Vol. 67 (complete) Price j 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 business communications should be addressed to Oliver & Boyd Ltd., Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh, i. Editorial contributions should be addressed to Miss W. U. Flower, 5 Airthrey Avenue, Glasgow, W. 4. Annual Subscription : £ 1 is. ; single parts, 7s. 6d. CONTENTS PAGE Preface ......... 1 Observations on the Fauna of Heisker or Monach Isles, Outer Hebrides — Ronald M. Allan ..... 3 The Haskeir Rocks, North Uist — Dr. Brian Roberts and Robert Atkinson ......... 9 The Spiders of the Black Wood of Rannoch — Dr. Alexander B. Roy . . . . . . . . .19 Food and Feeding Habits of Brown Trout, Perch and other Fish in Loch Tummel — R. N. Campbell ... 23 Continued on page 4 of Cover 0* jUli ll3S The Scottish Naturalist Volume 67 *955 PREFACE As subscribers have already been informed by a circular, The Scottish Naturalist has experienced growing difficulties, both in the matter of timely publication and in meeting the rising costs of production ; but fortunately we have been given a new lease of life by our good friends Oliver and Boyd’s, who have undertaken to become our publishers again. (They published The Scottish Naturalist from 1912 to 1950, except for the eight years between 1939 and 1948 when publication was suspended.) With their support it has been possible at last to bring out this volume for the year 1955. In bulk it is somewhat less than we have produced in recent years : but enough material had to be set aside to make a simultaneous start with Part 1 of the 1956 volume, in order to catch up with the date of publication. In comparison with most of our contemporaries, the style of publication of The Scottish Naturalist appears to some people rather lavish, and presumably costly. No wonder, they think, the maga- zine runs into financial difficulties. For their benefit it should be explained that our circulation is very limited, and we have for some years printed only 600 copies; consequently, for us, the cost of paper is not a very big item; but the cost of type-setting and printing is relatively enormous. If we used smaller type, filled up all the blanks, had smaller margins and cheaper paper, the maximum saving which could be effected would be only a few pounds a year, perhaps 2 or 3 per cent, of our total production costs. If we had ten times the circulation, on the other hand, the actual printing costs would not be greatly increased; but ten times as much would have to be spent on paper, and any savings which could be effected in this direction would then begin to mount up to something worth having. Putting the same thing in other I 1 2 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 words, so long as we are small our “ lavish 55 production costs us very little, and if there is an actual advantage to be gained from a limited circulation, by all means let us take it. Though the circulation is small it is nevertheless fairly select, and in fact the magazine goes all over the world; its contents are abstracted in several foreign journals. Its good appearance is likely to commend it, no matter where it goes, nor how many years it stands on library shelves; and it would surely be a false economy in this case to spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar. The arrangement of the articles which follow is roughly chrono- logical: that is to say, they are printed in the approximate order in which they were received from their authors. Otherwise the sequence is the same as that usually followed in a single part. — Editors. *955 FAUNA OF MONACH ISLES 3 OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF HEISKER OR MONACH ISLES, OUTER HEBRIDES* Ronald M. Allan Aberdeen During the summers of 1953 and 1954 four visits, each of a ten-day period, were made to the Heisker or Monach Isles, Outer Hebrides. These visits were made in the latter part of May and early August during 1953, and in May and late September during 1954. The Monach Isles are situated 7 miles south-west of North Uist; they are therefore the most westerly islands in this group. There are five main islands, although there are also a great many outlying reefs at all stages of the tides. The largest of the islands, known as the East End or Ceann Ear, is about 1 mile wide and 2 miles long while the smallest, Stockay, has an area of only 400 square yards at high tide. The East and West Ends are connected by a strand, over which it is possible to walk at low water. The shores of all five islands are rocky, but there are a number of small sandy bays throughout the isles. There are two fresh water lochs on the East End, Loch nam Buadh and Loch Sniogravat. The former, the larger of the two, is situated in arable land, while the latter is a very small loch nestled between two outcrops of rock. The highest point on the isles is just over 50 feet above mean sea level. During the greater part of the year the Monach Isles are uninhabited, but during the summer months a few lobster fishermen from Grimsay stay on the East End. There are a number of ruined houses throughout the islands although there are also a few in good repair. These were vacated recently. An attempt was made to determine the number of birds present on the islands, and, whenever possible, their breeding sites and habits. Notes were also made on the few mammals * Received 22nd October 1954 4 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 present. Attention is drawn to the lists by J. A. Harvie- Brown and T. E. Buckley (1888). I wish to express my thanks to Peter Evans and A. W. Cundall for permitting me to incorporate observations made by them on Heisker during June 1951. My thanks are also due to Miss Irene Kinnear for permission to use observations made by her during July 1949. Leach’s Fork-tailed Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa. The remains of one found on the west shore of Shivinish on 6th August 1953. Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis. Breeding on all five islands. The most seen together was thirty at low tide on the strand. Eight eggs were found in the ruined house on Stockay during May 1953. Elsewhere nests were found in the ruined houses of the West End and also in sand banks near the shore, but one nest was found down a rabbit burrow at a distance of 2 feet. Fisher (1952) referring to the distribution of the fulmar states that “ Fulmars have never colonised the Monach Islands; though two were seen flying nearby from the lighthouse in 1916, the ground is not very suitable (though fulmars now nest in quite a number of places on similar low islands), and surveys in 1933, 1942, and 1947 were all negative”. The notes made by Miss Irene Kinnear are therefore of particular interest; she found in July 1949 fulmars “ nesting on sand dunes, among houses and in one case on the upper floor of the schoolhouse ”. Observations by Peter Evans and A. W. Cundall are also of interest; they found in 1951 “ several scattered pairs with eggs on the sand dunes of Heisker ”. Observations made during 1954 tend to indicate that the fulmar was more common then than in 1953. Gannet Sula bassana. Several seen fishing on occasion round the coast. During high winds these birds frequently fish in the stretch of water at high tide between the East End and Shivinish. All the gannets seen were in full adult plumage. Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo. A few breed on Stockay. About fifty birds present on 8th August 1 mile north of Stockay. Occasionally seen with shag. Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis. Nearly 1,000 nest on the island of Stockay; 100 were frequently seen on the north-east 1955 FAUNA OF MONACH ISLES 5 tip of the East End. During the month of August and perhaps for the remainder of the year, these birds spend the night on Haskeir, an island 14 miles north of Stockay, departing (in August) each evening at 8 p.m. and returning shortly after dawn. Heron Ardea cinerea. One East End, 23rd May and 2nd August 1953. A nest was found during May 1954 in the rafters of an old house on Ceann Ear but the contents could not be seen. Eight herons were frequently seen beside Loch Sniogravat in September 1954. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos. One nest containing six eggs was found among marram grass on Stockay. A few adults seen on Loch nam Buadh during September 1954. Teal Anas crecca. Three frequently seen on Loch nam Buadh in September. Eider Somateria mollissima. About fifty nests were found among marram grass on Stockay on 22nd May 1953. The average nest contained four eggs but two and six were recorded. Four nests were also found on Stockay. A flock of sixty males was always present in Haemaravagh during May. Several females were seen in the sandy bays round the shores during August; these were usually accompanied by two young. Red-breasted Merganser Mergus senator. A few off Heisker (P.E. and A.W.C.). Sheld-duck Tadorna tadorna. Scarce. One nest found in a rabbit burrow during May 1953. One adult Port Roy 7th May and two Stockay 6th August 1953. Two often seen together on Shivinish during May 1954. Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis. One male shot near Loch nam Buadh on 31st May 1953. About thirty seen on the East End on 21st May 1954. These departed soon after our arrival on the island. Several flocks of up to 100 birds passed over on 26th September 1954 flying in a south-easterly direction. According to the local fishermen, this goose visits the Monach Isles in vast numbers during the winter months. Evidence to support this statement is readily available in the form of the large quantities of goose excrement to be found on all parts of the islands though it is not necessarily correct to assume that all geese visiting the Monach Isles are barnacle geese. 6 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol 67 Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus. Five adults on Loch nam Buadh on 29th and 30th September 1954. Sparrow Hawk Accipiter nisus. One hunting on the West End 27th, 28th, and 30th September 1954. Coot Fulica atra. Eight present, Loch nam Buadh, May and August 1953 and May 1954. Only seven seen during September 1954. Oyster-catcher Haematopus ostralegus. About fifty pairs breeding on all islands. Fewer seen during the autumn months. Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Nesting on East and West Ends only. Fewer seen during August and September. Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula. Nesting on the north shore of the West End. Common round the coast during August and September. Golden Plover Charadrius apricarius. Several hundred frequently seen on the East End during September 1954. Not seen during other visits. Turnstone Arenaria interpres. Present in small numbers during all visits. Snipe Capella gallinago. One, near Loch nam Buadh, 1st and 5th August 1953. Common everywhere during September J954- Jack Snipe Limnocryptes minimus. Two, West End, 29th September 1954. Curlew Numenius arquata. Apparently not breeding al- though several were seen during all visits. Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus. Seven, Port Roy, at low tide on 10th August 1953. Redshank Tringa totanus. A few seen Port Roy during September 1954. Dunlin Calidris alpina. Fairly common on East and West Ends. One nest found on the East End near Loch nam Buadh and a few on the west side of Ceann Ear. Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus. Six nests found during May 1953, three of these on Scrot Mor. Another nest was found near the shag colony on Stockay. One nest found on the West End during May 1954. Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus. Seven near Port Roy 7th August 1953. Otherwise singly during autumn visits only. 1955 FAUNA OF MONACH ISLES 7 Herring Gull Larus argentatus. Nesting on the south- west point of Shivinish in considerable numbers. Common Gull Larus cams. A few seen (P.E. and A.W.C.). Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus. A colony of some eight pairs and several scattered pairs (P.E. and A.W.C.). One nest with three eggs found on Shivinish on 8th May 1953. E)uring May 1954 a colony of about twenty pairs was found in the same area. A further colony was also found on the West End during 1954 which was not present in May 1953- Common Tern Sterna hirundo. Three nests on west shore of East End, 31st May 1953. Arctic Tern Sterna macrura. Seven nests with eggs found on the West End on 31st May 1953. Several incomplete nests were found in the same area during the last week of May *954- Little Tern Sterna albifrons. Two pairs (P.E. and A.W.C.). One seen on the strand on 24th May 1954. Guillemot Uria aalge. Four flying i-J miles north-east of Stockay on 27th May. Six on Raiskeir 5th August 1953. Two seen near Stockay on 30th September 1954. Black Guillemot Uria grylle. During her visit on 5th July 1949 Miss Kinnear observed that black guillemots had nested on Shillay. Puffin Fratercula arctica. One Stockay, 5th August 1953. Skylark Alauda arvensis. About twenty pairs breeding mainly on the East End. Fewer seen during autumn. Swallow Hirundo rustica. Four over Loch nam Buadh, 19th and 22nd May 1953. One in same locality 25th May. Raven Corvus corax. Nest with four young found on Stockay 22nd May 1953. Another nest with three young on the West End, 25th May 1954. Adult seen during all four visits. Hooded Crow Corvus cornix. Two seen on most days during visits. Wren Troglodytes troglodytes. One near the School House* 28th September 1954. Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe. Four seen together, East End, 2nd August 1953; otherwise singly and not common. Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis. Scarce on Heisker (P.E. and A.W.C.). 8 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y Rock Pipit Anthus spinoletta. Scarce. One seen Haema- ravagh, 27th and 29th May 1953. Two seen on the north- east shore on Ceann Ear during May 1954. Starling Sturnus vulgaris. The commonest land bird. Roosting flock of at least five hundred seen during August, fewer during September. Nesting mainly in dry stone dykes but also among stones on the shores. A regular two-way passage by groups of three or four birds was observed during May between Stockay and the East End. As Stockay is so small an island, and therefore hardly able to support a large population, it is assumed that these birds were foraging on the East End. Twite Carduelis fiavirostris. Six near Loch nam Buadh, 10th August 1953. Domestic Cat Felis catus. Four or perhaps five on East End. These were brought over in 1946 and have now gone wild. Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus. Common on East and West Ends and also Shivinish. Common Seal Phoca vitulina. Present round the coast in considerable numbers. Seven seen together near Shillay on several occasions. Voles Microtinae. These were specially searched for but none were found on any of the islands, although the fishermen say that the houses are occasionally invaded by “ mice ”. REFERENCES Fisher, J., 1952. The Fulmar, p. 21 1. London. Harvie-Brown, J. A. and Buckley, T. E., 1888. A vertebrate fauna of the Outer Hebrides. Appendix D. Edinburgh. 1955 THE HASKEIR ROCKS 9 THE HASKEIR ROCKS, NORTH UIST* Brian Roberts and Robert Atkinson Cambridge Henley-on-Thames The big black rock of Haskeir lies 7^ miles off Griminish Point on the west coast of North Uist, and is well known as a breeding place of Atlantic seals. Haskeir Eagach, a string of five barren rocks close together, lies a mile to the south-west of Haskeir. The water is deep; there is no safe anchorage. We landed on Haskeir early in the evening of 25th June 1952, in sunshine and a cloudless calm, and had to get off again soon after 3 o’clock next morning as an easterly breeze began to freshen. We were back again on 2nd July 1953, and had six hours ashore in perfect calm. Haskeir consists of two great cliff bound masses joined by a narrower and lower waist, with a total surface area of about 34 acres. The southern mass rises into two low hills separated by a saddle of peaty “ seal ground the southernmost (123 feet) is the higher. The northern mass is nearly as high, and between them they enclose an open bay. A rock bridge over a tunnel which pierces the island right through from east to west joins the central waist to the southern block. Another sea tunnel runs under the north-eastern promontory of the island. Landing is easy in quiet weather at several places along the east side and, once ashore, the half mile length of the rock is negotiable from one end to the other, though the northern block drops to the constricted waist by a cliff which is awkwardly overhung at its base. During their respective voyages to St. Kilda both Martin Martin and the Rev. Mr. Kenneth Macaulay attempted to reach Haskeir; Martin failed, on 29th May 1697, but Macaulay, on 6th June 1758, succeeded, and found the rock “ extremely romantic ” (Martin, 1698; Macaulay, 1764). The only human inhabitant in the history of Haskeir appears to have been a tinker of about the year 1830 who, “ desiring to exercise some self-restraint ”, took provisions and * Received 1 $th December 1954 2 IO THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 materials for his trade, and spent a whole winter there (Beveridge, 1911). The remains of his stone bothy are still to be seen below the crown of the northern part of the island. Capt. H. J. Elwes (1869) landed on 30th June 1868 during his tour of bird stations of the Outer Isles. Alexander Car- michael, the Gaelic scholar and an informant of Harvie-Brown, visited Haskeir in October 1878. J. A. Harvie-Brown (1883, 1889) and Professor R. F. Heddle had about three hours ashore on 1st June 1881. Mr. John Macdonald, of Newton, North Uist, evidently knew Haskeir well at this time and had certainly landed there before this; he was factor of the North Uist estate until his death in 1888 and a correspondent of both Robert Gray (author of The Birds of the West of Scotland , 1871) and Harvie-Brown. In June 1919 A. J. Campbell Orde (1919) landed and recorded the first nesting of fulmars. Seton Gordon (1933, 1946 and in litt.) has landed on four occasions, on 5th June 1928, 25th July 1933, 14th October 1946 and nth June 1948. R. B. Freeman (1940) landed and listed the birds on 10th July 1939. Fishery cruisers have visited Haskeir several times during recent years and on two occasions — those of Seton Gordon’s latest visits — have sent parties ashore. Lobstermen from North Uist and Bernera, Harris, are irregular visitors. Vegetation Much of the surface is bare rock: “ a very dark fissile hornblendic schist, with a dip of io° to the north ” (Heddle, in Harvie-Brown and Buckley, 1889). The drier hilly ground is wholly covered with drifts of luxuriant sea-pink ( Armeria maritima ) , notably pale in flower. Summer visitors have usually commented on this beautiful sight, which shows up even from seaward. Lower wetter areas are covered with sea-plantain (Plantago maritima ) growing in lush beds almost like a planted crop, with the peat bare and dark below the leaf cover. Atriplex, Silene, Matricaria and Cochlearia are frequent. There is no pasture; the grass, such as it is, grows in tufts from rock clefts. The border of one of the peat-bottomed sea] pools yielded a single plant of Triglochin maritima and a 1955 THE HASKEIR ROCKS ii R. Atkinson Fig. i. — Haskeir from the west, 25th June 1952. patch of Juncus tenuis. The twelve species of flowering plants collected are: Cochle aria officinalis L. Silene maritima (Hornem.) With. Sagina maritima Sm. Matricaria maritima L. ssp. maritima Armeria maritima WiUd. Glaux maritima L. Plantago maritima L. Atriplex hastata L. Juncus tenuis Willd. Triglochin maritima L. Puccinellia maritima (Huds.) Pari. Festuca rubra L. var. mutica Hartm. The specimens were kindly named by Dr. A. Melderis and are deposited in the British Museum (Natural History). 12 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Seals The whole of the cliffbound northern mass of Haskeir is inaccessible to seals. The rest of the rock offers difficult landing places and little room in an interior of broken, rocky, boulder- strewn ground ; there are only two or three small and elevated “ seal pools 55 and the bridge over the tunnel is impassable to seals. Yet in all the Scottish records of colonies of the Atlantic seal ( Halichoerus grypus) Haskeir is most often mentioned, pro- bably because the topography made seals easy to kill there and because a tradition of regular autumnal hunts lasted for several centuries. The first note of seals on Haskeir is that of Sir Donald Monro (1774) who travelled to the Outer Hebrides in 1549 and who mentions “ infinit slaughter of selchis ” at “ Haysker 55 . Martin (1703) also records seals abounding at Haskeir, but his circumstantial accounts of seal hunting and of the numbers killed refer to the Heisker or Monach Islands and to Causamul. Macaulay (1764), in his pleasant account of Haskeir, refers his readers to Martin for particulars of seal hunting, but adds the information that “ the fat of the Seals, is by the people, to whose share that perquisite falls, converted now into oil and sent to market”; seal meat was no longer eaten. In Sir John Sinclair’s Statistical Account of Scotland , Macqueen (1794) gives further details of the hunting. Writing of Haskeir and Causamul he says: “ There are 2 rocks . . . inhabited only by seals, which the possessors of the farms these rocks belong to, attempt to kill once a-year, either in the month of October or November; for this purpose, they use clubs or long sticks, heavy at the end, and with which they strike them on the head, a blow in any other part being ineffectual.” MacGillivray (1842) gives a more detailed account: “ In the beginning of November a large boat filled with men leaves North Uist under night, and generally arrives at Haskir soon after daybreak. The men land upon the island armed with long clubs and separate into two bodies, one of which attack the seals upon the shelving rocks upon which they are found lying with their cubs, while the other cut off their retreat to the water. A short but fierce struggle then takes place; a few of the animals escape, the rest are killed by repeated blows *955 THE HASKEIR ROCKS i3 about the root of the nose, their only vulnerable spot, and the rock is soon covered with the dying and the dead. About seventy are thus annually secured, but the number varies R. Atkinson Fig. 2. — Cliffs of the northern block above the bay, looking eastwards, 2nd July 1953. considerably, as many at 120 having sometimes been obtained. ...” Capt. Elwes, who landed on Haskeir in 1868, informed Harvie-Brown (1880) that from 40 to 100 young and old seals were killed each November until 1858, when the slaughter by men from North Uist was stopped by the proprietor, Sir John 14 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y Orde. It appears, however, that successive proprietors were unable to protect the seals, for Prichard (1913) records that the annual clubbing of the seals was continued by boat crews from Harris. At this time he estimated that an annual average of at least thirty or forty seals were destroyed on Haskeir alone. His published account strongly advocated government protection. The matter was taken up by Mr. Charles Lyell, M.P., who successfully piloted a bill through the House of Commons (Prichard, 1921; Parker, 1924). The Grey Seals Protection Act, 1914 (4 and 5 Geo. 5, Ch. 3) imposed a close time for grey seals between 1st October and 15th December in each year, until 31st December 1918. The Act was continued in force under Expiring Laws Con- tinuance Acts until the Grey Seals Protection Act, 1932 (22 and 23 Geo. 5, Ch. 23) came into force. It was considered that the protection afforded by the 1914 Act did not cover the whole of the breeding season (see Editorial in the Scottish Naturalist , Nos. 123 and 124, 1922, pp. 33-35), and the Act of 1932 extended the period of the close season from 1st September to 31st December. Under the Act of 1932 power is given to the Secretary of State (as regards Scotland) to make Orders withdrawing protection in any part of a year or altering the dates on which the close season begins or ends. However, in view of opinions expressed that Haskeir served as a main breeding ground for seals, the islands of the group were ex- cepted from this provision. Change of custom, protective legislation with the presence of fishery cruisers, and difficulty of access to the breeding colonies have now combined to reduce seal hunting in the Outer Hebrides to no more than rare casual raids. The effects of human interference on the total seal population is probably negligible. It is timely, therefore, to attempt some estimate of the present size of the breeding colony on Haskeir. Mr. J. S. Munro of the Fisheries Division, Scottish Home Department, has kindly supplied the information noted below about the seal population during visits of the Department’s cruisers on various occasions since 1946. On 14th October 1946 a landing was made and “ about 40-50 seals with their pups, numbering about 90 in all, were observed. Several bulls were seen mating with cows ”. During this visit, Seton Gordon 1955 THE HASKEIR ROCKS 15 (1946) records “ about 40 calves ”. On 30th September 1947 one of the writers took part in a reconnaissance flight organized by Mr. James Fisher to make a survey of Scottish seal colonies. On this occasion, rather early in the breeding season, about R. Atkinson Fig. 3. — The rock bridge, looking eastwards, 2nd July 1953. thirty calves and twelve adults were seen. When a fishery cruiser visited the island on 12th November 1949 no landing was possible, but about six adults and one young seal were observed, through binoculars, in the water. On 24th November 1949 a landing again proved impossible, but “ a THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 16 Vol. 67 concentration of about 120 seals was observed on the low narrow neck of land which lies about the middle of the island On 20th and 26th November 1952, when no landings were made, some lift}' and seventy seals respectively were seen. Counts of seals at Haskeir during the summer have always been very low, e.g. about five on nth June 1948 (fishery cruiser), three on 25th June 1952 (present writers). There is a single record of a walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus ). which was killed at Haskeir by Captain M£Donald, R.N., in April 1841 (Brown, 1871). Birds Haskeir is a good seabird rock, though it cannot compare with such as the St. Kilda group, North Rona, Sula Sgeir. the Shiant Isles or ^Mingulay. The breeding birds are much what would be expected, and lists have been given by Harvie- Brown (1883, 1889) and Freeman (1940). Some changes have occurred, but all the fourteen species previously recorded on the main rock were found breeding, or inferred to be breeding in 1952-53, and one species w as added. Common eiders, 44 very plentiful 55 in 1881 and 15 to 20 nests found, were not recorded at all in 1939. Several pairs were nesting in 1952-53. Arctic terns, present as a 44 large colony 55 in 1868, were absent in 1881 and 1939. There was a large colony again in 1952-53. Fulmars have increased from four nests in 1919 to some 500 in 1952-53. A common gulfs nest with three eggs in 1952 appears to be the only record of this species breeding on Haskeir. Puffins have obviously greatly decreased: in 1881 44 hundreds of eggs might easily have been gathered55, in 1939 they w^ere 44 entirely absent although common in the wraters around the island 55 . We estimated a maximum breeding population of 50 pairs in 1953. Freeman’s record of a Leach’s petrel in a hole in 1939 raised hopes of finding a breeding colony, but a very thorough search in 1953, and most of a night ashore in 1952, revealed no trace of either Leach’s or storm petrels ( Oceanodroma l. leucorhoa , Hydrobates pelagicus) . The fifteen species breeding on the main rock are : 1955 THE HASKEIR ROCKS 17 Rock pipit (. Anthus spinoletta ) . Common eider ( Somateria mollissima). Shag ( Phalacrocorax aristotelis) . Fulmar [Fulmarus glacialis). Rock dove ( Columba livid). Oyster-catcher ( Haematopus ostralegus). Arctic tern ( Sterna macrura). Common gull ( Larus cams) . Herring gull [Larus argentatus ) . Lesser black-backed gull [Larus fuscus) . Great black-backed gull [Larus marinus) . Kittiwake [Rissa tridactyla). Razorbill [Alca torda). Guillemot [Uria aalge). Puffin [Fratercula arctica). REFERENCES Beveridge, Erskine, 1911. North Uist: its archaeology and topography, with notes upon the early history of the Outer Hebrides. Edinburgh, pp. 59, 67-68. Brown, Robert, 1871. Notes on arctic zoology. Annals and Magazine of Natural History , 7 : 64-66. Elwes, H. J., 1869. The bird-stations of the Outer Hebrides. Ibis, 1869: 20-37. Freeman, R. B., 1940. On the birds of the islands of Oigh-Sgeir and Causamul, North Uist. British Birds, 33: 330-332. Gordon, Seton, 1953. Islands of the west. London. “ Hasker: the deep- sea skerry ”, pp. 87-92. [First published, with slight differences, in the Scotsman, 4th July 1928.] 1946. Atlantic seals. Island colonies off the Outer Hebrides. Scotsman, 2nd November 1946. Har vie -Brown, J. A., 1880. On the mammalia of the Outer Hebrides. Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Glasgow, 4, Part 1, 1878-79. [pub. 1880]: 88-107. 1883. The islands and rocks of Haskeir, off N. Uist, and their bird life . . . with a sketch by the author. Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Glasgow, 5, Part 2, 1881-82 [pub. 1883]: 181-191. Harvie-Brown, J. A. and Buckley, T. E., 1889. A vertebrate fauna of the Outer Hebrides. Edinburgh. Macaulay, Kenneth. 1764. The history of St. Kilda . . . London, pp. 5-8- MacGillivray, John, 1842. Notes on the zoology of the Outer Hebrides. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 1, Vol. 8, No. 48: 7-16. 3 1 8 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Macqueen, Allan, 1794. Parish of North Uist. In The statistical account of Scotland . . . Edited by Sir John Sinclair. Edinburgh. Vol. 13, p. 322. Martin, Martin, 1698. A late voyage to St. Kilda . . . First Edition, London, pp. 4-5. Reprinted, Stirling, 1934, p. 404. 1703. A description of the western islands of Scotland . . . London, “ 1673 ” [1703], p. 66. Reprinted, Stirling, 1934, p. 137. Monro, Donald, 1774. A description of the western isles of Scotland called Hebrides . . . Edinburgh, 1774. [Reprinted in Martin’s Descrip- tion of the western islands of Scotland. Stirling, 1934, p. 512-513.] Orde, Arthur J. Campbell, 1919. Fulmars nesting at Haskeir. Scot. Nat., 1919: 166. Parker, Eric, 1924. Hesketh Prichard, hunter, explorer, naturalist, cricketer. London, Chapter 12, pp. 112-118. “ Grey seal protection.” Prichard, Hesketh V. H., 1913. The Grey Seals of Haskeir. Cornhill Magazine, New Series, 35: 85-101. 1921. Sport in wildest Britain. London. “The Grey Seals of Haskeir ”, pp. 9-41. r955 SPIDERS OF THE BLACK WOOD OF RANNOCH 19 THE SPIDERS OF THE BLACK WOOD OF RANNOCH t Alexander B. Roy Department of Biochemistry University of Edinburgh Discussing the spiders taken in the Black Wood of Rannoch, Jackson (1914) wrote: “ this seems a very rich locality. There is no doubt that patient and careful work here would turn up many new things.” This is followed by a list of fifty- five species, three of which were new to Britain. Since then a further species new to Britain, Dipoena torva , has been taken there by La Touche (Locket and Millidge, 1953). During the summer of 1954 three short visits were made to the Black Wood and a total of sixty-six species of spiders were taken, bringing the total number of species recorded from the Black Wood to ninety-four, a large number from such a small area. In the present instance the term Black Wood is taken to include not only the wood proper but also the stretch of similar but more open woodland along the Allt na Bogair about one mile to the east. The following is a complete list of the species of spiders which have now been taken in the Black Wood (Perthshire, vice-county 88). The date of capture is indicated by the number after the name as follows: 1. Jackson 2. Roy 3. Roy 4. Roy 8th- nth June 1914 Rain on two days 15th, 1 6th, 1 8th May 1954 Very hot and dry 10th and nth July 1954 Damp 19th September 1954 Very wet Ciniflo fenestralis Stroem. 1, 2, 3. Dictyna arundinacea L. 1, 2, 3, 4. Segestria senoculata L. 1,2. Drassodes lapidosus Walck. Micaria pulicaria Sund. Clubiona subsultans Thor. * Clubiona stagnitalis Kulcz. Clubiona compta C. L. Koch. Clubiona trivialis C. L. Koch. Cheiracanthium erraticum Walck. Zora spinimana Sund. 2. Xysticus cristatus Clerck. 1, 2, 3. Xysticus luctuosus Bl. 1 . Philodromus aureolus Clerck. 1, 2, 3, Philodromus aureolus caespiti- colis Walck. 1, 2. Philodromus emarginatus Schrank. 1 . Salticus scenicus Clerck. 2. Salticus cingulatus Panz. 1. Neon reticulatus Bl. 1. 1. 2. 1 , 2. 1, 2, 4. 3* f Received 14 th December 1954 20 THE : SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Evarcha falcata Clerck. 2. Gonatium rubens Bl. 1, 2, 4. Lycosa tarsalis Thor. 2, 3- Gonatium rubellum Bl. 1, 3- Lycosa tarsalis herbigrada Bl. 2. * Minyrioloides trifrons Wider. 3- Lycosa pullata Clerck. C 2, 3, 4. Peponocranium ludicrum Lycosa amentata Clerck. 2, 3- Cambr. 2. Tarentula pulverulenta Clerck. 2. Pocadicnemis pumila Bl. 1, 2. Trochosa terricola Thor. C 2, 3, 4. Minyriolus pusillus Wider. 1 . Pirata piraticus Clerck. 2. Thyreosthenius parasiticus 1. Pirata hygrophilus Clerck. 1. Westr. 1 . Dolomedes fimbriatus Walck. 1. Thyreosthenius bioviatus Camb. 3. In Cryphoeca silvicola C. L. Koch. 1, 2, 4. of Formica Hahnia montana Bl. 1. Monocephalus fuscipes Bl. 1. Hahnia helveola Simon. 1, 3- Micargus herbigradus Bl. 1. Ero sp. (immature) 3- Savignia frontata Bl. 2. * Dipoena torva Thor. La Touche Diplocephalus cristatus Bl. 2. Theridion sisyphium Clerck. 1, 3- Erigone promiscua Camb. 1. Theridion varians Hahn. 1. Syedrula innotabilis Camb. 1. Theridion pallens Bl. 1, 2. Agyneta cauta Camb. 1. Robertus lividus Bl. 2, 3- Centromerus arcanus Camb. 1 . Robertus scoticus Jackson. 1. Centromerus dilutus Camb. 1. Theonoe minutissima Cambr. 1. Centromerita bicolor Bl. 4- Tetragnatha extensa L. 1, 2, 3. Sintula conigera Bl. 1. Pachygnatha degeeri Sund. 2. Oreonetides abnormis Bl. 3- Meta segmentata Clerck. 1. Labulla thoracica Wider. 1. Meta segmentata mengei Bl. 2, 3; 4- * Bolyphantes alticeps Sund. 4. Meta merianae Scop. 2, 3- Lepthyphantes minutus Bl. 4. Araneus diadematus Clerck. 2, 3, 4- Lepthyphantes alacris Bl. 3- Araneus quadratus Clerck. I. Lepthyphantes obscurus Bl. i, 2, 3. Araneus cornutus Clerck. 2, 3- Lepthyphantes tenuis Bl. 2, 3- Araneus umbraticus Clerck. I, 2. Lepthyphantes zimmermanni Araneus sturmi Hahn. I, 2. Bertkau. 1, 2, 3. Araneus cucurbitinus Clerck. 1, 2, 3- Lepthyphantes cristatus Menge. 2. Cyclosa conica Pallas. I. Lepthyphantes mengei Kulcz. 1, 2. Zygiella stroemi Thor. I, 3- Lepthyphantes tenebricola Ceratinella brevipes Westr. 2. Wider. 2, 4- Ceratinella brevis Wider. I. Lepthyphantes ericaeus Bl. 1. Walckenaera acuminata Bl. 2. Linyphia triangularis Clerck. 4. Moebelia penicillata Westr. I, 2. Linyphia clathrata Sund. 3- * Dismodicus bifrons Bl. I. Linyphia peltata Wider. 2. * Dismodicus elevatus C. L. Linyphia pusilla Sund. i> 2, 3. Koch. 2. Those species which are marked by an asterisk have not been recorded previously for Perthshire. The only previous records consulted were those of Bristowe (1939); it should be noted that some of Jackson’s (1914) records appear to have been missed by Bristowe but these are included in the above list. Of the species taken by the author only two are of special interest. Those are Dismodicus elevatus and Zygiella stroemi. It would seem that the only previous record of D. elevatus in Britain is that of Jackson (1914), who took it in the Abernethy Forest. Jackson also took £. stroemi in the Black Wood, where he found it on the trunks of pines in several parts of the wood. 1935 SPIDERS OF THE BLACK WOOD OF RANNOCH 21 During the present visits no specimens were found on pines, although a search was made, and the only specimen taken was obtained under the eaves of the saw-mill at Dali. The typical webs of Zygiella were plentiful in this site but were inaccessible so that the species could not be determined. Although it is disappointing that the other rarities described by Jackson were not taken, that author’s conclusion regarding the richness of the area was amply confirmed, at least in total numbers of spiders if not in numbers of species. Especially widespread species were Meta segmentata mengei , which occurred almost everywhere on all three visits; Philodromus aureolus, which was very common on pine branches; Dictyna arundinacea , which was very widespread on heather; and the three species of Lycosae which occurred in very large numbers in the debris around the Dali sawmill, especially in May. The 17th May was spent in collecting around Loch Ossian, to the north-west of the Black Wood and some 700 feet higher. The difference between the two areas was very striking, the woods at Loch Ossian being very much poorer both in total numbers of spiders and in numbers of species. This same difference was noted in the Coleoptera of the two regions by Dr. J. A. Owen and was doubtless due both to the much more exposed situation of Loch Ossian and to the fact that the woods there are very much younger than the Black Wood, being at the most fifty years old. All the species taken at Loch Ossian were also taken at the Black Wood with the exception of Meioneta nigripes. The following is a list of the species taken at Loch Ossian (Inverness-shire, vice-county 98). Clubiona trivialis C. L. Koch. Lycosa pullata Clerck. Lycosa amentata Clerck. Tarentula pulverulenta Clerck. Pirata piraticus Clerck. Robertus lividus Bl. Meta segmentata mengei Bl. Araneus diadematus Clerck. Araneus cornutus Clerck. Walckenaera acuminata Bl. Diplocephalus cristatus Bl. Meioneta nigripes Simon. Lepthyphantes alacris Bl. Lepthyphantes obscurus Bl. Lepthyphantes zimmermanni Bertkau. Linyphia pusilla Sund. The most interesting of the above is undoubtedly the mountain species, Meioneta nigripes. Two adult males were taken under damp moss on the summit of Meal na Lice at 1,500 feet. This is at a considerably lower altitude than either 22 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 the previous British record, that of Jackson (1914), who took the species at 4,000 feet in the Cairngorms, or the continental records, which show it to be an alpine species occurring at 6,000 feet. The other species taken show nothing of interest. The author wishes to thank Dr. Lynda M. H. Kerr and Dr. J. A. Owen for their invaluable help in collecting. He also wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Dr. A. F. Millidge, who checked the identification of all the Linyphiidae taken by the author, and to Mr. B. Forman, who checked all but the commonest of the other species. REFERENCES Bristowe, W. S., 1939, 1941. The Comity of Spiders, Vols. 1 and 2. London: Ray Soc. Monographs. Jackson, A. R., 1914. A Contribution to the Spider Fauna of Scotland. Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin., 19: 108. Locket, G. H. and Millidge, A. F., 1951, 1953. British Spiders, Vols. 1 and 2. London: Ray Soc. Monographs. Note added in proof \ 28th December 7955. A further two visits were made to the Black Wood on 3rd June and 7th July 1955. The following species listed by Jackson were then taken: Clubiona sub sultans Thor., Salticus cingulatus Panz., Cyclosa conica Pallas, Monocephalus fuscipes Black. Also taken was Trachynella nudipalpis Westr., not taken by Jackson. The most interesting addition is Clubiona sub sul- tans, which has previously been taken only twice, in the Black Wood and in the Abernethy Forest. The indication of this species was kindly checked by Dr. Millidge. <955 FOOD OF BROWN TROUT 23 FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF BROWN TROUT, PERCH AND OTHER FISH IN LOCH TUMMEL * R. N. Campbell Brown Trout Research Laboratory, Pitlochry Loch Tummel was flooded in February 1950 when Clunie Dam was completed and it is probable that the main effects of this change on the fish population had taken place by the winter of 1952 when this investigation started. Most attention was given to the food of trout and perch but information was also obtained to some extent on the diet of pike and eels. All fish examined for stomach contents were caught by angling methods. During the autumn, winter, and spring casting from the side or trolling an artificial lure was found to be satisfactory. During the summer however fish were also caught on artificial flies. Nearly all the fish examined were caught over newly flooded land where, as reflected by the stomach contents, Asellus aquaticus , Trichoptera and the Chironomidae were very abundant. Limnaea pereger was fairly common. Gammarus pulex , on the other hand, was not commonly found and was restricted in its occurrence to the stomachs of fish caught in areas adjacent to affluent burns. Table 1 gives details of the diet of the three species of fish concerned in this study. The method of recording the stomach contents shows the percentage of stomachs in which each food organism was found, regard- less of the size or numbers of the organism. In the 135 trout examined which contained food certain aquatic insects, i.e. Trichoptera and Diptera (Chironomidae), occurred most frequently (30 to 40 per cent, of the stomachs examined). Terrestrial wind-blown insects were found in 23 per cent, of the stomachs, while aquatic Coleoptera, Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera, Crustacea ( Gammarus , Asellus ), young fish and Amphibia occurred in 10 to 20 per cent, of the stomachs examined. In the 47 perch examined which contained food the most frequently occurring food organisms (20 to 40 per cent, of the * Received 24th December, 1954 24 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6j stomachs) were also Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera and Diptera (Chironomidae), together with Crustacea ( Asellus ). Young fish were represented in 14 per cent, of the stomachs, Hirudinea and Gammarus each in 11 per cent., while 12 per cent, of the stomachs contained zooplankton and food of extra-aquatic origin, mostly washed into the loch during spates. Seasonal Variation in Feeding Habits Trout were found to feed throughout the year. The main qualitative seasonal variations in diet and feeding behaviour Trichoptera B Chironomidae B Ephemeroptera B Aquatic A Coleoptera b a Asellus B Fig. 1 . — The principal food organisms of trout shown as the percentage of stomachs in which each food organism was found. A — April to September. B — October to March. Bottom food Surface and A mid-water B food Fig. 2. — Seasonal changes in the feeding behaviour of trout as shown by the per- centage occurrence of bottom food and surface and mid-water food in the stomach contents. A — April to September. B — October to March. are shown in figs. 1 and 2. From the end of May until about the end of September the trout fed mostly in mid-water and at the surface. Trout were occasionally seen rising to surface food during the winter and Plecoptera imagines were found in one stomach in December. Although fair hatches of I955 FOOD OF BROWN TROUT 25 Plecoptera occurred from time to time only sporadic rising by trout followed. Fairly regular feeding by trout on surface food during the winter has been recorded by Sankey-Barker ( 1 953) fr°m the River Usk. During the winter trout fed mostly in shallow water and, as in the River Test (Slack, 1934), Trichoptera and Asellus figured prominently in their diet during this period. They were easily caught, readily taking a metal spoon lure. When hooked they displayed considerable vigour and did not appear in the least incapacitated by the low water temperature (fig. 3). On some occasions trout were observed to take a motionless spoon as it was suspended in the water, and once a large trout Fig. 3. — Mean surface temperature, Loch Tummel, December 1952 to April 1954. picked a spoon off the bottom. A three-inch twig was found in one trout and a coke clinker in another. Feeding behaviour such as this was not encountered during the summer months when trout became increasingly difficult to catch. In July, August and September dry-fly fishing with very light tackle during the daytime and wet-fly at night were the only success- ful methods. Trout gradually returned to their winter feeding habits during October. The bigger trout, between 48 and 62 cm., of which forty were examined, did not seem to have a predominantly piscivorous diet. The only fish found in their stomachs were the current season’s perch fry and, at the appropriate season, salmon smolts. Their stomachs contained a similar range of invertebrate food to those of the smaller trout. In Winder- mere the incorporation of forage fish such as perch and minnow into their diet on attaining a certain size is the reason for the 4 26 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 continued steady growth of the larger fish, which does not occur in neighbouring tarns where food of this kind is not available (Frost and Smyly, 1952). No reason can be suggested for the non-piscivorous diet of the big trout in Loch Tummel, as forage fish such as small perch appear to be very numerous. Perch were easily caught at any time from mid- May (after spawning) until the beginning of November. During the winter the few specimens that were caught were taken on a line baited Gammarus Plecoptera Aselius Ephemeroptera Hirudinea Pisces Aquatic Coleoptera Miscellaneous terrestrial organisms Windblown terrestrial insects Fig. 4. — The principal food organisms of trout (T), perch (P), and pike (Pk) shown as the percentage of stomachs in which each food organism was found. with worm set in 25 to 45 feet of water. From a few weeks prior to spawning no perch were caught at all until after this event. Perch differed in their feeding habits from trout in that they fed on almost anything that was available, with the exception of surface food. In the summer months they fed to a considerable extent on Aselius and on extra-aquatic organisms washed into the loch in addition to sub-surface food. That there is a large overlap qualitatively in the food of trout and perch over the year is shown in fig. 4. At the same 1955 FOOD OF BROWN TROUT 27 time, detailed weekly records show that the only period when both species were feeding vigorously on the same food at the same time occurred between the late spring and the early summer just after the perch had finished spawning. At this time both species fed mostly in shallow water on the prevalent crop of ascending chironomid pupae as may be seen from the following analysis of specimens caught at the same place and at approximately the same time. Trout Perch Chironomid pupae . 135 99 Other organisms o 22 At other times of the year competition for food in shallow water was not acute, as from June to September the trout were widely dispersed throughout the loch and from early November till their spawning time in the following spring perch moved into, and remained in, deep water. Pike, particularly the smaller fish, have many items of diet in common with trout and perch (fig. 4). Little information was obtained on the food of the larger pike as when caught by angling methods they seldom had any stomach contents. It is probable however, as in other waters carrying a mixed population of fish, that their diet was largely piscivorous. Only two eels were caught but the presence of over one hundred oligochaete worms in one is worthy of note as there was no other instance of these organisms occurring in any of the other species of fish examined. Judging by bottom fauna records from neighbouring lochs there is a good reason to suppose that oligochaetes are probably very numerous in Loch Tummel. I wish to express my grateful thanks to Dr. R. M. Neill, Mr. K. A. Pyefinch and to Mr. T. A. Stuart for their helpful advice and criticism during the preparation of this paper. REFERENCES Frost, W. E. and Smyly, W. J. P., 1952. The brown trout of a moorland fishpond. J. Anim. Ecol., 21 : 62-86. Sankey-Barker, T., 1953. Notes on the feeding of trout in winter. Salmon and Trout Mag., No. 139: 234-236. Slack, H. D., 1934. The winter food of brown trout ( Salmo trutta L.). J. Anim. Ecol., 3: 105-108. 28 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Table i The principal food of trout, perch and pike, Loch Tummel. The numbers indicate the percentage of stomachs in which each food organism was found. Trout Perch Pike A B C I A B C A B C Average length in cm. 39*4 43’7 41*5 20-1 27-1 25'5 55'3 65-2 59'3 Number of fish examined 77 63 140 39 20 59 25 8 33 Number containing food Food Organism 73 62 i35 Perce 35 ntage C 12 hcurren 47 ce 15 7 22 Hirudinea — ■ — — 14-2 ■ — ■ 1 i-o — — — Crustacea Asellus aquaticus 1*2 35-8 16-9 54*° 25-0 45*5 14-2 14*2 14*2 j Gammarus pulex 7-0 16-0 n*5 1 i-o 16-6 1 i-o 6-6 14-6 4’5 j Zooplankton 4*i 1-4 2-8 1 6-6 — 12-5 — ■ — Insecta Plecoptera imagines — 4-8 2*2 — — — — — — ! Plecoptera nymphs 9-6 I4-5 I I-I 3-0 — 2*0 — — — Plecoptera all stages 9-6 i9’3 13-3 3-0 — 2*0 — — ! Ephemeroptera nymphs 21-9 16-1 19-3 25-0 — 20-0 14-2 — 9-o Hemiptera 8-2 4‘4 6-4 — — — — — — Sialis lutaria 1*0 I2’5 4‘3 5‘5 — 2-5 — - — - — ; Trichoptera larvae 30-1 40-3 34‘8 25*7 25-0 25*5 6-6 — 4'5 [ Trichoptera pupae 6-8 i-6 4'4 14-2 8-3 12-7 — — 1 Trichoptera all stages 36-9 4i'9 39'2 39'9 33*3 38-2 6-6 — 4'5 I Coleoptera larvae 10-9 i4'5 12-6 — 8*3 4-2 — — — Coleoptera imagines 2-7 u-3 6-9 — - — — — — — Coleoptera all stages 13-6 22-5 17-7 — • 8*3 4-2 — - — - — Chironomid larvae 9-6 14-5 1 1 - 1 3i*4 8-3 25"5 — - — — Chironomid pupae 49'3 6-4 31’1 34-2 25-5 33-o — 28-0 I Chironomid imagines io*9 — 5'9 — — — — — — 1 Chironomidae all stages 57*5 19-5 4°'7 40-4 8-3 42-5 33-o — 28-0 Gastropoda 6-8 i*4 7-o — 16-6 2*5 — — — Pisces Perch fry 12-3 4*4 9-25 16-6 8-3 14-2 14-2 — 9-0 Trout — — — — — — 14-2 14-2 14-2 Salmon smolts 6-2 — 3-7 — — — — Amphibia Frogs, Toad 4-1 16-5 io-o — — — 6-i 45-o 21-0 Newts 5'4 n*9 10-5 — ■ — — — ■ — — Terrestrial insects 38-2 6-8 23*5 — — — — — — Miscellaneous terrestrial organisms “ 5°‘° 12-5 6-6 14-2 A — April to September. B — October to March. C — Whole Year. 1955 COLLEMBOLA FROM SHILL AY -’9 COLLEMBOLA FROM SHILLAY, OUTER HEBRIDES, INCLUDING NEW BRITISH AND LOCAL RECORDS* H. E. Goto Department of Zoology, Imperial College, London The Collembola (“ spring-tails ”) listed below formed part of a collection made in September 1954 on Shillay (Sound of Harris' by Mr. H. R. Hewer and Dr. H. Gorvett. I am indebted to them for permitting me to examine and retain the material. Until this collection was made only eleven species included in seven genera were known from the Hebrides (Bagnall, 1937, 1939, :940a5 1940b, 1941; Gauld, Bagenal and Connell, 1953; Kevan, 1941). None of these was from Shillay. Amongst the Shillay material the following ten genera are new to the Hebrides: Neanura , Friesea , Tullbergia , Folsomia , Isotoma, Isotomiella , Entomobrya , Tomocerus , Neelus and Smin- thurides. All the species with the exception of Lepidocyrtus cyaneus and possibly Isotomurus palustroides subciliatus are new to the Hebrides. The following seven species are new to Scotland : Hypogastrura denticulata , Onychiurus furciferus , Tullbergia kraus- baueri , Folsomia brevicauda , Isotoma notabilis , Neelus ( Megalo - thorax) minimus and Sminthurides schotti. Amongst the species recorded Hypogastrura ( Ceratophysella ) granulata (Stach, 1949a) is recorded here for the first time from the British Isles. The author has in his collection, however, specimens of this species from various parts of England the records of which have not yet been published. It is probable that at least some of the earlier records of H. armata from many parts of the British Isles actually refer to this species. Samples of the vegetation and also, in some cases, the underlying soil were placed in polythene bags and their faunal contents later extracted by means of a modified Tullgren funnel. The habitats thus examined were: I. Moss, covering edge of flat rock, near the centre of the island about 150 feet above sea level; II. Mixed vegetation, largely Erica tetralix, Potentilla * Received yth January 1955 30 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 sp., Empetrum nigrum and Lotus sp.; III. Sphagnum; IV. Pure Statice maritima on very wet soil; V. Grass and soil. The last four habitats were all within a few yards of the shore rocks about 20 feet above high water mark on the eastern end of the island. The habitats in which each species was found are indicated in the list by Roman numerals after the name of the species. ARTHROPLEONA Hypogastruridae Hypogastrura (< Ceratophysella ) granulata (Stach, 1949a). I. New to the British Isles. H. (C.) denticulata (Bagnall, 1941). III. Known only from the British Isles (Ireland and England). This species was inadequately described and not figured; a redescription is in preparation. Friesea (. Friesea ) mirabilis (Tullberg, 1871). Ill, IV, V. All specimens found on Shillay were of the emucronate form. The species is widely distributed in the British Isles but the emucronate form has only been recorded in Britain from Berkshire. Anurida granaria (Nicolet, 1847). Ill, IV, V. Specimens ascribed to this species have been recorded on many occasions from the British Isles. Subsequent to the revision of the species by Denis (1947), Stach (1949b) gives France as the only authenticated locality for the species and he regards the specimens identified by Bagnall (1939) as a distinct species which he renamed bagnalli. Stach separates granaria from bagnalli by the presence of three maxillary lamellae in the former and of only two in the latter (p. 12, couplet 8). Unfortunately Bagnall, in the brief description of his specimens, does not give the number of maxillary lamellae. However, in his diagnosis of the genus Anuridella (p. 194) he states: “ Maxilla head furnished with three ciliate lamellae ”, and on p. 192 he says that Anurida , Aphoromma and Anuridella agree “ in the general form of the maxilla head and its ciliate 1955 COLLEMBOLA FROM SHILLAY 31 lamellae ”. In view of this it is proposed to sink Stach’s name bagnalli as a junior synonym of Anurida granaria (Nicolet, 1847) and to regard Bagnalfs records as referring to Nicolet’s species. The re- maining British records of the species, prior to the re- description by Denis, are either without diagnoses or only accompanied by inadequate ones so no definite determination can be made. The specimens from Shillay agreed in all details with the redescription and figures given by Denis. Neanura ( Biloba ) muscorum (Templeton, 1835). II. A species widely distributed and common in the British Isles. Onychiuridae Onychiurus furciferus (Borner, 1901). II, III. Previously recorded in the British Isles from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Staffordshire only. Tullbergia ( Mesaphorura ) krausbaueri Borner, 1901. II. IV. A fairly common and widely distributed species but till now not recorded from any part of Scotland. Isotomidae Folsomia quadrioculata (Tullberg, 1871). I, II, IV, V. A common and widely distributed species. F. brevicauda Agrell, 1939. III. A little-known species. In addition to Agrell’s original localities in northern Scandinavia, recorded only from sphagnum on tops of Irish mountains and from Dartmoor and Exmoor. Isotoma (Pseudisotoma) sensibilis Tullberg, 1876. IV. A common and widely distributed species. I. {Isotoma) notabilis Schaffer, 1896. I, III, V. A fairly common and widely distributed species but the only British records are from England. I. (I.) viridis Bourlet, 1839. This common and very widely distributed species was found on Shillay in two colour forms: the pallida 32 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 form of Nicolet (1841) in localities III, IV, and V and the violacea form of Lie Pettersen (1898) in localities IV and V. This species is very variable in colour. The significance and geographical dis- tribution of the colour forms is unknown. Of the two forms found on Shillay violacea has not been recorded before from Britain and pallida from only Merioneth, Montgomery and Oxfordshire. Isotomiella minor Schaffer, 1896. II, III, IV, V. A widely distributed but not very common species. Isotomurus palustroides subciliatus Stach, 1947. V. This subspecies of Folsom’s (1937) nearctic species has not previously been recorded as such from the British Isles. From this and other material in the author’s Collection of British Collembola there seems little doubt that it is the same as Bagnall’s (1940a) Isotomurus plumosus which has been recorded by the latter from Hysker Island (Inner Hebrides) as well as from Cheshire and Northumberland. A detailed study of these specimens is being made. The material from Shillay was not quite typical in that the dark lateral longitudinal bands were hardly visible, and since mounting they have completely disappeared. This condition was also found in at least some of Stach’s specimens. Entomobryidae Entomobrya nivalis (Linne, 1758). V. A very common and widely distributed species. Lepidocyrtus cyaneus Tullberg, 1871. II. A very common and widely distributed species. Previously recorded from Eigg (Inner Hebrides) amongst other British localities. Tomoceridae Tomocerus ( Tomocerus ) minor (Lubbock, 1862). V. A very common and widely distributed species. 1955 COLLEMBOLA FROM SHILLAY 33 SYMPHYPLEONA Neelidae JVeelus ( Megalothorax ) minimus Willem, 1900. II, III. A fairly common and widely distributed species but has not previously been taken in Scotland. Sminthuridae Sminthurides ( Sminthurides ) schotti Axelson, 1903. III. A fairly widely distributed but not very common species. Only three previous records from the British Isles (Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire) . S. ( S .) malmgreni (Tullberg, 1876) [elegantula form of Reuter) . I. A widely distributed but not very common species. No conclusions can be drawn from these data owing to our lack of knowledge of the geographical distribution of the Collembola. With few exceptions present information merely indicates the distribution of collectors. REFERENCES Bagnall, R. S., 1937. Contributions towards a knowledge of the Scottish Onychiuridae (Collembola) II. Scot. Nat., 1937: 87-90, 145-50. 1939- Notes on British Collembola. Ent. Mon. Mag., 75: 188-200. 1940a. Notes on British Collembola. Ibid., 76: 97-102. 1940b. Notes on British Collembola. Ibid., 163-174. 1941- Notes on British Collembola. Ibid., 77: 217-226. Denis, J. R., 1947. Sur la faune frangaise des apterygotes, XXVe note. Suppl. Bull. sci. Bourgogne , 50: 1-9. Gauld, D. T., Bagenal, T. B., Connell, J. H., 1953. The marine fauna and flora of St. Kilda, 1952. Scot. Nat., 65; 29-49. Kevan, D. K. McE., 1941. The insect fauna of the Isle of Eigg. Ento- mologist, 74: 249. Stach, J., 1947-49. The apterygotan fauna of Poland in relation to the world fauna of this group of insects. Family Isotomidae (1947), Families Neogastruridae and Brachystomellidae (1949a), Families Anuridae and Pseudachorutidae (1949b). Acta, monogr. Cracoviae. 5 34 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 FURTHER NOTES ON BEETLES FROM THE ISLAND OF RAASAY AND SOME SCOTTISH RECORDS OF DONACIINAE | Dorothy J. Jackson St. Andrews During a visit to Raasay in the latter part of June 1954. in very wet weather, I obtained some further species of water beetles since the list already published (1954) and some of these (marked with an asterisk) are new records for the island. In addition to the water beetles, six specimens of * Meloe proscarabaeus L. were found on 23rd June, with the help of Miss Joanna Wollaston, on a very cold wet day. They occurred all near together amongst grass in a sheltered valley, one, a male, being dead. Five specimens were taken, three males and two females, and the most active female was left. The specimens, as often happens, showed great disparity in size, ranging from a male of 14 mm. to a female of 30 mm. Mr. A. R. Waterston informs me that this is the first record for the Ebudes. One wonders if these large flightless beetles, so clumsy and slow of movement, are survivals since the time of land connections or perhaps it is more probable that they have been transported as triungulin larvae by bees from the mainland. I have taken this species in Fife, at Knock Hill, near St. Andrews, in April 1946. The most northerly record given by Fowler (1891) is from Moray, and it was recorded from Aberdeen by Watson (1914). The only other record from an island that I know of is that from Arran by Fergusson (1901). I am much indebted to Mr. D. K. Kevan for confirming my identification of the Meloe beetles and also of the Donaciinae and certain other species mentioned in these notes. I have received much valuable help in regard to records of Donaciinae from Mr. A. R. Waterston and also from Mr. P. Harwood, Mr. J. A. Owen and Mr. H. M. Russell. This has enabled t Received i&th January 1955 1955 BEETLES OF RAASAY 35 me to make the northern records more complete, and I am grateful to those entomologists who have kindly permitted me to record their captures. Adephaga — Hydradephaga — Dytiscidae Additional species to my previous list are : Deronectes griseostriatus Deg. From a small lochan visited on 25th June at an elevation of over 1,100 feet near the summit of the ridge to the south of Loch-na-Meilich. Hydroporus tristis Payk. Three specimens in sphagnum pools from about 100 to 250 feet, within a two mile radius of Balachurin. Agabus chalconatus Panz. var. melanocornis Zimm. 1 from a moorland pool above Inverarish. A. sturmii Gyll. One in the reservoir east of Inverarish. A. arcticus Payk. In the same lochan as D. griseostriatus and also abundant in a higher lochan, about 1,200 feet, on the southern slope of Dun Caan. Ilybius aenescens Thoms. Two rather dark specimens were taken in the lochan on Dun Caan and one in a sphagnum pool by the low lying Loch Groidean, a small loch to the west of Loch an Rathaid. These specimens have kindly been examined by Professor Balfour-Browne and pronounced by him not to be “ guttiger Gyll.” Polyphaga — Palpicornia — Hydrophilidae * Enochrus affinis Thunb. Three specimens taken in sphagnum near Loch Groidean on 21st June. Limnebius truncatellus Thunb. Several in the swampy southern end of Loch Eadar da Bhaile. * Chaetarthria seminulum Herbst. Two from the same area of Loch Eadar da Bhaile on 21st June. According to Professor Balfour-Browne (1953) this species has only been recorded from one island, Muck, of the Western Isles. * Coelostoma orbiculare E. Also from Loch Eadar da Bhaile. Mr. D. K. Kevan has confirmed my identification of the last two species, both new to me. General Notes. I searched in vain throughout my visit for adults of Dytiscus lapponicus Gyll., though I had taken several specimens in the Arisaig district of Inverness-shire on 17th 36 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 June. That, however, was on a sunny day and perhaps this species is less active in wet weather. The Heslop Harrisons (1938, 1940) found it widely distributed in the island. Of the Gyrinidae I only found the two species I recorded before: G. minutus which, strangely enough, was found only on three of the lower lochans during my two visits, though Mr. G. Heslop Harrison (1938) found it very common on the island; and G. natator L. var. substriatus Steph. which was abundant and widely distributed at all elevations. Other species which occurred both in low lying waters and at an elevation of 1,100 feet or over were Hydroporus pubescens Gyll., H. ob scurus Sturm., H. erythrocephalus L., H. gyllenhalii Schiodte, Agabus bipustulatus L., Acilius sulcatus L. (both larvae and adults were found from 500 to 1,200 feet) and Anacaena globulus Payk. Enochrus quadripunctatus Herbst. var. fuscipennis Thoms, was found abundant in sphagnum pools by Loch Groidean, and here one Paracymus scutellaris Rosenh. was taken, and another in the same lochan in which I found it in 1953, but the species is certainly not common. With the forty-two species already listed by Mr. Heslop Harrison the total number of “ true” water beetles (Hydra- dephaga and Palpicornia) for the island is now fifty-one. The total from Skye as given by Professor Balfour-Browne ( 1 953) is forty- three. Diversicornia — Helodidae * Cyphon ochraceus Steph. One specimen (confirmed by Mr. Kevan) taken in a sphagnum pool by Loch Groidean on 2 1 st June. This species has been recorded from Colonsay by Mr. A. R. Waterston (1939). Phytophaga — Chrysomelidae — Donaciinae Plateumaris discolor Panz. I took only two specimens of this species in Raasay in the summer of 1954. I have taken it in Argyllshire (Main), at Ardgour, June and July 1947, and a dead specimen near Ardbrecknish in October 1952 ; also at Amulree, Perthshire in May 1946; at Newtonmore, Inverness-shire (East) in October 1945, and I found it common above Arisaig, Inverness-shire (West) in June 1954. Mr. P. Harwood reports it as generally distributed and fairly common in peat bogs in BEETLES OF RAASAY 37 1955 the Aviemore district and Mr. G. Leslie Frewin has taken it commonly around Inverness. Mr. Waterston tells me it is widely distributed in Scotland up to the Orkneys. It has been taken on several of the western Scottish islands, such as Barra (Forrest, Waterston and Watson, 1936); South Uist (Grimshaw, 1920, and by G. M. Mackintosh in July 1951); Eigg (Kevan, 1941); Colonsay (Waterston, 1939); Ulva (Miller and Owen, 1952) and Jura and Islay (Pearce, 1923). It appears to be the commonest species of this group in the Highlands. * P. sericea L. I took one specimen on Raasay in Loch an Rathaid on 21st June, and one in Fife, at Loch Fitty on 12th May. Fowler (1890) states it is not common in Scotland. Mr. P. Harwood has taken it at Kinrara, near Aviemore. One is recorded by Dr. R. Richter (1951) from near Loch Dallas, Elgin. It has been taken by Mr. G. Leslie Frewin in Loch Lundie on the Black Isle in Ross-shire (East), and it is recorded from the Aberdeen district by Watson (1914), as not common and never abundant. * Donacia versicolor a Brahm. I took two specimens on 23rd June at the Reservoir which lies in a sheltered valley east of Inverarish. This species has been recorded by Fowler (1890) as local in Scotland. I found one specimen near Achnacarron, Kilchrenan, Argyll, on 17th September 1951, and one at Jubilee Pond, Strathpeffer, Ross-shire on 4th June 1952. Mr. Harwood has taken it near Aviemore. Dr. Richter (1951) records it from backwaters of the Spey, Fochabers. Mr. J. A. Owen took this species at Arisaig in August 1952, and a friend of his found it in Raasay in July this year. It has been recorded from the Outer Hebrides, from Barra, by Forrest, Waterston and Watson (1936). Mr. Macdougal Mackintosh informs me that this species and the following were taken in South Uist on the flowers of water lily by a botanist when the Edinburgh University Biological Society visited the island in July 1951. Mr. A. R. Waterston tells me it has been taken in Aberdeenshire as well as in various counties further south. * D. thalassina Germ. I found this species common in a lochan near Crachan Lodge, Raasay (above the upper road) during a short dry interval on 20th June, and I saw some specimens flying over the water. It has been taken on South 38 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6> Uist as mentioned above. Fowler (1890) gives no Scottish locality for this species, but Evans (1900) records it from Linlithgowshire. I took three specimens in Fife, in Kilcon- quhar Loch, in June 1949. Mr. Waterston states it was taken in Kirkcudbrightshire (Douglas Collection) and that there is a specimen from Duddingston, Midlothian, in the Greville Collection in the Royal Scottish Museum. It is evidently a rare and local species in Scotland. * D. vulgaris Zsch. I took this interesting species in two localities on Raasay, four specimens at the Reservoir on 23rd June and one at Loch Eadar da Bhaile on 21st June. In these specimens the purplish stripe on each elytron is faint. I have taken this species on several occasions at Kilconquhar Loch, Fife, during June and July 1949-1952, one specimen only being unicolorous. The Scottish distribution as given by Fowler (1890) is “very rare, Clyde and Forth districts”. Mr. Waterston informs me that he took one specimen at Loch an Ail, Barra, Outer Hebrides on 17th June 1937. D. simplex F. I have not found this species on Raasay but I took one specimen in Fife at Kilconquhar Loch on 23rd June 1949. Mr. Waterston considers it to be widely distributed but local in Scotland; the most northerly record he reports is from River Orchy, Argyllshire, and Dr. Richter (1951) took it at Gordonstoun, Elgin. The occurrence of four Donaciinae in Raasay, which are apparently new records for the Inner Hebrides, is interesting, especially as these same species appear to be rare or local on the mainland. It is probable that during fine weather more species could be found on the island. From their appearance in the imaginal state, usually rather early in the summer, these attractive beetles may have been missed by visiting entomo- logists, and possibly future collecting may reveal their presence in intermediate districts on the mainland. It is evident that Raasay harbours a varied selection of water-frequenting beetles. It was here that Aulonogyrus striatus F. was found (Heslop Harrison, 1938), a southern European species which has only been found elsewhere in the British Isles in Baleshare Island, south-west of North Uist, by Heslop Harrison (Balfour-Browne, 1953). The larger Noterus species (now known as clavicornis De Geer, in place of capricornis Herbst.) 1955 BEETLES OF RAASAY 39 was also found by Heslop Harrison in Raasay (1938); the nearest locality where it is known to occur is in Kilconquhar Loch in Fife, where I found it first in June 1949 (Jackson, 1951). REFERENCES Balfour-Browne, F., 1953. The aquatic Coleoptera of the Western Scottish Islands with a discussion on their sources of origin and means of arrival. Ent. Gaz ., 4: 79-127. Evans, W., 1900. Some records of Scottish Coleoptera. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1900: 91-103. Fergusson, A., 1901. Order Coleoptera in Fauna, Flora and Geology of the Clyde Area, edited by G. F. S. Elliot, M. Laurie, and J. B. Murdoch. Glasgow: British Association Handbook, pp. 272-301. Forrest, E. E., A. R. Waterston, and E. V. Watson, 1936. The natural history of Barra, Outer Hebrides. Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edinb., 22 : 281- 283. Fowler, W. W., 1890-1891. The Coleoptera of the British Islands, Vols. 4 and 5. London. Grimshaw, P. H., 1920. Notes on the insect fauna of South Uist. Scot. Nat., 1920: 85-89. Harrison, G. Heslop, 1938. The aquatic Coleoptera of the island of Raasay, etc. Scot. Nat., 1938: 60-64. Harrison, J. W. Heslop, 1940. Dytiscus lapponicus L. (Col.) in the Isles of Raasay and Soay (Inner Hebrides). Ent. Mon. Mag., 76: 185-186. Jackson, D. J., 1950. Noterus clavicornis Degeer and N. capricornis Herbst. (Col. Dytiscidae) in Fife. Ent. Mon. Mag., 86: 39-43. 1954- Notes on water beetles from the Island of Raasay. Scot. Nat., 66: 30-34. Kevan, D. K. McE., 1941. The insect fauna of the Isle of Eigg. Ento- mologist, 74: 247-254. Miller, K. W., and J. A. Owen, 1952. A list of insects from the Island of Ulva. Scot. Nat., 64: 31-37. Pearce, E. J., 1923. Contributions towards a list of the fauna of the South Ebudes. Scot. Nat., 1923: 153-160. Richter, R., 1951. The aquatic Coleoptera of the County of Elgin. Scot. Nat., 63: 101-121. Waterston, A. R., 1939. Insects from Colonsay, South Ebudes. Scot. Nat., 1939: 128-131. Watson, A. O. C., 1914. Coleoptera in the Aberdeen district. Ent. Mon. Mag., Second Series, 25 (50) : 254-258. 40 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol 67 NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF EYNHALLOW, ORKNEY * Eric Duffey The Nature Conservancy Eynhallow is a small uninhabited island lying in the channel between the Orkney Mainland and the island of Rousay to the north. It is roughly heart-shaped in outline, some 200 acres in area, and its greatest breadth is barely three-quarters of a mile. A small ravine running north and south separates the western two-thirds of the island from the remainder, which is known as the Peerie Isle. The coastline is low and rocky except in the north and west where cliffs of 40 to 50 feet are found. The highest point of the island is only a little over 100 feet above sea level. There has been no recent survey of the island, and there is no 25-inch map available. No heights are included on the 6-inch O.S. map, but a provisional 2j-inch edition has had 50 foot contours added to it. Eynhallow, which is referred to in some of the Norse sagas and was known as the Holy Island, has a long history going back at least to the twelfth century. About this time the monastery (now in ruins) was thought to have first been built. Very little is known about the monks who lived there or for how long the monastery was occupied. The island itself was lived on and farmed until 1851, when an outbreak of typhus caused several deaths and the remaining inhabitants were evacuated. In this year four families were living on the island, three of them in the buildings of the monastery, which at that time had long been forgotten. Since this date the island has remained uninhabited and uncultivated. It is not clear what use was made of the island by the various owners after 1851, though sheep were probably grazed on it as they are today. It is also recorded that people from neighbouring islands went there in the spring to collect eggs “ by the bucketful 55 . * Received \lh January 1 955 1955 NATURAL HISTORY OF EYNHALLOW, ORKNEY 41 In 1923 a Kirkwall solicitor, Mr. Duncan J. Robertson, bought the island and preserved it as a sanctuary for wild life ; when he died it passed to his daughter, Miss J. M. Robertson, who is the present owner. Duncan Robertson was a remark- able field naturalist, and his book (Robertson, 1934), a model of accurate presentation, records his observations on Eynhallow birdlife, chiefly carried out from 1923 to 1933 and originally prepared as a series of articles for The Orcadian , the Kirkwall daily newspaper. The Birds Since 1950 Eynhallow has become of special interest to ornithologists as the result of the study begun by Drs. R. Carrickand G. Dunnet of Aberdeen University (now C.S.I.R.O. Canberra, Australia) of the fulmar colony. In his book on the island’s birds, Duncan Robertson includes a list of sixty-five species which he had seen or which had been reported to him by reliable witnesses. Of these, thirty-five bred regularly or had been known to breed. Com- paring his notes with observations made in the last few years there have been some notable changes, the most striking of which are recorded here. Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus Robertson records that never in any one of the nine years 1 923-32 was there more than one nest of the great black- backed gull on the island. During the summers of 1952-54 this species was recorded in considerable numbers, and the summit of the island is now dominated by a breeding colony of these birds. On a visit in May 1954 about 100 birds were estimated to be circling overhead. It is unlikely, however, that there were more than twenty-five nests during that month, including scattered nests along the coastline. Never- theless, it is a heavy population for an island of this size and may possibly be related to the large numbers of rabbits which can be found almost everywhere : the hill-top colony is littered with their remains. Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus Apparently coincident with the increase of the great black- backed gull has been a decline in the numbers of this species. 6 42 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Robertson records a regular breeding colony and also men- tions that it nested on the grass at the top of the cliffs, but no numbers are stated. At some time after 1934 it declined and may have disappeared; during four visits to the island since 1952 only a single example of this species has been recorded. (Two were seen in August 1952 by V.C.W.-E. and A.A.) Fisher and Lockley (1954) state that the great black-backed gull is increasing in the British Isles, and figures are given to show that in the twenty years 1929 to 1949, on Skokholm Island, the lesser black-backed gull decreased from 700 to 350 pairs while the great black-back increased from thirty-four to seventy-two pairs. The authors believe that systematic egg- collecting had some influence on these population changes. On Eynhallow large-scale egg-collecting ceased when Duncan Robertson became the owner in 1923, though the change in breeding status of these two gulls did not begin to take place until at least nine years later. There is no evidence that the status of the herring-gull Larus argentatus and common gull Larus cams has changed since Robertson’s observations. The former is by far the most numerous gull and the latter is well distributed as a breeding species. Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus There is no breeding record for the arctic skua in Robertson’s notes. In May 1953 a pair had taken up residence on the Peerie Isle, and mobbed anyone approaching the area. The nest with two eggs was found. In 1954 a pair was again resident in the same area; a fledgling just able to fly was recorded on 4th August 1954 by V.C.W.-E. and A.A. Redshank Tringa totanus This species was a regular breeding bird in the nineteen twenties and early thirties but there is no known breeding record in recent years. Occasional birds are seen on the island. Eider Somateria mollissima Robertson took a special interest in this bird and made a census of the nests in 1928, 1930, 1932, and 1933, when the 1955 NATURAL HISTORY OF EYNHALLOW, ORKNEY 43 totals were respectively 136, 185, 200, and 207. There seems little doubt that this considerable increase in five years is the direct result of the protection which the species enjoyed from systematic egg-collecting. No count has been made in recent years, but the impression gained is that the number of breeding pairs is still at the 200 level. For the island as a whole this is a density of about one per acre, which is remarkably high when one takes into consideration the large area which has such a thin vegetation covering that it contains very few nests, and also that part of the hill is dominated by the great black- backed gull. Rock- Pigeon Columba livia This species has increased remarkably in the last twenty years. Robertson writes: “ there are not great numbers of them but every year they breed in the caves on the west side of the island. One or two pairs nest in the ruins of the monas- tery 55 . It is now very numerous indeed, nesting in rock crevices all round the coast, in rabbit holes all over the island, in old walls and piles of stones and in large numbers in the ruined buildings. In a small ruined bothy in May 1954 seven nests were found in a room measuring about 6 feet X 8 feet. They were situated on the floor, in the rafters and on a pile of old boxes. The influence of the domestic strain is clearly evident and numbers of multicoloured birds can be seen. Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis In 1950 Drs. Carrick and Dunnet (1954) began their study of the fulmar on Eynhallow, which is still being con- tinued, and as a result regular visits have been made to the island (usually twice a year) for the last five years. Writing in the early nineteen thirties Robertson says not more than twelve pairs nest on the island, but only about half of these rear young. He records “ three or four nests at Ramna Geo each year”; on this same cliff in 1954 there were fourteen nest-sites with an egg, and a total of 105 sites were recorded on the island up to 28th May. In twenty years the population has multiplied between eight and nine times. In 1933 fulmars 44 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y were already nesting inland on the ground and Robertson records three such pairs. This is in no way related to competi- tion for nest-sites along the coast, as in 1954 only six inland sites were recorded. Notes on other birds recorded in may 1953 and 1954 Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo. Does not breed. Two seen flying along north coast, and the remains of an immature specimen were found on the east coast. Thirty on beach, May 1954, and more than ten on dry ledges off Fint, 3rd August 1954 (V.C.W.-E. and A.A.). Shag P. aristotelis. There is a large colony on the cliffs of the west coast, but the species also breeds along the north coast. Many young shags, well decomposed, were seen along the coast in May 1954 and may have been casualties of winter storms. Heron Ardea cinerea. Five seen near Ramna Geo on 10th and nth August 1953. Four distributed around coast 4th August 1954 (V.C.W.-E. and A. A.). Mallard. Anas platyrhynchos. A pair seen twice in Grange Valley in 1954. Red-breasted Merganser Mergus senator. Pairs frequent around island, but no evidence of breeding. Robertson believed that it bred but he never actually found a nest with eggs. Shelduck Tadorna tadorna. Odd birds infrequently seen, but in 1953 a deserted egg was found in a rabbit hole. A pair was seen several times near the Grange rabbit warren in May 1954. Peregrine Falco peregrinus. Infrequently recorded, but fresh remains of prey often seen. In May 1954 freshly killed oystercatchers, rock-pigeons, terns, puffins, and black guille- mots were found. One seen 4th August 1954 (V.C.W.-E. and A. A.). Kestrel F. tinnunculus. One near Ramna Geo in May 1954. One flying round coast August 1953 (V.C.W.-E. and A.A.). Corncrake Crex crex. One, doubtless a migrant, flushed from nettles at the monastery, 16th August 1952 (V.C.W.-E.). Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. Frequent every- where, nesting along coast, and inland. 1955 NATURAL HISTORY OF EYNHALLOW, ORKNEY 45 Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Three pairs recorded on the Peerie Isle in 1954 and probably at least three more were present on the rest of the island. Small flocks also recorded. Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula. Three pairs recorded in both years. Only on south-east coast of island. Nest with four eggs on turf in Grange Geo. Turnstone Arenaria inter pres. Small numbers seen in both years. Snipe Capella gallinago. Up to three have been disturbed from the small marsh in the Grange Valley and one was heard drumming in 1954. Curlew Numenius arquata. Frequently seen but does not breed. Whimbrel N. phaeopus. One near Ramna Geo in May 1954. One in August 1953 (V.C.W.-E. and A.A.). Redshank Tringa totanus. One bird recorded in each year. Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima. Small numbers seen in both years. Great Skua Stercorarius skua. Two seen over the Peerie Isle in May and August 1953. One seen on 3rd and 4th August 1954 (V.C.W.-E. and A. A.). Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. Frequently seen but does not nest. Breeds on cliffs of Rousay across the sound. Other Gulls. See p. 42. Arctic Tern Sterna macrura. There are two main tern- eries of considerable size on the south and east coasts, both in areas where the coastline consists of wide shingle banks. In 1954 the first eggs were not laid until 26th May. A very rough estimate of the population would be 500 birds. Guillemot Uria aalge. One seen just off-shore, 4th August 1954 (V.C.W.-E. and A. A.). Black Guillemot U. grylle. Nest sites generally distri- buted along east, north and west coasts. Two eggs were found on 20th May 1954 in the base of a stone wall. Two young in rabbit burrow above Cave of Twenty Men Hole, August *953 (V.C.W.-E. and A.A.). Puffin Fratercula arctica. Breeding along north and west coasts but not in large numbers. Three nests found in May 1953 (A. A.). 46 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Skylark Alauda arvensis. Two singing males recorded in both years. Raven Corvus corax. Two seen together on 5th August 1954 (V.C.W.-E. and A. A.). Hooded Crow C. corone cornix. Nest with young on west coast 1953. Several other birds seen. Two birds seen in Grange Geo in 1954. Rook C.frugilegus. Three flying over house, August 1953. Blackbird Turdus merula. At least three pairs on the island in May 1954, although only one nest was found. This was in a rabbit hole near the monastery and had three eggs. Nest in outhouse, August 1052, had been used in previous years (V.C.W.-E.). Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe. Three or four pairs re- corded in both years mainly by old earth dykes which cross the island. Meadow-Pipit Anthus pratensis. Small numbers breed on the island. Only two pairs certainly seen in May 1954. Rock-Pipit Anthus spinoletta. Frequent round the coast. Nest with five eggs found on 22nd May 1954 under turf bank in Grange Geo. Starling Sturms vulgaris. Extremely numerous, nesting in ruins, walls, rock crevices and rabbit holes. Linnet Carduelis cannahina. Two small flocks and several odd birds seen in 1953. Twite C. flavirostris. A flock of about twenty seen daily and often, 3rd to 6th August 1954 (V.C.W.-E. and A. A.). Snow-Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis. Three males in full breeding plumage were seen several times along the north and east coasts between 19th and 28th May 1954. Professor V. C. Wynne-Edwards (V.C.W.-E.) and Mr. A. Anderson (A.A.) have contributed to the notes. The Vegetation No systematic work has been carried out on the flora and the notes which follow are the result of small collections made at odd moments while studying the island’s fulmar colony from 1952-54 and consequently are very incomplete. No trees or bushes and very few tall herbs are to be found because i955 NATURAL HISTORY OF EYNHALLOW, ORKNEY 47 of the very exposed position of the island. The flora is prob- ably impoverished compared with similar moorland vegeta- tion on the Mainland. A large area of the southern part of the island, around and below the Monastery, has been cultivated in the past, and the ridge and furrow is still clearly visible. This area is domin- ated by a thick grass turf, mainly Anthoxanthum odoratum . The Grange valley which separates the Peerie Isle from the main part of the island collects water from both sides and is constantly wet even in dry weather. Duncan Robertson records that he built a dam across the valley and made a pool which was 4 feet deep. The dam still remains but a break in the mid-section allows the water to escape. There is virtually no standing water now, but the marsh is dominated by cotton grass, marsh buttercup, bogbean and other plants. Robertson recorded that the hart’s tongue fern grew on the rocks in the Grange Valley, where it was rediscovered in 1955. The rest of the island has a moorland type of vegetation varying from close-cropped fescue turf to a vegetation covering mostly of lichens and mosses. About a hundred sheep are kept on the island by two tenants and they, together with the numerous rabbits, exert excessive grazing pressure on the vegetation. On the Peerie Isle especially the soil is very thin and the vegetation is dominated by mosses, lichens, dwarf heather, mat-grass JVardus stricta , Juncus squarrosus , and Empet- rum nigrum. A striking feature of the area which was cultivated in the past is the growth of thistles, which cover the ground like a forest during the late summer. The list of recorded plants which follows must be regarded as very incomplete. I am indebted to Dr. S. M. Walters and Mr. E. A. Ellis for help in identification, and to Miss R. Barnes for naming the mosses. Lichens: Peltigera canina , Cladonia silvaticum. Mosses: Sphagnum sp., Dicranum scoparium , Mnium hornum , Thuidium tamariscinum , Hylocomium splendens , H. triquetrum , Hypnum cupressiforme , Rhacomitrium lanuginosum. Pteridophytes : Equisetum arvense , Anthoxanthum odoratum , Festuca ovina , JVardus stricta , Poa annua , Carex flacca, C. nigra , C. panicea , C. pulicaris , Eriophorum angustifolium , Juncus squarrosus , Luzula campestris , S cilia verna , Iris pseudacorus , Urtica dioica , THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 48 Vol 6/ Rumex acetosa, Montia fontana ssp. fontana , Ranunculus ficaria , R. repens , Caltha palustris , Cakile maritima , Cardamine pratensis . Nasturtium officinale , Potentilla erecta , Lotus corniculatus , Radiola linoides , Polygala serpyllifolia , Empetrum nigrum , Viola canina, V. palustris , F. riviniana , Angelica sylvestris , Calluna vulgaris , Menyanthes trifoliata , Myosotis arvensis? , Mentha aquatica , Thymus drucei, Pedicularis sylvatica , Plantago lanceolata , P. coronopus, Beilis perennis. Antennaria dioica , Cirsium palustre. The Mammals The only wild terrestrial mammal living on the island is the rabbit. It is found everywhere and is exceedingly numerous. There is a particularly large warren in the Grange near the house. The only effective predator appears to be the great black-backed gull, but there is no evidence to date that this bird is making any impression on the population. No mice, voles, rats, stoats or weasels live on the island. Duncan Robertson records that it is believed locally that such animals are unable to live on Eynhallow, and in the last hundred years Kirkwall inhabitants have been known to take soil from the island to place in the foundations of new houses, believing that it would keep rats and mice away. Otter Lutra lutra. In 1953 a large bitch otter and two cubs were seen on the rocks on the west coast. In 1954 a dog otter was seen in the same area. Common Seal Phoca vitulina and Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus. Professor Wynne-Edwards writes (in litt.) : “ Both common and grey seals frequent the island, the former being much the more numerous in August. In 1952 (16th August) I estimated over 200 common seals, chiefly along the south-east beach ; the greys were recorded as ‘ + 5 which pro- bably means 10-20. In 1954 forty common seals were counted on 4th August and 100 on the 5th; on the same days the number of grey seals was ‘ c. 10 They were all mixed together.” The Invertebrates Small collections of Coleoptera and Arachnida have been made, but only the spiders and a mite have so far been identi- fied. One of the most striking features of the spider fauna is 1955 NATURAL HISTORY OF EYNHALLOW, ORKNEY 49 the almost complete absence of orb-web spinners (family Argyopidae). The species in this family usually construct their webs above ground level, and tall herbs, bushes and trees provide points of attachment. Such vegetation is absent on Eynhallow (excepting thistles), and the exposure to wind would destroy most orb- webs. The only places where such webs might conceivably be constructed and find shelter are the ruined walls and buildings, in rock crevices and the house. The only argyopid species recorded so far is Meta merianae. It is most frequent along the coast, in sheltered rock crevices, under turf banks and also on the rocks in the Grange. Two other species which are very numerous are Textrix denticulata and Ciniflo fenestralis. The former is found all over the island on the walls and ruins, in piles of stones and amongst the larger stones of the shingle beaches, while the latter dominates the house and outbuildings and is also found in similar situations to Textrix. The wet vegetation and stones of the Grange valley shelter a number of species typical of marshy places, e.g. Hypomma bitub erculatum, Leptoroptrum robustum , Robertus lividus , Poeciloneta globosa , Lycosa pullata. In the more exposed moorland vegeta- tion a number of interesting species have been taken which are characteristic of montane or arctic-alpine regions, e.g. Lepthyphantes whymperi (only one other record in Great Britain below 2,000 feet: Duffey, 1955) and Rhaebothorax morulus (an arctic-alpine spider rare in Great Britain). The following species list is naturally very incomplete: Lycosa tarsalis, L. pullata , Xysticus cristatus, Textrix denticulata , Meta merianae , Ciniflo fenestralis , Diplocephalus cristatus , Hypomma bitub erculatum, Rhaebothorax morulus , Lepthyphantes zimmer manni. L. tenuis , L. ericaeus , L. whymperi , Typhocrestus digitatus , Erigone promiscua , E. atra , E. dentipalpis , Dicymbium nigrum , Tiso vagans , Agyneta conigera , Robertus lividus , Leptoroptrum robustum , Poeciloneta globosa , Centromerita concinna , Wideria antica , Pachygnatha degeeri , Clubiona sp ., Oxyptila sp. A curious feature of the rocks on parts of the west coast is the presence in very large numbers of the sea-cliff mite Amero - nothus lineatus. They are often found in such thick clusters that the rock appears to be streaked with a black lichenous growth. 7 50 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Acknowledgements I am grateful to Professor Wynne-Edwards and Mr. Anderson of Aberdeen University for the many contributions they have made to the faunal notes in this paper and for reading the MS. To Miss J. M. Robertson, the owner of Eynhallow, for permission to carry out observations and especially for her kindness in allowing us to use her house on the island. To Mrs. Miller of Evie for many kindnesses in connection with visits to Eynhallow with Mr. A. Anderson. To Dr. S. M. Walters, E. A. Ellis and Miss Ruth Barnes for help in identifying the plants ; to A. Macfadyen for identifying the mite and to Dr. A. F. Millidge for identifying Rhaebothorax morulus. REFERENCES Carrick, R. and G. Dunnet, 1954. The breeding biology of the fulmar {Fulmar us glacialis L). Ibis, 96: 356-370. Duffey, E., 1955. Lepthyphantes whymperi , F.O.P. -Cambridge (Araneae) in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire and other new county records. Ent. Mon. Mag., 41 : 236-237. Fisher, J. and R. M. Lockley, 1954. Sea-birds. Collins, London. Robertson, D. J., 1934. Notes from a bird sanctuary. The Orcadian Office, Kirkwall. Additional Notes on the Natural History of Eynhallow made from 2nd- 1 2th July 1999. The Birds Great Black-backed Gull In 1955 the rabbit was apparently wiped out on the island by myxomatosis and these gulls were eating mostly marine life, particularly fish and crabs, and also many young birds. Lesser Black-backed Gull Two pairs were seen on the north-west coast of the island. Although no young were identified, the distress shown by the adults was strong evidence that breeding had taken place. Arctic Skua A pair with a single chick in down was found on the Peerie Isle. i955 NATURAL HISTORY OF EYNHALLOW, ORKNEY 51 Great Skua A pair of these birds was seen on the hill most days from 2nd to 1 2th July, and also recorded in the same area by other visitors to the island earlier in the summer. Hooded Crow A nest was constructed on a low wall near the house and an egg laid, which was taken by a visiting farmer in May. The Plants The following additional plants were recorded in 1955: Aira praecox , Alopecurus geniculatus , Atriplex hast at a, Callitriche agg., Car ex binervis , C. demissa , C. echinata , C. ovalis , C. pilulifera , Cerastium vulgatum , Cynosurus cristatus, Deschampsia caespitosa , D. jlexuosa , Eleocharis palustris ssp. palustris, Epilobium pulustre , Equisetum palustre , Euphrasia confusa , if. micrantha , Festuca rubra , Galium palustre , G. verum, Glaux maritima , Glyceria jluitans , Holcus lanatus , Hypericum pulchrum, Juncus bulbosus , J. co?iglomeratus, Lemna minor , Linum catharticum , Luzula multijlora , Lychnis Jlos- cuculi, Lycopsis arvensis , Phyllitis scolopendrium , Plantago maritima , Poa trivialis , Polygala vulgaris , Potamogeton polygonifolius , Prunella vulgaris , Ranunculus flammula , Selaginella selaginoides, Taraxacum agg., Trifolium repens , Triglochin palustris , Vaccinium myrtillus. The Rabbit Myxomatosis appears to have reached the island in late 1954 or early 1955, though whether by natural or human agency is not known. By mid-summer local reports suggested that the disease had exterminated the rabbit on the island. This is supported by our July visit when no evidence of living rabbits was obtained during our eleven days’ stay. The Spiders The following additional species were taken in 1955: — Lophomma punctatum , Halorates reprobus (in seaweed by Sheep Skerry), Oreonetides abnormis, Pirata piraticus, Clubiona phragmitis. 52 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol 67 THE MOUNTAIN HARE IN THE SCOTTISH ISLANDS * Raymond Hewson Dufftown During the nineteenth century the mountain hare Lepus timidus scoticus was introduced into most of the Scottish islands which appeared suitable, presumably to increase the variety of the shooting. It is not improbable that it was formerly indigenous to Orkney, where the original stock persisted as late as the seventeenth century (Baikie and Heddle, cited by Barrett-Hamilton, 1913) and possibly also in the Inner and Outer Hebrides (Barrett-Hamilton, 1913). In both cases fresh introductions were made in the nineteenth century. The enquiries to which this paper relates were made between 1951 and 1954. At this time mountain hare stocks in the islands were low, in some cases lower than at any time during the previous twenty or thirty years, or possibly since the introductions were made. On parts of the mainland, particularly the Northern Highlands, the mountain hare was also uncommon or rare about 1951 (Hewson, 1955); but the prospects of recovery may be less good in some of the islands, in Lewis, for example, because of graziers’ dogs, in Skye because of heather burning and foxes harboured in the State Forest, in North Uist because the hare population has remained too low for too long. There is no evidence to show that the introduced mountain hares ever became as numerous as on the mainland, except perhaps the statement of Harvie-Brown and Buckley that they were killed as vermin at all seasons in the forests of North Harris late in the nineteenth century. Status and Distribution Shetland The mountain hare was introduced into Mainland about 1907, and two pairs from Perthshire were released in Vaila * Received 13th June 1955 1955 THE MOUNTAIN HARE IN SCOTTISH ISLANDS 53 about 1900. In 1951 it was thinly distributed for many miles around the place of introduction in Mainland and plentiful in Vaila (L. S. V. Venables — personal communica- tion; see also Venables & Venables, 1955, pp. 73“74)- Orkney There is a reference in the Sagas to hunting hares in Gairsay in the twelfth century; and Bellenden, Sibbald and Mackaile refer to white hares in Hoy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Barrett-Hamilton, 1913). Baikie and Heddle (1848) state that the mountain hare was then quite extinct in Orkney. It was introduced into Gairsay about 1875, and these hares survived at least until 1884 and turned white in winter (Harvie-Brown and Buckley, 1891). There is, however, no record of the re-introduction into Hoy,* where the mountain hare was fairly numerous in 1952. Malcolm Stewart’s estimate of three to four hundred on about fourteen thousand acres suggests a higher density than in any other island, approaching those found in Inverness-shire or Ayrshire, where the mountain hare was moderately numerous in 1951 (Table 1). There were no hares of any sort in Gairsay when I visited the island in 1943. Outer Hebrides It is not improbable that the mountain hare was originally indigenous to the Outer Hebrides but the present stock is almost certainly descended from nineteenth century introduc- tions. From an introduction at Rodel, Harris, about 1859 the mountain hare spread rapidly, being abundant and wide- spread in North Harris twenty years later (Harvie-Brown and Buckley, 1892). The highest bags recorded on an estate in the Loch Seaforth-Loch Erisort area, which the mountain hare reached in 1876, are very small compared with the numbers shot on comparable areas on the mainland, and suggest that the mountain hare never became really numerous in this area. There was a sharp decline in numbers shot from a maximum in 1926 to less than one hare per thousand acres from 1930 onwards until the cessation of records in 1934. * Probably between 1898 and 1914 (Malcolm Stewart — personal com- munication, November 1955). 54 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 TABLE 1 Approximate densities of mountain hares on island estates and on the mainland (mainland figures from Hewson, 1955) Area [ ( islands ) Hares per 1,000 acres Area {mainland) Hares per 1,000 acres Orkney 21-28 Argyll 2 Lewis 3 Wester Ross 2-3 Raasay 6-7 Inverness 25 Mull 15-16 Aberdeen and Kincardine 59-69 Jura 12-16 Dumfries 9-10 On the low peat moors of North Lewis the mountain hare was rare in 1951; two estimates gave a density of around three per thousand acres, but numbers may have been in- creasing since 1949-51. Various causes were suggested for this scarcity; an increase in predators, especially eagles, and destruction of leverets by dogs. A head game-keeper re- iterated a statement first made more than sixty years ago that mountain hares in North Lewis were smaller and lighter than in Perthshire or Inverness-shire. In one locality in North Harris the mountain hare was said to be common in 1951 ; there were about a hundred hares on one gamekeeper’s beat. Another report said the mountain hare was rare and had been decreasing since 1918. Both mountain and brown hares Lepus europaeus occidentalis were introduced into North Uist by Sir Arthur Campbell Orde in 1890-93 (Beveridge, 1934). These introductions may not have been entirely successful for mountain hares were subsequently sent on two occasions, the second in 1912 or 1913, from the Park district of Lewis (D. MacRae — personal com- munication). In 1934 the mountain hare was widespread (Beveridge) but had been few in numbers since 1914 (Dr. A. J. Macleod — personal communication). It is now extremely rare. The mountain hare does not occur in Benbecula, South Uist and Barra and there is no published record of any intro- ductions to these islands. Skye The mountain hare was introduced into Skye during the nineteenth century, possibly later than 1850. Harvie-Brown 1955 THE MOUNTAIN HARE IN SCOTTISH ISLANDS 55 and Macpherson (1904) described it as resident and “ much extending its range 55 . In 1951 it was rare and appeared to have been rare throughout the previous twenty or thirty years. Reports from Bracadale referred to a total of twenty pairs for the parish; from Dunvegan to two or three pairs of hares, but no leverets during the previous few years ; and from Sligachan to no hares during the previous ten years. In May 1951 I saw no mountain hares in Glen Brittle, nor between Sligachan and Loch Coruisk. An increase in the number of foxes harboured in the State Forest was given locally as one cause of the scarcity of hares ; another was heather-burning, which would destroy the cover needed for breeding. A good deal of heather burning had taken place. Raasay The mountain hare was probably introduced into Raasay during the nineteenth century, quite possibly about the same time as into Skye. There were said to be plenty in 1896 (Harvie-Brown and Macpherson, 1904). In 1937 it was described as “ not uncommon ” (Harrison, 1937), and an estimate of a hundred hares on 15,000 acres in 1952 (S. L. Hamilton — personal communication) supports this description. Game-bag figures indicate that the mountain hare never became really numerous in Raasay between 1920 and 1950. Inbreeding, and predation by eagles and buzzards, particu- larly a marked increase in the number of buzzards, are sug- gested controlling factors. The Handbook of British Birds (Witherby et al ., 1938) gives “ hare ” among other mammals occasionally recorded as food of the buzzard. Scalpay There appears to be no published record of the introduction of the mountain hare into Scalpay. It was described as not very numerous in 1951, but to have been increasing since 1947* Rhum There were no mountain hares in Rhum in 1951 and none has ever been introduced into the island (D. MacNaughton — 56 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 personal communication). Harvie-Brown and Buckley (1892) do not mention mountain hares in their account of the island. Eigg . The mountain hare was introduced from Perthshire between 1890 and 1900 by the then proprietor of the island. It became fairly plentiful during the next twenty years but died out between 1910 and 1915. Crofters’ dogs may have hastened its extermination, the island being small (D. A. MacLeod — personal communication). Mr. T. D. Jamieson, Factor for Eigg Estates Ltd., from enquiries made in the island, considers that the introduction may have been made before 1890. The last few hares were said to have been killed by a terrier about 1906 (personal communication, 1954). Canna There were no mountain hares in Canna in 1936-37 (Carrick, 1939) and Harvie-Brown and Buckley (1892) make no mention of them. Mull The Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus was introduced into Mull at about the same time as the mountain hare, twelve Irish hares being turned down at Glenforsa and Glen Bhuie in 1863 and seven mountain hares in 1864. Harvie-Brown shot Irish hares at Glen Bhuie some years later, and up to twenty were being shot in a day in 1869. The highest daily totals increased to eighty “ white ” hares in 1877, and to 127, race not specified, in 1904 (Lt.-Col. Greenhill Gardyne — personal communication) . I have no evidence of the existence of the Irish hare in Mull except an isolated report that it was rare at Calgary, in the north of the island, in 1953. Reports from various parts of Mull indicate that the mountain hare is, on the whole, fairly numerous. Estimated densities in 1952-53 of 15 to 30 hares per thousand acres resemble the Orkney figure, but a series of game-bag totals suggests that while the Mull in- troductions were more successful than those in the Outer Hebrides, the mountain hare never reached the enormous peaks in numbers found on the mainland. 1955 THE MOUNTAIN HARE IN SCOTTISH ISLANDS 57 TABLE 2 Mountain hares shot per 1,000 acres per annum on various estates (mainland figures from Hewson, 1955) Locality Acres (, thousands ) Tears recorded Average shot per 1,000 acres per year Highest bag per 1,000 acres per year Tear of highest bag Lewis 42 15 27 9-0 1926 Mull 13 3i 4'7 25-3 1920 Argyll 40 3i 5’3 18-6 1934 Nairn 7 3i 127*5 363-8 1938 Perth i’7 25 108-4 352-9 I94° Peebles 1 3 53 13-3 33-3 1942 1 | Factors influencing the numbers of mountain hares were said to be predation by eagles, severe winters and “ deteriora- tion of natural food due to stocking with sheep ”. A specimen hare sent to the British Museum (Natural History) in 1953 was described by Dr. Morrison-Scott as more nearly resembling the Scottish than the Irish race. Coll and Tiree Harvie-Brown and Buckley do not mention mountain hares as occurring in these islands which are not perhaps very suitable for them. There were none there in 1954, although brown hares Lepus europaeus occidentalis were numerous (R. H. Noxon — personal communication). Islay Pennant (1774), cited by Barrett-Hamilton, refers to hares in Islay as “ small, dark-coloured and bad runners ”, and these, presumably timidus scoticus, might well have been the indigenous stock. But Irish hares were introduced before 1818 (Thomson, cited by Barrett-Hamilton), the earliest recorded introduction of hares into the Scottish islands. These hares died out before 1909 when only the brown hare was to be found in Islay (Russell, 1910). Scot-Skirving’s account of the natural history of Islay (1875) states merely that “ Most of the other quadrupeds of Britain were present in Islay ”, i.e. 8 58 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 excepting fox, badger, wild cat, pine marten, hedgehog, mole and squirrel, but this is too vague to be of any value. In 1951 there were no mountain hares in Islay (A. Ferguson, A. McCallum — personal communications). Colonsay and Oronsay There are no mountain hares in Colonsay and Oronsay (Loder, 1935; Warwick, 1939. A. Ferguson — personal com- munication, 1951, for Colonsay). Jura The mountain hare was introduced into Jura about 1900 (A. McIntyre — personal communication), and in 1953 it was said to be common in the Ben Breac range in the north end of the island, and rare further south. A rough estimate of a density of 12 to 16 per thousand acres suggests that the mountain hare might have done as well in Jura as in Mull; on this estate heather is not burned over most of the area where the hares live. Severe weather and predation by golden eagles are mentioned as controlling factors, and it is thought that the mountain hare was originally introduced as food for eagles (R. G. Fletcher — personal communication). Arran I am unable to trace Alston’s published references to the mountain hare in Arran to which Barrett-Hamilton refers. The second edition of Bell’s History of British Quadrupeds (1874), which Alston assisted in compiling, makes no mention of the mountain hare in Arran. Alston’s “ Mammalia ” in The Fauna of Scotland (1880) only shows the mountain hare as intro- duced into the “ Inner ” and “ Outer ” Islands without specifying the islands concerned; and the chapter on the mammals contributed by Alston to The Geology of Arran by Bryce (1872) makes it clear that mountain hares were unknown in Arran at that date. There were no mountain hares in Arran in 1951-52 and according to a retired head gamekeeper there had been none there during the last forty years or so. *955 THE MOUNTAIN HARE IN SCOTTISH ISLANDS 59 Bute There are no mountain hares in Bute (Miss Dorothy Marshall — personal communication) . Factors Affecting Island Populations All but one of the suggested controlling factors are the same as on the mainland. The exception is dogs, and the effect, particularly in Lewis, may be considerable. A game- keeper in Lewis suggests that the gathering of stock from May onwards may lead to many leverets being killed. In Eigg it seems certain that dogs finally exterminated the mountain hare. Predation by eagles is referred to in Lewis, Raasay, Mull and Jura. If eagles are protected and range over a more limited area than on the mainland, their influence would be considerable. The absence of cover, whether caused by heather-burning or heavy grazing by stock is likely to be an important factor. Much of Skye in 1951 had little cover for breeding hares, and predation by eagles and foxes may have been more severe in consequence. Similarly, lack of cover may account for the scarcity of hares in North Wales, where, in 1954, a few moun- tain hares maintained a precarious footing on the Glyders and Carneddau, and a slightly more secure one on lower ground with gorse and bracken. Acknowledgements I am grateful to all those in the islands who supplied in- formation, often in some detail, and to the Forestry Com- mission for sending a sample hare from Mull to the British Museum (Natural History) for identification. REFERENCES Alston, E. R., 1880. “ Mammalia ” in The fauna of Scotland. Glasgow. Barrett-Hamilton, G. E. H., 1911-13. A history of British mammals, Vol. 2. London. Baikie, W. B. and R. Heddle, 1848. Historia naturalis orcadensis. Edin- burgh. 6o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Bell, T., 1874. A history of British quadrupeds. London. Beveridge, G., 1934. The hare in North Uist. Scot. Nat., 1934: 94. Bryce, James, 1872. The Geology of Arran, etc. 4th edition. Glasgow & London. (Mammals, pp. 3 13-3 15.) Carrick, R., 1939. 44 Mammalia ” in The natural history of Canna and Sanday, Inner Hebrides. Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin., 23, 1939: 70. Harrison, J. W. H., 1937. 44 Mammalia ” in The natural history of the island of Raasay and of the adjacent isles of South Rona, Scalpay, Longay and Fladday. Scot. Nat., 1937: 61-71. Harvie-Brown, J. A., and T. E. Buckley, 1891. A vertebrate fauna of the Orkney Islands. Edinburgh. 1892. A vertebrate fauna of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides. Edinburgh. and H. A. Macpherson, 1904. A fauna of the North-West Highlands and Skye. Edinburgh. Hewson, R., 1955. The mountain hare in Scotland in 1951. Scot. Nat., 1955: 70-88. Loder, J. de V., 1 935. Colonsay and Oronsay in the Isles of Argyll. Edinburgh. Millais, J. G., 1906. The mammals of Great Britain and Ireland. London. Russell, H., 1910. Notes on the mammals of Islay. Zoologist, 1910: 113-115- Scot-Skirving, R., 1875. The natural history of Islay. Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin., 1875: 69. Venables, L. S. V. and U. M. Venables, 1955. Birds and mammals of Shetland. Edinburgh. Warwick, T., 1938. Notes on mammals of the Isles of Barra, Mingulay and Berneray, Outer Hebrides. Scot. Nat., 1938: 57-59. 1 939. A List of the reptiles and land mammals of the Isle of Colonsay, Inner Hebrides. Scot. Nat., 1939: 75-76. 1955 THE DISPLAY OF THE RED GROUSE 61 NOTES ON THE DISPLAY OF THE RED GROUSE* f Tony J. Peterle Lansing, Michigan, U.S.A. An opportunity to collect a limited amount of information on the effect of light, temperature, time of day, and change of season on red grouse display behaviour was presented during the winter and spring of 1954-55. Observations in Aberdeen- shire began in late December, and continued until early May. The display of the red grouse is well known and has been described by many authors (Macpherson et al. , 1894; Millais, 1909; Nethersole-Thompson, D. and C., 1939); consequently a detailed description of the display flight, posture and call is not necessary. These observations were made in an effort to determine the peak of the display period, with the ultimate goal of utilising this period to estimate population densities. At first observations were made only of the time of first call in the morning, but later an attempt was made to measure the (very low) light-intensity at the initiation of display. Table 1 indicates the time of day that the first call was heard, and its relationship to official sunrise. The average interval between the time of first call and sunrise was 68 minutes. Weather conditions, mainly the proportion of cloud cover and hence the quantity of illumination, seemed to have the greatest influence in determining this time interval. Beginning on 18th February 1955 the illumination at the inception of display was estimated by exposing photographic paper (Kodak Bromide, WSG. i.D) through a negative of various densities (Kodak Enlarging Exposure Scale) for a period of 30 seconds. These exposures were then developed under standard conditions. In order to compare these results with exposures from a light source of known quantity, sufficient * These data were collected while the author was on a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Aberdeen. Acknowledgement is given to members of the Department of Natural History for helpful suggestions, and to Alexander Anderson who assisted in collecting the field data. t Received 30 th June 1 955 62 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Table i Observations on Red Grouse display, Aberdeenshire, 1954-1955 Date Time of first call a.m. Sunrise a.m. Difference {minutes) Illumina- tion (lux) Tempera- ture (fahr.) Sky 29th Dec. r- 15 8: 49 94 Cloudy j 6th Jan. 7:41 8: 46 65 — — Cloudy 1 2th Jan. 7: 26 8: 43 77 — - — Cloudy j 20thjan. 7: 17 8: 33 76 — 1 ■ — Clear 27th Jan. 7: 12 8: 20 68 — — Cloudy I 1 st Feb. 7: 02 8: 10 68 — 32 Cloudy 10th Feb. 6: 42 7: 5i 69 — 26 Cloudy 15th Feb. 6:32 7: 40 68 — 28 Cloudy | 1 8th Feb. 6: 23 7: 32 69 0*10 18 Cloudy 22nd Feb. 6: 33 7: 25 52 0*67 5 (lower) Clear 25th Feb. 6: 28 r- 15 47 i-79 3i Cloudy 1 3rd Mar. 6: 02 7: 02 60 0*15 37 Light cloud 10th Mar. 5: 25 6: 14 49 0*10 30 Clear 24th Mar. 5: 30 6: 03 33 0*40 35 Cloudy | 31st Mar. 4: 45 5: 43 58 0*27 38 Cloudy j 7 th April 4: *5 5: 42 87 0*27 32 Light cloud 14th April 3: 30 5^5 95 0-05* 35 Clear 5th May 2: 24 4: 12 92 0*10 42 Light cloud * Estimated, since standard exposures did not go below 0*103 lux. photographic paper was sent to the National Physical Labora- tory (Teddington, Middlesex), where a series of exposures were made from a standard source approximating daylight.* The results of the comparison showed that the indicated intensity of illumination at the inception of red grouse display was between 0*05 and 1*79 lux. Most of the exposures (60 per cent.) showed an indicated illumination of o-io to 0*27 lux. (The differential effect of the ultra-violet portion of the artificial and natural illumination on the photographic paper is not known and might possibly be a source of error. Whether this ultra-violet light affects the initiation of display is also not known.) * The National Physical Laboratory state: “ The illuminant was a tungsten filament lamp operating at a colour temperature of 2854° K., in conjunction with a blue glass filter. The distribution of energy in the visible spectrum of the resultant radiation approximated to that of a Plankian radiator at a temperature of 4860° K. This corresponds visually to one of the yellower phases of daylight and approximately to an illuminant commonly used to simulate daylight in this country, Standard Illuminant B of the Commission Internationale de PEclairage.” 1955 THE DISPLAY OF THE RED GROUSE 63 Table 1, showing the number of minutes that display began before sunrise suggests that cloud cover, and possibly precipitation, have a much greater influence on display activity than either temperature or time of season. The period of greatest accord, from 27th January to 18th February, when the initiation of display did not vary more than one minute as compared to sunrise, seemed to have similar weather conditions, except for temperature, on the mornings the observations were made. Fig. 1. — Duration of portion of red grouse display call (moving average curve). Aberdeenshire, February- April 1955. The 22 days seasonal change appeared to have no effect other than the 48 minute change in sunrise time. The test exposures indicate that display may start at a lower illumination on clear days. The average illumination for the observations made was approximately 0*4 lux. More observations are, however, needed to determine the full effect of seasonal changes and weather. Compared to the initiation of display in another species of grouse, the sharp-tailed grouse ( Pedioecetes phasianellus campestris), the display of the red grouse begins much earlier. 64 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 While observing the sharp-tailed grouse in Michigan, U.S.A., during April 1953, it was found that display began, on the average, from 4 minutes before sunrise to nearly 17 minutes after sunrise. This might suggest that species congregating together in arenal displays, such as the sharp-tailed grouse and the blackcock, may need a higher intensity of illumination before display is begun. In an attempt to determine any change in the intensity of the display itself, the duration of the “ go bak, go bak, go bak 5 5 portion of the call, uttered while the bird is on the ground at the termination of the display flight, was timed. Some difficulty was encountered because of wind conditions, and also the separation of individual calls. The results of the timing, presented as a moving average curve, are shown in Fig. 1. A total of eighty-six calls were timed on the nine days indicated in the figure; the average length of the call was 5* 06 seconds and the range from 3 seconds to 9 seconds. The duration of the call might be of assistance in deter- mining the height of the display period. The number of observations made is not adequate, but those that were made suggest the peak of the display period to be mid-February. Unfortunately, observations of duration were not made prior to that date. The time of day during the morning display at which the duration of these calls was measured might influence the results, since calls early in the display might be longer than those later in the morning. The calls were therefore timed as near to the beginning of the display as feasible. REFERENCES Macpherson, H. A., A. J. Stuart-Wortley and George Saintsbury, 1894. Tfo Grouse (Fur and Feather Series). Longmans, Green & Co., London. Millais, J. G., 1909. The Natural History of British Game Birds. Longmans, Green & Co., London. Nethersole-Thompson, C. and D., 1939. Some observations on the sexual-life, display, and breeding of the red grouse as observed in Inverness-shire. British Birds, 32 : 247-254. I955 REPORT ON BIRDS OF CLYDE AREA, 1954 65 REPORT ON BIRDS OF THE CLYDE AREA, 1954* M. F. M. Meiklejohn and C. E. Palmar Glasgow We wish to thank those who have sent us their notes for inclusion in the present report. They are D. G. Andrew, Paul Barbier, D. M. Barr, Miss Frances M. Black, A. G. S. Bryson, Mrs. G. M. T. Conacher and the Misses Conacher, W. J. C. Conn, R. Y. Ferguson, Miss Winifred U. Flower, M. Forrester, L. S. Hodgkinson, John Hoy, Cdr. G. Hughes- Onslow, Miss Aileen Kelly, Mr. and Mrs. George Kerr, Miss M. I. Kinnear, A. T. Macmillan, D. MacWatt, H. Mayer- Gross, W. K. Richmond, Dr. Maeve Rusk, P. W. Sandeman, Douglas Scott (D.S.), Donald Stalker (D.St.), L. A. Urquhart, D. I. M. Wallace, George Waterston, Tom Weir, B. E. Weld and Kenneth Williamson. It will be seen that, as with its four predecessors, our report is concerned with the rarer birds of the Clyde area and the Aberfoyle district of the Forth watershed. We have also, however, during the year, circulated a questionnaire dealing with certain breeding birds, to which we have obtained a gratifying response. Much of the information obtained should later be published. In our notes on birds in the Clyde Area for 1951 (Scot. JVat., 65: 1-4) we published several observations of whose authenticity we are, on account of further information which has come to hand, no longer fully convinced. The records in question are of hawfinch at Luss, long-tailed duck at Castle Semple, turtle doves at Fairlie and Lochwinnoch and glaucous and Iceland gulls at Girvan. We would like to apologise to those concerned for having made what we now consider to have been an error of judgement, but think that in the interests of accuracy these records are better withdrawn. We note, in The Glasgow and West of Scotland Bird Bulletin (3: 70), a criticism of our 1951 and 1952 reports, where it is * Received 26 th August 1955 9 66 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 stated that we wrongly claim first records of the glaucous gull and spotted redshank for Lanarkshire. “ There are several previous records ”, we are told. Not being able to trace such previous records in the literature, we wrote to the Editor, Dr. J. A. Gibson, for confirmatory evidence, but this has not been forthcoming, and we are forced to consider his statement ill-considered and without factual basis. Black-throated Diver Colymbus arcticus. Ardlui, Loch Lomond, 13th March, one found dead (W.K.R.). Great Northern Diver Colymbus immer. Hogganfield Loch, Glasgow, one present on 15th and 16th November (F.M.B., W.K.R.). Mugdock Reservoir, one, on 15th November (G.K.), and another on the adjacent Craigmaddie Reservoir on 23rd December (W.K.R.). Red-necked Grebe Podiceps griseigena. Hamilton, one on 31st October (D.G.A., W.J.C.C., A.T.M.). Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus. Hogganfield Loch, one on 2nd January (G.K.). Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis. Possil Loch, Glasgow, one in summer plumage on 20th May (H.M.-G.). Little Egret Egretta garzetta. On the evening of 13th June R.Y.F. saw a little egret fishing in shallow water off a sandbank in the Clyde near Motherwell. He says: “ The bird was very slender, fishing with rapid thrusts of the head. The plumage was pure uniform white, with narrow crest almost touching back and a fine haze of scapular plumage seen to advantage against the dark bank of the river. The legs were black, bill black and feet pale greenish yellow.” According to local anglers the bird had been present for at least a fortnight before this date; it was seen again by R.Y.F. and five other observers on the 14th, but seemed to have left by the 17th. This record is of particular interest in view of the considerable numbers of recent records of the species from different parts of England and Scotland. This is the first record of the species for the Clyde. Garganey Anas querquedula. Near the mouth of the R. Endrick, Dunbartonshire, one (J, 18th April (M.F.M.M.). Gadwall Anas strepera. At the mouth of the R. Endrick, on the Dunbartonshire bank, a pair, 1st May (M.F.M.M., W.K.R.). Hamilton, five on 4th August (D.S., T.W.), still i95 j REPORT OX BIRDS OF CLYDE AREA, 1954 67 present in following week (M.F.). Near Gartocharn, Dun- bartonshire, two on 24th October (H.M.-G.). Wigeon Anas penelope. Near Balmaha, on 1st May, a Q was disturbed from a nest with eight eggs (M.F.M.M., W.K.R.) : the bird was clearly identified and some of the down was taken. This seems to be the first breeding record of this species in Stirlingshire. American Wigeon Anas americana. The drake of this species at Hamilton, already reported by H.M.-G. and others (Scot. Nat., 66: 123), stayed in the locality until 17th April (H.M.-G.). Scaup Aythya marila. The third week in February saw an unusual invasion by this species of inland waters (see Edinburgh Bird Bulletin , 4: 58). The first twelve birds were on Loch Ard on 14th February (W.U.F.) and one <$ stayed at the Hamilton rubbish-dump until 20th April (M.F.M.M.). The largest concentration was in the Clyde valley between Bothwell Bridge and Dalserf, with a maximum of about 80 birds on 6th March, but odd birds were recorded from Balgray and Loch Lomond. One was seen on the Clyde above Hamilton on 30th October (D.G.A., W.J.C.C., A.T.M.). Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis. Barassie, two im- mature birds on 10th October (L.A.U.). Tannoch Loch, Milngavie, one immature bird on 29th and 30th December (F.M.B., C.E.P., W.K.R.) . Smew Mergus albellus. A A in the Hamilton area, first seen on 17th January (A.G.S.B., H.M.-G., M.I.K., G.W.), stayed until 15th April (M.F.M.M.). It sometimes consorted with a red-headed bird on the Clyde above Hamilton, which was observed between 4th February and 25th March (numerous observers), on which latter date it was assuming $ plumage (M.F.M.M.). Another red-headed bird was on the Hamilton rubbish-dump pool from 20th February (G.K.) until 28th March (T.W., M.F.). A red-headed bird at Lochwinnoch, 9th February (M.F.M.M.). White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons. Hamilton, one with the grey-lags on 3rd November and probably also on 9th November. In bright sunshine its yellow bill was immedi- ately obvious; it probably therefore belonged to the Green- land race flavirostris, as would be expected (M.F.M.M.). 68 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6 7 Near Gartocharn, Dunbartonshire, 24th October, one and possibly more (H.M.-G.). Bean Goose Anser fabalis. Near Balmaha, gth January, seven (W.K.R.), and about twenty-five geese probably of this species on 30th January (M.F.M.M., W.K.R.). The locality is the same as that recorded for this species in 10^3 (Scot. Nat., 66 : 67). Snow Goose Anser caerulescens. An immature bird of this species was seen on the Clyde above Hamilton on 6th March by P.W.S. and K.W. (Scot. Nat., 66: 40). Other details not previously published are: little red on bill, leaden pink legs (W.K.R.) ; body size almost that of grey-lag, but shorter neck made it seem rather smaller; dark colouring on nape, neck and pointed scapulars; dark patches fore and aft of eye (M.F.M.M.) . After being seen by many observers, it remained until 1 2th April. Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus . The very large number of 164 was present in November on Glenbuck Loch (borders of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire) (G.H.-O.). Bewick’s Swan Cygnus bewickii. On the Clyde above Hamilton an immature and two adults were present from 25th February (M.F.M.M.) until 13th March (D.G.A.). Another immature bird which did not associate with the others was seen on 27th February (W.K.R.) and stayed until 4th May (M.F.M.M.). Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus. One was seen on 14th November from the old Drymen-Gartmore road. Identi- fication was based on the following characters: “angle- winged ” appearance; underwing very pale, with dark carpal patches, very dark primary tips and dark narrow distal margin of secondaries; characteristic tail markings; small definite white patch seen in semi-sideview of upper tail-coverts (W.U.F., M.F., T.W.). While it is always difficult to identify such variable birds as buzzards in the field, it should be em- phasised that two of the observers in this case have previously seen common and rough-legged buzzards together in the air. Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus. A pair successfully reared two young in the area. Endrick mouth, 16th October, a cJ (A.K., B.E.W.). A A was seen several times towards the end of the year at a locality in Stirlingshire (W.K.R.). .1955 REPORT ON BIRDS OF CLYDE AREA, 1954 69 Osprey Pandion haliaetus. An osprey was seen from the east shore of Loch Lomond on 30th October (W.K.R.). Quail Coturnix coturnix. At Penwhapple Loch, Ayrshire, one was flushed by dogs on 14th December 1947 (G.H.-O.). Grey Plover Squatarola squatarola. Langbank, one, 5th October (M.F.M.M., W.K.R.). Although it probably occurs in the county regularly, there are few records for Renfrewshire. Golden Plover Charadrius apricarius. At Eaglesham four- teen were seen on 20th April, 50+ on the 23rd, 100-f- on the 26th, and twenty-one on 1st May; of these the majority were “ obviously and resplendently ” of the northern race altifrons (L.A.U.). Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa. Hamilton, 5th September, two (D.G.A., G.W.). Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica. Inland records are as follows: Endrick mouth, one, 19th April (W.K.R.); ten, 8th May (H.M.-G.). Hamilton, three, 21st April (M.F., T.W.) ; one, 4th August (D.S.) ; one, 10th October (T.W.). Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus. One at the Endrick mouth, 25th April (W.K.R.) and 2nd May (M.F.M.M., D.St.), when it was seen both in Stirling and Dunbartonshire. Dusky Redshank Tringa erythropus . A pair were seen on the Clyde above Hamilton on 16th February (L.A.U.), and what were doubtless the same birds were seen in the Hamilton Parks by numerous observers until 20th April (M.F., T.W.), when one bird had assumed the black plumage. On 21st April only one remained. A single bird reappeared in the same place on 2nd August (M.F., T.W.), where it remained until 25th December (P.B., J.H.). At the Endrick mouth one was seen on 25th April (W.K.R.) and on 1st and 2nd May (M.F.M.M., W.K.R., D.St.) ; the species seems to be un- recorded for West Stirling and Dunbartonshire, in both of which counties it was seen. Knot Calidris canutus. One in the Hamilton Parks on 9th November is apparently the first for Lanarkshire; it was identified by the short bill, grey and white plumage, uniform pale tail appearing white at a distance, and narrow white line on wing with dark line in front of it (M.F.M.M.). Curlew Sandpiper Calidris testacea. Barassie, one, with dunlin, on 22nd August (L.A.U.). Hamilton, three, on 24th 70 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 September (D.S., T.W.), described as resembling dunlins with white rumps : there is no previous record for Lanarkshire. 1954 was a year when curlew sandpipers were exceptionally numerous in Britain. Ruff Philomachus pugnax. Seen at Hamilton as follows: one, 4th August (D.S., T.W.) ; two, 5th September (D.G.A., G.W.); five, 12th September (G.K.) ; and a single (J was present from 27th October (M.F.M.M.) until nth December (D.G.A., A.T.M., D.I.M.W.). Great Skua Stercorarius skua. Troon, one, 17th October (H.M.-G.). Common Gull Larus cams. Since there appears to be no breeding record of this species for Stirlingshire, it is worth recording that there is a small colony on islands in Loch Arklet in the north-west of that county (M.F.M.M.). Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus. Two adult glaucous gulls were seen flying north over Loch Lomond, near Inverbeg, on 13th March (W.K.R.). Heads of Ayr, one immature, 14th March (M.F.M.M.). Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides. A first winter bird was seen at Hamilton on 16th November (M.F.M.M.) and, after being observed by many observers, stayed until 25th December (P.B..J.H.). Swallow Hirundo rustica. In view of the late departure of summer visitors in Britain in 1954 the record of two at Hunterston on 21st November is of interest (G.K.). Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe. One on the Clyde above Hamilton on 4th May answered to descriptions of the Green- land race leucorrhoa . A apparently of the typical race was also present, and the size and colouring of the two could be compared (M.F.M.M.). Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochrurus. One was seen, feeding on insects, on the jetty at Ayr harbour on 2nd February. It was of “ dark sooty colour generally ”, and its red tail had a “ dark line down centre ”. The observer was close enough to note the orange under tail coverts (D. MacW.). Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla. A (J, of which a full de- scription has been received, was seen at Helensburgh on 6th February (D.M.B.). I955 REPORT ON BIRDS OF CLYDE AREA, 1954 71 Pied Flycatcher Musicapa hypoleuca. A pair nested in a nesting-box at Barr, Ayrshire, and were feeding young on 9th June (G.H.-O.). Three were heard singing on the north side of Loch Ard, Perthshire, on 21st May (W.K.R.), and one on 26th May (M.F.M.M.). Beside Loch Chon, Perthshire, a pair were feeding at least four young on 26th June (G.K.). White Wagtail Motacilla alba alba . Passage at the mouth of the Endrick was observed between 18th April and 15th May, reaching a remarkable peak on 25th April, when more than 100 were seen (W.K.R.). At Hamilton white wagtails passed through between 20th April and 6th May, with a maximum of seven on 26th April (M.F.M.M.). Siskin Carduelis spinus. A pair was present at midsummer at Glengall, near Ayr, in 1946 (T. McCleary^r G.H.-O.). One, Dawsholm Park, near Glasgow, 25th December 1950 (G.K.). Fintry, several with redpolls, 21st March (L.S.H.). Bothwell Bridge, one, 9th March (M.F.M.M.). Drymen, 30th and 31st October, 5+ (M.F.M.M., D.St.). Brambling Fringilla montifringilla. Barr, Ayrshire, two on 20th January (G.H.-O.). Balmaha, 30+ in January (D.St.). Barrhill, Ayrshire, one on 2nd February (G.H.-O.). Loch Arklet, Stirlingshire, 6+ on 24th October (W.K.R.). Near Balmaha, 5+ on 31st October (M.F.M.M., D.St.). Near Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire, 200-}- on 7th November (W.K.R.). Tree Sparrow Passer montanus. Merry ton Farm, near Hamilton, two pairs, 17th March and 18th April (H.M.-G.). Bridge of Weir, one, 25th October (G.M.T.C.). At Perceton, near Irvine, as many as six were seen on several occasions in May, on 7th November twelve, and on 14th November between twenty and thirty; in the nearby village of Dykehead, two were seen on nth May and one heard on 14th November. In view of the rarity of this species in Ayrshire, “ the discovery of what may be a fairly strong colony in the county seems to be quite an important one 55 (L.A.U.). 72 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 THE BREEDING BIRDS OF THE ISLE OF MAY* W. J. Eggeling Edinburgh It is nearly two and a half centuries since Sir Robert Sibbald drew up, in 1710, the first list of sea-birds frequenting the Isle of May. Although by implication most of these must have been nesting species, it was not until the eighteen-thirties, or well over a hundred years later, that scattered references to breeding began to appear in publications by Rhind, Selby, Jardine, MacGillivray, and others, and not until Agnew and Harvie-Brown wrote their accounts in the early eighties that anything like a complete picture of the nesting species emerged. In the twentieth century, censuses of the breeding birds have been made by the Misses Baxter and Rintoul (in 1921 and 1924), by Southern (in 1936) and by observers at the Isle of May Bird Observatory and Field Station (since 1934). The object of the present account is to summarise what is known of the breeding birds of the island, in so far as numbers are con- cerned, in order to provide an up-to-date account of the fluctuations which have occurred from the earliest records to the present day. It owes much to, and is indeed only an extension of, the information given in earlier papers on the same subject by Harvie-Brown (1887), Evans (1918) and Baxter and Rintoul (1925). In the list which follows, those species which have not nested successfully on the Isle of May in the past twenty-five years are indicated by square brackets. Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis The fulmar is a very recent addition to the nesting popula- tion. It began to prospect the island in 1921 when one bird was seen on the cliffs. In 1922, two pairs occupied sites. In 1923, two sites were again occupied, and birds are known to have been present also in each of the next five years. Six sites were occupied in 1929, and four in 1930 (when there * Received %rd September 1955 1955 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY 73 were eight pairs about the cliffs), but breeding was not proved until 1930, when one pair certainly hatched a chick. In 1932 four sites had at least one egg, and in 1933 six sites had at least four. There were three pairs breeding in 1935, four pairs in 1936, and at least three pairs in 1938. From 1939 to 1944 up to six pairs nested annually, though most of the eggs appear to have been taken (six are known to have been removed in 1944). In 1947 and 1948 there were probably seven pairs breeding. The population in 1949 did not exceed ten pairs, which raised only two young, and it is improbable that more than eleven pairs bred in 1950 and 1951. There was, however, a noticeable increase in 1952, although from seventeen eggs laid not more than six young fledged. In 1954 at least nineteen eggs were laid by twenty-six pairs, all of which may in fact have bred, and nine young flew. In 1955, when probably about the same number of pairs laid eggs but only seven young were raised, many of the nest sites had been taken over by herring gulls before the breeding season was far advanced. [Gannet Sula bass ana The gannet did not breed on the Isle of May in Sibbald’s day but it probably did so for a time in the first half of the nineteenth century, for Jardine shot specimens on the island and took young birds from the nest. There is one record of attempted nesting in the present century — in 1922 — when a pair started to build a nest but did not finish it.] [Cormorant Phalacrocorax car bo The cormorant and shag are so commonly confused that a record of “ a few cormorants ” breeding on the Isle of May in the eighteen-twenties may equally have referred to shags. The rather similar statement that “ a few pairs breed ”, made by Harvie-Brown in the eighties, may have been based on information from Joseph Agnew rather than on personal knowledge. According to Agnew himself, writing in 1883, a single pair of cormorants had remained to breed in the two previous seasons, and it seems clear from what he writes that he was fully capable of distinguishing between cormorants and shags. Even so, a doubt remains, for Agnew does not list the 10 74 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 shag as nesting, although it is known to have done so both before his time and after. Eagle Clarke, writing in 1891 and perhaps quoting Harvie-Brown, included among the rock- nesting birds of the May the “ cormorant (a few only), shag and kittiwake ” but only a year later A. H. Meiklejohn, during a visit on 16th June 1892, noticed “ two or three cormorants but saw none of their nests ”. As he seems to have covered the island very thoroughly one may perhaps legitimately assume that if he did not see any nests there were probably none there. Whether or not the cormorant has ever nested on the May, there seems no reason why it should not do so. Indeed, a pair may have attempted to breed in 1938 when the birds were seen carrying nest material to the cliffs, although egg- laying was never proved.] Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis The number of nesting shags has increased remarkably in recent years. The breeding of a few pairs was first recorded by Jardine in the eighteen- twenties, and Colquhoun shot one of a pair in 1864. Agnew, writing in 1883, does not record the shag as nesting, although Harvie-Brown only a year or two later speaks of it as “a common breeding species ” — a statement for which I have been unable to find any confirma- tion at all. Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul, when reviewing in 1925 their experiences of the island since 1907, recorded that the shag had been “ pretty constant at two or three pairs ”, although this does not tally exactly with their only other published references — to one pair breeding in 1918 and 1921, and two pairs breeding in 1924. By 1934, however, at least six pairs were nesting; by 1936, ten pairs; in 1944, about six pairs; in 1946, about twelve pairs; in 1951, about fifty pairs; in 1952, between seventy and eighty pairs; in 1953, at least 140 pairs; and in 1955, between 175 and 200 pairs. It will be interesting to see how much further this expansion continues. Eider Somateria mollissima As is pointed out by Baxter and Rintoul in The Birds of Scotland , Johannis Blaeu, who died in 1638, referred to the eider as one of the commonest birds of the May. Sibbald, in W55 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY 75 1710, records it too. In the nineteenth century the only note of interest concerning this duck is Harvie-Brown’s statement in the eighties that it was breeding in annually decreasing numbers owing to persecution. How long the decrease continued, and to what level numbers were reduced, we do not know, but in 1925 Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul were able to report that since first they had begun to visit the May in 1907 the eider had increased as a breeding species and that in 1921 and 1924 they had counted fifty and eighty-one pairs respectively. Later estimates suggest that in 1936 about thirty- two pairs bred, and from 1939 to 1944 probably about thirty pairs. In 1947, between twenty and twenty-five pairs were nesting; in 1948, about forty pairs; in 1949, probably between forty and fifty pairs; in 1950, rather more than in 1949. In 1951, and also in 1952 (when thirty-four nests were located during one visit), there were about seventy pairs of eiders on or about the island at the peak of the breeding season towards the end of May. In 1953, the population was esti- mated at between sixty-five and seventy-five pairs, and in 1955, when there were about one hundred potential breeding pairs on and around the island in mid-May, somewhere between thirty and sixty pairs nested. Notwithstanding the very heavy wastage of eggs suffered from gulls and other marauders, the potential breeding population appears to have remained reasonably steady for some time, although the esti- mates of pairs actually nesting have varied considerably. Shelduck Tadorna tadorna According to the records of the Isle of May Observatory and Field Station, a pair of shelduck frequented the coast of the island in the springs of 1932, 1934 and 1935, but no proof of breeding was obtained. However, on 10th May 1936 a nest containing ten eggs was found in a rabbit burrow on the North Ness and the parent was captured, ringed and returned to the nest. It is not known if the young hatched successfully. In the spring of 1937 two birds were again seen and in 1938 one or even two pairs may have bred. Since then, no attempts at breeding have been recorded, though a pair was seen on and around the North Ness on a number of dates in April and May 1955. Vol. 67 76 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST [Peregrine Falco peregrinus Peregrines — never more than a single pair at a time — have bred on the island intermittently as far back as records go. MacGillivray mentions a nest in 1829 and Jardine refers to the May possessing a pair “ long renowned in deeds of fal- conry According to Colquhoun, a pair nested in 1864, and Walker records breeding in 1869. For some time before 1907 there had been no nest but there was again an eyrie in 1922, 1923, and 1924. The last definite breeding record was in 1929 but a pair may have attempted to nest in 1941, when certainly one bird was present and what is believed to have been part of a peregrine’s egg was picked up near the Mill Door. Since that date several falls of cliff have occurred and it is by no means improbable that, as suggested by one of the lighthouse keepers, the old nest-site has been destroyed.] Moorhen Gallinula chloropus A pair of moorhens probably bred in 1933, when a young bird was caught on the island and an adult seen. In the following year (1934) a nest with eggs was found on the North Ness; the young hatched off successfully and a second clutch was laid. This is the only certain record of breeding. Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus The oystercatcher is a bird which has increased greatly as a breeding species in the last forty years. It is another of the birds recorded by Sibbald — and in the [Old) Statistical Account — but there followed a long gap without any mention of it. Evans was told by Joseph Agnew, whose term at the light- house extended from the eighteen-sixties to the eighties, that the oystercatcher had bred there all his time. Agnew’s own account (1883) states that “ a pair breed annually”, nesting (according to Harvie-Brown) on the North Ness. In 1909, at least two pairs bred, there were again two pairs in 1911, three pairs in 1915, and two pairs in 1918. By 1921 the population had risen to seven pairs and was still at this figure in 1924' and 1936. In 1937, probably either eight or nine pairs bred, and from 1939 to 1944 about ten pairs. Up to fifteen pairs may have nested in 1947 and 1948, there were J955 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY six or seven pairs in 1951, eleven pairs (ten nests found) in 1952, fourteen pairs in 1953 and between thirteen and fifteen pairs in 1955. Very few young seem to reach the flying stage, perhaps because of the attentions of gulls. [Lapwing Vanellus vanellus A pair nested in 1897; they were seen with young. There is no other breeding record.] [Redshank Tringa totanus The only instance of breeding is a nest and eggs found by Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul in 1912.] [Greater Black-backed Gull Larus marinus Drummond Hay’s statement (1881) that “ its breeding grounds nearest to the Tay are the Bass and Isle of May ” must have been based on a misconception. There is no record of this species having nested on the Isle of May.] Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus The lesser black-backed gull is a very recent addition to the breeding species of the island. It first nested in 1930, when an adult was seen feeding young. Since then there has been a steady population build-up, as shown by the following figures extracted from the records of the Bird Observatory: i93i : 1 pair 1948 about 100 1933: 2-3 pairs I951 » 1 *5 1935: 2-3 „ 1952 1 60- 1 70 1936: 7 „ 1953 about 175 1937: 8 „ 1954 ,, 200 i938: about 15 pairs 1955 250-300 1946; : ,, 73 „ Herring-Gull Larus argentatus The herring-gull has increased in spectacular fashion as a nesting species in the last ten years. It was first recorded to breed in 1907, when one pair nested, and there are now at least 3,000 pairs breeding. A very clear picture of the build- up is provided by the population estimates in the Bird Obser- vatory records, reproduced below, which are based partly on THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 counts of breeding pairs and partly on counts of nests. The recent huge increase in breeding numbers has occurred despite the removal of a considerable egg harvest annually and the attempts made in the last few years to reduce the herring-gull population by deliberate egg destruction in the interests of other nesting species. But for this, the herring-gull population might well be even larger than it is, which applies too, although not to the same extent, to the lesser black-backed gull. 1907: 1 pair 1914: about 1 2 pairs 1921: „ 35 „ 1924: „ 58 „ 1936: „ 455 „ 1 947 : about 760 pairs 1951: 1,000-1,250 „ 1952: about 1,750 „ 1954-55 » 3>°oo „ Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla Although there are numerous records of the occurrence and nesting of the kittiwake on the Isle of May as far back as the early seventeenth century, when Johannis Blaeu mentions it, very few estimates of the breeding population have been made. According to Agnew “ some hundreds ” were nesting in 1883, and Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul reported in 1925 that the species had increased somewhat during the previous fifteen years to about 1,900 pairs in 1921 and 2,360 pairs in 1924. Southern found a population of 2,950 pairs in 1936. Since then the only attempt at a full estimate was in 1953, when about 1,200 pairs were recorded, but this figure may have been on the low side for spot counts made in 1955 again suggested a population of well over 2,000 pairs. Common Tern Sterna hirundo Four species of tern have been recorded to nest on the Isle of May, and in each case the first reference to breeding was provided by Jardine in the eighteen-twenties. The earlier nesting of at least one species is, however, virtually certain from Sibbald’s reference to “ pictarnes 55 in 1710. The common tern is known to have bred on the island in the first part of the nineteenth century, but apparently only in small numbers. To judge by Selby’s comparison with the Fame Islands, the population in some years at any rate can have been only two or three pairs. By the middle of the century no terns at all were nesting, nor did any return to l955 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY 79 breed until during or after the 1914-18 war. Since then, the position has been as follows: 1921 : about 50 pairs 1922: 3 pairs 1923-1924: none bred 1 925 : great numbers bred 1926-1934: no figures 1935: some bred (135 young ringed) 1936: 3,400 pairs 1 938 : some nested, but probably not many 1940-1944: 300-400 pairs 1946-1947: 5,000-6,000 pairs 1949: about 300 pairs 1950: „ 50 „ 1951: „ 100 „ 1952: ,, 250 „ (very few eggs) 1953: some bred (73 young ringed) 1954: about 150 pairs tried to breed, few or none succeeded I955: about the same number tried to breed. Again, few succeeded. Great fluctuations from year to year, with sudden un- accountable departures from a chosen haunt, are a feature of tern colonies: those on the May are no exception. Arctic Tern Sterna macrura Jardine, who collected breeding specimens of the arctic tern on the Isle of May in 1825 and 1829, has recorded that it was at that time a plentiful species. Like the other terns, however, it disappeared from the island before the middle of the century, and since its return in 1930 it has never been so abundant as the common tern. The following estimates of the breeding population have been made: 1930: 2-3 pairs 1 935 : at least i pair 1 936 : about 800 pairs I939-I940: 20-25 1942-1944: 10-20 ,, 1946: 400-550 1947: about 20 ,, 1950: „ 30 „ 1951: „ 180 ,, 1952: „ 50 „ 1953: some bred (26 young ringed) 1 954" 1 955 : about 150 pairs attempted to breed. Few, if any, succeeded in raising young. Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii The roseate tern was breeding in considerable numbers in the late twenties of the last century when Jardine collected specimens. Thereafter there are no breeding records until 80 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 the nineteen thirties, since when the roseate tern has bred or attempted to breed in small numbers in most years : 1 935 '• I93^: 1938: 1 94°” 1 943 • :944: i946: 1947: 1948: 1950: i95i: 1952: 1953: 1954: 1955: at least 5 pairs 2-3 pairs 1-2 „ did not breed 8 pairs at least 13 pairs, probably 15-20 pairs 2 pairs bred 2 pairs may have nested did not breed 4 pairs nested did not breed at least 3 pairs nested 3 pairs laid eggs but failed to rear young certainly 4 and probably 5 pairs laid eggs, but it is doubtful if any young were raised. Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis Soon after Jardine first recorded the Sandwich tern as breeding on the May in the eighteen-twenties it ceased to do so, and it did not reappear as a nesting species for over eighty years. The first instance of breeding in the present century was in 1926 when Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul found an egg on the North Ness. The species is known to have bred also in 1927 and 1929, since when we have the following figures : 1930: about 50 pairs 1933; ,, 100 ,, I934: » 10 ,, 1 935 : at least 1 1 3 pairs 1 936 : 4 pairs tried to breed 1938: some bred or tried to 1940: about 15 pairs bred 1942-1943: 25-30 pairs 1944: 140-150 „ 1946: 1,400-1,500 pairs 1 947 : bred (86 young ringed) 1948: „ (434 ,, ) I949: „ (192 ,, ) 1950: about 600 pairs bred (697 young ringed) 1951: ,, 500 ,,' (557 young ringed) 1952 : at most 25 pairs present (no young reared) 1 953 : less than 1 00 pairs present (few young reared) 1954: probably 100- 150 pairs laid (about 120 young flew) 1 955 : about 1 90 pairs laid ( 1 1 8 young ringed) . Razorbill Alca torda The razorbill is known to have nested on the May since the eighteen-sixties and it is almost certain that it was nesting 1955 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY 81 there much earlier, both in Sibbald’s time and before. Although Harvie-Brown saw very few birds in the breeding season in 1880, he notes that Joseph Agnew had recorded them in some seasons in hundreds. Agnew himself stated in 1883 that they were not as numerous as the guillemot. The first recorded censuses are those of Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul, who estimated 360 pairs in 1921 and 160 pairs in 1924. They considered that these figures were smaller than the numbers in the preceding fifteen years. In 1936 Southern found about 500 breeding pairs; about 375 pairs bred in 1952 and prob- ably about the same number in 1955. Guillemot Uria aalge We know that the guillemot was breeding on the island in 1710, for Sibbald mentions the bird and describes its egg: it was probably there much earlier. In the eighteen-thirties Rhind found guillemots present in considerable numbers, and in 1848 we have the first reference by Archibald Hepburn to the bridled variety (“pretty common on the May”). Agnew, writing in 1883, reckoned the guillemot to be the most numerous nesting sea-bird and Harvie-Brown described it a year or two later as fairly abundant. According to Baxter and Rintoul (1953), the population in 1888 was estimated by Harold Raeburn at 300 pairs; they themselves counted 2,596 pairs in 1921 and 1,664 pairs in 1924 and (notwithstanding the big difference between these figures) considered that the species had remained fairly constant since they began to visit the May in 1907. In 1936, Southern estimated the breeding population at 2,080 pairs and the proportion of bridled birds at just on 5 per cent. In 1949, the largest count was less than 900 pairs (3*14 per cent, bridled); in 1951, 850 pairs (4*6 per cent, bridled); and in 1952, just over 1,000 pairs (4*65 per cent, bridled) : none of these figures professing, however, to be an estimate of total breeding numbers. In 1954 and 1955 the breeding population was estimated at about 2,000 pairs. [Black Guillemot Uria grylle In a footnote in Wilson’s American Ornithology (1832), Jardine states that a few pairs of black guillemots “ breed annually on the rocky islands of the Firth of Forth. I have 82 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 repeatedly found them on the Isle of May.” Elsewhere and later (Jardine, 1843) he records having “ shot specimens on the Isle of May, where one or two pairs breed annually ”, and goes on to give an account of finding two birds a few days old at the end of a cave among loose rocks. Selby (1833) says much the same thing: cc it certainly breeds, though in a very small proportion, upon the Isle of May ”. Evans, after con- sidering these and other records, concludes that the species probably ceased to breed some years before the middle of the nineteenth century although there may have been occasional attempts at re-establishment down to a much later date. Even now, odd birds are sometimes seen off the island in the breeding season.] Puffin Fratercula arctica There are no early records of the puffin on the Isle of May, although this does not mean that it did not occur. It was breeding sparingly on the island in the eighteen-eighties when Agnew estimated thirty to forty pairs in 1883 and Harvie- Brown not more than twenty pairs in 1884. In 1888 about twenty pairs were still breeding, and in June 1892 A. H. Meiklejohn found them “ very plentiful, but their holes were mostly on the isolated stacks ”. In the next thirty years there was a very definite decrease: only twelve pairs were counted in 1921, and only six in 1924. In 1934 it was con- sidered that not more than eight to ten pairs were nesting, but in 1936 Southern estimated about fifty pairs. This figure may, however, be high as it included birds counted on the sea. In 1951 there were probably less than ten pairs; in 1954, seven or eight pairs; and in 1955 probably fewer still and no certain proof of nesting. According to Baxter and Rintoul (1953) “ when a peregrine returned and bred on the Isle of May the puffins diminished perceptibly in numbers ”: as they saw the peregrines eating the corpses, they had no doubt of the reason. Peregrines cannot, however, be held responsible for the very low level of puffin numbers at the present time. [Rock-Dove Columba livia According to Jardine’s Birds of Great Britain and Ireland , true rock-doves bred on the Isle of May in the first part of the 1955 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY 83 nineteenth century. Turnbull (1867) says much the same thing. Any doves which may have bred more recently — and it is known that a pair nested in 1909- — cannot have been pure rock-doves; they must have had a large admixture of domestic blood.] Carrion-Crow Corvus corone corone The carrion-crow is a recent addition to the island’s nesting population. Breeding was first suspected in 1921, and from 1922 to 1929 a pair nested annually. From 1930 to 1945, successful breeding was not proved although in some years at any rate a pair was present throughout the breeding season. In 1946 a nest was built but no eggs were laid; in 1947 the nest was remade but not used; in 1948 a pair was present but did not breed, and in 1949 a nest was built but the eggs dis- appeared. In 1950, 1952 and 1953, young were reared successfully, but in 1954 although a pair was again in evidence no nest was built. There was no attempt at breeding in 1955. Song-Thrush Turdus ericetorum According to Harvie-Brown, the song-thrush nested occa- sionally on the Isle of May before 1882 and there were prob- ably three or four pairs breeding between 1882 and 1884. Agnew, however, notwithstanding his long experience of the island, does not include the song-thrush in his list of breeding species, published in 1883. A. H. Meiklejohn “ saw one song thrush ” on the island on 16th June 1892 — a date which suggests that it may have been breeding — but the species had ceased to nest some years before 1907. One pair must have nested in 1911, when at least one nestling was ringed on 20th May. This bird was found dead on the island almost nine years later — in March 1920 (Thomson, 1921). It is possible that it may have been resident (perhaps breeding) throughout the intervening period but the next certain nesting record was not till 1931, when two pairs raised young. One pair bred in 1932 and from then till 1938 either two or three pairs nested annually. There is no record of breeding since 1 938- 84 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Blackbird Turdus merula There is no mention of the blackbird before the early eighties of the last century, when it was breeding regularly in small numbers. From 1907 until 1914 it bred freely, and in 1921 there were still four pairs nesting. In 1924 there were only two pairs; it is doubtful if any bred in 1925, none bred from 1926 to 1929, only one pair in 1930, and two or three pairs in 1933. There were at least four (and probably five) breeding pairs in 1935 and three in 1936. Between 1937 and 1 944 never more than four pairs and never less than two pairs nested annually, and there were four pairs breeding in 1946. Only one pair was present in 1947, 1948 and 1950, and at most two pairs in 1951. In 1952 the only nesting was a brother-sister mating: four eggs were laid, one chick died in the egg, one soon after hatching and the other two succumbed later. There was no proof of breeding in 1953 and no nest in 1954, when the only blackbird permanently in the island in the breeding season was the male of the abortive 1952 mating. No blackbirds bred in 1955, there being no resident birds after mid-May. Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe When William Rhind visited the Isle of May in the early eighteen- thirties he saw a few young “ stone-chats 55 . Evans has suggested that the birds were probably wheatears and, if they were, this is the first mention of the species for the island. Harvie-Brown, in the eighties, found the wheatear breeding regularly and abundantly; he says that Agnew reckoned their numbers at about fifty pairs. Agnew himself notes, probably more accurately, that they “ arrive in March but not in great numbers ”. Some time after this date the wheatear ceased to breed, and it certainly did not do so between 1907 and 1919. It began to nest again in 1920 and, according to Baxter and Rintoul (1953), there were thirty-nine pairs breeding in 1921 but only two pairs in 1924. There are no records for the period 1925 to 1935 but in 1936 probably three pairs bred and in 1937 probably between four and six pairs. From 1938 to 1948 no wheatears nested; only one pair bred in 1950, two pairs from 1951 to 1953, and probably three pairs in 1954 J955 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY 85 and 1955. The figure of fifty breeding pairs attributed by Harvie-Brown to Agnew may well have been based on a mis- understanding; that of thirty-nine pairs in 1921 cannot be dismissed so easily, for it was the result of a count. If, how- ever, this was made fairly early in the season it may have included birds still on passage. The high estimates made in the same year for two other breeding species, the meadow-pipit and rock-pipit, suggest that this may be the explanation. Certainly, a population of thirty-nine breeding pairs of wheat- ears on an island the size of the May would be quite remark- able, if not unprecedented.* [Willow-Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus The only record of nesting is of a pair which bred in 1922.] [Hedge-Sparrow Prunella modularis Here again there is only one breeding record. A pair nested in 1884 and reared two broods.] Meadow-Pipit Anthus pratensis The first mention of the meadow-pipit on the Isle of May is to the effect that it was breeding regularly and not un- commonly in the early eighteen-eighties. In 1925 Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul reported that there had been a very marked decrease in the breeding population since they began to visit the island in 1907. They have recently (1953) recorded that there were seventeen breeding pairs in 1921 (compared with three pairs in 1924), but this very large figure is, like that for wheatears and rock-pipits in the same year, perhaps open to question. In 1934 three pairs were still breeding; there were two pairs in 1936, about three in 1937, probably about five in 1938, one to four pairs annually between 1939 and 1948, about five in 1950, at least three in 1952, probably six pairs in 1953, at least two in 1954, and probably between three and six in 1955. * Miss Baxter, who has very kindly read through the manuscript of this paper, has given me the dates of her visits to the Isle of May in 1921 and 1924. She and Miss Rintoul were on the island from 4th to 19th May 1921, and from 15th to 30th May 1924, and it was within these periods that they made their counts. Miss Baxter writes: “ I agree with you that birds on migration may have been the answer to that year with such high figures of breeding birds though I do remember vividly an unusually large number of nests. Possibly a larger breeding- population than usual plus passage birds may account for it.” 86 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y Rock- Pipit Anthus spinoletta This is another bird for which there are no early breeding records, but Harvie-Brown tells us that it was breeding com- monly on the island in the eighteen-eighties, and Meiklejohn found rock-pipits “ very common ” in June 1892. According to Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul there was a decrease in breed- ing numbers between 1907 and 1925, but notwithstanding this they record in The Birds of Scotland that seventy-five pairs were nesting in 1921 and thirty-one in 1924. The latter figure is very close to estimates in recent years ; the high figure for 1921 is again questionable (see footnote relating to wheatear). In 1936 Southern found twenty-four breeding pairs; there were about twenty pairs in 1937, and about twenty-five pairs nested annually from 1939 to 1944 and from 1946 to 1949. About thirty pairs nested in 1951 and 1955. Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii The earliest reference to the pied wagtail appears to be Agnew’s note, written in 1883, that “ a few wagtails nestle in the vicinity of the loch ”. Harvie-Brown, a year or two later, noted that four or five pairs were breeding and it is clear from the writings of Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul, and the records of the Bird Observatory, that a few pairs have nested regu- larly on the island ever since. Between 1921 and 1955 the breeding population has been estimated in seventeen different years: on thirteen occasions either two or three pairs bred, on two occasions one pair, and on two occasions four pairs. The position in the last three years has been that either two or three pairs nested in 1953 and 1954, and that four pairs nested in 1955. Two broods are quite frequently raised by each nesting pair; at least six broods flew in 1955. Starling Sturms vulgaris Once again it is Agnew (1883) who provides the first reference to nesting, stating that “ a good many breed on the face of the cliffs but always out of reach ”; and at just about the same time Harvie-Brown (1887) stated that the nesting population was increasing annually. Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul noted, however, in 1925, that the starling “ fluctuates I955 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY 87 somewhat as a breeding species ”, that there were sixteen breeding pairs in 1921, twenty-seven in 1924 and distinctly fewer in 1925. Since then, estimates of the breeding popula- tion have been made on only seven occasions; they suggest recovery in numbers after a decline. There were six pairs in 1936, six to seven pairs in 1937, at least six pairs in 1946, probably ten to fifteen pairs in 1947, about eight pairs in 1953, probably approaching twenty pairs in 1954 and about the same number in 1955. Starlings on the Isle of May breed only on the cliffs; nests about the buildings have never been recorded. Linnet Carduelis cannabina Agnew and Harvie-Brown both record the annual breeding of a few pairs of linnets in the early eighteen-eighties, with an increase, according to Harvie-Brown, in 1884. But by 1907, when the Misses Baxter and Rintoul first began to visit the May, the linnet had ceased to breed and it was not till 1918 (one pair), and 1920 and 1921 (two pairs), that the species returned and nested. After that there was another long gap before a pair built and laid eggs (later deserted) in 1948. Three pairs bred successfully in 1953, probably three pairs (raising at least five broods) in 1954, and at least six pairs (probably at least two raising two broods and probably at least three raising three broods) in 1955. House-Sparrow Passer domesticus William Rhind found the sparrow resident in the early eighteen-thirties. Whether this was the house-sparrow or the tree-sparrow it is impossible to say, and it is not until 1907 (the year that Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul first visited the May) — when a single pair bred — that we have the first definite record of the house-sparrow nesting. After this there were no more nests until 1925, when there were two breeding pairs. The resident population seems then to have remained fairly constant at about six pairs from 1927 to 1946, although certainly towards the end of that period not all the pairs nested annually and in some years, e.g. 1946, none may have bred. The last record of breeding was 1947, when there was at least one nest. 88 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 [Tree- Sparrow Passer montanus Information concerning the tree-sparrow on the island is scanty. There is no certain record of breeding before 1907, but between then and 1914 several pairs bred every year. Twelve birds were resident in the breeding season of 1917. but in 1921, when Miss Baxter and Miss Rintoul returned to the Isle of May after the war, they found only two pairs nesting, and in 1922 only one pair. Since then, no tree- sparrows have bred.] REFERENCES Agnew, J., 1883. The Isle of May and its birds. Chambers ’ Journ ., 22nd Sept. 1883. (By a Lighthouse Keeper.) Baxter, E. V. and L. J. Rintoul, 1918. The birds of the Isle of May: a migration study. Ibis, 1918: 247-287. 1925. Fluctuations in breeding birds on the Isle of May. Scot. Nat., 1925: 1 75“ 1 79- 1935- A Vertebrate Fauna of Forth. Edinburgh. I953* Birds of Scotland. 2 vols. Edinburgh. Blaeu, Johannes, 1662. Geographia Blavianae, \ i. Amsterdam. Clarke, W. Eagle, 1891, in D. Pollock ( q.v .). Birds of the Forth basin. Colquhoun, J., 1866. Sporting Days. Edinburgh. Eggeling, W. J., 1952. Notes on the breeding of the fulmar. Scot. Nat., 64: 148-150. Elder, H. F. D., 1935. Bird notes from the Isle of May. Scot. Nat., 1935: 47- 1949- The appearance and disappearance of the house sparrow as a breeding bird on the Isle of May. Scot. Nat., 61: 101-103. Evans, W., 1918. Early references to the bird-life of the Isle of May. Scot. Nat., 1918: 41-58. (Contains several minor references not quoted here.) Fisher, J., 1952. The Fulmar. London. Harvte-Brown, J. A., 1887. The Isle of May: its faunal position and bird life. Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin., 9: 303-325. Hay, H. M. Drummond, 1881. Notes on the birds of the basin of the Tay and its tributaries. (Concluding part.) Scot. Nat., 6: 5. Hepburn, A., 1848. Trans. Bervdckshire Naturalists’ Club, 2: 275. Jardine, W., 1832. See Wilson, A. and C. L. Bonaparte. 1838-43. The Birds of Great Britain and Ireland (Naturalists’ Library- Series) . 5 vols. Edinburgh. MacGillivray, W., 1836. Descriptions of the Rapacious Birds of Great Britain. Edinburgh. 1840. A History of British Birds. Vol. 3. London. Meiklejohn, A. H., 1892. Unpublished diary. (Extracts relating to visits to the Isle of May on 16th and 21st June 1892, made available through the courtesy of his son, Professor M. F. M. Meiklejohn.) I955 BREEDING BIRDS OF ISLE OF MAY 89 Neill, P., 1811. (In the) Scots Magazine , p. 565. Pollock, David, 1891. The Dictionary of Forth from Aberfoyle to Isle of May. Edinburgh. Rhind, W., 1833. Excursions Illustrative of the Geology and Natural History of the Environs of Edinburgh. Edinburgh. Selby, P. J., 1832. Illustrations of British Ornithology , 1821-34. London, Edinburgh and Dublin. Sibbald, R., 1710. The History , Ancient and Modern of the Sheriffdoms of Fife and Kinross. Cupar, Fife. Southern, H. N., 1938. A survey of the vertebrate fauna of the Isle of May (Firth of Forth). J. Anim. Ecol. , 7: 144-154. Thomson, A. L., 1921. Results of a study of bird-migration by the marking method. Ibis, 1921: 466-527. Turnbull, W. P., 1867. The Birds of East Lothian. Glasgow. Walker, R., 1872. Notes on some of the rare birds that have been obtained in the east of Fife during recent years. Scot. Nat., 1872: 78-81. Wilson, A. and C. L. Bonaparte, 1832. American Ornithology; or the Natural History of the Birds of the United States. London and Edinburgh. (Contains notes by Sir William Jardine.) {Old) Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol. 3, p. 84, 1792. Report of the Isle of May Bird Observatory and Field Station, 1951-52. Fair Isle Bird Obs. Ann. Rep., 1952: 17-35. 12 go THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y FIELD NOTES ON THE CORN BUNTING (. EMBERIZA C ALAN DR A) : HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION IN ABERDEENSHIRE * Ivan M. Goodbody University College of the West Indies; formerly Aberdeen University The distribution of the corn bunting in the British Isles is irregular and patchy; according to Witherby (1941) it is “ generally distributed, but localised in a large number of scattered areas, usually of moderate extent, especially in coastal regions and open country inland, and often common where found In recent years it appears to have consider- ably decreased in some areas, particularly in Ireland (Kennedy et al., 1954). These facts suggest that there may be some environmental factor limiting the species’ distribution in these islands and that perhaps it is a factor which has altered in a detrimental manner in those areas where the numbers have declined. No recent survey has been made of the exact distribution of the corn bunting in these islands; such a survey might enable one to find characters common to the environment in every inhabited area and a clue to the patchy distribution. In parts of north-east Scotland, particularly Aberdeenshire, the corn bunting is abundant as a resident species. This region encloses a variety of habitats ranging from rich agri- cultural land in the east to some of Britain’s highest hills in the west. It does, in fact, form an ideal starting ground for a survey of corn bunting distribution and an attempt to analyse the limiting factors. The present survey is confined to the breeding season and has been carried out over a period of four successive summers (t 952-55), but intensive observations have only been made in 1952 and 1955. * Received 1 oth September 1 955 1955 NOTES ON THE CORN BUNTING 91 The characteristic habit of corn buntings of using con- spicuous places, such as fence poles and telegraph wires, as song posts makes the initial task of surveying their distribution particularly easy. Much of the basic pattern in this survey was built up in the course of car journeys throughout the region; every time a corn bunting was observed its position was noted and subsequently plotted with a coloured map pin on a quarter-inch ordnance map. In this way it was rapidly established where they did occur, and subsequently special visits were made to areas where they had not been observed and an intensive search made for them. Almost all the areas of Aberdeenshire where corn buntings could occur have been visited, and I believe a fairly accurate picture of their distribu- tion has been plotted. This method gives no information on relative density in the different areas and it must be under- stood that the remarks made in this paper on density result purely from personal impressions and not from actual counting. Most areas included in the survey have been visited at least twice and many areas very much more often; as one gets to know the bird and the country one rapidly learns what is a high density and what low, and I believe that the picture presented here is essentially correct. When making such a survey it is important that the state of the weather be taken into account : for preference observa- tions should be made on fine sunny days with a minimum of wind. Otherwise there is a danger that negative observations are due not to an absence of birds, but to the inclement weather keeping them off their song posts or otherwise out of sight. Distribution Throughout north and east Aberdeenshire the corn bunting is a common breeding species in most localities, but becomes more and more thinly distributed as one moves south-west. In fig. i the breeding range of the species has been plotted so as to give an idea of the regions of maximum and minimum density. Along the north coast from Troup Head to Fraserburgh there is a narrow belt where birds are at a high density, but this falls off rapidly as one moves inland towards New Pitsligo and Strichen. Along the coastal strip from Fraserburgh to Peterhead density is again high, 92 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y and it extends up the valley of the Ugie water almost as far as Strichen; however in parts of Rora Moss, where peats are cut, density is naturally at a low level. Places where a particu- larly high density has been recorded are at St. Fergus and in Heavy stippling indicates coastal belt of relatively high density : light stippling indicates species’ range in remainder of county. 500 ft. contour marked. Key to lettering : Alf Alford, Cum Cuminestown, EJ Ellon, Fr Fraserburgh. Fy Fyvie, Hun Huntly, In Insch, Inv Inverurie, Kem Kemnay, Meth Methlick. Mo'H Mill o’ Hirn, M01 Monymusk, ND Dew Deer, NP New Pitsligo, Pd Peterhead, Rh Rhynie, Str Strichen, Tur Turriff. the Ugie water between Strichen and Fetterangus. South of Peterhead the high density coastal belt appears temporarily broken until one reaches Cruden Bay; from the latter place south to Aberdeen and inland to Ellon the population remains at a high density. As a general statement it seems true to say I955 NOTES ON THE CORN BUNTING 93 that there is a high density belt along the whole of the Aberdeen- shire coast, the width of which varies considerably according to the nature of the terrain. Apart from this coastal belt corn buntings are resident in nearly all suitable localities north and east of the main Aber- deen-Huntly road. There is, however, one exception to this: I have found only a very few isolated birds in the area bounded by Methlick and Fyvie in the south and Turriff, Cuminestown and New Deer in the north. There is no apparent reason for this as the habitat is suitable although in places rather exposed, and the area should be repeatedly checked. Also between Huntly and Ythan Wells, and to north-east of Huntly, birds seem particularly scarce although much suitable habitat exists. Mention may also be made of an area south-west of Turriff for about 6 miles, including Kirkton of Auchterless, where birds seemed unusually abundant. In the remainder of Aberdeenshire, that is south-west and west of the Aberdeen-Huntly road, the corn bunting has a far more irregular and patchy distribution. As far as possible the actual areas where they occur have been shown in fig. i ; apart from a few pairs in the vicinity of Insch (just south of the boundary of the main population and contiguous with it) and Rhynie, most birds are confined to the valleys of the Don and Dee. In the Dee valley they are very sparse and have not been recorded further than 12 miles inland, at Mill o’ Hirn, north-east of Banchory. In the more fertile Don valley isolated pockets exist as far west as Alford (20 miles inland). In this latter valley and its surroundings four principal pockets of birds have been located: (1) on the north side of Loch of Skene, between Skene House and Easter Skene House; (2) in low-lying ground by the river between Monymusk and Kemnay; (3) at Sauchen; (4) the Howe of Alford. Isolated birds have also been seen at Lyne of Skene and Dunecht, and it is to be expected that some others might be found with even more intensive searching. Habitat The habitat occupied by the corn bunting in Aberdeenshire is clearly defined and may be summarised by saying that the following conditions must be fulfilled: (1) farmland must be 94 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 the dominant feature of the terrain: the type of farmland (grass, roots, corn, etc.) seems unimportant. (2) There must be a minimum of trees and bushes; fields that are fenced with wire or stone walls are a typical feature of the habitat. (3) There must be a clear vista all round; flat or very gently undulating country is usually preferred. Birds are seldom, if ever, seen close to a plantation or in a narrow valley. (4) The ground should be low-lying. It is uncertain as to how limiting the actual altitude is on distribution : in Aberdeenshire corn buntings are seldom found above 400 feet, and 700 feet is the highest recorded. However, this is also the limit to which the other features of the habitat extend, and possibly they and not altitude limit the vertical distribution. On the other hand, one often finds that birds are more frequent in the very low-lying areas (0-200 feet), which suggests that altitude may have some effect. Food is clearly a factor limiting the birds to farmland, but the second and third conditions of the habitat need further explanation. Both these conditions — absence of trees and bushes and the open vista of the terrain — combine to give the bird the widest possible view of the surrounding countryside, and the birds frequently add to it by perching on the highest available place such as telephone wires. Two alternatives suggest themselves to explain this requirement. Corn bunt- ings are polygamists (Ryves, 1934; Walpole-Bond, 1932; Goodbody, unpublished data) and possibly the choice of such a habitat enables one male to “ keep an eye ” on a number of hens. Alternatively, and I believe more probably, this habitat requirement has been selected as an adaptation against predators. Corn buntings are clumsy fliers and in comparison with other small passerines may be at a disadvantage when chased by a predator such as a sparrow hawk ( Accipiter nisus). It may be essential for their survival that they should get ample warning of the approach of a predator, and this may have been achieved through habitat selection. Food As food is in all probability a major factor in determining distribution it would be of interest to obtain accurate quanti- tative data on the subject. Collinge (quoted by Witherby et T955 NOTES ON THE CORN BUNTING 95 <2/., 1941) records 71-5 per cent, vegetable matter of a variety of types, including wild fruits, seeds of weeds, grasses, leaves, ivy berries and corn. Animal matter includes many insects, but also spiders, millipedes, snails, slugs and earthworms. Some incidental information is available in the present study. In March, April and June 1952, 16 “ stomachs ” were examined. In all of these there was a mass of vegetable matter usually identifiable as the remains of corn seeds. As well as this the following more specific identifications were made: Month No. of stomachs Corn seeds Other seeds Small Coleoptera Molluscs March 7 28 3 0 0 April 6 43 3 15 1 June 3 6 0 26 1 Corn is obviously of paramount importance in the birds’ diet. The June figures are misleading in so far as twenty-five of the Coleoptera were found in one stomach. An important aspect on which no information appears to be available is the food upon which the young are fed. In a small coastal area of Kincardineshire in 1952 the young appeared to be fed exclusively on a small green caterpillar gathered in the fields of young corn. Factors Influencing Distribution 1. Habitat. The habitat requirements in Aberdeenshire have already been outlined. Agricultural land of some sort seems to be essential: I have watched corn buntings in a number of localities throughout the British Isles and in all cases they have been similarly associated with arable or grass- land and always in open country. Witherby et al. (1941) give the habitat as: “In breeding season, arable and grasslands with hedgerows or bushes, gorsy commons or downlands, rough pastures and scrubby wastes . . . ordinarily avoids areas much dominated by trees ”. I have never seen birds 96 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 inhabiting gorsy commons or scrubby wastes, a habitat in my experience occupied by the yellow bunting ( Emberiza citrinella) . However, many of the birds watched by Ryves (1934) had their nests in patches of gorse in farmland. It is probably the close association with open agricultural land that has set the pattern of distribution in Aberdeenshire. The north- eastern half of the county is predominantly of this type, and as one moves south-west towards and into the two great river valleys the terrain becomes progressively more wooded and less exposed. It seems significant that in the four areas of the Don valley where the corn bunting occurs they have chosen exactly those localities in which trees and bushes are at a minimum and the all-round vista is clear. I have already stressed the fact that altitude in itself may be of importance as a limiting factor only because the essential habitat requirement disappears between 600 and 800 feet and gives way to scrub, gorse and heather. It is of interest that corn buntings are found a few miles to the west of Rhynie at 700 feet, at the very limits of agricultural land and just before it gives way to a moorland association ; also in the hills between New Pitsligo and the north coast corn buntings are again found to occur up to the limits of agricultural land, at about 600 feet, but are absent as soon as moorland begins. 2. Food. The association between corn buntings and open country may be linked with protection from predators, but the association with agricultural land is almost certainly concerned with food. Too few data are available to show what food factor is limiting their distribution. Corn in one form or another is obviously of great importance, but it is such a ubiquitous crop that it is hard to see how it might be limiting. It is conceivable that in some way or other the species has become so specialised in its requirements that it must have corn, and if for any lengthy period it is denied access to it the species may die out. If this is the case it might be possible to correlate the decline of corn buntings with a change in farming methods. In north-east Scotland corn is stacked in ricks after harvesting and may not be threshed until the following spring: these stacks are a favourite haunt of the corn bunting in winter. In some regions of Britain threshing takes place immediately after or during the harvesting, in 1955 NOTES ON THE CORN BUNTING 97 which case a specialised corn-feeder might find it hard to survive the winter. In spring, corn again becomes readily available when fields are sown. Corn buntings may then be seen combing the fields for scattered grain or pulling up young seedlings, squeezing out the milky endosperm and rejecting the remainder of the seedling. Alternatively it may be the food of the nestlings which is limiting distribution; it would be interesting to have detailed data on this food. REFERENCES Kennedy. P. G. et al., 1954. The Birds of Ireland. Edinburgh. Ryves, B. H., 1934. The breeding habits of the Corn Bunting. British Birds, 28: 2-26, 154-164. Walpole-Bond, J. W'., 1932. The breeding habits of the Corn Bunting. British Birds, 25 : 292-300. Witherby, H. F. et al., 1941. The Handbook of British Birds, vol. 1 . London. 13 98 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 REVIEW OF ORNITHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN SCOTLAND IN 1953 Evelyn V. Baxter Upper Largo In 1954 the Council of the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club decided that an annual review of the chief events in Scottish Ornithology was desirable. A Scottish Bird Records Committee was appointed, with myself as Chairman, to compile it. This is the resume of the chief events, changes in status, etc., published in 1953. It consists of general remarks, birds new to Scotland, additions to faunal areas and counties, and breeding records; the additions to areas and counties (and parts of counties which fall into more areas than one) are indicated. Some of the records refer to 1952 or earlier, but were not published till 1953, and these are included, but not records for 1953 not published till 1954. General Remarks An outstanding feature was the number and variety of American bird records published in 1953. The species in question were the magnificent frigate-bird, green-winged teal, baldpate, snow goose, blue snow goose, greater and lesser yellowlegs, yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos, and grey-cheeked thrush. The great wreck of Leach’s Petrel on our shores, and far beyond, which took place in October and November 1952, was fully reported in 1953 (Scot. Nat ., 65: 167). Short-eared Owls were more numerous than usual in several counties, perhaps correlated with an unusual abundance of voles ; Black Redstarts were more numerous on migration, and unusual numbers of Lapland Buntings were reported in the Lothians and Fair Isle. In June and July, an invasion of Crossbills took place and was recorded chiefly from Shetland, Orkney, Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Isle of May, Dumfries, and Kirkcudbright (. F.I.B.O . Bull ., 2: 19). 1955 ORNITHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN SCOTLAND, 1953 99 Two racial forms not accorded recognition in the B.O.U. Check List (1952) are recorded by Mr. Kenneth Williamson, viz. : Icelandic Merlin Falco columbarius subaesalon Several on migration on Fair Isle, one from Caithness and one from Blairgowrie. Merlins ringed in Iceland have been recovered in Stirlingshire and Dunbarton ( F.I.B.O . Bull ., 2 : 29). Hebridean Twite Carduelis flavirostris bensonorum Colonel R. Meinertzhagen and Mr. Williamson consider this a good race, including birds from the Outer Hebrides, Fair Isle, and Shetland ( F.I.B.O . Bull., 11 : 34). Birds new to Scotland Magnificent Frigate Bird Fregata magnijicens rothschildi An immature $ was found dying on Tiree on 9th July 1953. It breeds in the West Indies and adjacent coasts of Central and South America. There are only three previous records of the species for Europe. It is new to Scotland and the Inner Hebrides {Scot. Nat., 65: 193). Blue Snow Goose Anser caerulescens caerulescens One was first seen in late September and photographed on the Delting lochs in Shetland on 13th October 1953. It stayed until February in that neighbourhood. This goose breeds in Baffin and Southampton Islands and is new to Scot- land and Shetland {F.I.B.O. Bull., 2: 10; and Scot. Nat., 66: 13)- Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca This North American species is reported at Dunrossness on 26th and 27th May 1953. It is new to Scotland and Shetland {F.I.B.O. Bull., 11: 18). Crested Lark Galerida cristata One reported on Fair Isle on 2nd November 1952. There is no previous record for Scotland or Shetland {Brit. Birds, 46: 21 1). IOO THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Grey-cheeked Thrush Hylocichla minima The second record for Europe comes from Fair Isle on 5th October 1953. It is also, of course, new to Scotland and Shetland ( F.I.B.O . Bull., 2: 3; Scot. Nat., 66: 18). [Parrot Crossbill Loxia pityopsittacus A large-billed bird corresponding with the forms known as pityopsittacus and scotica was trapped on the Isle of May with migrant Loxia c. curvirostra on 18th September 1953 {F.I.B.O. Bull., 2: 20). Since the correct taxonomic situation of pityopsittacus is obscure, an opinion on the status of this record is deferred for the time being.] Birds new to Areas and Counties Sooty Shearwater Procellaria grisea Three seen about ten miles east of Fetlar on 8th January 1953 are the first recorded from Shetland, though previously noted from Fair Isle {Scot. Nat., 65: 51). Garganey Anas querquedula Four drakes and a duck on the river Shiel near Acharacle on 20th March 1953 are new to West Inverness {Scot. Nat., 65: 127). Two drakes and a duck on the Spey in 1947 are first records for East Inverness, and, except for a doubtful record from Banff, for the faunal area of Moray {l.c.). Green-winged Teal Anas crecca carolinensis A drake was seen at Carsebreck on 26th and 30th December 1952 {Edin. Bird. Bull., 3: 70). In view of the arrival of other American birds in Scotland in the autumn and the fact that the green-winged teal is not known to have been bred in Europe in recent years, we accept this record as new to Tay and North Perthshire. Baldpate Anas americana A drake is reported from Bothwell Bridge on 16th April 1952, this being the first record for Lanark {Scot. Nat., 65 : 1 16). White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons The distribution and occurrence of the two forms of white- fronted goose in Scotland need further working out. Identified i955 ORNITHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN SCOTLAND, 1953 101 specimens of the European Anser a. albifrons are reported from Loch Leven, Kinross, on 21st November 1953; the Beauly Firth on 10th November 1914; and Wick on 2nd February 1914 ( Edin . Bird Bull., 4: 30) ; and the occurrence of this race is established in these counties. An adult male Greenland white-front [Anser a. jlavirostris) was shot at Coldingham, Berwickshire, on 15th November 1938 [Edin. Bird. Bull., 4: 31). This race had not previously been reported in this county. Snow Goose Anser hyperboreus A snow goose was seen near Reay on 29th September 1953. This is new to Sutherland and Caithness [F.I.B.O. Bull., 2: 12 & 57; Scot. Nat., 66: 14). [Little Crake Porzana parva A crake was seen at Duddingston on 30th November 1952 [Edin. Bird Bull., 3: 19). It was recorded as a little crake and from the description this seems probable though there is the possibility that it may have been the spotted crake [Porzana porzana) .] Grey Plover Charadrius squatarola One at Hamilton on 16th October 1951 is the first record for Lanark [Scot. Nat., 65: 4). Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus The first record for Selkirkshire comes from Hartwoodburn on 31st July 1953 [Edin. Bird. Bull., 4: 17). Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus On nth and 16th October 1951 a bird of this species was seen at Hamilton and is the first recorded in Lanark [Scot. Nat.. 65: 3)- Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes One reported at Loch Creran, Argyll, on 3rd March 1951 is new to Argyll [Brit. Birds, 46: 34). One visited Fair Isle on 31st May 1953 [F.I.B.O. Bull., n: 21). Sanderling Crocethia alba Two seen between Arisaig and Mallaig on 2nd September 1952 are the first recorded for South Inverness [Scot. Nat., 65 ; 56). 102 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6j Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus A stilt recorded from Ardgay, East Ross, without date (Field, nth June 1953: 1086), and one seen on 20th April 1953 at Gordonbush, Brora (South-east Sutherland) were presumably the same bird (Field, 2nd July 1953: 41). There is only an old and unconfirmed record from Ross-shire and none from Sutherland. Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus One at Ballantrae on 2nd November 1952 is new to Ayr- shire (Scot. Nat., 65: 177). [Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor Before acceptance as the second Scottish record, further corroboration is required of the report of three seen in Lanark- shire on 10th October 1949 (Glasgow and W. of Scotland Bird Bull., 2: 31)] Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus A bird of this species at Hamilton on 19th January 1951 is the first record for Lanark (Scot. Nat., 65: 4). Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii Two near the Isle of Whithorn on 10th August 1952 are new to Wigtown (Scot. Nat., 65: 56). Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus An immature female at Exnaboe on 1st November 1952 was the first record for Shetland (Brit. Birds., 46: 218). A yellow-billed cuckoo seen near Old Montrose on nth October 1953 was new to Angus and to Tay (Scot. Nat., 65: 196). One was found dead on Muck on 3rd October 1953 (F.I.B.O. Bull., 2: 8), and another at Nairn on 5th October 1953 was the first record for Moray ( l.c .). Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythrophthalmus An exhausted specimen was caught on Foula on nth October 1953; it is new to Shetland (Scot. Nat., 65: 196). [Eagle Owl Bubo bubo Before acceptance as first records for the counties of Argyll and Lanark, further corroboration is required of birds reported 1955 ORNITHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN SCOTLAND, 1953 103 in Kintyre in autumn 1938 and on Fannyside Moor, Lanark, in 1941, 1942, 1947 and 1949 ( Glasgow and W. of Scotland Bird Bull., 2: 32).] Hoopoe Upupa epops The hoopoe seen at Lone on 27th September 1952 is an addition to the list for West Sutherland (Scot. Nat., 65: 56). Willow Tit Parus atricapillus A willow tit reported between Lairg and Lochinver in April 1953, and two about 14 miles south of Cape Wrath on 24th November 1949, are the first records for South-east and West Sutherland respectively (Scot. Nat., 65: 130 & 131). [Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos A report of “ many 55 singing near Fortingall on 3rd May !953 cannot be accepted (Field, 4th June, 1953: 1042).] Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia One singing near the head of Loch Maree on 17th June 1953 1S first record for Ross (Scot. Nat., 65: 197). Paddyfield Warbler Acrocephalus agricola One on Fair Isle, 16th September 1953 (F.I.B.O. Bull., 2: 15). Though there is a previous record for Fair Isle, we are including this in view of the fact that it is only the second record for Britain. Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla A male at Portree on 18th November 1952 is the first record for Skye (Scot. Nat., 65: 58). [American Pipit Anthus spinoletta rubescens A probable American pipit was seen on Fair Isle on 17th September 1953 (F.I.B.O. Bull., 2: 13; and Scot. Nat., 66: 53).] Black-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava feldegg One was seen at Aberlady on 2nd July 1952 (Brit. Birds, 46: 219). This is new to Forth and East Lothian. There are two previous records in Scotland, one from the Spango Water, Upper Nithsdale, on 14th June 1925 (Scot. Nat., 1925: 107), and the other from Whalsay on 20th May 1936 (Scot. Nat., ■937: 27). THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y 104 Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor A young male at Aberdeen on 15th October 1952 is the first record for Dee and for the mainland of Scotland (Scot. Nat., 65: 13 1). A note of nine or ten at Maybole, Ayrshire, in March 1953 cannot be accepted (Field, nth June 1953: 1088). Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator On 2 1 st and 22nd May 1953 a male was seen at Kinghorn, Fife. This is the first record for the mainland of Scotland, for Forth and for South Fife (Edin. Bird Bull., 3: 69). At the same time (22nd May) a woodchat visited Fair Isle (F.I.B.O. Bull., 1 1 : 26). Tree Sparrow Passer montanus Two near Kinross on 1st November 1953 are the first recorded in that county (Edin. Bird Bull., 4: 20; and Scot. Nat., 66: 56). Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus During the autumn this species visited East Lothian and Midlothian among other places, and these are the first records for these two counties (Edin. Bird Bull., 4: 4, 13, etc.). Breeding Range Shoveller Spatula clypeata The first breeding record for Shetland comes from Loch Hillwell (F.I.B.O. Bull., 12: 20). Shelduck Tadorna tadorna Has extended its breeding range in Shetland to Bressay, Yell, and Unst (F.I.B.O. Bull., 11 : 17). Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos A pair bred in the Mull of Kintyre in 1952 (Glasgow and W. of Scotland Bird Bull., 2: 34). Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus Still making gallant efforts to recolonise in Scotland. Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus Recorded breeding in Scotland in 1952 and 1953, two nests in different parts of the country. First known breeding in 1955 ORNITHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN SCOTLAND, 1953 105 Scotland {Scottish Field, November 1953: 23; Edin. Bird Bull., 3: 63; and Scot. Nat., 66: 41). Great Skua Stercorarius skua Two pairs were seen and an egg found in Caithness in 1952; probably bred 1949 {Brit. Birds, 46: 263). This is the first recorded breeding on the mainland. Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii Two pairs were found breeding in Kintyre in 1953 {Glasgow and W. of Scotland Bird Bull., 2: 60). Redwing Turdus musicus A pair bred in Unst, 1953 {F.I.B.O. Bull., 11: 19; and Scot. Nat., 66: 50). Rook Corvus fragile gus First recorded breeding in Shetland at Kergord in 1952 and increased in number in 1953 {Brit. Birds, 46: 265). There is no record in 1953 of the nesting of the Black- necked Grebe in Scotland, and Mr. Seton Gordon doubts if any Whooper Swans bred in Scotland in 1952 {Scottish Field , :953: 35)- There is evidently a mistake in the record of finding, in February, nests of Leach’s Petrel at the base of the lighthouse tower at Buchan Ness {Scottish Field, 1953: 47). 14 io6 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 BOTANICAL NOTE Some Effects of the 1955 Drought on the Vegetation round Loch Shores. — Whilst the prolonged drought of 1955 has had disastrous effects on all manner of plant life, there being reports from many parts of the country of damage to gardens, of withered pastures and even of the dessication and bleaching of Sphagnum-bogs , it is interesting to record that the long exposed shores of many freshwater lochs have been colonised by vegetation to a remarkable extent. In many cases the water levels of these lochs have been two feet or more below the normal for several months, thus leaving in places an exposed strand of sand, gravel or mud, often of up to fifteen yards in width. One of the most rapidly colonised of these exposed shores was round Loch Tummel in Perthshire, where considerable amounts of agricultural land were submerged when the level of this loch was artificially raised following the construction in 1950 of the Clunie Hydro-Electric Dam. This year in less than a month after their exposure, these dark, barren looking flats assumed a greenish tinge ; while after two months of drought the growth of grasses on them was so lush that sheep grazed them in preference to the parched pasturage on higher ground. Possibly of even greater interest are the observations on the colonisation of the exposed gravelly beaches of Loch Kinardochy, a hill loch which lies in moorland between Loch Tummel and the foot of Schiehallion. A considerable and most varied flora developed here in the moist coarse sand and silt which is present between the large angular pebbles covering much of the loch’s shoreline, and where the water level, depending on the contour, had retreated some ten to fifteen yards from the high water mark. The most rapid colonisers of this bared beach were the procumbent pearlwort ( Sagina procumbens ), the sedge ( Carex demissa) (also grazed by sheep) and to some extent the melancholy thistle, Cirsium heterophyllum. Though less frequent, the following plants have also been found: Myrica gale , Viola canina , Plantago media , Chamaenerion angustifolium , Saxifraga aizoides , Cardamine pratensis, Tussilago farfara , Vaccinium oxy coccus, Potentilla erecta , Prunella vulgaris and Veronica serpyllifolia. — A. J. Brook, Brown Trout Research Laboratory, Pitlochry, Perthshire. 1955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 107 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES The Stone-fly Capnia atra Morton in Aberdeenshire. — On 27th March 1955, Loch Callater (altitude 1600 ft.) in Aberdeen- shire was completely frozen over except for small open pools a few feet across where small streams emptied into the loch. These streams were themselves almost completely snowed over and snow was lying to a depth of about four inches on the ice of the loch. The snow surrounding each of the open pools was found to be swarming with small stone-flies, several hundred at each pool, crawling away from the water. There were also many floating on the water and in the act of crawling out. When the ice was broken about ten yards from a pool, many more were seen to be trapped under the ice and immediately began to crawl out. Ten flies were collected from different parts of the loch and were all found to be Capnia atra Morton, two males and eight females. None were seen flying nor mating. The snow was melting during the day but froze hard each night. There appear to be very few records of this species in Britain, but a situation almost identical with that described above was found at Loch Einich in the Cairngorms on 29th March 1902 {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1902, p. 185). In this case thousands of flies of this species were found crawling on the snow after a heavy snow- storm.— Gordon B. Corbet, Dundee. Mr. N. C. Morgan, of the Brown Trout Research Laboratory, Pitlochry, writes as follows: “ Capnia atra is now known to be more widely distributed than was originally thought. For instance we have found this species in Loch Kinardochy and Loch Ghoin of the few lochs in which detailed study has been carried out in this area. I was speaking to Dr. Hynes recently and he considered that the apparent rarity of some of the Capnia species was primarily due to the lack of collecting in the Scottish Highlands. “ In the species-collection at this laboratory there are adult specimens of C. atra collected throughout March. It is not unusual to find stone-flies emerging when there is snow on the ground since it is normal for many species to emerge when the water temperature is only a degree or two above freezing point. Some species emerge under such conditions at the beginning of February.” — Editors. Salmon Scale Absorption. — Scales removed from salmon kelts generally show some absorption. The degree of absorption io8 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y apparently depends chiefly on the length of time that the salmon has spent in fresh water before spawning and, to some extent, on the sex of the fish. Thus the scales of male spring salmon kelts generally show the greatest amount of absorption. A set of scales, taken from a male salmon kelt 127 cm. long, caught on the River Spey in January 1955, when examined showed all the sea growth absorbed, except for a small part of the growth during the first summer. Menzies and Macfarlane (. Fisheries , Scotland , Salmon Fish, 1924, I; 1926, V; 1928, I; 1928, III) record that fish of comparable length had spent up to four-plus years in the sea before returning to spawn. Therefore, if this fish had spent a similar period in the sea, the circuli on that part of the scale laid down over a period exceeding four years have been completely absorbed. Accurate age determination is clearly impossible in such an instance. — W. M. Shearer, Brown Trout Research Laboratory, Pitlochry. Fish Remains in the Stomach of Atlantic Salmon. — A fresh run salmon was caught early in May 1 944 in the River Garry, Inverness-shire, at a point approximately forty miles from the sea. The stomach of this fish contained the partly digested remains of a fish, which proved to be a salmon smolt. This identification was based on the general shape of the body, the shape of the head and the position of the eye relative to the mouth. The position of insertion, shape and the number of rays of the pectoral fins, the position and number of rays of the dorsal fin and the vertebral count closely resembled those of specimens of salmon smolts. This smolt had presumably been taken during upstream migration, perhaps in Loch Ness, where smolts would be shoaling just prior to their downstream migration. Although herring, sand-eels and gadoid bone remains occasion- ally occur in the stomachs of salmon caught in coastal nets, there appear to be only three known records of the ingestion of fish of freshwater origin by fresh run salmon. Calderwood ( The Life of the Salmon , 1907) records that in 1885 a small trout was found in the stomach of a grilse in the Thurso River, and Calderwood {Rep. Fish. Bd. Scot., 1923, p. 75 (1924)) states that a salmon weighing 20J lb. was caught in Loch Shiel with a 7-inch trout in its stomach. Neither of these records indicate whether digestion had taken place. Later, Calderwood {Rep. Fish. Bd. Scot., 1925, p. 98 (1926)) records the capture of a 171b. salmon in a tributary of the Teviot on 22nd December with eight salmonids in its stomach. Seven of these proved to be salmon parr, but the eighth was too far digested to be identified. 1955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 109 I am indebted to Dr. Bennet B. Rae and Mr. J. Lamont of the Scottish Home Department, Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, for help in identifying the stomach contents. — W. M. Shearer, Brown Trout Research Laboratory, Pitlochry. A White-billed Northern Diver at Spey Bay, Morayshire. — On 5th January 1955 a specimen of the white-billed northern diver ( Gavia adamsii) was received at the Natural History Department. Marischal College, Aberdeen, forwarded by Mr. Alastair M. Raffan, of Fochabers. Mr. Raffan first notified Miss Elisabeth Garden, and in a letter to her written on the 5th he says: “It might interest you to know that when bird watching in the Spey Bay shore area on the 2nd January I found the bird dead, well above high water mark. I think it may have come ashore alive and crawled to where I found it before dying. Of course it is possible that the bird was washed ashore dead, and thrown to a higher level by a passer-by. On the left wing there are traces of an oil-like substance, which was probably responsible for the bird’s death.” Unfortunately the skin could not be preserved, but the skull with its very characteristic bill has been deposited in the Aberdeen University collection. The bird was examined by Mr. Adam Watson and Dr. Ivan Goodbody and found to be a female (by dissection) in winter plumage, and probably not in its first winter. The primaries had whitish shafts. It may be recalled that there were two records of this rare visitor in February 1952, one dead (oiled) in Fife and the other alive in East Lothian (Scot. Nat., 64: 119-121), and two in 1946 and 1947 in Shetland; previous to that there were no acceptable records for Scotland. — Editors. Leach’s Fork-tailed Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorrhoa ) in the Flannan Isles and Loch Roag. — Leach’s fork-tailed petrel has long been known to breed on Eilean Mor of the Flannan Isles. Their breeding on other islands of the group has only been sur- mised. We landed on Eilean Tighe, the second largest island, on 13th June 1955 and found these petrels breeding plentifully. They are probably as numerous as on Eilean Mor, sharing the ground with puffins; they are also nesting, with puffins, in the ruined bothy at the head of Geodh’an Truillich. Four burrows were opened in different parts of the island; each contained one or two adult birds and an egg. On 6th June we landed on Bearasay (Bereasaidh) and Old Hill (Seann Bheinn), two uninhabited islets off Loch Roag. On I 10 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol 67 Bearasay the only place showing any sign or smell of petrel activity was in a group of ruined bothies on the cliff edge at the south-west corner, overlooking Stac an Tuill. Here, excavation uncovered two adult Leach’s petrels, each in a definite chamber on a fresh nest pad, but neither with an egg. The much-branching burrow was excavated for 6 feet. There were several unoccupied nest chambers and side entrances; old rat droppings were also found, but no evidence of recent occupation. We returned to Bearasay later the same evening and spent the night ashore, but there was no further sign of petrels anywhere on the island. We were ashore on Old Hill for only an hour and it was not possible to land again to spend a night there. The ground does not look promising for Leach’s petrels : no burrows were seen and there are no ruins. This island remains one of the very few possible sites in the Hebrides for an undiscovered breeding colony, although, with Bearasay, it is much less remote than the four known breeding stations at North Rona, Sula Sgeir, the Flannan Isles and St. Kilda. On 9th June we examined Harsgeir (or Thars Sgeir), an isolated thrift-covered islet a mile south-west of Old Hill, but found no trace of petrels. — Robert Atkinson and Brian Roberts, Cambridge. Bittern in South-east Sutherland. — On 13th December 1954 two forestry-workers brought me a bird which they had found standing by the roadside verge on the outskirts of a plantation. I was surprised to see that it was a bittern ( Botaurus stellaris) . The bird was in rather an emaciated condition, but was still active enough to thrust out its long neck and dagger-like bill at any person who approached too closely. Hoping that there might be a chance of it surviving I released it by the side of a nearby field ditch but, unfortunately, by the following morning it had died. When skinned it was found to be an adult male. A bittern shot in the Loch Eriboll district in March 1936 appears to be the only previous record of the species in Sutherland. — D. Macdonald, Dornoch. Surf Scoter in North Fife. — On 30th May 1955 on the estuary of the River Eden at St. Andrews, at a point to the west of the West Sands where at high tide there is a large sheet of open water, I saw at about 11.15 hours B.S.T. a dark-coloured duck swimming close to a group of eiders ( Somateria mollissima) . The bird was about 150 or 200 yards away, the light was excellent and I was using 12 X 50 binoculars. Its most conspicuous feature was a patch of white on the back of the head, wider at the top than at the bottom and roughly pear-shaped, and, immediately thinking that I might I955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 1 1 1 be looking at a surf scoter (Melanittaperspicillata) , I noted the following details. Size: smaller than eider, approximately that of velvet scoter (Me lanitta fused) . Tail pointed. Body dark blackish-brown. Wings black. Head black with white patch behind; no white patch above bill. The colour of the bill appeared orange, but its shape could not at first be clearly seen since the bird was constantly preening. When it stood up in the water and flapped its wings, these were seen to have no white on them, and the belly was seen to be dirty white, demarcated by a straight line from the lower breast. Unfortunately the bird was soon disturbed by a sailing boat and flew out to sea, when, however, the extraordinary shape and size of the bill were clearly seen: the line of the bill was con- tinuous with that of the head, as in the eider, but its appearance was not so elongated. The large size of head and bill combined gave the bird an extraordinarily top-heavy appearance, unlike that of any duck I have ever seen. Two features — the absence of a white patch above the bill and the white of the belly — seemed to me at that time to be inconsistent with the plumage of the surf scoter, but I since discover that they answer to published descriptions of the first summer male. It is possible that the bird had been in European waters since the previous autumn. M. F. M. Meiklejohn, Glasgow. Surf scoters have been recorded on a few previous occasions from the “ Tay coast ”, the most recent apparently being one reported from St. Andrews in January 1928. — Editors. Common Scoters resting ashore. — I refer to the note on the above (Scot. Nat., 65: 54). As I came over the dunes near Dornoch Point on 24th October 1954 I surprised an adult male common scoter ( Me lanitta nigra ) sitting on the shore beside two gulls. The gulls flew away almost immediately, but the scoter allowed me to approach within 60 yards before it rose and flew out to sea. There was a strong north-easterly wind blowing shorewards at the time. — D. Macdonald, Dornoch. Display Flight of Goosander. — The Handbook of British Birds (3: 363) states that the American race of the goosander (Mergus merganser) “ on breeding ground will rise high in the air and circle round for hours at a time, and as this is quite unlike normal behaviour, it is probably a kind of display flight ”. Since a similar performance has not been recorded from the typical race, I wish to record that, on 20th May 1955 at a loch in Perthshire, I watched two drakes and a duck goosander giving a similar display. 112 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 The flight lasted for about ten minutes, the duck always leading, and the birds flew not only over the water, but also over woods on the shore. The flight was in a wide circle about 100 ft. above the surface of the loch, but when the birds passed over the wood they several times came lower and flew between the trees. — M. F. M. Meiklejohn, Glasgow. White-fronted Goose and Iceland Gull ringed in Green- land and recovered in Scotland. — In a recent publication ( Dansk Ornith. Forenings Tidsskr ., 49: 130, 1955) Dr. Finn Salomonsen records a white-fronted goose ringed in Jakobshavn district in 1947 and recovered at Montrose in November 1953; also an Iceland gull ringed near Egedesminde in August 1954 and recovered at Fraser- burgh fish-market in January 1955. — Editors. European White-fronted Goose in Islay. — I have been in touch with the Wildfowl Trust concerning a European white- fronted goose (. Anser albifrons albifrons ), which was taken in a stubble-field in Islay, during the snow storms of January 1955. It was, I believe, the only European white-front present at the time. I kept the bird from January until it was full-winged again in April. It was a second winter bird; the bill was very pink and the black belly-barring was less heavy than on the captive second winter Greenland white-front {Anser albifrons flavirostris) which I possess. As I have handled numbers of both Greenland and European white- fronts, I am positive of its type. This is the first record for Islay. — John Turner, Islay. In the Birds of Scotland it is stated that all specimens of white- fronts obtained in Scotland have proved to be of the Greenland race, but that more should be critically examined. Records of three previously identified specimens of the European form will be found mentioned on p. 10 1 of this volume. Anser a. flavirostris breeds in West Greenland and winters mainly in Ireland and west Scotland; it is distinguishable from the typical race Anser a. albifrons by its darker coloration and yellow bill. Anser a. albifrons , which breeds in north-east Russia, Siberia and Arctic North America, occurs in other parts of the British Isles, notably in the Severn valley.— Editors. Bewick’s Swan in Aberdeenshire. — On 6th February 1955 we discovered six Bewick’s swans ( Cygnus bewickii) on a small lochan behind the sand dunes at Rattray Head Lighthouse. They 1955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 1 13 were in company with eight whooper swans ( Cygnus cygnus). We watched the birds with 9 X 35 binoculars at about 30 yards range in excellent visibility. The shorter neck, smaller size and different bill pattern were very noticeable in comparison with the whoopers. The birds appeared tired and we had difficulty in getting them all to show their heads at the same time. The Bewick’s were notice- ably less wary than the whoopers. All the birds were adults. On 27th March three Bewick’s and five whooper swans were still present on the same lochan, and later in the day a single Bewick’s swan was seen on another sand lochan, 2 miles further south. — Elisabeth A. Garden and Valerie M. Thom, Aberdeen. These appear to be the first records for Aberdeenshire. — Editors. Spring records of Dotterel in Wester Ross and the Cairngorms. — Apart from one well known breeding station in Easter Ross and old observations of breeding from Ben Klibreck in Sutherland and from Wester Ross (Baxter and Rintoul 1953, The Birds of Scotland : 596), records of dotterel ( Charadrius morinellus) are very scarce and irregular north of the Great Glen. In fact these birds may be more widespread than is generally realised. On 15th May 1954 we saw four dotterel (probably two pairs) on top of a mountain in Wester Ross. The mountain has an extensive high level plateau with dominant grass and moss vegetation typical of dotterel breeding grounds in the Central Highlands. The local stalker had seen dotterel on this hill several times in summer. Only a few miles away, in west Inverness, is a range of high peaks with great stretches of this habitat ; a climber told us he had seen dotterel in summer here also. During the third week of May 1954 snow fell on the Cairn- gorms, and lay down to 2,300 feet on 22nd May. At 7.30 that morning near a high camp on the Mar side of the mountains, I watched a flock of about forty dotterel fly northwards at close range, immediately below heavy banks of cloud and through veils of light falling snow. The weather changed that night, and remained sunny and warm for the following week. Flocks of hundreds seen on their arrival were not infrequent in Scotland last century, but a flock of forty is unusual today, and must be equivalent to a large part of the total population of dotterel in the Cairngorms. — Adam Watson, Aberdeen. As stated in The Handbook , migration continues at least until the fourth week of May. The largest party of migrants we have seen consisted of ten birds, on the plateau of Lochnagar (where they do not habitually breed) on 29th May 1949. — Editors. 15 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 114 Vol. 67 Great Snipe in South Perthshire. — A great snipe ( Capella media) was shot at Blair Drummond, Perthshire, on 17th October 1955 and sent by Mr. J. C. Clough of Blair Drummond, to the Department of Natural History, Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow. Mr. C. E. Palmar, Curator, has kindly sent us the skin for verifica- tion. The bird was a juvenile. A Vertebrate Fauna of Forth gives only two “ good ” records, besides two of which the authors evidently had grave doubts. There is a noticeable lack of recent records for Scotland, which may possibly be related to the present high price of cartridges, and the consequent decline in snipe-shooting compared with pre-1939 conditions. — Editors. American Pectoral Sandpiper at Aberlady. — In the after- noon of 1 6th October 1954 we watched an American pectoral sandpiper ( Calidris melanotos) at Aberlady Bay, East Lothian. The bird was feeding among grassy pools above high-water mark. It was very tame and allowed an approach to within 10 yards so that a good view of its field-characteristics was possible. In size it appeared slightly larger than a dunlin. The mantle was very strikingly patterned, like a snipe’s, with white edges making a V- shape with the apex towards the tail. Crown dark brown with lighter streaks; light superciliary stripe. Bill black with yellowish base and very slightly decurved. Eye dark and fairly large. Tail dark brown — almost black. No wing-bar visible in flight, when the black centre of tail, with lighter edges on either side, was seen. Breast greyish- white with thin dark grey streaks ending abruptly above the belly. Legs yellow. Uttered a call when flushed: chir-r-r, chir , chir. It was very active on the ground, creeping about among the tussocky grass and wading through pools. It frequently stretched its head up, giving it a very reeve-like appearance. It had disappeared the next day. — M. I. Kinnear, W. M. Logan Home, George Waterston. Glaucous Gull in Midlothian. — On 22nd May 1955 a glau- cous gull ( Larus hyperboreus) was seen at Gladhouse Reservoir, Midlothian, some 12 miles south of the Firth of Forth. The bird, apparently in its second summer, was off-white with head and neck slightly darker than rest of body, and there was a dark tip to the very pale beak. First seen on the east side of the reservoir it later joined a small party of great black-backs ( L . marinus ) at the river mouth. It was under observation for twenty minutes. — R. W. J. Smith and C. Walker, Edinburgh. Barn-Owls in Aberdeenshire. — I note that the barn-owl Tyto alba ) has been recorded from the north-east of Scotland only l955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES ”5 on infrequent occasions, and it is therefore of interest to put on record that an unusual number of these birds were seen in or near Aberdeen during the winter of 1954-55. The first one to come to my notice was a male, found dead on 6th October 1954 at Esslemont, near Ellon, by Mr. G. A. Raeburn, who sent it to Aberdeen University Museum, where it is now pre- served. Mr. Raeburn states that it had previously been seen flying about rather weakly in that area for several days. Fifteen days later a friend and I watched a barn-owl hunting in the late evening in the gardens near my home at Balnagask Road. At one point it flew so close to a street-lamp, near which we stood, that I could see that it was of the white-breasted form. A female barn-owl was found dead by Miss A. McFadyen in her garden at Balgownie Road on the 30th January 1955. Finally I was given a male barn-owl to preserve for the Regional Museum. This bird had been found dead on 21st February at Gairn Terrace. The three birds which passed through my hands were apparently adults; all were of the white-breasted form, and all had died of starvation. — A. Anderson, Aberdeen. Shore-Larks in Fife and Angus. — In his note on the shore lark ( Eremophila alpestris) {Scot. Nat., 66: 126) Professor Meiklejohn states that this would seem to be the first record on the mainland of Scotland for some years. It is perhaps worth recording that my wife and I saw two shore larks on the Eden estuary on 25th November 1951, and that they remained in the area for about a week after that date, being seen by a number of other observers. In addition, I have a note of one seen by Mr. John Gordon at Monifieth, Angus, on 6th December 1952. — J. Grierson, Dundee. Carrion Crows in the West Highlands. — We think that the following records of the carrion crow {Corvus corone corone ) are worth publishing all at the same time, since they appear to be indicative of a new trend. 1. Islay. At least two at Port Ellen at the end of May 1955 (P.W.S.). 2. Arisaig. One, April 1955; two (feeding on a rabbit on Traigh beach), August 1955 (P.W.S.). 3. Durness, Sutherland. Two, 16th June 1955 (M.F.M.M. and J. K. Stanford). Mr. Gerald Holt {in litt.) tells us that it is “ not uncommon ” there. 1 16 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 Whether these records can be said to be of black mutants, or whether there is a genuine spread of southern and eastern popula- tions, we are not in a position to state. — M. F. M. Meiklejohn, Glasgow, and P. W. Sandeman, Edinburgh. Nestling Blackbirds eating Slow-worms. — I believe it has not previously been recorded that slow-worms (Anguis fragilis) form an item of diet of young blackbirds ( Turdus merula). In June 1955 I found a blackbird’s nest in the gardens of Crarae Lodge, near Inverary, Argyll, and used to watch the daily progress of the four young ones. One day I found one of the nestlings with what appeared to be a twig, about J inch in thickness, sticking out of its throat. As the nest was made in some dead branches cut for pea- sticks, I thought perhaps a twig had somehow got into its throat and was choking it. I took hold of the twig and to my astonish- ment it would not come out of the blackbird’s throat — in fact I pulled the young blackbird out of the nest. I then saw that the “ twig ” was a small slow-worm, which the nestling was most reluctant to give up, in spite of the fact that it was nearly choking over its large meal. I finally drew the slow-worm out and found that it was about five inches long and had been swallowed head first. It had shed its tail as slow-worms often do when attacked. The head, which had been in the nestling’s stomach, was partly digested. My friends and I who witnessed this incident gave the slow-worm a decent burial under a stone. A few days later I found the same thing had happened again. Another nestling was sitting gaping with about two inches of slow- worm sticking out of its beak. This time I decided to leave it and see what happened. I came back in about an hour and saw that the slow-worm had disappeared. The rate of digestion in young blackbirds must be prodigious. I may say that slow-worms were fairly common in the neighbour- hood of the nest. We saw four others besides those eaten by the blackbirds. It is remarkable that the parents managed to kill the slow-worms before feeding them to their young. — (Mrs.) Margaret E. Scott, Glasgow. This interesting note provides conclusive evidence of blackbirds feeding on slow-worms. In British Birds , 37, pp. 1 16 and 157, there are notes of three cases of adult blackbirds seen attacking slow- worms. In one of these, first reported in the Cornwall Bird- Watching and Preservation Society's Report for 1932, the female blackbird, which had been attacking the slow-worm, was seen finally to fly off to her nest with its severed tail. — Editors. 1955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 1 1 7 Grasshopper-Warbler in Ardnamurchan. — On our arrival at Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan, on 8th July 1955, Mr. Wood, the proprietor of the hotel, informed me that a pair of grasshopper- warblers ( Locustella naevia) had bred in the hotel garden last year and also that he had heard one reeling in the same place shortly before our arrival. On the evening of the 12 th my wife and I heard one reeling near the hotel. This was followed up, and the bird was found in the field opposite the post office in the uncut long grass on the south side of the hedge. Good views were obtained of the bird reeling then and the following evening. On one occasion it appeared to be carrying food. It was seen again on the 21st. — R. S. Weir, Dunfermline. Grasshopper-Warbler in South Inverness. — On the evening of 3rd July 1955 my wife was watching a pair of sedge-warblers, in marshy ground near the river Moidart, close to Glenmoidart House. This land is covered with various marsh plants, and is rather sparsely dotted with sallow bushes. Quite close to her a grasshopper warbler ( Locustella naevia) appeared on a low fence, and began to sing. My wife was able to watch it, through field-glasses, for a minute or two. We have both heard and seen this species on a number of occasions in Cheshire. The next morning I went to this area, and eventually a grass- hopper-warbler appeared on the fence; before it flew off and dis- appeared in the herbage I was able to see through binoculars that the bird had a beakful of green grubs or caterpillars. Unfortunately I was prevented from making a search for the nest, so positive proof of breeding is lacking. — G. H. Clegg, Nantwich, Cheshire. Grasshopper-warblers have been recorded previously from Ard- namurchan, North Argyll (Scot. Nat., 60: 268), and they bred there, near Glenborrodale, as long ago as 1868 ( Vert. Fauna of Argyll and Inner Hebrides). They have also occurred in South Inverness — between Gairlochy and Achnacarry, in Glengarry, and are stated to breed near Arisaig ( The Birds of Scotland , p. 161) — but as there is a scarcity of recent records for the Highlands, it is still desirable that individual occurrences should be recorded. — Editors. Blackcap in Aberdeenshire in Winter. — On 19th January 1955, the fourth day of snow and frost during a hard spell, a female blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) arrived at our feeding table in Cults and for the next 16 days remained close at hand, appearing soon after THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 6y any food was put out. At first aggressive to the sparrows, it gradually became less so, and was on one occasion seen sharing a crust with one. It survived a temperature of i6deg. F. — Brian Davis, Aberdeen. Winter records of blackcaps in various parts of Scotland are cited in The Birds of Scotland , i : 170, and some additional ones have quite recently been given in our pages (e.g. Scot. Nat., 64: 54). — Editors. Blackcap in Sutherland. — Mr. J. F. Palmer informs us that there was a female blackcap [Sylvia atricapilla) at Kinsaile, near Rhiconich, on 25th October 1955. This is the second record for West Sutherland, a female having been recorded, also at Kinsaile, by Mr. Palmer, on 12th November 1951 [Scot. Nat., 64 : 54) . — Editors . Garden-Warbler in Inverness-shire. — On 17th June 1955 we saw and heard a garden-warbler [Sylvia borin) singing in a birch and alder wood by the River Druie, near Aviemore, Inverness- shire. What was presumably the same bird was also heard singing but not seen, on several other days about this date. — D. R. and P. Seaward, Redcar, Yorkshire. For previous records for East Inverness see Scot. Nat., 64: 54 and 1 16. — Editors. Chiffchaff in North Argyll . — In view of recent northward spread of the chiffchaff [Phylloscopus collybita) the two following observations by my brother, Dr. A. P. Meiklejohn, may be of interest. He tells me that on 8th April 1955 he heard one singing in a larch plantation in Morven, and on 10th April 1955 heard another in rhododendrons at Acharacle, Ardnamurchan. — M. F. M. Meiklejohn, Glasgow. These records for North Argyll are of interest in view of the extension of range, which appears to be taking place in the High- lands. For previous, recent notes on its Highland distribution, see Scot. Nat., § 2: 125; 64: 113-116; 66: 141 and 191. — Editors. Perthshire Pied Flycatchers, 1954* — In continuation of previous records (the last being Scot. Nat., 66: 54), in 1954 I had two pied flycatchers [Muscicapa hypoleuca) nesting in boxes in the same sites as in 1953, on the shore of Loch Tay and in the Strathtay oaks — the last in the same box. On Loch Tayside, the box chosen was 1955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 119 visible from the road as the result of scrub-clearing. This nest contained seven eggs on 28th May 1954, with the hen sitting, but on 6th July when I got to it, it had been predated, probably by mice as three eggs were left sucked clean with a neat and tidy hole in the side. This is the first pied flycatcher’s nest to be predated out of eight of which I know up here. The eggs looked fresh on 28th May and the sucked eggs showed no blood, so the first egg was probably laid about 18th May. Just over the road there are 40- year-old plantations of Douglas fir and larch, where I had a small clump of seven (originally twenty) boxes which I had abandoned because the hill, 2-in-i in places, was too steep and rocky. Birds use them but I can no longer inspect them in reasonable time. In September I found a pied flycatcher’s nest here and an addled egg with the other nestlings flown. It is about 100 yards up the hill from the nest on the shore, and I have little doubt that it was the same bird re-nesting, but there is no proof of this. I have once before had the beginnings of a flycatcher’s second nest here in a box in the Douglas — leaves with a few bits of grass, roots and moss. The Strathtay oaks nest contained two eggs on 21st May, so the first egg was laid on the 20th. On 14th June there were six 8- to 10-day nestlings, which all flew later. I heard of very young pied flycatchers near the mouth of the Bran, Dunkeld, last year, and this year a cock came to a box on Dr. James Campbell’s house (Strathtay, about 300 yards from my oaks nest). He was singing from 18th to 26th May, but failed to get a mate and moved on. Dr. Campbell gave me these notes on the Strathtay birds. The cock in the oaks was heard calling near last year’s site on 5th May. This went on until the 13th (nine days) when a hen was seen at the nestbox. A second cock was heard on the 12th. On the 14th, one cock was heard again, and on the 15th a pair were at the nestbox and were seen regularly after this. I first saw the box on the 21st with two eggs, which gives 20th as the date of laying the first egg. It also gives 13th to 19th, seven days, or 15th to 19th, five days, for courting and nest building, probably the former. The cock singing on Dr. Campbell’s house was first seen about 11 a.m. on 18th May. He was frequently seen (it was difficult to miss him) singing and popping in and out of the box until the afternoon of the 26th, after which he disappeared. This gives the period of waiting for a mate as nine days. On 20th May he was seen to be violently attacked by a spotted flycatcher ( Muscicapa striata), and was locked fighting him, in spite of which the pied flycatcher continued to visit his pet box. I have not before 120 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol 67 seen a spotted flycatcher trying to use a tit box with a small round entrance, but this bird had just been turned out of another box within ten yards, by a house sparrow, and he or another later nested in a box with an open front nearby. The “ house ” pied flycatcher was not the “ oaks ” bird just wandering while his hen was laying or incubating, as both were seen at the same time, by me on 21st May and by Dr. Campbell. There was a very short visit from a pied flycatcher in 1953, but the bird did not stay long. It was at the same box. There was another pied flycatcher seen in the same region: from 5th to about 12th May, a cock was singing in the Lade Braes strip at St. Andrews. It was first found at 3 p.m. by the Rev. Professor E. P. Dickie, who takes a daily walk there so that little escapes him, and to whom I am indebted for details. It was later seen by a number of people, including me, and some thought that a pair had nested further up the burn, but the nest was not found. This is not surprising after the cock has stopped his first burst of song, even if it was there, and in spite of the number of experts looking for it. From 2nd to 4th May there was a very strong wind from the north-east, and on the 5th, an even stronger one from the south. It seems possible that the St. Andrews bird, and possibly, the Strathtay oaks bird and the Loch Tayside bird also, were all blown off course on their way north, and landed some 50 miles beyond their intended destination. — -J. M. D. Mackenzie, St. Andrews, Fife. Grey-headed Wagtail in South Fife. — On 31st July 1955, a Jiava wagtail was seen at Rosyth mudflats, Fife, by J.H. and J.P. As good views were not obtained of the head, identification was not then established. On 3rd August the bird was seen by R.S.W., who obtained good views and considered it to be a grey-headed wagtail ( Motacilla flava thunbergi ) . Later in the day he saw it again with J.H. Identi- fication was then confirmed. The bird was a wagtail with bright yellow underparts. The mantle was green-brown. To R.S.W. this appeared darker than that of the yellow wagtail (M. f. flavissima) . The outer tail feathers were white, the central black. The forehead, crown and nape were grey-blue, this colour coming down on the face below the eye. R.S.W. noticed some dark feathers round the eye, extending slightly behind the eye and becoming paler towards the nape. There was no evidence of any eye-stripe, nor was there any white on the cheek, chin or throat. There was a dark patch on the centre of the breast. There were also several similar smaller marks I955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 1 2 1 extending from the shoulders down the sides of the breast towards this central patch. The bird was extremely wary and elusive, so making it difficult to obtain good views for any length of time. It was still present on 14th August. So far as we are aware this would appear to be the second grey- headed wagtail seen on the mainland of Scotland, the first having been seen at Gullane on 26th May 1954 {Scot. Nat. 66: 126). — J. Hoy, J. Potter and R. S. Weir, Dunfermline. Crossbills Breeding in Aberdeenshire. — Crossbills {Loxia curuirostra) are numerous on Deeside throughout the year and are often seen in other parts of the county. Nevertheless, positive records of breeding are scarce, and I have found only two in the literature, of two family parties at Ballater and Braemar, Aberdeen- shire, recorded by E. V. Baxter and L. J. Rintoul in The Birds of Scotland. Though this might give the impression that they bred only rarely, closer observation would probably reveal that they breed every year. Eight more records are given below. Numbers vary greatly from year to year. The best year since 1 945 was 1 950, when there were hundreds in the woods of Glen Lui and Glen Derry. Numerous broods were seen that year, though the majority of the birds remained in large wandering flocks throughout the breeding season. Many came to the gutter on the roof at Luibeg to drink, and they were often seen pecking at the putty on the skylight windows there, and even swallowing small pieces of putty at times. When individuals have been seen very close at less than twelve feet, the bills have usually seemed to me to be heavy compared with crossbills Loxia c. curvirostra seen in Lapland, and similar to the Scottish subspecies scotica, but no Deeside birds have yet been shot for proof of their identity. 21st July 1945. Two fledged young near Lion’s Face, Braemar. 24th July 1945. One fledged young being fed in Braemar village. 1 9th April 1946. Nest with four or five very small young eight feet up in a small Scots pine near Birkhall, Ballater. 1 2th June 1946. Three or four fledged young, still being fed, at Forglen House, Banffshire (almost on county boundary with Aberdeenshire at Turriff). 13th June 1948. One fledged young in Glen Derry, Braemar. 9th June 1950. Many fledged young, some with fully grown tails away from adults and others still downy, in woods at Derry Lodge. 16 122 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Vol. 67 29th June 1950. One downy young being fed in Glen Derry. End of May 1955. Robert Scott, stalker at Luibeg, saw a fledged young with traces of down being fed in Glen Derry. — Adam Watson, Marischal College, Aberdeen. Tree-Sparrows nesting in Angus and Perthshire. — From 1919 to 1926 my home was in Dundee, and during that time I saw the tree-sparrow (. Passer montanus ) very sparingly to the east and west of the city. My first record was on 23rd May 1923 when I saw a pair that were obviously nesting in the wall of Mains Castle at Den of Mains. On walking from there to Dundee I saw another pair. They were nesting in a hole in an ash tree close to the city boundary. My next record is on 8th September 1923 when at Powgavie Farm, Inchture, I saw a single tree-sparrow in a hedge along with some house-sparrows. Then on 23rd May 1925 when passing Ballindean Farm, Inchture, I heard, but did not see, a tree-sparrow. However, five minutes later I saw one at the adjoining farm of New Mains. Dr. Weir’s note in the August 1 954 number recording occurrences in Kinross-shire revived my interest and I came to the conclusion that there must be one or two colonies in the Inchture district. I accordingly visited Inchture on 29th April 1955, having thought of one or two possible nesting sites. At the first I visited I saw a pair of tree-sparrows carrying white feathers into a hole in the wall of an old building. I next visited the mansion house of Rossie Priory. Here again I saw tree-sparrows. There were at least two pairs and they appeared to have selected nesting sites in the ivy at the west end of the house. I however saw no signs of actual building. On 24th May I made another visit. I found that the pair at site No. 1 were feeding young and that they had been joined by at least four more pairs. Of these two were feeding young, one pair was building and, from their behaviour, I would say that the remaining pair had eggs. On visiting Rossie Priory not a tree-sparrow did I see. Having fully established the nesting of tree-sparrows in Perth- shire I went to Mains Castle, and after a wait of twenty minutes I saw a tree-sparrow on an elm tree beside the castle. It visited a hole in the castle wall several times but it never entered and I felt sure that its mate was sitting inside. — G. G. Blackwood, Pitlochry. The Hedgehog in the Inner Hebrides. — Around 1939 or 1940 three pairs of hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus) were liberated on the 1955 ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 123 Isle of Canna, since when they have multiplied and spread and have been noticed, at one time or another, in the remotest parts of the island. I take this opportunity of making the status of the hedge- hog here clear, with reference to Mr. J. Morton Boyd’s report from the island of Coll (Scot. Nat., 66: 128). — J. L. Campbell, Isle of Canna. The winter food of six Highland Foxes. — A detailed study of the summer food of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Great Britain, including Scotland, has been made (H. N. Southern and J. S. Watson, 1941,^. Anim. Ecol., 10: 1-11), but information about their food in the Scottish Highlands in winter is scarce and often un- reliable. In the winter of 1951-52 I was able to examine the stomachs and intestines of six foxes from the Aberdeenshire hills. One of these was from a hill rising out of lowland farming country ; the rest were from the deer forest country in the Aberdeenshire Cairngorms. Thanks are due to Robert Scott, stalker at Luibeg, who killed five of the foxes and kept their stomachs and intestines. No. Sex Date \ 1 98-105 Bittern, 1 10 Blackbird, 46, 84, 116 (eating slow- worms) Blackcap, 70, 103, 117-118 Black Wood of Rannoch, The spiders of, 19-22 Blackwood, G. G., 122 Book reviews, 127 Botany, 10-1 1 (Haskeir Rocks), 46-48, 51 (Eynhallow), 106 (Botanical Note) Brambling, 71 Brook, Dr. A. J., 106 Bunting, Corn, Habitat and distribu- tion in Aberdeenshire, 90-97 ; Lap- land, 104; Snow-, 46 Buzzard, 55; Rough-legged, 68 Campbell, J. L., 1 22-1 23 Campbell, R. N., Food and feeding habits of brown trout, perch and other fish in Loch Tummel, 23-28 Cat, domestic, 8 Chiffchaff, 1 1 8 Clay, Miss Theresa, Letter to the Editors, 135 Clegg, G. H., 1 17 Coleoptera, 34-39 (Raasay) Collembola from Shillay, Outer Heb- rides, including new British and local records, 29-33 Coot, 6 Corbet, Gordon B., 107 Cormorant, 4, 44, 73 Corncrake, 44 Correspondence, 135 Courser, Cream-coloured, 102 Crake, Little, 101; Spotted, 101 Crossbill, 1 21-122; Parrot, 100 Crow, Carrion, 83, 115; Hooded, 7, 46, 51 Crustacea, 23-26 (as food of freshwater fish) Cuckoo, Black-billed, 102; Yellow- billed, 102 Curlew, 6, 45 Davis, Brian, 117-118 Diver, Black-throated, 66 ; Great North- ern, 66; White-billed, 109 Dotterel, 1 1 3 Duck, Long-tailed, 67; see also Bald- pate, Eider, Gadwall, Garganey, Goosander, Mallard, Merganser, Scaup, Scoter, Sheld-duck, Shovel- ler, Teal and Wigeon Duffey, Eric, Notes on the natural history of Eynhallow, Orkney, 40-51 Dunlin, 6 Eagle, Golden, 54, 55, 58, 104 Eggeling, Dr. W. J., The breeding birds of the Isle of May, 72-89 Egret, Little, 66 Eider, 5, 16, 17, 42, 74-75. no Eynhallow, Orkney, Notes on the natural history of, 40-51 Fishes, 23-28 (food of trout, perch, etc.), 107 (salmon scale absorption), 108 (fish in salmon’s stomach) Fitter, R. S. R., and R. A. Richardson, Collins' Pocket Guide to Nests and Eggs, reviewed, 130 Flycatcher, Pied, 71, 118-120; Spotted, 119 137 Vol. 67 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 138 Food and feeding habits of brown trout, perch and other fish in Loch Tummel, 23-28 Food of birds: eagles and mountain hares, 54, 55, 58; corn-bunting, 94, 96; blackbirds eating slow-worms, 1 16 Fox, 55, 123-124 Frigate-bird, Magnificent, 99 Fulmar, 4, 16, 17, 43, 72-73 Gadwall, 66 Gannet, 4, 73 Garden, Elisabeth A., and Valerie M. Thom, 1 12-1 13 Garganey, 66, 100 Godwit, Bar-tailed, 69; Black-tailed, 69 Goodbody, Dr. Ivan M., Field notes on the corn bunting: habitat and distribution in Aberdeenshire, go- 97 Goosander, 1 1 1 Goose, Barnacle, 5; Bean, 68; Blue Snow, 99; Snow, 68, 101; White- fronted, 67, 100, 1 12 Gordon, Seton, The Golden Eagle , king of birds, reviewed, 1 3 1 Goto, H. E., Collembola from Shillay, Outer Hebrides, including new British and local records, 29-33 Grebe, Black-necked, 66, 105; Red- necked, 66; Slavonian, 66 Grierson, J., 115 Grouse, Red, Notes on the display of the, 61-64 Guillemot, 7, 17, 45, 81; Black, 7, 45, 81 Gull, Black-headed, 7; Common, 7, 16, 17, 42, 70; Great Black-backed, 6, 17, 41, 42, 48, 77; Glaucous, 70, 102, 1 14; Herring, 7, 17, 42, 77; Iceland, 70, 112; Kittiwake, 17, 45, 78; Lesser Black-backed, 6, 17, 41, 48, 77 Hare, Common or Brown, 54, 57; Irish, 56; Mountain, in the Scottish Islands, 52-60 Harrier, Hen, 68, 104; Montagu’s, 104 Haskier Rocks, 9 Hedgehog, 122 Heisker or Monach Isles, Observations on the fauna of, 3 Heron, 5, 44 Hewson, Raymond, The mountain hare in the Scottish Islands, 52-60 Hobbs, G. B., Fisherman’s country, re- viewed, 132 Hoopoe, 103 Hoy, J., J. Potter and Dr. R. S. Weir, 1 20-1 2 1 Insects, 23-27 (as food of fish), 29-33 (Collembola), 34-39 (beetles from Raasay), 107 (stone-fly), 135 (letter to Editors) Jackson, Miss D. J., Further notes on beetles from the island of Raasay and some Scottish records of Donaciinae, 34-39 Kennedy, P. G., R. F. Ruttledge and C. F. Scroope, The Birds of Ireland , reviewed, 128 Kestrel, 44 Kinnear, Miss M. I., Lt.-Col. W. M. Logan Home and George Water- ston, 1 14 Kittiwake, 17, 45, 78 Knot, 69 Lapwing, 6, 45, 77 Lark, Crested, 99; Shore, 115; see also Skylark Linnet, 46, 87 Logan Home, Lt.-Col. W. M., see Kinnear and others, 1 1 4 Macdonald, D., no, in Mackenzie, J. M. D., 118-120 Mallard, 5, 44 Mammals, 8 (rabbit, common seal, voles), 12-16 (seals), 16 (walrus), 48 (Eynhallow), 52-60 (mountain hare), 122 (hedgehog), 123-124 (food of foxes), 124 (grey seal, minor colonies), 125-126 (grey seal cows attending young) Marsden-Jones, E. M., and W. B. Turrill, British Knapweeds, a study in synthetic taxonomy, reviewed, 133 May, The breeding birds of the Isle of, 72-89 Meiklejohn, M. F. M., in-112, 118 Meiklejohn, M. F. M., and C. E. Palmar, Report on birds of the Clyde area, 1954, 65-71 Meiklejohn, M. F. M., and P. W. Sandeman, 115-116 Merganser, Red-breasted, 5, 44 Merlin, Icelandic, 99 Monach Isles, see Heisker Moorhen, 76 Morgan, N. C., 107 Myxomatosis, 50, 51 INDEX 139 *955 Nightingale, 103 Osprey, 6q Otter, 48 Owl, Barn-, 114-115; Eagle-, 102; Short-eared, 98 Oyster-catcher, 6, 1 7, 44, 76 Palmar, C. E., see Meiklejohn and Palmar Palmer, J. F., 1 18 Peregrine, 44, 76, 82 Peterle, Tony J., Notes on the display of the red grouse, 61-64 Petrel, Leach’s, 4, 16, 98, 105, 109; Storm-, 16 Phalarope, Red-necked, 102 Pipit, American, 103; Meadow-, 7, 46, 85; Rock-, 8, 17, 46, 86 Plecoptera, 107 ( Capnia atra) Plover, Golden, 6, 69; Grey, 69, 101; Ringed, 6, 45 Potter, J., see Hoy and others, 120-121 Preface, 1 Puffin, 7, 16, 17, 45, 82 Quail, 69 Rabbit, 8, 48, 51 Raffan, Alastair M., 109 Raven, 7, 46 Razorbill, 17, 80 Redshank, 6, 42, 45, 77; Dusky or Spotted, 69, 1 01 Redstart, Black, 70 Redwing, 105 Reptiles, 1 1 6 (slow-worm) Review of ornithological changes in Scotland in 1953, 98-105 Roberts, Dr. Brian, and Robert Atkinson, The Haskier Rocks, North Uist, 9-18; see also Atkin- son and Roberts Rock-dove, 17, 43, 82 Rook, 46, 105 Roy, Dr. A. B., The spiders of the Black Wood of Rannoch, 19-22 Ruff, 70 Ruttledge, R. F., Irish Bird Report, 1953, reviewed, 128 Salmon, 107, 108 Sandeman, P. W., Letter to the Editors, 135; see also Meiklejohn and Sandeman, 115-116 Sanderling, 10 1 Sandpiper, American pectoral, 114; Curlew-, 69; Green, 69, 101: Purple, 45 Scaup, 67 Scoter, Common, 1 1 1 ; Surf, 1 1 o Scott, Mrs. Margaret E., 116 Seal, Common, 8, 48; Grey (or At- lantic), 9, 12-16, 48, 124-126: Grey Seals Protection Acts, 14 Seaward, D. R. and P., 118 Shag, 4, 17, 44, 74 Shearer, W. M., 107-109 Shearwater, Sooty, 100 Sheld-duck, 5, 44, 75, 104 Shore-lark, 1 1 5 Shoveller, 104 Shrike, Lesser Grey, 104; Woodchat, 104 Siskin, 71 Skua, Arctic, 42, 50; Great, 45, 51, 70, 105 Skylark 7, 46 Slow-worm, 1 1 6 Smart, J. and G. Taylor, Bibliography of Key works for the identification of the British fauna and flora, reviewed, 133 Smew, 67 Snipe, 6, 45; Great, 114; Jack, 6 Sparrow, Hedge-, 85; House-, 87, 120; Tree-, 71, 88, 104, 122 Sparrow-hawk, 6 Spiders, 19-22 (Black Wood of Rannoch), 49, 51 (Eynhallow) Starling, 8, 46, 86 Stilt, Black-winged, 102 Stone-fly, 107 Swallow, 7, 70 Swan, Bewick’s, 68, 112-113; Whooper, 6, 68, 105, 1 13 Taverner, Eric, and W. E. Barrington- Browne, The immortal trout, reviewed, 132 Teal, 5; Green- winged, 100 Tern, Arctic, 7, 16, 17, 45, 79; Common, 7,78,79; Little, 7; Roseate, 79-80, 102, 105; Sandwich, 80 Thom, Valerie M., see Garden and Thom, i 1 2-1 13 Thrush, Grey-cheeked, 100; Song-, 83 Tit, Willow, 103 Turner, John, 112 Turnstone, 6, 45, 46 Twite, 8, 99 (Hebridean) Venables, L. S. V. and U. M., Birds and Mammals of Shetland, reviewed, 127 Vole, 8 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST Wagtail, Black-headed, 103; Grey- headed, 120; Pied, 86; White, 71 Walrus, 16 Warbler, Garden-, 118; Grasshopper-, 103,117; Paddyfield, 103; Willow-, 85 Waterston, George, see Kinnear and others, 1 1 4 Watson, Adam, 113, 121-122, 123-124 Vol. 67 , 1955 Weir, Dr. R. S., 117; see also Hoy and others, 1 20-1 21 Wheatear, 7, 46, 70, 84 Whimbrel, 6, 45 Wigeon, 67; American, 67, 100 (bald- pate) Wren, 7 Yellowlegs, Greater, 99; Lesser, 101 NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST is devoted to the study of Scottish Natural History, and is therefore concerned with all the many aspects, zoological, botanical, geographical, topographical and climatic embraced by this title. Contributions in the form of articles and short notes, and papers and books for review, should be addressed to the Executive Editor, Miss W. U. Flower, 5 Airthrey Avenue, Glasgow, W. 4. Contri- butors should observe the following points and endeavour to con- form with the arrangement and set-up of articles and notes adopted in the current number. Manuscripts must be clearly written ; whenever possible they should be typed, double-spaced, on one side of the paper, and with adequate margins. Except in headings and titles, English names of animals and plants should appear without initial capitals, e.g. crested tit, red admiral, but Planer’s lamprey, Scots pine. Scientific names should be given wherever they may be helpful to readers, especially to naturalists abroad. Trinomials should be avoided except where essential to the context. Authorities for scientific names should be given only where there is risk of ambiguity. The Editors will always assist in cases of difficulty over nomen- clature. Dates should be given in the following form : 4th July 1906, with the day of the month first. Titles of books and periodicals referred to by authors are printed in italics and should therefore be underlined. Listed references should be in the form of the examples in the current number. Maps, diagrams and graphs for reproduction should be drawn clearly in Indian ink on white, unlined paper, tracing linen or Bristol board. Lettering should be in pencil unless done by a skilled draughtsman. Photographs to illustrate articles and notes are accepted ; also pictures relating to subjects of special interest covered by the magazine. Photo- j graphic prints must be made on a glossy paper. Authors of articles, but not of short notes, will receive on request 12 reprints free of charge ; additional copies (in multiples | of 25) may be purchased by the author. Reprints should be I ordered when proofs are returned. CONTENTS — continued PAGE Collembola from Shillay, Outer Hebrides, including new British and local records — H. E. Goto . . . .29 Further notes on Beetles from the Island of Raasay and some Scottish records of Donaciinae — Miss Dorothy J. Jackson 34 Notes on the Natural History of Eynhallow, Orkney — Eric Guffey 40 The Mountain Hare in the Scottish Islands — Raymond Hewson 52 Notes on the Display of the Red Grouse — Tony J. Peterle . 61 Report on Birds of the Clyde Area, 1954 — Prof. M. F. M. Meiklejohn and C. E. Palmar ..... The Breeding Birds of the Isle of May — Dr. W. J. Eggeling . Field Notes on the Corn Bunting ( Emberiza calandra) : Habitat and Distribution in Aberdeenshire — Dr. Ivan M. Goodbody Review of Ornithological Changes in Scotland in 1953 — Dr. Evelyn V. Baxter ....... Botanical Note ........ Zoological Notes ........ Book Reviews ........ Correspondence ........ Index .......... 65 72 9° 98 106 107 127 *35 137 Printed, in Great Britain at The Aberdeen University Press Limited The Scottish Naturalist The With which is incorporated The Annals of Scottish Natural History EDITED BY ADAM WATSON, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF V. C. WYNNE-EDWARDS, JAMES W. CAMPBELL, and WINIFRED U. FLOWER Scottmr Naturalist Volume 68 OLIVER AND BOYD EDINBURGH : TWEEDDALE COURT LONDON : 39A WELBECK STREET, W.i I956 Printed in Great Britain at The University Press, Aberdeen