i

The Scottish Naturalist

The Scottish Naturalist

With which is incorporated

The Annals of Scottish Natural History

V. C. WYNNE-EDWARDS
Regius Professor of Natural History
Aberdeen University

AND

JAMES W. CAMPBELL

EDITED BY

Volume 65

ABERDEEN

I953

Printed in Great Britain at The University Press, Aberdeen

SPRING

1953

Price

The Scottish Naturalist

With which is incorporated

The Annals of Scottish Natural History

EDITED BY

V. C. WYNNE-EDWARDS

Regius Professor of Natural History , University of Aberdeen

AND

JAMES W. CAMPBELL

AH Articles and Communications intended for publication and
all Books, etc., for notice, should be sent to The Editor, Natural
History Department, Marischal College, Aberdeen.

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the
Editor.

Annual Subscription : £i is. ; single parts, 7s.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Notes on the Birds of the Clyde Area, 1951 — Professor

M. F. M. Meiklejohn and C. E. Palmar 1

The Presence in Scotland of Tarsopsylla octodecimdentata
(KoL), a Flea hitherto unrecorded from the British
Isles. — F. G. A. M. Smit ..... 5

The Distribution of the Northern Dart, Agrotis hyperborea

(Zett.), on the Mainland of Scotland — Kenneth Tod 1 1

The Birds on St. Kilda, 1952 — T. B. Bagenal . . 19

The Sheep Population of Hirta, 1952 — J. Morton Boyd . 25

The Marine Fauna and Flora of St. Kilda, 1952 — Dr.

D. T. Gauld , T. B. Bagenal and J. H. Connell . . 29

Zoological Notes ....... 50

Correspondence ....... 62

Book Reviews ........ 63

The Scottish Naturalist

Volume 65, No. 1

Spring 1953

NOTES ON BIRDS IN THE CLYDE AREA, 1951 *

M. F. M. Meiklejohn and C. E. Palmar
Glasgow

This second report, like its predecessor {Scot. Nat., 64 : 26-30),
is confined to selected records of the rarer species. Most of
these refer to 1951, though a few notes from previous years
have been included. Additional information concerning
breeding, distribution and status of both common and rare
species is at present being filed for future use. It is now
becoming evident that the absence of any centralised re-
cording during recent years has resulted in many interesting
records remaining unpublished for our area.

As before, in addition to the Clyde watershed, we are
dealing with that part of the Forth area which is most con-
veniently reached from Glasgow, namely, the Aberfoyle
district.

We thank all who have taken the trouble to send us
notes. The contributors of the notes below are : J. Alasdair
Anderson, Miss W. U. Flower, Dr. J. A. Gibson, A. G. Gordon,
Nicol Hopkins, Miss M. I. Kinnear, Miss E. R. Landells,
D. Summers-Smith, the Rev. E. T. Vernon and the compilers.

Raven Corvus corax

One flew over Richmond Park, Glasgow, on 17th October
1951 : carrion crows present afforded comparison of size

(N. H.).

Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes

One near Luss, 20th October 1944 (J. A. G.).

* Received 10 th December , 1952
1

JR,®4®

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THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Siskin Carduelis spinus

One seen at Pollokshields on 1st May 1946 (D. S.-S.).
Crossbill Loxia curvirostra

Two seen at Lochwinnoch on 14th October 1945 (J. A. G.,
birds also observed by the late T. Thornton McKeith). A
male seen in Hamilton Park on 13th January 1951 attracted
attention first by its pale yellowish rump as it flew into a
yew-tree, where it remained in view feeding for a short time.
Red colour of head and very forked tail observed. It is idle
to speculate as to the race to which the bird belonged
(M. F. M. M.).

Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis

E. T. V., in many years observation, has only one record
for the area — from Eaglesham Moor in October 1949 : the
species seems to have become very much scarcer since the
publication of Gray’s Birds of the West of Scotland in 1871.

Tree Sparrow Passer montanus

N. H. saw one near Balmore “ a number of years ago ” and
on 13th March 1951 fourteen were observed in the same area,
by the Roman Wall near Summerston, the birds being in
Lanarkshire (M. F. M. M.).

White Wagtail Motacilla alba alba

Seen at Stevenston between 20th April and 9th May 1951,
the maximum number being twenty (M. I. K.).

Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus

Two seen at Kilmacolm in 1949 (E. T. V.). One, found
wounded near Brodick on 27th April 1951, was reported to
C. E. P.

Pied Flycatcher Muscicapa hypoleuca

A female, Richmond Park, Glasgow, from 24th to 26th
May 1951 (N. H.). In the Loch Ard area on 9th June 1951
excellent views were obtained of a male and, on the next
day, a female was seen carrying a long piece of wool (E. R. L. :
see Edinburgh Bird Bulletin , I (6) : 70).

Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos

An immature bird was seen at Portencross on 21st October
1951; it was flying at a considerable height over the sea in a

1953 NOTES ON BIRDS IN CLYDE AREA, 1951 3

north-westerly direction and was pursued by a pair of buzzards
(M. F. M. M.).

White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons

One, of unknown race, was seen at Barr Loch on 26th
November 1951 (J. A. A.). There seem to be few Renfrew-
shire records of this species.

Sheld-duck Tadorna tadorna

One, Both well Bridge, 20th March 1951 ; in the preceding
year one was seen there on 17th March (see Scot. Nat., 64 :
28) (M.F. M. M.).

Gad wall Anas strepera

A pair, Dawsholm, 27th February 1946 (E. T. V.). A pair
was present in the neighbourhood of Possil through most of
March and April 1951 (M. F. M. M.). One, Possil, 26th
September 1951 (A. G. G.). One, Richmond Park, Glasgow,
5th November 1951 (N. H.).

Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis

One, Castle Semple, 26th November 1949 (J. A. G.).
One, Ardeer shore, 27th and 28th December 1951 (M. I. K.).

Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo

In view of the few records of this species from Lanarkshire
(cf. Scot. Nat., 1935 : 169 and 1939 : 49), it seems worth while
to record the following occurrences at Bothwell Bridge in 1951 :
22nd February, one; 27th February, one; 3rd March, six;
20th March, two (M. F. M. M.).

Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur

One, Fairlie, 16th August 1948: two, Lochwinnoch, 17th
August 1948 (J. A. G.).

Little Stint Calidris minuta

E. T. V. has records from Barassie, October 1940, and
Gailes, September 1946. Two, Hunterston, October 1951
(M. I. K.).

Green Sandpiper Tringa ocrophus

One, Bothwell Bridge, 1st August 1951 (M. F. M. M.).

Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus

One, Hamilton, nth and 16th October 1951; excellent
views were obtained of its long bill, plain wings, white rump

4

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

contrasting with darker tail and mottling on the back. The
che-wit call was several times heard (M. F. M. M., W. U. F.).
This appears to be the first record of the species for Lanarkshire.

Grey Plover Squatarola squatarola

A bird of this species was seen at close quarters at Hamilton
on 1 6th October 1951. We can trace no previous record of
this species for Lanarkshire. The bird was on the edge of a
shallow pool, a few yards distant from the first spotted redshank
for the county (M. F. M. M.).

Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus

An immature bird in “ mealy 55 plumage was seen at
Hamilton on 19th January 1951. At one moment it and the
Iceland gull mentioned below were seen through glasses
simultaneously, both of them being the first individuals of
their species to be recorded for Lanarkshire (M. F. M. M.).
See also under following species.

Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides

One was watched at Girvan on 1 9th April 1 949 for quarter
of an hour at ten feet range : it was compared with neighbouring
glaucous and herring gulls, when its smaller size and more
slender bill were noted (J. A. G.). The Iceland gull already
reported from Hamilton (Scot. Nat., 64 : 30) was seen at
frequent intervals throughout 1951.

Great Skua Stercorarius skua

One, between Ailsa Craig and Girvan, 4th April 1950
(J.A.G.).

Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus

A bird of the dark phase was seen at Stevenston on 28th
May 1951 (M. I. K.). One, chasing a tern off Keppel pier,
9th September 1951 (C. E. P.).

1953

A FLEA UNRECORDED IN BRITISH ISLES

5

THE PRESENCE IN SCOTLAND OF TARSOPSTLLA
OCTODECI MDENTA TA (Kol.), A FLEA
HITHERTO UNRECORDED FROM
THE BRITISH ISLES *

F. G. A. M. Smit

British Museum (Natural History)

The Zoological Museum, Tring, Herts.

In the Rothschild Collection of Siphonaptera at Tring there
is a series of 2<J 9$ Tarsopsylla octodecimdentata (Kolenati),
1863, from [the Pass of] Killiecrankie, Perthshire, ex Sciurus
vulgaris. These specimens had been correctly determined
but have never been recorded in print before, evidently because
of the incompleteness of the data. Neither date nor collector
being known, it would have been rash to add the species to
the British list because of the possibility of mislabelling or some
other form of error. But there is no improbability in the
suggestion that the species might occur in Scotland and it
seemed worth attempting to corroborate its occurrence. I
therefore checked through the roughly eighty tubes containing
British specimens of Monopsyllus sciurorum sciurorum (Schrank),
1803 (the common and hitherto only known indigenous
species of flea associated with the red squirrel in the British
Isles), preserved in alcohol, and I was lucky enough to come
across a batch consisting of one female of Tarsopsylla octo-
decimdentata and one male and two females of Monopsyllus
sciurorum , collected ex Sciurus vulgaris at Pitlochry, Perthshire,
1 6th March 1898, and presented to the Rothschild Collection
by M. Pease. This finding of T. octodecimdentata among M.
sciurorum (both are monoxenous fleas of Sciurus vulgaris) leaves
no doubt as to the occurrence of the species in Scotland and it is
now safe to accept the series from Killiecrankie. The latter
locality is only two or three miles from Pitlochry, which
makes one wonder whether these two lots were originally
one batch.

* Received 3rd December , 1952

o

Tarsopsylla o. octodecimdentata (Kol.). Fig. i. Head and prothorax of female
(from Holland). Fig. 2. Tergum VIII of male (from Scotland). Fig. 3. Hind
tarsus of female. Fig. 4. Hind tarsus of male.

1953

A FLEA UNRECORDED IN BRITISH ISLES

7

Tarsopsylla octodecimdentata belongs to the family Cerato-
phyllidae and is the fifty-fourth species of flea to be recorded
from the British Isles; it is a Palaearctic species, now known
from Scotland, Holland, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland,
Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Russia,
Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Transbaikalia and other localities
in north Asia. Apparently this flea occurs principally in
mountainous regions, though it has been found in Holland in
the country on the east side of the river IJsel, which is as flat
as most of the rest of that country. In North America there
is a very closely related form, T. coloradensis (Baker), 1895,
which is the only other known species the Holarctic genus
Tarsopsylla contains ( uralensis Wagner, 1898, is a synonym of
octodecimdentata (Kol.), 1863). Close comparison of the two
representatives of the genus convinces me that they can very
well be regarded as subspecies; there are now a number of
known instances in which a Palaearctic species which extends
its range into Asia has subspecies in the Nearctic Region.

T. octodecimdentata coloradensis agrees in habits with T. 0.
octodecimdentata , since it also lives mainly on tree squirrels
(though these are of another genus — ■ Tamiasciurus ) and is,
according to George P. Holland (1949, The Siphonaptera of
Canada, Dept. Agric ., Canada , Techn. Bull., 70 : 144) essentially
a flea of the mountains and the northlands. Mr. Holland
also notes that “ There is evidence that Tarsopsylla is a nest
flea, which may account for its excessive rarity in collections ”,
The same may be true for the Palaearctic subspecies; the few
times I got this flea in Holland from a red squirrel there were
only one or two specimens among a number of M. s. sciurorum.
Another remark made by Mr. Holland is of interest: “ In
spite of its long legs, Tarsopsylla appears to be a rather sluggish
flea, and no specimens were noted to jump vigorously 55 . It
seems to be a general rule in fleas that the ones with long and
slender legs are walkers and climbers rather than jumpers,
while those with stout and relatively short legs seem to be the
jumping champions.

The true host of T. 0. octodecimdentata is the European red
squirrel Sciurus vulgaris ; this host is still present in Scotland,
while in the greater part of England it has disappeared and its
place taken in by the introduced American grey squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis. If Tarsopsylla also occurs in England and

1953

A FLEA UNRECORDED IN BRITISH ISLES

9

Wales, it would have been compelled to switch over to the
grey squirrel in most areas, just as Monopsyllus has done.
Whether Tarsopsylla can adapt itself to the grey squirrel is not
known and in order to establish this fact much collecting of
squirrel-fleas, preferably from nests, should be done ; this
would also further our knowledge of the distribution and
occurrence-frequency of both insects.

Tarsopsylla octodecimdentata is easy to identify and drawings
of the taxonomically most important parts of the insect are given
here as an aid in this respect. It may be useful to point out
the characteristic features of this flea. The first hind tarsal
segment is very long, its length being greater than that of the
three following segments together (Figs. 3, 4) ; no other known
fleas have such a long first hind tarsal segment. The tarsi
of Tarsopsylla show a remarkable sexual difference in their
chaetotaxy: the males have long slender posterior setae at
each first tarsal segment (Fig. 4), while in the females these
setae are short (Fig. 3) ; the second hind tarsal segment has a
long apico-posterior seta which reaches to the middle of the
fourth segment in the female and to the middle of the fifth
segment in the male. The frontal tubercle is vestigial and in
Fig. 1 it is shown in its most prominent form. There are three
antesensilial setae (one of which is minute) in the male and
normally three (though not seldom four) in the female.
Tergum VIII of the male bears a well-developed area spiculosa
on the inner surface below the dorsal margin (Fig. 2). The
male genitalia are depicted in Fig. 5. In mounted specimens
the spiculose apical membranous process of sternum VIII is
either turned upwards (Fig. 5 b) or downwards (Fig. 5 a) ;
it is always turned upwards in unmounted specimens, so this
is evidently the natural position. The female terminalia
are shown in Fig. 6, while Fig. 7 (a-f) shows the variation in the
outline of sternum VII of six females from Killiecrankie.

From the viewpoint of flea-faunistics Scotland is a most
interesting region: of the six latest additions to the list of fleas
from the British Isles, three came from Scotland (i.e. Megabothris
rectangulatus , Frontopsylla laeta and Tarsopsylla 0. octodecimdentata ) .
Further collecting of fleas from mammals as well as from birds
(nests) may possibly reveal more species new to the British
fauna; in any case, it would further our knowledge of the
distribution of fleas already known from the North.

1953

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NORTHERN DART

1 1

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NORTHERN DART,
AGROTIS HTPERBOREA (Zetterstedt), ON THE
MAINLAND OF SCOTLAND *

Kenneth Tod,

Natural History Department,

University College, Dundee

The species was first discovered in Perthshire in 1839, when,
according to South (1920, p. 215), a single specimen was taken
on “ Cairn Gowr ”. This discovery is also referred to by
Barrett (1899, p. 235), where the locality is given as “ Cairn
Gowr, Ben Ghlo 55 . This will undoubtedly be the Cairn nan
Gobhar of Ben-y-Gloe which is the highest summit of that
mountain (ref. One-Inch Ordinance Survey, Sheet 49). No
other examples were noted until 1854, when a second specimen
was found in the same locality, as recorded both by South and
Barrett; the collector was possibly the James Foxcroft men-
tioned by Newman in his British Moths (1869, P- 356).

Between 1854 and 1876 Barrett cites three records:

1870 — Schiehallion, by T. W. Salvage.

1873 — ^ pupa was found in moss on one of these mountains

by a coleopterist.” This is perhaps the same as that
reported byj. S. Allin, Scot. Nat., 1873, 2: 162 who
says: “ When tearing up moss on a hill side in

Braemar last July (i.e. 1873) I found a chrysalis.”

1874 — ,u On a mountain of the Breadalbane district of Perth-

shire, also at a height of 3,000 feet.”

As a result of a determined effort in 1876 a number were
secured on the wing, and a female was detected laying eggs \
on crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum). The latter observation gave
the clue to the food-plant and resulted in the subsequent
discovery of larvae and pupae. In Barrett ( loc . cit., p. 234)

F. D. Wheeler is quoted as saying: “ It appears to inhabit the
highest mountain peaks on the south side of Loch Rannoch.”
These important discoveries of Wheeler and N. M. Richardson

* Received 18 th December 1952

I

12

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 6 5

are referred to also by Dr. F. Buchanan White in Scottish
Naturalist , 1877, 4:12. In 1878 Buchanan White (Scot. Nat.,
4: 341) refers to “an imago on a mountain near Glen Tilt
last July 55 (i.e. 1878).

Following the publication of Barrett’s work K. J. Morton
(Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1899: 55) gave a record for Inverness-
shire, “ on the great range of the Cairngorms ”, and William
Evans (ibid., 55-56) states that he “ found the larva near
Dalwhinnie in 1892

Regarding life-history and general habitat the following
facts are now accepted, (a) In the central area of Scotland,
i.e. all the region south of the Great Glen, the species has been
found only at a minimum elevation of 2,000 feet, (b) The
main food plant is apparently crowberry (Empetrum nigrum),
although bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), cranberry (Vac-
cinium vitis-idaea) , and even the mountain azalea (. Loiseleuria
procumbens ) growing at 2,000 feet in conjunction with crow-
berry, cannot be ruled out. (c) The life-cycle is biennial, of
which the greatest part, some twenty-two months, is spent in
the larval stage, (d) The pupal stage is reached and the imag-
ines found only in the even-numbered years.

It is strange, however, that the first discovery of the insect
was made in an odd-numbered year (1839), and attempts, so
far unsuccessful, have been made to establish whether there
does occur a limited emergence in such years. It should be
noted that the only other mention that can be traced of a pupa
being found in an odd-numbered year is that recorded as
being discovered near Braemar in 1873 by J. S. Allin, already
quoted. It is a pity that there are not more details about
these two records. Barrett (loc. cit., p. 235), not being aware
of the records from the counties of Aberdeen and Inverness,
remarks: “There appears to be no reason why this species
should be confined to the mountains of Perthshire, and there
is little doubt that it will be found in other counties of Scotland
where the mountains rise to a similar elevation.” From the
afore-mentioned records it was evident that the species had
a fairly wide range, i.e. in the counties of Perth, Aberdeen,
and Inverness. Subsequent to 1876 it seems that only single
specimens were found, and while the discoveries of Wheeler
and Richardson suggest that a number were collected by them,

The Northern Dart, Agrotis hyperborea (Zetterstedt) . Forms from
three Scottish Highland localities
Upper left : typical Rannoch form ; colour rosy.

typical Monadhliath form ; colour darker than in
Rannoch form, ground colour with much black and
light blue.

typical East Grampian form ; colour reddish brown,
a typical East Grampian form.

Middle left

Lower left
Right side

[To face p. 12

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NORTHERN DART

13

1953

no indication is given of the exact quantity. Again, the
records of Morton and Evans in Inverness-shire, as already
quoted, suggest only single specimens being found.

Between the end of the last century and 1942 there is
little record of the number of specimens taken or the discovery
of new localities. This may be due to two reasons, [a) the
difficulty of discovering the pupation site, and (b) newly
found localities being kept secret by their discoverers. It
must be realised that the species was considered rare in
Scotland and a high value was placed upon it by dealers and
collectors. The commercial value attached to the rarer
lepidoptera has always tended to the suppression of informa-
tion of possible scientific importance. Any new locality
publicised is liable to be raided to obliteration by unscrupulous
collectors. It is therefore not to be wondered at if discoverers
of new localities, who are interested solely in their scientific
importance, have kept the information to themselves. In
recent years, however, from 1942 to 1948, a breeding ground
with what was a dense concentration was found on the southern
edge of the Monadhliath Mountains in Inverness-shire, as
well as three or four others grouped together in the Angus
Mountains.

Method of Collecting

Certain difficulties attend the search for this species. The
easiest method, and the one most productive of a high per-
centage of imagines, is pupa hunting. The last larval instar
is fairly easily discovered by turning back the food plant
(crowberry) and may be successfully reared in captivity by
feeding on ordinary garden carrot (root). No success has
attended my efforts to bring it to maturity from an earlier
stage. The imago may be attracted to light, but favourable
conditions for so doing at any height over 2,000 feet (even in
July) are few and far between. In 1940 information was
obtained from an entomologist of wide experience that the
best place to find the pupae was at the sides of the beaten
tracks made by hares or sheep. By carefully lifting the thin
carpet of grey lichen and crowberry with the fingers the
pupae might be found lying just below the surface on the edges

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THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

of the tracks. On testing this idea in 1944 it was found to be
correct. Previous efforts had consisted in tearing up the
plant carpet in a haphazard manner over a wide area. This
is a destructive way of collecting, also one which is not very
successful, and it had become apparent that, if one was not
to lay waste the locality and destroy the food plant there,
some more scientific method would have to be found. As to
why the larvae chose the edges of hare and sheep tracks, the
answer seemed to be that drainage was involved. The
breeding ground is generally wet, but the channel of the
tracks is usually an inch or more below the edges where the
pupae are found. Heavy rain is thereby drained off into the
channel and the pupa does not become water-logged. It
seemed reasonable to suppose that there must be other types
of sites on the breeding ground which afforded suitable
drainage for the pupae, and in the Rannoch district, at 2,300
feet, this idea was put to the test in 1946. Close examination
of the ground surface beneath the plant carpet revealed
hardly perceptible rises and falls in the ground hidden by the
top covering of vegetation. If this was removed carefully
from one of these small rises, underneath or just adjacent to
the food-plant, a pupa would more often than not be found
either on or just below the top of the rise. No pupae were
found in the wet hollows where there was danger of an excess
of water. Using this method forty pupae were uncovered in
a short time within a comparatively small area and without
undue disturbance of the plant covering.

Distribution

(1) The Monadhliath Mts. This ground was discovered
in 1942 and was fully reported on by Russell and de Worms
(1944). I first visited the site in 1946, after carrying out the
above-mentioned tests at Rannoch. The site is on the
eastern edge of the Monadhliath range, stretching from Gheall
Carn Mor (2,700 feet) north-east for some ij miles. Much
of the surface covering had been torn up in a haphazard
manner in the two previous seasons (1942, 1944), and on
reaching the ground a number of collectors were found at
work. The pupal concentration at this locality was dense,

1953

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NORTHERN DART

i5

but it was obvious that immense inroads were being made by
collectors, one being reported as having taken 500 pupae in
the previous season. I took sixty pupae, but a good propor-
tion of these were found in an undisturbed place about a mile
to the east of the popular locality. The method of search
had to be rather different from that used at Rannoch. The
food-plant is in small patches, not in an all-over carpet, and
grows amongst a plant complex of stunted heather and grey
lichen. Here the habit of the larva seemed to be to move off
the food plant on to the grey moss and lichen surrounding it
and pupate under this covering at the edge of the plant.. It
was noticed, however, that the same preference was given to a
well drained site as at Rannoch. A further visit was paid to
this gound in 1950 in the second week of June, and the area
examined showed that there was hardly one plant of crowberry
which had not been disturbed and often torn up by the roots.
Not a single pupa was found, and it is very doubtful whether
this locality will survive the devastation by collectors.

(2) Angus Mts. This zone, as far as is known, has never
previously been prospected for A. hyperborea. A great extent
of the tops and ridges is rough grassland as high as 2,800
feet, but there are also large stretches of heather interspersed
with the typical moss-Empetrum carpet suitable for a breeding
ground. Two adjacent grounds were eventually found, one
on the south-east and the other on the south-west side of the
same mountain, at a height of 2,800 to 2,900 feet. Evidence
of another ground was found on a nearby height at an eleva-
tion of about 2,500 feet, but only three or four pupae were
uncovered here, just round the summit. It was impossible
to prospect any further that season owing to limited time and
to hill mist. Another adverse factor was the extreme dryness
of the ground which made the moss very brittle, and matters
were further complicated by a growth of dwarf Vaccinium
vitis-idaea with long shoots running just under the surface of
the ground. Removing the upper covering of vegetation was
more than usually hard on the fingers, and on at least eight occa-
sions pupae were badly damaged by the strands of vitis-idaea and
bits of hard lichen. This extreme dryness appeared to reverse
the larva’s habit of finding a suitable pupating site, for instead
of the driest place on the small rises in the ground, they chose

1 6 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol 65

the damper hollows. In all twenty-four perfect pupae were
taken in four visits. In 1948 three other heights near the
above-mentioned localities were examined and all three showed
typical hyperborea ground, uncomplicated by V. vitis-idaea. On
the first height a few pupae were found round the summit,
but on the second height, on the south-west shoulder, there
was discovered a very good concentration quite equal to
that found nearby in 1946. On the third summit only one
pupa was found, but the area of typical ground was very
small.

(3) Ben-y-Gloe. As to whether this locality has been visited
since last century, it is hard to say. There appear to be no
records, apart from those already mentioned. It is not an
easily accessible area, having to be approached either by way
of Glen Tilt, from Blair Atholl, or by the track up Glen
Fearnat, which branches off the Kirkmichael-Pitlochry road,
about ij miles north-west of Enoch Dhu. Either approach
to the locality necessitates a long trek, with a final climb of
some 2,600 feet. The locality in the Rannoch area on Meall
Breac, which is easily reached from Kinloch Rannoch, has
certainly been exploited by collectors for many years, and it
is safe to assume that this locality has attracted their attention
in preference to the more remote habitat on Ben-y-Gloe.

(4) Rannoch District. The locality on Meall Breac (2,300
feet) is too well known to require much comment. The area
to the south of the first summit used to carry a good concen-
tration of insects, and here the plant complex was a carpet
of stunted heather, grey moss and crowberry. The ground
rises for a mile to the south, to a height of some 2,500 feet,
and while a few pupae may always be found where the crow-
berry grows amongst the stunted heather, by far the greater
density of population occurs at the lower elevation.

(5) Western Cairngorms. In August 1948 a dead imago
found amongst crowberry and stunted heather at a height
of over 3,000 feet confirmed K. J. Morton’s record for the
Cairngorm Mountains already quoted. A search in 1950 un-
covered only one pupa in June. In the same month a search
was made on another height two or three miles to the north,
and two pupae were found. Further research would probably
reveal an area of more dense population.

1953

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NORTHERN DART

17

In June 1950 an extensive survey was undertaken in
Sutherland and Wester Ross to discover the extent of crow-
berry distribution and whether the plant was in sufficient
quantity to hold a population of the moth. It had to be
borne in mind that the elevation at which the alpine plant-
carpet exists in the north of Scotland is considerably lower
than in the central zone. Wide areas were examined, from
a height of 1,200 up to 2,600 Jeet, both in the centre and
north of Sutherland and in the centre and coastal districts of
Wester Ross. The result was disappointing. A sparse
growth of crowberry was found in widely scattered areas,
from 1,500 up to 2,000 feet, but nowhere did there appear
to be sufficient to sustain even a small population of hyperborea.
No evidence of pupae was found.

As far as can be determined the range of the species on
the mainland would seem to be confined to the central districts
south of the Great Glen.

Variation

The species is one of the most variable in the British Isles.
Generally speaking, the basic coloration of the majority of
specimens differs in the three localities of Rannoch, Monadh-
liaths, and Angus, but specimens taken in each of these
localities sometimes are indistinguishable from one another.
It is impossible therefore to point to any one specimen as
coming from any one district. The Rannoch insects are
mainly of a rosy colour. Those in the Monadhliaths are
much darker, with a great deal of black and light blue in the
ground colouring, the light blue turning to an ashy grey some
months after the specimens have been killed and set. Those
found in the Angus localities are reddish brown, with many
extreme variations not found in either of the other two habitats.
Specimens from all three localities are in possession of the
Natural History Department, University College, Dundee.

A Suggestion

These notes present some of the field work carried out on
this species by one individual only, and are by no means

3

1 8 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

claimed to be conclusive. Doubtless there are others who
have worked in the field on this most interesting moth, and
whose knowledge and experience would enable them to add
much information on its range and variation in Scotland.
Full details of the localities mentioned here have been lodged
with the Nature Conservancy, 12 Hope Terrace, Edinburgh 9,
for their confidential records, as well as with the Natural
History Department, University College, Dundee. Other
entomologists might similarly record their findings with the
Nature Conservancy so that their knowledge be preserved and
the localities which they have discovered be safeguarded in the
future.

I wish to express my thanks to the Bowden Entomological
Trust of Glasgow University, from which, at the hands of
Professor A. D. Peacock, University College, Dundee, I have
received a grant in aid of my field work.

REFERENCES

JBarrett, C. G., 1899. The Lepidoptera of the British Islands , Vol. 5. London.
Newman, E., 1869. The natural history of British butterflies and moths.
London.

Russell, A. G. B. and de Worms, C. G., 1944. Entomologist , 77 : 918.
South, R., 1920. The moths of the British Isles , First Series. London.

1953

THE BIRDS ON ST. KILDA, 1952

19

THE BIRDS ON ST. KILDA, 1952*

T. B. Bagenal
The Marine Station, Millport

With the kind permission of the Marquess of Bute, a party
visited the islands of St. Kilda from 24th July to 10th August
J952- The expedition lived on Hirta and visited Dun on five
occasions, but it was not possible to go to any of the other
islands.

A thorough census of all the birds was not attempted,
because the breeding season of most species was over, and
also because the topography can hardly allow even the most
careful census to be at all accurate. Nevertheless, with some
of the less common species, an attempt was made to determine
the minimum number that was present. Each evening a
“ roll-call 55 was held; and I would like to thank all the
members of the party who contributed their notes and patiently
accepted my scepticism, and being cross-examined at length.

The results are given in the systematic list below, which
follows the order given in the Check-list of the Birds of Great
Britain and Ireland , published by the British Ornithologist’s
Union (1952).

Leach’s Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa. No night excur-
sions were made to Dun, and this species was not reported.

Storm-Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus. The only definite
record was of a bird heard in a burrow in a cleit on the edge
of Na h-Eagan on 3rd August. The noise was rendered
(before consulting The Handbook, Witherby, 1940) as Bunn . ..
nr chicka repeated over and over again. Petrels were seen
flying then, and on 9th August one adult was seen in a
burrow on Mullach Bi, and a chick on Dun; but in all
these cases it was not possible to determine the species. Many
burrows were examined along the south-western side of Hirta
between Dun and the Cambir and from many, particularly
those on the higher ground, the musty smell characteristic of
petrels was recognised.

* Received ijth December 1952

20

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus . Heard calling over
Mullach Bi on 27th July, on south-west slopes on 3rd August,
loud and clearly over Dun on 3rd and 9th August, and over
the village on 27th July and 10th August. No birds were
' seen, and neither were any carcasses or skulls, which are so
often found if the species is at all plentiful.

Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis. One seen at 6 a.m.
on 10th August when two-thirds of the way back to the Sound
of Harris.

Fulmar Petrel Fulmarus glacialis. Very abundant.

Gannet Sula bassana. Catching mackerel on most days in
Village Bay.

Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis. The most seen together was
ninety in Village Bay. Young were present among boulders on
the west side of Glen Bay, and at the Castle on Dun 200 feet
above sea level.

Common Eider Somateria mollissima . Males, females and
young present every day in Village Bay; also seen in Glen
Bay and on the south-west side of Dun and Hirta. No nests
were found, but it seems that the increased population noted
by Fisher (1948) has been maintained.

Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus. None seen, although
specially looked for. Its absence is of interest as peregrines
have bred on St. Kilda for very many years.

Kestrel Falco tinnunculus. Very probably breeding. First
seen by J. M. Boyd on 27th July, thereafter seen daily by all
members of the party, most often on Glacan Oiseval, though
also on Conachair, Am Blaid and Na h-Eagan. One adult
male and one female were definitely distinguished, besides two
others which appeared to be juveniles. The most seen together
was four on 6th August. The birds were often seen hovering.

Corncrake Crex crex. Only one seen and heard, always
in a patch of iris by the Village Street opposite house number 8.

Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. Very common and
vociferous.

Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. One, Village Bay, 3rd and
7th August.

Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula. First seen on 30th
July, thereafter fluctuating in numbers never more than five,
on the Village Bay sand, or below the Store.

ig53 THE BIRDS ON ST. KILDA, 1952 21

Golden Plover Charadrius apricarius. Always present on
Mullach Sgar. Never more than four seen together. One had
the typical plumage of a male of the northern subspecies Ch.
apricarius altifrons , the others being either females or immature,
with the northern racial characters not so clearly marked.

Turnstone Arenaria interpres. Flock on Dun 26th July.
Fifteen in Dun passage 29th July.

Common Snipe Capella gallinago. Very numerous in the
village and on the hillsides. Young often seen in the village
meadows. Nest found by the old wall under Claigeann Mor.
Chick ringed in Gleann Mor. Two on Dun 31st July. It
seems probable that the numbers have increased considerably
since 1947, when Fisher estimated there were only eight pairs
breeding on Hirta.

Curlew Numenius arquata. Some calling over Glen Bay
2nd August. One seen in Village Bay 3rd and 7th August.

Sanderling Crocethia alba. One on the strand Village Bay
2nd August, and again on 9th August.

Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus. Accompanied
herring gulls. Thirty seen at once in Gleann Mor.

Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus. None seen.

Herring- Gull Larus argentatus. Adults and immature
congregated during the day on the beach, Ruaival, and in
Gleann Mor.

Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus. One in Glen Bay
2nd August, thereafter one on the sand in Village Bay every
day. Two were present on 7th and 8th August.

Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. Breeding in various localities
and congregating on other clearly defined cliff areas.

Razorbill Alca tor da. Adults and young seen only
among boulders at the Castle end of Dun.

Guillemot Uria aalge. Occupying ledges on Hirta and
Dun.

Black Guillemot Uria grylle. Two in Glen Bay 31st
July. Seen singly in Village Bay, Glen Bay and off the south-
west coast.

Puffin Fratercula arctica. Very abundant.

Rock-Dove Columba livia. None seen, although searched
for. This supports Fisher’s statement that the species is
probably extinct on St. Kilda.

22 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

Skylark Alauda arvensis. None were seen or heard. This
species was first proved to breed on St. Kilda in 1947 (Fisher,

*948) •

Swallow Hirundo rustica. Two seen by J. M. Boyd on
Ruaival on 24th July.

Raven Corvus corax. Seen regularly all over Hirta; as
many as eleven were seen together twice, namely on 1st
August over Oiseval and 5th August over Mullach Bi.

Hooded Crow Corvus cornix. Three regularly on Oiseval,
and two always present on Dun and Mullach Bi.

Wren Troglodytes troglodytes. On Hirta in the village, and
on screes and on the sea cliffs, particularly among boulders.
Two fledglings were ringed. On Dun about twenty were
seen.

Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe. Hirta. Three seen to-
gether on Mullach Geal, otherwise singly and not common.

Meadow-Pipit Anthus pratensis. Infrequent on Hirta and
Dun, commonest at Na Mulichean Mor.

Rock-Pipit Anthus spinoletta. Hirta and Dun. The com-
monest land bird.

Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba. One at the Manse, 4th and
9th August.

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea. One Gleann Mor, 3rd
August. One in the Village, 4th August.

Starling Sturnus vulgaris. Wandering flocks of up to two
hundred on Hirta and Dun, mostly immature birds. The
1931, !939 and 1947 expeditions reported an increase in the
population, and it is clear that this is being maintained.

Twite Carduelis Jlavirostris. Hirta and Dun. Very local,
centred on Ruaival, Oiseval, Gleann Mor and the sea cliffs
below Mullach Bi.

Discussion

The most interesting records are certainly those of the
kestrels. They have previously been recorded by MacGillivray
(1840), who states that they breed in the precipices in small
numbers; and by Wilson (1842), who also includes it as a
breeding bird for 1841. Dixon (1885), Glarke (1912) and
Buchan, Harrison and Lack (1932) record only individual

i953 THE BIRDS ON ST. KILDA, 1952 23

birds which were probably on passage. A search was made
for kestrel pellets on Glacan Oiseval, but none were found.
The diet must be restricted, although suitable food is plentiful.
Pipits, wrens, starlings and snipe could all contribute to the
bird-prey, but the only mammal is the St. Kildan field-mouse
Apodemus sylvaticus hirtensis.

Also of interest is the absence of peregrines (two pairs in
1931 and 1939), which is difficult to account for. Had they
been present we would certainly have seen them. Three
different individual carrier pigeons frequented the area round
the manse. One of these had been left by a party of yachtsmen
three weeks before our arrival. If peregrines had also been
present on the island it is certain that the pigeons would not
have survived long.

Another bird that was specially looked for and not found
is the lesser black-backed gull. Fisher records fifteen pairs
in the Great Glen in 1947, though only three birds were seen
in 1939-

The decline in wheatears noticed by Nicholson and
Fisher in 1939 has continued, and we found no evidence of
breeding.

That there should be a single corncrake in 1938 (Atkinson),
in 1939 and again in 1952, on each occasion in the same place,
is certainly peculiar, and one wonders if it could be the same
individual.

The records of wagtails, swallows, curlews, sanderlings,
ringed plovers, black-headed gulls and lapwings are of interest
as they provide further evidence of an early autumn migration
similar to that found by the 1931 expedition.

REFERENCES
Atkinson, R., 1949. Island Going. London.

Buchan, J., Harrisson, T. H. and Lack, D., 1932. The early autumn
migration at St. Kilda in 1931. Scot. Nat., 1932: 3-8.

Clarke, W. E., 1912. Studies in Bird Migration, Vol. 2: 183-249. London.
Dixon, C., 1885. The ornithology of St. Kilda. Ibis, 1885: 69-97.
Fisher, J., 1948. St. Kilda, 1947. Bull. B.O.C., 68: 66-71.

Harrisson, T. H. and Lack, D., 1934. The breeding birds of St. Kilda.
Scot. Nat., 1934: 59-69.

24 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol 65

MacGillivray, J., 1840. An account of the island of St. Kilda, chiefly
with reference to its natural history, from notes made during a visit
in July 1840. Edinburgh New Philosoph. Journ., 32: 47-70.
Nicholson, E. M. and Fisher, J., 1940. A bird census of St. Kilda, 1939.
Brit. Birds, 34: 29-35.

Wilson, J., 1842. A Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland and the Isles , Vol. 2:
72. Edinburgh.

Witherby, H. F., etc., 1940. The Handbook of British Birds, Vol. IV.
London.

1953

THE SHEEP POPULATION OF HIRTA, 1952

25

THE SHEEP POPULATION OF HIRTA, ST. KILDA,

!952 *

J. Morton Boyd
Glasgow

During a summer expedition to St. Kilda in 1952, a quick
population study of the wild sheep was made, and a compre-
hensive census was taken.

Before considering the situation as we found it in 1952, it
will be useful to recall in brief the history of the sheep flocks
on Hirta, the largest island of the group. The early inhabitants
kept a breed of sheep regarded by Professor James Ritchie
(1920) as an early stage in the domestication of the wild
mouflon Ovis musimon. It is from this breed that the Soay
sheep of the present day are directly derived, and although the
date of their introduction to St. Kilda is unknown, it is prob-
able that they were established by the Norsemen. Since
that time, however, a pure stock of these sheep has remained
intact on the Isle of Soay at the north-west corner of Hirta,
and separated from it by an impassable gulf of sea and cliff.
They are therefore living survivors of the domesticated breed
of a thousand years ago.

Later there arrived in the Hebrides from the east more
improved types of sheep, which were introduced into Hirta
by the lairds of St. Kilda to enhance the stock. None of those
ever reached Soay, but by the time of the human evacuation
l in 1930 blackface was the dominant strain on Hirta and
Boreray. At this time attempts were made to take the entire
sheep population away from Hirta, but Dr. Fraser Darling
| and Mr. A. G. Ferguson inform me that several escaped the
! shepherds. Among these was at least one blackface whose
! characters are probably in the present stock. Mr. Ferguson
also witnessed the introduction into Hirta, by the present laird,

1 of 107 Soays from the Isle of Soay in 1932, and the proportions
of this flock were about 20 tups, 44 ewes, and 43 lambs, of

* Received 10 th March 1953

;j

i!

4

26 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

which 22 were wethers and 21 ewe lambs. An expedition in
1948, Mr. James Fisher tells me, recognised some of those
wethers with their knob horns still alive sixteen years after-
wards. The date given by Poore and Robertson (1949) for
the introduction of this flock as 1931 is in error.

During the following years St. Kildans returned to the
islands to attend to the flocks both on Hirta and Boreray.
It is recorded (Fisher, 1948) that in 1937 no blackface remained
on Hirta, the population being presumably entirely Soay.
According to the present laird, the Marquess of Bute, Hirta
had a population of about 500 sheep in 1939, but during the
war years no watch was kept, and it was not until Fisher
returned in 1947 that the next estimate of the population was
made. No systematic census was taken by this expedition,
but a rough figure of between 400 and 450 is given. In the
following year Darling’s expedition counted between 650 and
700, but Dr. Darling tells me that no comprehensive census
was made with the combined efforts of the whole party. It
would appear that in recent years little attention has been
given to the Soay population on the Isle of Soay or the unkept
blackface on Boreray. On one occasion in July 1952, how-
ever, I counted about sixty sheep on Soay, from the cliff tops
of the Cambir on Hirta, and Mr. T. B. Bagenal, a member of
the 1952 party, saw large numbers of sheep grazing the steep
southern pastures of Boreray a few weeks before that time.

The latest census we carried out on 5th August 1952.
Six members of the party took part, and starting from Am
Blaid, paired off to cover three different sections of the island.
We took great care to watch the passage of sheep from one
section into the next, making note of the time of entry and
size of flock, and after the operation was complete compared
notes. Party 1, consisting of Dr. D. T. Gauld and J. Kirkland,
covered Mullach Geal, Mullach Mor, Gonachair, Oiseval, and
the village area. Party 2, consisting of T. B. Bagenal and
J. H. Connell, covered Mullach Bi, Gleann Mor, and the
Cambir. Party 3, consisting of Professor W. Fisher Cassie and
myself, covered Ruaival, Na h-Eagan, Leathaid a’ Sgithoi]
Chaoil, Mullach Sgar, Creagan Dubh, and Creagan Breac.
Party 1 counted 338, Party 2 counted 563, and Party 3 countec
213, to give a grand total of 1,114.

i953 THE SHEEP POPULATION OF HIRTA, 1952 27

Owing to the lack of accurate information regarding the
Hirta flocks since the introduction of the 107 individuals from
Soay, and to the gap of the war years when no naturalists
visited the island, a reliable picture of the build up of the
population cannot be obtained. From the figures available,
however, it would appear that numbers have been increasing
at a fairly steady rate, and that in the space of twenty years,
in the absence of predators, the population has become ten
times as large as the original flock. In their present strength
the sheep are grazing the grasslands smooth in all parts of the
island, except in the village area, and it would appear that
numbers are approaching what might well be the island’s
carrying capacity.

Contrary to expectations, the increase in numbers has not
meant the gross overgrazing of the pastures around the
village, and this may be due to the presence of humans during
the summer. Indeed, the meadows have a luxuriant Agrostis-
Festuca-Anthoxanthum complex, which provides suitable
cover for such birds as the snipe Gallinago gallinago. These
birds, reduced to two pairs in 1947, had perhaps increased to
four pairs in 1952. Starlings Sturnus vulgaris attend the sheep
flocks throughout the island. In 1947 there were at least
fifty pairs, while in 1952 an estimate of about 200 to 250
flocking starlings is fairly accurate.

The carcases of dead sheep were never in evidence on the
hillsides, mainly because they seem to die in “ cleits ”, which
are small stone cells situated in great numbers throughout the
island, and built by the St. Kildans to store crops, fuel, food,

I and gear. As a result the “ cleits ” are littered with the
I remains of sheep which have not been molested by crows.
[There is little doubt that in 1952 there were three pairs of
■ hooded crows Corvus cornix , and probably four pairs of ravens
Corvus corax.

The distribution of the sheep follows roughly the geological
! outlines of the island. Party 1 counted sheep on the pastures
'underlain by the acid granite (granophyre), and parties 2 and
3 on the pastures underlaid by the basic gabbro (olivine
eucrite), with ii-i8 per cent. CaO, and breccia (Cockburn,
1935). Although the area covered by party 1 is approxi-
mately equal to that covered by parties 2 and 3 added

28

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

together, the latter counted 77 per cent, of the population.
From figures which Mr. Fisher has sent me of his 1947 count,
I find that he saw about 70 per cent, on the basic grasslands,
and a quarter of the total population was found on Ruaival
alone in 1948 (Poore and Robertson, 1949). The grazing
effect is due to sheep alone, there being no rabbits or hares.

Present in the Hirta flocks are individuals of light brown
fleece-colour, white face, hornless, etc. I sampled the flocks
to ascertain the proportions of light brown individuals. It
emerged that 22-9 per cent, of the population was of the light
strain, and an analysis of the chance distribution of those
throughout the flocks showed them to be randomly distri-
buted.

St. Kilda presents many superb problems in plant and
animal ecology, and none would be more repaying than a
study of the wild sheep. The first step would be to catch
and mark a large number of individuals, and then the door
would be open for a detailed study of the social structure of
the flocks, the reproductive rate, the life history of the animal,
and reciprocal factors of the eco-system. These sheep are
one of the few populations of large wild mammals which the
country possesses, and deserve further attention.

REFERENCES

Cockburn, A. M., 1935. The Geology of St. Kilda. Trans. Roy. Soc.
Edinb., 58: 511-548.

Darling, F. Fraser, 1947. Natural History in the Highlands and Islands ,
pp. 2 10-2 1 2. London.

Fisher, James, 1948. St. Kilda. New Naturalist Journal , pp. 91-108.
London.

Poore, M. E. D. and Robertson, V. C., 1949. The Vegetation of St.
Kilda in 1948. J. Ecol. : 37, 82-99.

Ritchie, James, 1920. The Influence of Man on Animal Life in Scotland, pp.
35-40. Cambridge.

i953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952

29

THE MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF
ST. KILDA, 1952 *

D. T. Gauld, T. B. Bagenal and J. H. Connell
The Marine Station, Millport, and Glasgow University

Although the natural history of St. Kilda has been studied in
considerable detail, the marine fauna and flora have received
very little attention apart from records incidental to other
investigations (Evans 1906, Hewitt 1907). We are therefore
grateful to the Marquess of Bute for permitting a party which we
were invited to join to visit the islands during July and August
1952 when we made as good a survey of the marine biology as
conditions allowed. The party lived on Hirta and landed on
Dun on several occasions but was not able to visit any of the
other adjacent islands or stacks.

It was possible to survey on the ground or from a rowing
boat two miles of the shore of Village Bay from Rudh Challa
(Map 2) to the eastern point of Dun, but elsewhere the only
place where the shore was reached was Glen Bay on the north
side of Hirta.

Village Bay is § of a mile across and faces east-south-east.
It is bounded to the north by the cliffs of Oiseval which, while
100 feet high at Rudh Challa, change to flat shelving rocks at
Tobar a’Chleirich and these extend for 200 yards as far as the
pier. West of the pier the rocks give way to large boulders
which gradually become smaller and merge with the high
storm beach which rises some 15 feet above H.W.O.S.T.
j This storm beach extends round the head of the bay where it
rises abruptly at high water mark from a sandy shore some
300 yards long and 50 yards broad at low tide. Buchan,
who was the minister there for many years, says (1773) :
“ There is plain sand at the head of this bay, to be seen in
j summer only ; the sea in winter washing it off the stones.” At
its north-east end the boulders are 3 feet or more in diameter
and are composed of a light coloured granophyre. After a
! short transition belt near the mouth of Amhuinn Mhor they

* Received 17th December 1952

30

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

give way to smaller and darker-coloured dolerite boulders,
reflecting the change in the solid geology. As the ground
begins to rise on the south-west side of the bay the boulders
again begin to cover the intertidal region, and here they tend
to be very large with, even at low tide, deep water between

them. These large boulders merge into a steeply sloping
shore of the parent rock as far as Caolas an Duin. How-
ever, since the shore between Uamh Cailleach Bheag
Ruaival and Geo Leibli is very broken we were unable to make
our way along the shore and steep cliffs of drift prevented access
from the land. The only place where the shore could be
reached on this part of Hirta was in Caolas an Duin.

On Dun the shelving rocks of the north shore are easily
traversed nearly as far as Seilg Geo where the steep cliffs which
form the rest of the north coast of Dun begin. Seilg Geo is a
deep narrow cave, formed by the erosion of a dyke, which it

i953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952 31

was possible to penetrate for about 50 feet in a rowing boat, and
Geo na Ruideig a little further along the shore is a second much
wider cave which we examined.

Map 2. — Village Bay, Hirta.

In Glen Bay, apart from a short stretch of shelving rocks at
the head of the bay, most of the shore is precipitous and inac-
cessible. The shore was reached by members of the party at
the tunnel, Geo na h’Airde, and at Mol Garn na Liana, but no
important observations were made.

Elsewhere the shore was precipitous and inaccessible and
observations could only be made from the cliff tops at a con-
siderable height.

32

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

ZONATION ON THE ROCKY SHORES

The zonation all round the island was remarkably uniform;
it was only in Village Bay and Glen Bay that variations
occurred. Large algae other than Alaria and Porphyra were

rare and the only obviously numerous animals were barnacles,
mussels and limpets; these are features associated with exposure
to severe wave action. The observations appear to fit the
scheme proposed by T. A. and A. Stephenson (1949) and the
changes observed with different exposure and aspect will be
considered in relation to their paper.

1. The Sub-littoral Fringe

On the exposed rocky shores extending round most of the
island, 5 or 6 feet of this zone was the lowest that could be seen
at L.W.O.S.T., characterised by Lithothamnion-t ncrusted rocks
more or less covered by Alaria. Except for the presence of
sponges and Sagartia in suitable holes and crannies, the only
plentiful animal found was Calliostoma.

With less exposure, found only in Village Bay, there was an
extensive development of Laminaria cloustonii with only a narrow
fringe of Alaria above. It is not definitely known if the
Laminaria was absent elsewhere and only locally replacing the
Alaria in the lower part of the zone, or whether the Laminaria ,
permanently submerged and out of sight round the rest of the

33

i953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952

island, extended into the littoral region in Village Bay; detailed
observations round Seilg Geo do suggest this latter alternative.
In area A (Map 3) Alaria only was visible, but towards area B
Laminaria appears sublittorally, emerging at the western end of
this face, and in area C replaced the Alaria completely. In
Seilg Geo (area D) there were no algae. In area E a fringe of
Alaria appeared again above the Laminaria and became more
extensive as the rocks became less sheltered. In Geo na
Ruideig poorly developed Alaria was present on the western
side and at the head of the cave, but not on the overhanging
eastern side.

2. The Mid-littoral Zone

On exposed vertical rocks this zone consists of dense
Balanus balanoides and among these some Chthamalus stellatus and,
in its middle third, large numbers of small Mytilus edulis. On
the slightly sheltered and sloping rocks below the store, in
Gaolas an Duin and at the head of Glen Bay the barnacles were
more scattered, covering less than half the rock surface, and the
proportion of Chthamalus was much larger. On the more
sheltered Village Bay rocks Gigartina stellata formed dense
patches; the more exposed Glen Bay rocks with similar slope
had only sparse Gigartina.

The Stephensons ( loc . cit.) defined the upper limit of the
mid-littoral zone as the upper limit of barnacles in quantity.
This would include, on the St. Kildan sheltered shores, a belt
dominated by Patella , and also containing extensive patches of
Fucus vesiculosus , mostly forma evesiculosus though the typical
variety was occasionally found on the sheltered side of boulders.

3. The Supra-littoral Fringe

On the exposed shores above the barnacles was a zone of
i rock which was bare except for conspicuous Patella vulgata on
! whose shells was very often Porphyra umbilicalis. Where the
I Patella were absent, as in Glen Bay, the Porphyra extended as

I forma laciniata into the barnacles, indicating that Patella
grazing determines its normal lower limit. Patella therefore
occupies an anomalous position ; in the sheltered Village Bay
it inhabited the mid-littoral zone, while with increasing
5

34 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

exposure it was able to occupy more and more of the supra-
littoral region. This upward trend was also found with the
Porphyra of Glen Bay where, as well as the downward extension
already mentioned, the upper limit was raised several feet,
probably by the waves surging up the sloping rocks, so that the
total height was about 1 5 feet. Contrasted with this, in Village
Bay the Porphyra was not nearly so extensive and with it was
found Fucus spiralis (approaching forma nana ) which, though
quite abundant, was restricted to both sides of the beach.

Above the Porphyra was a zone of varying width, slightly
brownish-green in colour caused by microscopic algae.

Discussion

The minor Glen Bay modifications of the typical exposed
conditions are attributable more to the slope than to shelter and
here, as in corners and geos where the swell ran higher up the
rock, the upper limits of Alaria, Lithothamnion , and Porphyra were
raised several feet. Village Bay, however, is considerably
sheltered and exposed only to south-easterly gales ; the party
was surprised how sheltered it was even with a strong easterly
wind. The zonation modifications appear to be associated
with this rather than the nature of the shore, as was well shown
by the Fucus spp. Nevertheless the wave action must be
considerable as Laminaria digitata, Ascophyllum nodosum , Fucus
serratus , and Pelvetia canaliculata were not found. Floating
fragments of Ascophyllum were often found in the bay and if the
conditions were suitable it would probably have established
itself. A similar chance for Laminaria digitata , Fucus serratus , or
Pelvetia to colonise was not noticed, but the algal association
present suggest that the conditions are too severe for these
species. The exposure also reduced the numbers and variety
of all but the sessile shore animals. The Littorina spp. in
particular are of interest. Less than ten specimens of L.
littorea were found, and L. littoralis never exceeded 5 mm. in
length. On the other hand L. neritoides was abundant and
ubiquitous, extending from above high water mark to become
most abundant in the mid-littoral zone (cf. Evans 1947),
perhaps associated with the lack of competition with the larger
species which were unable to seek shelter in dead barnacles as
could the L. neritoides. If correct, this explanation accounts for

35

i953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952

the anomalous planktonic eggs of L. neritoides compared with
the viviparity of L. saxatilis, usually found lower down the shore;
the range of L. saxatilis was quite normal on St. Kilda. The
scarcity of Nucella lapillus was very significant in view of the
abundant available food supply.

The vertical range of Chthamalus stellatus was found to be
anomalous and of very special interest. Instead of being
restricted to a narrow band at the top of the shore and never
extending below mid-tide level, as is usual in west Scotland
(Moore and Kitching 1939), on St. Kilda in areas representa-
tive of the open coast Chthamalus was present from the middle of
the supra-littoral fringe to the bottom of the barnacles at
approximately L.W.O.N.T., being most abundant in the mid-
littoral zone. In Glen Bay and Village Bay Chthamalus had a
similar distribution, forming about 10 per cent, of the dense
barnacle patches on mid-littoral vertical rocks, while on more
horizontal faces where B. balanoides was less numerous, Chtha-
malus appeared unaffected by the slope, so that on nearly level
surfaces it out-numbered the Balanus. The geographical dis-
tribution of Chthamalus has been associated with the influence
of Atlantic water (Moore and Kitching 1939) and minimal
winter temperature (Southward 1950, Kitching 1950), both of
which might apply to its abundance on St. Kilda, and its
notable downward extension can be correlated with its exposure
to considerable wave action (cf. Hatton 1938, Hatton and
Fischer-Piette 1932).

The Fauna of the Sandy Beach

The fauna in the sand of Village Bay, which was sampled by
digging out squares of \ or J metre side to a depth of 10 cm. and
i washing the sand through a 2 mm. sieve, was sparse and con-
sisted of only four or five species. Talitrus saltator occurred
under drift wood and in the sand at H.W.O.S.T. Pontocrates
arenarius, Marino gammarus pirloti , and Nephthys cirrosa were
found in the sand close to L.W.O.S.T. and the only animal that
occurred in the middle part of the beach was Eurydice pulchra ,
which inhabited a fairly well defined zone just below mid- tide
level. The numbers per square metre obtained in a transect
from the base of the storm beach to L.W.M. are given in
Table 1.

36

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Table i

Station

Height below
base of storm beach
(metres)

Horizontal

distance

from storm beach
(metres)

Eurydice
No.! square metre

1

0*00

1

8

2

o*57

10

—

3

—

15

—

4

i*3i

20

i.996

5

25

4,640

6

2*06

30

4,228

7

—

35

1,200

8

2*71

40

56

9

—

45

32

10

3*o8

50

80

1 1

3*32

55

80

In order to find if the concentration of Eurydice extended the
whole length of the beach, a series of stations 25 metres apart,
and at the approximate level of Station 5 (Table 1) were
sampled. The results of this transect are given in Table 2,

Table 2

Station

Distance from
north end of beach
(metres)

Eurydice

No. /square metre

a

25

5.456

b (Station 5)

50

3.904

c

75

5,168

4,784

d

100

e

125

4,640

f

150

(Stream 17 metres South of St. f.)

2,624

g

175

160

h

200

96

i

225

1 12

j

250

32

k

275

16

It is apparent that either Eurydice was much scarcer south
of the stream, or else the main concentration was at a different
level. In order to investigate this four short transects were
made and the main concentration of Eurydice was found 10
metres higher up the beach south of the stream, where it was

1 953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952 37

also found that the water surface was 28 cm. below the sand
surface, compared with 40 cm. below it at the same level to the
north of the stream. There seems therefore to be some
correlation between the level on the beach of the main con-
centration of Eurydice and the depth of the water surface below
the sand. There was also a clear indication that there were
many fewer Eurydice near the stream since the largest catch in
a transect 5 metres from it was 32 per square metre.

It is remarkable that the intertidal fauna of the sandy beach
to all intents and purposes contained the one species Eurydice
pulchra , since the Nephthys and Amphipods at the bottom and
the Talitrus at the top were merely an overlap of the faunas of
the neighbouring regions. This paucity of species is probably
associated with the character of the sand, as well as with
exposure to wave action, particularly if, as Buchan says, the
sand is not permanent. The grains were angular and jagged,
so that although the sand was fine it did not pack closely and
drained quickly. This could be clearly seen at low water when
the stream disappeared before reaching the sea, and the water
table at the top of the beach was a metre below the surface of
the sand when the tide was out.

The Sublittoral Fauna

By means of small rectangular dredge (mesh size f inch) it
was found that the sand extended below L.W.O.S.T. to about
the 5 fathom contour (Map 2) and its fauna consisted only of
Nephthys cirrosa and Portunus marmoreus. Beyond the sand the
bottom deposit appeared to be a shell gravel with a more
varied fauna with abundant Echinocyamus pusillus and Venus
striatula.

REFERENCES

Buchan, A., 1773. A description of St. Kilda, giving an account of its
situation, extent, soil, product, bays, rocks, adjacent islands, ancient
laws, government, religion, customs and late reformation. Reprinted
in Miscellanea Scotica, 2. Glasgow, 1818.

Drew, K. M., 1949. Conchocelis-pha.se in the life-history of Porphyra
umbilicalis (L.) Kiitz. Nature , 164 : 748-749.

Evans, R. G., 1947. The intertidal ecology of selected localities in the
Plymouth neighbourhood. Journ. Mar. Biol. Ass., 27: 173-218.
Evans, W., 1906. Some Invertebrata, including Ixodes borealis, from St.
Kilda. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1906: 83-88.

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Fischer Piette, E., 1932. Repartition des principals especes fixees sur
les rochers battus des cotes de la Manche, de Lamnion a Fecamp.
Ann. Inst. Oceanogr., 12: 107-2 13.

Hatton, H., 1938. Essais de bionomie explicative sur quelques especes
intercotidales d’algues et d’animaux. Ann. Inst. Oceanogr ., 17: 241-
348.

Hewitt, C. G., 1907. Some Arthrostraca and other invertebrata from
St. Kilda. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1907: 2 19-221.

Kitching, J. A., 1950. Distribution of the littoral barnacle Chthamalus
stellatus around the British Isles. Nature , 165: 820.

Moore, H. B. and Kitching, J. A., 1939. The biology of Chthamalus
stellatus (Poli). Journ. Mar. Biol. Ass., 23: 521 -541.

Southward, A. J., 1950. Occurrence of Chthamalus stellatus in the Isle of
Man. Nature, 165: 408-409.

Stephenson, T. A. and A., 1949. The universal features of zonation
between tidemarks on rocky coasts. Journ. Ecol., 37: 289-305.

ALGAL LIST
Compiled by H. T. Powell
Chlorophygeae

Ulva lactuca L.

Village Bay : in the more sheltered positions between Rudh
Challa and Uamh Cailleach Bheag Ruaival, and in high level
brackish pools below Tobar na Gille. Also on stones dredged
from shell gravel.

Enter omorpha intestinalis (L.) Link

Village Bay: common in brackish pools below the store and
below Tobar na Gille.

Enter omorpha compressa (L.) Grev.

Village Bay: common on shelving rocks wherever fresh water
present, and in the pools below Tobar na Gille.

Glen Bay : abundant in similar situations at the head of the bay,
and epiphytic on Fucus inflatus f. distichus.

Urospora penicilliformis (Roth) Aresch. (= U. isogona (Sm.) Batt.).
Glen Bay : associated with Gigartina stellata; also epiphytic on
Callithamnion arbuscula, Ceramium ciliatum , and Laomedea flexuosa.
Chaetomorpha aerea (Dillw.) Kiitz.

Village Bay: in the pools below Tobar na Gille.

Rhizoclonium implexum (Dillw.) Kiitz.

Village Bay: growing on Corallina officinalis in pools.

Acrosiphonia centralis (Lyngb.) Kjellm. (= Cladophora arcta (Dillw.)
Kiitz.)

Village Bay and Glen Bay: common particularly in shallow pools
and on rocks in the Balanus balanoides zone.

i953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952

39

Phaeophyceae

Ectocarpus fasciculatus Harv.

Glen Bay: epiphytic on Petalonia fascia in shallow pools at mid
tide level; also epiphytic on Fucus inflatus f. distichus. With
plurilocular sporangia, 25th July.

Giffordia secunda (Kiitz.) Batt. (= Ectocarpus secundus Kiitz.)

Village Bay: dredged from shell gravel. With plurilocular
sporangia, 1st August.

Spongonema tomentosum (Huds.) Kiitz. (= Ectocarpus tomentosus
(Huds.) Lyngb.)

Village Bay, south side: epiphytic on Fucus vesiculosus f. eve-
siculosus.

Glen Bay : epiphytic on F. inflatus f. distichus.

Sphacelaria plumula Zanard

Village Bay: rare, on stone dredged from shell gravel. With
numerous characteristic propagules.

Dictyota dichotoma (Huds.) Lamour

Village Bay, north side of Dun: rare.

Scytosiphon lomentaria (Lyngb.) Endl.

Village Bay: on boulders by pier.

Glen Bay : in shallow pools in lower part of barnacle zone.

Petalonia fascia (Mull.) Kuntze. (= Phyllitis fascia (Miill.) Kiitz.)

Glen Bay : in shallow pool at mid tide level.

Elachista fucicola (Veil.) Aresch.

Village Bay: epiphytic on Fucus vesiculosus f. evesiculosus and F.
spiralis.

Glen Bay: epiphytic on F. inflatus f. distichus.

Elachista scutulata (Sm.) Duby

Village Bay: epiphytic on receptacles of Himanthalia elongata.
With unilocular sporangia, 24th July.

Leathesia difformis (L.) Aresch.

Village Bay: among Gigartina stellata on boulders on both sides
of the bay.

Desmarestia ligulata (Lightf.) Lamour.

Village Bay, from Tobar a’Chleirich to Geo na Ruideig: among
Laminaria cloustonii at low water level, and probably also
sublittoral.

Laminaria cloustonii Edm.

Village Bay: from Tobar a’Chleirich to Geo na Ruideig:

abundant below low water level.

Glen Bay: one small plant in a pool; probably present below
low water level.

40 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

Sacchorhiza polyschides (Lightf.) Batt. (= S. bulbosa (Huds.) La
Pylaie.)

Village Bay: common among Laminaria cloustonii, particularly
between large boulders on the south side of the bay.

Alaria esculenta (L.) Grev.

Present, usually in abundance, at low levels on all of the rocky
coast.

Village Bay and Glen Bay: abundant, though less common in
Village Bay where Laminaria cloustonii present.

Fucus spiralis L.

Village Bay: present from Tobar a’Chleirich to the rocks below
Tobar na Gille ; most common on the rocks west of the pier.
Rather short, narrow fronds, some approaching f. nana Kjellm.
Mature conceptacles, July-August.

Fucus vesiculosus L.

Village Bay: a few plants in sheltered positions on both sides of
the inner part of the bay. Mature conceptacles, July- August.

Fucus vesiculosus L. f. evesiculosus Cotton.

Village Bay: present from Tobar a’Chleirich to Caolas an Duin;
common, especially in the inner parts of the bay. Mature
conceptacles, July- August.

Fucus inflatus L. f. distichus (L.) Borg.

Glen Bay: a few well-grown plants at the top of the Balanus
balanoides zone, and a few small plants in a trickle of fresh water.
Some plants had ceased fruiting ; others still bore a few mature
receptacles (hermaphrodite), 25th July.

\Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jol. No attached plants, but a few
drifting fragments (one with Lepas spp. attached) found in
Village Bay.]

Himanthalia elongata (L.) S. F. Gray. (= H. lorea (L.) Lyngb.).

Village Bay: present from Tobar a’Chleirich to Seilg Geo in
Balanus balanoides zone; especially common at the pier.
Mature conceptacles, July- August.

Rhodophyceae

Bangia fuscopurpurea (Dillw.) Lyngb.

Glen Bay: traces only; mixed with filaments of Urospora peni-
cilliformis, also epiphytic on Laomedea flexuosa.

Porphyra umbilicalis (L.) Kiitz.

Present, usually in abundance, on all of the rocky coast.

Village Bay and Glen Bay: abundant from above high water
level, downwards into the barnacle zone where the plants
approach f. laciniata. Also epiphytic on Fucus vesiculosus f.
evesiculosus and F. inflatus f. distichus.

4i

1 953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952

Porphyra umbilicalis (L.) Kiitz. f. laciniata (Lightf.) J. Ag.

Village Bay and Glen Bay: abundant in barnacle zone; often
associated with Gigar tina stellata or Enteromorpha compressa.

Porphyra miniata (Lyngb.) Ag.

Glen Bay : one plant found in lower part of barnacle zone.

Conchocelis rosea Batt. ( = phase in life-history of Porphyra umbilicalis
(L). Kiitz. (Drew, 1949).)

Village Bay: well developed on inner surface of dead shells of
Cyprina islandica , dredged from shell gravel.

Scinaia furcellata (Turn.) Bivona.

Village Bay: very rare. One plant only (7-2 cm. long) on a
stone dredged from shell gravel. A few immature cystocarps
on lower parts of plant, 1 st August.

Gelidium crinale (Turn.) Lamour.

Village Bay, below the store: in Gigartina stellata zone.

Epilithon membranaceum (Esper) Heydr.

Village Bay: commonly epiphytic on Gigartina stellata.

Lithophyllum corallinae (Crn.) Heydr.

Village Bay: epiphytic on Corallina officinalis.

Corallina officinalis L.

Village Bay and Glen Bay: very common, particularly in

Lithothamnion and barnacle zones, and in pools.

Callophyllis laciniata (Huds.) Kiitz.

Village Bay, north side of Dun.

Meredithia microphylla J. Ag.

Village Bay, north side of Dun: on rocks at low water level.
One plant only (5-1 cm. long), with small, immature cystocarps
sunk in the thallus, 1st August.

Cruoria pellita (Lyngb.) Fries.

Village Bay and Glen Bay : very common in Gigartina stellata zone.

Gigartina stellata (Stackh.) Batt.

Village Bay: locally very common.

Glen Bay: common in barnacle zone. With young cystocarps,
24th July.

i Rhodymenia palmata (L.) Grev.

Village Bay: abundant on stipes of Laminaria cloustonii; common
on the rocks, and forming an extensive community in the
Patella zone in a sheltered position near Tobar na Gille.

Glen Bay : on rocks in the Balanus balanoides zone,
j Lomentaria articulata (Huds.) Lyngb.

Village Bay, in Geo na Ruideig.

Lomentaria clavellosa (Turn.) Gaill.

Village Bay, north side of Dun: in Lithothamnion zone. Both
cystocarpic and tetrasporic plants, 1st August.

6

■42

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Lomentaria rosea (Harv.) Thur.

Village Bay: several plants on dead shells of Cyprina islandica ,
dredged from shell gravel. With tetraspores, 1st August.

Antithamnion plumula (Ellis) Thur.

Village Bay: on stones and dead shells of Cyprina islandica ,

dredged from shell gravel. With cystocarps, 1st August.

Ceramium ciliatum (Ellis) Ducluz.

Glen Bay: in a small pool in Balanus balanoides zone. With
tetraspores, 25th July. »

Ceramium acanthonotum Carm. ex. Harv.

Village Bay and Glen Bay: common on rocks, and epiphytic on
Corallina officinalis in small pools3 in the barnacle zone. With
tetraspores, 31st July.

Ceramium rubrum (Huds.) Ag.

Village Bay : on the rocks and in small pools in the barnacle zone;
with tetraspores, 24th July.

Glen Bay: epiphytic on Gigartina stellata .

Ptilota plumosa (L.) Ag.

Village Bay: very common on stipes of Laminaria cloustonii.

Callithamnion arbuscula (Dillw.) Lyngb.

Village Bay and Glen Bay: on exposed rocks, in Balanus bala-
noides zone and in small pools in Lithothamnion zone.

Cryptopleura ramosa (Huds.) Kylin.

Village Bay: on boulders, and near low water level on the north
side of Dun. Also dredged from sublittoral. Mature cysto-
carpic and tetrasporic plants, 24th July.

Polysiphonia urceolata (Dillw.) Grev.

Village Bay: on rocks in the Gigartina stellata zone. Some plants
with cystocarps, 24th July.

Pterosiphonia parasitica (Huds.) Fkbg.

Village Bay: rare. A few small plants dredged from shell
gravel.

FAUNAL LIST

PORIFERA

Leucosolenia coriacea (Montagu)

Village Bay: intertidal below boulders, and common below
L.W.M. particularly under Himanthalia buttons.

Sycon coronatum (Ellis and Solander)

Village Bay: intertidal below boulders, and common below

L.W.M. among Laminaria.

1

43

1 953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952

Grantia compressa (Fabricius)

Village Bay: not uncommon below intertidal boulders, and
among Laminaria.

Halichondria panicea (Pallas)

Village Bay: abundant above and below L.W.M. in sheltered
positions and particularly extensive in caves.

Glen Bay: common in cracks and sheltered positions, though
absent from pools.

Hymeniacidon sanguinea (Grant)

Village Bay: less abundant intertidally than Halichondria but as
common below L.W.M. and also extensive in caves.

Glen Bay, in intertidal pools.

COELENTERATA

Hydro zoo,

Coryne pusilla Gaertner

Village Bay: only in caves intertidally.

Coryne fruticosa Hincks

Glen Bay: in intertidal pools.

Tubularia indivisa L.

Village Bay: below boulders and in caves.

Glen Bay: below overhanging rocks.

Corymorpha nutans M. Sars

Village Bay: on dead shell dredged from shell gravel.

Obelia geniculata (L.)

Village Bay: below boulders.

Glen Bay: in intertidal pools,
i Laomedea flexuosa Hincks

Village Bay: on Gigartina from north side of Dun.

Glen Bay: on Scytosiphon in Balanus zone.

I Dynamena pumila (L.)

Village Bay: below boulders on Gigartina and in the caves.

1 Aequorea forsk&lea (Peron & Lesueur)

Village Bay.

Scyphozoa

j Lucernaria campanulata Lamouroux

j Village Bay: on red weed growing on Laminaria stipes.

Cyanea capillata (L.)

Village Bay and south coast.

■1

♦

44

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 63

Anthozoa

Alcyonium glomeratum (Hassall)

Village Bay: Seilg Geo, at and below L.W.M.

Actinia equina L.

Village Bay: abundant in barnacle zone.

Glen Bay: in pools and sheltered places.

Sagartia elegans (Dalyell)

Village Bay: very abundant among Laminaria and in cracks,
pools and other sheltered positions.

Glen Bay : in cracks and pools.

Corynactis viridis Allman

Village Bay: abundant among Laminaria and in Seilg Geo.

Ctenophora

Bolinopsis infundibulum (O. F. Muller)

Village Bay.

Pleurobrachia pileus (O. F. Muller)

Village Bay.

Beroe cucumis Fabricius
Village Bay.

Annelida

Polychaeta

Nereis pelagic a L.

Village Bay: In Laminaria holdfasts.

Nephthys cirrosa Ehlers

Village Bay: in sand from L.W.M. to c. 5 fathoms.

Nephthys paradoxa Malmgren
Village Bay: one.

Owenia fusiformis Delle Chiaje

Village Bay: abundant, dredged from shell gravel.

Hydroides norvegicus Gunnerus

Village Bay: on a shell dredged from shell gravel.

Spirorbis borealis Daudin

Village Bay: on the underside of Himanthalia buttons.

Crustacea

Copepoda

Tigriopus fulvus (Fischer)

Village Bay: in Enteromorpha pools above H.W.M. east of the
pier.

i953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952 45

Cirripedia

Lepas anserifera L.

Village Bay : attached to a drifting piece of Ascophyllum nodosum.
Lepas fascicularis Ellis and Solander

Village Bay: attached to the same piece of Ascophyllum as above.
Verruca stroemia (O. F. Muller)

Village Bay: on the south side under boulders.

Chthamalus stellatus (Poli)

Village Bay: abundant.

Glen Bay: abundant.

Balanus balanoides (L.)

Village Bay: abundant.

Glen Bay: abundant.

Isopoda

Eurydice pulchra Leach

Village Bay: abundant in the shore sand.

Idotea pelagica Leach

Village Bay : among Laminaria.

Idotea granulosa Rathke

Village Bay: among Laminaria and Gigartina.

Idotea neglecta G. O. Sars

Village Bay: among Laminaria and swimming off the sand at
L.W.M.

Jaera marina (Fabricius)

Village Bay: below stones.

Ligia oceanica (L.)

Village Bay: in cracks and under stones in the Porphyra zone and
from H.W.M. to 15 feet.

Amphipoda

Euthemisto compress a (Goes)

Village Bay: common.

Euthemisto bispinosa (Boeck)

Village Bay : common.

Stenothoe monoculoides (Montagu)

Village Bay : in Laminaria holdfasts.

P onto crates arenarius (Bate)

Village Bay: common in the sand near L.W.M.

Apherusa jurinei (Milne-Edwards)

Village Bay: abundant in Laminaria zone.

Maera othonis (Milne-Edwards)

Village Bay : dredged from shell gravel.

Vol. 65

46 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Gammarellus homari (J. C. Fabricius)

Village Bay: in Laminaria zone.

Marino gammar us pirloti (Sexton and Spooner)

Village Bay: in sand near L.W.M.

Gammar us locust a (L.)

Village Bay: in the Laminaria zone.

Talitrus saltator (Montagu)

Village Bay: under all kinds of objects at and about H.W.M.,
and also found under slates near the manse door.

Hyale nilssoni (Rathke)

Glen Bay : in pools in upper barnacle zone.

Hyale pontic a (Rathke)

Village Bay: abundant in Laminaria zone.

Hyale perieri (Lucas)

Village Bay: in Laminaria zone. Glen Bay: in shore pools.
Aora typics Kroyer

Village Bay: dredged from the shell gravel.

Amphithoe rubricata (Montagu)

Village Bay: in Laminaria zone.

Jassa falcata (Montagu)

Village Bay: in Laminaria zone.

Janassa capillata (Rathke)

Village Bay: on the south side among Gigartina on boulders.
Glen Bay: in a shore pool.

Autonoe websteri (Spence Bate)

Village Bay: in Laminaria zone.

Decapoda

Galathea strigosa L.

Village Bay: one juvenile dredged from shell gravel.

Eupagurus bernhardus (L.)

Village Bay: one dredged from shell gravel.

Portunus marmoreus Leach

Village Bay: common on the sublittoral sand and one dredged
from the shell gravel.

Portunus depurator (L.)

Village Bay: one dredged from near the pier.

Carcinus maenas (Pennant)

Village Bay: only one found, among boulders on north side.
Cancer pagurus L.

Village Bay: only three found, two juveniles in Laminaria below
the store and the third among boulders on the south side.

47

i953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952

Pycnogonida

Pycnogonum littorale (Stroem)

Village Bay: on clinker dredged from the shell gravel.

Insecta

Lipura maritima Guerin
Village Bay: on pools.

Glen Bay: on pools.

Petrobius maritimus Leach

Village Bay: under stones from H.W.M. up to 800 feet.

Mollusca
Lamellibranchiata

Mytilus edulis L.

Village Bay: abundant among barnacles and in cracks on the
more exposed rocky shores, and a few on boulders.

Glen Bay: numerous in Lithothamnion zone.

Modiolus modiolus (L.)

Village Bay: juvenile in Seilg Geo at L.W.M.

Cyprina islandica (L.)

Village Bay: one dredged from shell gravel.

Lasaea rubra (Montagu)

Village Bay: common among byssi of Mytilus in Caolas an Duin.
Dosinia exoleta (L.)

Village Bay: dredged from the shell gravel.

Venus striatula (da Costa)

Village Bay: dredged from the shell gravel.

Cardium echinatum L.

Village Bay: dredged from the shell gravel.

Cochlodesma praetenue (Montagu)

Village Bay: one dredged from shell gravel.

Gastropoda

Patella vulgata L.

Village Bay: abundant.

Glen Bay: abundant.

Patina pellucida (L.)

Village Bay: abundant on Laminaria.

Patelloidea tessulata (Muller)

Village Bay: on Laminaria.

Margarites helicinus (Fabricius)

Village Bay: among Laminaria.

Gibbula cineraria (L.)

Village Bay: among boulders.

Vol. 65

48 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Calliostoma zizyphinum (L.)

Village Bay: abundant in Lithothamnion and Laminaria zone.
Littorina littoralis (L.)

Village Bay: small individuals not uncommon.

Littorina neritoides (L.)

Village Bay: abundant in cracks and dead barnacles.

Glen Bay: as in Village Bay.

Littorina saxatilis (Olivi)

Village Bay: abundant in upper part of shore.

Glen Bay: abundant in cracks.

Littorina littorea L.

Village Bay: very few on boulders, one below the store.

Glen Bay : very few small ones.

Aporrhais pes-pelecani (L.)

Village Bay: one dredged from shell gravel.

Nucella lapillus (L.)

Village Bay: uncommon, found on boulders and below the store
but not on vertical rocks.

Archidoris britannica (Johnston)

Village Bay: not uncommon among boulders and in the caves.

Cephalopoda

Eledone cirrosa (Lamarck)

Village Bay: one cast up near the pier.

Bryozoa

Scrupocellaria reptans (L.)

Village Bay: on a fragment of weed from shell gravel.
Scrupocellaria scruposa (L.)

Village Bay: on shell dredged from shell gravel.

Bugula flabellataj. E. Gray

Village Bay: on stone and shell dredged from shell gravel.
Membranipora lineata (L.)

Village Bay: on Laminaria stipes and holdfasts.

Membranipora pilosa (L.)

Village Bay: on Ptilota among Laminaria ; on Gigartina from Dun.
Umbonula verrucosa (Esper)

Village Bay: under boulders on south side of bay and in Seilg
Geo at L.W.M.

Sc hi zoporella hyalina (L.)

Village Bay: on Laminaria holdfasts.

Cellopora costazii Audouin

Village Bay: in Seilg Geo at L.W.M. and on Gigartina from Dun.

49

1953 MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF ST. KILDA, 1952

Stomatopora granulata (Milne-Edwards)

Village Bay: on a fragment of weed from shell gravel.

Echinodermata

Henricia sanguinolenta (O. F. Muller)

Village Bay: Seilg Geo at L.W.M.

Asterias rubens L.

Village Bay: Seilg Geo at L.W.M.

Marthasterias glacialis (L.)

Village Bay: Seilg Geo at L.W.M.

Ophiothrix fragilis (Abildgaard)

Village Bay: dredged from shell gravel.

Ophiopholis aculeata (L.)

Village Bay: found in Laminaria holdfasts.

Ophiura albida Forbes
Village Bay: dredged from shell gravel.

Ophiocten scutatum Koehler
Village Bay: dredged from shell gravel.

Echinus esculentus L.

Village Bay: found among Laminaria between boulders and in
Seilg Geo.

Echinocyamus pusillus (O. F. Muller)

Village Bay: dredged from shell gravel where it was abundant.

Tunic ata

Salpa fusiformis Cuvier

Village Bay: one found on the sand, probably dropped by bird.

Pisces

Cetorhinus maximus (Blainville)

Village Bay: one.

Gastrosteus aculeatus L.

Village Bay: in a shore pool by Uamh Cailleach Bheag Ruaival.
Gadus merlangus L.

J Village Bay : one found associated with Aequorea.

Blennius pholis L.

j Village Bay: under boulder by pier.

Pleuronectes platessa L.

Village Bay: one juvenile in shore seine.

Pleuronectes limanda L.

Village Bay: one juvenile dredged from shell gravel.

Scomber scombrus L.

Village Bay: very abundant, caught by shore seine and lines.

50

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

VoL 65

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

The crab Xantho incisus in Eriskay Sound. — On 1 7th Febru-
arY 1 953 being held up by an exceptionally low tide at Ludag, South
Uist, on my way to Eriskay, I took the opportunity to look for
crabs and lobsters under stones on the shore of a small tidal island,
Corr-eilein, near Ludag. While engaged in this I found a con-
siderable number of specimens of Xantho incisus , a crab which I
had only seen at one or two places on the shore of Canna before. —
J. L. Campbell, Isle of Canna.

Two species of Calliphora from the Aberdeen district. —

The genus Calliphora (“ bluebottles ”) as given in C. D. Day’s
book, British Tachinid Flies , consists of four species. Two of these,
C. erythrocephala Mg. and C. vomitoria L., are the common varieties
which haunt our larders. Of the other two species, C. loewi
Ender is noted as “Uncommon, North of Scotland”, and C.
uralensis Villen as “ Rare, Sutherland

I took the former in 1949 at Cults, and again in 1950 at Old
Deer, and a species of Calliphora which I took on the coast just
south of Aberdeen in September 1952 has been identified by Dr.
Day as C. uralensis Villen. These two species, both of which have
black hairs on black jowls, are distinguished from one another by
the width of the frontal stripe, and by the shape of, and extent of
hair on, the paralobes. — E. G. H. Lightfoot, Aberdeen.

Shetland Offshore Visitors. — Many interesting bird visitors
come to Shetland offshore waters in the winter and spring months
that are never seen by the landsman and are never recorded. A
Ross’s gull Rhodostethia rosea was caught by the Whalsay fishing
skipper John Irvine between the island of Whalsay and the Out
Skerries on 28th April 1936. This was a bird-in-the-hand, and
was duly recorded, but Irvine told me of another that he had seen
in the same area on 16th April 1935 and his brother mentioned one
that had followed his boat for many miles on 18th December 1948.
Knowing both men I have no hesitation in accepting these state-
ments. Quite often in the winter months Irvine has informed me
of large shearwaters which he had seen on the fishing grounds to
the eastward of the island of Fetlar, some with white breasts and
others all dark. These fishing grounds often swarm with little
auks when only a rare one, and that a dying specimen, ever reaches
the coast. On 27th December 1952 an Iceland gull Larus glaucoides

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

51

was seen at Lerwick, the only one recorded there during the winter
to that date, yet Irvine had been seeing numbers of these gulls
offshore amongst glaucous and other gulls ever since the month
of October. It was clear that these fishing grounds would be
worth visiting in the winter, and I was glad to accept an invitation
from John Irvine to accompany him on a two day trip to the Fetlar
grounds in his seine-net boat Liberty. A feature of seine-net
fishing is that immediately after each drag the catch is gutted on
deck and the offal thrown overboard, so that every vessel has a
cloud of birds hovering over and following astern eagerly feeding
on the rich spoils. On 8th January 1953 approximately ten miles
east of the island of Fetlar the crew of the Liberty was busy gutting
a ton of fish which had just been hoisted aboard while I had the
interesting task of spotting the strangers to be seen amongst the
two or three hundred herring and the great black-backed gulls
and kittiwakes which were flying round and following astern. The
most interesting of these was a sooty shearwater Procellaria grisea
which was flying about quite close to the boat. Almost as large
as a fulmar, but with rather narrower wings, this sooty-coloured,
dark-breasted bird planed around us with typical shearwater
flight, at times showing its underwings when the pale tract along
the middle of each could be distinctly seen. Our bird did not
dive or feed on anything, but I was later informed that the boat
fishing a couple of miles south of us was followed by two birds of
this species, and that both dived and fed on offal. It appears
that this species and a “ large white- breasted shearwater ”, probably
the great shearwater Procellaria gravis , are regular winter visitors to
these fishing grounds. The Manx shearwater Procellaria p. puffinus is
a summer visitor. The next of interest in our flock were five
Iceland gulls. One of these was a beautiful adult with a much
whiter head than one would have expected at this time of year.
The others I classified as a fourth winter bird, a bird in its second
winter and two in their first winter plumages. All five were
noticeably smaller than herring gulls. Amongst the fifty or so
fulmars was a bird of the dark phase, and whilst watching it feeding
alongside I wondered if it could be the bird which has bred for
two consecutive seasons at a spot less than twenty miles from
where we were fishing. Of glacous gulls there were about a score ;
a mixture of all ages and all noticeably larger than herring gulls.
A dozen gannets plodded behind us interested only in the under-
sized fish and pieces of offal which had sunk too deep for the
I gulls and which came in sight astern as the boat forged ahead.
Three or four gannets at a time would plunge on these items, and

52

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

I noted that the offal seemed to be as acceptable to them as were
the fish. Small pieces of fish liver were laid along the gunwale of
the boat to discover which birds would have the fortitude to pick
them off. All were interested and came within a yard or so, but
only herring gulls and kittiwakes got the prizes. Perhaps the
quick motion of the boat kept the others off. Little auks were
conspicuous by their absence. Actually we did see one individual
but it merely stressed the contrast between this winter and a
normal one when so many of these birds are seen over the area.
Shetland waters have been free of severe northerly gales during
the winter to date and if these conditions have extended much
further north such would probably account for the scarcity of this
species. — G. T. Kay, Lerwick.

Common Scoter in St. Andrews Bay. — It is well known
that large flocks of common scoter Melanitta nigra may be seen in
summer at various points off our coasts, and for some years we
have been making a special study of those that frequent St. Andrews
Bay at that season.

This year (1952) on 18th June, we found a flock of about 200
in the Bay and watched a succession of small parties, of about !
twelve to twenty, coming in from north-north-east and pitching in
the sea at a little distance from the original flock: two days later ;
about 800 were present. This flock, which, as far as we could see,
consisted entirely of drakes, remained throughout the summer,
but, owing to stormy weather, we were unable to make as detailed
observations as we had made the year before.

We were not fortunate enough to see their arrival in 1951 but,
throughout July, there was an enormous flock which we estimated
at about 3,000 birds; as far as we could see, all were drakes. In
winter we find the scoter flocks restless; the birds are given to
taking short flights, even in the calmest weather, and frequently
flap their wings when on the water. In the summer flocks, on the
other hand, we see no flying at all. On 16th August 1951 our
notes run, “ the great flock is still there, larger than ever. In
addition to the huge numbers off the mouth of the Eden, there are
small flocks close inshore all the way to St. Andrews. All that we
could distinguish were drakes; they occasionally flapped, very
feebly, but none flew.” On 27th August we found “ the huge
flock still there, very closely serried today and more inclined to
fly a bit. The birds all seemed to be drakes and were much
blacker than heretofore, newly moulted, we think.” On 5th
September “ there was no sign of the big scoter flock; there was

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

53

not a scoter to be seen These observations have led us to the
conclusion that these summer flocks are birds which come to St.
Andrews Bay to moult and leave after the moult is completed.

On 26th September huge flocks again appeared but this time,
in addition to drakes, there were also females and immature birds.
Throughout the winter of 1951-52 common scoter were in St.
Andrews Bay in very large numbers. They are always abundant
there in winter, but this season they were more numerous than
usual. Our note on 20th November runs “ the scoter flock ex-
tended from the Eden to the Castle ; there must have been thousands
but the sea was much too rough to attempt a count ”. By 5th
April the big flock had broken up but the sea was full of small
parties, some obviously paired. By 1 1 th May very few were left,
and these were mostly drakes. — Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and
Evelyn V. Baxter, Largo, Fife.

I spent part at least of each summer in the six years 1934-39 on
the shore of the Lower St. Lawrence, near Bic, Quebec, Canada;
and there we had always some hundreds of scoters, chiefly surf
scoters, but with varying numbers of both the other species. They
arrived about mid-June (earliest date, 9th June 1935), and at that
time consisted almost entirely of mature drakes. The noise of
their wings, sounding like liquid poured from a bottle, carried far
over the calm sea, especially at night, and was one of the most
characteristic sounds of the place. They could all fly for several
weeks after this, well into July; and even after the moult had
begun there were always some birds able to fly. By the end of
August, when we left Bic, females and young birds had begun to
appear.

On 19th August 1937 near Nain, Labrador, I overtook in a
motor boat a flock of 1 50 surf scoters, all drakes, and found that,
though many were in full moult and flightless, others had by this
time completed the wing-moult and could rise off the water. I
collected and examined three specimens.

These observations are given here because they afford con-
firmation to those related in the important note above by Miss
Rintoul and Miss Baxter. The existence for some sea ducks (such
as the sheld-duck and king eider) of special moulting places, and
of migratory movements to and from them, are only now being
recognised. — V. C. Wynne-Edwards, Aberdeen.

On nth September 1937 when sailing between the islands of
Boreray and Berneray, Sound of Harris, I found a flock of 80- 1 00
common scoter on the water. I know this stretch of sea well
during the winter months, but, though there are sometimes a

54 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

few scoter here then, this is easily the largest number that I have
ever seen in this part of the Sound. A few of the birds were
unable to fly. The sea, which was dead calm at the time, was
covered with very many of their moulted feathers. — -James W.
Campbell, Strathtay, Perthshire.

Common Scoters resting ashore. — On 30th October 1952,
at about 6 p.m., after a violent storm in this area, we surprised
five common scoter Melanitta nigra resting on marine grass at
Sandyhills, on the Solway, at low tide. The sea goes out a very
long way here, and the birds, which were asleep on an “ island ”
cut off from the shore by a burn a few yards wide, were a greater
distance from the open sea than we have ever seen them. They
took little notice of us, though we were within twenty-five yards
of them. The birds were not “ oiled ”. Finally we saw one
flying in from the sea; it planed down and joined the others.
Outside the breeding season this species is said to be exclusively
marine, and the presence of scoters on land in the manner described
appeared to us to be abnormal. — David and Jane Bannerman,
Boreland of Southwick, Kirkcudbrightshire.

J. G. Millais, in British Diving Ducks , Vol. 2, p. 58, writes:
“ Common scoters are said to rest occasionally on sandbanks
(see Naumann), and I have heard this corroborated by gunners
on the coast of Lincolnshire, but I cannot say that I have ever
seen one ashore except in the breeding season.” — Editors.

The Osprey in the North-East of Scotland. — In the early
1 920s it was known, at least in certain intimate circles, that
ospreys were being reared with protective supervision, presumably
under the direction or inspiration of Capt. Knight, in woods by
the river Deveron, near the line dividing the counties of Aberdeen
and Banff.

Concrete evidence of the laudable venture first came to my
notice twenty-eight summers ago when I was recovering from a
serious physical breakdown — one which, I may add, in no way
dimmed or distorted my good vision ! I was staying less than half
a mile from the Fedderate Reservoir, an artificial loch of twenty-five
acres, christened Loch Riach, unofficially, but better known locally
as the Broch Dam. This rather bleak anglers’ haunt, constructed
during the years 1 910-12 to form the main water supply to the
Burgh of Fraserburgh, is fed by two gentle streams from the western
side of the Bonnykelly district, some five miles north of the village
of New Deer.

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

55

From the last week of July, 1925, and during every morning
for more than a fortnight, four ospreys — at least some of them
obviously juveniles — came to the loch. Much of their time they
spent calling, raucously and anxiously, from the tops of fencing
posts on the adjoining croft, then tenanted by Mr. James Scott,
since deceased. Mr. Scott’s daughter Mary, now Mrs. Greig,
50 Academy St., Fraserburgh, witnessed them regularly at near
range, but their penetrating, persistent cries certainly claimed the
attention of other workers on the five neighbouring crofts. I, too,
heard and saw the grand birds, and had the honour first to identify
them there, but I had not quite regained the mobility to study
their general behaviour from closer quarters. One forenoon in
August, however, I followed them with a 2j-inch telescope, at a
distance of fifty yards and upwards, as they flew from post to post
in a south-easterly direction alongside the compensation water
from the reservoir, until slowly and silently they passed from view.
I did not see them again, and I cannot recall mention of their
having been seen by anyone else during the remainder of that
year.

From the latter half of the 1929 spring, moreover, one bird —
presumably an adult, possibly a breeding bird — fished the loch.
The daily spectacle of the pounce and plunge for the kill greatly
excited the curiosity of the near, and even some of the more remote
inhabitants. For landing its prey this bird appeared invariably
to choose the same point of vantage — which I examined for possible
“ fishprints ”, etc., when I returned to the scene early in July of
that year — the top of a tall straining post, in the east corner of the
nearest field on the Upper Oldwhat holding then farmed by Mr.
William Willox. Mr. John Willox, his younger son, a keen
sportsman and naturalist who now owns the Ythan Garage near
Ellon, gave much of his leisure and more to studying this osprey
and trying to dissuade the unscrupulous from harming it. The
sad, despairing news, alas! reached him in late June that this
noble, pioneering bird, which by then had ceased to distinguish
the area with its presence, had been wantonly wounded by gunshot
from the northern, Whitecairns side of the reservoir.

Readers will readily appreciate that the above is the first
eyewitness account of the Loch Riach visiting ospreys to be published
through any of the normal channels. I even withheld the details
from the late H. F. Witherby and his world-famous Handbook in
the interests of the species. As no subsequent occurrences of this
rare fish-hawk have been observed in the district, however, I have
been stimulated and persuaded by Professor V. G. Wynne-Edwards

56

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

to have these authentic records preserved in this eminently appro-
priate journal.— J. Murdoch Henderson, Aberdeen.

Sanderlings in South Inverness. — On 2nd September 1952
I saw two sanderlings ( Crocethia alba ) at the edge of the sea by the
road between Arisaig and Mallaig. They were very tame, and I
was able to photograph them.— James F. Butler, Reading, Berks.

Sanderlings have been recorded from North Argyll and West
Ross, but we know of no previous record for South Inverness. —
Editors.

Roseate Terns in Wigtownshire. — On 10th August 1952
there were two roseate terns Sterna dougallii fishing close inshore
near Isle of Whitehorn. — H. G. Alexander, Birmingham.

The roseate tern does not appear to have been recorded
previously from Wigtown. — Editors.

Kingfisher in Inverness-shire. — An unusual visitor to the
Newtonmore district, during the hard spell in the latter half of
November 1952, was a kingfisher Alcedo atthis, which was present
from 1 6th to 30th November; this is the first I have seen in the
Highlands. — Richard Perry, Newtonmore.

Hoopoe in West Sutherland. — A hoopoe Upupa epops was
seen on 27th September 1952 by Colonel Gerald Grosvenor, who
knows the bird well in India, on the stalking path at Lone, near
the head of Loch Stack, Sutherland. The bird was very tame. —
Seton Gordon, Duntuilm, Skye.

The hoopoe has been recorded as an occasional visitor in
most of the Scottish faunal areas, but this appears to be the first
occurrence for West Sutherland. — Editors.

Hoopoe pursued by a Merlin. — When walking along the
Burn of Wirvie at the north end of Fair Isle on 15th October 1952
we were surprised to see a hoopoe Upupa epops flying about 200
feet above our heads. There was a female merlin Falco columbarius
in close pursuit. Within five minutes the two had climbed so
high that we lost sight of them moving to a better vantage-point,
and were unable to pick them up again in our glasses. When
first seen, the black and white patterning of the hoopoe’s markedly
rounded wings, its fawn body plumage and the long bill were
diagnostic: it is a species we have both watched on a previous
occasion on the island. This bird’s tactics were to climb in a

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

57

tight spiral, and after the first few minutes it was clearly getting
the better of the situation. Its broad, rounded wings gave it a
better “ lift ”, ahd it climbed with apparent ease, looking remark-
ably moth-like, whilst the merlin seemed unable to keep up with
it except by making long, straight climbs which took it to a distance
of many yards from its would-be quarry — so that each time it
looked as though the falcon were giving up the unequal contest.
In these straight climbs, however, the merlin apparently secured
a temporary advantage of height, for at the end of each one it
turned and swooped at the hoopoe, which seemed to have little
difficulty in avoiding its dashes, however. Colonel R. Meinertz-
hagen tells us he has seen hoopoes adopt the same tactics success-
fully against Eleanora’s falcons Falco eleanorae in eastern Mediter-
ranean countries. For a recent record of a sparrow-hawk Accipter
nisus capturing a hoopoe, see British Birds , 42: 24-25 (1949).

A few minutes after watching this encounter K. W. climbed
the Ward Hill, and at one point put up a female merlin, but in all
likelihood a different bird from the one we had been watching,
since a search of the spot revealed some body and wing-feathers
of a goldcrest ( Regulus regulus). An interesting illustration of the
remarkable range in size of the prey hunted by this small falcon!
— Kenneth and Esther Williamson, Fair Isle Bird Observatory.

Wryneck in Inverness-shire. — On 25th May 1952 I heard
a wryneck ( Jynx torquilla ) calling repeatedly near Glenmore Lodge,
Inverness-shire, and eventually had first-class views of it at close
quarters. It was very difficult to stalk, generally slipping away
on the far side of the tree in which it had been calling. Its notes
were repeated at regular intervals, and in the evening it was again
heard in the same area. On 26th May it was again located by
the characteristic notes. — Arthur J. Smith, Selkirk.

See Scottish Naturalist 64: 57 and 117 for previous records for
Inverness-shire. — Editors.

Gathering of Long-tailed Tits in East Fife. — On the even-
j ing of 27th September 1952 about 5.15 p.m. at Cameron Reservoir,
j 600 feet above the sea, I had the pleasant experience of seeing a
j large congregation of long-tailed tits Aegithalos caudatus. They
passed along the hedge-row and into the fir wood beside the
j reservoir. I counted seventy-seven, but a good many had passed
| before I began to count. — George Dall, Cameron Reservoir, St.
Andrews.

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THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Early arrival of Fieldfares. — On 2nd August 1952 between
Taynuilt and Taycreggan, Argyll, my wife and I from our car
had close views of a flock of nine to twelve fieldfares Turdus pilaris
on the ground. When disturbed they flew off and up into nearby
trees.

The earliest arrival date for the British Isles in the 1938 edition
of Witherby’s Handbook is 5th August. — -J. Inglis Cameron,
Glasgow.

Black Redstart in Caithness. — Mr. John R. Scott, principal
lightkeeper at Dunnet Head, has sent me details of an adult male
black redstart Phoenicurus ochrurus which appeared at the lighthouse
on 23rd March 1952 and remained for three days about the light-
house walls. The only previous record I can trace for Caithness
was at Noss Head on 17th October 1919 (Scot. JVat., 1920: 101).
Ian D. Pennie, Golspie.

Blackcap in Skye in November. — On 18th November 1952,
a male blackcap Sylvia atricapilla appeared at a window sill, where
food is put out for birds, at the Boys5 Hostel, Portree. The bird
was first seen by Mr. Meakin, and later by Mr. Robertson. On
19th November I saw the bird on the window-sill, at a distance of
3 to 4 feet, in a reasonable mid-day light, and was able to confirm
the identification. Blue, cole and great tits were feeding with it.
The bird was not seen after 19th November, when the weather
became milder. This is the first I have seen in Skye. — I. M.
Murray, Portree.

The Geographical Distribution and Status of Birds in Scotland gives
no record for Skye, nor have we so far found any in other publica-
tions. For records of some recent winter occurrences in Scotland
see Scottish Naturalist, 64 : 53-54. — Editors.

Lesser Whitethroat in Lewis, Outer Hebrides. — On 16th
September 1951 our cat brought in a tattered whitethroat which
I identified as a lesser whitethroat Sylvia curruca. I sent the bird
to the Royal Scottish Museum, where my identification was con- i
firmed. On 25th September 1951 I saw two more whitethroats
in the garden here; as they looked rather greyish-brown on the
back with dark ear coverts, I presumed that they also were lesser
whitethroats. They were still in the garden on 26th September.

I was on the lookout for whitethroats this spring, and on 1 5th May I
1952 saw a bird in the garden which I considered was a lesser.
On 1 6th May there was a common whitethroat Sylvia communis I

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

59

here. I saw these two birds at close quarters, and the one seen
on the 15th had ear coverts darker than the crown, whereas the
other bird’s head was of a greyish colour without any noticeable
difference between the colour of the crown and the ear coverts. —
Donald M. MacDonald, Upper Shader, Barvas, Lewis.

There have been previous records for the Outer Hebrides from
Barra, St. Kilda, Flannans, North Uist and North Rona, but this
is the first record we have for Lewis. — Editors.

Waxwing feeding on Apples. — On 21st and 22nd November

1952 a waxwing Bombycilla garrulus visited our garden and fed
entirely on apples (left-overs for birds), although we have abun-
dance of berries, Cotoneaster, yew, privet and blackberries. Apples
are not included in the food of the waxwing in the Handbook of
British Birds. — -John Fraser, Oban.

On page 10 of Baxter and Rintoul’s report, The Migration of
Waxwings into Scotland , 1946 (Edinburgh: 1947), it is stated that
waxwings were twice reported to have been observed feeding on
apples during this migration. Apples are also mentioned as food
of this species in Bent’s Life Histories of North American Wagtails ,
Shrikes , Vireos and their Allies (Washington, 1950: 71). — Editors.

Great Grey Shrike in Inverness-shire. — With reference to
the note on a great grey shrike Lanius excubitor near Kingussie on
2nd November 1952 (Scot. Nat., 64: 168-169), I saw one on the
Drumguish moor east of Kingussie on 29th December 1952, and
again on 15th and 20th March 1953. This is within 300 yards of
the place where one occurred on 1st May 1947. On 27th February

1953 I saw one at Achlean, three miles further east. — Richard
Perry, Newtonmore.

Great Grey Shrike in Perthshire. — On 9th December 1952
Mr. George Campbell told me that he had heard that a keeper at
Tullymet, near Ballinluig, had caught a strange bird in a trap
set for a carrion crow, and had cut off one wing. On nth Decem-
ber Campbell produced the wing, but a subsequent search by him
for the rest of the body was of no avail owing to lack of direction
by the keeper, who seemed to be quite uninterested. The bird
had evidently been killed about the end of November or early in
December. The wing was in fair condition and was clearly that
of a shrike. I sent it to Mr. George Waterston, who identified it
as belonging to a great grey shrike. — G. G. Blackwood, Pitlochry.

6o

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Albinism in Starlings. — On 19th June 1952 two pure white
starlings Sturnus vulgaris were seen with a flock of young and adults,
half a mile north of Newtonmore, Inverness-shire. Seen without
glasses, they appeared pure white all over, though perhaps a little
discoloured below, but there were no dark feathers. Two ( ? the
same) were also seen at this time at Killihuntly in Glen Tromie. —
Richard Perry, Newtonmore.

From the end of September 1952, a starling with some white
marks on its back was conspicuous amongst the birds frequenting
my garden. I caught it in a pyramid trap on 8th October 1952
and found that the light patches were due to several pure white
rump feathers. The bird was an adult male, and was ringed before
release. — Ian F. Stewart, Dumfries.

Chaffinch using Greenfinch’s Nest. — On 25th April 1952,
a greenfinch Chloris chloris was building in a Cupressus hedge separ-
ating the main road from a private garden. The nest was about 7
feet from the ground. On 29th April the nest was completed, and
on 5th May the bird was sitting on three eggs. On 1 2th May the
eggs had gone, probably robbed by boys. On 29th May, when
passing the abandoned greenfinch’s nest, I happened to glance up
at it, and was surprised to see the tail of a sitting bird. I flushed
the bird, which proved to be a hen chaffinch Fringilla coelebs ; the
nest contained two chaffinch’s eggs.

By 2 1 st May the nest had been torn from the site and the eggs
were gone. I examined the nest and found that the chaffinch
had made a new lining inside the cup of the original greenfinch’s
nest. The lining consisted of hair and a few feathers. It was
possible to remove this lining intact and leave the original green-
finch’s nest just as it had been before taken possession of by the
chaffinch. — D. F. Mursell, Johnstone, Renfrewshire.

Ortolan and Little Buntings and Fair Isle. — On 5th-6th
May 1952 ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana and reed bunting
E. schoeniclus were prominent members of an immense trans-North
Sea drift of Scandinavian summer-visitors which took place ahead
of the cold front of a depression advancing northwards from East
Anglia. The numbers of ortolans were quite exceptional even for
Fair Isle, and of the fifteen or so on the island all except one were
males. Two birds appeared on 4th, to be followed by others next
day, and there were at least fifteen on 6th. They remained at
this strength till 9th May, dropping to five on nth and 12th, and
to a single bird only during the next three days. Occasionally

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

61

odd birds delighted us with brief snatches of song at intervals taken
from the more serious business of finding food on the newly-sown
oat and turnip riggs. The female was seen on 8th and gth. Two
males also arrived on 21st May, and there was one on 26th.

In spring James A. Stout recorded a single little bunting E.
pusilla on 14th April, and the first we have seen in autumn since
1948 was watched on nth October by D. G. Andrew, D. Bateman
and the writer. The distinctive head-pattern and lack of rufous
on the lesser coverts and the “ tic, tic 55 call-note were diagnostic.
It is interesting to note that examples of this species were at Utsira
and Lista in south-west Norway a few days previously. — Kenneth
Williamson, Fair Isle Bird Observatory.

62 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

CORRESPONDENCE

The Editor,

The Scottish Naturalist
Dear Sir,

The Spiny Lobster in Scottish Waters

I read Mr. Eric Wilson’s article on the above subject
in your winter number with great interest. I have been fishing for
crabs and lobsters in a small way for many years, and I have never
encountered a spiny lobster in any of my own pots, but I have
often heard lobster fishermen in the Hebrides talk about them,
and I was surprised to read that only twenty-eight specimens had
been reported from Scottish waters since 1924. For one thing,
the spiny lobster is sufficiently well known to Hebridean lobster
fishermen to have a Gaelic name — piobaire , “ piper ”, given on
account of its habit of squeaking when taken out of the water.

Since reading Mr. Wilson’s article I have discussed the question
of the spiny lobster with several lobster fishermen again, and can
add the following records to those he gives :

Mr. Allan Maclsaac, retired lobster fisherman and postmaster,
Isle of Canna, took a specimen off the west end of Sanday Island
in 1939 when using a creel with an extra large eye.

Mr. Hugh Steele, lobster fisherman, Isle of Canna, tells me he
has taken three specimens of the spiny lobster during the past forty
years, all off the Isle of Canna.

Mr. John Maclsaac, lobster fisherman, Eriskay, tells me that
he took a specimen on 18th February 1953 in Barra Sound,
and has taken about four in the last few years. He says that the
spiny lobster is more often taken in the Atlantic than in the Minch.
Fishermen fishing the Atlantic side of the Outer Isles use creels
with larger eyes as the ordinary lobsters there are larger than
those in the Minch.

Mr. Angus John Campbell, retired lobster fisherman, Loch-
boisdale, South Uist, tells me he saw a big one that had been taken
by a ring-net boat a few years ago. He has never caught one
himself, but says they are known to be taken more often in the
Atlantic, where creels with larger eyes are used. Mr. Campbell
did his fishing in the Minch himself.

Finally, although I have never caught a spiny lobster, I
have had two given me by fishermen, one in Barra in 1936 — its
photograph appeared in The Bulletin in August that year — and
one at Canna in 1947 or 1948, by a fisherman from Mallaig.

Isle of Canna
28 th February , 1953

1953

CORRESPONDENCE

63

This adds at least eight more instances of capture to Mr.
Wilson’s list, and I am quite sure that if a systematic inquiry were
undertaken amongst Hebridean lobster fishermen many other
instances would come to light. My impression is ( a ) most lobster
fishermen in the Hebrides I have talked to have encountered the
spiny lobster once or twice in their lifetime anyway, (b) the
spiny lobster is probably therefore a rare resident here, but (r) the
ordinary creel is not very suitable for his capture; therefore it is
difficult to gauge how uncommon he really is.

I may add that Mr. John Maclsaac, Eriskay, told me he could
not pack a spiny lobster along with ordinary lobsters when sending
to market, because the spiny lobster would “ poison ” the others.
I don’t know whether this means the spiny lobster is likely to die
early in transit. In any case, no one here is fishing for it deliber-
ately with gear designed for its capture, which may be another
reason why it is only seldom met with.

Yours truly,

J. L. CAMPBELL.

BOOK REVIEW

Zoogeography of the Sea. By Sven Ekman. London : Sidgwick and

Jackson, Text-books of Animal Biology, 1953. Pp. xiv +417.

£2 2S.

This book represents an English translation of Professor Ekman’s Tier-
geographie des Meeres published in 1 935 at Leipzig, and now extensively
revised. It is a valuable book, and all whose interests it affects, geographers
and palaeontologists almost more than zoologists, will welcome it in its
new form.

Professor Ekman surveys the present condition of the marine fauna,
and endeavours to interpret distribution in terms of what is known of the
history of the oceans and of their inhabitants. He is not specifically con-
cerned with the adaptation of animals to the various environments in the
sea. It is the overall picture of the distribution of animals through all
oceans and all depths which provide the main theme. It therefore follows
that the reader should not go to this book expecting descriptions, for
instance, of adaptation to life between tide marks in different parts of the
world or within different substrates, rock, sand, or mud, at various depths.
This is not a book on ecology.

The author has been able to demonstrate a number of important
facts of distribution. In terms of depth, he distinguishes between a shelf
fauna (down to some 200 metres, occasionally twice this depth), an ar chi-
benthic fauna and an abyssal fauna. In the water itself he describes an
upper or epipelagic fauna and a deeper, bathypelagic fauna. These
vertical divisions are based on sound evidence, but no attempt is made
at further ecological subdivision. Then there is the question of horizontal

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

64

Vol. 65, 1933

division, from equator to poles. Here distinction is made between warm-
water, boreal (and antiboreal), and arctic (and antarctic) faunas. Boun-
daries here are primarily those of temperature, and for that reason are
greatly modified by the action of warm or cold currents.

His main conclusions are of considerable interest. They reveal the
effects of major barriers on distribution. There is, for instance, greater
resemblance between the shelf fauna on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of
the isthmus of Panama than there is between these faunas on the two sides
of the Pacific.

The vast depths of the central Pacific represent a major barrier to
distribution of shallow water animals. During the Tertiary shallow water
(though not the deep water) faunas were in contact across what is now
central America. The effect of this former connection is still apparent.
Other facts of marine distribution are explicable when we realise the
former presence of a great “ Tethys Sea ” which largely divided the con-
tinents into northern and southern components. Distribution of the
abyssal fauna is controlled by the presence of submarine elevations such as
those that separate the Mediterranean from the open Atlantic and the
Sea of Japan from the open Pacific.

Professor Ekman does* indicate in many instances how present distribu-
tion has been influenced by past changes in topography and in climate.
This is no small achievement. Criticism is that conclusions tend to be
obscured by the mass of supporting evidence. Summaries to each chapter
or a final chapter dealing with general conclusions would have been very
helpful.— C. M. Y.

Filmstrips. Published by Educational Productions Ltd., 17 Denbigh St.,
London, S.W. 1. Insect Life , by Arthur Smith, 25s. British Insects ,
No. 4: Summer Moths, by George E. Hyde. British Birds , No. 4:
The Barn Owl, by John Warham and Phillip E. Brown, 15s. Our
Birds , by Sydney Rogerson and Charles Tunicliffe.

Each of these filmstrips consists of a series of about thirty pictures on a
strip of 35 mm. film and is accompanied by a booklet of notes describing
each picture in the strip ; they are intended primarily for schools and educa-
tional establishments, and in general are of a very high quality and standard.

Miss LEONORA JEFFREY RINTOUL

It is with great sorrow that we record the death
on 22nd May 1953, at Largo, Fife, of Miss Leonora
Jeffrey Rintoul, a lifelong contributor to The Scottish
Naturalist , and for very many years a member of its
editorial board.

Our feelings of obligation to her, mingled with
respect and affection, will be shared by all Scottish
naturalists. We offer our sympathy to Miss Evelyn V.
Baxter, with whom her labours, and their honourable
rewards, have so long been shared.

THE BIRDS OF SCOTLAND

Their History, Distribution, and Migrations

by

EVELYN V. BAXTER and LEONORA JEFFREY RINTOUL

It has long been felt that a book dealing with the birds of
Scotland as a whole was badly needed. The title of this book
describes its scope in brief, and it is hoped that it will supply the
want.

It is in two volumes and opens with four introductory chapters.
These comprise a description of Scotland from an ornithological
standpoint, some factors which influence our bird life, the com-
position of the Scottish avifauna, and migration. They are
followed by the history, distribution, and migration (as it relates
to Scotland) of each bird on the Scottish list under species. Much
research has gone to the tracing of the history of the birds of which,
in many cases, it has been possible to show the arrival and spread,
in others the decline and ultimate disappearance. The distribution
is very full ; the status of the bird is given, as far as known, in
every county, beginning in the south-west and working through
the south-east up to the north of the mainland.

In any work on Scottish birds the Isles must have an important
place and much information relating to them will be found here.
The migration movements are also dealt with under the species.
The data are brought up to ist January 1951 with an appendix
which brings the most important occurrences up to ist June 1952.
Each volume has a coloured frontispiece, there are twenty-four
illustrations from photographs, and a good map of Scotland.

The authors are well qualified to write such a book. They
have devoted their lives to the study of Scottish ornithology, have
travelled all over Scotland and most of the isles where they have
worked steadily at the distribution and migration of the birds.
For twenty- five years they visited the Isle of May during the
migration seasons for the purpose of observing the birds there.
They wrote the Report on Scottish Ornithology for twenty years,
and are now organising the Wildfowl counts in Scotland for the
International Wildfowl Inquiry.

Published by

OLIVER & BOYD, LTD.

EDINBURGH AND LONDON

SHETLAND

For sale, charming 4-6 room cottage between sea cliffs
and Loch Spiggie. Main electricity, two gardens, barn,
garage and drying green. Dairy and farm produce available.
Splendid situation for birds (resident and migratory) and
trout fishing. £900 or nearest.

VENABLES, Spiggie, Shetland

BINDING

Messrs. OLIVER & BOYD, LTD., Tweeddale Court,
Edinburgh, will continue to undertake the binding of The
Scottish Naturalist.

Binding cases, price 3s. 6d. each, will be sent on appli-
cation, or the complete volume may be bound, price 13s. 6d.
including packing and postage.

THE NORTH WESTERN NATURALIST

A Scientific and Educational Journal for Lancashire, Cheshire ,
Shropshire , Stafford, Derbyshire, North Wales, Cumberland,
Westmorland, Isle af Man , the North-west, and Scotland

EDITED BY

A. A. DALLMAN, A.L.S., F.C.S.

Assistant Editor: R. WAGSTAFFE, M.B.O.U.
Published Quarterly. Annual Subscription 15/6 post paid

Papers, Notes and Records — whether of specialist or general
interest — are invited, and especially in connection with the
North-west. Contributions should be clearly written (prefer-
ably typed) on one side only of the paper.

Editorial Communications, Books for Review, etc., should be
addressed to A. A. Dallman , 12 Tickhill Road , Doncaster.

Business Communications, Advertisements and Subscriptions
should be addressed to T. Buncle & Co. Ltd., Publishers ,
Market Place , Arbroath , Scotland.

Printed in Great Britain at The Aberdeen University Press Limited

AUTUMN

1953

Price

The Scottish Naturalist

With which is incorporated

The Annals of Scottish Natural History

EDITED BY

V. G. WYNNE-EDWARDS

Regius Professor of Natural History , University of Aberdeen

AND

JAMES W. CAMPBELL

All Articles and Communications intended for publication and
all Books, etc., for notice, should be sent to The Editor, Natural
History Department, Marischal College, Aberdeen.

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the
Editor.

Annual Subscription : £i is. ; single parts, 7s.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Migration into Britain from the North-West, Autumn

1952 — Kenneth Williamson ...... 65

A List of Spiders of the County of Moray — Roland Richter . 95

The Autumn Migration of the Meadow-Pipit and the Skylark

on the Kirkcudbright Coast — D. F. Owen . . .101

Scottish Turtle Records Previous to 1953 — A. C. Stephen . 108

Report on Birds of the Clyde Area, 1952 — M. F. M. Meiklejohn

and C. E. Palmar . . . . . . *115

Zoological Notes
Book Reviews

The Scottish Naturalist

Volume 65, No. 2

Autumn 1953

MIGRATION INTO BRITAIN
FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 *

Kenneth Williamson
Fair Isle Bird Observatory

Introduction

The concept of migrational drift has so far been applied only
to migration originating in the maritime region of Europe.
The phenomenon was first discussed in broad outline by Misses
E. V. Baxter and L. J. Rintoul (1918) in a review of their
migration-watching experiences on the Isle of May in the Firth
of Forth. Later, Dr. Finn Salomonsen (1935) came to similar
conclusions in respect of European migratory species which
reach the Faeroe Islands; and Professor James Ritchie (1940)
showed that wind-influence was concerned in an extensive
migratory movement of waxwings Bombycilla garrulus in 1921.
In these cases, the drift was considered to be a resultant of the
wind velocity superimposed on the birds5 flight-speed in a
southwards orientated direction. In discussing recent changes
in the avifauna of Iceland in relation to the amelioration of
climatic conditions during the past fifty years Gudmundsson
(1951) has shown that the increasing frequency of continental
visitors is to be explained by the greater incidence of southerly
and south-easterly winds correlated with the climatic change.
As classic examples of the drift of large numbers of a single
species we have H. F. Witherby’s (1927) account of the in-
vasion of Newfoundland by lapwings Vanellus vanellus , and
Salomonsen’s (1951) analysis of the range extension to south-
j west Greenland of the fieldfare Turdus pilaris.

* Received 2%rd January 1953

9

66

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Recently (1952) I have further developed this theory of
migrational drift, with particular reference to the meteoro-
logical aspect, and have attempted to show that such drift is
always down- wind, in no objective direction, and that the
greater part of spring and autumn passage migration through
the British Isles originates in this way. Discussions I have had
with a number of ornithologists since the publication of these
views show that, firstly, there is some hesitancy in accepting the
theory as having a general application to all migratory stocks;
and secondly, a feeling exists that the drift can only be a com-
promise between the direction and force of the wind and , the
“ standard direction 55 flight of the birds. In the first case, it
is considered that such drift is efficacious only against birds
which use coastal routes, or make sea crossings, and that it does
not operate against birds migrating by night across a land-mass
since these are able to reorientate on their preferred bearing,
and so correct their previous displacement, next day. This
presupposes the existence in all birds of an innate sense of true
orientation, except for those individuals which reach extra-
limital regions as casuals or scarce vagrants, and which are
presumably deficient in this respect. The second case is a
corollary of the first. Because of this innate faculty, the
amount of the drift must be a resultant of the bird’s speed in its
<c standard direction ” and the velocity of the gradient wind,
and if the relevant data were known, the drift could be assessed
by application of the triangle of velocities.

There are obviously immense difficulties in the way of
establishing proof for, or objections to, any of these views. For
the present it would seem that the only way of securing the
general acceptance of any principle is to analyse a growing
number of situations and see which of the theories is supported
by the great majority of cases. There are several ways of
attacking the problem, and the most obvious are the examina-
tion of observational data collected by the bird observatories in
past years, concentration on the annual migration “ patterns ”
of selected species, and an attempt to interpret the ringing
recovery records of birds marked when on passage through
Britain. As a contribution to the problem, the following
review of an important part of the autumn migration of 1952
is offered.

i953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 67

Scope of the Present Study

From mid- August to early October 1952 the frequent
excursions of the Azores anticyclonic system into the north-
eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean created favourable migration
weather for birds entering Europe from Greenland and Iceland.
In consequence of so much high pressure to the west of the
British Isles there was a good deal more wind from northerly
points than is usual at I^air Isle at this season, and a marked
absence of those conditions in the North Sea which initiate
migrational drift from the Continent. Thus, whilst falls of
migrants from the east were few and relatively unimportant
until October, there was excellent opportunity to examine the
effect of meteorological conditions on bird movements origin-
ating in the north-west.

These populations are in some respects more fascinating than
their continental counterparts. Their breeding-range, and
thus the source of their migration, is much more restricted ; all
have, presumably, a strongly implanted south-east “ standard
direction 55 of autumn migration; and all must, whether
they like it or not, cross very considerable stretches of sea. The
fact that they continue to maintain themselves in considerable
numbers on these distant breeding-grounds, in the face of such
hazardous journeys, seems at first sight to reveal a great weak-
ness in the theory that all birds are subject to the dangers of
migrational drift.

Nevertheless, I have used the theory as a working hypo-
thesis as I consider that it has been sufficiently demonstrated by
the authors mentioned in the case of continental birds crossing
the sea. Taxonomic considerations have been used whenever
possible to fortify this approach. The various species, since
they are few, are dealt with under separate headings, more or
less in the order of their appearance, and the dominant weather
conditions at the times of their main arrivals are discussed in
some detail.

In a following section I have sought additional support for
my contention that these are stocks of north-western birds by
showing that, with one important exception, their movements
were carried out at different times, and under different weather
conditions, from those of the exclusively continental species

68

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

which reached Fair Isle during the early autumn. Finally,
I have attempted to summarise and discuss the main features of
this migration from the north-west in relation to the general
meteorology of the area, enquire to what extent the concept of
migrational drift applies, and see what light the movements
throw on more fundamental problems of bird-migration.

Acknowledgments

My thanks are due to Dr. Holger Holgersen (Konservator
of Stavanger Museum, Norway), Major R. F. Ruttledge (Great
Saltee Bird Observatory, south-east Ireland), Mr. L. S. V.
Venables (Dunrossness, south Shetland), Mr. Alexander
Tulloch (Flannans Lighthouse), and Mr. James Dixon (Tory
Island Lighthouse) for allowing me to use certain of their
observations; and also to those visitors to Fair Isle who played
a part in the compilation of our own records during this period.
I am also grateful to Professor V. C. Wynne-Edwards for
helpful discussion concerning the presentation of the material.

The Weather Charts

Diagrams based on the appropriate issues of The Daily
Weather Report of the Meteorological Office of the Air Ministry
are used in illustration of most of the cases discussed, and these
have been selected with a view to providing as complete a
picture as possible of the conditions governing the journeys of
the north-western populations. I am grateful to the Controller
of H.M. Stationery Office for permission to use these diagrams.
They are arranged and numbered in chronological sequence,
for in some instances they relate to more than one species
and are therefore referred to under two or more different
headings.

Those readers who are inexperienced in reading weather
charts should bear the following points in mind. The direction
of the gradient wind follows the run of the isobars (lines of equal
barometric pressure at sea-level, shown at four-millibar inter-
vals), with an inwards deviation of about 150 towards the centre
of a depression or low, about which the air-circulation is
counter-clockwise. Contrary conditions are to be found in an
anticyclone or high. The circles at recording stations indicate
the amount of cloud-cover and the direction and force of the

1953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 69

wind: the arrows fly with the wind and each full fleche repre-
sents 20 on the Beaufort wind-strength scale. A double circle
represents a calm. Warm fronts are marked by a line of
half-circles, cold fronts by triangles, in each case pointing in
the direction of movement of the front. When the two marks
fall alternately an occlusion, where the cold air of a depression
has forced the warm sector to rise above the ground or sea level
is indicated.

The Species

1 . The Wheatear

The heaviest and most important passage from this direc-
tion in past years has been the one we associate, on a general
relationship between wing-length and body-weight of trapped
birds, with the Iceland-Taeroe populations of the wheatear.
These populations were given the name Oenanthe oe. schideri by
Salomonsen (1927), with type-locality in south Iceland: the
form stands intermediate in wing-measurement between the
typical and Greenland races, with a considerable overlap at
either end of the cline, and in view of the impossibility of cor-
rectly assigning a majority of specimens in the museum, schideri
is not generally recognised by taxonomists. Mackworth-
Praed and Grant (1951) have relegated the name to the
synonymy of the Greenland wheatear Oenanthe oe. leucorhoa.
Passing through Fair Isle in late August and September we
have a group of wheatears which are on average heavier than
our local birds, and only slightly longer in the wing, and these
we believe represent migrant birds, so-called schideri, , of
Faeroese and Icelandic origin.

The passage of these birds, although it was very consider-
able m 1951 (for details see Williamson and Butterfield, 1952)
failed to materialise in the present autumn. There was good
evidence that in 1951 the movement into Shetland took place
about 1 6th August, and at the same time in 1952 weather
conditions in Faeroe were very similar to those of the previous
year. A vast ridge of high pressure extended north-eastwards
from an Azores anticyclone, embracing Iceland and Faeroe on
1 3th- 1 4th August, bringing calms or light airs and clear skies.
Shetland, though enjoying the anticyclonic weather, had a
jpersistent moderate north-easterly airstream by virtue of its

70

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

position on the eastern side of the high; and this airstream, it
is believed, bore the anticipated wheatear movement away to
westward of our area and into the Hebrides and Ireland.

This view is based entirely on negative evidence so far as
Fair Isle is concerned, but it finds some support in observations
made in the south of Shetland and at Great Saltee. Shetland
birds also moved out at this time. L. S. V. Venables writes:
et My impression (no counts to back it) is — abundant to 13th
August, marked drop 14th, still common until about 20th, when
an increase; decrease 23rd August.55 The Irish bird observa-
tory recorded a second phase of wheatear passage beginning on
15th August and continuing on 19th and 21st (Figs. 1 a and b) :
an earlier phase, continuous between 5th-gth August, was
presumably due to the departure of British birds. Unfor-
tunately this is a difficult species to trap at Great Saltee, so we
are without any taxonomic evidence which might assist in
identifying the birds.

Heavy individuals which were perhaps on passage from the
north-west were taken at Fair Isle on 16th, 18th, 20th, and
22nd, but otherwise the birds trapped did not differ in weight
and wing-length from our local stock. There was only one
brief spell, from late 23rd to early 25th, when any marked
passage of bigger birds was reflected in the trapping data.
Details of weights and measurements of this sample are given
in Bull. Fair Isle B. Obs.} no. 8, p. 32, and as five of the ten
captures were adults, it may be assumed, from 1949-51 experi-
ence of these movements, that the bulk of the first-winter
birds were already far ahead. Typical col conditions arose
suddenly in Faeroe and Shetland during 23rd when an old
depression was receding eastwards from the area; light north-
west winds late in the day were followed by a calm night, but
these conditions were short-lived owing to the growth of a new
depression along the Atlantic arctic front separating the Azores
and Greenland highs (Fig. 2).

There were later small movements of the bigger birds,
notably arrivals in cyclonic weather on 2nd September (2 ad.
cJc? trapped, wings 99-100 mm., weights 26-6 and 27*7 gm.)
(Fig. 3) ; whilst occasional leucorhoa were taken in anticyclonic
weather on nth (ad. (J, wing 107 mm., weight 39-5 gm.), 14th
and 1 6th (Fig. 6). There was a considerable increase in

igS3 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 71

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wheatears on 26th September, to about 100 birds, and field-
observations, supported by trapping, suggest that many of these
were of the Greenland race. There was some diurnal passage
of big wheatears under col conditions on 3rd October.

The question of the immediate origin of the wheatears of
26th September is an interesting one, for at this time an unusual
drift was taking place into Fair Isle from the west-central coast
of Norway round the northern side of a depression whose centre
was moving eastwards from Caithness into the North Sea
(Fig. 8). This is known from the nature of the arrivals at Fair
Isle and at Utsira in south-west Norway, and further reference
to this period is made in a later section of this paper. It will
suffice here to say that it is more reasonable to suppose that
these wheatears arrived from Norway than by cyclonic migra-
tion from Greenland since, on the basis of a cyclonic drift, they
would have been taken far to the south of Fair Isle, probably to
southern Ireland or France.

That these birds had sustained a long cyclonic migration
and had not just “ hopped over 55 from Shetland is suggested
’ by the low weights of the two birds trapped: 26th, ad. <J,
wing 107 mm., weight 29-85 gm., and 27th, first- winter, wing
105 mm., weight 23-02 gm. (cf. the anticyclonic migrant of
nth September). And it is surely more than coincidence that
Dr. Holgersen is confident that the wheatears he observed at
Utsira singly from 17th, increasing to three on 25th and six
next day, were all leucorhoa ■ — this opinion being founded upon
field observation supported by collecting (<J, 24th September,
wing 106 mm., and $, 2nd October, wing 10 1 mm.). The
passage of 3rd October was in all probability the onward flow
of this drift out of Shetland, and a further movement of
leucorhoa took place at Utsira at this time.

It should be emphasised that the unusually strong north-
eastward extension of the Azores high pressure system during
mid-September, especially between 13th- 15th (Fig. 6), could
well have deflected a large number of Greenland passerines to
the Norwegian coast. In addition to these wheatears, the high
arctic form of redpoll Carduelis h. hornemanni was collected by
Dr. Holgersen, on 21st September, and it seems likely that the
few Lapland and snow buntings which appeared there at this
time may have been Greenland and not Norwegian birds (see

1953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 75

below). Dr. Holgersen informs me that reports from the
Norwegian weather-ship Polar Front (position about 66° N.
2° E.) give evidence of some movement, including “ one bird
looking like a wheatear, and repeatedly some which seemed
like snow buntings ”.

2. The White Wagtail

Much of the white wagtail Motacilla a. alba passage at Fair
Isle has an Icelandic origin, though this is also a frequent drift-
migrant from the Continent in most years; and, as there is no
taxonomic difference between the two populations, the white
wagtail movements are sometimes difficult to analyse. Passage
began on 15th August in 1952 and built up to a peak of 40-plus
on 19th, whilst L. S. V. Venables observes of south Shetland
that “ migration started with a minor rush on 1 7th- 1 8th 5\

It could be argued that these birds might equally well have
reached the Shetland area by direct immigration from Norway,
or by drift from the same region in the north-easterly airstream
flowing along the eastern side of the ridge (Figs. 1 a and b). An
objection to this view, however, is that the only species which
showed a significant increase at Fair Isle at this period were
birds which could also have had a north-western origin, whilst
peculiarly continental species were practically absent. There
was steady passage of meadow pipits and on 19th, the peak-day,
an invasion of redshanks (20) and the first 2 merlins, an Ice-
landic (J being trapped (see below).

It may seem remarkable that white wagtails from Iceland
should enter, and wheatears by-pass our area at this time, but
two points should be borne in mind. Whereas the wagtail does
not breed (except irregularly) in Shetland, so that any migra-
tion through the islands is at once obvious, the passage of small
parties of schu/deri wheatears from the same source would pass
unnoticed among the large concentration of local birds.
Furthermore — and this is important — the white wagtail is
normally a day migrant, using visual cues, and therefore less
subject to drift than the wheatear, which migrates very largely
by night. The fact that the peak at Fair Isle was a day later
than the concentration in south Shetland accords with the view
of a diurnal movement in this case.

There was a resurgence of white wagtail migration when

76 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

our only good bag of schijderi wheatears was made on 23rd
(Fig. 2 ), the wagtails increasing during that day, the wheatears
coming in overnight. There were slight increases also on 25th
and 27th and these can be considered together with the next
movement, since the meteorological events were similar in each
case. A well-marked passage which took place between 1st
and 5th September, with a peak of over forty birds on 2nd, can
only be accounted for by postulating cyclonic approach from
Iceland round the south-west side of a depression which had
crossed that country, leaving a rising barometer and light winds
in the west (Fig. 3). No other explanation is possible. Firstly,
entry from the Continent by drift is out of the question, and by
direct approach from Norway or Shetland a physical impossi-
bility against the gale-force head- winds in Forties and East
Fair Isle. Secondly, as one would expect with a cyclonic
approach of this nature, birds reached Fair Isle and the west of
Britain practically simultaneously: movement through Saltee
began on 2nd and reached its climax with nearly fifty birds on
4th, and we are justified in allowing a slight delay between
their appearance at this observatory and the first arrivals on the
north and west coasts of Ireland. According to information
from Mr. Peter Conder, white wagtails passed Skokholm
(S. Wales) from 21st August to 1st September with peaks on
24th-25th and 30th August. A second wave reached
Skokholm (4 birds) on 4th September, increasing gradually
to 70 birds on 6th.

3. The Merlin

The autumn was notable for the number of merlins trapped
— including three on one day, 4th September — and for the fact
that all seven of the birds were referable to the Icelandic race
Falco columbarius subaesalon. The situation at Fair Isle is not
complicated by the movements of British birds, which are
resident, and the fact that one of a Shetland brood of four
fledglings, ringed for us on 31st July by Mr. W. Kay, was
recovered nearby at the end of December suggests that this
applies also to the Shetland stock. There are thus good
grounds for believing that the merlins which pass Fair Isle
continuously from mid-August to mid- October must come from
either the north-west or the east. The authors of The Handbook

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i953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952

of British Birds (vol. 3, p. 23) accept the latter alternative, but
the facts support the opposite view.

The Icelandic race is easily separable from the continental
by its longer wing, sex for sex, with virtually no overlap. Our
trapped birds measured, <$<$ 205-210 mm., $5 228-232 mm.,
all beyond the upper limit of over a hundred Scandinavian
specimens measured by Salomonsen (1935), viz. ^<5 193-202
mm., $$ 199-222 mm. It is possible of course that some of
this passage emanates from Faeroe, although the very few
Faeroe breeders are said by Salomonsen to be sedentary.

Merlins were regular from the time of the first white wagtail
peak, an Icelandic male being self- trapped on 19th August
(Fig. ib) and it was just after the wagtails’ second peak at the
beginning of September that these small falcons were most in
evidence. They made a cyclonic approach to Scotland, where
they winter (on the evidence of recoveries of Iceland-ringed
birds), in a direct north-nor’ westerly stream of air on the flank
of a huge depression then covering the whole of Scandinavia
(Fig. 4). Two other merlins were trapped on 16th and 20th
September and the latter, a male with a wing of 210 mm., was
almost certainly a new arrival as three birds were recorded that
day, although none had been seen on 19th. Col conditions —
again very short-lived owing to the rapid growth of a low near
Iceland — extended from Iceland through Faeroe to Scotland
during the night (Fig. 7).

The bird of 16th, a female with wing 228 mm., was found
dead near Wick, Caithness, on 3rd October, and the male
trapped on 19th August was picked up in a slightly injured
condition near Blairgowrie, Perthshire, in January.

4. The Lapland Bunting

The prevalence of these high pressure conditions to the west
assisted the emigration of Lapland buntings Calcarius lapponicus
from Greenland, and their movements accorded closely with
the general pattern we had become accustomed to in previous
| years. The first was heard on the moorland on 27th August,
there were two with the second white wagtail movement of
ist-2nd September, and the first real influx was the arrival of
seven birds on the peak merlin day of 4th September (Fig. 4).
These had increased to thirteen by 6th, and although the

78 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

earlier arrivals were cyclonic, by 5th an extension of the high
west of Ireland was influencing south-east Greenland and
Iceland (where there had been comparatively calm weather
since 3rd) and was providing a light north-westerly airflow to
the British Isles (Fig. 5). I ought to emphasise that this
situation offers a very close parallel to those under which
similar invasions of Lapland buntings have been noted in
previous autumn seasons, notably between 6th-8th September
I95I (eighteen birds) and 10th September 1949 (forty, with as
many snow buntings).

For the first few days following their arrival the Lapland
buntings remain in a small flock, with scattered individuals
elsewhere, but they soon disperse more widely and changes in
strength become difficult to tally. Like the merlins, they show
no eagerness to pass on, which suggests that they are near the
end of their journey, yet there is apparently no knowledge of
the location of their main wintering-area. About half-a-dozen
birds were recorded on most days down to the middle of the
month, and three on 21st following a few blank days were
probably new arrivals from southern Greenland in a west-
nor’west airstream between a mid-Atlantic high and a day-
old depression centred on Faeroe. This eastwards moving
low is shown in Fig. 7. One bird on 29th succeeded by five
next day seem likely to have originated in eastern Greenland,
where the weather had been markedly anticyclonic for
several days, travelling via Iceland along the eastern side
of a ridge reaching towards Ireland (Fig. 9). Three more
appeared with redpolls on 5th October and are discussed with
that species below, and there were four birds on the 7th (Figs.
10 and 1 1).

5. The Redpoll

As might be expected in view of the weather, the Greenland
low arctic form of redpoll Carduelis jlammea rostrata was more in
evidence than usual in the autumn of 1952. The first was
watched on Buness on 7th September, the day following the
first Lapland bunting peak, feeding avidly on the seeding heads
of Plantago maritima and P. coronopus. There were scattered
occurrences in mid and late September, including two on
1 2th and two on 24th in anticyclonic weather, and a single

1953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 79

bird on 5th October was succeeded by five next day. During
the week from 10th October there were three or four daily,
and at this period they were mostly in the stubble or the
stackyards, but occasionally also in the sheltered cabbage
patches.

The birds of 5th-6th October were cyclonic migrants and
the low weight of one trapped (14-73 gm-j increasing in four
hours to 15-02 gm.) is a testimony of this. If these birds came
direct from Greenland — and the unsuitability of the weather in
the Iceland-Faeroe sector suggests that they did — then the
route must have rounded the south-western flank of a depres-
sion which had developed quickly over Iceland on 4th. It is
difficult to visualise any nearer point of origin since this
depression brought a vigorous gale to Iceland (with hurricane
force winds on 5th) which must have inhibited any attempt
at migration there (Fig. 10). The developing low had very
little effect, however, on the comparatively calm weather
which had prevailed for several days in a ridge over south-east
Greenland.

The arrivals of 10th took place in the northerly airstream
on the eastern side of a high situated to the south of Iceland:
the birds may have been “ off passage 55 since the previous
movement somewhere along the route, since examples trapped
on 1 2th were up to normal weight, $ 21 -2 gm. and $ 19-7 gm.
(cf. 14 gm. and 14-7 gm. for two <$$ C.f. flammed) (Fig. 12).

During the first week of October both flammea and rostrata
were on the island together and it was interesting to compare
the field-characters of the two races. The Greenland birds had
much darker brown mantle plumage with very little admixture
of grey; they were broadly and boldly streaked with brown on
the flanks, and the rump showed little or no white. They were
almost invariably alone or in the company of their own kind,
and were very approachable, so that with glasses the strong
bulging bill could be appreciated without difficulty. The
slighter and greyer mealy redpolls associated much with the
huge flock of twites C. flavirostris which roam the stubble and
root-crops at this time of the year, although, on a few occasions,
they too were to be seen in a separate group. When with the
twites, they were difficult to spot until the flock rose and their
whitish rumps gave them away.

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6. The Snow Bunting

Single birds on 6th (but a flock of six in the south of Shetland
— Fig. 5) and 8th September, three on nth, the first big party
of twenty on 14th (Fig. 6), and a dozen or so on 20th (Fig. 7),
all coincided with anticyclonic weather to westward, and thus
their movements at this period followed the general pattern we
have seen in past years. They were doubtless Greenland birds.
Later, from the end of September, a part of our snow bunting
passage is drawn from the Continent in most years, and in fact,
a large influx of about a hundred birds took place at the
beginning of the cyclonic period of 25th-28th September
mentioned under The Wheatear and discussed in more
detail in the section on continental immigrants below (Fig. 8).
Whilst it is impossible to be sure of the origin of these birds,
Greenland seems at least as likely a source as the mountains of
Norway. There was a pronounced westerly airstream between
Greenland and Norway on 10th and again from 1 2th- 1 6th
September (Fig. 6) and the snow bunting movements in 1952
showed a remarkable parallel with those we observed in mid-
September 1949. In that year a similar anticyclonic situation
to the one shown in Fig. 6, from ioth-i2th, brought the first
big parties of snow and Lapland buntings to Fair Isle, and a
few days later a North Sea low pressure development similar to
that shown in Fig. 8 coincided with the biggest snow bunting
invasion — well over a thousand birds — ever recorded at the isle.

An increase to over a hundred birds on 7th October accom-
panied the arrival of new redpolls (6th) and Lapland buntings
(7th) (Fig. 11). An interesting bird was trapped on 6th
October, but its weight, 30-73 gm., suggests that it was not a
new arrival. It was an adult male in the phase of plumage
having white primary coverts, and it had the reddish-brown
mantle plumage with strong black feather-centres and darker
underparts which characterise the Iceland race Plectrophenax
nivalis insulae. It was compared in the laboratory with skins of
the typical race (with which the Greenland bird must be
included) and an adult male insulae shot on the Stirlingshire
coast and now in the Royal Scottish Museum. This race,
although not yet admitted to the British list, winters regularly
in Faeroe, according to Salomonsen (1947), and Col. R..

i953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 81

Meinertzhagen’s collection contains two specimens which he
shot from a flock in the Outer Hebrides in January 1934.

7. The Redwing

This is the one north-western passerine which does not
appear to have responded to the excellent passage conditions.
Normally we trap a number of the Iceland subspecies Turdus
musicus coburni during October, and an analysis of the move-
ments through Fair Isle of this and the typical race (from which
the great majority of individuals are easily separated on
plumage-characters and weight) has already been published,
the study being based on the 1949-50 migration seasons
(Williamson, 1953). Summarising this, it can be said that
much of the earlier immigration of coburni , from mid-October,
takes place under either col or anticyclonic conditions, and at
such times this race is likely to be found together with drift-
migrant Turdus m. musicus on redetermined passage after a short
resting-period in the northern islands'. The failure of coburni
to appear among the redwing trappings at this period in 1952
may be due to the fact that a sequence of depressions in the
Iceland area delayed their departure.

A single coburni was trapped on 15th October, but following
this there was a period of strong disturbances in the Iceland-
Faeroe region and no further arrivals took place until the end
of the month. Six coburni were then trapped between 31st
October and 2nd November, two of these being driven from a
flock of twenty birds on 1st. They appear to have arrived as
cyclonic migrants on the south-western side of a depression
midway between Iceland and the Norwegian coast (Fig. 12).
Two more Iceland birds taken on 9th and 10th November
arrived in similar weather.

8. Other Species

As in former years, there was considerable movement of
geese during cyclonic weather at the end of October and early
November, with groups of five and seventeen pinkfeet Anser
arvensis brachyrhynchus (probably Icelandic) on 30th-3ist, a skein
of black geese thought to be barnacles Branta leucopsis on 30th
and small parties of grey lags Anser anser on ist-2nd November.
Five whooper swans Cygnus cygnus were also seen on 30th (Fig.

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Vol. 65

13). A large gaggle of twenty- three pinkfeet and five whooper
swans were also identified on 1 1 th October, the only instance
we have so far recorded of a considerable movement of these
big birds under anticyclonic conditions (Fig. 12).

The second Fair Isle example of a Greenland whitefront
Anser albifrons fiavirostris , an adult female, was shot by James A.
Stout on 5th November: it was a light bird, and had probably
just arrived. As in the case of the previous specimen, a young
bird collected on 15th September 1951, it came in during a
period of cyclonic weather. The circumstances attending the
1951 occurrence and the simultaneous appearance of a number
of these geese at their Irish wintering-grounds have been
described by R. F. Ruttledge and the present writer (1952).

A more convincing picture of the pattern of goose im-
migration is available for late October 1951 as a result of the
careful observations made by lightkeepers Alexander Tulloch
at the Flannan Isles and James Dixon at Tory Island, north-
west Ireland. In that year there was a second big wave of
Greenland whitefronts in Ireland between 20th-22nd October,
according to Ruttledge, and on the same days Venables5 counts
showed a rapid build-up in the numbers of whooper swans at
Loch Spiggie in Dunrossness, 104 birds being present by 22nd.
There were grey geese, and a few swans, passing Fair Isle, and
a heavy movement of barnacle geese took place at the Flannans
and Tory Isle. Over 200 birds landed on Eilean Tigh early
on 2 1 st and 30 reached Tory the same day, increasing
to 100 on 22nd. Early on 23rd nearly 300 barnacles rested
on Eilean Tigh for two hours before passing on to south-east;
there were smaller numbers between 25th and 29th, also a few
at Tory, and on 30th about 500 arrived at Eilean Tigh and
Soray and remained a week.

As in the case of the whitefronts, the barnacle geese almost
certainly originated in east Greenland, though Spitzbergen
birds may also have been concerned. The weather charts for
I9th-20th October 1951 show that this immense invasion took
place by cyclonic approach along the western flank of a huge
depression (Fig. 14). By early 21st low “ R 55 had moved to
northern Scotland and there were almost straight isobars (and
therefore a following wind-stream) from north-east Greenland
through the Iceland-Faeroe seas to the British Isles.

1953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 83

Immigration from the Continent

Although some of the birds dealt with in the foregoing
section can be ascribed to north-westerly populations on their
taxonomic characters, this is not true of all of them, and there
may be some objection to the rather fine splitting used in the
case of such birds as wheatear and merlin. For these reasons
it is worth-while examining the situation at Fair Isle in regard
to continental immigrants during this period, to see whether
this lends or denies support to the view that the movements so
far discussed embrace birds of a different origin.

It is clearly advisable to restrict such a review to the
exclusively continental species, i.e. those whose distribution
does not extend to Shetland, Faeroe, Iceland or Greenland.
For this reason several species of Charadriiformes and Anseri-
formes which could have originated in either zone have not
been considered. For the sake of brevity and avoidance of
confusion, only the August and September movements are dealt
with: the October flood of winter visitors to our area, with
their tendency to remain in the north for days or even weeks
before moving on, renders an accurate analysis of this period
very difficult.

Another aspect to be considered is that single occurrences
of one or a few continental species do not constitute a significant
fall of migrants, for, in col and anticyclonic weather especially,
there is always a trickle of such birds moving south after an
off-passage resting period in Shetland or Faeroe. The occur-
rence of three willow-warblers and a garden warbler on 1 7th,
and of willow and barred warblers and green and wood sand-
pipers on 20th-2 1st August fall into this category.

A weak easterly airflow between the west coast of Norway
and Shetland during the night of 2gth-30th August, between a
shallow trough in Forties and a high centred over Jan Mayen,
coincided with the first real movement of continental birds.
There were willow-warbler (15), pied flycatcher (6), grass-
hopper and garden warblers, whitethroat, ring ouzel, whinchat
(2), wryneck, sand-martin, buzzard, ruff, greenshank and a few
herons. There was no influx of either white wagtails or
merlins at this time, though these showed increase during the
next few days when strong west winds, veering north-west,

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prevailed. As already emphasised, the hypothetical methods
of approach from the Continent, by down-wind drift or direct
immigration on a south-west orientation, were equally out of
the question with this weather (Fig. 3).

A few continental birds appeared on 6th and 7th September
but these were days on which redetermined passage of the
earlier drift migrants, resting during the gale, could be expected
to proceed from Shetland. The general situation is depicted
in Fig. 5: by midnight, skies were cloudless and winds light in
both Faeroe and Shetland. Again the continental representa-
tion was very small, and the only evidence of real movement
(except for cormorants passing southwards from Shetland) is
provided by the Lapland buntings, a species not present in the
earlier continental drift.

The 9th was a more interesting day with the following
species recorded: heron (increase), kestrel (2), barred and
garden warblers, blackcap, willow-warbler (4) and pied fly-
catcher. Next day, single lesser whitethroat and scarlet
grosbeak were added. This certainly suggests a new influx, if
a small one, from the Continent, and it is noteworthy that none
of the supposed north-western birds showed increase on these
days. With a complex low pressure disturbance over Dogger,
extending to England during the night of 8th-gth, and an
anticyclone over Scandinavia giving calm and very nearly
cloudless conditions on the west coast of Norway, a small drift
to Shetland in the easterly airstream between the two airmasses
was a possibility.

There was a pied flycatcher on nth and six next day, with
willow- warbler (3), blackcap, whinchat and some herons, and
cormorants were again moving past from Shetland. This also
was an anticyclonic period when passage southwards of the
earlier drift- migrants could be expected. Fig. 6 depicts a
similar situation.

No further invasion from the Continent took place until
25th-26th September, and this was followed by a big fall of
continental immigrants on 30th. This period must be dealt
with in some detail, since it is clear that certainly one and in all
likelihood two north-western species were mixed up in it.
During the first phase a deep depression moved eastwards from
Caithness into the North Sea, giving north-east to north winds

1 953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 85

at Fair Isle, and it is believed that the birds which reached us
were cyclonic migrants round the northern side of the depres-
sion from Norway (Fig. 8). They were mainly common gulls:
we have had previous experience of these birds arriving in
numbers under similar cyclonic conditions, notably on 31st
August 1951. Waders were well represented, turnstone (50),
redshank (50), dunlin (10) and our first oyster-catchers for
nine days. At the outset, about a hundred snow buntings
arrived (no increase at Utsira till 27th) and twenty wheatears
on 25th increased to a hundred next day ; there were also
one or two warblers, and up to a dozen each of redwing and
fieldfare. It is known that at least some of the wheatears were
leucorhoa , and it is curious that the snow buntings so greatly
outnumbered the Turdus spp. if they were in fact Scandinavian
birds.*

Conditions changed on 29th-30th, a small depression form-
ing off the west coast of Denmark and causing a westwards drift
from the Skagerrak on its northern side, a type of situation
I have previously mentioned (1952, p. 17) as being productive
of marked migrational drift. The early stage of this depression
is shown in Fig. 9. There was an enormous increase in the
Turdus spp. to over a thousand birds, a much better representa-
tion of warblers, flycatchers and other passerines, but neither
snow bunting nor wheatear increased. Lapland buntings,
however, did increase to five birds, but examination of Fig. 9
will show that an influx from either direction was possible on
this day.

Summarising, it is clear that except for the cyclonic move-
ment of 25th-26th September from west Norway, arrivals of
strictly continental birds and of species of presumed north-
western origin did not coincide, but took place under different
weather conditions. Some coincidence is to be seen with
anticyclonic or col weather in the Faeroe-Shetland region, but
at these times the numbers of continental birds are not signifi-
cant of any real movement and they accord with the view that

* There were snow buntings at Utsira from 16th September to 24th, with
peaks of nine on 18th and seven on 22nd. Dr. Holgersen points out that only
one or two specimens were present during the influx from east on 30th, with a
light south-east wind, which brought a big increase in Turdidae as well as examples
of Phylloscopus colly bita and inornatus. “ So the snow buntings may very well be
of the same origin as the Greenland wheatears of previous days, for if they were
Norwegian, they ought to have been more numerous at least from 30th.”

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

86

Vol. 65

it is under such conditions that the onwards flow of “ off-
passage 55 drift-migrants begins.

Discussion

It is clear that movement into western Europe of birds
originating in the Greenland-Iceland sector may take place in
almost any type of weather, except the kind which results in
big falls of continental migrants in the British Isles. It need
hardly be emphasised that attempts to correlate migratory
movement with present weather at the point of arrival (and
this has often been done) are useless: it is the immediate past
weather along the route that is important in determining the
course, and past weather in the area of departure to which we
must look for the initial stimulus. These data, thanks to an
excellent meteorological service, are now available to bird-
migration students in the Daily Weather Report in a sufficiently
accurate and detailed form to enable a reconstruction of many
cases to be made.

It may seem a safe and indeed natural assumption that no
bird setting out on a migratory flight can have fore-knowledge
of the conditions it will meet with on the way; nevertheless, one
hesitates to dismiss the matter without a closer examination, for
the bird is a complex organism, and migration an elaborate and
on the whole extremely successful phenomenon. When we
summarise the foregoing records we find that three broad
categories of approach can be defined, cyclonic, anticyclonic,
and col. It does not appear that any given species shows an
invariable preference for any particular category : white wag-
tails may arrive at Fair Isle in conditions as extreme as dead
calm and full gale, and such powerful flyers as swans and geese

may use anticyclonic as well as cyclonic approach, to give but
two examples.

Nevertheless, the weight of evidence from 1952 and previous
seasons is biased in favour of passerine migration under col or
anticyclonic conditions, and of goose migration in low pressure
weather. It is more than likely, however, that this is due to a
difference in migration time, the smaller birds moving early
in the season when the Azores highs happen to be more strongly
entrenched in the north-eastern Atlantic: and the swans and

i953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 87

geese later in the autumn when the highs have diminished and
the “ Icelandic low 55 which dominates winter weather in this
portion of the globe has come into its own.

This suggests the possibility that natural selection may have
exercised a part in establishing an earlier migration time among
the passerines, poorly equipped as they are in view of their low
body weight and lack of energy-building reserves to withstand
a long cyclonic journey with its exposure to frontal disturbances,
especially when this journey must of necessity take place across
the sea. The most successful individuals and groups may well
have been those whose earlier departure more frequently
coincided with the optimum development of the Azores high,
so that in the course of many generations these became the
dominant groups in the population. As is well-known, small
migrant birds leave their breeding-grounds long before the
weather becomes too rigorous or the food-shortage acute, so
that their migration anticipates by several weeks the inevitable
famine of the northern winter. There has been much dis-
cussion as to why they do this (see, in particular, Landsborough
Thomson, 1951) and although no clear reason is apparent, and,
indeed, more than one factor of the internal and external
environments may be concerned, it is not unlikely that the
gradual deterioration of weather during the autumn has had a
marked selective effect in adjusting migratory behaviour.

It might be argued that if this is true of the Atlantic mari-
time province, then one would need to postulate a different
cause in the Eurasian continental region, since the climatic
change is dissimilar in the two. Here too, however, the sub-
tropical high of the Mediterranean basin is important, and it
is at its fullest development in the late summer, declining
afterwards. Late autumn over the Eurasian continent
witnesses the increasing growth of the vast Siberian anti-
cyclone, at the expense of the retreating sub-tropical high and
the filling monsoon depression north of India, and its ramifica-
tions later extend over a large part of Europe. Late autumn
and winter continental anticyclonic wind systems are colder
and generally stronger (and therefore more conducive to
excessive drift), and highs at this time are not infrequently
characterised by temperature inversion in the upper layers
which produces a heavy cloud-cover. The researches of

88

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

VoL 65

Kramer (1952) and Matthews (1951) on the importance of the
sun in direction-finding among birds, suggest that such con-
ditions would be detrimental to successful travel. We may ■
fairly conclude that in both regions the sub-tropical high
pressure developments of late summer and early autumn afford
the optimum conditions for migration.

With regard to the geese, it may be that an earlier departure
is precluded by the longer breeding-season and the need to
complete the moult; or it may be that these heavier and
stronger birds are better able to withstand the longer journey j
occasioned by a more round-about cyclonic approach to their
wintering grounds. They may not be distressed to the same
extent by passage through frontal disturbances, and they may
even be able, at times, to fly above such weather. If need be,
they can rest on the sea. The protracted nature of the merlin
passage is interesting, and here migration may be adapted
largely to the continual drain southwards of its food-supply.

As to the weather at the point of departure, this is obviously
the most difficult factor to assess when one is studying migration
at the “ receiving-end ”, so to speak. It is fortunate that some
birds from the north-west are taxonomically distinguishable
from their continental counterparts, and have a relatively
restricted breeding-range. They are better subjects by far for
research of this kind than stocks which are homogeneous over
a very wide area. Nevertheless, it should be stressed that one
can never be sure whether arrivals of such birds at Fair Isle in
calm weather represent direct voyagers or birds merely moving
on from an off-passage resting period somewhere along the
route, although in the case of cyclonic migration the weight
records of trapped birds are an important criterion. In this,
as indeed in all the many facets of the present subject, the need
is to continue accumulating raw data over a long number of
years before any really satisfactory and final analysis can be
made.

In previous papers (1952, 1953) I have put forward the
view that the proximate external stimulus to migration is the
absence of or the relative lack of wind. There are only one or
two cases in the foregoing series of observations in which calms
or light airs are not indicated at the presumed point of origin
of the birds concerned. In these exceptional cases there is

i953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 89

evidence that departure may be influenced by improving
weather conditions of rising barometer, clearing skies and
moderating winds after a depression has passed through the
area. Striking cases are the attempts of the white wagtails to
leave Iceland on the last few days of August, culminating in the
cyclonic migration of ist-2nd September, and other instances
are the merlin movement which followed and the goose and
redwing immigrations at the end of October. The sudden
amelioration of weather may well have a markedly stimulating
effect on populations which are physiologically ready and keyed
up for the journey, but have been held in check by the adverse
conditions associated with the depressions.

The Meteorological Background

To return to the point that it seems unlikely that birds can
have prescience of the conditions obtaining along the route,
it is worth while observing that the anticyclonic weather
initiating departure may have little or nothing to do with
anticyclonic weather the bird meets with along its route. The
cold, dense air of the Greenland highs has little in common
(other than high barometric pressure) with the warmer,
moister and less dense air of the subtropical Azores system and
its north-eastwards extensions. Along the line of the polar
front separating them, considerable interaction between the
physical properties of the two air-masses goes on, leading to the
formation of wave-depressions which subsequently develop
according to the classic cyclone model of Bjerknes and Solberg.
A full discussion of meteorological theory in relation to the
behaviour of unlike air-masses can be found in such textbooks
as Brunt (1944). Autumn 1952 witnessed the development of
a number of these lows, often vigorous in their early stages in
the Iceland-Faeroe region, and it is clear that even in a season
of such a pronounced anticyclonic nature as 1952 there is the
likelihood of frequent alternation between calm-weather and
cyclonic approach, so that birds which leave Greenland under
optimum conditions may be caught by low pressure weather
before they have travelled very far. The redpoll influx of
5th-6th October appears to be such a case, and its converse is
to be seen in the first big influx of Lapland buntings between
4th-6th September, which began as a cyclonic approach and

go

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol 65

culminated in a calm-weather peak. Rapidly changing polar
front situations are depicted in Figs. 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11, and
the southwards displacement of the polar front due to the
unusual expansion of the Greenland high should be noted in

Fig. 9-

We might enquire if the meteorological background sup-
plies an answer to the problem of why different years sometimes
produce entirely different patterns of autumn migration in our
region. It would be hard to find two consecutive seasons as
opposite in character, for example, as 1951 and 1952, the first
with an almost continuous flow of continental migrants from
the third week of August to the second week of November, and
the latter with such migration at almost the lowest possible ebb.
The correlation of the Fair Isle pattern with the north-east-
wards extension of the Azores highs has already been remarked,
but it is not clear at a cursory examination why such a situation
should be peculiar to 1952.

Table 1 shows the number of days between 16th August and
30th September in the two years on which barometric pressure
reached or surpassed 1 ,020 millibars over a considerable part of
the regions named. The figures have been found partly by
examination of the midday weather-maps, and partly from the
diagrams of diurnal variations in pressure along a line drawn
from Akureyri (Iceland) through maritime Europe to Marseilles
(south France) published in the “ Monthly Supplement 55 to
the Daily Weather Report (nos. 416-7 and 428-9). Whilst there
is little disparity between the figures for the southern sector,
high pressure from the Azores belt having penetrated this part
of the Continent to much the same extent in the two years, there
are considerable differences between the northern and eastern
sectors. Thus, the unusual activity of the Azores high-
pressure system in the north-east Atlantic in 1952 is due to the
extremely weak development in that year of the polar con-
tinental anticyclones, and it would appear that an early
strengthening of the polar continental high is essential to a good
migration season in maritime Europe. Good, that is to say,
for the bird-watcher, but by no means good for the birds.

The impression we are left with from a comparison of the
meteorological background of these two seasons is that the
character of the migration in any particular autumn is entirely

1 953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 91

dependent on the relative strength and activity of the chief
air-mass sources — the maritime and continental sub-tropical
and the continental polar highs — and the inter-play of the
different physical properties of these air-masses along the fronts
which separate them. The pattern of bird-migration is as
unpredictable as the weather, and for the very good reason that
the behaviour of the birds is very largely the behaviour of the
medium in which they travel.

Table i

Number of Days on which Barometric Pressure
Attained 1,020 Millibars

Region

I95i

x952

Aug.

I5-3I

Sept.

1-15

Sept.

16-30

Aug.

16-31

Sept.

1-15

Sept.

16-30

Northern

Iceland

—

2

2

2

10

3

Faeroe

—

4

3

3

10

2

Scotland

—

4

5

5

7

1

Southern

England

6

6

8

5

7

5

France

6

5

8

9

5

6

Eastern

Finno-Scandia

6

4

6

—

5

—

N.W. Russia

10

3

5

—

■ —

Finally, it has been supposed, by myself among others, that
in order to continue to exploit their arctic breeding-grounds in
the north-eastern Atlantic the birds must have a strongly
developed “ preferred direction ” or “ standard direction 55 of
movement to the south-east, and a faculty of orientation to get
them to their destination. They may well have this power, but
it would appear that in autumn, at any rate, they could quite
well do without it. Conditions in spring will be different, and
may demand such a faculty for the return flight : this migration
should be studied. But success in the autumn could be
explicable on the grounds that the north-eastwards flow of the
maritime air-masses, whether they be highs or lows, is a con-
comitant of the west-to-east spin of the earth. When the
Azores high pushes a tongue of air into the Icelandic Seas,

92 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

then the migrant’s best route is a drift from Greenland in the
westerly airflow on the north side of the ridge, or from Iceland
and Faeroe with the southwards-moving airstream on its
eastern perimeter. If the interaction of the warm sub-tropical
and cold polar highs initiates a depression along the polar front,
then undeniably the fastest route is a drift with the counter-
clockwise current of the low. Movement in a <c preferred ”
south-easterly direction would be safe enough in the calm air
of a col, but it ought not to deposit Greenland wheatears (and
snow buntings?) in Norway during a week of widespread
anticyclonic weather, nor should it bring them back to Britain
a few days later round a depression situated to the east of the
British Isles.

The cases examined do suggest, very pointedly, that the
migration out of the north-west is simply a down-wind drift.
The greatest danger to these birds would appear to exist in an
unusually strong development of the Greenland high at the
expense of the Azorean system, as on 29th September (Fig. 9),
for in such circumstances extensive westwards drift could result.
Such occasions may account for the misdirection of Icelandic
waterfowl to the American continent and the Azores. But the
meteorological situation in this region in autumn is such that
there can be very few days when birds leaving Iceland or
Greenland would fail to make a landfall in western Europe
somewhere between Norway (which would be exceptional) and
the Mediterranean region (where ringed Icelandic ducks have
been recovered), with the chances heavily weighted in favour
of arrival in the British Isles. The power of orientation may be
there, but on the economy of hypothesis one is led to conclude
that these migrants have but to spread their wings, and drift,
and they cannot go wrong.

Summary

The strong development of the Azores high pressure system
in the north-eastern part of the Atlantic in early autumn 1952
created favourable conditions for a study of the migration into
Britain of Greenland, Iceland and Faeroe birds.

The observed movements (mainly at Fair Isle) are
chronicled under species headings' — wheatear, white wagtail,

i953 MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH-WEST, AUTUMN 1952 93

merlin, Lapland and snow buntings, redpoll, redwing and
Anseriformes ■ — and an attempt is made to correlate these move-
ments, which were largely separate from those involving
continental birds, with the prevailing weather conditions in
the whole region.

A discussion of the migration data in relation to the
meteorological background suggests:

(1) the possibility that the early timing of passerine migra-
tion is an adaptation to take the best advantage of the period
of optimum development of the sub-tropical highs;

(2) that journeys are initiated by the calm weather con-
ditions of col or anticyclonic weather, or by the sudden
amelioration of weather following temporary inhibition of the
migratory urge by a passing depression;

(3) that the different character of successive autumn
migration seasons is a result of the varying dominance of the
chief air-mass sources and the interplay of the anticyclones they
produce;

(4) and that in the case of Greenland-Iceland populations
a down-wind drift, without dependence on an innate sense of
orientation, provides the surest method of reaching the western
sea-board of Europe in autumn.

REFERENCES

Baxter, E. V. and L. J. Rintoul, 1918. The birds of the Isle of May: a
migration study. Ibis (1918) : 247-287.

Brunt, D., 1944. Physical and Dynamical Meteorology. Cambridge.
Gudmundsson, F., 1951. The effects of the recent climatic changes on the
bird life of Iceland. Proc. Xth Internat. Ornith. Congress , pp. 502-514.
Kramer, G., 1952. Experiments in bird orientation. Ibis, 94: 265-285.
Mackworth-Praed, C. W. and C. H. B. Grant, 1951. On the races of
the wheatear occurring in East Africa. Ibis, 93 : 234-236.

Matthews, G. V. T., 1951. The experimental investigation of navigation
in homing pigeons. Jour. Exper. Biol., 28 : 508-536.

Ritchie, J., 1940. An analysis of the influence of weather on a migratory
movement of birds. Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., 40: 299-321.

Ruttledge, R. F. and K. Williamson, 1952. Early arrival of white-
fronted geese in Ireland. Irish Nat. Jour., 10: 263-264.

Salomonsen, F., 1927. The distribution of the wheatear in Denmark.
Ibis (1927): 203.

1935- Aves. Zoology of the Faeroes. Copenhagen.

1947. Snespurven paa Faer<z»erne. Dansk. Orn. Foren. Tidss., 41 :

216-221.

94 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

Salomonsen, F., 1951. The immigration and breeding of the fieldfare in
Greenland. Proc. Xth Internat. Ornith. Congress , pp. 515-526.

Thomson, A. L., 1951. Reproduction, migration and moult: factors
controlling the annual cycle in birds. Proc. Xth Internat. Ornith. Congress, 1
241-244.

Williamson, K., 1952. Migrational drift in Britain in autumn, 1951.
Scot. Nat., 64: 1 -1 8.

1953- Redwing immigration in autumn at Fair Isle. Bull. B.O.C.,

73 : 18-23.

and A. Butterfield, 1952. Direct wheatear passage in August

1951. Bull. Fair Is. B. Obs., no. 6: 23-26.

Witherby, H. F., 1928. A transatlantic passage of lapwings. Brit.
Birds, 22: 6-13, 43.

i953 A LIST OF SPIDERS OF THE COUNTY OF MORAY

95

A LIST OF SPIDERS
OF THE COUNTY OF MORAY *

Roland Richter
Gordonstoun

The following list is based on the county lists published
by W. J. Bristowe in the Comity of Spiders , vol. i (1939), and
the records of my own collecting in the years 1946-48. I am
not aware of the existence of other records.

I have had no access to the sources from which Bristowe
compiled his list, hence I do not give authors or date for any
previous records. Unless printed in italics, they have been
confirmed by myself. My knowledge of habitats and distri-
bution is still so very incomplete that I refrain from giving
details except in a few cases. New records for Moray are
marked with an asterisk, and with two if they are new to
Scotland.

Clerck’s (1757) names have been used where they apply.

Dictynidae

Dictyna arundinacea L.

Dictyna major Menge.

* Dictyna pusilla Thor. Salt marshes.

* Ciniflo similis Bl.

Ciniflo fenestralis Stroem.

Oonopidae

Oonops pulcher Tempi.

Dysderidae

* Segestria senoculata L.

Pholcidae

* Pholcus phalangioides Fuessl.

Gordonstoun House — an accidental introduction.

* Received 8th December 1952

96

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Gnaphosidae

Drassodes lapidosus Walck.

Drassodes signifer C. L. Koch.

Zelotes pusillus C. L. Koch.

Micaria pulicaria Sund.

Clubionidae

Clubiona stagnatilis Kulcz.

Clubiona neglecta Cambr.

Clubiona diversa Cambr.

Clubiona reclusa Cambr.

* Clubiona lutescens Westr.

Clubiona trivialis L. Koch.

Clubiona compta C. L. Koch.

* Cheiracanthium erraticum Walck.

* Agroeca brunnea Bl. I have found egg cocoons only.

* Agroeca proxima Cambr.

Scotina gracilipes Bl.

* Zora spinimana Sund.

Zora nemoralis Bl.

Thomisidae

Xysticus cristatus Clerck.

Xysticus sabulosus Hahn.

* Xysticus erraticus Bl.

* Oxyptila atomaria Panz.

Philodromus aureolus Clerck.

* Philodromus aureolus var. cespiticolus Walck.

Tibellus parallelus C. L. Koch. Sand dunes.

Salticidae

* Salticus scenicus Clerck.

* Salticus cingulatus Panz.

Heliophanus flavipes C. L. Koch.

Neon reticulatus Bl.

* Evarcha falcata Clerck.

Lycosidae

Lycosa amentata Clerck.

Lycosa agricola Thor. River shingle.

97

i953 A LIST OF SPIDERS OF THE COUNTY OF MORAY

* Lycosa purbeckensis F. Cambr. Salt marshes.

* Lycosa nigriceps Thor.

Lycosa tarsalis Thor.

Lycosa herbigrada Bl. or tarsalis var. herbigrada.

Lycosa pullata Clerck.

* Lycosa lugubris Walck.

Tarentula barbipes Sund.

Tarentula pulverulenta Clerck.

Trochosa terricola Thor.

* Arctosa leopardus Thor. Salt marshes.

Arctosa perita Latr.

* Arctosa cinerea Fabr. River shingle.

Pirata piraticus Clerck.

Pisauridae

Pisaura mirabilis Clerck.

Agelenidae

Cryphoeca silvicola C. L. Koch.

* Argyroneta aquatica L.

* Tegenaria atrica C. L. Koch. A colony at Elgin and a

single female at Gordonstoun.

Tegenaria domestica L.

* Textrix denticulata Oliv.

Antistea elegans C. L. Koch.

Hahnia montana Bl.

Tetragnathidae

* Tetragnatha extensa L.

Pachygnatha degeeri Sund.

Pachygnatha clercki Sund.

Argyopidae

Meta segmentata Clerck.

Meta merianae Scop.

Cyclosa conica Pallas.

** Singa pygmaea Sund. Two colonies in coastal marshes.
Araneus diadematus Clerck.

Araneus cucurbitinus Clerck.

Araneus sturmi Hahn.

13

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

98

* Araneus umbraticus Clerck.

Araneus quadratus Clerck.

Araneus cornutus Clerck.

Araneus dumetorum Fourer.

* Zygiella x-notata Clerck.

Zygiella atrica C. L. Koch.

Theridiidae

* Episinus angulatus Bl.

Theridion sisyphium Clerck.

* Theridion simile C. L. Koch.

Theridion bimaculatum L.

Theridion denticulatum Walck.

* Theridion impressum L. Koch.

Theridion lineatum Clerck.

Pholcomma gibbum Westr.

* Steatodea bipunctata L. Not confined to houses.

* Asagena phalerata Panz.

Robertus arundineti Cambr.

Robertus lividus Bl.

Mimetidae

Ero furcata Vill.

Ero cambridgei Kulcz. I have found cocoons of a species of
Ero.

Linyphiidae

Ceratinella brevis Wid.

* Ceratinella brevipes Westr.

* Blaniargus herbigradus Bl.

Lophocarenum parallelum Wid.

* Trichopterna thorelli Westr.

Minyriolus pusillus Wid.

JVematogmus ob scurus Bl.

Silometopus curtus Sim.

Silometopus ambiguus Cambr.

Silometopus incurvatus Cambr.

Pocadicnemus pumilus Bl.

Tiso vagans Bl.

* Diplocephalus latifrons Cambr.

99

i953 A LIST OF SPIDERS OF THE COUNTY OF MORAY

Savignia frontata Bl.

Araeoncus hiemalis BL

* Monocephalus fuscipes Bl.

Monocephalus castaneipes Sim.

* Thyreosthenius biova tus Gambr. Anthills of Formica rufa.

* Typhocrestus digitatus Cambr.

Troxochrus scabriculus Westr.

Colobocyba pallens Cambr.

Walckenaera acuminata Bl.

Wideria antica Wid.

Trachynella nudipalpis Westr.

Gonatium rubellum Bl.

Gonatium rubens Bl.

Hypomma bituberculata Wid.

** Hypomma cornuta Bl.

Gongylidium rufipes L.

Erigone dentipalpis Wid.

Erigone atra BL
Erigone longipalpis Sund.

Gongylidiellum vivum Cambr.

** Asthenargus paganus Sim.

Oedothorax fuscus BL
Oedothorax retusus Westr.

Peponocranium ludicrum Cambr.

* Maso sundevalli Westr.

Hilaira frigida Thor.

Phaulothrix hardy i Bl.

Porrhomma pygmaeum BL
Porrhomma pallidum Jacks.

Bathyphantes nigrinus Westr.

* Bathyphantes concolor Wid.

Bathyphantes gracilis BL
Poeciloneta globosa Wid.

Labulla thoracica Wid.

* Linyphia montana Clerck.

Linyphia triangularis Clerck.

Linyphia insignis BL

* Linyphia marginata C. L. Koch.

Linyphia hortensis Sund.

Linyphia peltata Wid.

100

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 6j

* Linyphia pusilla Sund.

Stemonyphantes lineata L.

Tapinopa longidens Wid.

Bolyphantes alticeps Sund.

Bolyphantes luteolus Bl.

Leptyphantes expunctus Cambr.

Leptyphantes minutus BL
Leptyphantes alacris Bl.

Leptyphantes cristatus Menge.

* Leptyphantes obscurus Bl.

Leptyphantes zimmermanni Bertk.

Leptyphantes tenuis Bl.

* Leptyphantes flavipes Bl.

Leptyphantes ericaeus Bl.

Leptyphantes mengei Kulcz.

Leptyphantes moratus Hull. A doubtful species.

Drapetisca socialis Sund.

* Centromerus arcanus Cambr.

Centromerus bicolor Bl.

Centromerus bicolor concinnus Thor.

Centromerus prudens Cambr.

Macrargus rufus Wid.

* Oreonetides abnormis Bl.

Oreonetides firmus Cambr.

Mengea scopigera Grube.

Argyneta conigera Cambr.

Argyneta cauta Cambr.

* Microneta viaria Bl.

* Meioneta rurestris C. L. Koch.

Sintula cornigera Bl.

I am greatly indebted to Dr. A. F. Millidge and Mr. G. H.
Locket for identifying my Linyphiidae and other spiders
respectively, and to Mr. Bruce Forman for much valuable
help in the preparation of this paper.

9

1953 MIGRATION OF THE MEADOW-PIPIT AND SKYLARK ioe

THE AUTUMN MIGRATION
OF THE MEADOW-PIPIT AND THE SKYLARK
ON THE KIRKCUDBRIGHT COAST *

D. F. Owen
Oxford

Between 16th September and 28th September 1952, I paid
a series of visits to the Solway coast of Kirkcudbright in order
to see the autumn departure of small passerines. Most ob-
servations were made at Southerness Point, which by its
position is of considerable importance in the Solway migra-
tion system. My attention was first directed to Southerness
by Mr. Arthur B. Duncan, and I am grateful to him for
advice, also to Mr. David Cunningham for other assistance.
A number of other coastal localities were visited and casual
observations were made inland. Fig. 1 shows the upper

Solway area and the main places mentioned. My observa-
tions never commenced before 9 a.m. (all times G.M.T.),

* Received 13th January 1953

102

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

and normally migration had almost ceased by noon. It is
probable that the peak departures of certain species, which
seem to take place just after first light, were missed. No
migration occurred during strong winds of force 6 or above,
but general weather conditions (apart from wind) had little
effect on the migrating birds. The importance of Southerness
as a place of autumn departures was apparent fifty years ago
(Service, 1903), but precise details of directions taken by
migrants were not given. The study of visible migration had
not then been developed, for it was not until the work of
Eagle Clarke (1912) became generally known that more de-
tailed observations were forthcoming.

Movements of Meadow-Pipit

The autumn migration of the meadow-pipit Anthus pratensis
takes place mainly during September, and by the end of the
month most birds have left the breeding grounds. Gladstone
(1910) states that the vast majority of meadow-pipits which
breed in Dumfriesshire leave for the south by the end of
September. It is therefore probable that the birds I saw at
Southerness were a sample of the peak movement of this
species in south-west Scotland. Figs. 2 a and 2 b show that the

movements witnessed were of two distinct types, one of birds
following the coast, and the other of birds setting out to sea.

Coasting pipits flew in two main directions. First, flocks
were seen flying along the coast-line between Rockcliffe and
Southerness in a general easterly direction. These were

i953 MIGRATION OF THE MEADOW-PIPIT AND SKYLARK 103

often deflected north or south (as well as to points between)
by the numerous bends in the coast-line. On reaching
Southerness Point the parties split, and about half turned
north to continue the coasting movement up to Carsethorn,
where they crossed the Nith estuary to Dumfriesshire. The
others set off out to sea in a south-easterly direction. These
would eventually reach the coast of Cumberland south of
Silloth, if the same direction was maintained throughout the
crossing. These movements are shown in Fig. 2 a. The
coasting movement east was much more in evidence during
days of easterly winds than days when the wind was westerly.
My observations suggest that meadow-pipits prefer to migrate
into a wind.

Secondly, there was a coasting movement which was
essentially to the west. Parties of meadow-pipits passed
south and south-west down the coast as far as Southerness.
Here they divided in a similar way to the east-bound birds.
About one-half continued on, after having been deflected
almost due west; the remainder set out to sea in directions
between south and south-south- west (Fig. 2 b). If the same
direction was maintained these birds would eventually reach
land considerably to the south of the point reached by those
which left in a south-easterly direction.

The movement south from Southerness was not made up
entirely from coasting parties, for on certain days birds came
overland from the north-west and flew straight out to sea.
On 27th September this movement took place all day on a
broad front in the Southerness region. Many of the birds
were doubtless from the enormous flocks which had gathered
in fields just inland from the Point, but others had travelled
direct down from the hills.

Parties of pipits leaving the Point usually comprised about
twelve birds each, but on the rush day of 27th September
flocks of forty to fifty were frequent. However, flock size was
not constant, and numbers varied between one and twenty
on normal days.

After flying several hundred yards out to sea, many birds
turned and came back. These in most cases set off for a
1 second or third attempt, on each occasion gaining height.
Birds leaving high over the water (c. 40 feet) rarely turned back.

104

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

A few birds, after making an initial unsuccessful attempt,
returned and continued the coasting movement to the north
or west. Standing at Southerness Point it was possible to see
birds moving in all four major directions of the compass at
once, as at times a continuous stream of returning birds
(flying north) crossed those setting out for the south and those
coasting in general directions east and west.

When leaving for the south meadow-pipits often had to
migrate into a fresh cross-wind. In these conditions they
maintained a southerly direction by directing their flight
into the angle between the wind and the direction in which
they were migrating. On 27th September, after two days of
westerly gales, the peak migration was observed. Presumably
many had congregated just inland during the rough weather,
for on this day migration was witnessed until sunset, whereas
normally few birds were seen after noon.

On three days parties of meadow-pipits were seen flying
south over Dumfries. These presumably followed the river
Nith down to the Solway.

Summarising, it would seem that the autumn movement
of this species in the Solway is made up largely of birds travel-
ling down the river valleys to the sea, where they coast east or
west, and eventually leave at various headlands and points
in a general southerly direction. It is possible that birds
coasting west would take off for Ireland, and that some of
these were immigrants from the continent which had already
crossed the North Sea and northern England. Birds flying
east probably turn to the south at points along the Solway
where crossing places become progressively narrower further
to the east. Blezard et al. (1943), writing of the spring migra-
tion of this species in Cumberland, state that condnuous
streams travel up the Solway to about Grune Point, where
they leave for the north-east. This seems to be another
example of the birds crossing at narrow points whenever
possible.

Movements of Skylark

The autumn passage of the skylark Alauda arvensis takes
place later than that of the meadow-pipit, and it is likely that
the birds seen migrating on the Solway in September were

i953 MIGRATION OF THE MEADOW-PIPIT AND SKYLARK 105

only the early individuals of a much larger movement. In
general the main directions taken were similar to those of the
meadow-pipit, but fewer birds were involved and none were
seen to leave Southerness after flying overland from the fields
behind. There were two main movements. First, a coasting
one to the east, which, on reaching the Point, divided; half
the birds flew out to sea to the south-east or east-south-east,
while the remainder were deflected almost due north by the
bend in the coastline. These birds then coasted on to Carse-
thorn, where they turned and crossed the estuary of the
Nith to Dumfriesshire. The other movement was almost
exactly opposite. Birds coasted in a general direction between
south-west and south, and on reaching Southerness Point
either flew out to sea to the south or south-south-west, or
continued the coasting movement west. Figs. 3 a and 3 b

show these two movements and the ultimate directions taken
by the coasting parties. Rather more birds set out to cross
the sea on days with a wind of force 3 or less than during
stronger winds. The flocks travelled between 10 and 40
feet above ground level when coasting and gained height
when flying out to sea. However, a few flocks whose flight I
followed out for several hundred yards dropped down to the
level of the waves, and continued on with the characteristic
flight of skylarks migrating across the sea. As with the
meadow-pipit many birds which set out to cross the Solway
turned back and made second or third attempts. Some of
those which returned joined in with parties passing by along
14

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THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

the coast. Flocks of skylarks coasting in both directions often
met at the Point. This seemed to cause some confusion, for
the birds circled many times and eventually dropped down to
rest in fields a little inland, where already large numbers had
gathered. The parties of larks usually comprised less than a
dozen, and single birds were numerous. The largest flock
seen was thirty, which had crossed the Nith and then pro-
ceeded south along the coast at Carsethorn.

Other Species

Many swallows Hirundo rustica and some house martins
Delichon urbica coasted east, and either turned north on reaching
Southerness Point or set out across the Solway in a general
southerly direction. These birds flew low over the water as
they set off out to sea and never turned back as did the pipits
and larks. Coasting parties followed most of the major
bends in the coastline, but often some would cut across small
points and bays. On reaching Carsethorn most flocks crossed
the estuary of the Nith and presumably continued the coasting
movement eastward. Twice I saw flocks of migrating swallows
harried by a juvenile peregrine Falco per egrinus as they rounded
Gillfoot Bay.

A few wagtails Motacilla alba left for the south from South-
erness Point, and on 28th September a party of five were seen
to turn back after flying several hundred yards out to sea.
These did not attempt a second crossing, but joined the large
flocks of this species and grey wagtails Motacilla cinerea on the
shore around the lighthouse.

Other passerines seen near the coast included many
robins Erithacus rubecula , song- thrushes Turdus ericetorum ,
starlings Sturnus vulgaris , wheatears Oenanthe oenanthe , linnets
Carduelis cannabina , and a few tree-pipits Anthus trivialis , white-
throats Sylvia communis and blackbirds Turdus merula. Several
merlin Falco columbarius and a few sparrow-hawks Accipiter
nisus seemed to prey largely on migrant pipits and larks, the
remains of which were found near the shore. It is possible
that many of the birds seen along the shore between Rockcliffe
and Carsethorn were night migrants. A few starlings did
actually leave for the south from the Point, but soon returned

1953 MIGRATION OF THE MEADOW-PIPIT AND SKYLARK 107

to the fields behind. As most diurnal-migrant starlings seem
to set off about sunrise it is probable that some departures
were missed.

REFERENCES

Blezard, E. et al., 1943. The Birds of Lakeland. Arbroath.

Clarke, W. E., 1912. Studies in Bird Migration , 2 vols. London and
Edinburgh.

Gladstone, H. S., 1910. The Birds of Dumfriesshire. London.

Service, R., 1903. Bird migration in Solway. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.,
i9°3: 193-204.

io8

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

SCOTTISH TURTLE RECORDS
PREVIOUS TO 1953*

A. C. Stephen

Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh

Although turtles are usually associated with warm or tropical
waters, they are occasionally stranded on our western and
northern shores. In recent years several strandings have taken
place, and when recording these it has been thought desirable
to give a summary of the previous occurrences, since no single
account is available.

Four species have been recorded from the British coasts,
namely, the leathery turtle Dermochelys coriacea (L.); the
hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata (L.) ; the Atlantic
loggerhead turtle Caretta c. caretta (L.), and Kemp’s loggerhead
turtle Lepidochelys kempii (Garman). Of these, all but the first
have been recorded from Scottish waters. As will be seen
from the notes on the various strandings, however, the records
of the hawksbill are suspect. One of the earlier identifications
was later corrected, and in at least one case which I have
handled the first identification was given as <£ hawksbill ”,
though examination showed it was an Atlantic loggerhead.

Sibbald (1697, p. 193) seems to have been the first author
to mention the stranding of turtles on our shores, where he
records the occurrence of the hawksbill turtle in Orkney. This
record is also quoted by Buckley and Harvie-Brown (1891, p.
265). Fleming (1828, p. 149; 1842, p. 42) states that he has
reliable evidence of its having been found in Papa Stour,
Shetland.

Two specimens came ashore in the southern Moray Firth
in 1861 according to Sim (1903, pp. 197-198), one near Macduff
in Banffshire, the other at Pennan, Aberdeenshire; and there
seems to have been some confusion between the two. Suther-
land (1861, p. 7795) refers to the Pennan animal as the one
reported on by Edward (1861, p. 7713) and he corrected the
identification from hawksbill to loggerhead. It seems certain

* Received 14th February 1953

1953 SCOTTISH TURTLE RECORDS PREVIOUS TO 1953 109

that Edward never saw the Pennan specimen, and the one to
which his note refers was the one stranded at Macduff, which
he recorded as a hawksbill. I have reason to infer that this was
also a loggerhead (see note on no. 3).

It would seem, therefore, that the definite occurrence of the
hawksbill on the Scottish coast awaits confirmation, and the
probability is that all the previous records refer to loggerhead
turtles. However, one cannot be certain that all were Atlantic
loggerheads, and Kemp’s loggerhead may also have been
included.

For an account of turtles in general Carr (1952) may be
consulted.

In compiling this account I am indebted to Dr. H. W.
Parker, British Museum (Natural History), for comments; also
to him and to Mr. William Hood, Paisley Museum, for the
particulars of no. 13; to Dr. Bennet B. Rae, Fisheries Division,
Scottish Home Department, for the particulars of nos. 8 and 1 1 ;
to Professor V. C. Wynne-Edwards for the particulars of no. 4;
to Miss Jeannie Mitchell, Melbourne University, for her
observations on no. 3.

1. (Before 1828)

2. — .11.1829

3. 29. 7.1861

4. 1. 8. 1 86 1

5. 22. 8.1861

6. 26.1 1.1898

7. 13.12.1923

8. ca. 22.10.1928

9. 13.12. 1945

10. 13. 2.1946

11. — . 8.1947

12. 2. 10. 1949

13. 27.12.1949

14. 4.12.19^1

I5- 30- 9-!952

Chronological List of Strandings

Orkney; Shetland

Southerness, Kirkcudbright

Macduff, Banffshire

Pennan, Aberdeenshire

Loch Lomond, Dunbartonshire

Vallay, North Uist, Outer Hebrides

Dunvegan, Skye

Loch Seaforth, Lewis

Unst, Shetland

North Uist, Outer Hebrides

Off Sanda, Firth of Clyde

Kinlochbervie, Sutherland

Troon, Ayrshire

Girvan, Ayrshire

Lochinver, Sutherland

Species indeterminate
Species indeterminate
Atlantic loggerhead
Atlantic loggerhead
Species indeterminate
Atlantic loggerhead
Atlantic loggerhead
Species indeterminate
Atlantic loggerhead
Atlantic loggerhead
Species indeterminate
Kemp’s loggerhead
Kemp’s loggerhead
Atlantic loggerhead
Atlantic loggerhead

Notes on specimens
A. Species Indeterminate
No. 2. Kirkcudbright

Cast ashore alive in November 1829 at Southerness, a
village on the Solway in south-east Kirkcudbrightshire. It was

II0 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

sent to a Dumfries innkeeper to be made into soup, but unfor-
tunately the species was not determined (Service, 1896, p. 175;
1902, p. 210). Since it was considered worth while sending
away for the purpose of making soup, it was presumably a
well-grown specimen.

No. 5. Loch Lomond

Found alive on 22nd August 1861, on the beach near
Rowardennan Lodge on Loch Lomond (Smee, 1861, pp. 351-
352; Sutherland, 1861, p. 7795)* It was a sma^ animal,
the length being only 1 1 \ inches. At the time the water was
very high, being about eight feet above normal, and the
turtle possibly reached the loch by swimming up the River
Leven.

No. 8. Loch Seaforth

Washed ashore alive in Loch Seaforth on the east coast of
Lewis about 22nd October 1928. The measurements given at
the time were : 3 feet 9 inches from the tip of the snout to the
tip of the tail; carapace 2 feet 9 inches in length and
2 feet 3 inches in breadth. The weight was about 170 lb.
The occurrence was reported to the then Fishery Board in
Aberdeen, and there seems to have been some correspond-
ence with the Royal Scottish Museum also. Unfortunately
the specimen was not secured by either department for ex-
amination nor, so far as can be traced, was it identified by a
competent zoologist. The suggestion in the correspondence
that it was a green turtle cannot be taken as a satisfactory
identification.

No. 11. Firth of Clyde

An unidentified turtle was seen by the crew of a Campbel-
town fishing vessel in a position 5 miles off Sanda Island, Firth
of Clyde, in August 1947. It swam close to the vessel so there1;
was no doubt about the identification. It was estimated to be
about 4 feet in length. The occurrence was reported in the
Fishing News of 23rd August 1947, p. 8.

1953

SCOTTISH TURTLE RECORDS PREVIOUS TO 1953 hi

B. Atlantic Loggerhead Turtle
Caretta c. caretta (L.)

No. 3. Macduff

Caught alive in a stake-net at Greenside, near the promon-
tory called Gamrie Mhor, Macduff, on 29th July 1861, and
examined by Edward (1861, p. 7713). The carapace was 15
inches in length and 10 inches in breadth. The specimen was
presented to the Burgh Museum, Banff, by the Earl of Fife.
It was identified by Edward as a hawksbill, but there seems to
be reasonable doubt about this identification. In the first
place, the other turtle (no. 4) stranded about the same time
was also an Atlantic loggerhead. In the second place, in a
rearrangement of the Burgh Museum in 1952 a small unlabelled
turtle was found, which may reasonably be inferred to be the
one described by Edward as the sizes correspond. It was un-
fortunately destroyed, but MissJ. Mitchell, who saw the speci-
men before its destruction, writes that the plates were not
overlapping as in the hawksbill and that the animal was,
without doubt, a loggerhead, as is evident from Edward’s
description.

This record is also quoted by Harvie-Brown (1895, p. 231),
but under different scientific and popular names.

No. 4. Pennan

Taken alive in a salmon net at Pennan, Aberdeenshire, on
1 st August 1861, and presented to the museum of the Natural
History Department of Aberdeen University, where a small
turtle, presumed to be this specimen, is still preserved. It was
seen and identified by Sutherland (1861, p. 7795), who gave
no dimensions but its weight, which was 25 lb. This specimen
was more fully described by Dyce (1861, p. 351), who gave the
length of the carapace as 19J inches. Professor Wynne-
Edwards refers to an unlabelled specimen in the Aberdeen
University museum 17 inches in length, and calculates that, on
the ratio given by Carr between length and weight, the latter
would work out at about 28 lb., so there seems little doubt that
this is the Pennan animal.

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

1 1 2

No. 6. Vallay, North Uist

This animal, apparently just dead, was found on the shore
of the island of Vallay, North Uist, Outer Hebrides, on 26th
November 1898 (Peel, 1899, p. 1 1 5 ; Peel, 1901, p. 4; Ritchie,
1924, p. 165). It was a very young example, the carapace
being only 6J inches in length and 5! inches in breadth, both
measurements being taken along the curve. Peel, vide supra ,
was told that large specimens had been frequently washed up
in the vicinity, but, since no one had recorded the fact, doubted
the accuracy of the statement.

No. 7. Dunvegan

Found alive on the shore at Pool Roag near Dunvegan,
Skye, on 13th December 1923. It was a very large specimen
weighing 309 lb.; the carapace was 2 feet 7! inches in length.
This animal was very fully described by Ritchie (1924, pp.
99"I03)* It was preserved and mounted in a natural habitat
case in the reptile gallery, Royal Scottish Museum, where it is
still exhibited (Reg. No. 1925, 101).

No. 9. Unst

Found alive at Collister beach on the west side of Unst,
Shetland, on 13th December 1945. This was a small specimen,
the carapace measuring 8f inches. Preserved in the Royal
Scottish Museum (Reg. No. 1946, 8).

No. 10. North Uist

Found alive on the shore on the west side of North Uist,
Outer Hebrides, on 13th February 1946. This was a small
animal, the carapace measuring 7 inches in length. It was
presented by Mr. C. J. M. Cadzow to the Royal Scottish
Museum, where it is preserved (Reg. No. 1946, 9).

No. 14. Girvan

Found alive on the beach at Girvan, Ayrshire, on 4th
December 1951, and kept by Mr. A. S. Grant, Doune School-
house, till the 14th of that month when it died. Mr. Grant
kindly presented the specimen to the Royal Scottish Museum,
where it is still preserved (Reg. No. 1952, 1). The animal was
a small one, the carapace being 9 inches in length.

1 953 SCOTTISH TURTLE RECORDS PREVIOUS TO 1953 113

No. 15. Lochinver

Found dead on the sea shore near the village of Stoer, near
Lochinver, Sutherlandshire, on 30th September 1952. The
animal was comparatively small, the carapace measuring 13 J
inches in length. The weight was given as 12 lb. In the
possession of Mr. Aird, Lochinver.

D. Kemp’s Loggerhead Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii (Garman)

This species has been recorded only twice from the Scottish
coast, both strandings taking place in the autumn of 1949.

No. 12. Sutherland

Found alive at Loch Clash, by Kinlochbervie, Sutherland,
on 2nd October 1949. The carapace measured 11J inches in
length. This would appear to be the first authentic record
from Scotland, although it had been previously recorded from
the English coast. The animal was presented by Mr. R.
Neilson, Kinlochbervie, to the Royal Scottish Museum, where
it is preserved (Reg. No. 1950, 1).

No. 13. Ayrshire

Washed ashore, alive, at Troon, Ayrshire, on the 26th
December 1949, during very stormy weather. The carapace
length was 8| inches and the breadth 7J inches. The animal
was 12 J inches from the beak to rear tip of carapace. The
specimen is preserved in the Museum and Art Galleries,
Paisley (Reg. No. 18/1949).

The records of turtles are so few that it is impossible to draw
any wide conclusions. In the past hundred years, they seem
to have centred round four periods, namely 1861, 1898, the
1 920s, and from 1948 onwards. Since these animals are
pelagic, their appearances may be due to a change in flow of
the North Atlantic Drift or a change in its direction relative
to our coasts.

It may be noted, however, that the years of stranding for
Scotland do not necessarily coincide with those of England.
15

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THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

For example, in the winter of 1938-39 there were ten strandings
in the south, but none in Scotland, either that winter nor for
several winters on either side (Parker, 1939, pp. 127- 129).

A point of interest is in the size of the animals. Those
stranded in 1861, 1898 and from 1948 have all been juveniles,
but the three reported in 1829, 1 923? and 1928 were adults.

REFERENCES

Buckley, T. E. and J. A. Harvie-Brown, 1891. Vertebrate Fauna of the
Orkney Islands. Edinburgh.

1895. A Vertebrate Fauna of the Moray Basin, vol. 2. Edinburgh.

Carr, A., 1952. Handbook of Turtles. Ithaca, N.Y. (and London).

Dyce, R., 1861. Description of a reptile, the Chelonia caretta or loggerhead
turtle, new to the British fauna. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 3,
8: 351-

Edward, T., 1861. Occurrence of the hawk’s-bill turtle ( Testudo
imbricata) at Banff. Zoologist, 19: 771 3-77 1 5.

Fraser, F. C. and H. W. Parker, 1949. Guide for the identification and
reporting of stranded Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises, and Turtles on the British
coast. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London.

Fleming, J., 1828. A History of British Animals. 1st Ed. Edinburgh.

1842. A History of British Animals. 2nd Ed. London.

Parker, H. W., 1939. Turtles stranded on the British coast 1938-39.
Proc. Linn. Soc. London, 151 : 2.

Peel, C. V. A., 1899. Occurrence of the loggerhead turtle in North
Uist. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1899: 115.

1901. Wild Sport in the Outer Hebrides. London.

Ritchie, J., 1924. The loggerhead turtle in Scotland. Scot. Nat., 1924:

99"io3-

1924. Occurrences of loggerhead turtle in Scotland. Scot. Nat.,

1924: 165.

Service, R., 1896. Reptiles of Kirkcudbright. In J. H. Maxwell’s Guide
book to the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright (1896 Ed.). Castle Douglas.

1902. Reptiles of Kirkcudbright. In J. H. Maxwell’s Guide book

to the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright (1902 Ed.). Castle Douglas.

Sibbald, R., 1697. Auctarium Musaei Balfouriani. Edinburgh.

Sim, G., 1903. The Vertebrate Fauna of “ Dee”. Aberdeen.

Smee, A. D., 1861. On the occurrence of the loggerhead turtle in
Scotland. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 3, 8: 351-352.

Sutherland, W., 1861. Occurrence of Chelonia caretta in Britain. Z00~
logist, 19: 7795.

Taylor, R. H. R., 1948. The distribution of reptiles and amphibia in
the British Isles, with notes on species recently introduced. Brit.
Journ. Herpet., 1 : 1-38.

1 953 REPORTS ON BIRDS OF THE CLYDE AREA, 1952

”5

REPORT ON BIRDS OF THE CLYDE AREA, 1952*

Compiled by M. F. M. Meiklejohn and C. E. Palmar

Glasgow

In this, our third report of its type, we continue to publish
bird records from the Clyde area which we consider worthy of
permanency. Although we confine ourselves here to unusual
observations, we are still collecting other material, notably on
the breeding distribution of birds within the area : material of
this type is being filed and is already of considerable bulk and
importance.

It seems to us that a large number of valuable observations
are being made annually which never see the light of day, and
we would beg readers of this report, if they will be so kind, to
send us any ornithological observations of interest which they
may make within the Clyde watershed in future years.

We would like to thank those who have helped us in our
work. Those whose records are published in the present report
are:

Miss E. R. Brock, A. G. S. Bryson, Miss W. U. Flower,
A. G. Gordon, Ian Hay, Nicol Hopkins, Cdr. G. Hughes-
Onslow, G. Kerr, Miss M. I. Kinnear, E. Licence, I. K.
McTavish, H. Mayer-Gross, W. Kenneth Richmond, G. L.
Sandeman, David Stephen, S. D. Stevenson, Rev. E. T. Vernon
and the compilers. All dates, unless otherwise stated, apply
to 1952.

Little Grebe Podiceps ruficollis. Hamilton, 15th Septem-
ber, the exceptional congregation of over ninety birds was seen
on the rubbish-dump (A. G. S. B., G. L. S.). Fifty-eight were
there on 7th September (C. E. P.) and forty on 30th September
(M. F. M. M.).

j Leach’s Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa. The wreck of this

! species, occurring along the west coasts of Britain, was seen to
particular advantage by M. I. K. on the Ayrshire coast.
Living birds were first observed — seven occurring at Stevenston
on 29th October. On 2nd November dead birds began to be
* Received 14 th March 1953

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

1 16

Vol. 65

washed up, no fewer than seventy-four having been found by
W. U. F. and M. I. K. on a 3-mile stretch of shore at
Barassie ; other dead birds found included one red-throated
diver, one redshank, three oiled guillemots and one razorbill.

Glasgow Museum received nine specimens from different
parts of the Clyde area, and we have twelve other records from
various localities (C. E. P.).

Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus. Stevenston shore, 3rd
November, one found dead, at the same time as the wreck of
Leach’s petrels (M. I. K.).

Cormorant Plialacrocorax carbo. A bird observed at Largs
on 1 6th March had the sides of the neck completely of a greyish-
white colour, thus resembling in appearance birds of the
southern race sinensis (M. F. M. M.). A similar bird was seen
at Girvan on the following day, 17th March (G. H.-O.); the
observer notes that this bird “ in full plumage, including
breeding-patches, but with greyish-white head, must surely
have been of the southern race Whilst it was noticed, on
7th April, that breeding birds on the south Ayrshire coast were
nearly as white on the neck as the Largs bird and much whiter
than usual birds of the typical race, the coincidence in dates of
the two observations above is remarkable, and agrees well with
the date of a similar bird seen on the Isle of May on 8th March
1953 (J- H. B. Munro in litt.).

Inland records of cormorants include one at Hamilton, 7th
September, and two at Loch Coulter, 5th October (G. E. P.).

Gadwall Anas strepera. Richmond Park, Glasgow, 9th
October, one (N. H.).

American Wigeon Anas americana. Bothwell Bridge, 16th
April, one <$ (A. G. G.). The observer, who is familiar with
the species in captivity, gives the following notes : “ Pale

forehead — paler than in wigeon — practically white. Green
head marking not strongly defined. General head colour,
grey and green. General body colour, browny-purple Rest
of plumage and actions as wigeon, but possibly slightly thicker-

set/

Scaup Ayihya marila. Hamilton, 15th September, two $$
(A. G. S. B., G. L. S.). Ardrishaig, Loch Fyne, 12th June, a
flock of about thirty (E. L., C. E. P.).

1 953 REPORTS ON BIRDS OF THE CLYDE AREA, 1952 117

Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca. Stevenston, 20th to 22nd
May, one (M. I. K.).

Smew Mergus albellus. Hamilton rubbish-dump, 1 1 th
January, a red-headed bird (M. F. M. M.). Mouth of R.
Endrick, Loch Lomond, 22nd November, a red-headed bird
(M. I. K.).

Sheld-Duck Tadorna tadorna. Bothwell Bridge, nth
March, two pairs; this record compares interestingly with
records made at the same place in mid- March 1950 and 1951
(Scot. Nat., 64: 28). Bothwell Bridge, 17th and 18th April,
one (M. F. M. M.).

Hen-Harrier Circus cyaneus. A pair were successful in
rearing young in the area in 1952 (C. E. P.). West Renfrew-
shire, 22nd June, one $ or imm. (W. U. F.). Gartocharn
(Dunbarton), 26th October, one adult $ (M. F. M. M.).

Quail Coturnix coturnix. Luggiebank (between Cumber-
nauld and Airdrie), July 1949, one was calling for two or three
days (D. S.). Beside Penwhapple Loch, Ayrshire, 14th
December 1947, one flushed by dogs (G. H.-O.). Maidens,
Ayrshire, end of November 1952, one seen by Mr. Logan
Dunlop, who gives an accurate description of the bird
(G. H.-O.).

Water-Rail RalLus aquaticus. In early February, in heavy
frost, numbers were seen in an unfrozen ditch at Possil; six on
the 1 st (M. F. M. M.) and eight on the 3rd (M. I. K.). 28th
November, one on the road between Craigmaddie and Mug-
dockbank (Dunbarton) (M. I. K.).

Corncrake Crex crex. This species appears to have been
numerous in 1952: we have records of calling birds from
Ayrshire (Barr, eight; Ballantrae, three); Renfrew (Balgray;
Bridge of Weir — two pairs on a farm where there is usually only
one; Pollok golf course) ; Dunbarton (Milngavie, two; Gar-
tocharn; Vale of Leven, two); and Argyll (head of Loch
Fyne). In the Barr area of Ayrshire it was “ more numerous
than for many years 55 (G. H.-O.).

Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. Fairlie, 16th March,
an almost complete albino was seen. It had faint brown
marks only on top of the head, on the throat, nape and
shoulders. Its bill was of a much paler red than those of the
normal oystercatchers along with it (M. F. M. M.).

1 1 8 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa. Hamilton, 20th
April, five observed feeding in a shallow pool (G. K.).

Ruff Philomachus pugnax. Balgray, 28th September, one J

imm. (C. E. P.).

Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius. Ian Wood, a well-
known writer on natural history, informs us that during the
winter 1951-52, after a week of gales, he had good views of a
bird of this species on Loch Lomond : he saw it standing at the
edge of the water and flying. He immediately identified the
bird from books and, later, unhesitatingly picked out a grey
phalarope in winter plumage in the Glasgow Museum col-
lection as being the bird he saw. This may have been at the
same time that a bird of this species was seen after gales in
Fife (Scot. Nat., 64: 57).

Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus. Ballantrae,
31st October, one observed at the time of the Leach’s petrel
wreck (S. D. S.). Full details of identification have been sent
to the editor of The Scottish Naturalist. A bird of this species
was seen in Staffordshire at the time of the petrel wreck (G. W.
Rayner in litt.).

Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus. Stevenston shore, 12th
June, one flying north (M. I. K.).

Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
fuscus or intermedius. Bothwell Bridge, 1st December 1951 a
very dark-backed bird of this species was seen. The bird was
seen in excellent light through a telescope : its yellow legs were
clearly visible and herring gulls were present for a comparison
of size (W. K. R.).

Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides. The bird which has
haunted Hamilton rubbish-dump more or less continuously
since December 1949, continued to do so until the middle of
December 1952, since when it has not been seen there. In its
third winter the bird’s bill became yellower in colour and on
8th April was like that of an adult, yellow with a red band : its
plumage, however, did not noticeably change, remaining pure
white with inconspicuous brown specklings on the shoulders
(M. F. M. M.). Canniesburn, mid-March, one imm. in
“ pink ” plumage. Slender bill and long wings noted.
Observer familiar with both Iceland and glaucous gulls. There

i953 REPORTS ON BIRDS OF THE CLYDE AREA, 1952 119

was a considerable northward movement of gulls at the time
(W. K. R.).

Little Auk Plautus alle. Stevenston, 7th January, a newly
dead bird picked up (M. I. K.).

Hoopoe Upupa epops. Hunter’s Quay, Argyll, 13th April,
one watched on his lawn by Mr. T. McGill {per E. T. V.), who
identified the bird from plates in books. He describes its
“ cinnamon-pink plumage . . . barred across the wings, lower
back and tail, with black and white ... it had a Ions: thin
bill ”.

Willow-Tit Parus atricapillus. Bothwell Bridge, 27th
January, one (C. E. P.).

Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca. Richmond Park,
Glasgow, 22nd September, one (N. H.). The observer, who
is familiar with the species in England, watched the bird at
close quarters for some minutes.

Pied Flycatcher Muscicapa hypoleuca. We have records of
the presence during the breeding season of seven birds — six of
them (J — from the northern limits of our area.

White Wagtail Motacilla alba alba. On spring passage
reported as follows:' — Stevenston, five on 17th, one on 18th, one
on 24th April, and two on 5th May (M. I. K.) ; Ballantrae,
two on 27th April; Hamilton, one on 2nd May (M. F. M. M.).

Snow-Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis. Ben Vorlich, 29th
December 1951 a flock of about fifty between 2,000 and 2,500
feet (W. K. R.). Stevenston shore, 23rd to 30th January, a
flock of more than sixty, as well as other pairs (M. I. K.).
West Kilbride, 27th January, one (M. F. M. M.). Lennox-
town (W. Stirling), 7th January, one found dead (I. K. McT.,
H. M.-G.).

Tree-Sparrow Passer montanus. Balmore (W. Stirling),
14th March, several, in a flock of finches (M. F. M. M.).

20

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

Rare Invertebrates recently found in the Scottish Area.

— This summary covers the period from November 1950 to February
1 953? and deals with the rarer invertebrates taken during that
period, with the exception of Palinurus vulgaris , the spiny or thorny
lobster, a full list of the Scottish records to date for that species
having been recently published by Wilson (Scot. Nat. (1952), 64:

1 5 1 ■ 1 57) -

Some of the records have been received at the Royal Scottish
Museum, others at the Scottish Home Department’s Marine
Laboratory, Torry, Aberdeen. To Dr. Bennet B. Rae and to Mr.
E. Wilson I am indebted for a summary of these latter records,
which are marked (R. & W.). To Professor A. D. Peacock and
Mr. Whaterhouse, University College, Dundee, I am indebted for
the particulars of the Architeuthis stranded at Easthaven, and to Dr.

I. Gordon, British Museum, for the confirmation of record number 1 .

Paramola cuvieri (Risso)

1. A female of this rare crab was found about 4th January
1951 at Stromness, Orkney, along with a specimen of the northern
stone-crab ( Lithodes maia). In this species the female is much
smaller than the male, and the measurements now given contrast
strongly with those previously given for Scottish specimens. The
length of the carapace, including the rostral spine, was only 3J
inches, and that of the right cheliped only 5! inches. This specimen,
kindly forwarded by Mr. J. C. Marwick for identification, is now
in the Stromness Museum.

2. A male was taken by a trawler 75 miles N.E. by N. from the
Out Skerries, Shetland, in 105 fathoms in April 1951 (R. & W.).

3. An adult-sized specimen was brought up on a great line fished
from the M.V. Star of Bethlehem , approximately in position 45 miles
N.N.W. from the Butt of Lewis, about 25th September 1952
(R. & W.).

Sepia officinalis Lam.

4. A specimen was caught by seine net 16 miles E. by S. from
Buchan Ness in 62 fathoms on 16th November 1950 (R. & W.).

5. Another specimen was also taken by seine net 5 to 6 miles
E. to S.S.E. from Fetlar on 20th December 1950. Shetland
fishermen reported the presence of this species in numbers in this
area from about mid-December 1950 (R. & W.).

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ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

121

6. Mr. Charleson, writing from Hillswick, Shetland, on 27th
August 1951, stated that numbers of cuttle-bones were to be found
in certain places at that time, but no live animals had been seen.

7. The presence of cuttle-bones was reported by Dr. H. Wood,
Deputy Director, Scottish Home Department, Marine Laboratory,
Aberdeen, from Sandend Bay, Moray Firth, in July 1951. During
casual visits Dr. Wood saw several damaged cuttle-bones and, on a
later occasion, two undamaged specimens which, therefore, seemed
to have been only very recently cast ashore. A local resident
informed Dr. Wood that a lot of these cuttle-bones had been seen
during 1951 (R. & W.).

Ommatostrephes sagittatus Lam.

8. In the spring of 1951, a large invasion of this squid took place
along the east coast of Scotland from Aberdeen to Berwick, with the
main bulk of the records coming from the Firth of Forth. The
earliest record was on 10th February and the last on 10th March,
but almost all the strandings occurred between 23rd and 27th
February. A full account of this invasion will appear as a separate
contribution by Mr. A. S. Gillespie, Loretto School, Edinburgh.

9. Two specimens, which link up with this main invasion, were
found on the beach at Aberdeen, near the Bathing Station, on
2nd March 1951 (R. & W.).

Stenoteuthis caroli Furtado

10. On 1 2th January 1952, a specimen was washed ashore
alive on the beach at Portree. It was secured after a struggle by
Constable Ian Morrison, and is now in the Royal Scottish Museum.

1 1 . A second record for this species for the period is the specimen
secured alive at Gardenstown, Banffshire, on 16th February 1953
and forwarded to the Museum by Dr. Rae. It was rather
smaller than the usual run of these specimens, the ventral mantle
length being only 22| inches (R. & W.).

Architeuthis harveyii Verrill

12. This specimen was washed ashore east of Easthaven,
Angus, on 14th December 1951, in a damaged condition and in an
inaccessible place. Before it was found it had also been mutilated.
The mantle length, anterior edge to the posterior tip, was 4 feet 9
inches, and the head projected 1 foot 9 inches from the mantle.
The portions secured for examination were the jaws and radula,
and a small piece of one of the short arms with a few suckers.
These all agree with Verrill’s description of this species. — A. C.
Stephen, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

16

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Some Rare British Syrphidae (Diptera) in the Royal
Scottish Museum. — Through the kindness of Mr. A. R.
Waterston, O.B.E., I was recently able to study the British
Syrphidae in the Royal Scottish Museum. Besides a large amount
of incorporated material, the recently acquired collection of Scottish
Syrphidae made by the late Mr. H. A. Latham was available for
me to examine. As a result of my visit, much useful additional
data about distribution, etc., has been incorporated in the Syrphidae
volume of the Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects.

I was particularly gratified to find over the name-label of
Callicera aenea Fabricius a very fine female example of C. spinolae
Rondani, taken at Southwold in Suffolk on 1st October 1928 by
Mr. J. W. Bowhill, the Scottish entomologist. Only two other
examples of this strikingly handsome fly have been recorded as
taken in Britain, both by the late Mr. Claude Morley. Morley’s
original capture was a female taken on 10th September 1942 in the
marshes of the River Deben at Brandeston in Suffolk, on Angelica
blossom. The second example, also a female, was taken on ivy
blossom on nth September 1947 in his garden at Monks Soham in
Suffolk. Morley describes these two noteworthy captures at some
length in his own entertaining style in the Transactions of the Suffolk
Naturalists’ Society (1942, 5 (1) : 14-15 and 1947, 6 (2): 149-150).
The specimen taken by Bowhill is the largest example of the species
that I have seen, the wing length (measured with dividers from the
basicosta to the wing-tip) being 15 mm. The wing length of
examples previously examined ranged from 12-14*25 mm.

Another interesting discovery was that of four examples of
Neoascia obliqua Coe in the series of the common N. podagrica Fab-
ricius, one of these specimens being in the main collection, and the
remaining three in the Latham collection. From this further
material, it seems possible that in Britain the range of the species is
mainly confined to central and south Scotland, the only British
record outside this area being that of a single male taken by G. H.
Verrall on 2nd May 1868 “ nr. Darenth, Kent”. The localities
of the Scottish material of obliqua are as follows: Perth (Bridge of
Cally), Fife (Lundin Links), Renfrew (Erskine), Lanark (Gorge of
Avon), and Edinburgh (Blackford Hill).

My attention was drawn by Mr. Waterston to eight Irish
examples of Arctophila fulva Harris ( = mussitans Fabricius) in the
main collection, in which the long dense hairs on the tergites are
greyish, with only a trace of yellowish hue, instead of being com-
pletely yellowish as in all other examples of the species that I have
examined. In most of these Irish specimens the basal corners of

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

123

the second tergite bear blackish hairs. The remaining Irish
examples that I have seen were taken by me at Naas in Co. Kildare,
and have all the tergites yellow-haired as usual. The specimens in
the Royal Scottish Museum are from Counties Donegal, Down and
Wicklow. Further collecting of the species in Ireland will establish
which is the prevalent form there.

Among the interesting Syrphidae in the Scottish national
collection are two specimens of the rare Cynorrhina fallax Linnaeus,
a species apparently confined in Britain to the Scottish Highlands.
These examples were taken by J. W. Yerbury at Aviemore in
Inverness-shire, the previously recorded localities for this species
being Logie in Morayshire, Spey Valley in Inverness-shire and
Braemar in Aberdeenshire. — R. L. Coe, British Museum (Natural
History) .

New Records of Spiders from West Ross. — From a small
collection of spiders taken over a period of a year, at the Nature
Reserve at Beinn Eighe, West Ross, twenty species have been
identified which have not apparently been recorded for the county
before. The county list followed is that given by Bristowe
( The Comity of Spiders , vol. 1, London, 1939). The Reserve covers
about 10,500 acres, and the altitude ranges from 40 feet to over
3,000 feet. The habitats vary from sheltered woodland (mainly
pine, with some birch) with deep ground cover, to very exposed
bare rock.

I am very much indebted to Mr. J. H. Murgatroyd, of Bourne-
mouth, for his great help in checking and naming the specimens,
and also to Captain Diver for his helpful criticism.

The list of species new to the county (all from vice-county 105
West Ross) is as follows: —

Clubionidae

Zora spinimana Sund. On ground, in the wood.

Thomisidae

Tibellus oblongus (Walck.). In deep heather on low ground.
Salticidae

Neon reticulatus Bl. Fairly common in wood, under rotten bark.
Lycosidae

Lycosa pullata Oliv. Probably widely distributed on Reserve,
and numerous. Generally found running on wet ground in
open, ground cover short.

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Tarentula pulverulenta Clk. One specimen taken at about 1,500
feet on north-east shoulder of Beinn Eighe, ground cover
short and sparse.

Tetragnathidae

Tetragnatha moniana Sim. Found in various parts of the Reserve
on heather, or over small pools. Generally at a low altitude.

Argyopidae

Cyclosa conica Pall. Low ground in the wood, on deep heather*
One specimen.

Araneus umbraticus Clk. One specimen taken from under bark
of dead stump. Altitude about 40 feet.

Linyphiidae

Blaniargus herbigradus Bl. From ground in wood.

Thyreosthenius becki Cambr. On ground at about 1,700 feet
(Coire mhic Fhearchair, outside west boundary of Reserve),
and also in the wood at under 100 feet.

Wideria capito Westr. In the wood, and at Coire mhic Fhear-
chair under stones on bare rock (Torridonian Sandstone) at
about 1,700 feet. Sheltered habitat near loch; locally
numerous.

Trachynella nudipalpis Westr. From ground in wood.

Labulla thoracica Wid. On cliffs at about 800 feet, behind wood,
and in the wood.

Linyphm triangularis Clk. In deep heather in the wood.

Lepthyphantes alacris Bl. In the wood.

Lepthyphantes obscurus Bl. In the wood.

Lepthyphantes pallidus Cambr. In the wood.

Lepthyphantes ericaeus Bl. In the wood.

Lepthyphantes tenebricola Wid. In the wood.

Macrargus rufus Wid. In the wood. /

It is perhaps worth noting that, although the Linyphid Wideria
capito is to be found at the higher altitudes under loose slabs of rock,
particularly at the Coire mhic Fhearchair, there are some places
where this habitat is occupied by another species, the Dysderid
Segestria senoculata L.: in my preliminary observations the two

species were not found together in the same place. Both, however,
occur in the wood, but there they seem to occupy different habitats.
— Ann R. Gordon, The Nature Conservancy, Edinburgh.

Red-throated Diver in Midlothian in June. — On 8th June

1952 a red-throated diver Colymbus stellatus was present at Gladhouse

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

125

Reservoir, Midlothian. It was first seen in flight over the water at
a height of about 100 feet (when it was possible to identify the
species with certainty) and it was kept under observation for about
a quarter of an hour. During this period it circled steadily to gain
height till almost lost to sight at an estimated 2,500-3,000 feet. It
then made off for the south-west but turned back after covering
about half a mile and was eventually lost to sight, still at a con-
siderable height over the reservoir.

The date is a strange one for this part of Scotland, but the only
other diver seen in the course of weekly visits to Gladhouse Reservoir
over the past three years was at much the same time of year — a
black-throated diver on 2nd July 1951. — D. G. Andrew, Edinburgh.

We have several times seen red-throated divers, sometimes
several together and all in summer plumage, up to and after the
middle of June on the Aberdeenshire coast, between Aberdeen and
Newburgh — a favourite stretch of coast for these birds throughout
the winter and spring. — Editors.

The Fulmar’s Bill. — One is not surprised to learn that the bill
of a particular bird, due to natural selection, is exactly adapted to
the niche within which the bird lives, but it is surprising to find that
a bird, which at times lives in widely different niches, should have
a bill equally well adapted to each of them. Such may be claimed
for the bill of the fulmar petrel Fulmarus glacialis and such may very
well have a direct bearing on the bird’s remarkable success in life.
The fulmar’s bill is a complex structure markedly different from
the bills of gulls and others which live largely in the same environ-
ment, and the measure of the difference is possibly the measure of
the fulmar’s advantage over these birds. A close examination of
the bill reveals that, as a feeding instrument, it is specialised in two
directions. The lamellae found inside the edges of the upper
mandible proclaim its ability to deal with plankton, while the forma-
tion of the terminal portions of the upper and lower mandibles
demonstrate its efficiency as a cutting tool: truly an astonishing
combination and one that equips the bird to deal with a range of
foodstuffs. I have been unable to find in the text-books a full
description of this cutting feature and shall describe it in detail.
A glance at the diagram shows the considerable difference between
the structure of a fulmar’s bill and that of a herring gull Larus
argentatus , which latter may be considered as a representative of the
fulmar’s competitors in coastal waters. The terminal portion of
the lower mandible of the gull is comparatively flat, whereas in that
of the fulmar it is rounded and steep, and the terminal plate of the

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Vol. 65

fulmar’s upper mandible is a strong curved hook, much more
hawk-like than gull-like. In my opinion, after experimenting with
the bills of both species, when these two bills bite into any bulky
animal matter, the bill of the fulmar will detach a piece much more
readily than will that of the gull and for the following reason. The
forward-facing steep edges of the terminal portion of the lower
mandible of the fulmar are extremely sharp , as also are the edges of

Fig. 1. Front and side views of the bills of a female fulmar ( left ) and a
herring gull {right)

the hook which closes down on them during a bite. The bite of
the fulmar, in this region, has a scissors-like shearing action, as can
be imagined from the illustrations, and when the bill is closed on
animal matter, two cuts are made at an acute angle to each other
(by the sharp edges of each side of the end of the lower mandible),
while the hook of the upper mandible is embedded at the apex of
the triangle thus formed and embedded at the most effective spot for
tearing out the piece. A backward jerk of the head is all that is
needed to complete the action. Because of its simpler construction
the gull’s bill is handicapped in similar circumstances. And then
the bird may be considered in true pelagic conditions on the great
fishing banks where it will be found equally at home feeding amongst
the small petrels, the kittiwakes or the large shearwaters. Here the

*953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

127

fulmar will doubtless be mostly a plankton feeder, but I have seen
it picking up small individual items of food as daintily as any
kittiwake — proof of the bill’s adaptability in that direction. The
bird may not be as good at diving as the shearwaters, but when
occasion demands it is quite capable of diving a few feet below the
surface. Thus it may be seen that the fulmar, with its versatile bill,
is particularly well equipped to deal with any sort of animal matter
found in or on the surface of the ocean and ranging from living
plankton to dead whale. Those observers who have seen floating
carrion surrounded by fulmars and such formidable birds as great
black-backed gulls Larus marinus and great skuas Stercorarius skua can
testify that the fulmars are invariably in the front line, adding their
natural pugnacity to their feeding capabilities, a very formidable
combination which probably places the fulmar at an advantage
over any other bird in the North Atlantic. In addition to the
features already described there is the epigamic aspect of this
remarkable bill, as is stressed by Professor V. C. Wynne-Edwards
in Scottish Naturalist , 64 : 88. There would seem to be good reason
for suspecting a relationship between the cackling display and the
sexual dimorphism in the bills which is very distinct in the Atlantic
races of the fulmar. — G. T. Kay, Lerwick.

Garganeys in North Argyll and South Inverness. — On

20th March 1953, on the River Shiel near Acharacle, I observed a
party of garganeys Anas querquedula , consisting of four drakes and
a duck. The low level of the river had exposed considerable areas
of weed and here the birds were feeding : my eye was immediately
caught by the grey flanks and white eyebrows of the males. The
birds were shy and, at my approach, flew down the river, which,
at this point, forms the boundary between Argyll and Inverness.
The garganey has only rarely been recorded from Argyll and, so far
as I know, has never been observed previously in Inverness. The
previous month had been characterised by a prolonged spell of fine
anticyclonic weather ; but the occurrence of these birds so far north
may possibly be due to the flooding of large areas in Holland with
salt water which is, as is well known, abhorrent to this species. —
M. F. M. Meiklejohn, Glasgow.

In 1947 J. W. C. received particulars from Christopher Dalgety
concerning the finding of a teal’s nest, by B. G. Lampard-Vachell,
that summer, in a marsh adjoining the river Spey, in East Inverness.
The nest, which was placed in a tuft of sedge-grass, contained six
eggs, the same size as those of a teal and creamy-white in colour.
“ The down in the nest was definitely darker than that of the teal,

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Vol. 6s

the tufts were smaller and whiter, more numerous, and the ends
white, which is not so in that of the teal.” Mr. Lampard-Vachell
felt sure that the nest was that of a garganey. He continues —
“ Shortly after I had found the nest, I saw two drake garganey and a
duck flying down the river. . . . Further a local ornithologist told
me that they had been seen there, but it was not known whether
they nested.” Speyside is of course some distance from the locality
where the birds were seen by Professor Meiklejohn, but we feel that
this information should be recorded now, as it is all we have at
present concerning the garganey in Inverness. — Editors.

Red Grouse Feeding and Drinking. — On 25th February 1953
while driving south of Muthill, Perthshire, and crossing the Moor
of Orchil, I observed a cock red grouse Lagopus scoticus perched
about 7 feet up in a hawthorn hedge. I stopped the car some 20
yards away and through 8 X 40 binoculars watched the bird feeding
on hawthorn buds. The Handbook records berries being taken in
autumn, but does not mention buds in the early part of the year.
The time was about 12.30 G.M.T., a point which is of interest in
view of the observations by Vesey-Fitzgerald ( British Game , 1946,
pp. 17 et seq.).

While watching the cock bird mentioned above, my attention ,
was drawn to a hen red grouse drinking from a pool of rain water
at the roadside some 40 yards ahead of me (cf. Vesey-Fitzgerald,
loc. cit., p. 17, and British Birds , 41 : 60). A few moments later the
hen bird was disturbed by a passing car but the cock continued to
feed on the hawthorn buds. — Alexander Cross, Monifieth.

Waders landing on Water direct from Flight. — On the

Eden Estuary during the period September-November 1952 I noted
three instances of waders landing on the water from flight, while,
in a fourth, a flock made as though to land but flew off after touching
the water with their feei. ,

In the first incident, a single dunlin Calidris alpina detached itself
from a small flock and landed on the water some few yards from
the shore. After sitting still for a few seconds, it swam ashore. It
is perhaps worth noting that several times the flock made as though
to land and, on one occasion, most actually touched the water with
their feet. The next two incidents both concerned redshank Tringa
totanus. Two wrhich were “ sparring ” on the mud took flight, one
chasing the other, and after a spell of this, both birds landed on the
water, which at this spot was some 3 to 4 feet deep. They sat still

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

129

for a few seconds, when one swam to the shore, the other swimming
upstream a few yards before flying off. In the third incident, a
party of twelve redshank flying low over the water suddenly checked
their flight and landed in the midst of a group of teal Anas crecca.
They stayed on the water for nearly fifteen seconds before rising and
flying off. The fourth incident concerned a flock of about 300 knot
Calidris canutus which, when over the water some 10 to 15 yards
offshore, fluttered down as though to land, but rose again after
“ paddling ” with their feet on the surface. — -John Grierson,
Dundee.

Greater Black-backed Gull diving for Food. — The only
published record I know of the greater black-backed gull Larus
marinus diving for food in inshore waters is in British Birds , 4 1 : 93,
and it is therefore of interest to record the following observation.
On 26th December 1952 a single greater black-backed gull was
observed off Broughty Ferry, Angus, flying up river (Tay Estuary)
about 15 feet above the water. Suddenly it checked in flight and
dived into the water. It went in with a splash and was completely
under the water long enough for the splash to settle before the gull
emerged with a small fish in its bill. The fish was given a shake
and then swallowed. I watched for about 5 minutes but the gull
remained on the water. — Alexander Cross, Monifieth.

A Snowy Owl in the Cairngorms during Summer. — With

reference to the record of this occurrence (Scot. Nat., 64: 176-177),
Professor Meiklejohn points out that it would be in the interest of
iuture bird-historians to record that the bird was seen in the counties
of Aberdeen and Banff, and frequented the watershed area between
the rivers Dee and Avon. — Editors.

Little Gull in Angus.- — In recent years quite substantial num-
bers of little gulls Larus minutus have been seen in the Tay estuary.
In addition to the records of 1922-24 already referred to (Scot. Nat.,
64: 122), there were reports of single birds at Elliot on 25th Sep-
tember 1925 (Scot. Nat., 1926: 74), on 16th January 1926 (Scot. Nat.,
1927: 136), on 24th and 28th September 1926 and on 15th October
1926 (Scot. Nat., 1926: 174). There were further records of small
numbers at Elliot between 24th August and 6th September 1928
(Scot. Nat., 1929: 1 1 3) .

There were also two records for the east shore of Tentsmuir — an
adult on 2nd May 1953, and a party of about ten in June 1932.

17

130 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

In the Tay estuary itself the following records have been got: —
1929. One at Invergowrie on 31st December 1929 (Scot. JVat ., 1930:
3°) •

1940. One found dead at Kingoodie on 25th February.

1941. Twenty-four (three juvenile : mostly adults in winter plum-
age) at Kingoodie on 6th April; twelve at least at Inver-
gowrie and Kingoodie on 20th April.

1942. One adult in summer plumage at Invergowrie on 30th April.

1948. Three at Monifieth Bay on 29th May, six on 3rd July, two
adults on 9th October, and seven adults and one juvenile on
14th October.

1949. One adult at Monifieth Bay on 15th January, eighty- three
(about twenty in summer plumage) on 16th April, and five
immatures on 1 6th July.

1950. Seventeen (eleven adults, four juveniles) at Monifieth Bay on
1 ith February, one hundred and four (twenty-three juveniles)
on 25th March, eleven (four adults in summer plumage) on
6th May, and three at least on 18th November.

1951. Five (four adults in winter plumage) at Monifieth Bay
on 10th March, three (two adults in winter plumage and
one juvenile) on 2nd April, two juveniles on 19th July, and
three (one adult and two second-year immatures) on 17th
November.

1952. Two at Monifieth Bay on 12th January.

For the later period there is one report of fourteen from the
Angus coast at Carnoustie in September 1947. — Henry Boase,
Invergowrie, Angus.

These notes show clearly that the little gull is a regular and
frequent visitor on the Angus coast, with occurrences reaching a
peak in April. — Editors.

An unusually-coloured juvenile Rook. — Lt.-Col. W. M.

Logan Home informs us that an abnormal young rook Corvus '
frugilegus , shot near Eyemouth, Berwickshire, on 9th May 1953 was 1
brought to him, and that the skin has since been forwarded to the
Royal Scottish Museum. The whole plumage, including the tarsi,
was of a uniform dark brown or mouse-brown colour, without a
trace of any black, or green or purple gloss. — Editors.

Willow-tit Parus atricapillus in Sutherland. — Where the
Lairg-Lochinver road crosses the River Cassley, there is, or rather
was, a lovely wood. I visited it in April 1953 ostensibly to record on

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

131

colour film the scene of devastation wrought by the awful gale of
last winter. The saddening scene, albeit a mere sample of what
has happened to so many lovely trees, depressed me, and I sat by
the bridge fascinated in a horrified way by the chaos before me.

The day was warm and sunny and I soon realised that the wood
of dead trees was pulsating with bird life, among them the great,
blue and coal tits. I watched them through my binoculars and
thought how little the exotic birds of the tropics outshine our own
native birds in their spring plumage. My depression was lifting
when suddenly there flitted into my magnified gaze, no farther away
than the huge torn-up roots of the nearest tree, a wonderful little
willow-tit. He explored the roots and earth in true tit-like fashion
for a good five minutes, during which time I had an excellent view
of him. Being a singularly ignorant ornithologist, it was not until
I looked up my reference book that I discovered that this little
fellow had no right to be in Sutherland. I felt quite elated at my
find, and was not unaware of the fact that had this wood not been
felled by a mighty hand, in all probability my little bird would have
flitted about unseen. — -J. Graham, Edinburgh.

Willow-tit in North-west Sutherland. — On 24th November
.1949 a black-capped tit, which I identified as a willow-tit Parus
atricapillus , appeared amongst some young conifers and Fuchsia , on
the north-west coast of Sutherland, some 14 miles south of Cape
Wrath. I watched the bird at very close range on and off during
the day, and it appeared to differ slightly from those I have seen
in the south of England in that the black was confined to the crown
of the head, and did not continue down the back of the neck. The
bird remained throughout the day amongst the cover where it was
first observed, but was not seen again. — -John F. Palmer, Rhiconich,
Sutherland.

The above records appear to be the first occurrences for Suther-
land.— Editors.

Lesser Grey Shrike in Aberdeen. — On 3rd November 1952
Mrs. Catherine Bruce of Wellington Street, Aberdeen, brought to
me the body of a juvenile male lesser grey shrike Lanius minor ,
bearing a British Trust for Ornithology ring, no. P. 5177. The
| history of this bird is interesting: it was first trapped and ringed by
Dr. E. A. R. Ennion at Seahouses, Northumberland, on 14th
|i September 1952. On the night of 15th October it flew into a
chimney of Mrs. Bruce’s home, and came down into the house the
following morning when a fire was lit below it : it subsequently

132

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol 65

remained alive for 9 hours. Unfortunately the body did not reach
me until nearly 2J weeks later by which time it was in very poor
condition; nevertheless it has been preserved as well as possible in
the University collection at Aberdeen.

This appears to be the first record of this species on the mainland
of Scotland, although several others have been recorded from Fair
Isle and Shetland. I am indebted to Miss E. P. Leach for
details of the bird’s original capture in Northumberland. — Ivan M.
Goodbody, Aberdeen.

Flock of Goldfinches in Perthshire. — On 31st March 1953
I saw a flock of thirty or forty goldfinches Carduelis carduelis at
Crianlarich, feeding on a part of the railway bank that had been
burned quite bare. I think that this is worth putting on record,
because the only specimen that I have ever seen here before was a
dead bird that I picked up in November 1937 on the road between
Crianlarich and Tyndrum. I gave it to a friend, and he had it
preserved.

None of the keepers or other residents here seem to know the
bird, or to have ever seen one. — Gordon Place, Crianlarich,
Perthshire.

Mr. Place informs us that their gamekeeper, John MacDougall,
first saw these small birds with bright yellow in their wings, and,
not knowing what they were, reported them to Mr. Place. They
went back and found them still there, and observed them through
field-glasses at 12 or 15 yards distance. Every detail, such as the
red forehead and throat, was clearly seen. — Editors.

Chaffinch with successive Broods in same Nest. — On

17th May 1952 I found the nest of a chaffinch Fringilla coelebs near
Morton Lochs, Fife. The nest, which was built in a whin bush,
contained three recently hatched young. On 25th May the young
were ringed and left the nest within the next few days.

On 4th June I had another look at the nest and found it con-
tained three eggs, and on nth June the female was sitting on four
eggs. All four eggs hatched out and the young were successfully
reared. — John Grierson, Dundee.

1953

BOOK REVIEWS

*33

BOOK REVIEWS

Deer and Their Management in the Deer Parks of Great Britain and Ireland. By
G. Kenneth Whitehead. London: Country Life Limited. Pp.

370, 138 half-tone plates, 2 diagrams and 1 sketch. £4 4s.

This volume is concerned, not with the red deer in the open deer forest,
but with the several species that are still to be found in the more sheltered
conditions inside the wire of the deer parks of Great Britain and Ireland.
Not since 1890 has any permanent record been made of deer parks in
England, and no previous work has included those of Scotland, Wales, and
Ireland as well. Modern conditions have led to drastic changes and
reductions in deer parks, which were intensified during the last war;
herds were reduced, some completely extinguished, and damage to park-
fencing resulted in the escape of deer of various kinds into the surrounding
countryside, where a few are becoming established. This book will be of
assistance to future workers in tracing the origin of such accidental intro-
ductions.

The notable herds at Warnham Court and Woburn Abbey are dealt
with in detail in a chapter each. The natural history of deer in general
is discussed, and an account given of the red, fallow, and roe deer, and of
eleven non-British park deer. The remainder of the volume is devoted
to an account of each of the deer parks of England, Scotland, Ireland, and
Wales, including the beasts in zoological gardens, that were in existence in
1949; figures of their populations are given, together with previous ones
where known. The author discusses the part that deer parks might play
in the supply of venison, and one cannot help feeling that some useful
research could be conducted on various aspects of deer population, at any
rate in those parks of larger acreage, and that more could be done than
has yet evidently been attempted in this country on the feeding and food
preferences of deer.

Besides a general index there is an index of parks, paddocks, and zoos,
and a third giving their owners. There is mention throughout the text
of very many papers and books on deer, so that it is surprising to find no
bibliography included, especially as a volume of this character is destined to
become the standard reference work on park deer for many years to come.

Though the 138 half-tone plates cannot all be classed as absolutely
■ satisfactory, the book is worthy of the high standard one associates with
its publishers; indeed one’s only serious criticism of the volume is the
lavishness of its production. — -J. W. G.

I Check-list of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland. Prepared by the List
Sub-Committee, British Ornithologists’ Union, London, 1952. Pp.
xii + 106. 7s. 6d.

; Liste des Oiseaux de France. By Noel Mayaud. Alauda, 21: 1-63, 1953.

The appearance within a few months of two new check-lists, covering
almost exactly the same birds and facing the same problems, is a matter of

134

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

much interest to European ornithologists. After carefully studying each
and comparing them together, one is likely to conclude, no doubt unjustly,
that the best committee to entrust with such grave responsibility is a
committee of one. M. Mayaud’s list, while not entirely beyond criticism
nor free of minute typographical errors, is altogether fresher, better
balanced and more skilful in avoiding difficulties; it has an air of
authority that commands great respect for the knowledge and judgment
of its author.

Check-lists no doubt cause fearful headaches to their compilers; like
home cooking, they are certain to draw our complaints if they contain
anything in the least unpalatable, yet are unlikely even at their best to win
any praise beyond a tacit acceptance. The British list contains rather
fuller information than M. Mayaud’s, which is intended merely to bring
up to date the larger Inventaire des Oiseaux de France of 1936, wherein details
of distribution and references are to be found; consequently the B.O.U. list
has greater scope for error. We cannot escape the general feeling that it
falls far short of expectations. In a field where fashion and modernity play
a definite part, it is outpaced in its pursuit of the leaders in the game, who
are clearly some distance ahead.

Able reviews of the B.O.U. list have already appeared, in particular the
one written by the editors of British Birds (46 : 114-116), whose observations
must have been widely acceptable. Other valuable comments by Col.
Meinertzhagen and Mr. Williamson have appeared in the Ibis (95: 365-

369)-

The best innovation in the British list is the introduction of the “ Wet-
more ” order (though the reader is left to find this out for himself, for no
explanation is provided either of the classification or its merits). M.
Mayaud has gone a stage further (the Wetmore sequence having been
followed already in the 1936 Inventaire ) and adopted all but one of the
amendments of Mayr and Amadon (Am. Mus. JVovit., No. 1496, 2nd April
1951). These include a questionable return to the time-honoured ordinal
names, “ Tubinares ”, “ Steganopodes ”, “ Grues ” and the rest, besides a
number of commendable rearrangements in the sequence, conforming with
later views upon avian evolution and relationships.

The B.O.U. list places the type species of a genus (if it is included among
the British forms) first, even when it must be uprooted from its natural place
in the series in order to do so. No indication is given of any compensatory
advantage for this principle; and it is not carried down to the next stage,
namely, the sequence of subspecies under their species-headings : here the
nominate race gives place to any others which occur more commonly or
characteristically in the British area. Nor is it applied higher up the scale,
for instance in placing the genera within the families.

We note with interest and approval that M. Mayaud has dropped the
controversial Colymbus for the divers in favour of Gavia, following the recent
suggestion of Salomonsen ( Proc . X. Int. Orn. Congr.: 149, 1951). We in
Britain should certainly follow this lead, and hope that American ornitho-
logists will make the complementary move by accepting Podiceps instead
of Colymbus for the grebes.

1953

BOOK REVIEWS

35

We should like to follow the French list in uniting Bewick’s with the
whistling swan, to be known therefore as Cygnus columbianus bewickii; and
calling the whooper by the trinomial Cygnus c. cygnus , recognising that it is
conspecific with the trumpeter swan of North America. Also in uniting
under Corvus cor one both cor one and cornix, the carrion and hooded crows,
as Newton (“ with his usual perspicacity ”, says Saunders) desired to
do more than seventy years ago (in Yarrell, 4th ed., 2: 274 ff., 1876-82);
and as most of our foreign contemporaries have now been doing for
some time past. This is a subject to which we intend to return at an
early date.

Upon the same topic, we would commend the inclusion of our red
grouse among its intimate relatives, under the name of Lagopus lagopus
scoticus, and likewise the American spotted sandpiper as Tringa hypoleucos
macularia. Many must be the expatriated Britons who have discovered
with delight, in the voices, manners, nests, chicks and juveniles of the willow
grouse and spotted sandpiper, the authentic spell of their own native moors
and watersides. (For T. macularia see also Rowan, Brit. Birds , 20: 221,
I927-)

The good intention of the B.O.U. sub-committee to mention the North
American English names, where they differ from ours, has been very
imperfectly carried out; it is possible to find more than twenty species
whose well-known American names are entirely omitted. To promote
international uniformity of English names a praiseworthy concession has
been made in asking us to adopt, in the case of rare or accidental vagrants,
the name used by English-speaking ornithologists in those regions abroad
to which the bird normally belongs. Thus we must sacrifice our “ yellow-
shanks ” in favour of “ yellow-legs ” ('yvhy the hyphen, which does not
appear in the A.O.U. list?), and may more gladly part with “ Carolina
crake ” and “ American nightjar ”; but we are still to retain our insular
tradition, it appears, in the cases of the “ American wigeon ”, “ red-
breasted snipe ”, “ Bartram’s sandpiper ”, “ American stint ” (and perhaps
others), though consistency and reason both recommend the substitution of
“ baldpate ”, “ dowitcher ”, “ upland plover ” and “ least sandpiper ”.
There should certainly have been a preface in which the reasoning and
motives of the compilers were made known; much criticism of this sort
might thereby have been disarmed.

Among the very few misprints we note that, if original orthography is
adhered to, the black-billed cuckoo should be C. erythropthalmus (lacking its
second h) ; the mis-spelling of Glareola nordmanni has been noted by others.
We are uncertain whether the gender of Xenus (the Terek sandpiper) can
be shown to be feminine, or whether the customary cinereus ought to have
been retained in place of cinerea. Lymnocryptes is perhaps also of uncertain
gender (Auk, 6 1 : 447, 1 944) . The citation of Podiceps caspicus (if this is

the name to be used) cannot, we think, have been correctly given, for its
author’s name should be in brackets.

Other details of nomenclature concern the non-recognition of sub-
species in Larus glaucoides (see Auk, 62: 441, 1945, under L. leucopterus) , and
Limnodromus griseus (see Auk, 58: 376, 1941 and 65: 285, 1948).

136

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 63, 1953

M. Mayaud’s list departs rather freely from original orthography, and
not merely in respect of proposals recommended for consideration by the
International Commission. Original spelling may be retained, as in j
pytyopsittacus and Oceanodroma leucorhoa , or amended, as in ochropus, Oenanthe 1
oe. leucorrhoa, Limnocryptes and several others. Brackets are occasionally
missing where required round authors’ names, and on one line the hoopoe
appears as Urupa.

In the British list the brief citations of range and status, particularly
within the British Isles, are uneven and sometimes seriously misleading.
Thus for the chiffchaff, lesser whitethroat and several other warblers,

“ breeding visitor, common ” (for the British Isles as a whole) is far from
being true north of the border. We note “ local, Scotland ” for the bull-
finch, which is recorded as resident in almost all the mainland counties, and
“ rare, Scotland ” alike for the cirl bunting and the jay, which we ourselves
should be unlikely to bracket together in these identical terms. The little
owl, like the barn owl, is “ resident, common Among the foreign ranges
there are many similar mis-statements, e.g. “ Arctic America ” for Bona-
parte’s gull, which, being chiefly famous for nesting in trees, must neces-
sarily dwell outside the treeless Arctic.

The admission of introduced species should be subject to periodical
review, in case there are any new candidates to add to the Canada goose,
capercaillie, pheasant, red-legged partridge and little owl. No doubt a
deep sentiment is sufficient grounds for retaining the name of the great auk
perpetually on our list.

There is nothing in our criticisms of the B.O.U. list, nor in those of
others we have seen, which raises an insuperable difficulty — nothing which
cannot rather easily be improved in a revised edition. It is very much to
be hoped that the Union will find it possible to undertake a revision im-
mediately. Whatever our verdict upon the present result, the sub-com-
mittee have in fact done the heavy spade work, and we should be duly
thankful for so much disinterested endeavour. A wave of the magic wand
is now required to give the satisfying turn to our list that M. Mayaud has
achieved for our French colleagues. — V. C. W-E.

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THE IRISH NATURALISTS’ JOURNAL

A MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY
Published Every Quarter by the I.N.J. Committee

EDITED BY

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WINTER

1953

The Scottish Naturalist

With which is incorporated

The Annals of Scottish Natural History

EDITED BY

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Regius Professor of Natural History , University of Aberdeen

AND

JAMES W. CAMPBELL

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CONTENTS

The Development of an Ornithologist : Leonora Jeffrey

Rintoul, 1878-1953 — Professor James Ritchie
Rare and Exotic Fishes recorded in Scotland during 1952
— Dr. B. B. Rae and E. Wilson ....
Fractured Ear-bones of Blue Whales— Dr. F. C. Fraser and
P. E. Purves . .

Notes on the Birds of the Flannan Isles — D. G. Andrew and
G. L. Sandeman . . . ....

Leach’s Petrels stranded in Scotland in October-November,
1952 — V. C. Wynne-Edwardj .....
Revenue Account for Volume 64 ....

Botanical Note . . /■

Zoological Notes . .

Book Reviews . v . . /

Correspondence . . .

Index .... .....

/• \

PAGE

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154

157

167

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190

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S0$- V/

The Scottish Naturalist

Volume 65, No. 3

Winter 1953

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST

LEONORA JEFFREY RINTOUL

1878-1953

James Ritchie

The natural history of Scotland in many of its branches owes
a vast debt to the labours of amateur naturalists, and for the
recording of the country’s birds the highest recognition must be
given to the work of Miss Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and her
constant partner in the study of birds, Miss Evelyn V. Baxter.
This is even greater merit than it seems at first sight, for in
building up this repute they broke a long tradition of silence,
since their records were the first persistent observations con-
tributed by Scottish women to the knowledge of Scottish
natural history.

There was nothing in Miss Rintoul’s early life to suggest her
later devotion to ornithology, unless it was that natural in-
quisitiveness which is the heritage of a country-born child. She
was born in 1878 not far from the Firth of Forth at Lahill near
Largo in the kingdom of Fife, the elder daughter of Major
Robert Rintoul. Her early education, undertaken at home,
and her youthful journeys on the Continent, while broadening
her background of knowledge and experience, can scarcely have
given her any special stimulus towards intensive nature study.
Indeed, the development was obviously gradual, for it was not
until 1905 that her first simple record, linked with the name of
Miss Baxter, appeared — “ Pied Flycatcher and Ivory Gull in
Fife ”r — and it was undoubtedly the association with Miss
Baxter which gave objectivity to what had been no more than
18 137

138 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

a pleasant hobby, and which produced so profitable a
partnership.

A few years of casual recording helped to give assurance to
field-work and led to the next great development. In 1905
Dr. Eagle Clarke, accompanied by a young enthusiast, Norman
B. Kinnear, paid his first visit to Fair Isle for the study of
bird-migration. The choice of site was an auspicious one and
the notable results led to a revival of interest in Scottish
migration. Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul, then frequent
visitors to Eagle Clarke and the bird collections in the Royal
Scottish Museum, shared in the interest and decided in 1907 to
make use of the Isle of May as a second island station for the
observation of seasonal bird movements. The possibilities of
solving some of the problems of migration by a comparison of 1
migratory movements on these islands, far apart and yet lying
roughly parallel to the continental coast, can well be imagined, i
For twenty five years (1907-33) the two ladies visited the May j
during the spring and autumn migrations, and the mass of
observations made by them and their successors on the Isle
have yielded much information and will yield still more to |
further penetrating analysis. Here I must say how much I
admired the knowledge and patience and unfailing good-will
with which Eagle Clarke helped and encouraged the learners,
young and old, who came to the Royal Scottish Museum for
his assistance and advice.

While the Isle of May observations were being carried on
other noteworthy developments were taking place. For many I
years The Annals of Scottish Natural History had published an 1
annual “ Report on Scottish Ornithology 55 based upon
scheduled returns by observers, co-ordinated by a well-known
Glasgow naturalist, Mr. John Paterson. In 1910 the
“ Report 55 was taken over by Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul,
and at once a change in its content was observable. Hitherto r
it had been a competent record of the occurrence of species ; |
now to the accustomed list were added notes including ;
comments on the weather conditions at times of major bird
movements. At first the meteorological notes were general and
tentative, cycloneish and anticycloneish, but as the Reports ;
proceeded, and they continued for twenty years, the linkage 1
between specific weather conditions and migrations became \

1953 DEVELOPMENT OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST 139

more clearly seen, and the revealing suggestion was advanced
that immigrants to Scotland, instead of following a predestined
“ migration route ”, were sometimes blown here, willy-nilly,
by the wind.

A second development of this period followed naturally,
but not inevitably, from the first. The understanding of bird
movements depended upon a thorough knowledge of the
normal distributions of the birds themselves, and this led Miss
Baxter and Miss Rintoul to study Scottish aspects of distribution.
The results have been of great value for they have set a datum
line from which invasions, or extensions or regressions of range
may be judged in after years. A preliminary canter produced
in 1922 “ Some Scottish Breeding Duck, their arrival and
dispersal ”, in which the placings of nine critical species were
examined : but the ultimate results were gathered together in
The Geographical Distribution and Status of Birds in Scotland (1928),
an indispensible summary of information and book of reference.

With this record behind them the two friends had now
added to their own great experience a vast accumulation of
information about Scottish birds. It remained to make use
of and to expand this knowledge in more detailed or compre-
hensive surveys. The first opportunity arose when a projected
“ Vertebrate Fauna of Forth ”, which was to continue Harvie-
Brown’s series of Scottish regional faunas, faded into the
background with the death in 1922 of its nominated author,
William Evans. Miss Rintoul and Miss Baxter undertook the
work, and in 1935 A Vertebrate Fauna of Forth was published.
Naturally the greater share of this comprehensive book is
concerned with the birds, but it is safe to say that none of the
nine earlier Vertebrate Faunas had the benefit of the unrivalled
local knowledge of birds shared by the writers of “ Forth ”.

What more was left to be done ? Oddly enough, Scotland,
despite all the interest of its bird life, its many published
records, its long succession of observers, has never had a book
recounting and discussing its bird life as a whole. I doubt if
anyone has ever been so thoroughly equipped for tackling such
a work as the two partners, and to accomplish it became their
final ambition. So in 1953 appeared The Birds of Scotland;
their History , Distribution , and Migration , a work in two volumes,
which will remain a land-mark in Scottish ornithology and a

140

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

base line from which future changes in bird life in this country
can be measured.

I have tried to trace briefly the development of an ornitho-
logist from her first simple record to the crowning achievement
of her career. It seems the content of a full life, but it would
be a mistake to think that it exhausted Miss Rintoul’s good
works. She took a lively interest and part in local affairs,
notably in connection with Women’s Rural Institutes and
during the wars with Women’s Voluntary Services and similar
organisations. She shared in the founding of the Scottish
Ornithologists’ Club, of which she was joint President, and
was honoured at home and abroad, a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, an Honorary Member of the British
Ornithologists’ Union, and a Corresponding Fellow of the
American Ornithologists’ Union.

My continuing impression of Miss Rintoul through the
years since I first met her in the early part of the century has
been of a gracious and genial personality, overflowing with
good humour, alert in discussion, tempering argument with
acute pleasantries, and ever sympathetic and helpful. She
died on 22nd May 1953 after a prolonged period of ill-health,
and alas shortly before the public appearance of The Birds of
Scotland.

1953

RARE AND EXOTIC FISHES

141

RARE AND EXOTIC FISHES RECORDED IN
SCOTLAND DURING 1952 *

B. B. Rae and E. Wilson
Scottish Home Department, Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen

As in former years most of the rare fish reports received at the
Marine Laboratory were the result of co-operation between
fishermen and the Department’s district fishery officers. In a
few cases private individuals sent in specimens for identification
and one record was received from Dr. A. C. Stephen of the
Royal Scottish Museum. The authors wish to thank all those
who contributed to the list.

Hexanchus griseus (Gmelin) — Six-gilled Shark

Records of this shark are extremely rare in the Scottish lists.
An exceptional landing, however, was made at Aberdeen
towards the end of July by a great-line vessel fishing 60 miles
north-west of Sule Skerry. This catch included a number of
six-gilled sharks of which thirteen were brought to port. Two
of the fish measured 195 and 228 cm.

Later in the year, at the end of November, a single specimen,
a male of 231 cm., was trawled 8 miles south-east of Fair Isle.

Lamna cornubica (Gmelin) — Porbeagle

Three specimens of the porbeagle were recorded during the
year as follows:

Date

Position

Method of
Capture

Length

(cm.)

Sex

May 5
Sept. 23
Nov. 25

198' N.E. X E.yE. Aberdeen
ioo' N.E. X E. Aberdeen
Off Skerryvore

Drift-net

Trawl

Seine

236

152

208

M

The first two were caught in association with herring shoals,
a feature which has frequently been noted in regard to this
species.

* Received 7 th May 1953

142

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Trygon pastinaca (L.)> — Sting Ray

Two sting rays were trawled on the 15th and 22nd Novem-
ber, the former 54 miles E. and the latter 30 miles S. X E. of
Aberdeen. The first fish was not procured for examination
but the second, a male, was found to measure 28 cm. across the
disc and 47*3 cm. in total length.

Myliobatis aquila (L.)- — ’Eagle Ray

It is an interesting coincidence that two eagle rays, both
females, were also trawled in November in the northern North
Sea. One, captured on the 8th, 12 miles S.E. of Aberdeen,
was 49-5 cm. in breadth and 78-8 cm. in total length. The
corresponding measurements of the second fish which was
captured on the 14th, 44 miles S.JE. of Aberdeen, were 53-8
cm. and 87-8 cm.

An isopod found in the axil of the dorsal fin of the latter was
identified as Cirolana borealis.

Chimaera monstrosa L. — Chimaera or Rabbit Fish

Subsequent to the publication of the 1951 list ( Scottish
Naturalist , 1952, 64: 102-m) information was received of the
capture of a chimaera in November of that year N.N. W. of Sule
Skerry at a depth of 256 metres.

Two records of single fish were obtained in 1952. The first,
early in April, by trawl from 75 miles N.E. X E. of the Outer
Skerries, Shetland, at a depth of 164 metres, was a female of
78 cm. containing two undeveloped eggs of about 4 cm.
diameter. The stomach contents of this fish included decapod
crustacean, molluscan and ophiuroid remains. The second
fish, landed towards the end of July, was caught by great line
60 miles N.W. of Sule Skerry.

Acipenser sturio L. — Sturgeon

Date

Position

Method of
Capture

Length

{cm.)

Weight

(k:)

Jan. 18

3|-' E.|-N. Troup Head

Seine

—

1 6*o

Feb. 2

Loch Clash (N.W. Scotland)

Seine

152

14-1

May 15

1 60/180' N.E.JN. Buchanness

Trawl

152

i6*8

1953

RARE AND EXOTIC FISHES

143

Alosa alosa (L.) — Allis Shad

Date

Position

Length

(cm.)

Sex

Mar. 26

Off Ardrishaig, Loch Fyne

<&•

32*0

F

maturing

July 8

Loch Eynort, S. Uist

42-5

M

spent

Aug. 4

River Tweed

56-0

F

ripe

Nov. 1 1

Loch Striven

39*2

F

spent and recovering

Nov. 17

S. end of Inchmarnock

32*3

M

spent and recovering

The reproductive organs showed various stages of develop-
ment indicating spawning in Scottish waters. The condition
of the gonad of the fish caught in the Tweed, 7 miles from the
sea, confirms previous records as to the presence of this species
and its spawning in this river.

Three of the fish, nos. 1, 2 and 4, had a row of dark spots
along their sides — a character which was not present on nos. 3
and 5. Two fish, nos. 3 and 5, were not feeding, no. 2 was
found to be feeding on Temora longicornis, no. 4 on Thysanoessa
raschii , while the stomach contents of no. 1 were unrecognisable.

Alosa finta (Cuvier) — T waite Shad

A single record of this species was obtained from a seine-net
catch from the Burra Haaf, Shetland, on 19th February. This
fish, a maturing female of 41 cm. length, and 612 gm. weight,
was not feeding at capture. There were no dark spots along
the sides.

Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum) — Pilchard

Three records involving the capture of five fish were received
from catches by herring drifters fishing in the Minch, off the
coast of Lewis, from 23rd January to 28th February. En-
quiries made among the fishermen in the area have confirmed
that the pilchard is not a common species in the Minch.

Towards the end of October, small numbers of pilchards
were also observed in herring catches from grounds off South
Uist.

Belone belone (L.) — Garfish or Greenbone

Between 4th and 1 3th April eight specimens were caught by
herring drifters at positions extending from 178 miles E.N.E. to

144 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

180 miles E. x N. of Aberdeen. Six of these fish were
examined. In length they ranged from 68-o to 69*5 cm. and
both sexes were about to spawn. None of the stomachs
contained recognisable food.

On 1 6th July a single specimen was caught by drift-net 33
miles S. x W.^W. of Bressay Light, Shetland. This fish, a
female of 69-5 cm., had spawned and did not appear to be
feeding.

Yet another record was obtained in a manner similar to that
in which one of the 1951 records was procured, namely, by the
fish being washed on board a vessel, on this occasion a cargo
vessel bound from Norway to Scotland. This occurred about
50 miles west of the Naze, during the night of 31st August. 1
The fish, 72*7 cm. long, was identified as a female which had
spawned and was already showing signs of recovery. The
stomach contained small vertebrae.

Macrurus fabricii Sundevall — Grenadier Fish

Specimens of the Macruridae are not infrequently caught
by vessels fishing with great-lines in deep water between
Greenland and Iceland. One specimen caught off Cape Dan,

E* Greenland, at the end of June was identified as M. fabricii \
from the descriptions by Smitt (1895) and Goode and Bean
( 1 895) . The fish was a female of 82-5 cm.

In August three fish were caught by great-line S. W.|S. from
the Munken Rock, Faroe. One of these was procured and
identified as M. fabricii. This fish, also a female, was 82 cm.
long. The stomach was empty except for some ophiuroid
remains. Traces of food in the intestine were recognisable and
included the remains of a deep-water boreal mysid, Thysanopoda
arctifrons , two specimens of Tmetonyx acutus and the operculum
of a gastropod. Four worm parasites were found in the
intestine.

Both fish have been preserved. This species is not known
from British waters and therefore does not appear in the British
Museum (Natural History) list (Norman, 1935).

Coryphaenoides rupestris Gunner — Grenadier Fish

One specimen of this member of the Macruridae was caught
by great-line, on herring bait, W.S.W. of the Westmann Isles,

1953

RARE AND EXOTIC FISHES

145

Iceland, in March. The fish, 85 cm. in length, was a female
which appeared to have spawned. The stomach in this case
was empty. The specimen has been preserved. The identi-
fication was based on the descriptions by Smitt and by Holt
and Calderwood (1895) under the name of Macrurus rupestris.

Molva byrkelange Walbaum — Blue Ling

The species, common in Icelandic and other northern
waters, is a rare visitor to the North Sea. One specimen was
taken by seine-net 40 miles E. X N. from Bard Head, Shetland,
on 29th February. It was a maturing male and measured 56
cm. A second was captured in April, by a seine-net vessel
which had fished in various places from 60 to 90 miles N.E.fE.
to N.E. X N. from Kinnaird Head. Another record was
obtained from a great-line catch from the south-west corner of
Faroe Bank but the species is probably not so rare in this region.

Mora mediterranea Risso

A single specimen of this fish was caught by great-line in
deep water west of Iceland at the end of April. Identification
was based on Holt and Calderwood’s description (1895). The
fish was a female of 76-5 cm. length and 4-8 kg. weight. The
specimen has been preserved.

Raniceps raninus (L.)- — Lesser Fork-Beard

One record of this species was obtained in March from a
seine-net catch off Cove Bay, a little to the south of Aberdeen.
The fish, a male of 28 cm., was not feeding.

Lampris guttatus (Brimnich) — Opah or Moonfish

A specimen was washed ashore in Burra Firth, Unst, Shet-
land, on 31st August. Identification in this case was confirmed
by means of an excellent photograph taken by a schoolboy.

Trachypterus arcticus (Briinnich)- — -Dealfish

Another interesting Shetland record was a dealfish which
was found in shallow water at Whaleayre, Haroldswick, in
November. The specimen, a male with a maximum body
depth, exclusive of fins, of 33 cm. and a total length of 190 cm.,
was subsequently presented to the Department of Zoology,
Aberdeen University.

T9

Vol. 65

146 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Regalecus glesne (Ascanius)' — Ribbon-fish or Oar- fish

This fish was stranded near Anstruther, Firth of Forth, on
8th June. When found by a Coast Guard it had suffered
mutilation but the part remaining measured 1 1 J feet. Identi-
fication was effected by Dr. A .C. Stephen of the Royal Scottish
Museum.

Capros aper (L.)- — Boarfish

A specimen of this southern form, which has recently been
suggested as a possible indicator species for certain hydro-
graphic conditions (Cooper 1952), was trawled by the research
vessel Explorer , from 154 metres at 550 48' N. 90 05' W. on 12th
June. Its length was 9-5 cm.

Brama rail (Bloch) — Ray’s Bream

The records on the next page of Ray’s bream were collected
during the year. Accurate data concerning time and place of
capture of a visiting species are of importance if the migration
route is to be deduced and progressive dispersal demonstrated
within the North Sea. Clearly it is not always possible to obtain
exact particulars (e.g. stranded specimens) but the authors are
satisfied that no date given below is in error by more than plus
or minus two days. An asterisk indicates two specimens
captured; in all other cases the records are of single fish.

Of the thirty-four records (comprising 39 fish) two (4 fish)
were by great-line, nineteen (22 fish) by trawl, three by seine,
one by drift-net, eight from strandings. In one instance the
method of capture was not ascertained. The scarcity of great-
line records when compared with those of 1951, in which some
interesting line catches of this species were made west of Ireland
and Scotland, is probably due rather to the absence of Aberdeen
liners from the western grounds during the latter half of the
year than to any marked change in the behaviour or distribu-
tion of the shoals.

Thirty-one of the records given above were from home
waters and of these only two were from grounds outwith the
North Sea. Thus twenty-nine records (32 fish) were derived
from the North Sea within the Shetland-Orkney boundary line.
This is the largest number so far listed by the Marine Labora-
tory from the North Sea in any year and even allowing for the
possible effect of improved reporting as compared with previous

1953

RARE AND EXOTIC FISHES

147

Date

Position

Method of
Capture

Length
(1 cm .)

Sex

Aug. 15

S.W. of Sydero, Faroe
♦Bill Bailey’s Bank

Trawl

Great-line

56*5

M

* Faroe Bank

Great-line

60*4

M

Oct. 13

20/ E. Flugga

Trawl

—

—

16

120' N.E. X N. Buchanness

Trawl

54*°

F

*100' N.E. Buchanness

Trawl

/ 58'5
\6i*o

F

M

17

96/1 1 o' N.E.^N. to E.N.E. Aberdeen

Trawl

587

F

21

15/20' S.E. Fair Isle

Trawl

52*8

F

28

7' E. Outer Skerries

Trawl

57*5

F

29

10' E.S.E. Aberdeen

Trawl

56-0

—

3i

12/15' N.N.E. Flugga

Trawl

—

Nov. 5

*14' E.S.E. Sumburgh Head

Trawl

—

—

*110' N.E. X N. Buchanness

Trawl

—

—

6

Dunby Rock, Cruden Bay

Seine

—

—

7

Off Montrose

Seine

59*o

—

8

N. of Peterhead

Stranded

54*8

—

Whitehills, Banffshire

Stranded

55*o

—

9

Harbour of Refuge, Peterhead

Stranded

57*2

—

1 1

45' S. X E. Aberdeen

Trawl

54*o

M

*3

52' S. X E. Aberdeen

Trawl

55*7

M

14

14' S.E. X E. Bell Rock

Trawl

57-5

F

Old North Harbour, Peterhead

Stranded

58*5

M

18

Granton Harbour

Stranded

' —

3' N.E. Tolsta Head, Lewis

Drift-net

55*°

M

20

10' N.N.W. Flugga

Trawl

55*5

F

21

Stronsay, Orkney

Stranded

54*8

—

Fortrose

?

55*5

M

25

Burghead Harbour

Stranded

53*3

F

26

Burghead Bay

Trawl

58*4

M

29

30/37' E.S.E. Aberdeen

Trawl

—

Dec. 1

3' S. Golspie

Stranded

—

—

3

Off Montrose

Seine

—

—

6

12' S.E. Aberdeen

Trawl

—

—

9

15' N.E. Longstone Light

Trawl

58*o

F

years, the 1952 incursion by Ray’s bream must rank as one of
the heaviest on record. It is known, too, that the species was
also present in the southern North Sea. The Fishing News of
13th December 1952 reported — “Four Ray’s bream, only
rarely found in British waters, have washed ashore at Whitley
Bay recently. More of these fish have been found along the
Suffolk coast, where they were last recorded in 1850.”

Another feature of this year’s invasion has been its concen-
tration in a short period of time. With the exception of one in
mid-February 1953, not listed in this paper, all captures in
home waters were made between nth October and 9th
December.

148 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

Biological observations were recorded on all the fish
procured for examination. Of the 18 whose sex was deter-
mined, 9 were males and 9 females. Two of the fish taken in
August were in a spent condition but 1 3 of the others caught in
the last quarter appeared to be recovering from the effects of
spawning.

Twenty-four fish were measured and ranged from 52*8 to
61 -o cm. with an average length of 56-4 cm.

It has been suggested that the Ray’s bream does not feed in
the North Sea (Stephen 1928A). Examination of the stomachs
of fish brought to the Marine Laboratory in recent years,
however, shows that this is not always so. The stomachs of
nineteen of the present year’s captures were examined and of
these ten were empty. Two of the remaining nine contained
unrecognisable material but of the others four were feeding on
small fish and three on cephalopods. One of the fish-eaters
contained six sand eels and otoliths of a flatfish, another con-
tained two small fish, one of which was identified as a whiting,
the third contained a gadoid fish and the fourth otoliths. Two
of the three feeding on cephalopods contained small specimens
resembling Sepiola.

Various parasites were found in the fish procured for
dissection, and for the identification of these we are indebted to
Mr. S. Prudhoe of the staff of the British Museum (Natural
History). They include encysted larval Phyllobothriid tape-
worms on the gill-rakers, encysted larvae of a Didymozoid
trematode, Kollikeria jilicollis , from the gills and plerocercoid
larvae of the tapeworm Gymnorhynchus gigas from the muscles.
The last-named parasite is a rather unusual form, which
pervades the muscle tissue with a much elongated tail portion,
from a well-defined bladder-like head region. Occasionally
one side of the fish only is affected but more frequently both
sides are parasitised by one or more worms up to a maximum
of four. This parasite appears to be common in the Ray’s
bream reaching Scottish waters; it was identified in seventeen
out of the eighteen fish dissected for that purpose.

Mullus surmuletus L. — Red mullet

Fourteen records including eighteen fish were obtained
during the year.

J953

RARE AND EXOTIC FISHES

149

With the exception of the first three all were obtained from
coastal waters extending from Troup Head to the Isle of May,
and of these east coast records all but one were obtained in the
last quarter of the year. These records, which resemble earlier
records as regards time and place of capture (Thompson 1918),
suggest a movement of red mullet from the southern North Sea
into Scottish coastal waters which may have begun as early as
August (see record no. 4), but which certainly reached a peak
in the last quarter.

Date

Position

Method of
Capture

Length

(cm.)

Sex

Jan. 8

Loch Fyne

Seine

22*5

_

Feb. 26

22" E. X S. Bard Head

Seine

26*4

F

Aug. 6

Between Bressay and Sandwick

Seine

—

—

13

5' E.N.E. Scurdy Ness

Seine

25*4

F

Oct. 10

*6/8' S.E. X S. Scurdy Ness
1 o' E.N.E. May Isle

Trawl

—

29

Trawl

34*5

F

Nov. 12

South of Tod Head

Trawl

29*5

F

14

6' S.E. Scurdy Ness

Trawl

34*o

F

15

Off Troup Head
30' S. X E. Aberdeen

Seine

—

22

Trawl

31-8

F

Dec. 3

J6' E. Scurdy Ness

Trawl

—

6

30' S. X E. Aberdeen
30' S.S.E. Aberdeen

Trawl

—

—

13

Trawl

—

—

27

*7/9' N.N.E. Kinnaird Head

Trawl

—

i

* denotes 2 fish; f denotes 3 fish.

Spondyliosoma cantharus (Gmelin) — Black Bream or Old Wife

A single specimen of this very rare species for Scottish waters
was caught by trawl 25 miles S.JW. from Aberdeen on nth
December. The fish was 29-6 cm. long.

Labrus mixtus L. — Cuckoo Wrasse

A small female of 14 cm. was taken by a research vessel off
Copinsay, Orkney, on 17th July. Two specimens, both males,
were trawled 40 miles N. x W.JW. from Rattray Head on 8th
August, thus roughly coinciding both as regards place and time
with similar records a year ago.

Three young fish of 13, 15, and 18 cm. were caught in a
beach seine in Loch Seaforth, Lewis, on 21st November.

150 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

Trachinus draco L. — Greater Weever

Although the lesser weever T. vipera is a common inhabitant
of certain east coast bays, the greater weever is a rare fish in
Scottish waters. It is interesting, therefore, to record the
capture by seine-net of a specimen 31*3 cm. in length at a
position 45 miles S.E. x S. of Bressay Light, Shetland, on 7th
August.

Aphanopus carbo Lowe — Black Scabbard-fish

Two specimens of this southern deep-water species were
caught by great-line 50 miles N.W. of the Butt of Lewis in
mid-July. Only the head of one fish was retrieved but the
other measured 98 cm.

Thunnus thynnus (L.)- — Tunny

Between 14th and 25th August four tunny were landed at
Aberdeen by trawlers operating on the Fladen and adjacent
grounds, 82 to 120 miles E.N.E. from Aberdeen. The fish were
from 7 to 9 feet in length (213 to 274 cm.).

Although the tunny is a comparatively rare visitor to
Scottish coastal waters, considerable numbers regularly invade
the North Sea every summer and autumn, where they prey
upon the herring shoals in the central region from the Fladen
Ground to the Dogger Bank. The odd specimens landed by
Scottish vessels give no indication of the magnitude of the tunny
invasion, which, judging from reports of the activities of foreign
tunny fishermen, must have been of considerable proportions
in 1952.

Anarhichas latifrons Steenstrup and Hallgrimsson — Jelly-cat

This deep-water northern fish is frequently caught by great-
liners in Icelandic and Greenland waters and by trawlers in the
Barents and Norwegian Seas. According to Saemundsson
(1949) it is not found at the Faroes although specimens have
occasionally been caught in the northern North Sea (William-
son, 1910 and Stephen, 1928B). It is therefore interesting to
record the capture of two specimens by great-line, the first on
the Viking Bank in June, the second S.W.JS. from the Munken
Rock, Faeroe, in August. No particulars were received of the

1953

RARE AND EXOTIC FISHES

!5r

former fish but the latter, taken at a depth of over 550 metres,
was identified as an immature female of 76 cm. length.

Fierasfer dentatus Cuvier — Pearl-fish

On the 30th August the research vessel Explorer trawled two
specimens of this fish at a position 6o° 04' N. i° 30' E. in 115
metres. These measured 25 and 27 cm.

Mugil chelo Cuvier — Thick-lipped Grey Mullet

On 8th July a specimen, 32 cm. long, was taken in a salmon
bag-net on the north shore of Loch Broom.

Mola mold (L.)* — S unfish

Five records were obtained during the year as follows:

June —
July 8
July 10
r. July 23
July 25

Southern Minch, between Mallaig and Barra.
Burra Haaf, Shetland.

Rockall Bank.

6o' N.W. Sule Skerry.

Dunnet Bay (research vessel).

All five fish were observed at the surface but only one (no. 4)
was secured. This fish was gaffed by the crew of a drifter
liner. Details noted included the length 187 cm., from tip to
tip of the fins 222 cm., weight 6 cwt. or approximately 305 kg.

Two crustacean parasites from the gills were identified by
Dr. J. H. Fraser of this laboratory as a male and a female of
Cecrops Idtreillei.

These five fish constitute one of the highest totals for the
sunfish in any single year in the Scottish records and may be
regarded as indicating a relatively high concentration in home
waters. Although no Scottish record was obtained from the
North Sea a newspaper reported the occurrence of a large
specimen near Yarmouth towards the end of the year.

The remarkable features of the Scottish rare fish records in
1952 are:

1. The heavy invasion of the North Sea by Ray’s bream
with its main concentration round the Scottish east coast in a
period of two months ending 9th December.

2. The presence in the last quarter of the year of southern
forms such as red mullet, sting ray and eagle ray in greater

1 52

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol 65

numbers than usual on Scottish east coast grounds. The
positions of capture of these fish were mostly to the south of
Aberdeen, thus suggesting a movement northwards from the
southern North Sea.

3. The presence in the northern North Sea of a few northern
deep-water forms such as the jelly-cat ( Anarhichas latifrons ),
blue ling, dealfish and ribbon-fish.

4. A penetration of sunfish in June and July into waters off
the western shores from the South Minch to Shetland.

5. The number of sharks recorded including the exceptional
haul of six-gilled sharks.

The 1952 list contains thirty different species of fish as
against twenty-eight (including Chimaera recorded in this
paper) in 1951. Only fifteen species are common to both lists
thus revealing a marked change in the individual species listed.
In only one major respect do the two years bear any resem-
blance. This is in the prominence in both years of Ray’s bream
but even in this common feature they differ quite markedly as
regards the distribution of the records both in time and place,
although in one respect this may be due to the incidence of the
fishery. It is clear too that the degree of penetration of the
North Sea was far stronger, at least in the area fished by
Scottish vessels, in 1952 than in 1951. In other respects the
two years show some remarkable differences. In 1951 the
outstanding features in addition to Ray’s bream were the
numbers of sturgeon, electric rays and extremely rare summer
visitors from southern waters. Territorially the emphasis of
the 1951 records was on the south-western coast. In 1952 none
of these features was repeated; instead the list shows the pre-
dominant species to have been certain sharks and sunfishes,
mainly in the north-western region; red mullet, sting ray and
eagle ray which probably reached the Scottish area from the
southern North Sea; a few deep-water northern forms which
penetrated the northern North Sea.

REFERENCES

Cooper, L. H. N., 1952. The boar fish, Capros aper (L.), as a possible
biological indicator of water movement. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K.,
3I: 35i-362.

ig53 RARE AND EXOTIC FISHES 153

Goode, G. B. and T. H. Bean, 1895. Oceanic ichthyology. Special Bull.
U.S. Nat. Mus., Washington.

Holt, E. W. L. and W. L. Calderwood, 1895. Survey of fishing grounds,
west coast of Ireland, 1890-91. Report on the rarer fishes. Sci.
Trans. R. Dublin Soc., 5 (Ser. 2) : 361-512.

Norman, J. R., 1935. List of British Vertebrates : Fishes. London, British
Museum (Natural History) .

Saemundsson, B., 1949. Marine Pisces. The Z0°l°gy °f Iceland, 4, pt. 72.
Copenhagen and Reykjavik.

Smitt, F. A., 1895. A history of Scandinavian fishes. Stockholm.

Stephen, A. C., 1928A. The recent immigration of Ray’s bream to
Scottish waters. Scot. Nat., 1928: 28.

■ 1928B. A rare catfish ( Anarrhichas latifrons ), off the Shetland Isles.

Scot. Nat., 1928: 95.

Thomson, D’Arcy W., 1918. The scarcer fishes of the Aberdeen market.
Scot. Nat., 1918: 66.

Williamson, H. C., 1910. Occurrence of Anarrhichas latifrons in the North
Sea. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1910: 120-12 1.

20

154

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

FRACTURED EARBONES OF BLUE WHALES *

F. C. Fraser and P. E. Purves
British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London

•

In a paper entitled “ Recherches sur l’appareil auditif chez
les mammiferes 55 Beauregard (1894) gives an explanation for
the accessory sacs of the middle ear in Cetacea. His hypo-
thesis is to the effect that the voluminous air sinuses rich in
blood vessels seem well adapted to provide for the numerous
changes in pressure which result from an aquatic environment.
He says that under very great pressures which are produced
when the animal dives, these sacs, for the most part membran-
ous, are only a virtual cavity. The walls collapse and the air
which they contain is forced into the tympanic bulla where
the very thick osseous walls are not affected. This air thus
accumulated makes equilibrium with the outside pressure.

Turner (1912) and Van Deinse (1938) respectively, figure
and describe the tympanic bullae of two blue whales ( Balae -
noptera musculus). Both of these specimens indicate that
ventrally they had sustained extensive comminuted fractures
which had been partly repaired during the life-time of the
animals to which they had belonged. Turner’s specimen is
shown in figures 1 and 2, and in general Van Deinse’s is
similar in nature although not so extensively damaged.

Turner did not give an explanation of the cause of the
damage done to the specimen briefly described by him in his
catalogue of the marine mammals in the Anatomical Museum
of the University of Edinburgh. Van Deinse’s explanation is
that the damage was due to a heavy blow with a sharp object,
for instance a rocky projection or an ice-floe. He discounts
the possibility of its having been caused by a ship’s propeller.

Both specimens were from blue whales and at all events
Turner’s indicates from the quality of the bone that it belonged
to an adult animal. It does not seem probable to us that the
fracture in either instance could have been caused by the

* Received 25th. May 1953

[ To face page 1 54.

1953

FRACTURED EARBONES OF BLUE WHALES

155

impact on the bulla of an object entering the animal’s body
from outside. The tympanic bulla is situated remotely from
the external surface of the body and protected either by massive
bone or very thick soft tissue. Thus above it is the whole
depth of the cranium ; laterally from it the whole width of the
squamosal extends for about three feet; medially it is protected
by the pterygoid and ventrally by the musculature of the tongue
and the hyoid apparatus, besides by the thick fatty ventral
groove region of the throat. Lillie (1915) points out that the
tympanic cavity is separated from the pharynx by nearly a foot
of tissue. The ramus of the lower jaw would also afford an
effective barrier. In order to make impact on the bulla any
solid object would have to traverse a region of the throat
richly supplied with major blood vessels and the likelihood of
this happening without lethal effect seems very remote.

It may be argued that the damage could be produced by a
pressure wave transmitted from the surface of the animals’
body to the bone, but the fact that the tympanic bullae from
animals killed by explosive harpoons are not known to become
damaged indicates the improbability of this sort of cause being
effective.

In normal circumstances the thick osseous walls of the
bulla and the functioning of the blood vessels associated with
the pneumatic sinuses are sufficient to withstand changes in
pressure, but if the functioning of the blood vessels is impeded,
pressure differences would arise between the outside and the
inside of the bulla which if sufficiently great could cause
fracture of the bone.

Foreign bodies such as otoliths and frequently an abund-
ance of nematode worms are found in the air sacs of cetaceans.
Either of these cases could, potentially, produce a disruptive
effect on the normal functioning of the pressure regulating
mechanism. Whether in fact they do so is obviously problem-
atical but an explanation of the fractured ear bones which can
be related to Beauregard’s hypothesis seems more tenable than
one involving the impact on the bulla of some solid object.

We should like to express our thanks to Professor Brash,
Department of Anatomy, University of Edinburgh, for the loan
of the specimen from the Anatomical Museum.

i56

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

REFERENCES

Beauregard, H., 1894. Recherches sur l’appareil auditif chez les mammi-
feres. Journ . Anat. Physiol ., 30: 366-413, pis. and figs.

Lillie, D. G., 1915. Cetacea. Brit. Antarct. (Terra Nova) Exped. 1910,
Nat. Hist. Rep., ^ool., 1, no. 3: 85-124, pis. and figs.

Turner, Wm., 1912. The marine mammals in the Anatomical Museum of the
University of Edinburgh. Pp. xv + 207, pi. and figs. London,
Macmillan.

Van Deinse, A. B., 1938. Regeneration von einer Bulla Ossea einer
Balaenoptera musculus. Arch. Neerland. /pool., 1 1 1 : 27-34, 3 figs.

Postscript to the Frigate-bird record (see p. 193)

Since we went to press M. Noel Mayaud has provided us with
a number of interesting facts about frigate-birds recorded in France.
Among the Louis Bureau manuscripts, which passed after that
great ornithologist’s death into his hands, are notes stating that
the La Rochelle specimen was a male (elsewhere the sex is said
not to have been ascertained), with the culmen 105 mm. (and thus
very likely to have been rothschildi) ; further, that it was killed on
30th December 1900. The previously accepted date, given (years
afterwards) by the man who actually shot the bird, is March 1902.
Both parties are agreed that it was a tempestuous day. The skin,
mounted with wings outstretched, was given to La Rochelle
Museum in 1906, but it was already in a bad state, and little more
than the head could be saved to be preserved until the present time.

A previous example, also assigned to rothschildi, was taken near
the inland town of Saumur in October 1852. It is still extant.
From its all-black plumage it may be presumed to be a male, with
the wings 615 and 620 mm., longest rectrix 415 mm., and bill 107
mm. These measurements, as M. Mayaud points out to us, leave
no grounds for doubting its identification with F. m. rothschildi,
since it is too small for F. m. magnificens and too large for any form
of F. minor , F. arid or F. aquila (cf. the statements in Brit. Birds., 47:
59, January 1954). From it was collected a specimen of the same
hippoboscid fly as the one recorded here on page 194 on the Tiree
bird ; at the time it was given a new name, now a synonym of spinifera.

Some of this information may be found in Mayaud, 1936,
Inventaire des Oiseaux de France, pages 12, 169-172.

In 1937 G. Durand, the well-known ornithologist of Vendee,
reported that at about the same time as the La Rochelle record,
namely 1900-02, a decomposed frigate-bird was washed up at Les
Sables d’Olonne, Vendee; but, to his lasting regret, he omitted
to preserve even so much as the skull! (See Mayaud, Alauda,
1938: 336.) There must remain some doubt as to the exact

identity of this bird. — Editors.

*953

NOTES ON BIRDS OF FLANNAN ISLES

157

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE FLANNAN ISLES *

Dougal G. Andrew and Gerard L. Sandeman
Edinburgh

In 1951 we spent four days, from 20th to 23rd July, on Eilean
Mor, the largest of the group of small cliff-bound islands
known as the Flannans, lying 20 miles west of Gallan Head on
the west coast of Lewis and 40 miles north-east of St. Kilda.
The Flannans fall into three clearly defined groups. The
eastern group comprises the two largest islands — Eilean Mor
(on which a lighthouse was constructed in 1899) and Eilean
Tigh — and two fair-sized stacks — Lamha Sgeir Mor and
Lamha Sgeir Beag. A mile to the south of Eilean Mor lies
the southern group, consisting of Soray, Sgeir Toman and
Sgeir Righinr. Roareim, Eilean a Gobha and Bronna Cleit
form the western group and lie 2 miles to the west of Eilean
. Mor. Full descriptions of these islands are readily accessible
elsewhere.4’ 7’ 13j 14 Apart from the lighthouse on Eilean Mor,
there is no evidence that any of the Flannans have ever been
inhabited.

Published records of visits by ornithologists are few. On
nth June 1881, Dr. J. A. Harvie-Brown’s party landed for a
few minutes on Eilean Tigh.11* 13 Twenty years later Dr. W.
Eagle Clarke was receiving migration schedules from the light-
keepers on Eilean Mor and in 1904 he and T. G. Laidlaw spent
16 days on the island, from 6th to 21st September.6’ 7 Al-
though chiefly interested in migration, they also discovered
that a flourishing colony of Leach’s petrels bred on the island —
one of the only four known extant colonies in Britain. The
next visitor *j* was Malcolm Stewart who apparently landed on
most of the islands of the group in the course of two visits in
August 1 932. 14 Though not an ornithologist, he published a
valuable paper on the status of the various petrels on these

* Received 2 6th May 1953

f The Duchess of Bedford landed in the Flannans on 15th June 1907, and
her notes were published in A.S.JV.H., 1908: 6. — Editors.

158 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

islands.15 Finally, in 1937 Robert Atkinson and J. A. Ainslie
stayed on Eilean Mor for 4 days from 21st to 24th July.3’ 4
This paper is an attempt to collate the published observations
on the breeding birds of the Flannans and to draw attention
to the changes that have taken place during the past 70 years.

The following birds have, at one time or another, been
recorded as breeding on the Flannans:

Leach’s Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa. First discovered by
Eagle Clarke in 1904 who found them 44 abundant, more so
than the Storm-Petrel ”, which in turn he described as breeding
44 in abundance ”. Stewart in 1932 was told by the light-
keepers that some forty pairs of Leach’s petrels were breeding,
being 44 confined chiefly to the area of high ground near the
flag staff”. If correct, this estimate suggests an appreciable
decrease since Eagle Clarke’s day, but it must be regarded as
suspect for, only 5 years after Stewart’s visit, Atkinson and
Ainslie estimated the breeding population on Eilean Mor at
an absolute minimum of 200 pairs and were told by the light-
keepers that the birds were increasing. In 1951 our impression
was that somewhere between 250 and 400 pairs were breeding
on the island. Some indication of the size of the colony may
be obtained from our ringing figures. We ringed 114 adults
and 9 young birds, representing some seventy-five pairs, and
never refound a ringed bird. Atkinson and Ainslie 5 have given
a map showing the location of the various breeding colonies
on Eilean Mor, and reference to this provides further evidence
that an increase is still taking place. Leach’s petrels now
breed almost the whole length of the northern cliff-tops
(between colonies 1 and 5 on map) and colonies 1 and 2 have
now merged together. Birds are also at least prospecting, if
not actually breeding, along the slopes to the west of the East
Landing and below the railway.

Nests were found either by 44 scent ” during the day or by
listening for the underground 4 4 reeling ” note at night. The
first method almost always resulted in the finding of a young
bird up to about a week old (indicating that laying commenced
about the last week of May), the second in the finding of a
courting pair on an empty nest or, on two occasions, a courting
pair with a young bird. We very seldom found eggs, which
rather suggests that there might be a slackening off in breeding

1953 NOTES ON BIRDS OF FLANNAN ISLES 159

activity during the light nights of midsummer, the later birds
delaying operations until the return of darker nights in July.
This explanation would also account for the extraordinarily pro-
tracted breeding season of this species, unfledged young birds
having been found on the Flannans in November and in the
Faeroes in December. Williamson,16 dealing with the colony
on Mykines in the Faeroes, has also considered the possible
effect of the light midsummer nights on the petrels5 breeding
cycle. On the other hand, Gross 10 describes an equally pro-
tracted breeding season from islands in the Bay of Fundy at
much lower latitudes where the light nights of midsummer
cannot be an operative factor.

Ainslie and Atkinson 1 have described the breeding habits
of Leach’s petrel, based on their work on North Rona. In a
subsequent paper 2 they drew attention to certain discrepancies
between their findings and those of Gross 10 in America. To
these may be added the following:

1. The breeding season starts in the last week of May in
Britain, but not till the first or second week of June in
America.

2. Colonies are decreasing fast in America, while all the
evidence points to an increase on this side of the Atlantic,5
especially in the Faeroes.16

3. Night activity seems to be much more restricted by light
nights in America than in this country.

4. Gross recognises only one “ purring ” note which, he says,
is the mating call and is only heard from the same burrow
on one night during the breeding season. British observers
do not seem to have commented on this statement, but we
heard this note so often from so many burrows that we
cannot believe that its use is confined to a single annual
mating ceremony. Moreover, on two occasions we heard
this note from burrows which proved to contain a young
bird in addition to the courting adults.

Till 1951 Leach’s petrels had been proved to breed on
Eilean Mor alone of the Flannans group. We are indebted to
Mr. Kenneth Donald of the Mairi Dhonn for the information
that he landed on Eilean Tigh in late May 1951 and dug out

160 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

two petrels “ with tails like herrings 55 from their burrows,
which each contained an egg. The description leaves no doubt
that the birds were Leach’s petrels, and in any event the date
is too early for storm-petrels to have laid. It may be inferred
that considerable numbers are breeding on Eilean Tigh as the
nests were found very quickly.

Storm-Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus. Harvie-Brown heard
of this species as breeding on the Flannans and Eagle Clarke in
1904 described it as very numerous, breeding “ on Eilean Mor,
and probably on the other islands, in abundance ”, though not
so abundant as Leach’s petrel. Stewart in 1932 was told that
£C Stormy petrels though known were not so common as the
Leach’s ”, and Atkinson found them much less numerous than
Leach’s but mentions a colony in one of the ruined bothies.
We could find only two nests, and the present breeding
population on Eilean Mor probably lies between ten and forty
pairs. It seems probable that there has been a decrease since
Eagle Clarke’s day. It may well be that the birds are being
pushed out by the larger Leach’s petrels, which also have the
advantage of an earlier breeding season. Similar develop-
ments appear to have taken place at Mykines in the Faeroes.16

Manx Shearwater Procellaria puffinus. Harvie-Brown was
told that this species bred on the Flannans but this has never
been confirmed. Certainly none breed on or within earshot
of Eilean Mor (which should include Eilean Tigh), but it is
not impossible that there may be colonies on the more remote
islands of the group.

Fulmar Petrel Fulmarus glacialis. This species has been
surprisingly slow to colonise the Flannans considering the
proximity of the old-established colony on St. Kilda. It was
not until 1902 that eggs were taken on the western islands and
two pairs nested on Eilean Mor for the first time in 1904. 12
Fisher’s statement 9 that in this year fulmars were nesting in
considerable numbers on Eilean Mor is presumably a mis-
reading of the contemporary evidence. In 1932 Stewart saw
plenty of fulmars but none actually nesting, though he was told
that a few bred on the more inaccessible cliffs. In 1937
fulmars were again described as “ curiously scarce; not more
than ten pairs were nesting on Eilean Mor ”. In July 1942
Fisher flew over the group and “ found them very widespread,

1953 NOTES ON BIRDS OF FLANNAN ISLES 161

nesting on the two islands of the lighthouse group, on the two
biggest skerries in the west group, and on three rocks in the
south group ”. After another aerial survey four years later,
when he found them disposed on exactly the same rocks, he
estimated the total population at 100-1,000 pairs.9 We found
at least thirty pairs nesting on the cliffs of Eilean Mor. There
was a flourishing colony of fifty pairs on the flat top of Lamha
Sgeir Mor and another thirty to forty pairs on Lamha Sgeir
Beag, while many more could be seen sitting on Eilean Tigh.
A minimum of 200 pairs would probably be a safe estimate for
the islands of the eastern group. The birds are clearly
increasing fast, and one pair on Eilean Mor had taken over a
ravens’ nest of the previous year.

Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo. Harvi e-Brown saw <e about
three or four pairs ” on Bronna Cleit. Eagle Clarke, in his
earlier account of the birds of the Elannans, records at third
hand that eggs had been taken on one of the outer islands,6 but
it may be significant that he does not mention this record in
his later account. 7 Subsequent visitors have not recorded this
species and it is not likely that it still breeds — if, indeed, it
ever did.

Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis. Harvie-Brown found this
species common in all suitable places. There is no reason to
suppose that any change has taken place, but most of the
broods had fledged by the time of our visit.

Eider-Duck Somateria mollissima. Harvie-Brown found one
nest on Eilean Tigh and considered that the birds were “ prob-
ably dispersed over the islands in some numbers Eagle
Clarke describes the eider as breeding commonly on some of
the islands though disappearing in winter ; birds were “very
numerous ” during his visit in September. Since then there
seems to have been a marked decrease. We never saw more
than four birds at a time, and Atkinson does not mention the
species at all.

Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus. Harvie-Brown records
the taking of eggs and a young bird in June 1879 (island not
specified) and a pair was nesting on the western group in 1904.
We saw no signs of the species, nor does Atkinson mention it.
The light-keepers knew the bird only as an occasional visitor,
and it seems probable that the peregrines no longer breed on

21

1 62 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

the group though there is no apparent reason for their dis-
appearance.

Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus. Eagle Clarke records that :
while the lighthouse was being built, a nest was found near
the Blessing House by workmen and the eggs taken for food.
There have been no subsequent breeding records.

Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. “ A few pairs
observed and eggs taken on Eilean Tigh 55 (Harvie-Brown).
On Eilean Mor, Eagle Clarke was told that several pairs bred,
and Atkinson records two pairs as nesting there. Five birds
were present during our visit and their behaviour suggested
that there was at least one pair with young.

Greater Black-backed Gull Larus marinus. Harvie-
Brown saw this species on Bronna Cleit, Eilean a Gobha and
Eilean Tigh and considered that one or two pairs bred on every
island. Two pairs were recorded as breeding on Eilean Mor
and a few on the other islands by Eagle Clarke. In 1937 and
again during our visit only about half a dozen individuals were
to be seen and they certainly no longer breed on Eilean Mor.
The scarcity of this and other species of gulls must largely
account for the abundance of puffins and petrels. In this
respect the Elannans make interesting comparison with North
Rona where a smaller colony of puffins supports 500 pairs of
greater black-backs.8

Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus juscus. Harvie-Brown
found “ a few hundred pairs in all ”, scattered over the whole
group, and specifies a few on Eilean a Gobha and Bronna Cleit
and a colony on Eilean Tigh. The Eilean Tigh colony was
again mentioned by Eagle Clarke, but none were then breeding
on Eilean Mor. A drastic reduction has clearly taken place for
Atkinson records only half a dozen birds in 1937 and we never
saw one.

Herring-Gull Larus argentatus. Harvie-Brown describes
this species as “ fairly common on the Flannans 55 and mentions
a good many on Bronna Cleit and Eilean a Gobha. In 1904
six pairs were said to breed on Eilean Mor and many on the
more secluded islands of the group. Atkinson found about
twenty pairs in 1937 but saw no young gulls. We saw up to
half a dozen herring-gulls over Eilean Mor but they no longer
breed there.

1953 NOTES ON BIRDS OF FLANNAN ISLES 163

Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. Much of the cliff-face on the
Flannans is unsuitable for ledge-nesting birds and this and
the two following species tend to be concentrated in definite
colonies. On Eilean Mor kittiwakes nest chiefly round the
West Landing inlet, in the East Geo and, in smaller numbers,
near the East Landing. There is a good-sized colony on
Lamha Sgeir Beag — probably the “ stack close to Eilean Mor 35
where Harvi e-Brown noted a considerable colony in 1881.
He also found scattered colonies on the north side of Eilean
Mor (where a few pairs still breed in the deep geos), on the
south side of Soray and on a skerry near the landing place on
Eilean Tigh, which appears to be Hamasgeir.

Razorbill Alca tor da. Breeds in considerable numbers,

but many young had fledged by the time of our visit. We
ringed five young birds, two of which were shot the following
winter in South Norway. The razorbills of the Flannans
evidently have the same movements as those of Handa.17

Guillemot Uria aalge. Many young birds had undoubtedly
departed before our arrival. On Eilean Mor, the only big
colony was on the fine pyramidal stack off the west headland.
Smaller numbers nest round the West Landing, in the East
Geo and in the most westerly of the geos in the north coast.
Harvie-Brown mentions other colonies on both east and west
ends of Eilean Tigh and on the south side of either Lamha
Sgeir Mor or Lamha Sgeir Beag.

A count of 500 birds showed 82 of them to be bridled — a
percentage of 16.4.

Puffin Fratercula arctica. Breeds in vast numbers, both on
Eilean Mor and Eilean Tigh, though Harvie-Brown found it
comparatively scarce on the latter island. Perhaps the con-
struction of the lighthouse and the introduction of rabbits
(which apparently took place shortly after Eagle Clarke’s visit)
caused a slight redistribution of the population. We ringed
about 400 birds, both old and young, in a quite restricted area
and never refound a ringed bird. None of these has so far
been recovered.

Raven Corvus corax. Not mentioned at all by Harvie-
Brown. One pair was nesting on the outer islands in 1904
and two pairs were breeding on the group in 1937. Two pairs
were said to be breeding at the time of our visit though we

1 64 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

never saw more than a party of three. The birds do not
normally nest on Eilean Mor, but in 1950 a pair had nested
in the narrow precipitous geo on the east side of that island.
The nest was taken over by a fulmar in 1951.

Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe. Not mentioned in Harvie-
Brown’s list but Eagle Clarke records four pairs as nesting on
Eilean Mor. We found no evidence that they were still
breeding, nor apparently did Atkinson in 1937, but the birds
could have bred and left the islands by mid-July.

Meadow-Pipit Anthus protensis. Atkinson in 1937 was told
that several meadow-pipits nested annually though he saw
none himself, nor did we see any in 1951. The Duchess of
Bedford noted meadow-pipits on her visit in June 1907, and
it seems probable that this species has bred on the islands
from time to time.

Rock-Pipit Anthus spinolettu . Harvie-Brown and Eagle

Clarke found this species common on Eilean Tigh and Eilean
Mor respectively. Its present status on Eilean Mor is the same.
Eagle Clarke commented on the remarkable tameness of the
birds on Eilean Mor, but we were not struck by this. One
bird with fledged young was seen to be feeding them on small
fish that had obviously been dropped by puffins.

Starling Sturnus vulgaris. At the time of Eagle Clarke’s
visit starlings were known as migrants only, but in 1937
Atkinson found a flock on Eilean Mor and noted that a pair
had bred in the Chapel. We found between thirty and fifty
birds on the island and also found evidence of nesting in the
Chapel. These birds were said to be resident on the group.

Twite Carduelis fiavirostris. This species is mentioned
only by Eagle Clarke who was told that it was a summer
visitor to the islands and that two pairs bred on Eilean Mor.

The changes that have taken place during the past 70 years
may be briefly summarised as follows: On the credit side
starlings and fulmars have been acquired as new breeding
species and the latter at least are still on the increase, Leach’s
petrels, too, seem to be increasing though the extent of this
increase is difficult to assess owing to the birds’ nocturnal
habits. It is less easy to generalise about decreases as there is

ig53 NOTES ON BIRDS OF FLANNAN ISLES 165

no recent information from the remoter islands of the group,
but it seems probable that wheatear and peregrine have ceased
to breed, and the same may be said for the lesser black-backed
gull which at one time was relatively abundant. Whimbrel,
meadow-pipit and twite certainly no longer breed. It is very
doubtful if either cormorants or manx shearwaters are still
breeding, but the old records for these two species are not
wholly satisfactory. There seems to have been a decrease in
the numbers of storm-petrel, eider, greater black-backed
gull and herring-gull. The other breeding species appear
to have remained fairly stable in numbers though in the
case of the auks the numbers involved are so enormous
that even a considerable fluctuation might very well pass
undetected.*

Migrants. Eagle Clarke has compiled an imposing list
of the migrants that have been recorded at the Elannans.7
Three migrants appeared during our stay — a skylark Alauda
arvensis and a wheatear on 21st July, and a whimbrel Numenius
phaeopus on the following day. On the 23rd a turnstone
Arenaria interpres flew past the boat about 5 miles off' the
Flannans apparently heading south-west.

Our grateful thanks are due to Mr. George Clark and the
crew of the Mairi Dhonn for taking us to and from the Elannans,
and to the light-keepers on Eilean Mor for their very generous
hospitality during our stay on the island. We are particularly
indebted to Mr. Alec Tulloch who took an active interest in
the birds of the Elannans during his tour of duty there and
gave us invaluable assistance in the field.

* Since the preparation of this article, we have been interested to read T. B.
Bagenal’s account of the birds on St. Kilda in 1952 (pp. 19-24 of this volume),
and to note that some of the trends mentioned above — notably the apparent
loss of the peregrine, lesser black-backed gull and wheatear as breeding species —
have been closely paralleled on St. Kilda. Eiders, on the other hand, have
increased considerably on St. Kilda during the past twenty years. The same
period has seen a big increase in starlings, but on St. Kilda this has probably
been directly due to a steady increase in the sheep population since the evacuation
of the island in 1931. Sheep have been grazed on the Flannans from time im-
memorial, but it was not until the lighthouse was built that starlings stayed to
breed on the islands.

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

166

REFERENCES

1. Ainslie, J. A. and R. Atkinson, 1937. On the breeding habits of

Leach’s fork-tailed petrel. Brit. Birds, 30: 234-248.

2. 1937. On the breeding habits of Leach’s fork-tailed petrel: a

supplementary note on American observations. Brit. Birds, 30:
276-277.

3. Atkinson, R., 1938. Natural history notes from certain Scottish

islands. Scot. Nat., 1938: 146-147.

4. 1949. Island Going : 159-176. London.

5. and J. A. Ainslie, 1940. The British breeding status of Leach’s

fork-tailed petrel. Brit. Birds, 34: 50-55.

6. Clarke, W. Eagle, 1905. The birds of the Flannan Islands. Ann.

Scot. Nat. Hist., 1905: 8-19 and 80-86.

7. I9I2. Studies in Bird Migration, Vol. 2: 250-285. London.

8. Darling, F. Fraser, 1947. Natural History in the Highlands and Islands :

197-206. London.

9. Fisher, James, 1952. The Fulmar : 209-210. London.

10. Gross, A. O., 1935. The life history of Leach’s petrel on the Outer

Sea Isles of the Bay of Fundy. Auk, 52: 382-399.

11. Harvie-Brown, J. A., 1882. Notes on a visit to the Flannan Isles,

Proc. Glasgow Nat. Hist. Soc., 1882: 197-209.

12. 1 9 1 2. The fulmar : its past and present distribution as a breeding

species in the British Isles. Scot. Nat., 1912: 127-128.

13. and T. E. Buckley, 1888. A Vertebrate Fauna of the Outer Hebrides.

Edinburgh.

14. Stewart, Malcolm, 1933. Ronay: 48-64. Oxford.

15. 1934- The status of petrels in certain remote Scottish islands.

Scot. Nat., 1934: 96-97.

16. Williamson, K., 1948. The Atlantic Islands: 180-185. London.

17. Witherby, H. F. et al., 1938. The Handbook of British Birds, Vol. 5:

147. London.

1953

LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND

167

LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND IN
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER, 1952

V. C. Wynne-Ed WARDS
Aberdeen

It has happened on many occasions, most often in the period
of the year between 25th September and 25th November, that
Leach’s fork-tailed petrels ( Oceanodroma l. leucorhoa ) have been
driven ashore by Atlantic gales, and have perished in consider-
able numbers in the British Isles and in other countries of
western Europe. The type locality of the species, from which
one of the three known specimens came when Vieillot described
it in 1817, is in Picardy on the Channel coast of France.

Until now the most severe of these disasters on record was
that which took place in the days following 26th September
1891. At that time reports were received from eighteen
counties of Ireland (E. Williams, Zoologist, 1891 : 469), and in
Scotland from a broad belt, extending north from the Borders
to Mull and Angus (W. Evans, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1892 : 74).

All previous records were certainly surpassed by the great
“ wreck 55 of 1952, during and after which Leach’s petrels are
known to have been seen alive or picked up dead, sometimes
in scores, in 24 of the 33 counties of Scotland (all except
Orkney, Banff, Fife, Kinross, East and West Lothian, Peebles,
Renfrew and Kirkcudbright).* They were just as widespread
and perhaps even more numerous in Ireland, England and
Wales, and were reported on the continent in Belgium
(L. Lippens, Gerfaut , 43 : 165), France south to the Pyrenees
(C. Jouanin, U Oiseau and R.F.O. , 22 : 322), and the Rhine
valley in Germany and Switzerland (E. Sutter, Orn. Beob ., 49 :
182). More than 500 birds are accounted for in the records
which follow, from Scotland alone ; and, considering that for
every one found there must have been many others which
perished and lay unseen, especially in woods and heather, the
destruction this figure represents is immense.

* Stormy petrels, though not Leach’s, were, however, reported from Orkney,
Peebles and Kirkcudbright.

1 68

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Though Leach’s petrels nest in a few places on our northern
and westernmost isles, and in Faeroe, Iceland and south
Greenland, their principal breeding strongholds are evidently
in eastern North America, from south Labrador and Newfound-
land to Nova Scotia and Maine. Gross estimates a breeding
population of over 27,000 pairs on five small islands at the
entrance to the Bay of Fundy alone [Auk, 52 : 383, 1935).
During eight North Atlantic crossings I made in May-
September 1933, when careful counts were kept, the combined
totals of Leach’s petrels seen were distributed as follows
(figures regrouped from Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 40 : 281,

1935) ;

Long. degs. West

West of 60

60-50

50-40

40-30

30-20

20-10

1 0-0

Number seen

7

c. 300

375

33

0

9

0

These figures, shown graphically in fig. 1, pertain chiefly to
the non-breeding summer population ; but there is no reason
to think that by the end of September or in October, when the
breeding birds and young have gone out to sea, the distribution
is very much different.

70 60 SO 30 20 10 0

60 50 UC 30 ZO I0_

Fig. 1 . Frequency of Leach’s petrels on steamer routes between the St. Lawrence
and English Channel in the summer months of 1933. The diagram consists of a
graph of the number of birds seen in each 1 o-degree sector, with the map as a

background.

1953 LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND 169

The post-nuptial moult continues during October, and
about the end of this month the birds mostly depart for the
tropical and south Atlantic, where the majority seem to winter.
Thus they escape the worst of the winter’s storms ; but in
occasional years they are overtaken by an early spell of severe
gales, with more or less serious results.

During high winds at sea, water is frequently blown in a
spray off the crests of the waves. Small birds like storm-petrels
have no means of maintaining a grip of the water : as they
reach the breaking wave-crest they must often themselves be
whipped off like a ball of fluff and carried through the air.
Whether they attempt to fly or to swim, therefore, they are
steadily forced down wind, in spite of their best efforts to hold
their position. It is probably for this reason that Wilson’s
petrel ( Oceanites oceanicus), a southern hemisphere breeder,
migrates north in April and May up the western side of the
Atlantic, to allow the maximum room for leeway when it
reaches the zone of temperate westerly winds, in which it
spends the northern summer. Even the large shearwaters
coming from the south, the greater and sooty ( Procellaria gravis
and grisea) , do the same.

It is interesting to consider why Leach’s petrel is particularly
vulnerable on these occasions, when there are two other storm-
petrels, namely Oceanites oceanicus and Hydrobates pelagicus , each
smaller and less robust than Leach’s, also present in the North
Atlantic in the summer six months. Of the Scottish records
of petrels in 1952, over 550 (it is impossible to give a precise
figure for reasons apparent in the lists which follow) were
Leach’s, and under 25 were stormy petrels ; there were no
Wilson’s.

In the case of Wilson’s, two important factors contributing
to its escape are its earlier southward migration date, and the
fact that even in the northern summer it never extends quite as
far north as the others. Observers are agreed that it starts
south in September and that few are left north of the tropics
by late October (Roberts, Sci. Rep. Brit. Graham Land Exp., 1 :
181, 1940). It is significant that the wreck of 1891, which
took place just over a month earlier than the present
one, brought to Scotland (Jura) its first and only recorded
Wilson’s petrel (H. Evans, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1892 : 18),

1 70 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

and to Ireland the only two ever recorded there (Williams,
loc. cit.).

With the stormy petrel the circumstances are rather
different. The last birds do not leave their nesting places
until about 1st November (Lockley, Brit. Birds , 25 : 206, 1932),
and, though they winter as far south as the Cape of Good
Hope (where they are sometimes blown ashore also ; see
van Oordt and Kruijt, Ibis , 95 : 618, 1953), some remain in
northern home waters. Yet the facts remain that in our 1952
records less than five per cent, of the petrels identified were
Hydrobates , and that a similar disproportion has been character-
istic of previous wrecks also.

The explanation in this case appears to be in part the
numerical rarity of Hydrobates pelagicus in our latitudes. In
British home waters it is of course the most numerous storm-
petrel ; but we are in the northern part of its breeding range,
which extends from Iceland and the Faeroes to the Mediter-
ranean. In my eight North Atlantic transects in 1933 the
total number seen between May and September was only
about 70, all but three of them (which were near mid-ocean)
being in the eastern half of the route followed. This compares
with a total of over 750 Leach’s, more than ten times the
number.

The wreck

The meteorological charts in the latter half of October
show an almost uninterrupted series of westerly gales over the
whole area. There is thus support for the view that the Leach’s
petrels were driven eastward from the entire width of the
North Atlantic, and indeed this appears to be the only explana-
tion consistent with the extraordinary numbers in which they
appeared on this side, and with their great numerical pre-
ponderance over the stormy petrel.

They appeared first on the coasts of southern Ireland on
24th October, or even a day or two earlier, according to
information received from Major Ruttledge through Mr. Hugh
Boyd.* In Scotland they were seen in a strong gale on the

* There may well have been a preliminary “wave” about the iyth-i8th
October. On the 17th a flock of about twenty birds, which were supposed in
the light of later events to have been petrels, was seen near the east end of Loch
Rannoch ; and on the 18th Miss Margaret Blackwood caught a glimpse of a

1953

LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND

171

26th, along the shores of the Firth of Lome and Loch Linnhe,
and two days later in other places (including Ayrshire)
along the west coast ; on the 26th also the first were found
inland, one at Loch Morlich, Inverness-shire, and four or more
in central Perthshire. On the 27th, 29th and 30th the birds
were scattered across the country from Shetland to Berwick-
shire, appearing even on the east coast.

On these three days numbers of living birds were to be seen,
but after the 31st no more were seen alive in Scotland, apart
from a small number a week later in Skye, Lewis and Shetland
(4th, 5th and 7th November) ; at that time there was evidently
a subsidiary wave (fig. 2). It should be added that two quite

October November

Fig. 2. Numbers of Leach’s petrels living and dead reported in Scotland each

day.

fresh specimens were sent to me from Pitlochry on 13th
November, following a renewed gale on the night of the
ioth-nth, so that there may have been, in all, four successive
episodes.*

bird in company with jackdaws, flying close past the windows at Dalshian, near
Pitlochry, which she afterwards recognised as having almost certainly been a
petrel, during the events which occurred in very similar circumstances ten days
later, as related below. A Leach’s petrel was actually picked up at Croftinloan,
only 400 yards from Dalshian, on the 26th, with the skull smashed ; it had already
been dead some time, and must therefore have arrived before the main influx took
place.

* In England and France there were still numbers of survivors on the 1st and
2nd November. In Belgium and the Rhine valley the main influx seems not to
have occurred till about the 7th, some birds still being observed or taken alive
as late as the nth (Lippens, Loc. cit., p. 166).

172 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

The discovery of dead birds continued here after the main
wreck was over, reaching a peak the following week-end, when
a number of ornithologists went out specially to search for \
them. Of the Saturday-Sunday total of 105, no less than 74
were picked up by Miss W. U. Flower and Miss M. I. Kinnear
along three miles of beach near Barassie, Ayrshire. A small
“ peak 55 was indicated the following week-end also (fig. 2).

The incidence and dispersal of petrels over Scotland was
not at all uniform (fig. 3). They were driven on to the west !
coast chiefly between Galloway and Mull, appearing in the
largest numbers on the coasts of Ayrshire and Argyll. Inland
the greatest concentration observed was in north Perthshire, in
the Loch Rannoch — Aberfeldy — Pitlochry district, particularly
near the junction of Straths Tummel and Tay. This district
accounted for over seventy specimens. Smaller concentrations
were those in upper Strathspey, chiefly between Kingussie and
Boat of Garten, through the Great Glen from Fort William to
the Moray Firth, and in Tweeddale from Selkirk (including
Ettrick Forest) and Galashiels to Coldstream.

The distribution and frequency of the observations may be
expected to reflect to some extent the density of human
habitation. The number of birds reported from the hills is
nevertheless surprisingly small, the one found highest being
below 1,700 feet ; and it seems quite probable that the birds
travelled along certain particular valleys, perhaps attempting
to regain the sea further to leeward. It is clear that they did
not occur in very remarkable numbers in the central lowlands,
where they would have been easily found, nor were they j
uniformly distributed throughout the whole length of the
valleys, for example, of the Tay and Tweed. The patchiness j
of the records has certainly a natural basis, and cannot be
ascribed altogether to the unevenness of human observation.

Many of the petrels seen alive during the critical period i:
were almost or quite at the point of exhaustion. Observers
who saw them still flying more or less strongly describe them
as fluttering over the ground or water, or passing by, generally
toward the north-east, but not as being swept along by the gale.
One Leach’s petrel was said to “ drop dead ”, and a stormy
petrel found lodged in a tree in Glen Loy had “ many broken
bones ”. The observations in the main seem to suggest,

LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND

173

*953

however, that when their position, crowded against a lee shore
on the west coast, became untenable, they voluntarily retreated
overland, and that they were not just carried bodily away by
the wind.

Fig. 3. Distribution of records of Leach’s petrels in Scotland, October-November

1952.

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 63

174

Mr. Blackwood’s Observations

Some of the most interesting observations were made by
Mr. G. G. Blackwood at Dalshian, near Pitlochry, an extract
of whose notes is printed below.

“ On 28th October very severe gales struck us and, in the
evening, after the wind had abated somewhat, unusually large
numbers of rooks and an immense flock of jackdaws were circling
over the rookery and appearing to enjoy the storm. The following
morning I rose to see about thirty jackdaws evidently still at play.
Flying closely packed their wings almost touched the window panes
and they brushed against the side of the house. Then I saw a
smaller, long-pinioned bird which they were chasing. The whole
melee passed behind a large beech tree but I could see that the
quarry had been driven down in the field beyond. I hastily threw
on some clothes and had no difficulty in finding the bird. I had
already seen enough of it to expect Leach’s petrel. It was exhausted
but alive and seemingly unharmed except for the loss of a feather or
two. I planned to release it at the river in the evening but it died
during the afternoon.

“ The following morning, 30th October, when I rose I was not
a little surprised to witness an almost exact re-enactment of the
chase of the previous day. But this time the agressors were twelve
rooks, and they drove the petrel to ground within 20 yards of where
I had picked up the first bird. The second bird was more exhausted
than the first but evidently quite unharmed. It opened its mouth
wide in an attempt to squirt oil at me but none came. It clearly
was starving. While we were examining it I heard excited calls
from some rooks overhead and we saw six or seven of them chasing
a third petrel above the rookery. They succeeded in driving it
downwards but it outpaced them and disappeared to the south-east.
Five minutes later a fourth petrel appeared. It too was flying
south-east and when it was directly over the rookery, perhaps 25 feet
above the tree tops, a solitary rook made a half-hearted dart at it
but very soon gave up. Later on we picked up another petrel
within twenty yards of the house. It was undamaged but I suspect
foul play.

“ The rooks and jackdaws probably mistook the petrels for
birds of prey and resented their appearance close to the rookery,
but, having driven them to earth, they would appear to have
discovered their mistake, so did not finish them off. Also, the
rooks’ interest seemed to flag. In the first of their chases twelve
birds were in hot pursuit, in the second six or seven only while in
the final chase only one bird took part and that in a half-hearted

1953 LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND 175

manner. It is interesting to note that although there were dozens
of rooks in close proximity on the 29th October the chase was taken
up exclusively by jackdaws. Conversely, on 30th October only
rooks were in the hunt but plenty of jackdaws were available had
they wanted to join in.”

What appears to have been a similar case of the pursuit of
Leach’s petrels by rooks, at Kelso in the 1891 disaster, is briefly
mentioned by William Evans (loc. cit.).

Weights and Measurements

Those which perished were generally emaciated, with little
or none of the characteristic dermal fat, and they had un-
doubtedly been without sufficient food for a long time, possibly
one or two weeks. Mr. Kenneth Williamson kindly sent me
the body-weights of six birds, weighed on arrival at the Royal
Scottish Museum by Mr. William Stirling, namely 31.3, 31.0,
30.0, 29.0, 28.5, 28.2 gm. Four birds received reasonably
fresh in Aberdeen weighed 31.5, 30, 30 and 25 gm. (Combined
mean of ten birds, 29.5 gm.) For comparison, the mean of
sixteen summer weights taken by Gross at Kent’s Island,
Maine, was 43.5 gm. (Auk, 52 : 398, 1935), almost half as
much again.

Reference has already been made to the finding of 74 dead
specimens along the Barassie shore on 2nd November by Miss
Flower and Miss Kinnear. Miss Flower carefully measured
their wing-lengths, reproduced in the table on p. 1 76. There is
known to be no substantial difference in size between males
and females, but in fact the shortest-winged bird was a female
and the longest a male : otherwise the sexes were not

determined. The measurements appear to be normally
distributed ; the mean wing-length is 158.7 mm. with a
standard deviation of 4: 3*2 mm., and the coefficient of
variation is 2.0 per cent. (The mean is higher than would
have been expected from the figures given in Witherby’s
Handbook, vol. 4, p. 32. However, a series of 11 specimens
in Aberdeen University collection give a mean of 157.7 dz
2.5 mm., which is very similar.)

Miss Flower notes that only one bird showed no sign of
moult, not having started ; the majority were about one- third
way through the moult of the primaries and their coverts.

1 76 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

(The primary moult begins with the innermost primary in
each wing and proceeds outwards.) Only four had completed
the moult of primaries and secondaries, but these were still in
process of moulting the tail or other parts of the plumage.

Wing-lengths of Leach’s Petrels.

Wing-length (mm.)

151

152

i53

i54

155

156

i57

158

Number of birds

1

1

3

3

4

3

12

1 1

Wing-length (mm.)

159

160

161

162

163

164

165

Mean

>58-7

Number of birds

3

9

7

5

8

2

1

Total
= 73

In 1891 one of the specimens examined by Evans had lost
one of its legs, and Williams noted that, of the twenty-seven
Irish specimens he received, six had the tarsus mutilated and
one had the leg completely gone. Only one possibly similar
case has come to our notice on the present occasion, namely a
bird picked up at Drymen, Stirlingshire, “ lacking the head
and one foot

Other associated species

A number of records received refer merely to “ storm
petrels 55 without making it clear that the observers knew of
more than one species, and most of these have been included
among the Leach’s petrels in Appendix I, with a cautionary
comment. A number of others, exceeding twelve and perhaps
not more than twenty-five in all, refer to Hydrobates pelagicus ; \
these are listed in Appendix II. They are confined to the
western half of the country, with the exception of one at
Peebles, identified with the aid of books as a stormy and not a
Leach’s, on being taken to the Burgh Library.

On 3rd November Miss H. MacDougall observed a grey
phalarope, Phalaropus fulicarius close under the esplanade wall
at Oban, the identity of which was confirmed by Mr. John
Eraser, by whom the yellowish colour at the base of the bill and
other diagnostic characters were seen. Several birds of this
species were reported also in 1891 [Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1892 :
72).

1953 LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND 177

On 2nd November Mr. S. Stevenson identified at close range
a red-necked phalarope, Ph. lobatus , swimming 3 or 4 yards out
from the edge of the surf at Ballantrae. The bill was very
slender and completely black, and in flight the white wing-bar
contrasted sharply with the darker wing and back feathers.
This appears to be the first record for Ayrshire.

Both these species of phalaropes breed in arctic North
America, as well as in northern Europe, and become oceanic
or pelagic migrants, during their flight south to winter quarters
at sea in low latitudes. However, the vast majority are gone
from the North Atlantic before October.

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge the interest and help of all the
numerous correspondents who have contributed to this report,
many of whom are named in the appendices. I am particu-
larly indebted to Dr. J. W. Campbell, Major the Hon. H. M.
Douglas-Home, Mr. Eric Palmar of the Glasgow Museum, Mr.
David Stephen, and Dr. A. C. Stephen of the Royal Scottish
Museum, all of whom prepared lists of records intimated to
them. The help of certain others is acknowledged in the text.
To Mr. Alexander Anderson, of the Department of Natural
History, Marischal College, Aberdeen, I am most grateful for
the collation of county lists, and for the detection of numerous
duplicate records. Finally, I have enjoyed the fullest co-
operation with Mr. Hugh Boyd at the Severn Wildfowl Trust,
and Major R. F. Ruttledge, who have collected the records for
England and Wales, and for Ireland, respectively.

(See Appendices commencing p. 1 78.)

23

1 78

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

APPENDIX I

Scottish Records of Leach’s Petrels, Oct. -Nov. 1952.*

Date

Locality

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

30th Oct.

Shetland

Lerwick

1

S. Bruce

4th Nov.

Lerwick

1

Mrs. Johnson

5th Nov.

Bressav

1

R. Linklater

7 th Nov.

Scallowav

/

R. Smith

“ Large

29th Oct.

Outer Hebrides
Between North Uist

1

Dr. Alex.

quantities for
some days”

30th Oct.

and Benbecula
Stornoway

1

MacLeod
Stornoway Gazette

Sent to

End of Oct.

Flodda, Benbecula

2

per David

Glasgow

Museum

5th Nov.

Upper Shader,

/

Stephen

D. M.

9th Nov.

Barvas

Benbecula

1

MacDonald
D. Sadler

N.D.

Crimersta River

1

Stornoway Gazette

1st Nov.

Caithness

Stroma

4

Mrs. L. S.

2nd Nov.

Stroma

1

Simpson
Mrs. L. S.

5th Nov.

Dunnet Head Lt.

1

Simpson
J. R. Scott, per

Sent to

30th Oct.

Ho.

Sutherland
Cambusmore Gates,

1

Dr. I. D.
Pennie

Dr. Pennie

Glasgow

Museum

31st? Oct.

The Mound
Dornoch Golf Links

1

C. H. Donald

N.D.

Golspie beach

1

per Hugh Bo)d

1 7th Sept.

Ross and Cromarty
Ullapool

1

J. R. Matheson

28th Oct.

Kessock, Black Isle

5 +

per Rev. J. Lees

29th Oct.

Alness

group

per Rev. J. Lees

30th Oct.

Invergordon

1

A. M. Ross, per

31th Oct.

Sandaig, Kyle

2

Rev. J. Lees
Olivia FitzRoy

1 st Nov.

Nigg

1

per Rev. J. Lees

N.D.

Eileanreach,

1

per Hugh Boyd

Glenelg

* The lists are arranged by counties, roughly from north to south. Where ;
the number of birds is shown in italics, they were first observed alive ; otherwise a
the figures refer to dead specimens. “ N.D. ” signifies “ no date ”.

1953

LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND

179

Date

Locality

Number

°f

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

26th Oct.

Inverness
Loch Morlich

1

Mrs. Gromar

26th Oct.

Fort William

1

Jas. Foster

Strong on

26th Oct.

Ballachulish Bay

6

Mrs. Railton

wing and
feeding

28th Oct.

Nethvbridge

1

Winifred M. Ross

28th Oct.

Onich, Ballachulish

2

Elizabeth

29th Oct.

Newtonmore

6

Cameron
Richard Perry

Flying north

29th Oct.

Fort William

2

Jas. Foster

east

singly

29th Oct.

Roybridge

7 or 8

Jas. Foster

30th Oct.

Fort Augustus

2

D. Macdonald

Sent to

30th Oct.

E. end of L. Insh,

1

A. Macdonald

Aberdeen

Univ.

per C. C. I.

30th Oct.

Kincraig

Newtonmore

/

Richard Perry

Murdoch
Flying from

30th Oct.

Invereshie,

1

Star Hotel

south-west
per David

31st Oct.

Kingussie
E. end of L. Insh,

3

A. Macdonald

Stephen
per G. G. I.

31st Oct.

Kincraig

Newtonmore

2

Richard Perry

Murdoch
Sent to

31st Oct.

Boat of Garten

1

J. Morton Boyd

Aberdeen

Univ.

in Kilmarnock

31st Oct.

Kingussie

1

Star Hotel

Standard
per David

1 st Nov.

Kingussie

2

Star Hotel

Stephen
per David

1 st Nov.

E. end of L. Insh,

1

A. Macdonald

Stephen
per C. C. I.

1 st Nov.

Kincraig

1 mile west of Loch

1

A. Macdonald

Murdoch
per G. G. I.

2nd Nov.

Insh, Kincraig
Kingussie

2

Star Hotel

Murdoch
per David

2nd Nov.

Loch Morlich,

2

Robin Murray

Stephen
Sent to

4th Nov.

Aviemore
Sound of Raasay,

1

Mrs. Seton

Aberdeen

Univ.

Species

9th Nov.

Skye.

Loch Slapin, Skye

1

Gordon
F. N. Betts

uncertain

Species

2nd Dec.

Redciiffe, Portree,

1

Seton Gordon

uncertain
4 or 6 weeks

Skye

1

dead

180 .

Date

N.D.

N.D.

N.D.

28th Oct.
28th Oct.

29th Oct.
30th Oct.

1 st Nov.
*

30th Oct.

2nd Nov.
N.D.

26th Oct.
26th Oct.
26th Oct.
26th Oct.

27th Oct.

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol 65

Locality

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

[Inverness, contd.]

Golf Course,
Inverness

1

per Peter
Scott and
Hugh
Boyd

Gorthleck, at
1000 feet

Nairn

1

A. G. Bull

in The Field,
1 2th Feb.
1953

Nairn

1

per Dr. A. C.
Stephen

Reed, by
Roy. Scot.
Mus. on
4th Nov.

Moray

Near Cromdale

1

W. Marshall

Advie

1

W. Marshall

Aberdeen

Aberdeen

1

Gillies Plunter

Dying ;
given to
Aberdeen
Univ.

Aquhythie,

Kemnay

1

Ben Ewan

Sent to
Aberdeen
Univ.

Kincardine

Fasque, Fettercairn

1

W. A. Shand

Sent to
Professor
James
Ritchie

Angus

Edzell

1

Dr. A. F.
MacBean

Buddon Ness

1

G. B. Corbet

“ Angus ”

1

per H. M.

Douglas-Home

Perth

Near Loch
Rannoch

1

A. V. Holden

Sent to Roy.
Scot. Mus.

Grand tully Stn.

/

per J. W.
Campbell

Croftinloan,

1

H. Brown, per

Dead some

Pitlochry

J. W. C.

days

R. Tummel, near

/

H. Mackenzie,

Settled and

Pitlochry

per j. W. C.

rose again
from river

Grandtully Stn.

1

per J. W.
Campbell

*953

LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND

81

Date

Locality

Number

°f

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

Before

[Perth, contd.]
Cargill

1

per A. Cross

Sent to

28th

28th Oct.

Strathtay

1

Lennox

Perth

Museum

29th Oct.

Dunblane

1

Campbell
Thos. Brittain

Sent to

29th Oct.

Dalshian,

2, 1

G. G. Blackwood

Aberdeen

Univ.

29th Oct.

Pitlochry

Comrie

1

J. Ralston

Sent to

29th Oct.

Crieff

1

Crawford
(name not

Roy. Scot.
Mus.

Sent to

29th Oct.

Murthlv

1

given)

per Mrs. Gray

Roy. Scot.
Mus.

29th Oct.

Glenfalloch, by

1

and J. W.
Campbell
per D. Stephen

Dropped

30th Oct.

Arrochar

Dalshian,

3

G. G. Blackwood

dead

30th Oct.

Pitlochry

Braco

1

Jas. A. Syme

Sent to

30th Oct.

Grandtully

1

Mrs. Bruce, per

Glasgow

Univ.

Dead a few

30th Oct.

Crieff

1

J. W. C.

F. A. Notman

days

Perthshire

31st Oct.

Ballinluig (2 miles

1

H. D. Robb

Advertiser

31st Oct.

west of)
Aberfeldy

1

I. Thomson, per

31st Oct.

Pitlochry (2 miles

1

J. W. C.

G. G. Blackwood

31st Oct.

east of Dalshian)
Calvine, Struan

1

per A. V. Holden

Daily Record

31st Oct.

Kinloch Rannoch

1

A. S. Wilson

31st Oct.

Dunblane

1

Thos. Biittain

Sent to

1st Nov.

Kinloch Rannoch

1 +

per A. S. Wilson

Aberdeen

Univ.

1 st Nov.

Blairgowrie

1

A. Thomson

Dundee

1 st Nov.

Grandtully Stn.

1

per J. W.

Courier and
Advertiser

Campbell

)

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

182

Date

Locality

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

1 st Nov.

[Perth, contd.]
Eastertyre,

1

Nurse

per J. W. C.

2nd Nov.

Logierait

Acharn, Loch Tay

3

MacDougal
Grant Smith, per

Dead some

3rd Nov.

Kinloch Rannoch

1

J. W. C.
A. S. Wilson

days

On shore of

3rd? Nov.

Kinloch Rannoch

2

Major Wardlaw,

loch

Reed, on

3rd Nov.

Bank of River

1

per J. W. C.
D. MacNab, per

4th.

Sent to Roy.

3rd Nov.

Earn, Comrie
Drumlean Farm,

1

J. R.
Crawford
Major W.

Scot. Mus.

3rd Nov.

Aberfoyle
Castle Menzies,

2

Joynson
per J. W. C.

4th Nov.

Weem

Glen Errochty

1

A. S. Wilson

4th Nov.

Ballinluig

1

per J. W. C.

Reed, by

4th or

Croftinloan,

1

D.J. S.

Perth
Mus.; had
been dead
a few days
Sent to

5th Nov.

Pitlochry

Sutherland

Univ. Coll.,

Before 5th

Glen Tilt

1

per David

Dundee

7 th Nov.

Pitnacree Cottage

1

Stephen
per J. W. C.

Evidently

After 4th

Strath tay

Bonskied, Pitlochry

1

per Mr. Nisbet

dead for
some time

1 st week

Tummel Bridge

1

and J. W. C.
A. S. Wilson

Nov.
1st week

Glenlyon

2

J. W. Willson

Dundee

Nov.
gth Nov.

Comrie

1

A. Miller

Courier and
Advertiser
per Severn

1 2 th Nov.

Aberfeldy Golf

1

per J. W. C.

Wildfowl
Trust
Sent to

1 3th Nov.

Course

Faskally House,

2

A. V. Holden

Perth

Mus.

Freshly

N.D.

Pitlochry
Pitlochry and

6

D. J. S.

dead;
sent to
Aberdeen
Univ.

vicinity

Sutherland

1953 LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND 183

Date

Locality

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

N.D.

[Perth, contd.]
Blair Atholl

3

D. ,J. S.

N.D.

Dalno Farm

2

Sutherland
per J. F. de S. La

Terriere and

N.D.

Tummel Bridge
Kinloch Rannoch

3

Severn Wildfowl Trust
per J. F. de S. La Terriere and

N.D.

Drumcharlte,

1

Severn Wildfowl Trust
per T. F. de S. La Terriere and

N.D.

Kinloch

Rannoch

Dunblane

2

Severn Wildfow

A Trust
Perthshire

Before

Acharn, on shore

“ a

R. M. Jamieson

Advertiser

1 7th
N.D.

of Loch Tay
Glenlvon

number ”
1

A. Miller

per Severn

2 1 st Nov.

Dalshian, Pitlochrv

1

G. G. Blackwood

Wildfowl
Trust
Long dead

23rd Nov.

Acharn, Loch Tay

10

Grant Smith, per

Majority

23rd Nov.

Grandtully

1

J. W. C.
per J. W. C.

rotten

Rotten

Early Dec.

Dalshian, Pitlochry

0

G. G. Blackwood

remains
Long dead

26th to

Argyll

Oban district, from

“ hundreds ”

John Fraser

28th Oct.
26th to

Appin to
Easdale

Eriska, Benderloch

6

A. D. S. Barr

27th Oct.
26th Oct.

Inveraray

1

J. Gillespie

Buteman,

27th Oct.

Inveraray

1

J. Gillespie

31st Oct.
Buteman ,

27th Oct.

Glenbarr, Kintyre

1

F. M. B.

31st Oct.
Flying south-

N.D.

Inveraray

1

Macalister
per D. Stephen

west
against
wind
“ A few

27th Oct.

Ardmarnoch,

1

per D. Stephen

days prior
to 29th ”

28th Oct.

Kilfinan

Glenbarr, Kintyre

1

F. M. B.

Also flying

28th Oct.

Muasdale, Kintyre

4 to 5

Macalister
F. M. B.

south-
. west

28th Oct.

Inveraray

j

1

Macalister
Rev. D. W.

Buteman, 31st

MacKenzie

Oct.

(Species

uncertain)

184

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Date

Locality

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

28th Oct.

[Argyll, contd.]
Sound of Mull,

2 to 3

F. W. Betts

(Species

28th Oct.

near Craignure
Oban harbour

6

A. D. S. Barr

uncertain)

28th Oct.

Connel Ferrv

several

J. Morson

Scotsman

29th Oct.

Knockalava,

1

per D. Stephen

(Presumed

30th Oct.

Lochgilphead
Tarbert, Kintyre

6

A. Cumming

Leach’s)
Flying about

30th Oct.

Ballachulish Ferry

2

F. W. Betts

harbour

30th Oct.

Southend,

40 to 50

Various ob-

“ Dead and

N.D.

Machrihanish,
Campbelltown
and Carradale
Clachan, W. Loch

I

servers per Dr.
J. A. Gibson

A. Cumming

dying ”
Flew into

N.D.

Tarbert

Taynuilt

I

Mrs. V. W.

shed and
died

per Severn

N.D.

“ Kintyre shores ”

I

Huntingdon
Dugald Semple

Wildfowl

Trust

Kilmarnock

N.D.

Tarbert

2 dozen

per D. Stephen

Standard
Dead or

N.D.

Loch Fyne

00 1

per D. Stephen

dying,
before
2nd Nov.
More than

N.D.

Campbelltown

great

By fishermen

observer,
a fisher-
man, had
ever seen
before
per D.

1 st Nov.

Gruline, Mull

numbers

1

Miss A. Living-

Stephen

(Species

1 st Nov.

Strachur

1

stone

per Hugh Boyd

uncertain)

1 st Nov.

Dunstaffnage

1

per D. Stephen

! 2nd Nov.

Mains, Connel
Cuil Bay, Appin

2

Mrs. Parnell

2nd Nov.

Glen Orchy

1

Sent to Miss

2nd Nov.

Mouth of Duror,

1

Major G. H.

W. Flower
per G.

3rd Nov.

Appin

Oban

1

Malcolm
J. Fraser

Waters ton
“ Several

5th Nov.

Rhu, west Loch

1

D. A. Byatt,

miles
inland ”
Dead 4 to 6

Tarbert

R.N.V.R.

days

ig53 LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND 185

Date

Locality

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

26th Oct.

Bute

Straad, West Bute

1

Mrs. D. McLean,

Species

27th Oct.

Millport

1

and Buteman
T. Bagenal

uncertain

Probably

Leach’s

Species

N.D.

Millport

4

per T. Bagenal

N.D.

Garrison Lodge,

1

per D. Stephen

uncertain
Dying ;

N.D.

Millport

Little Cumbrae Lt.

1

per D. Stephen

species

uncertain

Species

After 3 1 st

Ho.

Rothesay

2

From Marquess

uncertain
per J. W. C.

3rd Nov.

Dumbarton

Crosskeys

1

of Bute

Miss E. R. Brock

About 3rd

Clydebank High

1

per Miss E. R.

N.D.

School

Borhill

1

Brock

per D. Stephen

30th Oct.

Stirling

Bonnybridge

1

per D. Stephen

Dying

Before 4th

Falkirk

1

per D. Stephen

Before 4th

Kilsyth

1

per D. Stephen

gth Nov.

Drymen

1

I. C. Christie

Dead about

30th Oct.

Clackmannan
Menstrie School

1

R. McOwan

1 week ;
lacked
head and
1 foot

Dying

N.D.

Alloa

1

per D. Stephen

In week 29th

N.D.

Clackmannan

1

per D. Stephen

Oct. to
5th Nov.
In week 29th

N.D.

Kincardine on

1

per D. Stephen

Oct. to
5th Nov.
Beginning of

30th Oct.

Forth

Midlothian

Liberton

1

per Dr. A. C.

Nov.

Sent to Roy.

31st Oct.

Gogar

1

Stephen

Mrs. Blackwood,

Scot. Mus.
Sent to Roy.

per Cdr. T.
Yeoman

Scot. Mus.

1

24

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

1 86

Date

Locality

Number

Birds

Reported by

1

Remarks

30th Oct.

Berwick

Reston

1

Major F. Kerr

30th Oct.

Hirsel, Coldstream

1

per Dr. A. C.

Sent to Roy.

28th Oct.

Eyemouth

1

Stephen
per Dr. A. C.

Scot. Mus.
Sent to Roy.

to 4th Nov.

Stephen

Scot. Mus.

3rd Nov. .

Edrom

1

Miss Joy

Dead for a

27th Oct.

Roxburgh
Below Galashiels

1

Edwards
per A. J. Smith

few days
Sent to Roy.

1 st Nov.

Kelso

1

R. R. Hogarth

Scot. Mus.

29th Oct.

Selkirk
Melrose Water-

1

per A. J. Smith

Flying

30th Oct.

Works (Selkirk)
The Inch, Ettrick

1

A. J. Smith

strongly ;
species
uncertain
Sent to Roy.

31st Oct.

Cloverfords

1

per Dr. A. C.

Scot. Mus.
Sent to Roy.

3rd Nov.

Hangingshaw,

1

Stephen
A. J. Smith

Scot. Mus.

Before 4th

Y arrow
Selkirk

1

Dr. R. A. M. Scott

nth Nov.

Dalgleish, Ettrick

1

A. J. Smith

Decayed ;

29th Oct.

Lanark

Glasgow, south side

1

per D. Stephen

at 1600-
1 700 feet

30th Oct.

Househillwood,

1

W. P. Prefect

Sent to

30th Oct.

Glasgow, S.W.
Church St. School,

1

D. Anderson

Glasgow

Mus.

Dying ; sent

2nd Nov.

Partick

Uddingston

1

Miss A. Turnbull

to Glas-
gow Mus.
Sent to

3rd Nov.

Drumchapel

1

Miss A. Kelly

Aberdeen

Univ.

per Miss W.

28th Oct.

Ayr

Stevenston, along

7

Miss M. I.

U. Flower
Feeding

29th Oct.

shore

Stevenston along

1

Kinnear
Miss M. I.

29th Oct.

shore

Prestwick Airport

1

Kinnear
A. McRae

Dying

1953

LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND

187

Date

Locality

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

N.D.

[Ayr, contd.]
Prestwick Golf

c. 12

W. A. Waddell

29th and

30th Oct.

Course

Girvan

2

Jas. Fulton

after

Died ; sent

30th Oct.

Girvan

8

per Jas. Fulton

to Glas-
gow Mus.

30th Oct.

Old Daily, nr.

1

Cdr. G. Hughes-

30th Oct.

Girvan

St. Nicholas Links,

1

Onslow
J. H. Wilson

Dying

30th Oct.

Prestwick
Esplanade, Prest-

“ small

J. H. Wilson

30th Oct.

wick

Troon

flock ”
1

A. E. Jeffers

Recently

N.D.

Troon

1

A. E. Jeffers

dead

Partly eaten

31st Oct.

Girvan

2

Jas. Fulton

31st Oct.

Bargany, Girvan

1

per D. Stephen

31st Oct.

Stinchar valley.

2

S. Stevenson

Dying ; one

31st Oct.

1 mile from
Ballantrae

Esplanade, Ayr

2 , 1

per D. Stephen

sent to

Glasgow

Mus.

N.D.

Prestwick Bathing

c. 50

Kilmarnock

Given

N.D.

Lake

Kilmaurs, Kil-

1

Standard

Kilmarnock

whisky by
American
soldiers

31st Oct.

marnock
Dean Park, Kil-

1

Standard

Kilmarnock

1 st Nov.

marnock

Auchinleck

1

Standard
per D. Stephen

2nd Nov.

Barassie shore (3

74

Miss W. U.

3rd Nov.

miles)

Stevenston

5

Flower and
Miss M. I.
Kinnear
Miss Kinnear

3rd Nov.

Ayr

2

D. MacWatt

per S.

N.D.

River Ayr near

2

per Cdr. Hughes-

Stevenson :
sent to
Glasgow
Mus.

6th Nov.

Auchincruive
Caprington Castle,

1

Onslow
Col. W. W.

8th Nov.

Kilmarnock
Doonfoot, Ayr

1

Wallace

Miss W. I. Rome

Probably a

8th Nov.

Troon

1

R. B. Napier

week old
Dead some

time

1 88 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

Date

Locality

Number

of

Birds

1

Reported by

Remarks

Wigtown

N.D.

Port William

1

per D. Stephen

Dumfries

30th Oct.

Annan, tide-line
between Dornock
Brow and
TordufF Point

2, 5

per D. Stephen

One sent to
Carlisle
Mus.

APPENDIX II

Scottish Records of Stormy Petrels, Oct.-Nov. 1952.

Date

Place

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

6th Nov.

Ophir School,

1

Orcadian, 6th

N.D.

Orkney

Marybank, Storno-

1

Nov.

Stornoway Gazette,

30th Oct.

way, Lewis
Loch Broom, Ulla-

1

7th Nov.

J. R. Matheson

N.D.

pool, West Ross
Sleat, Skye

1

per H. W.

Week of

29th Oct.

Spean Bridge,

1

Douglas-Home

28th Oct.
to 4th Nov.
Sent to D.

3rd Nov.

Inverness-shire
Glen Loy, Inver-

1

C. McLean

Stephen
Had broken

N.D.

ness-shire
Fort William,

several

Oban Times,

bones ;
dead
24 hrs.

28th Oct.

Inverness-shire
Oban harbour,

/ +

8th Nov.

A. D. S. Barr

28th Oct.

Argyll

Oban harbour,

several

J. Fraser

N.D.

Argyll

Oban district,

several

J. Fraser

26th to

Appin to Easdale
Connel Ferry,

a few

J. Morson

Scotsman,

28th Oct.
29th Oct.

Argyll

Poltalloch Farm

1

7 th Nov.
Dying ; sent

Lochgilphead

to D.
Stephen

1953 LEACH’S PETRELS STRANDED IN SCOTLAND 189

Date

Place

Number

of

Birds

Reported by

Remarks

5th Nov.

Tweed Bridge,
Peebles

1

Mr. Wells

per W. T.
Blackwood

28th Oct.

Portpatrick,

Wigtown

1

Dr. T. Thin

7th Nov.

Glencaird,

Bargrennan,

Kirkcudbright

1

G. McKerrow

per James
Fisher

3rd Nov.

Stevenston, Ayr

1

Miss M. I.
Kinnear

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THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

190

BOTANICAL NOTE

Some New Records of Stoneworts (Charophyta) in
Scotland. — In the course of investigations of several Scottish
freshwater lochs which are being studied by workers from the
Brown Trout Research Laboratory, Pitlochry, a number of interest-
ing finds of Charophytes have been made which seem worthy of
placing on record.

From Lochindorb, Morayshire (v.-c. 95), considerable growths
of the very small and delicate JVitella confervacea Br. were collected
in a mud sample from twelve feet of water by Mr. A. V. Holden.
This very rare British species, though occurring in a few localities
in Ireland, has previously been found in Scotland only in the Isle
of Harris, whilst there is no record of it havingbeen found in England.

Another very rare British stonewort has been found in the Loch
of Marlee, Perthshire (v.-c. 89), this being JVitellopsis obtusaj. Groves,
which has not previously been recorded from Scotland though it
has been found very occasionally in some of the Norfolk Broads in
England. This plant was also collected by Mr. Holden.

Chara delicatula Ag. var. annulata (Wallm.) G. and B. W., pre-
viously known only from localities in the far north of Scotland
(Sutherland, Orkney and Shetland) has been found in three lochs
in Perthshire, these being Loch Dunmore (v.-c. 89), Loch Kinardochy
(v.-c. 88), and Lochan an Daim (v.-c. 88). It has also been found
in Lochindorb, Morayshire.

Considerable growths of Chara hispida L. have been found in
Loch Moraig, Perthshire, which is a new record for this species in
v.-c. 89. Another new record for this vice-county is Chara rudis
Leonhardi, small pieces of this plant having been collected in
bottom-grab samples taken from Loch Choin by Mr. W. R. Munro.

More detailed accounts of some of these finds are to be published
elsewhere by Mr. G. O. Allen, M.A., F.L.S., whom the author of
this note wishes to thank for his generous assistance in helping to
identify these Charophytes. — Alan J. Brook, Brown Trout Re-
search Laboratory, Pitlochry.

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

191

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

Velia saulii Tamanini in Morayshire. — E. S. Brown
(Ent. Mon. Mag., 87 : 297) has shown that the water bug hitherto
known as Velia currens F. consists in Britain of two species, V. caprai
Tam., the common form, and V. saulii Tam., only recorded from
a few localities in southern Scotland and once from England. It
may therefore be of interest that I found, in October 1953, a male
and female of saulii in a small stream a mile from Elgin, in company
with many of the common species. Their identity has been kindly
confirmed by Mr. E. S. Brown. — R. Richter, Gordonstoun.

The Snake-fly Raphidia ( Agulla ) maculicollis Stephens
(Megaloptera) in Kincardineshire. — On 22nd February 1953 I
found a larva of A. maculicollis under bark of dead Pinus sylvestris
near the Bridge of Feugh, Banchory, Kincardine, and on 6th June
1953 I caught two males only a few yards distant from the site of
the larva, one on the branches of Quercus robur and the other just
after it settled on the trunk of a pine. No other specimens were
seen during search in the region on later dates. These are the first
Scottish specimens I have seen, for the larva of a species of snake-fly
found under bark of pine on 9th September 1948 at Bucksburn,
Aberdeen, had almost certainly been imported from Germany with
unbarked logs also sheltering large numbers of timberman beetles
Acanthocinus aedilis and the bark beetle Ips sexdentatus.

Many locality records exist of the four species of snake-flies found
in England. After considerable search of entomological literature
for records from Scotland all I discovered was a note by Lucas
(1927-28) that R. maculicollis had been found at Braemar and
Morayshire. I am familiar with the appearance and habits of
snake-flies in the southern counties of England and I had expected
to find the insects in the northern half of Scotland during the last
thirty years, in the course of frequent visits to woods at all seasons
searching for insects on tree trunks and under dead bark. My
failure to see adults or larvae every year may indicate that they are
scarce. However, from the nature of Scottish woods and the known
distribution of the species on the continent of Europe, it seems that
at least maculicollis should be widely distributed in Scotland, and
that it is a matter of finding the weeks in summer when adults are on
the wing, and of looking from autumn to the end of spring for larvae
or pupae below the bark of dead trunks and branches in a suitable
state of decay.

1 92 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

Of the fairly extensive but scattered British literature the
following papers may be mentioned : Fraser (1951), The

entomological fauna of the New Forest ; II. Order Neuroptera
(Habits in the woods), Jour. Soc. Brit. Ent. 3, pp. 226-227 ;
Killington (1929), Synopsis of British Neuroptera (Megaloptera,
Planipennia), Trans. Ent. Soc. Hampshire S. of England , 1, pp. 1-36,
6 plates ; Lucas (1927-28), Notes on British Snake-flies ( Raphidia )
(Bionomics, distribution, key to adults), Proc. Trans. S. Lond. Ent.
JV. H. Soc., pp. 34-4 1, plates 3-4 ; Syms (1934-35), Biological notes
on British Megaloptera ; ibid., pp. 1 21- 124 ; Syms (1949-50), Notes
on British Snake-flies (Bionomics, distribution) ; ibid., pp. 176-178,
plates 16-18. — Guy D. Morison, Aberdeen.

Further records of Crataevina pallida (Latr.) ( Hippoboscidx

Diptera) in Scotland. — On 1 6th July 1953 my colleague Dr. J. H.
Sudd captured a “ flat fly ” which, on examination, proved to
be a gravid § C. pallida. The fly was removed from a fledgling
swift ( Apus apus) which had floundered in a Dundee garden.
The specimen has been lodged in the museum of this department.
— A. R. Edwards, University College, Dundee.

A hippoboscid fly taken on 15th August 1953 by Mr. A. Notman
in his house at Crieff, mid Perthshire, has been identified here as the
above species.

The host of this ectoparasite is usually the swift, and a recently
vacated nest of this bird was found by Mr. Notman in the eaves of
his house.

The specimen has been presented to the Royal Scottish Museum.
— W. T. Stirling, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

Since Mr. B. G. Thompson recently called attention to the lack
of records of this species in Scotland (Scot. Nat., 64 : 72, 1952), one
record has already been published, by Dr. J. A. Downes, of a
specimen taken from a wounded swift, also at Crieff, in 1948
(loc. cit., p. 166). — Editors.

A Further Record of the Flea Tarsopsylla octodecimdentata
(Kol.) in Scotland. — As it is now fifty-five years since Tarsop-
sylla octodecimdentata (Kolenati), 1863, has been collected in the
British Isles it is of interest to record that one female of this species
was obtained from a male red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris trapped in a
pine wood at Glen Muick, Aberdeenshire, on 29th March 1953.
2 (J and 1 $ of Monopsyllus sciurorum sciurorum (Schrank), 1893,
were also found in company with the single specimen of T.
octodecimdentata.

J953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

193

The only previous records of T. octodecimdentata in the British
Isles are 2 $ and 9 $ from (the Pass of) Killiecrankie, Perthshire,
ex Sciurus vulgaris and 1 $ from Pitlochry, Perthshire, 16th March
1898 (M. Pease) taken from the same host (Smit, Scot. Nat., 65 : 5,

1 953) * Unfortunately neither the date nor collector is known for
the former record but it has been suggested by Smit that both
records may have originally belonged to one batch.

So far then, as this flea has only been obtained from mountainous
regions in the East of Scotland, the distribution of T. octodecimdentata
is apparently very restricted in this country. It may be noted that
Pitlochry (or Killiecrankie) and Glen Muick are only 40 miles
apart although the intervening terrain is very rough and sparsely
wooded and therefore hardly able to support Sciurus vulgaris. Two
observations made by the author on squirrel fleas may be of interest
in this connection.

Monopsyllus sciurorum — One of this red-squirrel flea from a
bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus caught at 1,600 feet above
sea level near Braemar, Aberdeenshire on 19th September
I949'

Orchopeas wickhami (Baker), 1895 — One female also taken from
a bank vole at 1,700 feet near Braemar on 19th September
1949. This flea is a parasite of the grey squirrel Sciurus
carolinensis and from this evidence appears to be spreading
more quickly than its true host.

The tree-line in this particular part of Braemar is at 1,400 feet
so that in both cases the specimens were collected at least 200 feet
above the level of the nearest trees. The actual distance between
these two points is approximately 400 yards. It may well be then
that squirrel fleas are able to survive on voles for a considerable
period. Further research on this problem is desirable and it is
hoped to pursue this line of investigation in the future.

I am deeply indebted to Messrs. R. Bell and W. S. Fyfe, of Glen
Muick, for sending the source of this specimen of T. octodecimdentata
to the Natural History Department, University of Aberdeen, and
also to the Departmental Staff for allowing me to examine the
squirrel.

My best thanks are also due to Mr. F. G. A. M. Smit of the
British Museum, Tring, who kindly verified my identifications of
some of the Siphonaptera. — Ronald M. Allan, Aberdeen.

Magnificent Frigate-bird in Scotland. — An interesting
addition to the list of rare birds visiting the British Isles has been
made by the finding of a frigate-bird, Fregata magnijicens rothschildi

25

i94

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65

Mathews, in the island of Tiree, Inner Hebrides. It was found near
a freshwater lochan in an exhausted condition on the morning of
gth July 1953, bv Mr. John Graham. In spite of every care it died
on the evening of the same day. It was forwarded to the Royal
Scottish Museum, where it was made into a cabinet skin, and this
has now been incorporated in the collections through the kindness
of His Grace the Duke of Argyll. It was identified by Sir N. B.
Kinnear.

The bird was a female, not fully adult, with a wing span of 6 feet
6 inches.

This sub-species breeds in the West Indies and the adjacent coasts
of Central and South America ; two other sub-species breed in
the Cape Verde Islands and the Galapagos Islands respectively. In
winter it ranges more or less regularly north to Louisiana and
Florida, and it has occurred three times in eastern Canada (in
the Lower St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland). In
Europe it appears to have been recorded on three previous occasions,
namely at the mouth of the Weser in Germany in 1792, and in
France at Saumur in 1852 and La Rochelle in 1902.*

The body was forwarded to Mr. David R. R. Burt, St. Andrews
University, who reported that a number of tape-worms belonging
to the genus Tetrabothrius were present but, owing to the state of
preservation, could not be more fully identified.

One specimen of the hippoboscid fly Olfersia spinifera Leach,
identified by Mr. H. Oldroyd, British Museum (Natural History),
was found.

Three species of Mallophaga, identified by Miss T. Clay,
British Museum (Natural History), were Edmanniella aurifasciata
(Kelly), Colpocephalum angulaticeps Piaget, and Pectinopygus crenatum
(Giebel). — A. C. Stephen, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

It is understood that in the forthcoming 5th Edition of the
A.O.U. Check-list the name “ man-o’-war-bird ”, which has hitherto
designated this species in earlier editions, is to be changed to
“ magnificent frigate-bird ”, with the prefix “ Caribbean ” for
the sub-species rothschildi. — Editors.

Pomatorhine Skuas in Forth. — On 28th November 1953 I
observed a party of four pomatorhine skuas Stercorarius pomarinus
between Portobello and Seafield. All four were light-phase birds,
with white faces and white underparts, and all four showed a
narrow, but distinct, pectoral band of dark brown. Only one,
however, had the broad, rounded and elongated central tail-
feathers which are distinctive of this species. Even at a distance,

*See postscript on p. 156.

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

195

the birds were noticeably bigger and heavier than the arctic skua,
and the whitish patches at the bases of the primaries much more
prominent in flight.

I watched the party on four different occasions in the course of
the day. They kept close together, cruising around at a fair height
most of the time as if prospecting ; but apart from one occasion
when they swept in low over a bunch of long- tailed ducks, they made
no attempt to “ raid ” other birds.

In view of The Handbook's statement that “ passage lasts to end
November ” the date is perhaps worth noting. — W. Kenneth
Richmond, Glasgow.

Inland nesting of Herring Gull. — To the records which have
already been published {Brit. Birds , 41 : 277 ; 43 : 94 ; Scot. Nat.
63 : 1 96 ; 64 : 1 80) of the inland breeding of the herring gull Larus
argentatus I can add that on 23rd May 1947 my wife and I visited a
breeding colony of the black-headed gull Larus ridibundus at 1,125
feet above sea level on Meall a’ Choire Odhair, about 3J miles
north-west of Braco, Perthshire. On the way up, at about 1,100
feet, and a short distance before reaching the black-headed gull
colony, we flushed from a nest a herring gull. The nest, which was
in heather, contained two eggs.

We have not visited this colony since that date and have no
information regarding the present status. — Alexander Cross,
Monifieth.

Mr. Cross has been able to supply the measurements of these
eggs, and also a photograph of the nest. — Editors.

Herring Gull nesting on a roof top. — In 1951 I reported
that a pair of herring gulls Larus argentatus nested successfully on
the chimney stack of a dwelling-house in Cellardyke, East Fife
{Scot. Nat., 64 : 122). I have been informed that they nested

there again this year and reared three young. — W. J. Eggeling,
Morogoro, Tanganyika.

Five successive broods in Stock-dove’s nest. — With refer-
ence to previous notes under this heading {Scot. Nat., 64: 12 1

and 179), the stock-dove Columba oenas in the hollow walnut tree
reared five broods again this year. On 1st April I ringed two
young, 4th May two young, 7th June two young, 25th July one
young, and 29th August two young. What makes me sure that it
is the same parent is that she usually, if not always, starts incubating
a new lot of eggs before the young of the preceding brood have left
the nest. — James Bartholemew, Torrance, near Glasgow.

1 96 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 65

The Black-billed Cuckoo in the Shetlands. — An unfamiliar
bird was found by Mrs. D. M. Gear on Foula, Shetland, on nth
October 1953 ; it was in an exhausted condition and died on the
following day. The specimen was sent to the British Museum
(Natural History), where I was able to identify it as the black-billed
cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus , a bird which is normally confined
to the New World.

The black-billed cuckoo usually breeds in an area extending
from south-eastern Alberta to Arkansas and eastwards to Georgia
and up to the St. Lawrence River. In winter it migrates to
Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Stragglers have been recorded in
Greenland and the Azores and once each in Italy, England and
Ireland. This is the second record of the black-billed cuckoo in the
Scottish area (see Scot. Nat., 63 : 1 3 1 ) .

The Meteorological Office reports that from Wednesday 7th
October the winds were predominantly westerly at strong to gale
force off Newfoundland and the northern parts of the eastern
seaboard of the U.S.A., and these gradually spread eastwards across
the Atlantic. By the week-end of the 10th and nth October the
wind in the Shetland area was southwesterly at strong to gale force.
These winds over the Atlantic are generally typical for the time of
the year. The conditions suggest that the bird, which was in a
weakened condition, was driven past the north of Ireland and
Scotland by the strong southwesterly wind to the Shetlands, and
that it is unlikely that the bird reached the Shetlands by way of
Greenland and Iceland, because of the adverse winds.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Gear for sending the specimen
to be identified, for by doing so she has enabled this interesting
record to be made known.

The specimen has been added to the National Collection.

R. W. Sims, British Museum (Natural History), London.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Montrose. — On 1 ith October 1953
a yellow-billed cuckoo Coccyzus americanus was seen under ideal
conditions near Old Montrose, Angus, at the west shore of the
Montrose basin. It was first spotted by a party of eight ornitho-
logists on their way home from the annual conference of the
Scottish Ornithologists’ Club at Aberdeen, and later it was shown
to five others, including Mr. George Waterston and Mr. A. G. S.
Bryson, who happened to be prospecting the same area. We had
all studied during the week-end, and many of us on that same day,
the skin of one of the two previous specimens found in Scotland the
same autumn and we had no difficulty at all in identifying the

1953

ZOOLOGICAL NOTES

197

bird. All the prominent features — the chestnut patch on the wing,
the dark tail edged and tipped with white, and the yellow lower
mandible — were seen at close range and in good light with a battery
of optical instruments.

The bird seemed fit and active, diving into cover like a shrike,
flitting between the beech trees where it was feeding, or flying with
a characteristic flicking wing-action and fast bouncing flight. The
general shape was slim, with a long tail which was often cocked like
a blackbird’s on landing, and pointed wings often held drooped like
a perching swift’s. It sidled up the branches keeping mostly to the
tops of the trees but allowing approach to within a few yards. It
fed occasionally on the undersides of the leaves and once held a
large caterpillar in the bill for some time before swallowing it.

A full description was taken. — C. K. Mylne, Edinburgh.

Grasshopper Warbler in Ross-shire. — On 17th June 1935
a grasshopper warbler Locustella naevia was heard singing near the
head of Loch Maree, on the Beinn Eighe Nature Reserve. I heard
the bird singing again on 20th and 22nd June. Despite careful
searching I was never able to see the bird, but there was no mistaking
the song. Mr. Andrew Currie, Nature Conservancy, also heard
and saw the bird. No evidence of a pair or breeding was found.

Elizabeth A. Garden, Aberdeen.

A Stoat trapped on Great Cumbrae. — On 2nd April 1953
a male stoat Mustela erminae was trapped on Great Cumbrae Island.
It had a head and body length of 10 J inches and the tail measured
4 inches to the last vertebra, while the black tip of the tail was 3!
inches long. This is the only record of a stoat on Great Cumbrae
within living memory, and Hugh Boyd Watt (“ The land mammals
of the Clyde faunal area ”, Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow , 7, n.s.,
1902-05: 170-189) states that although long known on Bute it is
not found on Arran or the other Clyde islands. How this stoat
reached Great Cumbrae is not known; the minimum distances to
be covered if it swam are about 1 J miles from the mainland or 2J
miles from Bute. The capture has had considerable local publicity
and no one has confessed to importing stoats. About a year ago
much building material was brought across to the island in lorries
and the possibility of being introduced by accident cannot be ruled
out. — T. B. Bagenal, Marine Station, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae.

198

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol, 65

BOOK REVIEWS

Finding Nests. By Bruce Campbell. London : Collins, 1953. Pp. 256
with 24 plates. 12s. 6d.

There is a definite need for a modern book on bird’s-nesting, an art of
much importance in the study of bird biology, which has been largely
neglected for thirty years and more. As the author says, “ the modern
generation of bird-watchers, reacting from the tainted association of bird’s-
nesting with egg-collecting, were not brought up to find nests ”.

This need is admirably filled by Bruce Campbell’s practical book.
After an introductory chapter summing up the reasons for finding nests
there is a chapter on methods of finding them. The simplest, but perhaps
least productive, method is “ cold ” searching, looking in every likely
situation ' alternatively one may use the method of “ hot ” searching
involving the use of sticks for tapping likely bushes or a rope for dragging
over open country. Patient observers can combine nest finding with
observations on behaviour, by watching the bird back to the nest from a
point of concealment. Following this is a useful chapter describing
methods of looking at nests in such a way as to cause least disturbance to
the nest-site and giving detailed advice on how to climb trees with ropes
or irons.

The main part of the book is devoted to a systematic account of the
British breeding species giving all the information pertinent to finding
their nests. For each species there are sections dealing with distribution,
breeding season, habitat, nest-site, nest, eggs (when considered relevant to
the search) and special methods required for finding the nest. The book
is thoroughly to be recommended to all who wish to find nests, whether
for serious ornithological reasons or as “a sport in its own right — I. M. G.

The Glasgow and West of Scotland Bird Bulletin. Edited and published by
Dr. J. A. Gibson, 39 Strathmore Avenue, Ralston, Paisley. Vol. 1, 20 pp.,
Dec. 1952, price is. 3d. ; vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 1-12, Mar. 1953 ; No. 2,
pp. 13-28, June 1953 ; No. 3, pp. 29-48, Oct. 1953 ; price is. each, 3s. 6d.
per annum. Duplicated typescript.

This has been closely modelled on the successful Edinburgh Bird Bulletin ,
taking for its area “ the whole of the south and west of Scotland and Inner
and Outer Hebrides ”. The first four numbers include ten or more local
lists, some of which are based on rather brief periods of observation and
do not contain much that merits notice ; others, such as the list of the birds
of Southend, Argyll, by James Greenlees (vol. 2, p. 33), are of more sub-
stantial value. Each issue contains an editorial, several brief articles and
a number of short notes, and there are also reviews, notices, and references
to current literature.

1953

BOOK REVIEWS

J99

These Bulletins and others like them automatically assume a place in
the periodical literature of regional or local ornithology. What appears
in them has, in fact, been placed on permanent record, because they will
be preserved in libraries for future reference and quotation. We may be
forgiven therefore for reiterating that the greatest care is required to make
sure that the records given are full enough to carry conviction and to be
acceptable to others, both now and in the future. To give examples, in
the article on rare birds in the Clyde area (vol. 2, p. 31), supporting evidence
is certainly required for the three cream-coloured coursers, and the six
eagle owls, which are so unexpected that the reader’s natural scepticism
ought to have been deliberately disarmed ; otherwise few will accept the
records. In the article (p. 38) on the fulmar colonies of Kintyre, to take
another example, the dates of the authors’ visits are relevant and should be
stated, to enable the reader to assess the reliability of the figures ; for unless
all the ledges were actually reached and the broody adults dislodged, it
might well have been impossible to distinguish between those birds which
were really breeding and those which were merely shamming, at least
until the chicks became visible. Space is clearly at a premium in this sort
of publication, but brevity may have inherent dangers.

Dr. Gibson has spared neither time nor trouble in the production of the
Bulletins, and it is gratifying therefore to read of their still-growing circula-
tion. V. C. W-E.

Studies on British Beechwoods. By J. M. B. Brown. Forestry Commission
Bulletin No. 20. London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1953. 100 pp.

and 28 pp. of plates. 12s. 6d.

This comprehensive report on a survey of the British beechwoods makes a
valuable contribution to our knowledge of woodland ecology. The beech-
woods are classified on a soil basis into chalk, limestone, calcareous glacial
drift, non-calcareous loam and sand types. This classification underlies
the descriptions of the status of the species by regions, and all the subsequent
chapters on such topics as the effect of site factors, the silviculture of beech,
the problems of establishment by natural regeneration or planting, and the
flora of beechwoods. The sections on the fungal, insect and vertebrate
enemies of the tree are complete yet lacking in detail, but the discussion of
the value of beech leaf litter is instructive and clarifying.

The author believes that Scotland lies outwith the optimum climatic
zone for beech growth and regeneration, although he reserves for the species
a place as a major forest crop in certain favourable soil sites of the southern
and eastern regions, and acknowledges the good quality of some beech
stands as far north as Inverness. Throughout Britain generally it has
prospects of expanding cultivation and wider utilisation.

This bulletin is a very praiseworthy work of primary interest to the
professional forester with a technical knowledge of soil science and ecology.
It is well illustrated, and is written in a good scientific style, but it makes
few concessions to those naturalists who recognise woodland plants by the
common English names and dispense with the scientific ones.

1200

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Vol. 65, 1953

CORRESPONDENCE

The Editors, 21 Preston Road,

The Scottish Naturalist Brighton,

Sussex

Dear Sir,

Crossbill Immigration : Request for records
Nineteen fifty- three has seen a great “ irruption ”
of crossbills from the Continent. Since mid-June when the first
birds appeared the species has been recorded all over the British
Isles from Shetland to Cornwall, from Kent to the Outer Hebrides,
and from Suffolk to the westernmost of the islands off the Irish coast.

The Editors of British Birds magazine have asked me to collate
all records of the species for this year, and for early 1954, and to
prepare a connected account for publication in their journal.
I would therefore be very grateful to any readers of the Scottish
Naturalist if they would send to me at the address given above,
records of any immigrant crossbills they may have seen. Records
should include the following information, where known : number
in each flock (with sex and age details if determined), locality
(including nearest town), date, the observer’s name (in capitals
please) and any further remarks on habitat (e.g., species or type of
tree frequented), food, association with other species or evidence of
actual migration.

Only 1953 records are called for at present, but in order that the
full biological significance of the immigration can be determined it
is impotrant that follow-up observations on wintering birds, a
return migration early in 1954 and on nesting birds in February and
March, be made and also collated. I would welcome any such
1954 records as they are made, otherwise by the end of May 1954.
All records will be acknowledged individually and in the published
account. Records already sent to British Birds , the Scottish
Naturalist and to Dr. Bruce Campbell at the B.T.O., Oxford, have
been passed to me.

I am,

Yours truly,

J. H. R. BOSWALL.

INDEX

Albino starlings, 60
Alexander, H. G., 56
Algae, marine, of St. Kilda, 38-42
Allen, Ronald M., 1 92-1 93
Andrew, D. G., 124- 125
Andrew, D. G. and G. L. Sandeman,
Notes on the birds of the Flannan
Isles, 157-166
Auk, Little, 50, 52, 119

Bagenal, T. B., The birds on St. Kilda,
1952, 19-24; 197* See also Gauld,
Bagenal and Connell
Bannerman, David and Jane, 54
Bartholemew, J., 195
Baxter, E. V., see Rintoul and Baxter
Blackbird, 106
Blackcap, 58, 84
Blackwood, G. G., 59, 174
Boase, Henry, 130

Book Reviews, 63-64, 133-136, 198-199
Botany, 32-42 (marine flora of St.

Kilda); 190 (Char ophyta)

Boyd, J. Morton, The sheep population
of Hirta, St. Kilda, 1952, 25
Brook, Dr. A. J., 190
Brown, J. M!. B., Studies on British
Beechwoods, reviewed, 197
Bunting, Lapland, 77-78, 84, 85, 89;
Little, 60-61 ; Ortolan, 60; Reed, 60 ;
Snow, 2, 80, 85, 92, 1 19
Butler, James, F., 56
Buzzard, 83

Calliphora , 50
Cameron, J. Inglis, 58
Campbell, Bruce, Finding Nests, re-
viewed, 198

Campbell, J. L., 50, 62-63 (letter on
spiny lobster)

Campbell, J. W., 53-54
Cephalopoda, 1 20-1 21
Cetacea, 154-156
Chaffinch, 60, 132
Charophyta, 190

Check-list of the Birds of Great Britain and
Ireland, reviewed, 133-136
Coe, R. L., 122-123

Connell, J. H., see Gauld, Bagenal
and Connell

Cormorant, 3, 84, 116, 161, 165
Corncrake, 20, 23, 117
Correspondence, 62-63, 200

Crab, Xantho incisus, 50; Paramola
cuvieri, 120
Crataerina pallida, 192
Cross, Alexander, 128, 129, 195
Crossbill, 2, 200
Crow, Hooded, 22, 27
Crustacea, 50, 120, 142, 143, 144
Cuckoo, Black-billed, 196; Yellow-
billed, 196-197
Curlew, 21

Dall, George, 57

Diptera, 50, 122 (Syrphidae) ; 156,

192, 194 (Hippoboscidae)

Diver, Black - throated, 125; Red -
throated, 124

Dove, Rock, 21; Stock, 195; Turtle, 3
Duck, Long-tailed, 3, 195; see also
Eider, Gadwall, Garganey, Scaup,
Teal, Wigeon (American)

Dunlin, 85, 128

Eagle, Golden, 2
Edwards, A. R., 192
Eggeling, Dr. W. J., 195
Eider, Common, 20, 161, 165
Ekman, Sven, Zoogeography of the Sea,
reviewed, 63

Fieldfare, 58, 65, 85
Filmstrips, noticed, 64
Fishes, rare and exotic, recorded in
Scotland in 1952, 141-153
Flannan Isles, Notes on the birds of,
157-166

Flycatcher, Pied, 2, 83, 84, 119
Food of birds: waxwing, 59; redpoll,
78; red grouse, 128; rock-pipit,
164 ^

Fraser, F. C. and P. E. Purves, Frac-
tured earbones of blue whales, 1 54-
156

Fraser, John, 59

Frigate-bird, 156, 193-194

Fulmar, 20, 51, 125-127, 160-161, 164

Gadwall, 3, 116
Gannet, 20, 51
Garden, Elizabeth A., 197
Garganey, 127 , T „

Gauld, D. T., T. B. Bagenal and J. H.
Connell, The marine fauna and
flora of St. Kilda, 1952, 29-49

201

202

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Glasgow and West of Scotland Bird Bulletin,
vols. i and 2, reviewed, 198
Godwit, Black-tailed, 118
Goldcrest, 57
Goldfinch 1 32

Goodbody Ivan M., 1 31 -132
Goose, 87-88; Barnacle, 81, 82; Grey-
lag, 81; Pink-footed, 81, 82;

White-fronted, 3, 82
Gordon, Ann R., 1 23-1 24
Graham, J., 1 30-1 31
Grebe, Little, 1 15
Greenfinch, 70
Greenshank, 83
Grierson, John, 129, 132
Grosbeak, Scarlet, 84
Grouse, Red, 128
Guillemot, 21, 163; Black, 21
Gull, Black-headed, 21, 195; Common,
85; Great Black-backed, 21, 51,
127, 129, 162, 165; Glaucous, 4,
5G Herring, 21, 51-52, 125-127,
162, 165, 195 (inland nesting and
nesting on roof) ; Iceland, 4, 50,
51, 1 18; Kittiwake, 21, 51-52, 163;
Lesser Black-backed, 21, 23, 118
(Scandinavian), 162, 165; Little,
129; Ross’s, 50

Harrier, Hen, 1 1 7
Hawfinch, 1
Hemiptera, 191

Henderson, J. Murdoch, 54-56
Heron, 83, 84

Hippoboscidae, 156, 192, 194
Hoopoe, 56-57, 1 19

Invertebrates, Rare, recently found,
1 20-1 21; 194 (cestodes)

Jackdaw, 1 74-1 75

Kay, G. T., 50-52
Kestrel, 20, 22, 84
Kingfisher, 56

Kirkcudbright coast, Autumn migration
on, 101-107

Kittiwake, 21, 51-52, 163
Knot, 129

Lapwing, 20, 65

Lepidoptera, 11-18 (Northern Dart on
Scottish mainland)

Lightfoot, E. G. H., 50
Linnet, 106
Lobster, Spiny, 62-63

MacDonald, Donald, M., 58-59
Mallophaga, 194

Vol. 65

Mammals, 23 ( Apodemus s. hirtensis ) ;

25-28 (sheep of Hirta) ; 154-156

(fractured earbones of whales) ;
163 (rabbits on Flannans), 193
(ectoparasites), 197 (stoat on Great
Cumbrae), 5, 7, 9, 192 (squirrels),
193 (bank vole)

Marine fauna and flora of St. Kilda,
J952, 29-49

Martin, House, 106; Sand, 83
Mayaud, Noel, Liste des Oiseaux de
France, reviewed, 133-136
Meiklejohn, M. F. M. and C. E.
Palmar, Notes on birds in the
Clyde area, 1951, 1-4; Report on
birds of the Clyde area, 1952, 115-
TI9

Merlin, 56-57, 76-77, 83, 88, 106
Migration, into Britain from the north-
west, autumn 1952, 65-94 5 on Kirk-
cudbright coast, 1 01 -1 07
Moray, A list of the spiders of, 95-100
Morison, Dr. G. D., 191-192
Mouse, St. Kilda Field-, 23
Murray, I. M., 58
Mursell, D. F., 60
Mylne, C. K., 196-197

Neuroptera (Megaloptera), 80
Northern Dart, 11-18

Osprey, 54-56

Owen, D. F., The autumn migration of
the meadow-pipit and the skylark
on the Kirkcudbright coast, 1 01 -107
Owl, Snowy, 129
Oyster-catcher, 20, 85, 117, 162

Palmar, C. E., see Meiklejohn and
Palmar

Palmer, John F., 131
Pennie, Dr. I. D., 58
Peregrine, 20, 23, 106, 161, 165
Perry, Richard, 59
Petrel, Leach’s, 19, 115, 157, 158-160,
164; stranded in Scotland in
November-December, 1952, 167-

189; Stormy, 19, 116, 158, 160,

165, 169 ff. ; Wilson’s, 169
Phalarope, Grey, 118, 176; Red-necked,
118, 177

Pipit, Meadow, autumn migration, 101-
104; 164, 165; Rock, 22, 164;

Tree, 106

Place, Gordon, 132
Plover, Golden, 21; Grey, 4; Ringed,
20

Puffin, 21, 163

Purves, P. E., see Fraser and Purves

1953

Quail, 1 17

Rabbit, 163

Rae, Dr. B. B. and E. Wilson, Rare
and exotic fishes recorded in Scot-
land during 1952, 141-153
Rail, Land, see Corncrake; Water, 1 1 7
Raphidia maculicollis, 191
Raven, 1, 22, 27, 161, 163-164
Razorbill, 21, 163
Redpoll, 74, 78-79, 89
Redshank, Spotted, 3; Common, 85,
128

Redstart, Black, 58
Redwing, 81, 85
Reptiles, 108-114 (turtles)

Richmond, W. Kenneth, 194- 195
Richter, Dr. Ronald, A list of spiders
of the county of Moray, 95-100; 191
Ring-ouzel, 83

Rintoul, Miss Leonora Jeffrey, obit-
uary notice, 64; The development
of an ornithologist, 1878-1953, by
Professor James Ritchie, 13 7- 140
Rintoul, L. J. and E. V. Baxter, 52-53
Ritchie, Professor James, The develop-
ment of an ornithologist, Leonora
Jeffrey Rintoul, 1878-1953, 137-140
Robin, 106
Rock-dove, 21
Rook, 130, 1 74" 1 75
Ruff, 83, 1 18

St. Kilda, The birds on, 1952, 19-24;
the sheep population of Hirta, 1952,
25-28 ; the marine fauna and flora of
1952, 29-49

Sandeman, G. L., see Andrew and
Sandeman
Sanderling, 21, 56
Sand-martin, 83

Sandpiper, Green, 3, 83; Wood, 83
Scaup, 1 16

Scoter, Common, 52-54; Velvet, 117
Shag, 20, 161

Shearwater, 50, Great, 20, 51 ; Manx,
20, 51, 160, 165; Sooty, 51
Sheep, of Hirta, St. Kilda, 25-28
Sheld-duck, 3,117

Shrike, Great Grey, 59; Lesser Grey,
131-132

Sims, R. W., 196
Siphonaptera, 5- 10, 192- 193
Siskin, 2

Skua, Arctic, 4, 118; Great, 127;
Pomatorhine, 194

Skylark, 22, 104-106 (autumn migration),
165

203

Smew, 1 1 7

Smit, F. G. A. M., The presence in
Scotland of Tarsopsylla octodecimdentata
(Kol.), a flea hitherto unrecorded
from the British Isles, 5-10
Smith, Arthur J., 57
Snipe, Common, 21, 27
Song- thrush, 106
Sparrow, Tree, 2, 119
Sparrow-hawk, 106

Spiders of Moray, 95-100; 123- 124

(West Ross)

Squirrel, 5, 7, 9, 192
Starling, 22, 27, 60 (albinos), 106-107,
164

Stephen, Dr. A. C., Scottish turtle
records previous to 1953, 108-114;
1 20-1 2 1 (invertebrates); 193- 194
Stewart, I. F., 60
Stint, Little, 3
Stirling, W. T., 192
Stoat, 197
Stock-dove, 195
Swallow, 22, 106
Swan, Whooper, 81-82
Swift, 192
Syrphidae, 1 22-1 23

Tarsopsylla octodecimdentata, 5-10, 192
Teal, 129
Tern, Roseate, 56
Thrush, Song-, 106

Tit, Blue, 58, 1 31; Coal, 58, 131;

Great, 58; Long-tailed, 57; Willow,
119, 130, 131

Tod, Kenneth, The distribution of the
Northern Dart, Agrotis hyper borea
(Zett.), on the mainland of Scotland,
1 1 -1 8

Turnstone, 21, 85, 165
Turtles, Scottish records previous to
i953> 108-114
Turtle-dove, 3
Twite, 22, 79, 164, 165

Velia saulii, 191
Vole, Bank, 193

Wagtail, Grey, 22, 106; Pied, 22, 106;

White, 2, 75, 83, 86, 89, 119
Warbler, Barred, 83, 84; Garden, 83,
84; Grasshopper, 83, 197; Willow,
83, 84

Water-rail, 1 1 7
Waxwing, 2, 59, 65

INDEX

THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST

Whales, right, fractured earbones of,
154-156

Wheatear, 22, 23, 69 ff., 85, 92, 106, 164,
165

Whimbrel, 162, 165

Whinchat, 83, 84

Whitehead, G. Kenneth, Deer and
Their Management in the Deer Parks ,
of Great Britain and Ireland, reviewed,
133

Whitethroat, Common, 58, 83, 106;

Lesser, 58, 84, 1 19

Wigeon, American, 1 1 6

Vol. 65, 1953

Williamson, Kenneth, 60; Migration
into Britain from the north-west,
autumn 1952, 65-94; K. and

Esther Williamson, 56-57
Wilson, F., see Rae and Wilson
Wren, 22 (St. Kilda)

Wryneck, 57, 83

Wynne-Edwards, V. C., 53; Leach’s
petrels stranded in Scotland in
October-November, 1952, 167-189

Zoological Notes, 50-61, 120-132, 191-
197

The concluding part (pages 137-204) of Volume 65 was published in March, 1954

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