saw two
or three near Aviemore, but the few records probably suggest that
the creature is much rarer in the Spey Valley than is actually the
case. — James Ritchie.

The Sea Hare {Aplysia punctata) on the Banffshire Coast. —
During holidays spent at Portsoy on the Banffshire coast, I had
the pleasure of finding Aplysia punctata in rock pools, chiefly within
the black fucus zone. In July when it came under my notice it was
particularly abundant, as many as a dozen individuals occurring in
a pool with an area of only a few square yards. Friends of mine
had seen it early in June when they began to search the pools for
soft and “ peelar ” crabs, so that its time of arrival on the coast is
uncertain. In the first half of August it was getting scarce, a friend
having difficulty in securing for me a dozen specimens, which were
transferred to the hatchery at Nigg.

The specimens which were transferred to the tanks at Nigg,
spawned about the 9th to 12th of August, and about the 25th
the veliger larvae appeared. — Henry Wood, Fishery Board,
Aberdeen.

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

190

BOOK NOTICES

The Biology of Fishes. By Harry M. Kyle, M.A., D.Sc.
London: Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd.,' 1926. Pp. xvi + 387.
Price 1 6s. net.

There are many books on fishes, but we know of none which
discusses the habits and inter-relations of fishes with so modern an
outlook and so great familiarity with the results of recent investigations
as Dr Kyle’s volume. The chapters make interesting reading and are
thus adapted for the general naturalist, but the appeal to recent
research and the generalisations based on these latest developments
make tlie book a valuable compendium for the student of fish life and
of general biology. The interest and breadth of treatment are indicated
by the themes which the author has selected for discussion : the
general characters of fishes, habits in general, migrations, development,
regeneration of form, economy of body, variation, genealogy, distribution,
adaptations, the web of life, the food question, and the mental life
of fishes.

Dr Kyle’s treatment is original and often far from orthodox. He is
no believer in the “natural selection” upon which Darwin laid such
stress as a means of evolution, and while at times his argument may
be difficult to follow, his examples are marshalled with care, and the
reader may be trusted to form his own conclusions. The book should
be read by everyone who wishes to be up to date in his knowledge
of fish life and to grasp the significance of fishes in the wider inter-
pretation of animal life.

Forest, Steppe and Tundra : Studies in Animal Environ-
ment. By Maud D. Haviland (Mrs H. H. Brindley).
Cambridge: at the University Press, 1926. Pp. 218. Price
I2S. 6d. net.

The study of animal associations and their relation to the environ-
ment has lagged behind the corresponding botanical science, partly
because a fixed plant association is more easily recorded than the
more fluid animal groupings, but partly also because zoologists have
been engrossed in systematics. Mrs Brindley here makes an effort
to redress the balance, and the result is a serious contribution to the
animal ecology of three distinct and widely-spread types of environment.

In each case she describes the predominant characters, of topog-
raphy, climate, and vegetation of the region, and endeavours to
interpret the animal life as it exists and as it has evolved, in the light
of the surroundings. The problem is not an easy one, but the authoress
supplements her own observations by thorough familiarity with the
literature bearing on the subject : and if her conclusions are often
indefinite, that is simply because many facts have still to be gathered
before safe deductions can be made. Our general impression is that

BOOK NOTICES

191

the most promising results are likely to follow from a close analysis
of a very limited and homogeneous area, and that the general application
of these results might well be tested afterwards by appeal to such
extensive regions as are treated in this useful and informative volume.

Among our Banished Birds. By Bentley Beetham, F.Z.S.
London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1927. Pp. xi + 226. Price
I os. 6d. net.

The use of a hiding-tent in recent years by bird observers has
greatly facilitated the intimate study of the habits of our feathered
friends in their nesting haunts, and the author has made good use of
the device in his excursions to the marshes of Holland and the marisma
of Spain. Of the ten chapters four are devoted to the Avocet, the
Spoonbill, the Black-tailed Godwit, and the Black Tern, birds which
formerly nested in the British Isles and which doubtless would do so
again were the necessary localities and protection available. Nesting
along with these banished British birds are others which only rarely
occur in our Isles, and the remaining six chapters deal with some of
those, and with the natural features of the Spanish marisma, a waste
of lagoon, sand, and mud at the mouth of the Guadalquivir. The
chapters are all delightfully written, and the photographs which
accompany the letterpress are excellent.

The Animal Book. By Enid Blyton. London : George Newnes,
Ltd. [1927]. Price 3s. 6d. net.

Miss Blyton’s “animal” or mammal book, as it really is, is as good
as her earlier Bird Book, and that is saying a great deal. The text is
pitched just in the proper vein of simplicity, information, and suggestion
for children, and the coloured plates and line figures are natural, full of
life, and artistic.

Latin Names of Common Plants, Their Pronunciation and
History. By F. Dawtrey Drewitt, M.A., M.D. London:
H. F. & G. Witherby. 8vo, 68 pp. Price 3s. 6d. net.

A good deal of interesting information is given in this little book,
especially regarding the derivation and meaning of many botanical
names familiar to the flower- and garden-loving public, who use the
words frequently, but without the slightest notion of their meaning.
But with regard to their pronunciation, the attempt on the part of the
author to be “reasonable” compels him to admit in a large number of
cases a double solution of the difficulty, and the reader is left at a loss
which to use. For example, is it to be the correct Latin Clematis or the
long-established, even if erroneous, English Clematis^ endorsed by the
people and the Oxford Dictionary?

The author, throughout the book, has used the term “family” in an
erroneous sense, for the “surname” of a plant. The correct word is

genus.

INDEX

Note. — No attempt is made to index in detail the species mentioned

throughout articles.

A

Abnormal eggs, io8
Adder at Sea, loo

Allantus (JEmphytus') pallipes.! wood
burrowing of, 77
Anemones on whale’s skull, 24
Aplysia, see Sea Hare
Aquarium, a new Scottish, II2
Argyllshire, black-water vole, 100
Crossbills, 158
Sandwich Terns, 23
Arran, Staphylinus compressus ^ Marsh,
68

Ashford, W. J., Whooper Swan in
Inverness-shire in June, 188
Auk, Little, at Aberlady, 14

B

Bain, John, Eastern Lesser White-
throat on Hyskeir, 44
Banffshire, Sea Hare, 189
Bass Rock, Gannets on, 95
Bat, European Parti-coloured, in Scot-
land, lOI

Baxter, Evelyn V., and Rintoul,
Leonora Jeffrey, On the
Decrease of Blackgame in Scot-
land, 5, 45, 69 ; Sandwich Terns
in Argyll, 23 ; Faeroe Snipe in the
Outer Hebrides, 24 : see also under
Rintoul

Beetles new to Scotland, 125
Berry, John, Kingfishers on Migra-
tion, 188

Berwickshire, Crossbills, 127
Beveridge, George, Crossbills in
North Uist, 126

Bird Notes from Fair Isle, 1926, 53
Bird Sanctuaries, Scottish, i
Birds, extension of breeding range, 136
fluctuation of numbers, 137
habits, food, etc., 145
migration in 1926, 165 et seq.
nesting in 1926, 139
new to faunal areas, 135
new to Scotland, 134, 157
of Perthshire, 35
protection of wild, 97
ringing records, 143
uncommon visitors, 135
unusual plumage, 145
Birrell, a., Bonito in Solway, 100
Bivalves on whale’s skull, 24
Blackgame, decrease in Scotland, 5, 45,
69

Bonito in Solway, 100
Book Notices : The Birds of the
British Isles, T. A. Coward, 31 ;
One Touch of Nature, F. W.
Tickner, 31 ; Microscopic Fresh-
water Life, F. J. W. Plaskitt, 32 ;
Records of Birds Bred in Cap-
tivity, Emilius Hopkinson, 32 ;
Kinabalu : The Haunted Mountain
of Borneo, Major C. M. Enriquez,

63 ; A Botanist in the Amazon
Valley, R. Ruggles Gates, 64 ;
The British Hydracarina, vol. ii.,
Chas. D. Soar and W. Williamson,

64 ; The Bird Book, Enid Blytoni
64 ; Elementary Botany, W*
Watson, 96 ; Islands near the
Sun, Evelyn Cheesman, 96 ; British
Wild Fruits and how to Identify
Them, Richard Morse, 127 ; Days
with the Golden Eagle, Seton

192

INDEX

193

Book Notices, continued—

Gordon, 127 ; Tropical Aquarium
Fishes, how to Breed and Rear
Them, A. E. Hodge, 128 ; The
Biology of Fishes, Dr Harry M.
Kyle, 190 ; Forest, Steppe, and
Tundra: Studies in Animal En-
vironment, Maud D. Haviland,
190 ; Among our Banished Birds,
Bentley Beetham, 191 ; The
Animal Book, Enid Blyton, 191 ;
Latin Names of Common Plants,
their Pronunciation and History,
Dr F. Dawtrey Drewitt, 191

Booth, Harry B., Records of Large
Foxes, 60

Bristowe, W. S., The Spider Fauna
of the Western Islands of Scotland,
88, II 7

Brown, R. L., see Young, J.

Bute, Spotted Redshank, 189

Buzzard, Rough-legged, migration
from Sweden to Britain, 63

Caithness, Palmated Newt, 189
Risso’s Dolphin, 60
Cat, Wild, in Dumbartonshire, ill
ChartERIS, Hon. Guy, Crossbills in
Dumbartonshire, 159
Chelura destroys dock gates, 37
Christie, Geo. H., Wild Cat in
Dumbartonshire, III ; Crossbills
in Dumbartonshire, 158
Clyde Area, British Willow-Titmouse
in, 17

Clyde Islands, Crane-Flies of, 85
Coccidae of Scotland, Notes on, 25, 55
Coll, buff-coloured Thrush, 14
Crab, Spider, regeneration of legs, 123
Craigie, Charles F., The Wood
Burrowing, at Pupation, of the
Sawfly, Allantus (Emphyius')
pallipes^ Spin., 77

Crane-Flies of the Clyde Islands, 85
Crawford, Alec. T., Wild Geese
alighting on trees, 60
Crossbill influx from Continental
Europe, 126, 158, 164

CUTHBERTSON, ALEXANDER, Note On
an Ichneumon parasite of the
Magpie-moth, 24 ; The Crane-
Flies of the Clyde Islands, 85

D

Day, F. H., Two species of Coleoptera
new to Scotland^ — Ccenoscelis pallida
and Apieropeda globosa^ 125
Deer, F^ed-, in Selkirkshire in pre-
historic times, 65

Dewar, J. M., Further Records of
Breeding of Pochard at Dudding-
ston Loch, 61

Distribution of birds in Sutherland, 130
Dock gates destroyed by marine organ-
isms, 37

Dolphin, Risso’s, in Caithness, 60
Dory, John, young, off west Inverness-
shire, 44

Dougal, j. Wilson, Crossbills in the
Outer Isles, 160

Duck-shooting from aeroplanes, 36
Ducks, Pochard breeding at Dudding-
ston, 61, 75

Velvet Scoter in Lanarkshire, 164
Duddingston Loch, records of breeding
of Pochard, 61, 75

Bird Sanctuary, White Wagtails in,

75

Dumbartonshire, Crossbills, 158, 159
Wild Cat, III

Dumfriesshire, Leach’s Fork -tailed
Petrel, 44

Duncan, A. Bryce, Melanism in a
Mountain Hare, 1 32

E

Eagle, Golden, in Galloway, 62
East Lothian, Little Auk, 14
Edinburgh, Woodcock breeding in
Royal Botanic Garden, 76
Eggs, abnormal, 108

F

Fair Isle, bird notes from, 1926, 53
Black-winged Pratincole, Iii
Crossbills, 160

194

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

FergUSSON, a., Staphylinus compressus,
Marsh, in Arran, 68
Forfarshire, Black-tailed Godwits, i6
Great Snipe, 95

Foxes, some records of large, 15, 60
G

Galloway, Golden Eagle in, 62
Galloway, N. H. Soc. Transactions^
163

Gannets on the Bass Rock, 95
Geese, Wild, alighting on trees, 60
Gillespie, T. H., A new Scottish
Aquarium, 112

Gillett, Arthur B., Crossbills in
Sutherland, 126, 159
Gladstone, Hugh S., Leach’s Fork-
tailed Petrel in Dumfriesshire, 44 ;
Hawfinch nesting in Kirkcud-
bright, 95

Glareola nordnianni^ 1 1 1
Glasgow, Night-Heron in, 14
Godwits, Black-tailed, in Forfarshire,
16

Goldfinches in Midlothian, 116
Goose, Grey-Lag, in Renfrewshire, 23
Green, E. Ernest, Notes on the
Coccidae of Scotland, 25, 55
Gull attacking Bat, 16

H

Haddock, unusual colour variety, 62
Hamilton, David, and J. Kirke
Nash, Common Pochard breeding
at Duddingston Loch, 75 ; Gold-
finches in Midlothian, 116
Hare, melanic Mountain, 132
Hawfinch nesting in Kirkcudbright, 95
Hebrides, Outer, Crossbills, 126, 160
Faeroe Snipe in, 24

Home, Henry Douglas-, Great Snipe
in Lanarkshire, 1 88

Hopkins, Nicol, and John Paterson,
Gull attacking Bat, 16
Hunter, Douglas G., Buff-coloured
Thrush in Coll, 14 ; Black-tailed
Godwits in Forfarshire, 16 ; Great
Snipe in Forfarshire, 95 ; Cross-
bills in Perthshire, 158

Hyas, regeneration of legs, 123
Hyskeir, Eastern Lesser Whitethroat
on, 44

I

Inverness-shire, Crossbills, 126
Viviparous Lizard, 189
Whooper Swan, 188
Young John Dory off, 44
Islands, Western, of Scotland, the
spider fauna of, 88

J

Jackdaw in Lanarkshire, 149

K

Kingfishers on migration, 188
Kirkcudbright, Hawfinch nesting, 95
Kitti wakes, migrations of, 35

L

Lanarkshire, Jackdaw in, 149
Great Snipe, 188
The Raven in, 104
Studies of birds of, 104, 149
Velvet Scoter, 164
Lim7ioria destroys dock gates, 37
Lizard, Viviparous, in Inverness-shire,
189

Lonnberg, Einar, Sweden to Britain
— Migration of Rough - legged
Buzzard, 63

M

M‘Conachie, Rev. W,, Crossbills in
Berwickshire, 127

M‘Dougall, W. Laidlaw, Crossbills
in Shetland, 1 26

Mackenzie, Lt.-Com. Patrick H.,
The Sociable Plover — First Occur-
rence in Scotland, 157
Maclean, Rev. D,, Adder at Sea, 100
M‘William, Rev. J. M., Some ab-
normal eggs of wild birds, 108 ;
Spotted Redshank in Bute, 189
Malloch, Thomas, Grey-Lag Goose
in Renfrewshire, 23

INDEX

195

Maxwell, Rt. Hon. Sir Herbert,
The Golden Eagle in Galloway, 62
Melanism in Mountain Hare, 132
Methil Dock Gates, destruction of, by
marine organisms, 37
Midlothian, Goldfinches, 116
Migration of birds, 165 et seq.
Kingfishers, 188
Kittiwakes, 35

Mosquito Control Institute, 163
Mosquitoes in Scotland, 129

N

Nash, J. Kirke, White Wagtails in
Duddingston Bird Sanctuary, 75 5
Woodcock breeding in Royal
Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 76 ;
Crossbills in Canna, 1 58 ; see also
Hamilton and Nash
Natural History Magazine ^ 35
Newt, Palmated, in Caithness, 189
Night-Heron in Glasgow, 14

O

Oldham, Chas., Temerity of an
Arctic Tern, 132 ; Palmated Newt
in Caithness, 189
Otter, a large dog, 44, 95
Ornithology in 1926, Report on
Scottish, 133, 165

P

Paterson, John, Night-Heron in
Glasgow, 14 ; British Willow-
Titmouse in the Clyde Area,
17; see also under Hopkins
Pearcey, Frederick Gordon, obituary
note, 4

Pelamys sarda^ 1 00

Perkins, Michael, M.A., on re-
generation of the walking legs in
the Spider Crab, 123
Perthshire, birds of, 35
Crossbills, 158, 164
Waxwing, 188

Petrel, Leach’s Fork-tailed, in Dum-
friesshire, 44

Plover, Sociable, first occurrence in
Scotland, 157

Pochard, records of breeding at
Duddingston Loch, 61, 75
Pratincole, Black-winged, at Fair Isle,

III

Protection, Wild Birds, 97
Pseudorca in Scotland, 161

R

Ranken, Major T., Velvet Scoter in
Lanarkshire, 164
Raven in Lanarkshire, 104
Redshank, Spotted, in Bute, 189
Regeneration of w'alking legs of Spider
Crab, 123

Renfrewshire, Grey-Lag Goose in, 23
Rintoul, Leonora Jeffrey, and
Baxter, Evelyn V., Report on
Scottish Ornithology in 1926, 133,
165 ; see also under Baxter, E. V.
Ritchie, Dr James, An Account of
the Destruction of Methil Dock
Gates by Marine Organisms, 37 ;
Risso’s Dolphin stranded in Caith-
ness, 60 ; unusual colour variety
of Haddock, 62 ; Red-Deer in
Selkirkshire in Prehistoric Times,
65 ; Black Water-Vole in Argyll-
shire, 100 ; A long flight— the
European Parti - coloured Bat
{Vespertilio murinus) in Scotland,
loi ; Viviparous Lizard in Inver-
ness-shire, 189

Ritchie, John, Crossbills in Perth-
shiie, 164; Waxw'ing in Perth-
shire, 188

Robinson, H. W., Some Records of
Large Foxes, 15 ; Large Dog
Otter, 95 ; Gannets on the Bass
Rock, 95

Ross, Donald, A Large Dog Otter, 44
S

Sawfly, see Allantus
Scoter, Velvet, in Lanarkshire, 764
Scotland, Coccidae of. Notes on, 25, 55
Decrease of Blackgame in, 5, 45, 69
Scottish Aquarium, 112

ig6

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Scottish Bird Sanctuaries, i
Scottish legislation on birds and beasts, 3
Scottish Marine Biological Association
Report, 131

Scottish Zoological Park, 33
Sea Hare on Banffshire coast, 189
Selkirkshire, Red-Deer in prehistoric
times, 65

Shetland, Crossbills, 126, 164
Vespertilio murinus^ 10 1
Snipe, Common, strange habit of, 23
Faeroe, in Outer Hebrides, 24
Great, in Forfarshire, 95
Great, in Lanarkshire, 188
Solway, Bonito in, 100
Spider Fauna of the Western Islands
of Scotland, 88, 117
Staphylinvis contpressus^ Marsh, in Arran,
68

Stenhouse, Surgeon Rear-Admiral
J. H., Bird Notes from Fair Isle,
1926, 53 ; Black-winged Pratincole
at Fair Isle — first occurrence in
Scotland, ill

Stenichnemnon trilineatus^ parasite of
the Magpie-moth, note on, 24
Stephen, A. C., Bivalves and Ane-
mones on Whale’s skull, 24 ;
Young John Dory off Western
Inverness-shire, 44

Stewart, Walter, Studies of some
Lanarkshire Birds — The Raven,
104; The Jackdaw, 149
Stout, Geo., Crossbills at Fair Isle,
160

Sutherland, Crossbills, 126, 159
Distribution of birds, 130
Swan, Whooper, in Inverness-shire, 188
Sweden to Britain — Migration of
Rough-legged Buzzard, 63

T

Temerity of Arctic Tern, 132
Tern, Arctic, pugnaciousness, 132
Sandwich, in Argyll, 23
Thrush, buff-coloured, in Coll, 14
Titmouse, British Willow-, in Clyde
Area, 17

V

Vespertilo mw'inus in Scotland, loi
Viper at Sea, 100
Vole, Black Water-, 100

W

Wagtails, White, in Duddingston Bird
Sanctuary, 75

Waxwing in Perthshire, 188
Western Isles, Spider Fauna, 88, 117
Whale, False Killer, in Scotland, i6i
Risso’s Dolphin, 60

Whitethroat, Eastern Lesser, on
Hyskeir, 44

Wild, Oliver H., Little Auk at
Aberlady, 14

Wilson, Doris M., Strange Habit of
the Common Snipe, 23
Wood, Henry, the Sea Hare {Aplysia
punctata) on the Banffshire coast,
189

Woodcock, breeding in Royal Botanic
Garden, Edinburgh, 76
Wood Pigeon statistics, 36

Y

Young, J., and Brown, R. L., Cross-
bills in Shetland, 164

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Crossbills in Shetland — John Young and R. L. Brown^ 164 ;
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