The Scottish Naturalist
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
With which is incorporated
''The Annals of Scottish Natural History"
EDITED BY
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.
Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member of the British Ornithologists' Union
PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.
Assistant-Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
ASSISTED BY
J. A. HARVIE-BROWN, LL.D., F.R.S.E.
EVELYN V. BAXTER, H.M.B.O.U.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, H.M.B.O.U.
H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.
JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc.
A. I.ANDSBOROUGH THOMSON, M.A., M.B.O.U
19 I 2
EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 Paternoster Row
1912
The Scottish Naturalist
No. i] 1912 [January
NOTES ON THE PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF
SHEEP IN SCOTLAND.
By H. J. Elwes, F.R.S.
Plates I. -III.
The chief object of these notes is to draw the attentibi
Scottish Naturalists to a subject which has been very much
neglected, and on which our knowledge is very imperfect
indeed. No country in the world has a greater interest in sheep
than Scotland ; no country has produced more distinguishec
sheep-breeders and shepherds. For 1 50 years Scottish breeders
have been improving the native breeds, and have sent them
all over the temperate regions of the world, to improve the
flocks of other countries. But though Youatt, Low, and other
agricultural writers have written on the breeds which they
knew, and Prof. R. Wallace has given an admirable account
of improved British breeds, zoologists as a rule have entirely
passed by the primitive breeds from which our modern sheep
are descended ; and so no specimens of domestic sheep have
been preserved in museums until quite recently ; the collection
is very incomplete even in the British Museum, where a hall
is now devoted to domesticated animals. I have to thank
Prof. Ewart and Mr Eagle Clarke especially for much valuable
help, and hope that the deficiencies of these notes may be
overlooked.
I A
32495
2 the scottish naturalist
The Native Sheep of Shetland.
According to Youatt and other writers, the Shetland
sheep were originally of Danish or Scandinavian origin, but
little if any reliable information seems available on this point ;
most accounts seem to be based rather on hearsay than on
personal knowledge or research.
An exception is, however, to be found in Dr L. Edmon-
ston's General Observations on Shetland, 1 840, who said :
" The sheep is small, not often horned, ears pointed and
erect, face, back and tail short, fine -boned, legs long;
naturally wild, active, and hardy, and little liable to disease.
The colour generally white, sometimes ferruginous, grey,
black, or piebald ; the wool very soft and often fine. The
more damp and moory the pasture, the softer is the wool ; one
of the causes of which probably is deficient strength and
nourishment, another is the astringent nature of the food. A
serious casualty affecting the value of a Shetland flock arises
from the constant vicinity of precipices facing the sea ; and
great losses by their falling over the rocks are often
sustained.
" No breed can, as a rule, be better adapted to the
Shetlands, than those that are native in them, and as they
are always in demand, we should do well zealously to
cultivate them. All that is necessary is such a sufficiency of
food and care as will not encroach too closely on their habits
and hardihood, and a persevering selection of the best
animals for breeders ; yet if premiums had been offered for
producing change and degeneracy, it is difficult to imagine a
course better calculated to produce them than that which
has usually been pursued."
Of the truth of this latter statement I had ample evidence
when I visited Shetland in 191 1, for, except in some parts
of Wales, I have never seen sheep so neglected as on the
common grazings of the Shetlands.
H. Evershed, who published a good paper on the
agriculture of Shetland in the Highland Societies' Trans-
actions about thirty-five years ago, states that the Black-faced
breed was able to live and thrive wherever the native sheep
Scot. Nat., 1912.
Plate I,
f=
I
PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF SHEEP IN SCOTLAND 3
could live, and owing to the much higher price of their lambs
and the greater quantity of their wool (which at that time was
worth twice as much per pound as it now is), they, together
with Cheviots, half-breds, and cross-breds, had supplanted the
native breed on all the improved land ; leaving the native
breed only in crofters' hands, on the very worst of the land
and common grazings. He quotes Shirefffor the fact that
the native breed had been much mixed with Dutch sheep,
during the time when the fishing was in the hands of Dutch
merchants.
He calls it " a straight-horned or goat-like breed, the
fleece of wool and hair mixed, weight not over two pounds.
Its softness and fineness need not be enlarged on."
Prof. Wallace, in Farm Live Stock (1905), quotes the late
Q. M. Hamilton, who said that " Youatt's description does not
hold quite good for the Shetland sheep of the present day,
as the only two islands on which they are really pure are
Foula and Papa Stour."
I was not able to visit either of these islands, but have
purchased some of the best ewes from Foula this year, -which
differ in no respect from the light brown sheep (this colour
is known as mtirrct or uworit in Shetland) which I saw in
several places, and though the wool of this colour is the most
highly priced, on account of its use for shawl-knitting, it does
not seem so fine or soft as some of the white wool of North
Maven, neither does it approach in fineness the wool of two
specimens of Shetland sheep from Unst, presented in 1871
by T. Edmonston of Balta Sound to the Edinburgh (Royal
Scottish) Museum, where they are now exhibited — these are
apparently the only specimens of the breed in any museum.
These specimens consist of a hornless ewe, and what I
believe to be a wether, with short horns (6f inches long), of
the usual wether type, the wool pure white and very fine, 2\
to 3 inches long on the shoulder. The height of these sheep
as stuffed is 22 to 23 inches, the length of body (breast to
tail) 26 to 28 inches, the tail very short and broad at the
base. This form of tail is considered typical of the breed. I
estimated the weight of these sheep, if fairly fat, to have been
about 30 lbs. dressed. But the weight of Shetland lambs,
4 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
when really well fed, at four to five months old, is said to be
sometimes as much as this ; and in all these unimproved
breeds the growth of the lambs, as long as they are sucking,
is remarkably rapid during summer.
As to the sheep of Papa Stour, I only know them from a
very diminutive animal, which is stuffed, in the Domestic
Animals Gallery of the Natural History Museum in London,
labelled as from " Papa, Orkney Islands " ; but I am assured by
Mr Gerrard, from whom this specimen was procured, that its
real habitat was Papa Stour, Shetland. If adult, as it seems
to be, this is the smallest sheep I ever saw, and looks more
like a freak than a distinct variety (see Plate II., Fig. i).
During my visit to the islands I saw and learned a good
deal about the sheep which now exist, and which probably
have without exception some foreign blood, though the
hard conditions under which they live tends no doubt to the
survival of those which have most Shetland blood in them.
With few exceptions they are kept on the worst lands
only, and as the grazings are common to a number of
crofters, most of whom are as much fishermen as farmers,
there is no selection of rams, some of which remain the
whole year wild in the cliffs. About the end of May drives
are organised in order to collect as many sheep as possible,
for their wool, which at that time is beginning to shed. But
as it will not all come off at the same time, the sheep are
gathered at intervals of a week or ten days, when the
weather is dry, into stone enclosures, when each crofter
plucks as much as will come off without force from his
own sheep. This practice entails a great deal of hunting
with dogs, which must be very injurious to the weak ewes
and their lambs. In the beginning of June I saw many
sheep which had lost part of their fleece, and a great deal
of shed wool was scattered about the hills. It seemed to
me that the practice of plucking has been kept up, because
there is a distinct break in the growth of the wool, similar to
that which takes place in England when sheep have been
ailing or starved ; and that when the new wool begins to
grow again in the spring it pushes up among the old wool.
In the. majority of the sheep that I examined I could not
PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF SHEEP IN SCOTLAND 5
see any distinct difference between the hairy outer wool and
the fine wool beneath, such as is described by some writers ;
and neither in dressed skins which I bought at Lerwick,
nor in Shetland sheep which I have kept in England, have
I found evidence of this difference. The grey coloured sheep
(here called "Sheila") seem to have a much longer and
coarser fleece, as though crossed with the Black-faced breed,
and neither the white nor the black sheep bred in England
had fleeces as soft as they are in Shetland. I also found
a good deal of kemp in the breech and hind parts of some
of the fleeces I examined.
The fine-wool spinners in Unst informed me that as they
only require a few ounces of wool for the best quality of
shawls, which are worth several pounds, they select only
a little of the finest wool from the neck and shoulders, and
that for this purpose it was better in North Maven than in
Unst or Yell.
This seems to be borne out by the sheep I saw at Loch-
end, where I bought a half-bred Cheviot, whose fleece was
superior in quality, and more than twice as heavy as the
fleece of some of the nearly pure Shetland sheep which I
got from Mr Gordon in Mid Yell.
Mrs Bruce of Sumburgh, owner of Fair Isle, who keeps
a small flock of pure Shetlands and does much to encourage
the knitting industry, tells me that it is not necessary to pluck
the wool of her sheep, which, however, are much better fed
than most crofters' sheep ; and I am informed by Mr Kerr,
who has charge of a considerable number of Shetland sheep
belonging to Mr Stephens in Wiltshire, that he obtains
is. 9d. a pound for shorn and washed fleeces of moorit-
coloured sheep wintered on grass in that county.
With regard to horns, I am not able to say what is the
best or the true type of horns in Shetland sheep. Often
the rams have none, and these are preferred for their wool
by some breeders. Many have short horns ; but in a white
ram which I bought in Mid Yell the horns formed a complete
circle. Some ewes have short, curved horns, but the majority
have none, and I never saw any with straight or goat-like
horns. A cross with the Black-face produces strong horns.
6 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
and in some cases four are found in the rams of this cross.
I saw in Mid Yell two rams with four horns, both out of
a grey hornless ewe by a Black-faced tup which had again
produced a four-horned ram lamb in 191 1. I also saw in
Mr Haldane's house at Lochend, and at Mr Anderson's of
Hillswick, stuffed heads with four horns, very similar to the
one I found in Mid Yell.
It seems to me that if some of the landed proprietors in
Shetland would give only half the care and attention to
the improvement of the native sheep that they have given
to Shetland ponies, they might produce a very superior
animal to what now exists ; for I was told by more than one
sheep-owner, that when properly managed the Shetland
breed would pay well, as the lambs can be wintered at home
with a very little help in winter, which is not generally the
case with Black-faced and Cheviot lambs.
Orkney Sheep.
Sheep never seem to have been as important here as in
Shetland, and I can find little about them in early accounts
of the islands.
Low, in Faima Orcadensis, p. 7, speaks of them as
follows : " About midsummer there is a particular day
published for rowing, when all the men in the parish,
attended by their dogs, turn out and drive the whole flock,
without any preparation of washing, into narrow pens, where
the wool is torn off their backs, an operation which brings
the whole blood to their skin, and is not only disgusting, but,
if the season proves harsh, is the cause of great destruction.
But however cruel this may seem, it is almost the only notice
that is taken of these useful animals until the next crop of
wool is ready to be plucked."
Probably Low was misinformed about this, for the wool
can not, in Shetland at least, all be plucked at the same time,
and by midsummer most of it would be already shed or ready
to part easily. He goes on to say that the mutton is here in
general but ordinary, owing to the sheep feeding much on
seaware, to procure which these sheep show a wonderful
sagacity, for no sooner has the ebb-tide begun to run, than
Scot. Nat., 1912.
Plate II.
Fn
1.— SMALL SHEEP FROM PAPA STOUR, SHETLAND
(from stuffed example in British Museum).
Fig. 2.— SOAY (ST KILL A) EWE, WITH WOOL PARTLY SHED, AND SHOWING
CHARACTERISTIC SHORT TAIL
(from stuffed example in British Museum).
PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF SHEEP IN SCOTLAND 7
they, although at a great distance, immediately betake them-
selves at full speed one and all to the shore, where they
continue until the tide begins to flow, when they as regularly
retire. In the old Statistical Account of Scot land, vol. xvi.,
I find that the Rev. R. Sands, minister of Hoy, writing in
1795, savs : " About 1000 sheep are kept, which are annually
hunted into the rocks by dogs ; many lambs killed by eagles,
and sheep washed off by high seas when eating seaweed, no
care taken of them."
I was informed by Mr Gordon's shepherd in Mid Yell, that
he had formerly herded on Hoy, where a flock of the original
breed, which he described as a small, black, rough-woolled
sheep, were kept, but that these had now all been removed
or crossed with Scotch sheep, and no longer exist there in
a pure state.
The only islands which now seem to have anything like
the original breed are Flotta and North Ronaldshay. Of the
former, Mr J. Mackay informed Prof. Ridgway, when staying
in Orkney in 191 1, that he had kept one of the Flotta breed
for fourteen years. When he got it, it was so small that" the
shepherds disputed whether it was a lamb or full grown. It
was full grown, and produced fourteen lambs in the course of
thirteen years. Of the Ronaldshay flock he said that there
were about 500, which were kept by a high wall surrounding
the island from trespassing on the good land, and were con-
fined to the cliffs, where there is little to eat, so that they
subsist mainly on the seaweed which they get at low water.
I have now procured a pair of these sheep through the
help of Mr Duncan Robertson, factor for the owner of the
island. They stand about 18 inches at the shoulder, and are
characterised by long, slender limbs, a fine head, and a short
tail. The male (Plate III., Fig. 1) has a fringe under the
throat, as in the Soay breed, and horns which curve backwards
between the ears, as in the Biindnerschaf of Switzerland.
These Ronaldshay sheep may have in part sprang from Ovis
arks palustris, the Bronze Age race with goat-like horns.
The fleece of these sheep is white, brown, or spotted, but
the wool, though fine, is very inferior to the best Shetland.
(To be continued?)
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
SOME NEW SCOTTISH AND BRITISH BIRDS.
On the occurrence of the Pine Bunting, Thrush
Nightingale, and Baird's Sandpiper in Scotland.
By Wm. Eagle Clarke.
Pine Bunting {Emberiza leucocephala) at Fair Isle. — On
the 30th of October last, Mr Wilson, the bird-watcher at
Fair Isle, found this bird among a rush of migrants, and
knowing that it was a stranger, secured it and sent it to me
for identification. It is a male in full winter plumage, in
which stage the brilliant chestnut on the head, throat, and
neck are masked by the white tips to their feathers. In
spring these tips are shed, and reveal the bird as one of the
handsomest of Buntings.
The Pine Bunting is a native of Siberia, from the Ural
to the Amoor, and winters in North China, Mongolia,
Turkestan, and the Himalayas. It is only a straggler to
Europe — Austria, Turkey, Italy, the south of France — and
has once occurred at Heligoland, namely, on the 16th of
April 1 88 1. It has never before been known to have visited
the British Isles.
In its native haunts it is found on the borders of pine
woods and bush-covered country and fields. Its nesting
habits and eggs are similar to those of our familiar Yellow
Bunting, which it also resembles in coloration of its mantle,
lower back and upper tail coverts.
The Scottish specimen has the crown and nape whitish
and much streaked with grey ; mantle and scapulars a mixture
of greyish buff and rufous streaked with black, especially on
the middle of the back ; lower back and upper tail coverts
rufous, the latter edged with white ; primaries blackish,
narrowly edged with white ; secondaries and wing coverts
with black centres, rufous bands, and white fringes ; lores,
band over eyes to side of neck, — cheeks, throat, and chest
chestnut margined with white, which more or less conceals the
rich underlying tint ; ear coverts dusky, with a central band
SOME NEW SCOTTISH AND BRITISH BIRDS 9
of greyish white which extends to the gape ; an inconspicuous
white patch on the throat, the feathers having grey margins ;
abdomen white ; flanks white streaked with pale brown ; tail
blackish, narrowly edged with white, the two outer pairs of
feathers with the terminal portion of the inner web chiefly
white. Feet yellowish grey. Wing 3-65 ins.
Thrush Nightingale {Luscinia luscinia) at Fair Isle.
— This was one of the rarities which rewarded us during our
visit to Fair Isle in the spring of 191 1. This waif arrived in
company with a crowd of birds of passage (of which no less
than twenty-four species came under notice) on the 15th of
May 191 1. It was observed seeking food among the rocks
at the foot of a cliff behind the south lighthouse.
The summer range of the " Sprosser," as it is sometimes
called, extends from Denmark to south-western Siberia, and
its winter retreats are in eastern Africa. There is one
previous record for the occurrence of this bird in Britain,
namely, one obtained at Smeeth, in Kent, on 22nd October
1904; but this has hitherto been regarded as unsatisfactory.
This species differs from the Common Nightingale, in
having the upper plumage darker and of a more olive tint;
the tail dark brown with only a slight reddish tinge ; the
feathers of the chest and sides of the breast darker, with
light edgings and basal shaft spots, which give these parts a
mottled or clouded appearance. In addition, the first
primary is shorter and narrower, and is much shorter than
the primary coverts ; while the third primary is the longest,
and the second generally equal to the fourth. It is a larger
bird than its congener, the wing measuring 3-6 ins.
Baird's Sandpiper {Tringa bairdi) at St Kilda.
— This was one of the rarities that fell to my lot during my
recent visit to St Kilda. On the 28th September 191 1, a
small Sandpiper was observed wading and swimming in a
pool in the rocks fringing the Village Bay. It was shot on
suspicion that it was something uncommon, and proved to
be an adult female, in full winter plumage, of this North
American species — one which had only been known to visit
the British Isles on two previous occasions, but had not
I B
io THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
hitherto been detected in Scotland. Baird's Sandpiper
summers on the Arctic coast of America between Bering's
Straits and Hudson's Bay, and winters in Chili, Argentina,
and Patagonia. In this specimen the head and hind neck
are pale ashy brown, streaked with dusky, broadly on the
crown ; feathers of the mantle, scapulars, lower back,
secondaries, and wing coverts dusky brown, with darker
centres and white edges ; primaries, upper tail coverts,
and tail dusky brown, the outer feathers of the latter paler
and edged with white ; chin and throat white ; chest and
sides of the breast pale ashy brown tinged with buff, and
slightly streaked and spotted with dusky brown ; remainder
of under surface and axillaries white. Legs black. Wing
4-9 ins. Bill 0-9 in.
It has been considered desirable to describe these birds,
as no description of them is to be found in any works
devoted to British birds. The plumage of Pine Bunting and
Baird's Sandpiper is that in which they are most likely to
occur as visitors to our islands.
On the occurrence of the Woodchat Shrike
in Forth Area.
By Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul, H.M.B.O.U , and Evelyn
By the kindness of Mr Baigrie, assistant light-keeper on
the Isle of May, we are enabled to record the first authenti-
cated occurrence of the Woodchat Shrike {Lanius senator
senator = L. pomarinus of Saunders, etc.) for Scotland. A bird
of this species was taken at the lantern by him at 2 a.m. on
19th October 191 1, and sent to us. The wind had been
easterly for several days, and a great many birds had arrived on
the island. It is a young bird, mainly in the dress described
by Dr Hartert as the " nest-kleid." This species breeds in
north-western Africa and southern Europe. In the north its
breeding range extends as far as Belgium and Holland, and
it breeds locally in Germany ; it also nests in southern Russia
and Asia Minor. It occasionally strays to England, and
SOME NEW SCOTTISH AND BRITISH BIRDS n
has twice bred in the Isle of Wight. It winters in Sene-
gambia, Haussaland, and Nigeria, and has been recorded from
Teneriffe. There is no previous authenticated record of the
Woodchat Shrike in Scotland. It is mentioned in Don's
Forfarshire list of 1 813, but without any data, and has there-
fore only been retained on the Scottish list in square
brackets. Our identification of the specimen was confirmed
by Mr Eagle Clarke, and we have presented it to the Royal
Scottish Museum. The following is a description of the
plumage of this interesting visitor : — Crown of the head and
upper surface generally white or greyish white barred with
black, and with, rufous spots on the nape and sides of
the neck ; scapulars dull brown ; primaries and secondaries
brownish black, lighter at the tips ; lower half of primaries
and of the secondaries and their coverts edged externally with
pale rufous buff; basal half of the outer web of the primaries
white, forming a narrow wing bar ; primary coverts edged with
white ; centre tail feathers brownish black, outer ones dull
grey on the outer web and tips, greyish brown on the inner
web; under surface dull white, the feathers on the chesfand
flanks with narrow penultimate bands of black.
Serin Finch (Serinus serinus) in Midlothian.
By Oliver H. Wild.
On 9th November 191 1, an adult male Serin Finch in full
winter plumage was captured in the southern suburbs of
Edinburgh by some bird-catchers. It was in company with
Lesser Redpolls, and is the first known instance of the
occurrence of the species in Scotland. I have presented
the specimen to the fine collection of British birds in the
Royal Scottish Museum.
12 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
ON THE OCCURRENCE OF SYMPETRUM
FONSCOLOMBII (SELYS)-A DRAGON-FLY
NEW TO THE SCOTTISH LIST— IN THE
FORTH AREA.
By William Evans, F.R.S.E.
WHEN, a year ago, I published in the Annals of Scottish
Natural History, my paper on Scottish Dragon-flies, I little
dreamt that I should so soon be in a position to add another
species to the list. But again the unexpected has happened.
The new claimant for a place on the list is not a recognised
native of these islands, but that wanderer from the south on
which de Selys-Longchamps, in 1840, bestowed the name
Libellula fonscolombii — the Sympetrum fonscolombii (Selys)
of modern systematists. Three examples of this striking
insect were captured in the Forth area last summer,
on 30th July, nth August, and 17th August respectively.
Others were seen along with those taken on the first and
the last of these dates ; and there can be no doubt our
district was visited by part of a migratory flight, probably
from southern Europe. The simultaneous occurrence of
a considerable number in the south of England (Hampshire),
as recently announced by Mr W. J. Lucas,1 was quite
likely another manifestation of the same migration.
The first of the Forth specimens to be recognised was a
female captured by myself on the Isle of May, at the
mouth of the Firth of Forth, on 17th August 191 1. About
6.30 P.M., a few hours after landing on the island, I entered
for the second time the large garden below the principal
lighthouse-keeper's house, and there to my surprise saw
a very red medium-sized Dragon-fly hovering and darting in
the sunshine over some potato drills. It was a strong
flier ; and, after " hawking " without intermission for two or
three minutes, it suddenly disappeared over the wall without
having given me a chance to use the net, though once or
twice it hovered just beyond striking distance. Having waited
1 Cf. Ent. Mo. Mag., November 191 1, p. 267.
SYMPETRUM FONSCOLOMBII IN THE FORTH AREA 13
about the spot for an hour vainly hoping it would return,
I moved to a potato patch farther up the garden, and, as
luck would have it, there met with another Dragon-fly, much
duller in colour than the first, but otherwise very similar.
Though displaying the same activity when on the wing,
its flight was — perhaps owing to the later hour — less sustained
than that of the other, and several times it settled on the
ground, only, however, to dart off again on being approached.
In the failing light there was difficulty in keeping it in sight ;
but in the end, at a quarter to eight o'clock, I succeeded in
getting the net over it as it clung to the top of a weed.
Two days later, in the belief that it was a female of Sympetrum
fonscolombii, I showed it to Mr K. J. Morton, who confirmed
my supposition ; and there is no doubt the one I first
saw was a male of the same species. On 13th September
a red Dragon-fly was observed near the south end of the
May by Miss Baxter, as I learned from her on landing
the following day ; but it passed out of sight in a few
seconds, and was not again seen. Next, I heard from
Mr P. H. Grimshaw that a Dragon-fly which had been
caught by a boy in Easter Road, Edinburgh, on nth
August, and brought to the Royal Scottish Museum, had
turned out to be another female fonscolombii. Finally, in
November, when naming a box of insects for Mr J. W.
Bowhill, I was delighted to recognise a fine male which
had been taken near Aberlady, on 30th July; it was
captured by himself shortly after noon, in a hollow among
the coast sandhills, and he tells me there were others,
probably not less than half a dozen, along with it — he saw
four on the wing at one time — but their movements under
the influence of the strong sun were so quick that he
failed to secure more than the one.
In Europe, Sympetrum fonscolombii is a native of the
countries bordering on the Mediterranean, occurring, so
far as is known, north of the southern half of France only as
a migrant or wanderer ; while in Africa it is distributed,
according to Dr Ris,1 as far as the Cape of Good Hope, and in
Asia as far as Cashmere and the Nilgherries. Prior to 191 1,
1 Die Susswasserfauna Dentschlands, Heft 9, Odonata, 1909, p. 38.
i4 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
when as already mentioned several were taken in Hampshire
in August, there were only 22 properly authenticated
and localised British specimens, of which no less than
17, all males, were taken at one locality in Surrey in June
1892, the others being from Kent (1881), Cornwall (June
1903), Hertfordshire (June and July 1908), and Surrey
(September 1908).1 On the Continent the furthest north
locality mentioned by Ris is Mecklenburg. The recent
extension of its flight into Scotland is, therefore, an event
of very considerable interest.
From Sympetrum striolatum, a not uncommon species in
many parts of Scotland, to which, more especially in the
female, it bears a strong superficial resemblance, 5. fons-
colombii is separated by well-marked structural characters.
In the female, for instance, the vulvar scale is, as described
by de Selys, deeply notched — almost bilobed, whereas in
striolatum it is only slightly notched. A peculiarity which
struck me in the specimen I caught was the grey colour of
the lower half of the eyes ; after death, however, this soon
changes to black. The saffron tint at the base of the hind
wings is likewise a good mark of distinction, as is also the
reddish (not black) nervures and pterostigma ; but these
points and the blood-red colour in the male are only seen to
advantage in living or newly-killed examples.
In a paper I wrote some years ago on the Odonata of the
Forth Area,2 I alluded to the appearance of a bright red
Dragon-fly on a tramway car at Bruntsfield, Edinburgh,
in July 1901. Perhaps it was a pioneering fonscolombii I
My thanks are due to Messrs Grimshaw and Bowhill for
allowing me to record their specimens along with mine, and
to Mr Morton for assistance in a variety of ways.
1 Cf. E. B. Speyer, Proc. E?it. Soc. Lond. for 1908, p. 55 ; and
W. J. Lucas, ibid., 1909, p. 65.
2 Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc, xvi., p. 88, 1905.
NOTES 15
NOTES
Jackdaw nesting in Squirrel's Drey.— Cases of Jackdaws
building nests in the branches of trees have been not infrequently
recorded; and such instances are of common occurrence in New-
liston Woods in this neighbourhood. The sites chosen by the
birds are principally the thick intertwining branches of lime-trees, at
no great height from the ground. Last summer, however, what
appears to be a more remarkable case came under my notice — that
of a pair of Jackdaws which had made choice of an old Squirrel's
drey in the top branches of a tall, tapering spruce. The drey, when
examined, was found to contain two young birds. The old birds
obtained entrance through a large hole in the side of the structure,
and they had made no addition to the comfortable lining provided
by the Squirrels, beyond one or two scraps of paper and wool. —
S. E. Brock, Kirkliston.
Richard's Pipit and Lapland Bunting at Fair Isle. —
Whilst staying on Fair Isle on 6th October, I shot a male
Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus). On the same day I
received word that there were two strange Pipits on the grassland
above the cliffs. They were so wild that, though I walked after
them for over four hours, I was unable to get within shot. The
following morning I again went to look for them, and after another
hour's walking shot one as it flew over my head. It proved to be a
young Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi). The plumage of the upper
parts was much darker than that of the adult bird. — M. Bedford,
Woburn Abbey.
Greater Wheatear at Barra in November. — It may,
perhaps, be interesting to record that on the 17th November I
shot a Greater Wheatear (Saxicola laicorrhod) on the Island of
Barra, Outer Hebrides. The wing measured 103 mm. Another
was seen on the 20th November, at the same place. The dates
are late for this bird's presence on passage in the British Isles. —
M. Bedford, Woburn Abbey.
Montagu's Harrier in Roxburghshire. — An immature male
Montagu's Harrier {Circus cineraceus), a species which has rarely
been detected as a visitor to Scotland, was shot during the latter part
of August, at Newlands, Newcastleton, and has been presented by C.
H. B. Caldwell, Esq., of Windlesham, to the British Bird Collection
in the Royal Scottish Museum. — P. L. Waldron, North Berwick.
Honey-Buzzard in Wigtownshire.— A fine female Honey-
16 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Buzzard (Perm's apivora) has forfeited its liberty through a singular
misadventure. The reservoir for the supply of W. J. C. Cuning-
hame's home-farm of Dunragit, Wigtownshire, having, like most
other reservoirs in this abnormal season of 191 1, fallen low, a
breadth of mud was laid bare in September, sticking in which, and
unable to extricate herself, was the bird aforesaid. Probably she
had gone there in search of frogs or such-like. She is a bird of the
year, but about full-grown. I would have pled for her release, were
it not certain that a fowl of such warlike mien would inevitably be
destroyed as "vermin" by some undiscerning keeper. In fact, I
fear that I have failed to persuade her captor that a meat diet is not
what suits the Honey-Buzzard. When I told him that the late Lord
Lilford invariably failed to keep Honey- Buzzards alive through the
winter until he put a pair of them on a diet exclusively of bread and
milk (which he found they actually preferred to their common fare
of wasp-grubs), I was met by an incredulous grin, and a sarcastic
inquiry whether I supposed the Almighty had given this bird her
formidable beak and talons to sup milk withal !
It would be vain to plead for protection to Honey-Buzzards, for,
although no bird of prey is more innocent of injury to game, its
unfortunate resemblance to fiercer birds of ravin is tantamount to a
death-warrant. If it were possible to get them spared, they would
no doubt breed regularly in this country. — Herbert Maxwell,
Monreith.
Grey Phalarope in Ayrshire.— It may be of interest to
record that I got a male Grey Phalarope ( Phalaropus fulicarius) at
Girvan on 7th November last. It seems to have been blown ashore
during the very strong N.W. gale on the previous Sunday, and was
picked up in a dying condition by a lad, in a field near the shore.
The only other record for the Carrick shore, so far as I can find out,
was a male on 9th October 1904. — Gib. Graham, Girvan.
The Wood-Sandpiper in South-east Fife (Forth). — With
reference to Mr Berry's note in the Annals for October last
(191 1, p. 248), I ought, perhaps, to record that I have in my col-
lection a Wood-Sandpiper (Totanus glareohi) which was killed
near Anstruther in April 1895. — William Evans, Edinburgh.
Blue Shark in Forth. — When walking along the shore in
Largo Bay, on 1st November, I found a Blue Shark {Carcharias
glaucus) lying dead, very near the place where we found a fish of
this species in December 1910 {Annals Scot. Nat. Hist., 191 1, 56).
I estimated its length at 6 ft. ; it seemed in quite good condition. —
Evelyn V. Baxter, Largo.
NOTES 17
Tychus niger, Payk., in East Lothian. — As the only record
of this little beetle for the Forth area is now nearly eighty years old,
and there are but two or three altogether from Scotland, the capture
of a specimen ( $ ) at Gifford, East Lothian, on 2nd November 191 1,
is of considerable interest. The sight of some patches of moss at
the edge of a wood suggested to Mr K. J. Morton, who was with
me, the possibility of finding a certain rare Neuropteron, and it was
upon shaking a handful of this moss over a newspaper that I
detected the Tychus. In Wilson and Duncan's Entomologia
Edinensis, 1834, we find (Addenda, p. 340) the entry, " Tychus niger,
Braidhills"; while in Murray's Coleoptera of Scotland, 1853, the only
record is "Raehills, Rev. W. Little." Sharp for some reason did
not include the species in his Scottish list, which accounts for the
remark, "it does not appear to occur in Scotland," in Fowler's
book. It has since, however, been reinstated as a Scottish insect
(from Ayrshire and Paisley) by Mr Anderson Fergusson, in the
Amia/s Scot. Nat. Hist, for 1896. — William Evans, Edinburgh.
Linlithgowshire Heteroptera. — Since recorded Scottish
localities for Heteroptera are not very numerous, and as very
few species have yet been reported from this county, the occurrence
of the following less common species may be worthy of mention : —
Phytocoris di/nidiatus, Kbm. — Kirkliston and Clifton, on oaks.
PJiytocoris pini, Kbm. — Kirkliston, on Scots-pine. Dichrooscytus
ruftpeimis, Fall. — Kirkliston, on Scots-pine. Dicyphus epilobii,
Reut. — Hopetoun and Kirkliston, on Epilobium hirsutum.
Dicyphus pallidicomis, Fieb. — Kirkliston, on Digitalis purpurea.
Aetorhinus angulatus, Fall. — Lochcote Marsh, on Salix. Cyrtor-
rhiuus caricis, Fall. — Lochcote Marsh. Macrocoleus hortulanus,
Mey. — Hopetoun, on Ononis. Phylus palliceps, Fieb. — Kirkliston,
on oaks. Corixa geofroyi, Leach — Humbie Reservoir, Niddrie
Burn, etc. Corixa sahlbergi, Fieb. — Niddrie Burn, Birdsmill, etc.
Corixa distincta, Fieb. — Humbie and Kirkliston Reservoirs, etc.
Corixa carinata, Sahib. — Canal near Winchburgh. — S. E. Brock,
Kirkliston.
Recurrence of the rare Crab, Paromola cuvieri, in Scot-
tish Waters.— Since the first authentic Scottish record of this giant
amongst British Crabs was noted in the Annals a couple of years
ago {Annals Scot. Nat. Hist., 19 10, p. 12), three specimens have
been found in the deep water to the west of the British Isles. Two
of these were obtained by a trawler far off the south-west of Ireland
(Caiman, Irish Nat., 191 1, p. 75), but the third is a northern
specimen, and is the second from the neighbourhood of north-west
I C
18 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Scotland. It was captured alive by the steam liner Caledonian, near
the Flannan Isles, in June 1910, and is now in the collections of
the Royal Scottish Museum. — James Ritchie, Royal Scottish
Museum.
Notes on Hydracarina. — Workers in this group of Inverte-
brates may be interested to learn that the first part of a report on
the Hydracarina of northern Sweden, by Dr C. Walter, Basel, has
just come to hand (Natarwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen des
Sarekgebirges in Schwedisch-Lappland, Bd. iv., pp. 587-612, Taf.
8-9, Friedlander, Berlin). In addition to describing several new
species from this northern region, the previously unknown nymphs
of Huitfeldtia rectifies, Sig Thor, and Sperchon longirostris, Koen.,
are described in detail. The characters are here reproduced for the
benefit of British workers : — Huitfeldtia rectipes, Sig Thor. — This
species has until now had a very limited range, being recorded only
from Norway and the Orkney Islands. The finding of nymphs of
B. rectipes in the north of Sweden extends the recorded distribution.
Up to this time only the male and female were known. According
to Dr C. Walter (Naturw. U?itersuch. des Sarekgebirges, Bd. iv., p.
602), the nymph possesses the following characters : — Length
from 0.6 mm. to 0.7 mm. ; breadth, 0.5 mm. to 0.55 mm.
Palpi scarcely any thicker than the basal segments of first
pair of legs, and possessing the same characters as the imago,
e.g., the strong outwardly directed bristle on the third segment,
the two slender hairs on the flexor surface of the fourth
segment, with its chitinous peg on the distal inner end. The
epimera and legs also resemble those of the imago. The
provisional genital area appears to be similar to that of the nymphs
of the genus Fiona, and consists of two small plates, each with two
acetabula and two or three fine hairs. Between the plates, which
are inclined to each other at the anterior end, there is a small
chitinous body. The so-called anus lies nearer to the posterior
margin of the body, between two gland pores. Sperchon
longirostris, Koen. — This species, which also occurs in the
Britannic area, has a wider distribution than the foregoing.
Walter (Joe. eit., p. 590) describes the nymph from material brought
also from the north of Sweden. The outline is a broad oval,
without any lateral indents; length about 0.57, and breadth about
0.51 mm. Between the eyes, which lie on the body margin, the
anterior portion of the body is slightly inflated and then flattened ;
slender antenniform bristles are to be found here. The skin is
closely covered with rounded papilla;, while the area round the
gland pores is very slightly chitinised. The rostrum and mouth
GLEANINGS i9
organs appear to possess all the characteristics of the imago. On the
extensor surface of the second segment of the palpi a few hairs are
to be found, while the flexor surface possesses the thin conical peg
with its chitinised apex. The short fifth segment ends in two
curving claws, surrounded by a number of hairs. The provisional
genital area has four acetabula protected by two plates, bearing a
few hairs on their margins. — William Williamson, Edinburgh.
GLEANINGS.
It is with genuine regret that we refer to the death, already
recorded in many British journals, of Mr G. H. Verrall, the
eminent dipterist, which took place on the 16th September last.
Students of British Diptera have suffered a severe loss in the
decease of their chief, who was only spared to complete two of
the proposed fourteen volumes of his monumental work on British
Flies. These exhaustive volumes appeared in 1901 and 1909
respectively, and deal with probably the most generally attractive
families. It will, we fear, be many a long year before anyone
takes up the work so thoroughly begun by Verrall, whose reputation
was world-wide.
We are glad to notice, in the Annals and Mag: Nat. Hist, for
December (pp. 770-777), an article giving the results of a vote
taken in Scandinavia regarding the strict application of the rule of
Priority in Zoological Nomenclature. A criticism is given of the
methods adopted by the secretary of the International Commission,
for obtaining lists from zoologists of names which should be
exempted from the rule. It is pointed out that the time allowed
for the preparation of the suggested list of 50 generic names (chosen
by each zoologist independently) was totally inadequate, and hence
the apparent lack of interest in the matter is not surprising. The
vote in Scandinavia is of much interest — 120 names are recorded
against the strict application of the rule, thus allowing the most
important and generally used names to be protected against change,
while only 2 are in favour of a rigid adherence to the law. We
congratulate our neighbours across the North Sea on taking such a
wise decision. It is interesting to learn that the Committee
recently appointed by the British Ornithologists' Union to prepare
a new list of British Birds are of the same opinion.
An amusing letter appeared in a recent issue of a local evening
paper, entitled " An Extraordinary Bird Record." It ran as
20 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
follows : — " I write to ask if you will find space to make known
an interesting discovery. I have in my possession a dead starling
and cock-sparrow, both with rings on their legs, marked, the starling,
Aberdeen University, '69; the sparrow, Aberdeen University,
'79. ... I hope this will come under the eye of the student that fixed
those rings forty-two and thirty-two years ago. It is difficult to account
for the singular coincidence of the birds' migrating so far and dying
about the same time so near to each other. It would be interesting
to know the age limit of the little feathered Aberdonians." If the
writer of this letter keep a sharp look-out he may come across the
bird numbered 1066, which presumably migrated with William the
Conqueror !
Thomas Parkin, in an extra paper to Part 6 of Vol. I., Hastings
and East Sussex Naturalist (1911), gives a useful and interesting
record of sales of specimens of the Great Auk and its eggs, from
the years 1806 to 1910 inclusive. Complete histories, so far as
known, are given of 5 birds and 18 eggs, including 1 bird and
2 eggs now in the Royal Scottish Museum. The highest price
ever paid for a bird appears to be ^350, and for an egg ^330, 15s.
The number of specimens in existence is stated to be 80 skins and
73 eggs-
The Long-tailed Duck (Harelda glacialis) is reported by O. V.
Aplin (Zoologist, November 191 1, p. 432) to have bred in Orkney
during the summer of 191 1.
A Little Crake (Porzana parvd) was seen near Loch Scamadale,
Argyll, on 29th September 191 1. The bird was caught and
examined. — The Field, 7th October 191 1, p. 825.
Two Rock Thrushes (Monticola saxatitis), £ and ? , were
procured at Pett, Sussex, on 1st and 2nd September. This is the
first record for Sussex, and the first time this species has been
obtained in Britain in autumn. — H. W. Ford-Lindsay, British
Birds, vol. v., p. 130.
A small flock of Slender-billed Curlews (Numeuius tenuirostris)
were seen on Romney Marsh, Kent, towards the end of September
191 1. Of these, three were shot, two on the 21st and one on the
23rd. The Slender-billed Curlew has not previously been obtained
in Britain. — M. J. Nicoll, British Birds, vol. v., p. 124.
A Slender-billed Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes macro-
rhynchus) is recorded by Mr Edwin Hollis in British Birds (vol. vi.,
p. 167). It was obtained on 7th August 191 1, at Whitchurch, near
Aylesbury, and submitted to Dr Hartert, who pronounced it to be
of the Siberian race.
GLEANINGS 21
Her Grace the Duchess of Bedford records a large number of
Sooty Shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) off the west coast of Ireland,
between Eagle Island and Black Rock, on 17th August 191 1. On
returning to the same place next day, she found that they had all
passed on. — British Birds, vol. v., p. 141.
A fine adult male Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator senator) was
obtained at Winchelsea on 25th July 1911, and examined in the
flesh by Mr Ford-Lindsay, who also records a pair of Caspian
Plovers (/Egialitis asiaticus) which were shot on Romney Marsh
on 13th July. — British Birds, vol. v., pp. in, 115.
Mr J. B. Nicholls records a White - spotted Bluethroat
(Cy anemia cy anemia) which was obtained at Pett Level, Sussex,
on 17 th May 1911, and refers to one previously recorded which was
got at the same place on 15th May. — British Birds, vol. v.,
p. 106.
The first identified British example of the Continental Blue Tit
(Pants ccernleus coeruleus) was exhibited by Mr Bonhote at the June
meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club {Bull. B. O. C, vol. xxvii.,
p. 1 01). It was obtained in Peeblesshire some years ago. No locality
nor date was given. — British Birds, vol. v., p. 109.
The return of the Bittern (Botaurus stcllaris) to Norfolk", and
the finding of the nest and one of the young is recorded by Miss
E. L. Turner in British Birds. The young Bittern was discovered
in a wide stretch of reed-bed on 8th July 191 1 ; it was judged to be
between four and five weeks old. On 17th July, when an organised
search was made, the nest was found about a dozen yards from
where the young bird was first seen. — British Birds, vol. v., p. 90.
In the Irish Naturalist, 191 1 (pp. 149-152), Mr R. J.
Ussher gives an interesting account of the discovery of the Fulmar
(Fit Imams glacialis) nesting on the north coast of Mayo, Ireland.
This is a very important record, as it is the first time this bird has
been recorded as a breeding species for Ireland.
Two new British species of Microlepidoptera are described by
J. H. Durrant (Fnt. Mo. Mag., November 191 1, pp. 251-252).
One (Rhyacionia logcea, sp. n.) is Scottish, having been taken at
Forres on several occasions.
In the Entomologists Monthly Magazine for December (pp. 269-
270) Norman H. Joy describes two beetles new to science. These
are Bledius secerdendus, from Dovercourt (Essex), Dawlish (Devon),
Tresco (Scilly Islands), and Cloghane (Kerry); and FhyntMfafYSy^
hanvoodi, from the neighbourhood of Bradfield (Berks). /v^i (A
Lj'LI BR AR
22 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Atheta liliputana, Bris., a beetle new to the British fauna, is
recorded and described by Malcolm Cameron in the Entomologisfs
Monthly Magazine for October last (pp. 223-224). Five examples
were taken near Brockenhurst (Hants) in May and June. A table
is given of the British species of the genus.
At a meeting of the Entomological Society of London, held on
1 8th October, H. St J. Donisthorpe exhibited specimens of
Lesteva luctnosa, Fauvel, a species of beetle new to Britain, from
the Isle of Eigg, taken on 1 7th September.
To the British list of Saw-flies the Rev. T. D. Morice adds
{Entomologisfs Monthly Magazine, October 191 1, pp. 227-229)
Periclista pnbescens, Zadd. A single $ was swept or beaten from
oak leaves at Porlock (Somerset) on 28th April.
The Rev. James Waterston records (Ent. Mo. Mag.,
October 1911, p. 236) the occurrence of the Mallophagous
parasite Nirnuis uncinosus, N., on a Corvns comix shot in North
Mavine, Shetland.
In the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine for October (pp. 225-
226) a very useful paper is given by Malcolm Burr, on our British
Dermaptera (Earwigs), accompanied by a well-executed coloured
plate of all the species.
An important paper on the " Slipper Limpet or " Boat Shell "
{Crepidula fornicata), by Dr James Murie, appears in the November
number of the Zoologist (pp. 402-415), accompanied by two plates.
This mollusc is an American species, whose recent introduction into
British waters is supposed to have a deleterious effect on oysters.
Particulars are given of the discovery of this troublesome limpet
on the east coast of England, in certain portions of which the
species appears to have become thoroughly established. Further
inquiries and research are recommended in order to cope with
the evil.
BOOK NOTICES.
A Fauna of the Tweed Area, by A. H. Evans. Edinburgh:
David Douglas, 1911; price 30s. net.
The Fauna of Tweed forms the tenth volume of the series of the
Vertebrate Faunas of Scotland which we owe to the initiative of
BOOK NOTICES 23
Messrs Harvie-Brown and Buckley. Many areas have been
treated of, but " Tweed " was one of the few remaining desiderata
— an important one too, for it is the only volume dealing with the
Fauna of south-eastern Scotland.
Tweed is an attractive and diversified area — embracing
highlands, lowlands, fine river valleys, and a varied coast-line
extending from St Abb's Head to and including the well-known
Fame Islands. Mr Evans is to be congratulated on having
completed a most useful and interesting piece of zoogeographical
work, which is in every respect up to the standard of the best of its
predecessors in the series. From his researches we learn that the
vertebrates included within the scope of the work amount to
45 mammals, including species extinct within the historic period;
263 birds, counting doubtful records; 3 reptiles and 5 amphibians.
We regret that the freshwater fishes have been omitted, for the
Salmonidae of the Tweed basin are especially interesting, and a
summary of the views held regarding them would have been most
acceptable. We are glad, however, to hear that the author is
preparing such a list for publication. As regards the birds, we
do not find much about their migrations, and yet there were
voluminous data available, for the Fame Islands furnished
much information to the British Association Committee for- the
years 1880 to 1887 inclusive. The introduction, bibliography, and
topographical description are excellent, and add greatly to the
value of a handsome and acceptable volume. The illustrations are
numerous, and beautifully reproduced, and the general get up,
like that of the rest of the series, leaves nothing to be desired.
The Life of the Common Gull told in Photographs, by
C. Rubow. London: Witherby & Co., 191 1 ; is. 6d. net.
This book is composed of series of photographs which depict the
life of the Common Gull (Larus canus). It is impossible to speak
too highly of these nature-pictures, which afford such excellent peeps
at the varied life-phases of this well-known bird. The text
supplies a readable little sketch of its habits, and supplies in
writing what cannot be expressed in the pictures. The book is
a welcome addition to an already remarkable series. — G. G. M.
Life in the Sea, by J. Johnstone; and Primitive Animals, by
Geoffrey Smith, M.A. Cambridge University Press {The Cam-
bridge Manuals of Science and Literature) ; price is. each.
The first of these little manuals differs in point of view from
the majority of the accounts of marine life. Here there is no
24 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
attempt at describing the individual inhabitants of the ocean, but
a broad survey is taken of the fundamental forces of nature which
control life under the waves. In discussing the influences of the
periodic changes in the sea, and the factors of distribution, the food
and feeding of its inhabitants, the author puts into our hands keys
which unlock many fascinating mysteries — such as the migration of
herring, the hibernation of flat-fishes, the pulses of marine life.
The book aims at and ought to reach the reader who wishes to
understand the deep, underlying principles of oceanic life.
The second volume, an equally original treatise, gives a short
but well-written account of modern ideas on the relationships of the
main groups of the animal kingdom, their origin and evolution, and
the facts presented by embryology and comparative anatomy in
evidence thereof. Naturally, the attempt to deal with such
important subjects within the compass of 150 small pages proves to
be anything but light reading, but the eight chapters are skilfully
written, while the 25 carefully chosen illustrations will prove helpful
to those unversed in biological technicalities.
The Life of Crustacea, by W. T. Caiman, U.Sc. ; pp. xvi. + 289,
with 32 plates and 85 figures. Methuen & Co. ; price 6s.
Of the long-desired volumes dealing at large with the crabs and
lobsters, and their many relatives, this is certainly that which will
most attract the general reader. For once the dry bones of structure,
as such, are laid gently to rest, and we view this wonderfully diverse
group from the point of view of life and adaptation to living.
The majority of the Crustacea are so little known that few
indeed have received the hall-mark of currency, a popular name;
but in spite of this handicap, Dr Caiman has no difficulty in filling
his pages with entrancing reading. In turn, the inhabitants of the
shore, the deep, the open sea, freshwater, and the land are gathered
together, and their habits studied in the light of their environment.
So the consideration of their relationships to each other, to other
animals, and to man gives opportunity for the introduction of facts
of great interest. The many plates and abundant text figures are
remarkable for their excellence, and there is a good index. Two
slips have come under our notice: in the penultimate line of p. 12,
read epipodite for exopodite ; and in the Index " respiratory siphon
of Albunea" is under "antennae" instead of "antennule." The
success of this volume ought to induce experts in other groups to
review their subjects from some such vital standpoint as is here
adopted. — J. R.
The Scottish Naturalist
No. 2] 1912 [February
NOTES ON THE PRIMITIVE BREEDS
SHEEP IN SCOTLAND.
By H. J. Elwes, F.R.S.
Plates I. -III.
(Co?itinucd from page 7.)
Soay Sheep.
MlLLAlS, in his work on the Mammals of Great Britain,
points out that the sheep on the small island of Soay, near
St Kilda, are quite distinct from " four-horned " Hebridean
sheep. As Millais says, Soay sheep have all the habits
and appearance of a wild sheep, and when galloping look
much like Moufflon. Their short tails, hairy throat and
mane, and general markings all suggest Moufflon parentage.
Sir Claude Alexander has proved that they breed freely with
both Moufflon and with the wild Urial (Ovis vignei) of the
Punjaub, and my short experience of them convinces me
that they retain more of the habits of a wild animal than any
other breed I have kept.
When we consider their habitat this is not surprising, for
all they know of man is that once or twice a year at most
they are hunted down with dogs, and the little wool they
have is pulled from their backs. For the rest of the year
they are as wild as the sea-birds which constantly surround
them. Of the origin and early history of these sheep we
know nothing.
2 D
26 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Professor Ewart has pointed out that " in the skeleton,
horns, and throat fringe, the Soay ram (Plate I. and Plate III.,
Fig. 2) agrees with the Moufflon," and says that it may " be
regarded as a variety of Ovis orientalis adapted originally for
a moorland life." x
I am indebted to Mr Eagle Clarke (who has twice
remained at St Kilda for some weeks without being able
to land on Soay) for the following notes, these being
answers to questions I gave him in writing, which were
answered by Donald Ferguson, who for twenty years has
been ground officer of St Kilda, and succeeded his father
in that office. His son Neil, who is postmaster and speaks
English well, acted as interpreter from the Gaelic.
The original breed of St Kilda sheep may or may not
have been the same as those now on Soay, but whether any
of them were four-horned or not, there have been no four-
horned sheep on the islands in Ferguson's time.
Four Black-faced rams were introduced into St Kilda by
Sir John Macleod, who built the houses now inhabited by the
islanders, and many others of this breed were sent afterwards
at various times. Whether this was the first introduction of
fresh blood or not is not stated.
At the time of this introduction the St Kilda sheep were
smaller, and had shorter wool and were white in colour, with
a few black ones among them.
"The Soay sheep are the old breed of St Kilda. In the
old days the Laird claimed every seventh ewe lamb and every
second ram, and these were placed on Soay, which was the
Laird's preserve, as it is to this day. A few rams of the race
which preceded the introduction of the Black-faced rams were
once introduced into Soay, but they did no good." This is the
only introduction of new blood to Soay that Ferguson knows of.
The Soay sheep are now not so large as they once were,
and are gradually becoming smaller. This, Ferguson thinks,
is due to the fact that there are so many rams which cannot
be kept down because of their wildness.
As the result of the introduction of the rams alluded to,
a number of white sheep appeared for a time, but their
1 A Romafi Fro?itier Post and its People ; p. 373 ; Glasgow, 191 1.
PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF SHEEP IN SCOTLAND 27
descendants soon reverted to the original colour. Half the
Soay sheep are now black (I presume this means dark
brown), but are the same size and shape as the others, which
are brown (? pale brown). " Some of the brown sheep have
patches of black, and some of the black sheep have white
marks, especially on the face. Some of the brown sheep
have also white marks on their faces, but these are not
common. A number of the Soay ewes have horns, probably
about one-third. The horned ewes are not paler in colour.
The horns of the rams never form a complete circle."
The ewes (Plate II., Fig. 2) usually lamb when a year
old, and often have twins. The older ewes as a rule have
twins each year. There are not less that 300 sheep on Soay
at present. It may be added that there is abundance of water
on Soay.
The wool of the Soay sheep is very good and soft, but
difficult to spin alone, because it is so short. Most of it is
worked up with the wool of the other sheep, but some is spun
alone for gloves and socks. It never exceeds ih inches,
and is often only an inch long. To this I will add what
little I know about their breed in England.
About twenty -one years ago the late Mr Assheton
Smith brought some of these sheep from Soay, and two or
three years later five ewes came from Macleod of Dunvegan,
owner of the island, which lived in his park at Vaynol, N.
Wales, till he died. Mr V. M. Lort, to whom I am indebted
for this information, bought most of the flock, and kept
them in a field at his home, crossing the rams with various
breeds, of which Manx and Southdown seem to have been
the most successful. He assures me that no ram but a Soay
was ever used at Vaynol, as I thought possible, because in
this flock the legs were longer, and the faces paler in colour
than those which I imported in 1910. But Ferguson's
evidence shows that there are pale or white-faced animals
among the Soay sheep.
I saw Mr Lort's flock in 19 10, and noticed no dark brown
or hornless ewes among them. I bought two rams and seven
ewes, one of them a lamb, all of which were horned. I put
these in the same field with a dark-brown maned ram and
28 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
four ewes, of which three were hornless and one dark brown in
colour, exactly like a pair which were sent at the same time
with mine direct from Soay to the Duke of Bedford. Mine
were very poor in condition when they arrived in August,
and never got fat. The dark imported ram, though smaller
than Mr Lort's, always seemed to take the lead, and I believe
was the sire of most of the thirteen lambs which were dropped
by the eleven ewes in April 191 1, nine or ten of them being
born in one night. The ewe lamb had twins, and though
she is still the smallest of the lot, mothered her lambs and
brought them up, as the rest did, without the least help,
though the extreme heat and drought of last summer seemed
very trying to them. In the small field where they lambed,
and where my keeper gave them a few swedes in March and
April, they became fairly tame, and would let him come
within a few yards of them, and when enclosed by a close
wire fence or by wire netting they never tried to get out.
But as soon as the ram lambs began to show signs of a desire
to breed, and I had to wean them, I had some trouble to
keep them in, and the necessity for using a dog in order to
catch them seemed to make them as wild as ever.
When grazing with Manx and Black-faced ewes they
always, both ewes and lambs, kept more or less apart, but
the old rams got on very well with those of other breeds,
over which their superior agility gave them an advantage.
But when one of those bought of Mr Lort hurt himself in
trying to get through a wire fence early in November, the
others set upon him and butted him to death, just as deer
will do. This ram was presented to the Natural History
Museum, London, where there has till now only been a ewe.
It is remarkable that none of these sheep or their lambs
were ever struck by blowflies, which were very troublesome
to other sheep in 191 1 ; none of them ever became sore-headed
owing to the irritation caused by flies settling at the base of
the horns, as is often the case in Black-faced and most
domestic horned breeds ; none ever suffered from lameness
or diarrhoea. Though their pasture and environment were
absolutely different from that of their native climate, they
seemed able to take care of themselves as well as deer.
Scot. Nat., 191 2.
Plate III.
Fig. 3.— ROCKY RAM.
Fig. 1.— NORTH RONALDSHAY RAM.
Fig. 2.— SO AY RAM
^H
■
■
#
f }
, 9»
' " •
Fig. 4.— RAM FROM NORTH UIST
PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF SHEEP IN SCOTLAND 29
With regard to the various crosses which have been and
are being made by Prof. Ewart, Mr Lort, and myself, with
other breeds, I will say nothing now, as the subject has
interest rather from an economic than a natural history point
of view.
Hebridean Sheep.
Most writers agree in supposing that the old Hebridean
breed was originally introduced from Norway, and some have
supposed that the wrecked ships of the Spanish Armada may
have brought some new blood, but we have no reliable evidence
on this point. I can get no exact description, specimen,
or figure of the aboriginal sheep which are said to exist on
some of the islands of southern Norway,1 and it is probable,
indeed almost certain, that the breed now generally known
as St Kilda in English parks is a mongrel in which the Black-
faced Scotch has a considerable share.
Early writers give little exact information, but in Martin's
Description of the Western Islands, 1703, p. 48, I find the
following : — " About a league to the north of Pabbay, lies the
isle of Sellay, a mile in circumference, that yields extra-
ordinary pasturage for sheep, so that they become fat very
soon. They have the biggest horns that ever I saw on
sheep." On p. 286 he says of St Kilda : — " The horses and
cows are of a lower stature than on the adjacent isles, but the
sheep differ only in the bigness of their horns, which are very
long." He says nothing about the sheep on Soay, or about
four-horned sheep.
Walker 2 says : — " The Hebridean sheep is the smallest
animal of the kind. It is of a thin, lank shape, and has
short, straight horns. The face and legs are white, the tail
extremely short, and the wool of various colours ; for besides
black and white, it is sometimes of a bluish grey colour, at
other times brown, and sometimes of a deep russet, and
1 Dr J. Walker, Economic History of the Hebrides, ii., 69 (1 812), says,
but I know not on what authority, that this native sheep of the Hebrides
and the Shetland Isles is exactly the same with what subsists to-day in
the Kingdom of Norway.
2 History of the Hebrides, ii., 69 (18 12).
30 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
frequently an individual is blotched with two or three of
these different colours. In some of the low islands, where
the pasture answers, the wool of this small sheep is of the
finest kind, and the same with that of Shetland. In the
mountainous islands, the animal is found of the smallest size,
with coarser wool, and with this very remarkable character,
that it has often four, and sometimes even six horns."
How much Walker really knew about the Hebridean
sheep of his time it is hard to say, but there is no evidence
of the existence of sheep with short, straight horns anywhere
in Scotland at the present day ; and from what we know
about the introduction, not only of Black-faces, but also of
Spanish Merinos, which about this period were introduced
into many parts of Scotland, it is probable that except
in the more remote islands, crossing had already taken place.
Harvie-Brown and Buckley, in their Fauna of the Outer
Hebrides, say very little about the sheep, except that four-
horned sheep were not uncommon in Harris and North Uist,
and that they had heard that even six-horned animals were not
unusual. But I cannot find a specimen in any museum or collec-
tion to-day, except what have been bred in parks ; and though I
have myself seen in an island in West Loch Tarbert, Harris,
in 1868, a ram with a fifth horn standing a foot or more high
between the others, I cannot hear of any such alive at the
present time.
Millais figured, in Mammals of Great Britain, vol. iii.,
p. 212, fig. 4, the head of a Hebridean ram which has two
horns, very much of the same type as those of my Soay
rams, but longer, more spreading, and not so thick at the
base. They are not at all like those of the so-called St
Kilda sheep, or are they remarkable for their size. He
informs me that he bought the animal alive in N. Uist from
a crofter, and had to shoot it, as it was very wild. I have seen
very similar horns on the old Norfolk Black-faced ram, and
such a head might very well represent a primitive race from
which the improved Black-faced Scotch sheep has been derived.
Mr A. M'Elfrish of Lochmaddy, in answer to my
inquiries, writes as follows : — " I am afraid the subject
is a pretty obscure one. There is certainly at the
PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF SHEEP IN SCOTLAND 31
present time no such thing as a pure breed of four-
horned sheep in these islands, nor has there been since
I came here in 1886, any such thing. No doubt there
is a strain of four-horned blood running through great
numbers of the sheep in these parts, but I know no one
who will assert that he has a breed of such animals. My
opinion is that all the four-horned ones that now crop up
or that have cropped up in recent years are simply throw-
backs. It is said that at one time, long ago, all the sheep
in these parts were four-horned, and that they were replaced
by the Black-faced from the Borders, but it would require
some research to prove that. It is yearly becoming more
and more difficult to procure a good specimen of a four-
horned ram ; but I proved one thing, at least to my own
satisfaction, namely, that four-horned rams are certain, or at
least almost certain, to throw four-horned lambs. A number
of years ago I purchased from different parts of these islands
a number of four-horned rams and put them to ewes of
various kinds, native, crosses, half Cheviots, etc., and in
every single case without exception the tup lambs Were
four-horned, and in every case the horns were exact replicas
of the horns of the sires ; so much so, that any one
could easily point out each ram's get. The one I think
you refer to was a get of one of these, and was an exact
replica of his sire, with the exception that by good grazing
and a little hand-feeding in winter his horns developed
enormously. The top ones at one time, I remember,
measured on the tape 36 inches, and, as you say, the lower
ones would very soon have prevented his feeding. They
all but did so when he disappeared, but by grazing at the sides
of slopes, banks, and ditches, he was able to pick up a living.
At first he had five horns, the fifth growing from the
centre of his forehead, but it was only skin deep and was
early knocked off."
Mr M'Elfrish was good enough to send me a photograph
(Plate III., Fig. 4) of this remarkable ram. He was seen
by Mr Millais alive, but he mysteriously disappeared the
next day, probably stolen for the sake of his head. But all
efforts to trace the head have failed, and I can only hope
32 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
that if it exists, and this illustration is recognised, it may
be still brought to light.
The only one that I have seen approaching it in size was a
ram belonging to Sir B. Brooke, which I saw in Colebrooke
Park, County Fermanagh, three years ago.
A race of small black sheep, of which the males have often
— in some flocks usually — and the females more rarely, four
horns, is kept in several English parks under the name of St
Kilda sheep, but they are in most cases of uncertain origin,
and more or less crossed with Black Welsh or other small
breeds. The shortness of their tails is a good indication of
pure blood. All of them seem to be able to live like deer,
without attention, and to be almost immune from maggots
and foot-rot. Perhaps the largest flock is that of Mr Leopold
de Rothschild — the Earl of Portsmouth and the Duke of
Bedford also have good specimens.
So far as I can learn, there has been no special attempt
made to select the four-horned character which seems to
prevail among the rams in these flocks, but they are very
variable in type. Mr R. H. Holding, in Proc. Zool. Soc,
1903, pp. 116-119, describes and figures four heads, but he
tells us little about their origin. In Proc. Zool. Soc, 1909,
pp. 98-100, he returns to the same subject, and figures a more
typical ram's head (fig. a) which is very like the Shetland
four-horned and Icelandic type. His figure c represents
a ram then in the possession of Mr E. M. Machugh, which
is supposed to be that of a pure Black-faced ram, selected by
the owner from the produce of a four-homed ram lamb which
appeared in his flock, but this seems so like the heads of
cross-bred Manx Black-faces, figured by Professor Wallace
in Farm Live Stocky that I suspect it must be due to a cross
of Hebridean origin, as I can hear of no four-horned rams
occurring among really pure-bred Black-faced sheep.
I have a skull of a four-horned ewe from Mr L. de Roths-
child's park, which is as good an example as I have seen
in this sex, for when four horns appear, as they often do
in the ewes of this breed, they are generally small and
irregular.
( To be continued?)
THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 33
THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE.1
The Final Report of the Committee appointed to inquire
into the causes of "Grouse Disease" was issued in August
191 1. In some respects this Report presents unusual
features. In place of being printed in the form of a Blue
Book, the result of the Committee's investigations takes
the form of a handsome and copiously illustrated book,
dealing exhaustively with the Life History of the Grouse,
together with a small companion volume of Appendices
in which are to be found the analyses of correspondents'
reports, and other tabulated matter of much scientific
interest. The whole forms a work of the highest value, not
only to the general Ornithologist, but perhaps in a special
degree to the student of avian parasitology, who will find
this subject as it affects a single host, treated with a fullness
probably never before attempted. At the same time, as
the maintenance of the economic value of Grouse Shootings
was no doubt a leading motive for the original appointment
of the Committee, this question, and generally all questions
affecting the management of the Grouse and of its food
supply, are simply and clearly dealt with from the point of
view of the practical Game Preserver, or of the Owner of a
Moor.
The Committee was originally appointed in April 1905.
Its investigations were expected to be spread over a period
of three years ; and though this time has been somewhat
exceeded, the result more than justifies the delay. The
Committee has never received any grant whatever out of
public funds, the terms of its appointment providing that the
whole of its investigations should be carried on at the
expense either of members of the Committee or of private
subscribers. The investigations have accordingly been
greatly hampered throughout by lack of funds ; but the
1 The Grouse in Health and i?i Disease : being the Final Report of
the Committee of Inquiry on Grouse Disease ; 2 vols. London : Smith,
Elder & Co., 191 1.
2 E
34 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
generous subscriptions of just 360 gentlemen, and the loyal
co-operation of the experts and staff, who have given their
services either gratuitously, or for what was at most a nominal
consideration, have enabled the members of the Committee
to claim that the objects for which it was created have been
effectually attained.
As the investigations proceeded, valuable first-hand
information was received from Moor-owners, Shooting-
tenants and Gamekeepers throughout the whole districts of
Scotland and England in which Grouse are to be found,
dealing with almost every point connected with the Natural
History of Grouse and the Management of Grouse Moors ;
and by the inclusion of sections dealing in detail with the
results of the opinions so collected, along with much original
matter from the able pens of Lord Lovat, the Chairman of
the Committee, and of the Secretary, Mr A. S. Leslie, the
Report claims to have become a Monograph of the Red
Grouse in Health and in Disease, rather than a Summary
of the Proceedings of a Departmental Committee of
Inquiry.
The Natural History, Physiology, and Plumage changes
of the Grouse, as well as such matters as Heather-burning,
Stock Management, Methods of Shooting and other cognate
questions, are dealt with in this volume by expert writers ; but
space will only permit of a brief survey of a few of the more
scientific results of these investigations.
The seasonal changes in the Plumage of the Grouse have
been studied in the past both by Mr J. G. Millais and by Mr
W. R. Ogilvie Grant, but points of difficulty have remained.
This study is complicated by the fact that the sexes moult at
different seasons in the year, the cock between April and
June, and again between August and October, and the hen
about two months later in each instance ; and that the
moults may be deferred for as much as a year or even more,
as a result of an attack of " Disease." Dr E. A. Wilson
prepared a series of many hundreds of skins of Grouse, illus-
trating the plumage changes in both sexes at every month in
the year, and under both normal and abnormal conditions ;
and his chapter dealing with the information to be drawn
THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE
35
from this series of skins, is illustrated and elucidated by
many beautiful coloured plates.
Many avenues were explored by the expert Staff in
search of some specific micro-organism which might be
demonstrable as the causa causans of " Grouse-Disease " ; but
for some time with negative results. The Parasites, large
and small, of the Blood and of the Alimentary Tract were
investigated by Dr Fantham and Dr Shipley respectively,
together with the Life-history of the parasitic and other
insects found in association with Grouse, or on ground fre-
quented by them ; and a great deal of most valuable informa-
tion was thus incidentally acquired. As regards the Disease
itself, two main theories had hitherto held the field. The one
supported by the great name of Klein, and at first favoured
by the Committee, attributed the specific cause of the Disease
to a bacillus of the colon group, and described its leading
characteristics as those of an acute, infectious, epidemic
pneumonia, causing death with very great rapidity, without
wasting, loss of plumage, or other external symptoms.
Cobbold, on the other hand, had declared as long ago as 1872,
that the cause of the disease was to be found solely in the
infestation of the caeca by a nematode worm of the genus
Strongylus (now Trichostrojigylus), with chronic irritation and
consequent functional loss in these organs, causing extreme
emaciation and death practically by starvation.
The result of the Committee's investigations has been to
support Cobbold's theory in every respect. The specific
bacillus placed under suspicion by Klein was by Dr Selig-
mann demonstrated to be no other than B. coli migrating
post mortem from its proper sphere in the intestine into the
lungs and surrounding tissues. The Disease is at the same
time shown to be due to the presence of swarms of strongyles
in the caeca, and to be due to their presence alone, although
infestation by other parasites may affect the general health
of a host, and render it less resistant to the attack. When
the strongyle is present in overwhelming numbers, the
mucous membrane of the caeca does indeed become injured
to an extent that permits of the passage of a certain number
of the intestinal bacteria into the tissues of the liver and
36 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
other organs ; but the number of living bacteria to be found
in these organs is invariably small. To some degree they
are no doubt harmful ; but no evidence was obtained that
the death of the host could ever be attributed to their direct
influence. On the other hand, the presence of eosinophilia
in the blood, as demonstrated by Dr Fantham, indicates that
certain substances secreted or excreted by the parasites pass
into the circulation ; and this fact, together with the loss of
function in the caeca owing to the extensive decortication
of the epithelial lining by the worms, sufficiently accounts
for the resulting symptoms of the disease, and for the heavy
mortality in the birds so affected.
The Life-history of the strongyle worm [Trichostrongylus
pei'gracilis), an exceedingly fine hair-like worm of about one-
third of an inch in length, has been thoroughly worked out
by Dr Leiper, Helminthologist to the London School of
Tropical Medicine. The egg being laid within the host,
passes out, and the larvae hatch and undergo their early
metamorphoses on damp earth. Still aided by moisture,
the larvae afterwards wriggle up to the heather tips, are
there swallowed by a Grouse, complete their life-cycle, and
become sexually reproductive, all within a very few days.
Counteracting influences are sun, drought, and to some
extent frost. Owing probably to these influences, infection
is in reality almost confined to the spring months, and the
mortality greatest during the periods of pairing and nesting.
Outbreaks do not in fact occur in autumn, though owing to
the increased opportunities of collecting sick (but, in fact,
convalescent) birds at that season, the contrary has hitherto
been generally held. The only remedy is to be looked for in
the provision of a plentiful food supply. Grouse are heavy
feeders ; but only a small proportion of the heather on many
moors is suitable for their food. The larger the supply of
good, regularly burnt, feeding heather on a moor in propor-
tion to the stock on the ground, the greater will be the resist-
ing power of the birds, and the smaller also the proportion of
infected plants. " During the months of May, June, and July
the fresh young shoots of heather are probably more nourish-
ing than at any other time of the year. In July, August, and
THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 37
September berries are added to the Grouse's diet, and in the
late autumn and early winter the seed or fruit of the heather
is largely eaten. In fact it may be said that from the middle
of May to the middle of the following January the food
supply, even on the worst moors, is almost inexhaustible, and
during this period the ground is capable of supporting a stock
far larger than it could possibly carry during the subsequent
three months." The capacity of a moor to carry a healthy,
disease-resisting stock of birds has therefore to be gauged by
the quantity of the food supply available during the first
months of the year. If the ground be overstocked at this
season, disease will almost certainly assert itself, either then
or later, whatever the capacities of the moor at other seasons.
" If we consider that birds may be packed in large numbers
on one portion of the feeding area, for perhaps weeks at a
time, herded together by stress of weather or shortage of
food, that the number of strongyles will increase by geometri-
cal progression as the birds get more heavily infected, and
therefore increasingly able to foul the moor, it is not difficult
to realise, despite the countless thousands of larvae destroyed
by drought, mishap, heather-burning, etc., how the moor may
become more and more tainted, until at last every shoot of
heather bears the seeds of ' Grouse Disease.' "
The burning of the heather in regular and systematic
rotation is the best preventive to an outbreak of " Disease."
Given a sufficient food supply, the strongyle worms do not
seem to cause much inconvenience to Grouse which are
otherwise in good health. They are practically always
present, nor do their numbers appear to vary with the season
of the year. In fact, it is only when the numbers of the
invading host have become overwhelming that the specific
symptoms of " Disease " become outwardly conspicuous.
" Recent scientific investigation appears to indicate that
[in every form of infection] the power of resistance varies
directly with the health of the subject, and as far as the
Committee's investigation goes, the Grouse appears to be
no exception to the rule. Once allow the vitality or weight
to go below a certain recognised figure, then immediately
the strongyle worm appears to operate on the tissues of
38 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
the lining of the caeca. The caeca become inflamed, the
digestive process is no longer effective, the moult is delayed
so that the bird loses the fresh colour of its plumage, declines
in weight, and after a more or less protracted resistance,
eventually succumbs."
There is another disease which has been shown during
the course of this inquiry to be very fatal to the young of
Grouse, though not to the adult bird. Young Grouse are
subject, along with the young of many other birds, and
particularly of Partridges, to a form of enteritis due to the
presence in the alimentary canal of a microscopic, protozoan
parasite, called Eimeria {Coccidiutn) avium. When Grouse
or Partridges have laid well, and hatched out well, and
when the warmth and sunshine of a specially fine summer
have fostered the brightest hopes, it is often nevertheless
found, as every gamekeeper knows, that when August or
September comes round, the coveys have dwindled down to
two or three birds a piece, and that the process is still going
on. Coccidiosis is the cause.
The exceedingly intricate Life-history of this parasite —
the first time, it is believed, that the Life-history of an avian
coccidium has been worked out in detail — has been thoroughly
explored by Dr Fantham. Its methods of multiplication
include, first, a phase of " schizogony " or division within the
body of the host, and, subsequently, the formation by sexual
reproduction of resistant spores, which pass from the first
host and spread the infection to a new one. The whole
morphology is diagrammatically explained with the greatest
clearness ; and this chapter is one not only of great practical
importance, but of the highest scientific interest as well.
Dr Fantham's investigations into the predisposing causes
of the disease, as well as into any possible remedial measures,
were unfortunately incomplete when the Inquiry came to an
end, but valuable hints are given as to the employment of
catechu in artificial drinking supplies, as well as regarding
what may be called " sanitary " precautions that ought to be
taken wherever this is possible.
Interesting observations on the Blood of Grouse both in
health and in disease are made by Dr Fantham, who records
THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 39
the discovery by Drs Seligmann and Sambon of a new
Haemosporidian which has been named Leucocytozodn lovati.
This parasite is probably spread from Grouse to Grouse by
the Grouse Fly {Ornithomyia lagopodis). A few small
Spirochetes were also, for the first time, found in Grouse,
and were named Spirochceta lagopodis. But a passing
reference to the chapters on the minor parasites, illustrated
as they are by a series of beautiful coloured plates, is all
that can here be attempted.
Mr Grimshaw, of the Royal Scottish Museum, writes on
the subject of the Heather Beetle {Lochmcea suturalis). This
beetle is an important pest on grouse moors, and is entirely
responsible for the peculiar " foxy red " condition of heather
which is usually .described as " frosted." Samples of such
heather were sent to Mr Grimshaw for examination from all
parts of Scotland, and in practically every case a careful
search disclosed the presence of the beetle in, proportionately,
gigantic numbers. Many correspondents stated that acres
of their moors were rendered useless either for cattle and
sheep or for Grouse. Grouse do not indeed eat these
withered shoots, and there is therefore no direct connection
between the diseased state of the heather and " Grouse
Disease," but where the patches of injured heather extend
over a large area, a considerable shortage of food may result,
rendering the Grouse less fit to resist the attacks of parasites,
or to combat disease of any kind whatever.
A remedy is not easily found. Black game greedily
devour the beetle, but Grouse unfortunately do not. Burning
the affected areas would, no doubt, be effective, but the
beetle hibernates from about September until May, some
distance below the surface of the soil, and the burning would
therefore have to be done sometime between May and
September, at which season it is not generally practicable.
A satisfactory method of dealing with the pest has therefore
yet to be discovered.
In the Appendix volume will be found an interesting
series of maps, showing the incidence of disease in every
year since 1872; and this part of the Report contains also
careful analyses of the weather in each (meteorological)
4o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
district of the country, together with reports of the laying,
hatching, and health of the birds, throughout the whole of
each year within the period covered by the inquiry. Enough
has, however, been said to show that the Committee and the
scientific staff are most heartily to be congratulated on the
results of their investigations, as well as on the splendid
volumes in which their Report is contained.
A NEW SPIDER {LEPTYPHANTES
MORA TVS, N. SP.)
By the Rev. J. E. Hull, M.A.
Among the Spiders collected by me at Forres in August
1910, and recorded in the Annals of April 191 1, was a
Leptyphantes unknown to me. It was represented by a single
female taken among heather and pine needles in the Altyre
woods. This specimen escaped me when the original list
was compiled, having been misplaced among a large number
of Bolyphantes expunctus Cb., a species which it very closely
resembles in outward appearance. I have now recovered it,
and find it quite distinct from all our British species of
LeptypJiantes ; nor does it seem to have been met with
abroad. Of its congeners, it most nearly resembles L.
cristatus Menge and the continental L. niughi Fick., but
is rather smaller than either of them. I append a
description.
Leptyphantes moratus, n. sp.
Adult female: length, 2-6 mm. (cephalothorax i-o mm.,
abdomen i-8 mm.).
Cephalothorax yellow-brown, rather dusky, with a dark
margin. Upper eyes pretty large, equal, in- a straight line,
of which the middle interval is equal to an eye's diameter,
the lateral intervals rather less. Of the lower eyes the two
medians are prominent, standing well in front of the laterals
when viewed from above or from the side ; their diameter is
two-thirds of the laterals, about equal to the lateral interval,
the middle interval being slightly less. Clypeus very
A NEW SPIDER
4i
concave, its height just equal to that of the ocular area.
Length of the falces three times the height of the clypeus.
Fang-teeth normal, 3 outer, 5 inner ; the latter close together,
the basal tooth twice as large as the rest, which are equal.
Sternum dusky brown, smooth, not very convex.
Legs: order of length 1, 2, 4, 3 ; tibia, metatarsus, and
tarsus of the first pair, i-i, i-i, 07 mm. long respectively,
of the second pair 0-9, 09, 06 mm. Tibia i. with two long
dorsal spines, and two lateral spines, one before, one behind.
The anterior lateral spine is wanting on tibia ii. Tibia iii.
1. Cephalothorax, lateral view
Epigyne, lateral view.
Lepiyphantes moratus, n. sp.
Eyes, from above and in front.
Epigync.
and tibia iv. have no lateral spines. Femur i. with one
strong spine in front ; the other femora without spines. All
the metatarsi have a pretty strong dorsal spine. The palpus
has a long strong dorsal spine on the patella, and a similar
but shorter spine on the tibia ; many spines on the tarsus.
Abdomen very nearly as high as long (i-6 mm.), pallid
above with scattered cretaceous spots. The under side is a
uniform dusky grey, which extends slightly to the sides,
especially towards the hinder parts.
Epigynal fovea about as wide as long, occupying the
whole of the summit of a low mound with nearly vertical
sides. The forward half of the fovea is entirely masked by
2 F
42 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
a pallid hairy membrane, with a slight ridge along the
middle, which projects as a little lobe into the central sinus
of the hinder margin. The posterior half of the fovea is
completely filled with a transverse pale tubercle. From the
hinder margin of the fovea springs a little spathulate process,
nearly vertical, attaining the same height as the adjacent
tubercle.
One adult female, Altyre woods, Forres, August 1910.
Note.
The above species is to be added to my " List of Spiders
collected at Forres" {Annals of Scottish Nat. Hist., April
191 1 ), from which list the following names must be removed : —
Lycosa sp. n. (harrisonii, Hull). This spider proved to be simply
L. lugubris Walck.
Lycosa arenicola Cb. The spiders recorded under this name were
all females, and, apart from colour, I know of no character by
which they may be distinguished from L. arenicola Cb. I took
both sexes of this variety, however, on the Northumbrian coast
opposite Holy Island, in May 191 1, and found that though
strikingly different from typical Lycosa agricola Thor. in colora-
tion, they are in everything else identical with that species. I
have therefore given to this form the varietal name of maritime
{Trans. Northumberland, etc., Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. iv., p. 45).
NOTES
Badger in Lanarkshire. — A female badger was killed in June
191 t, by Thomas Corson, gamekeeper, on Cowhill farm, about four
miles E. of Crawford. — Hugh S. Gladstone, Capenoch, Thornhill,
Dumfriesshire.
Bird Notes from Berwickshire. — Coccothraustes
vulgaris. A pair of Hawfinches were frequently seen in my
garden in the town of Duns during last spring. They were feeding
on the kernels of wild-cherry stones, which were plentifully scattered
on the ground under a tree that had produced a large crop of fruit
the previous season. After this supply of food had been exhausted
the birds were not seen, but that they were still about was evident
from the havoc that was wrought all the summer amongst the peas.
NOTES 43
The hollies and other bushes in the garden were searched for a
nest, but no trace of one was found.
Gecinus viridis. — A Green Woodpecker was shot by Mr John
Barrie, gamekeeper, at Bonkyl, near Duns, in the autumn of the
year 1900. The bird was preserved, and it is now in the possession
of Mr J. Simpson, gamekeeper, Manderston. I have seen this
specimen and made inquiries about it, and found its authenticity
beyond question. There are very few reliable records for this
species as a visitor to Scotland. [Sir T. D. Gibson Carmichael
liberated several in Peeblesshire a number of years ago — Eds.]
Coturnix communis. — A Quail was shot at Whitehall, near Chirn-
side, on the 18th October last. It has been presented to the Royal
Scottish Museum. Phalaropus fulicarius. — A Grey Phalarope
was picked up under the wires of the telegraph beside the railway
near Greenlaw, in November 1906. It is now in the collection of
Mr T. Moffat, gamekeeper, Marchmont, by whom it was preserved.
The records of the Green-Woodpecker and the Grey-
Phalarope are not given in the recently published Fauna of the
Tweed Area. — T. G. Laidlaw, Duns.
Some Bird Notes from the Solway Area. — A Hooded
Crow, the first ever seen in the district, was shot near Monybuie,
Kirkcudbrightshire, about 17th October 191 1. A Hoopoe, so I am
informed by a gamekeeper, was seen near Carnsalloch, in December
1 910 — a very unusual, though not unprecedented, date for the local
appearance of this rare spring migrant to England. Early in
December 191 1, I was sent a young Pintail Duck which had
been shot on the shore below Glencaple, Dumfriesshire, and
another was shot about the same time near Dormont, Dalton. I
believe this species now visits the estuary of the Nith in annually
increasing numbers. — Hugh S. Gladstone, Capenoch, Thornhill.
Hawfinch in West Lothian. — On 21st June a young male
Hawfinch {Coccothraustes coccothraustes) was found alive in Dalmeny
Park, West Lothian, by Mr David M'Diarmid, head gamekeeper
to the Earl of Rosebery. The bird, which was not more than ten or
twelve days old, had evidently fallen from a nest not far off. Owing
to the density of the foliage the nest was not discovered until
December, when it was found by Mr W. Evans in a hawthorn tree
close to where the young bird was obtained. — Bruce Campbell,
Edinburgh.
The Continental Song-Thrush and Northern Willow-
Wren in Haddingtonshire. — As those of our readers who are
ornithologists are aware, Dr Hartert considers that native British
44 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Song-Thrushes, Robins, and Goldcrests are sufficiently different from
Continental ones to merit subspecific recognition. With the
object of ascertaining whether the East Lothian and Berwickshire
coast is visited by the Continental forms I have, through the
kindness of the light-keepers, had specimens of these species from
the Bass Rock, Barnsness, and St Abb's Head lighthouses. Of
half a dozen Song-Thrushes examined, only one is of the Continental
type (Dr Hartert has confirmed this) ; it was killed at the lantern of
Barnsness Lighthouse, Haddingtonshire, in the end of December
1 910, and was probably a winter visitor to the district. The
Goldcrests and Robins — obtained during the spring and autumn
migrations — are all, in Dr Hartert's opinion, British birds. Out of
a score of Goldcrests I have from time to time submitted to him
from these three lighthouses and the Isle of May, he regards only
one (a male I got on the May on 20th October last) as Continental,
while a Robin and two Song-Thrushes obtained along with it are
pronounced to be British. A marked migration, it should be said,
was in progress at the May on that day, including, besides the above
species, Redwings, Fieldfares, Bramblings, Grey Crows, Woodcock,
etc. The apparent rarity of Continental examples of these three
species on this coast is somewhat perplexing; and I cannot help
thinking that there must be some area on the Continent where birds
undistinguishable from ours are reared, and whence they visit us as
migrants and pass as natives.
A number of Willow-Wrens from the three lighthouses first
mentioned have also been examined. One (a male) from the Bass
on the night of 26th April 1909, must, Dr Hartert considers, be the
northern race (Phylloscopus trochilus eversmanni) ; though the
colour is a shade too dark, the wing characters are right.
When at Barnsness on 27th October last, I obtained an Eared or
Black-necked Grebe which had killed itself that morning by striking
the dome of the lighthouse. — William Evans, Edinburgh.
Little Bustard in Kincardineshire. — A fine specimen of
this rare bird (Otis tetrax) was shot on the farm of Gallaton, on
the estate of Barras, near Stonehaven, on 1st January 191 2. The
bird had been observed as a stranger frequenting a certain turnip
field on the farm for about a fortnight, but the gamekeeper could
not identify it. It was wary, and was only shot after considerable
manoeuvring. The bird, a male in winter plumage, has been set
up by Messrs Small & Son, George Street, Edinburgh. — Charles
Cook, Edinburgh.
[This is the seventh instance known to us of the occurrence of the
NOTES
45
Little Bustard in Scotland. The previous records are as follows :
near Montrose, in 1833; at St Andrews, on March 6, 1840; at
Halkirk, Caithness, in June 1848; near Elgin, on February 8, 1861 ;
and "Dee," Nov. 1873 and Dec. 1889.— Eds.]
Black-tailed Godwits and Green Sandpiper in Solway.
— As the Black-tailed Godwit {Limosa limosa) has rarely been
recorded from Solway, we heard with interest of four that had been
shot at Skinburness (Cumberland). One was procured about 27th
August 191 1, the rest on 30th August. A Green Sandpiper (Helo-
dromas ochropus) also occurred at the same place on the latter date.
We have to thank Mr Hugh Mackay, Royal Scottish Museum, for
bringing these records to our notice, and for obtaining permission
for us to publish them. — Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn
V. Baxter, Largo.
Whimbrel in "Forth" in Winter. — On 25th November
last (191 1), I was somewhat surprised to come upon a Whimbrel
(Nume?nus phceopi/s) on a rocky part of the coast about 2 miles
west of North Berwick. It was not at all shy, allowing me to
approach within 35 yards of it, when it flew away, uttering the
unmistakable call-notes. This is the only occasion on which I
have myself seen the Whimbrel here in winter ; but there is an old
record — in the Scots Magazine — of one found frozen to death on
Aberlady beach in November 1807; and Mr T. G. Laidlaw has
recorded in the Annals that two were seen on the coast of East
Lothian in February 1899. — William Evans, Edinburgh.
Whimbrel in December. — While shore-shooting at Aberlady
Bay, East Lothian, on 26th December 191 1, I obtained a Whimbrel
{Ninnenius phceopus), which was in good feather and showed no
signs of injury. I saw one at Aberlady in November, but I have
never seen one as late as 26th December. — R. Linton Ritchie,
Tranent.
Black Tern in East Lothian.— On 31st August 191 1 I had
the good fortune to obtain a specimen of the Black Tern (Hydro-
chelidon ?iigra) at Aberlady Bay in this county. The bird, which
was in good feather, was an immature female and quite alone. The
previous two or three days had been marked by fairly strong
westerly winds accompanied by rain.— R. Linton Ritchie, Tranent.
Orthoptera from the North of Scotland, 1911.— Col. J.
W. Yerbury was good enough to collect for me a box of insects,
belonging to various more or less neglected orders, while on a visit
to Inverness and Sutherland during the past summer. Amongst
them were a few Orthoptera. A male example of the Common
46 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Earwig (Forficula auricularid), taken at Spey Bridge on 31st August,
is the largest I have seen, though perhaps one might find a var.
forcipata whose total length was a little greater. This, however, is
a giant example of the ordinary type, the total length of the dry
specimen being 20-5 mm., the length of the callipers occupying
5 mm. out of that total. There were also two nymphs of the same
species found under stones and cow-dung near Glencanisp Lodge,
Lochinver, on 21st June; and two further nymphs taken by means
of the sweeping-net in a damp shady spot at Lochinver on nth July.
The remainder of the insects were Acridians (Short-horned Grass-
hoppers). Seven specimens of Omocestus viridulus were taken at
Nethy Bridge — one male on 30th July ; one male on 9th August ;
and one male and four females on nth August. Four Grasshopper
nymphs from Lochinver, taken on 1st, 4th, 12th, and 22 nd July, must
be assigned to Chorthippus parallelus. No less than eighteen
examples of Gomphocerus maculatus, which showed considerable
variety in colouring, were brought from Nethy Bridge. They were
captured, a male and a female on 9th August, five males and seven
females on nth August, two males and two females on 18th
August. Two examples of Tetrix bipunctatus complete the list.
One which is very dark, with pronotum extending a little beyond
the hind knees, was taken at Nethy Bridge on 9th August. A
specimen such as this always raises the hope that it may be Tetrix
fuliginosus, which should turn up in Scotland, but has not done so
yet. The other is of a more usual form, with broad yellowish band
along the middle of the pronotum. It was taken at Lochinver on
20th June. — W. J. Lucas, Kingston-on-Thames.
GLEANINGS.
We are glad to note from Native of 7th December (pp. 1 77-178), that the new
Bell-Pettigrew Museum of Natural History in the University of St Andrews has
now been completed, including the erection of cases in the great hall and the
furnishing of electric light throughout the building. The article to which we
refer gives an illustration of the front (facing west) and two plans, viz., ground and
first floor. The building, which is in English Renaissance style, covers an area of
about 130 feet by 75 feet. The University owes this important addition to its
buildings to the munificence of Mrs Petti grew, the widow of the well-known
Professor who was so long associated with the old museum.
Under the title of " A Good Stag from Ardnamurchan," a letter by Capt. Henry
V. Hart Davis, of Wardley Hall, Worsley, Lancashire, is printed in The Field for
16th December (p. 1349), accompanied by a photograph. The animal referred to
was shot in Ardnamurchan Forest on 30th September, and weighed (without heart
and liver) 22 st. 5 lb. The head was an "imperial," the antlers carrying 13
points and possessing remarkably well-defined cups, four on the left and three on
GLEANINGS 47
the right. The length of the right antler was 34 inches and of the left 33 inches,
while the greatest width outside was 40 inches.
From the Oologist for December 191 1 we quote the following : — " One passenger
pigeon ending her life at the Zoological Garden in Cincinnati, is all that remains
of an American species that early in the last century swarmed over the continent
in flocks numbering billions. . . . With the death of this sole survivor of a bird
tribe, whose resting-places often covered hundreds of square miles, there will soon
disappear the last trace of the wild pigeons that have been slaughtered by men
who fed their hogs upon the carcasses they could not carry away. . . . Sad as is
the passing of the passenger pigeon, its lesson may avert the extinction of other
valuable species."
We have been favoured by the author, Mr Hugh S. Gladstone, with a copy of
his "Addenda and Corrigenda to 'The Birds of Dumfriesshire,'" which formed
the subject of his Presidential Address to the Dumfriesshire and Galloway
Natural History and Antiquarian Society delivered on the 28th October last.
Forming a quarto pamphlet of 31 pages, this Address brings Mr Gladstone's
important contribution to the Avifauna of south-western Scotland up to date.
There is an interesting paper in the Glasgow Naturalist for November 191 1
(Vol. IV., No. i, p. 1), by R. W. S. and H. W. Wilson, on a visit paid by them to
a large Cormorant Rookery on Castle Loch, Wigtownshire. They reckoned
the population of the colony at about 300 pairs. To ascertain the number of
eggs laid each season the keeper marks them with an indelible pencil. On
21st May 191 1, four days prior to the authors' visit, the number marked amounted
to 900. The total marked in 1909 was 1467.
An Editorial note in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for December (p. 277), quotes the
descriptions of new Scottish forms of Erebia acthiops, Esp., Satyrus semele, L.
and Pararge inega:ra, L., published by Roger Verity in the Bulletin of the
Entomological Society of France (No. 15, Seance du 11 October 191 1).
Norman H. Joy records (Ent. Mo. Mag.y January 191 2, p. 12) the occurrence of
the beetle Ohphrum nicholsoni, Donisth., at Dahvhinnie, Inverness-shire. This species
is not only new to the Scottish fauna, but noteworthy from its having only been
taken hitherto at Wicken Fen. The insect is apterous, and regarded by the author
as abundantly distinct from its allies O.piceum and O.fuscum.
A paper of much importance to students of British Diptera is that by the
late G. H. Verrall entitled "Another Hundred New British Species of Diptera."
A bare list of the species was published in the April number of the Entomologist 's
Monthly Magazine, and the descriptive part commences in the January number. In
this instalment the following Scottish records may be noted : — Platyura humeralis,
Winn., Nairn ; Dixa nigra, Staeg., Nairn ; Tipula nodicornis, Mg., Nairn and
Nethy Bridge ; Rhamphomyia cidicina, Fall., Nairn ; Hilara diversipes, Strobl.,
Braemar ; and H. nitidula, Ztt., Nairn. Most of these records are due to the
collecting zeal of our friend Colonel J. W. Yerbury.
F. A. Bather {Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., Nov. 191 r, pp. 676 and 677) gives
particulars regarding the discovery and description of Pahrop/wmis caledonicus, the
type of which was unfortunately destroyed in the fire at the Kilmarnock Museum,
which took place a year or two ago. This species and P. nuncius, the type of
which is in the Swedish State Museum, are the only Scorpions known from
Silurian strata.
48 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
BOOK NOTICES.
Report on the Immigration of Summer Residents in the
Spring of 1910, also Notes on the Migratory Move-
ments during the Autumn of 1909, Bull. Brit. Orn.
Club., Vol. XXVIII. ; 6s. net.
Like its predecessors, this Report contains much valuable and
interesting information on migration. It deals with the arrival
of our summer residents in 1910, and also with the migratory
movements which occurred in the autumn of 1909. The spring
records refer mainly to England, but in the autumn section a
good many Scottish occurrences are noted, evidently taken from
the Annals of Scottish Natural History. Unfortunately in several
cases the dates have been misquoted; for instance, those for the
Yellow-browed Warblers on the Isle of May, given as 30th September
and 27th October, should read 2nd October and 27th September;
while the Fair Isle records of the same species should be between
28th September and 4th October, not 28th October and 4th
November. There are several other inaccuracies of the same
description; but otherwise this Report is quite up to the high
standard of those of the same series which have already been pub-
lished, and is worthy of being carefully studied. — E. V. B. and L. J. R.
Evolution, by Prof. J. A. Thomson and Prof. P. Geddes, pp. 256.
Williams & Norgate (Home University Library) ; is. net.
No study is more likely to bear rich fruit in the progress of
mankind than that of Evolution ; and in the neat little book are
contained the essentials for an introduction to that study. The
evidences of the eternal unfolding of plant and animal life, its
significance and its processes, are described with the utmost
conciseness and in the clearest of language. Nor is the evolution
of the Evolution Theory forgotten, for again we read of Darwin's
epoch-making investigations, and of the work of his predecessors
and successors, down even to the theories of Prof. Bergson.
The volume is characterised especially by its social standpoint;
and the suggestiveness of its treatment of the evolution of human
society need only be instanced by the remark, that the fine
independence and stability of the village and clan life of Scotland
or of Norway may be in great part due to close association and
inbreeding, enforced by the presence of mountain barriers. For
the general reader no more concise or more suggestive introduction
to the study of Evolution could be recommended. — J. R.
The Scottish Naturalist
No. 3] 1912 [March
NOTES ON THE PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF
SHEEP IN SCOTLAND.
By H. J. Elwes, F.R.S.
( Concluded from page 32.)
Manx Sheep.
Though not a Scotch breed, yet the aboriginal sheep of
the Isle of Man are so nearly allied to the Shetland breed,
that whatever their origin may be, I will describe them here.
So far as I know, no one had mentioned this breed until
Parkinson1 (vol. i., p. 252) speaks of them as the smallest
breed in Britain. He gives the average dead weight at 20 lbs.,
the maximum at 32 lbs. at three years old, and says that the
mutton is equal to any kind.
Youatt says that they are small on the hills, seldom
exceeding 8 or to lbs. a quarter, and producing a fleece of
short or middle wool, weighing 2h lbs. They bear much
resemblance to the Welsh sheep, and have most of their
peculiarities and bad points. They are narrow-chested,
narrow-backed, and deficient in the shoulders. They are
found both horned and polled, mostly of a white colour,
but some of them grey, and others of a peculiar snuff or
brown colour, termed on the island a loaghtan colour. This
colour, either covering the whole sheep or appearing in the
form of a patch on the neck, is considered as the peculiar
badge of the Isle of Man sheep. The spelling of this word,
according to Cregeen's Manx Dictionary, is lugJidoan, meaning
1 Parkinson on Live Stock, London, 18 10.
3 G
5o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
mouse-brown ; but Mr Bacon spells it according to the
pronunciation, loatyn.
A more detailed account of this breed is found in Miss
Gosset's work,1 most of it being communicated by Mr J. C.
Bacon of Santon, from whom I also have had much help and
valuable information, when I visited the island in 191 1.
It seems that the pure breed was gradually displaced by
Scotch and English breeds early in the last century, and
would perhaps have become extinct if it had not been
preserved first by an old farmer named Quirk, and later by
Colonel Anderson. Now there are only four small flocks on
the island, three of which Mr Bacon showed me. Colonel
Anderson, from whose stock most of Mr Bacon's originally
came, preferred the white colour, the faces tinged with
yellowish or dun, which was a common feature in the old
Manx breed ; but Mr Bacon as well as Mr Christian of Peel,
who has a few of these sheep, prefer the loaghtan colour, and
have bred for four horns, which are very well developed in
some of their rams. I have now a small flock selected in
the island, of which nine ewes and the old ram are loaghtan,
one black, and one white with a yellowish dun face.
The brown ewes are in colour very like the Shetland
moorit sheep, but larger, with a heavier and slightly coarser
fleece. They are also distinguished by a paler topknot of
wool, which in the lambs appears as a white cap. Several
of my lambs, which were born black and turn brown as the
wool grows, have a white tip to their tail.
The horns in the ewes are varied in form, some being
curled over at the top, and some curve outwards and back-
wards as in Black-faced ewes. This seems to be the best
type of horn in the female. I saw one ewe lamb with
four small but well-shaped horns. A ewe of this type is
figured by Miss Gosset, p. 65. In the rams the horns are,
so far as I saw, never of the Black-faced or Welsh type ;
but when there are four the upper ones stand high above
the head or curl outwards, the secondary horns curl down-
wards, and sometimes grow into the sheep's cheek, or so far
below his mouth that he cannot graze on short grass.
1 Shepherds of Britaift^ London, 191 1.
PRIMITIVE BREEDS OF SHEEP IN SCOTLAND 51
These sheep seem to be very hardy, and in their native
island live on the poorest hill-tops ; they are also great
jumpers, and often have their fore and hind leg tied together
on one side, in order to keep them in bounds. But with wire
fences, sheep or rabbit netting, I have had no trouble in
keeping them in small enclosures, where they soon become
tame.
The fleece of my young ewes, wintered on poor grass
only, in an English park, weighed 4 to 5 lbs. unwashed, and
was valued at about is. 6d. per pound.
Prof. R. Wallace1 gives an interesting account of the
result of crossing a brown four-horned Manx ram with
Black-faced ewes at Westown, Lanarkshire, by Mr J.
Greenshields, and figures the results of four successive crosses
on Plate cxxxix., and the fifth cross on the next plate. The
variation in the colour of the face and shape of the horns is
remarkable, but the prepotency of the horn character is
extraordinary, for though in the fourth cross the result was
like a pure Black-face except for the horns, yet even in the
fifth cross the horns were still four in number, and not the
least like those of a Black-faced tup in shape.
Keerie or Rocky Sheep of Caithness.
I first heard of the existence of an ancient race of sheep
on the cliffs of Duncansby Head in Caithness from Mr
Harvie-Brown, who saw a small flock of black, half-wild, and
very diminutive sheep which he called " Keeries," on this
remote spot about twenty years ago, though I can find no
mention of them in his Vertebrate Fauna of Sutherland and
Caithness. My further enquiries about them were unsuccess-
ful, until I had the good fortune to hear that Mr F. J. Sinclair
of Barrogill Castle had preserved a few of these sheep which
he calls " Rockies." I annex a precis of what he tells me
about them.
The Rocky sheep were first seen in 1890 on Duncansby
Head, Caithness. At that time there were several small lots
1 Farm Live Stock of Great Britain, ed. iv., p. 521 (1907).
52 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
owned in common by the neighbouring crofters, who said
they had been there a long time, but no one knew their
origin. He procured a ram (PL III., Fig. 3) and two ewes,
which soon increased. Average carcase weight in good con-
dition, 20 lbs. Tail quite short and hardly apparent. Wool
jet-black and short. Remained fertile to a great age ; a pair
kept from the rest had twins at ten years old. A Cheviot
ewe crossed with one of these sheep had a lamb with silver-
grey fleece, but no other effect was produced and no increase
of size. The next cross was a small black sheep said to have
come from Caithness and to be of the same breed. The
next cross was a four-horned " St Kilda " ram ; this had no
immediate effect ; in the next generation four horns appeared
in both sexes ; size and shape remained practically unaltered.
The next addition was a ram and two ewes of small black
sheep from the Orkneys, almost exactly like the Rockies ;
there were now twenty-eight in all, and the flock was kept
at this number for three years without any apparent change,
except in the horns ; some of the rams and ewes had four,
and some retained the original two horns. In 1906 they
were put into a large field where they had much more room ;
the effect of this was very good, both in the greater increase
and in the variation in the horns; the number jumped up
from about twenty-eight to forty-six. Since then there has
been no great increase. He then discusses the origin of
these sheep, which he supposes to be the remains of the
original breed of the country, and which Walker supposed
were introduced by the Norwegians in the ninth century, and
to have been isolated on these cliffs from the Cheviot and
Black-faced sheep, with which his flock have a disinclination
to breed. He thinks them to be a representative of Ovis
studeri, but, from the horns of the original ram (PL III.,
Fig. 3), Ewart believes the Rocky sheep are more intimately
related to a race of the Black-faced type than to one of the
Mouflon or Soay type.1
1 For the figures of the Soay ram (PL I. and PI. III., Fig. 2) and the
figure of the N. Ronaldshay ram (PL III., Fig. 1) the author is indebted
to Prof. Ewart.
BIRD NOTES FROM THE ISLE OF MAY IN 191 1 53
BIRD NOTES FROM THE ISLE OF MAY IN 191 1
By Evelyn V. Baxter, H.M.B.O.U., and Leonora Jeffrey
Rintoul, H.M.B.O.U.
By the kind permission of the Commissioners of Northern
Lights we were able to spend a month in spring and another
in autumn on the Isle of May in 191 1. We arrived on 27th
April, and found that a Wheatear, three Redstarts, all adult
males, four Willow-warblers, and a Brambling had been
killed at the lantern early on the 25th. After examining
these specimens we proceeded to make a round of the island
in search of migratory birds, and found a Fieldfare, a good
many Wheatears, a Greater Wheatear, two Willow-warblers,
several Wrens, a Skylark, a Carrion Crow, and a Snipe.
Next day a Goldcrest, a White Wagtail, and more Crows
were to be seen, while a Lesser Black-backed Gull had
arrived, and this species was present pretty constantly up to
26th May. Redshanks did not breed on the island ; a few
stayed till the end of April, and we saw two on 24th May.
On 29th April two Bramblings came in and a Wood-pigeon
appeared ; one or two of these last were seen nearly every
day till 26th May. On the night of 30th April a Redbreast
of the continental race was taken at the lantern ; this was the
only Redbreast seen during our spring visit. A Twite (an
addition to the island list) and a Swallow were seen on 1st
May, and that night there were a good many birds at the
lantern from 10 to 12 P.M. (S.W. fresh, rain); those identified
were Fieldfares, both races of Wheatears in numbers, Red-
starts, Willow-warblers, Golden Plover, Lapwings, Oyster-
catchers, and Dunlin. After 3.30 P.M. on 2nd May there
was an arrival of Whinchats, all males, Tree-pipits and
Skylarks, and the last Brambling was seen. The next two
days brought nothing of note, but on the 5th the first
Common Sandpiper arrived, and the passage of this species
lasted till the 16th. Small numbers of Swallows were
passing all morning on 6th May, and from midnight to
4 A.M. on the 7th there was a renewed arrival of Wheatears,
54 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Greater Wheatears, Redstarts, and Willow-warblers, and on
going out we found numbers of these species, as well as
Whinchats and Goldcrests, on the island, and Swallows and
two Sand-martins passed going north. A Cuckoo and a
Corncrake were also seen and heard. On the 8th May
(S.S.W.-S.S.E. light) the movement continued and, in
addition to the species that had arrived the day before,
Whitethroats and Sedge - warblers, Tree -pipits, House-
martins, and Lapwings came in. That night there was a
big rush to the lantern, which was at its best about 2 A.M.
(S.E. light), when numbers of birds were visible in the rays
as far as the eye could see. The great majority were
Willow-warblers, but there were also both races of Wheat-
ears, Whinchats, Redstarts, Goldcrests, and Meadow-pipits.
At the first hint of dawn the birds ceased coming to the
light, and a very few minutes after, none were visible from
the balcony. On sallying forth somewhat later we found the
island full of birds ; in addition to enormous numbers of
Willow-warblers and smaller quantities of the other species
seen at the lantern in the early morning, there were a
Nightingale {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 191 1, p. 132), White-
throats, Lesser Whitethroats, a Hedge-accentor, a White
Wagtail, two Swifts, and numbers of migratory Rock-pipits ;
these last were on passage when the Rock-pipits resident on
the island already had eggs. Evidence of the northward
movement of this species strikes us as being of interest, as
there seem to be few definite Scottish records of the spring
passage of the common Rock-pipit. Goldcrests procured in
this rush, as well as all the others got during our spring visit,
proved to be of the British sub-species. We saw Wrens
every day up to this date, when they left, to our regret, as
we hoped they might have nested. In the early morning of
the nth hardly a bird was to be seen, but between 11 A.M.
and mid-day Whinchats, a male Black Redstart, a Green-
finch, a Spotted Flycatcher, several Reed Buntings, and two
Red-backed Shrikes (S ? ) put in an appearance. Next day
more Reed Buntings arrived, and on the 13th (E.N.E. light)
a Missel-thrush, many Common WTheatears, Whinchats, Red-
starts, Whitethroats, and Willow-warblers, a Blackcap, a
BIRD NOTES FROM THE ISLE OF MAY IN 191 1 55
Siskin, and a Mealy Redpoll favoured us with a visit. The
only fresh immigrants of 14th May were another Mealy
Redpoll, some Reed Buntings and Tree-pipits, but next day
a lot of birds were in (W. very light) ; more Fieldfares, two
Ring Ouzels, Wheatears and Greater Wheatears, Whinchats,
Redstarts, Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats, a Blackcap, a
Garden-warbler, a lot of Willow-warblers, a Sedge-warbler,
two Mealy Redpolls, many Spotted Flycatchers, a good
many Swallows, some House-martins, and a Sand-martin
were to be seen. Some of these stayed for the next two
days, and on the 17th we had a fleeting visit from a beautiful
male Yellow Wagtail, an addition to the island list. Some
more Warblers, chiefly Sedge-warblers, arrived on the 18th;
next day all but one or two had passed on, and only small
numbers of our common migrants were seen till the 24th.
On this day there was a fresh arrival, the birds noted being
a Thrush (the only Thrush seen during our visit), Wheatears,
Greater Wheatears, Whitethroats, many Willow-warblers,
one or two Sedge-warblers, Spotted Flycatchers, Skylarks,
and a Cuckoo. Fieldfares had been on the island pretty
steadily since our arrival, but left on this day, and the last
Redwing passed on the 25th. On the 27th another rush of
Warblers took place (E. very light), a Garden-warbler, many
Whitethroats, Willow-warblers, and Sedge-warblers appeared,
as well as Whinchats, one or two Redstarts, a Spotted Fly-
catcher, Swallows, House-martins, a Linnet, Skylarks, a
Cuckoo, and a Corncrake. By next morning every Warbler
and most of the other birds had left, but we saw a Grey
Wagtail. On the 29th May, our last day on the island,
Wheatears and Greater Wheatears were still present, but all
had left by 1st June, as we were kindly informed by Mr
Evans. On the 29th we also saw a Whitethroat, a very
dilapidated Mealy Redpoll, and a Skylark, while on 1st
June Mr Evans records a Turtle-dove {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.,
191 1, p. 184), and next day he saw a Fieldfare, a 9 Redstart,
two Swallows, a House-martin, and some Swifts. Writh very
few exceptions, the birds on passage examined by us were
not nearly ready to breed ; even those procured as late as
27th May were obviously not just on the point of nesting.
56 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
We were interested to notice that many of the migrants
sang while on the island.
During a visit paid on 28th July we saw a Missel- thrush
and a Wheatear on the May ; while on 4th August a
Pochard was seen on the loch by Mr Evans, this being an
addition to the island list.
On 8th September we again took up our abode on this
fascinating isle of the sea. Thereafter we had a month of
varying northerly and westerly winds, and only small numbers
of birds. The only migrants on the island on our arrival
were a few Wheatears, a British Redbreast, and a Willow-
warbler. Next day some Greater Wheatears had arrived,
and we saw small numbers of both Saxicola cenanthe oenanthe
and 5. ce. leucorrhoa pretty regularly up to [st October. On
9th September there was a passage of Common Terns, and
the last of this species was seen on the 15th. White
Wagtails passed in very small numbers between 9th and
29th September. A few birds arrived on the 10th (S.S.E.
light); chief among these were a Barred Warbler and a few
Pied Flycatchers. A Whinchat had come in by evening,
the only other one seen this autumn being on the 23rd.
On 1 8th September a Pomatorhine Skua was seen over the
island ; it was very bold, swooping close over the heads of
two unoffending people who were taking their walks abroad.
It was seen again at the North Ness, and is a first record
for the island. On the 23rd a lot of Meadow- and Rock-
pipits, a Pied Flycatcher, Chaffinches, and Bramblings
arrived, and next day a good many Tree-pipits put in an
appearance. A Lapp Bunting was observed on the 28th (W.
strong), and on the 30th a good many Redwings, a Thrush,
a Ring Ouzel, some Hedge-accentors, and a Long-tailed
Duck were seen. Next day the first Wrens of the season
arrived, and on 2nd October a party of six Siskins appeared
about 6 A.M. and passed on almost immediately ; the last
Pied Flycatcher was also seen. A good many Long-tailed
Duck passed, going south, on the 3rd, and next day we saw
a Sooty Shearwater flying close off the south end of the
island. On the 5th a dozen Siskins arrived early and
hurried on almost immediately, and on 6th October we
BIRD NOTES FROM THE ISLE OF MAY IN 191 1 57
procured a Willow-warbler which proved to be PJiylloscopus
trochilus eversmanni. We saw small numbers of Goldcrests
from time to time during the month ; all procured were of the
British race, except one got at the lantern on the night of
29th September which was Regulus regulus regulus.
We were struck by the extreme scarcity of birds on the
May this autumn, even the commonest migrants were only
seen in ones and twos. For example, we only saw one
Whitethroat, one Redstart, two Whinchats, one Ring Ouzel,
two Spotted Flycatchers, very few Bramblings, and two
parties of Siskins, the weather conditions being consistently
unfavourable to the appearance of birds on passage. All
the birds were very wild, and hurried on much more quickly
than we have seen them do in former years. Soon after we
left the island there was a spell of east wind, and a rush took
place which was at its height from the 17th to the 21st
October. Thanks to the information sent us by Mr Evans
and Mr Baigrie, we are enabled to chronicle the species of
which it was composed. A Lapp Bunting was procured on
1 2th October and sent to us, and on the 17th there were a
few Thrushes and Starlings at the lantern, and a lot of
Goldcrests in the gardens. From midnight to daybreak on
the 1 8th there was a big rush of Redwings, and a few Black-
birds, Starlings, and Skylarks at the lantern, and this rush
was renewed next night, there being, however, fewer Red-
wings. A Woodchat Shrike was caught at the lantern early
on the 19th (see p. 10). Yellow Buntings and some
Woodcock are recorded on 18th October. Mr Evans spent
some hours of 20th and 21st October on the island, and we
are indebted to him for the following notes of the birds seen
by him there. A Missel-thrush at the lantern, many Song-
thrushes and Redwings all over the island, and in numbers
at the lantern from 9 to 1 1 P.M. Many Blackbirds, Goldcrests,
Starlings, Skylarks and Woodcock everywhere, and Skylarks
at the lantern. A WTheatear, some Redbreasts, a few Hedge-
accentors, a Wren, Pipits, twelve to twenty Greenfinches,
and about the same number of Linnets, a Siskin, Chaffinches,
Bramblings, a Grey Crow, a Long-eared Owl (which is new
to the list), and Snipe. Two Goldcrests procured in this
3 H
58 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
rush were of the continental form, but Thrushes and
Redbreasts from the same rush were British birds. Hedge-
accentors procured in autumn proved to be of the British
race ; in fact, all those got on the island by us have belonged
to this form (with the exception of one doubtful bird), thus
showing that our British Hedge-accentor is a partial
migrant. Most of the birds passed on immediately after
this ; but some Greenfinches, Chaffinches, and Linnets lingered
for a time, and a Water-rail killed itself on the wire and was
sent us on 8th November. On 15th November two Black-
caps ( $ $ ) were killed at the lantern, and there were Snow
Buntings on the island about this date.
We wish to express our most cordial thanks to the
Commissioners of Northern Lights for their continued
kindness in granting us permission to work on the island.
We are deeply grateful to them for all they have done
for us. To all our good friends on the island we owe
a debt of gratitude which we can never repay. Our special
thanks are due to Mr and Mrs Baigrie for all they
did for us while we were with them, and for birds and
notes sent after our departure. Mr and Mrs Ross, as
always, were most kind and hospitable, and we thank them
most heartily, and also Mr and Mrs Wilson, and all our
other friends for their many kindnesses. Mr William Evans
has kindly given us permission to use his ornithological
notes, which are incorporated in this article, and we thank
him very warmly for his generosity. We must also thank
Dr Hartert for his help in determining some of the racial
forms for us.
FRESHWATER RHIZOPODA FROM THE HEBRIDES, ETC. 59
FRESHWATER RHIZOPODA FROM THE
HEBRIDES, ORKNEY AND SHETLAND
ISLANDS, AND WESTERN SCOTLAND; WITH
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES.
By G. H. Wailes, F.L.S.
In 19 10 I received from H. B. Powell a gathering of
sphagnum from a grouse moor near Dumfries ; this and a
second gathering in 191 1 constituted the only material from
which the Dumfries list of Rhizopoda is compiled, hence the
absence of many common pond and lake species.
In the same year W. West, F.L.S. , kindly sent me a large
number of tubes containing material he had collected, when
investigating the algal flora of Scotland, from the following
localities : —
Orkney Islands} — Southern part of Pomona and the
northern part of Hoy, and plankton from Loch Kirbister.
Shetland Islands. — Bressay and Mainland, and plankton
from seven lochs.
Hebrides. — Lewis, Harris, North Uist, and Benbecula.
Sutherland. — Loch Shin and a mixed gathering from the
Scourie district.
Skye. — One gathering.
John 0' Groats. — One tube in which no Rhizopoda were
found.
In contrast to the Dumfries material these gatherings were
mostly from pools, lakes, etc., and consequently many sphag-
num-inhabiting species, which no doubt occur, were not found.
Owing to the material having been preserved it was not
possible to identify any of the Amcebina (the sphagnum from
Dumfries did not contain any); of the order Conchulina, 102
species and varieties were found. G. S. West in Ann. Scot.
Nat. Hist., 1905, gives lists of Rhizopoda from the above
islands, where all the species he enumerates were found ;
Nebela triangulata, var. bicomis (G. S. West), found by him
in Loch Shiel, was not seen by me in any of the plankton
1 A detailed account of the gatherings will be found in " Freshwater
Algas from the Orkneys and Shetlands," by W. and G. S. West, Trans.
Bot. Soc. Edin.x 1905.
6o
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
gatherings, but the lakes from which they were collected
were shallow and unsuited to that species.
SPECIES.
G.S.
Pen
enl
Amphitrema flavum (Archer)^ Pen.
stenostoma, Niisslin
vvrightianum, A rcher
Arcella artocrea, Leidy
catinus, Pen. .
discoides, Ehrenb. .
hemispherica, Perty
vulgaris, Ehrenb, .
var. gibbosa (Pen.")
Assulina muscorum, Greeff
seminulum, Leidy
var. scandinavica
Bullinula indica, Pen.
Campascus minutus, Pen. .
Centropyxis aculeata, Stein
var. ecornis, Leidy
var. discoides, Ehr
arcelloides, Pen.
Cochliopodium bilimbosum (Azver.")y Leidy
Corythion dubium, Taranek
pulchellum, Pen.
Cryptodifflugia oviformis, Pen. ,
sacculus, Pen. .
Cyphoderia ampulla (Ehrenb.), Leidy
var. vitroea, Wattes
trochus, var. amphoralis,
Diaphoropodon mobile, Archer .
Difflugia acuminata, Ehrenb.
var. inflata, Pen
arcula, Leidy
bacillariarum, Perty
var. elegans (Pen.~),
baciliifera, Pen. .
brevicolla, Cash .
constricta, Leidy .
globulus, Ehrenb.
lucida, Pen. .
manicata, Pen.
oblonga, Ehrenb. .
var. lacustris, Pen
oviformis, Cash
penardi, Hopk.
pristis, Pen.
pulex, Pen. .
subxqualis, Pen .
tuberculata, Archer
Euglypha alveolata, Duj. .
armata, Wattes (10) .
ciliata, Ehrenb. .
Wailes
West
Cash
FRESHWATER RHIZOPODA FROM THE HEBRIDES, ETC. 61
1
2
Q
4
5
6
SPECIES.
03
,-
03
'A
•a
T3
s
eg
°n
•o
0
"E
s
0
to
w
a
-a
t-l
o
*3
s
X
>>
X
*3
Euglypha compressa. Carter ....
X
cristata, Leidy ....
X
var. major, Wailes
X
filifera, Pen. ....
X
Ice vis, Perty
X
X
X
rotunda, Wailes (io) .
X
X
X
strigosa, Leidy ,
X
X
X
Heleopera petricola, Leidy .
y.
X
X
X
var. amethysta, Pen.
X
var. major, Cash
X
X
rosea, Pen
X
sordida, Pen.
X
sylvatica, Pen. .
X
:•:
•:
Hyalosphenia elegans, Leidy
X
X
ovalis, sp. nov. (see p. 6
4)
X
papilio, Leidy
X
sinuosa, Cash
X
subflava, Cash
X
Lesquerusia modesta, Rhumb. ,
X
X
X
spiralis, Putsch.
X
X
Nebela americana, Taranek
X
carinata (Archer), Leidy
X
X
collaris, Leidy
X
X
dentistoma, Pen. .
X
X
X
X
X
flabellulum, Leidy .
X
X
marginata, Pen,
X
X
militaris, Pen.
X
X
parvula, Cash
X
tenella, Pen. .
X
X
tincta {Leidy), Awer.
X
X
X
X
X
tubulata, Brown
X
X
tubulosa, Pen.
X
vitraea, Pen. .
X
Pamphagus granulatus, F. E. Shulze,
sp.
X
hyalinus, Ehrenb. ? sp.
X
X
Phryganella hemispherica, Pen. .
X
X
X
nidulus, Pen.
X
X
X
paradoxa, Pen.
X
X
X
Placocysta spinosa, Leidy ,
X
X
Pontigulasia compressa (Carter), Cast
1
X
X
X
X
Pseudochlamys patella, CI. et Lach.
X
Pseudodifflugia fascicularis, Pen.
X
fulva, Archer
X
gracilis, Schlumb.
X
X
Pyxidicula operculata, Archer .
X
Quadrula symmetrica, F. E. Schulze
X
X
Sphenoderia dentata, Pen. .
X
X
fissirostris, Pen.
X
X
X
X
lenta, Schl.
X
X
X
X
macrolepis, Leidy .
X
Trinema complanatum, Pen.
X
enchelys, Leidy .
X
X
X
X
X
lineare, Pen.
X
X
X
62 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
The lists of Rhizopoda here given, together with those of
J. M. Brown {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., October 191 1), enable a
general idea to be obtained of the distribution of the
Rhizopoda over the western portions of Scotland and the
adjoining islands ; these lists are very similar, showing a
general and fairly uniform distribution of species over the
whole area, wherever suitable habitats are to be found. A
few of the rarer may be restricted to certain areas, but these
areas are, as far as can be judged from existing records,
scattered over the British Isles. There is no evidence of
any group of species being peculiar to the Atlantic sea-
board.
In the islands individuals of the species recorded were
generally numerous and often above the usual size.
Arcella artocrea, Leidy.
Found only from Lewis. Not common in Great Britain, but
plentiful in the United States.
Arcella hemispherica, Perty.
Generally distributed over Great Britain ; it is classed by Cash
and Hopkinson (3) as a form of A. vulgaris. It is recorded from
Loch Ness (Penard).
Assulina seminulum, Leidy.
This species was found in large, fine specimens. At Dumfries
the size varied from 77-100 /x in length; in the Shetlands 100/x long
was an average size ; in the Hebrides it was less common.
Var. scandinavica, Penard.
In the Shetlands this variety was plentiful, generally colourless
and transparent, with regularly arranged oval scales ; the size varied
from 100-120^ long (6, 10).
Bullinula i/niica, Penard.
From Dumfries measuring about 190 by 160/x with an aperture
65 by 10 fx. This is larger than the average size of British speci-
mens (9, to).
Campascus minutus, Penard.
Only one individual was found, from N. Uist, Hebrides ; length,
57/x; breadth, 36 /x; thickness, 25 /x; aperture, 12 /x; collar, 16 fx.
It has only been recorded previously from Loch Ness and the Swiss
Lakes (Penard) (7).
FRESHWATER RHIZOPODA FROM THE HEBRIDES, ETC. 63
Cryptodifflugia sacculus, Penard.
This species was not uncommon in the Shetlands and Hebrides,
and was also found from Sutherland. Length, 21-32 //; breadth, 15-
26/x; neck, 9-16/x (6, 10).
Cyphoderia trochus, var. amphoralis, Wailes.
This species has been recently described (to) ; it has the form of
C. ampulla, but the test is composed of imbricated scales and not
of discs placed side by side. It is one of the commonest species of
Cyphoderia in the British Isles.
The individuals seen were of medium size, 100-T20/X long.
Cyphoderia ampulla (Ehrenb.), Leidy.
The specimens found were above the average size as a rule,
several from Loch Kirbister, Orkneys, ranging between 130-171 /x in
length (10).
C. ampulla, var. vitraea, Wailes (10).
Two small specimens of this variety were seen, one each from
Ncugles Water, Shetlands, and Loch Kirbister, Orkneys ; length,
87 fi and 60 /x; breadth, 35 fi and 3$/*; aperture, 13/x and 10 //. It
is characterised by having a clear transparent test with no visible
markings.
Difflugia oviformis. Cash (3).
These were generally under the size given by Cash, being
75-90 /x long; but this is, I think, the most usual size. In some of
the gatherings they were not uncommon. This species occurs in
India and the United States (10).
Difflugia subungualis, Penard (8).
A number of Difflugise were found, which although not typical
could only be referred to this species. Penard in his description of
this species {Revue Suisse de Z00L, 1910, p. 932) states that the
diameter generally exceeds the length, owing to the large aperture;
the young individuals are light in colour, becoming brown with age.
The ones I found were about equal in diameter and length, owing
to the aperture being somewhat smaller than in the type, and the
colour was never brown. Length, 68-84 /x; diameter 68-80 /x;
aperture, 42-60 /x.
Eaglypha crista fa, var. major, W7ailes (10).
E. cristata was found only from Loch Kirbister, Orkneys; in
addition to the small typical individuals large spineless forms were
found ; similar ones were subsequently found on Inishbofin, Ireland,
6+
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
and named var. major ; on Inishbofin some of these were furnished
with either one or two long spines very different from the tuft of
spines borne by E. cristata, Leidy. Length, 70-76 /a; diameter, 20/x;
aperture, 10 /x. Similar individuals (but smaller, 65 \x long) occur in
the United States.
Hyalosphenia ova/is, sp. nov., fig. 1.
Description. — Test large, pyriform compressed ; crown furnished
with two to twelve pores and bordered by a keel-like ridge ; sides
near aperture similarly compressed. Plasma and pseudopoda
normal.
Dimensions. — Length, 153-177 //. Breadth, 130-140 /x. Aperture,
5o-56 /*•
Fig. 1.
Habitat— Sphagnum.
Distribution. — Dumfries, Scotland. Kerry, Ireland.
Distinguishing features. — This species only resembles H.
papilio, but is easily distinguished by its much larger size, pyriform
outline in broad view, and by the keel-like ridge in narrow view.
Pseudodifflugia fascicuhiris, Penard.
One or two individuals were found in material from near
Tarbert, Hebrides, about 32/* long. It occurs in Bedfordshire, and
was found in the Clare Island district, Ireland (6).
Sphenoderia maero/epis, Leidy.
This species is rare in Great Britain. I have seen a few
individuals (some active) from Isle of Wight ; Haldon Moor,
NOTES 65
Devon; Bettwys-y-coed, N. Wales; Clare Island district and
Kerry, Ireland. It was found at Stranraer (Wigtownshire) by J.
M. Brown (1) (2).
First described by Leidy from the United States, but it is not at
all common there. I found only a few specimens in numerous
gatherings of sphagnum from New Jersey and Long Island, N.Y.
Literature.
1. BROWN, J. Wl.—Journ. Linn. Soc. Zoo/., Vol. XXXII., 191 1, "Observations
on Some New and Little Known Rhizopods."
2. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1911, "A Contribution to our Knowledge of
the Freshwater Rhizopoda and Heliozoa of Scotland."
3. CASH, J., and J. HopkinSON.— Ray Soc., 1905 and 1908, "The British
Freshwater Rhizopoda and Heliozoa, Vols. I. and II.
4. EVANS, W._ Roy. Rhys. Soc, Edin., 1906, "On the Fauna of the Forth
Area."
5. Murray, J. — Proc. Roy. Soc, Ed in., Vol. XXV., 1905, p. 609, "The
Rhizopods and Heliozoa of Loch Ness."
6. Penard, E. — Fanne Rhizopodique du Bassin du Lc'man, Geneva, 1 902.
7. Proc. Roy. Soc, Edin., Vol. XXV., Part 8, 1905, " Sarcodines du
Loch Ness."
8. Revue Suisse du Zoo!., 1910, " Rhizopodes nouveaux."
9. British Antarctic Exped., 1907-9, Reports, Vol. I., Part 6. "Rhizo-
podes d'eau douce," 191 1.
10. Wailes, G. H., and E. Penard. — Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., Vol. XXXI.,
191 1. Clare Is/and Survey, Part 65, Rhizopoda.
11. WEST, G. S.—linn. Soc. Journ. Zoo!., Vol. XXVIII., 1 90 1, "On some
British Freshwater Rhizopoda and Heliozoa."
12. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1905, p. 91, "Notes on some Scottish Fresh-
water Rhizopoda and Heliozoa."
NOTES.
The presence of Functional Teeth in the Upper Jaw of
the Sperm Whale. — It seems to be generally agreed that one of
the characteristics of the Family Physeteridae is the presence of
functional teeth only in the lower jaw, and "the total absence of
any functional teeth in the upper jaw," but it is well known that
in the latter there occur teeth embedded in the gums which do not
reach the surface. During the whaling season of 191 1 nineteen
Sperm Whales {Physeter macrocephalus), all of them bulls, were
captured by the Bunaveneader Whaling Company, in the
vicinity of Rockall. While on a short visit to Bunaveneader in
September, I had the opportunity of examining six of these
specimens at the whaling station, and in one I was surprised to
3 1
66 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
find, visible in the upper jaw, a row of small teeth. The teeth
protruded above the level of the gum' for rather less than half an inch,
and exhibited in plan an almost square section lying close to one of
the cavities into which a tooth of the lower jaw had fitted. Seen in
elevation the teeth showed a flat crown, slightly hollowed in the
middle. The exposed part of the tooth was quite unlike the
sharp tips of the rudimentary maxillary teeth of the Sperm Whale
described and figured by Sir William Turner in Ann. Scot. Nat.
Hist., 1904, p. 7., pi. i. ; and the fact that the crown was flattened
and polished, apparently by friction, indicates that in this case the
maxillary teeth were functional. That the use of such teeth is not
to be considered altogether abnormal is shown by a statement made
to me by Mr Carl F. Herlofson, that he had on previous occasions
observed teeth protruding from the upper jaw of Sperm Whales. —
A. J. H. Edwards, Royal Scottish Museum.
Greater Wheatear in Argyll.— In the Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.
for July last, page 137, it is stated that the Greenland or Greater
Wheatear (Saxicola cenanthe leucorrhoa) was recorded for the
first time in 19 10, from Argyll. As I reported in the migration
schedules their appearance in Mull both in the spring and autumn
for some years back, the statement needs correction. I am certain,
also, that I mentioned a habit this variety has of perching on high
trees, and I now find that Booth in his " Rough Notes " has
drawn attention to this peculiarity. In their passage northwards
through Mull they were always observed by me in pairs (male and
female). They pass southwards through Iona in September in
considerable numbers. — D. Macdonald, Glasg-
ow.
The Shore-Lark and other Birds on the Haddingtonshire
Coast. — Though records of the Shore-Lark (Otocorys alpcstris)
in Scotland have not now the novelty they once had, it may,
nevertheless, be worth mentioning that on 14th November last
(191 1) I met with a party of eight on the coast, about two miles
west of North Berwick. They were close up to the foot of the
sandhills, running about in search of food among withered tufts of
the prickly saltwort. At first they were rather shy, flying off along
the beach for a couple of hundred yards or so while one was still
at a safe distance ; but they soon became less timid, allowing me to
watch them time and again within forty to fifty yards. They were
very silent birds, and only once could I say that I heard a note come
from any of them. They were subsequently met with in the same
place twice in December and once in January.
NOTES 67
Great numbers of Snow-Buntings arrived on the coast about the
same time. On the 16th November, Mr D. Bruce, Dunbar, took
me to see a flock of 500 or 600 on a stubble-field near there; and
the same day I met with a flock of 20 to 30 at the mouth of
the Tyne, with which I believe there was a Lapland Bunting, but
the weather was very stormy at the time, the birds being in
consequence very restless and difficult to observe properly. A small
gull on the sands was probably a Little Gull, and a Greenshank
flew twice past me. — William Evans, Edinburgh.
Continental Race of the Redbreast in East Ross. — It
may be of interest to record that on the 16th September 1911 I
secured four continental Robins (Erithacus rubecula ru been la) by the
shore, to the south of Tarbatness Lighthouse. The coast just here
faces due east : the robins (all males) were flitting about the rocks
and debris by the shore at the foot of the cliffs, and were dis-
tinctly wild. Weather fine; wind light, west. — Annie C. Jackson,
Swordale.
Honey-Buzzard reported from Wigtownshire. — I regret
to say that I have been misinformed about the Honey-Buzzard
reported by me in the January number, page 15, as having been
taken at Dunragit. I did not see the bird, but, having inquired
about certain features thereof, they seemed to me to indicate Pertiis
apivorus. It is now in the Zoological Gardens of London, whence
W. Seth-Smith reports — " It was only after it had been put out
into an aviary that I saw that it was merely a pale variety of the
Common Buzzard." The Common Buzzard breeds regularly in the
Galloway Hills. — Herbert Maxwell, Monreith.
Bittern at Oban. — It may interest the readers of the Scottish
Naturalist to learn that a Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) was found
dead on the 17th January, on the Railway Pier here, probably
having flown against some obstruction which caused its death. —
Cecil H. Bisshopp, Oban.
Occurrence of the Black-necked Grebe on the Cromarty
Firth. — On 2nd January 191 1 a Black-necked Grebe {Podieipes
nigricollis) was shot in the Cromarty Firth, and the skin came into
my possession. Unfortunately the sex of the bird was not
determined by the skinner. I had seen the grebe cruising about a
day or two before, but at such a distance from the shore that
rendered identification impossible. The weather at the time was
open, and the prevailing winds west, north-west to north. — Annie
C. Jackson, Swordale.
68 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Tadpole -fish in Largo Bay, Firth of Forth.— On 3rd
January 191 2 we picked up a Tadpole-fish {Raniceps raninus —
trifurcatus), lying on the sands in Largo Bay. This species does
not seem to be very common in the Firth of Forth. Writing in
1838, Parnell records it from "the neighbourhood of Alloa" {Fishes
of the Firth of Forth, p. 361), and Mr W. Evans notes one from
South Queensferry in 1884, and another from North Berwick in 1908
{Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc, vol. xvii., p. 58). We sent our specimen to
Mr Eagle Clarke, who confirmed our identification. — Leonora
Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter.
What is the Cellularia bassani of Montagu? — Having
been asked this question on several occasions recently, I am induced
to publish the following jottings on the subject, made three or four
years ago.
In 1808, Montagu described under the name Cellularia bassani
a small parasite which he found in the subcutaneous cellular
membrane of gannets {Pelecanus {Sula) bassanus) captured, one
gathers, in the English Channel. The description, with figures,
was published in the Memoirs of the Wemerian Nat. Hist. Society,
vol. i. (1811), p. 191. Apparently this organism has seldom been
seen since its discovery. Dr R. G. Cunningham, in his well-known
treatise on the Gannet {Ibis for 1886), states that though he had
looked for it with care, he had not succeeded in meeting with it.
Mr J. H. Gurney, however, informs me he has found it, but only in
one instance— on a gannet from Ailsa Craig — out of six or seven
birds examined. Since becoming interested in the subject, I have
but once had an opportunity of looking for the creature, and then
unsuccessfully. As a generic name, Cellularia, it should here be
mentioned, was given by Pallas in 1766 to a genus of marine
Polyzoa, thus barring its use in the case of the gannet parasite.
An organism very similar to Montagu's, known as Hypoderas,
or Hypodectes columbce, from the domestic pigeon, has been studied
by C. Robertson (Quart. Journ. Micr. Soc, 1866, p. 201), Megnin
(journ. Anat. et Physiol, 1877 and 1879), and others. Robertson
alludes to the close resemblance of Montagu's Cellularia bassani
to this, and any one who compares the figures of the two must be
struck by their similarity. Megnin found Hypodectes columbce to be
a hypopial stage of an Analgesid or bird mite, Pterolichus (now
Falculifcr) rostratus, Buchholz. Now, the only Analgesid that
appears to have been recorded from the gannet is Freyana (subgen.
Michaclia) caput-medusoz, Trouessart (see new edition of Naumann's
JVaturgeschichte der Vogel Mittclcuropas, and Canestrini's Sarcoptidie
BOOK NOTICES 69
in Das Tierreich). It seems, therefore, highly probable that
Montagu's Cellularia bassani — a name which, by the way, one looks
for in vain in Canestrini's work — is a hypopial stage of this mite.
Probably the best time to look for the hypopus would be the
gannet's moulting season, this subcutaneous stage of the mite being
possibly a provision against being thrown off with the feathers. —
William Evans, Edinburgh.
The Common Spoon-Worm, Echiurus pallasii, on the
coast of Aberdeenshire. — The damage caused amongst littoral
marine organisms by the recent storm brings to mind similar
devastation caused some years ago by a strong and continuous
north-easterly gale. After the storm I visited, on the 19th November
1905, the exposed stretch of sand which lies to the north of Don-
mouth in Aberdeenshire, and amongst much sea-wrack at high-tide
mark, I was surprised to find small, flattened, ochre-yellow bodies
wriggling upon the sand. These turned out to be the spoon-like
proboscides of specimens of the Gephyrean worm Echiurus pallasii ',
Guerin Meneville, which lay strewn in hundreds, or more probably
thousands, upon the lower reaches of the beach. The "worm"
apparently lives in abundance in the soft sand of Aberdeen Bay
about low-tide mark, although disturbance by the storm was required
to reveal its presence. The species occurs in the North Sea, the
English Channel, the Sound, North Atlantic, and in Christiania Fjord,
but Scottish records are wofully sparse. Dr Thomas Scott has
found it in the stomachs of fishes caught by trawl-net in the Firth of
Forth, and has occasionally taken it in St Andrews Bay ; and Prof.
W. C. MTntosh records that it is "abundant amongst the debris, on
the West Sands [of St Andrews] after storms," the place where Prof.
Edward Forbes found the first British specimen in 1840. The
Aberdeen specimen before me, which, preserved in alcohol, is of a
yellow ochre colour much paler than it originally was, differs from
typical specimens in possessing eight bristles in each of the two rings,
one more than is normal in the posterior ring. — James Ritchie,
Royal Scottish Museum.
BOOK NOTICES.
A Naturalist on Desert Islands, by Percy R. Lowe, B.A., M.B.
London : Witherby & Co. Price 7s. 6d.
Books relating to the exploration of little-known islands
have a charm of their own, more especially to those interested in
natural history. Dr Lowe gives us in this welcome volume a graphic
7o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
account of his visits to a number of islands in the Caribbean Sea
and Gulf of Mexico, and proves himself to be an accurate observer,
possessed of wide sympathies and a facile pen. He tells us much
regarding the various forms of life, from rats, birds, and land-crabs to
the living glories observable amid the coral reefs. The fishes of the
seas traversed also come in for much notice, and many remarkable
and rare species were captured. The volume well deserves a place
in the library of those interested in travel and natural history, and
is well and abundantly illustrated.
The Home-Life of the Osprev, Photographed and Described,
by Clinton G. Abbott, B.A., with thirty-two Mounted Plates.
London : Witherby & Co. Price 6s. net.
The home-life of the Osprey has a great, but now, alas,
melancholy interest for Scottish naturalists. Mr Abbott's wonderful
pictures have been taken in America, where some of the haunts of
the bird are very different from those we were once familiar with in
Scotland. There we find nests (depicted) on the seashore, and even
on telegraph poles by the side of a railway ! The pictures give us
all that is claimed for them, namely, peeps into the vie intime of this
fine bird from the egg to the flight of the full-fledged young ; and
there are also a number of pictures of the birds in various attitudes
of flight, alighting on the nest, feeding the young, etc. The letter-
press is suited to the pictures, and is of much merit. — G. G.-M.
The Life and Love of the Insect, by J. H. Fabre. Translated
by A. T. de Mattos. London : Adam & Charles Black,
1911. Price 5s. net.
This charming book reads more like a fairy tale than a series of
scientific essays. Written in a fascinating style, the work deserves
to be read for the sake of its literary merit alone, but when the
habits of the insects described are also taken into consideration,
the eighteen chapters form an altogether delightful volume. The
first four, on the Sacred Beetle, and the two last, on the Languedocian
Scorpion, appear to us the most interesting, but they are all full of
charm. The language throughout is poetical and beautiful, with a
strong personal element, while the absence of technicalities renders
the book singularly attractive. We can cordially recommend it to
our readers.
GLEANINGS 71
GLEANINGS.
Edward Meyrick, in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for February (pp. 32-36), contributes
a paper which raises an important question. He draws attention to a large number
of specific names proposed by an American lepidopterist for new species of Tortricina
— names of so absurd a construction that our present author renames them all !
Now which names are to be accepted ? We cordially agree with everything that
Mr Meyrick says, yet under the strict rules of present-day nomenclature we
fear that the earlier names must stand. To realise their absurdity the lists given in
the present paper must be consulted. We do think that some check ought to be
put upon the vagaries of the species-describer, when he endeavours to be too
original. If the example of this American be followed there can be no limit to the
use of gibberish, and the choice of names for new species will become a farce, to
say nothing of the difficulty of remembering arbitrary and meaningless combina-
tions of letters. Against such a method of christening quite reasonable arguments
might be advanced in support of the use of numerals. Papilla 1245 or Car alms 379,
if the species be numbered in the order of discovery, would certainly tell us
something, whereas such names as Eucosma uomonana, vovana, and hohana (and so
on ad. lib.'), can only serve as a butt for ridicule.
In The Field for 6th January (p. 49) appears an interesting article on " The
Scottish Wild Cat," from the pen of R. I. Pocock, the able superintendent
of the Zoological Gardens, London. Portraits are given of the Scottish Cat, and
of the Burmese Jungle Cat, with which our native species is compared. Reference
is made to a young female recently purchased for the Gardens from an Inverness-
shire gamekeeper. The correct scientific name of this interesting Scottish animal
is stated to be Felts sylvestris, since it has been clearly shown that the name of
calus was applied by Linnceus in the first instance to the domestic blotched or
marbled tabby.
From British Birds (vol. v.), we note the following: — A specimen of the
American form of the Peregrine [Falco peregrinus anatuui), new to Britain, was
caught on 28th September 1910, in nets used for catching Plover, at Humberstone
on the Lincolnshire coast, and is recorded by Mr Caton Haigh (p. 219). A bird
which was shot near Market Boswoith, Leicestershire, by Mr Whitaker, on
31st October 1891, also belongs to this form. A male Bulwer's Petrel (Bulueria
bulweri) — a very rare wanderer to our coasts — was picked up on the shore at
Pevensey, Sussex, during a gale on 24th October 191 1 (recorded by H. W.
Ford-Lindsay, p. 198). Several other Slender-billed Nutcrackers (A'ucifraga
macro rhynchus) are recorded (pp. 191 and 225). A male Collared Flycatcher
{Muscicapa collaris') was shot at Udimore Lane, near Winchelsea, on 12th May
191 1, and another at the same place next day (J. B. Nichols, p. 238). H. W.
Ford-Lindsay records (p. 247) six Ferruginous Ducks (Fuligula nyroca) from
Crowhurst, and (p. 253) a Little Dusky Shearwater {Puffinus godmani) picked up
dead on the shore near St Leonards-on-Sea. A Madeiran P'ork-tailed Petrel
(Oceanodroma castrd) is reported by P. W. Munn (p. 252) as picked up dead on
the beach at Milford, Hampshire.
An interesting paper on the first stages of Sitaris muralis, Forst., and Metoecus
paradoxus, L., accompanied by three instructive photographic plates, is given by
Dr T. A. Chapman in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for February (pp. 29-32). Interest in
72 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
these curious beetles has been recently revived by the discovery of S. muralis in
some abundance at Oxford.
Thirty-four species of Coleoptera, including Lesteva luctuosa, Fauv. (new to
Britain), are recorded from the Isle of Eigg, by H. St J. K. Donisthorpe, in the
Entomologist's Record Tor January (pp. 13-14).
G. C. Champion, in the Ent. Mo. Mag. (February, p. 44), calls attention to a
new species of Omalium described recently by G. Luze under the name of
grandiloqua, from Scottish specimens taken by Norman H. Joy. Hitherto this
beetle has been known to British Coleopterists as 0. brevicorne, Er.
Norman H. Joy describes (Ent. Mo. Mag., February, p. 44), a new variety of
Bledius arenarius under the name of fergussoni. The specimens were taken by
Anderson Fergusson, at Knoweside, Ayrshire.
Students of our British Wasps will find an interesting account of some
observations on Vespa germanica by Marion Black-Hawkins in the Zoologist for
December (pp. 457-463). The observations covered the period from 10th July to
7th September of the past summer, and many interesting facts relative to the
feeding of the larvae by the workers are recorded.
"Myrmecophilous Notes for 1911" is the title of an interesting paper by
H. St J. K. Donisthorpe, which commences in the January number of the
Entomologist's Record (pp. 4-10). The author's observations for the past year are
summarised, and include numerous Scottish records. Myrmica sulcinodis, M.
la?vinodis, M. scabrinodis, M. lobicornis, Leptothorax acervorum, Lasius fiavus,
Formica fusca, F. rufa and its varieties alpina and pratensis, F. sanguinea, and
F. exsecta are also mentioned in this instalment of the paper as having been taken
in Scottish localities, notably Loch Rannoch, Aviemore, Nethy Bridge, and
Tobermory.
The Caddis-Fly Limnophilus subcentralis, Brauer, is recorded by J. J. F. X.
King {Ent. Mo. Mag., 1911, p. 46), from Aviemore, Kinardochie Loch,
(Perthshire), Loch Awe, and Nethy Bridge. Both sexes were taken in the last-
mentioned locality during last August.
E. W. Sexton (Proc. Zool. Soc, 191 1, pp. 561-594, and pis. xvii.-xix.) gives a
full account of the known species of the Amphipod Genus Leptocheirus, with
careful descriptions, drawings of details, and full bibliography. Three species
are recorded from British waters, of which one, L. pectinalus, is recorded for
Shetland.
Pisidium lilljeborgi, Clessin, is recorded by J. R. le B. Tomlin (Journal of
Conchology, January 1 91 2, p. 273) from the Isle of Skye. This record is an
addition to the fauna of the island and vice-county.
In an interesting paper in Trans. Biol. Soc. Liverpool, vol. xxv., 1911,
Prof. W. A. Herdman and W. Riddell show that, notwithstanding the proximity
of the two areas, there are considerable differences between the floating
organisms of the Irish Sea and those of the west coast of Scotland. This is seen
especially in the lengthening out of the diatom spring period, which reaches its
maximum of fertility in May in the Irish Sea, but continues until July in western
Scottish waters. Differences also occur in distribution, for on our west coast the
animal plankton differs much from area to area at the same time of year, and yet
year after year each locality appears to exhibit at any definite season a constancy
in the character of its floating fauna.
f* -v ^'
LIBRARY!
The Scottish Naturalis
No. 4.] 1912 [April
ON THE STORM OF JANUARY, 1912, IN THE
BAY OF ST ANDREWS.
By Prof. W. C. M'lNTOSH, F.R.S.
The recent storm, with a south-east wind, on the East
Coast was fully felt in the Bay of St Andrews from the
1 6th January onward, and the vast masses of organisms,
living and dead, thrown on the west sands formed a source
of deep interest for a week. The debris extended from the
Club to the Eden, and in some places was nearly knee-deep,
with a breadth from high-water mark seawards here and
there of a hundred yards. The mass was chiefly composed
of the empty tubes of the common Terebellid [Lanice
eoucliilega), and vast numbers of the common heart urchin
filled with sand, intermingled throughout its entire extent
with numerous bivalve and univalve shells, the former,
however, being the most conspicuous, and including thousands
of Cyprina, Lutraria, Mya truneata, Cardium eckinaium^ swarms
of Venus exoleta, V. I in eta, V. faseiata, Luein apsis 11 n data,
Tellina balthica, T. tennis, T. fabula, Donax vittatus, Mactra
solida in great profusion, along with M. subtnineata and M.
stultorum. The genus So/en was everywhere conspicuous,
viz., S. pellueidus, S. ensis, and 5. siliqua. The boring forms,
such as ZirpJuza crispata and Saxicava, were apparently
absent. There were comparatively few Anomiee, common
cockles and mussels, Psammobiee, Scrobicularite, and Tlwaciee.
The most conspicuous univalves were Buccinum, Patella,
Trochus cinerarius, Lit tori nee, Natiea catena, and N. alderi,
4 K
74 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Aporrhais, Fusus antiquus. No spawn of Buccinum undatum
was visible.
A few examples of Eledone ci?Tosa represented the Cuttle-
fishes.
Mingled in great numbers with the debris, or stretched
in hundreds on the sand, were swarms of Opliioglyplia
lacertosa, which forms a favourite food of the gulls. A few
examples of Solas ter papposus, S. endeca, and Astropecten also
occurred ; but Asterias rubens was not common, nor were
there many examples of Ecliinus esculeiitas, and scarcely
a Holothurian.
One of the most striking features was the great abun-
dance of the gigantic annelid Alitta virens (the "rigger" of
the fishermen), which literally would have filled carts, and
as it was, the fishermen scooped them up with their hands
and placed them in sacks for bait. This fine form is often
three feet in length, and probably stretches more in life, and
is beautifully tinted of an iridescent bluish green variegated
with the red blood-vessels on the leaf-like dorsal cirri. The
under surface is of a pinkish fawn colour, and the whole
animal is at once graceful and lively in movement. It
is an epitokous condition of a species which occurs in con-
siderable numbers near the pole-rock at the southern limit
of the west sands, yet it must abound in other parts of the
bay if not beyond it, such as near the Bell Rock. These
annelids make valuable bait for both round and flat fishes,
just as Nereis cnltrifera does in the Channel Islands and the
southern shores. The men place the latter in porcelain
vessels with sand, and thus preserve them for some days.
Alitta was in greatest abundance beyond the salmon-stake
nets and towards the Eden, and hundreds sheltered them-
selves by boring in the sand. In former years the epitokous
examples were found somewhat later, viz., in April and May,
so that the reproductive season, as in other annelids, extends
over a considerable period. Besides the foregoing annelids,
a few examples of Lag-is koreni, Clwtic infundibulum, Poly-
noids, Sigalion mathildce, and Nerine foliosa were obtained.
Of other Polychaeta, the lobworm {Arenicola marina), and
NepJitliys, the rag-worm, were abundant, so that they might
ON THE STORM IN THE BAY OF ST ANDREWS 75
have been lifted with a fork for nearly a mile ; and there
were, besides, a few Terebellids (chiefly Lanice), and many
examples of Ophelia limacina, the soft purplish pink of which
is so easily noticed amongst the debris. It is occasionally
stranded in thousands. Sea-mice (Aphrodita aculeatd) were
in profusion, though less abundant than after certain storms,
which strew the beach with millions.
Spoon-worms {Echiurus pallasii) were in large numbers
chiefly towards the Eden, and no form is more characteristic
of St Andrews Bay ; for though Pallas first found it on the
beach at Ostend, recent investigators, even at Naples, have to
apply to St Andrews for good examples. Swept from their
haunts in the sand they lie inert on the beach, and the
proboscis in many is absent. Ripe sperm filled the so-called
anterior nephridia in many.
Polyzoa were poorly represented, scarcely a tuft of F lustra
being seen, though Membranipora occurred on stones and
shells. The same may be said of the Hydroids, which in
some storms are so conspicuous.
The higher Crustacea were represented by many examples
of Carcinus, and a few of Cancer pagurus, Hyas araiieus, and
H. coarctatus, swarms of Porlunus holsaius, and a few speci-
mens of Portumftus variegatus and Corystes. One or two
young lobsters about six inches in length were also
stranded.
The fishes were few in number, and therefore contrasted
with the condition in other cases where numerous plaice,
flounders, dabs and little soles, with haddocks, cod, green
cod, weevers, rocklings, gurnards, sand-eels, an occasional
conger, and other forms were present. A young weever a
little over an inch, two " kelts," and a few common topknots
were met with on the west sands.
The stranded forms on the beach brought many gulls,
from the Herring-Gull to the Great Black-backed Gull, and all
fed on the molluscs and starfishes. No Hooded Crows, how-
ever, joined them, as in a great storm in 1856. Numerous
Little Auks were procured, both dead and alive, at various
parts of the beach, along with a few Razorbills, Guillemots,
Shags and Puffins; while Mergansers frequented the east rocks.
76 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
No Storm-Petrel was observed, though this bird has not
infrequently been found on the beach after a storm.
The forms stranded by this storm differed considerably
from those found on other occasions. Thus there was an
almost entire absence on the west sands of masses of tangles,
and Fuci clothed with Obelia, which occasionally form long
banks on the beach, and as these were now and then
removed by carts at night, one of the most striking
features could not be seen, viz., the brilliant phosphor-
escent specks which gleam in the air as each fork
carried its load to the cart, which by and by also
glittered all over with the tiny points of light. The
absence of the seaweeds further considerably affected the
abundance of Hydroids, ^Eolids, and the phosphorescent
Syllids. Moreover the masses of HalicJwndria panicea
attached to the roots and stems of the tangles, or binding
together mussels and other shells, were absent, and with them
the Nudibranchs, such as Doris tuberailata, which feed on
them. This sponge specially abounds in the estuary of the
Tay, and the direction of the wind (S.E.) probably sufficed
to strew the specimens elsewhere. Chalina oculata and
other representatives of the Porifera were rare.
The foregoing account may be compared with that of
an October storm on the same beach, as given in the Intro-
duction to the Marine Invertebrates and Fishes of St Andrews.1
In this case immense banks of tangles and Fuci occurred,
and the abundance and variety of certain forms not entered
in the present note indicate the divergent features of the
respective storms.
One aspect of the vast plenitude of marine animals thus
swept from their haunts to perish on the beach should not
escape the attention of the observant naturalist. It was
formerly stated that " the waste of marine life in such storms
does not attract much notice ; yet it is extraordinary and so
constant, that it may be regarded to some extent as a check
upon its uninterrupted development." It may again be
emphasised in connection with the oft-repeated cry of the
" impoverishment " of the sea by man as regards food-fishes.
1 Pp. 2-4, 1874.
THE LITTLE AUK VISITATION OF 1911-12 77
This waste of Invertebrates makes no impression on the
resources of Nature in the sea, either as regards the species
themselves or those which feed on them and their larvae.
As pointed out many years ago, these comparatively sedentary
inhabitants at the bottom of the sea have as a rule pelagic
larvae which rise near the surface, undergo various changes,
and by and by pass downward to the bottom to rejoin their
parents or people new sites. Thus the smaller fishes seize
them as they go upward, whilst those more advanced prey
on them as they sink downward, the constant interchange
especially proving beneficial to the young food-fishes. Just
as the great losses of Invertebrates caused by storms are in-
significant in the economy of Nature in the sea, so the
inroads of man and his varied apparatus for the capture of
the food-fishes do not lead to the extinction of any species —
carried on, as his operations have been, from time imme-
morial. The larger forms may be thinned here and there
and rendered wary by constant interference, but the count-
less swarms of young give no evidence of diminution,, and
by their growth fill the depleted ranks on a given area or
spread the species to new sites. It is the closely interwoven
chain between the diatom and the fish which enables even
those species most eagerly sought to maintain their existence
after centuries of pursuit by man ; and such is fortunate,
since there is as yet no reliable evidence that artificial hatch-
ing of marine fishes on British shores will produce results
commensurate with the expenditure involved.
THE LITTLE AUK VISITATION OF 1911-12.
ONCE more we have had a Little Auk winter — that is, one
in which great numbers of this Arctic sea-bird have been
tempest-driven to our shores, there to die in thousands
from exhaustion and hunger. Not since the memorable
visitation of 1894-95 nave Little Auks occurred in this
country in anything like such numbers, or over so wide
78 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
a range of localities, as during the past winter, especially
in the second half of January. The " wreck " of seventeen
years ago was very fully reported on, so far as Scotland
was concerned, by Mr Eagle Clarke, in the Annals of
Scottish Natural History for 1895 ; and it is hoped that
Misses Rintoul and Baxter will be able to incorporate,
in more or less detail, the records of this latest Alle alle
disaster in their annual " Report on Scottish Ornithology."
Meantime, the more important facts, culled from the
numerous records that have been kindly sent in by
correspondents in various parts of Scotland from Shetland
to the Borders, may here be mentioned.
Of the successive steps by which the birds reached our
shores from their Arctic breeding-haunts — possibly in
Spitzbergen — we have no knowledge. Probably the species
occurs every winter more or less abundantly in some
part of the North Sea — off Shetland and Orkney, for
instance, or even further south — and it only requires certain
weather conditions to bring the birds within our ken. Of
these, severe north-easterly and easterly gales, with which
the pronounced visitations are invariably associated,
undoubtedly play the chief role. Thus, in the present
instance, we find that the bulk of the records occurred
during and immediately after the fierce easterly gale of
15th to 1 8th January, which blew with great force on our
whole North Sea frontage, bringing with it an unusually
high sea. But, from the records, one may infer that adverse
conditions had somewhere been encountered previous to that
storm. As early as the middle of November, Little Auks
were seen at Auskerry (Orkney) and Fair Isle, while in the
Pentland Firth (about the Skerries, etc.), they are reported to
have been present in " great numbers " from early in
November till the January gale. The first half of December
furnishes records from such widely separated localities as
Lerwick (several obtained during first week) ; Lochmaddy,
in the Outer Hebrides (one, received at Oban on 9th) ;
Tarbatness, E. Ross (one on 12th); and Inchkeith, in
the Firth of Forth (one on 3rd, and numbers on 8th
and 17th, when some were washed ashore). Later in
THE LITTLE AUK VISITATION OF 191 1-12 79
the month these were supplemented by others from Isle
of May (24th) and both sides of the Forth (Largo district,
where two were got alive inland, and Gosford) ; Glencaple,
Dumfriesshire (one shot on 26th) ; and Ardmaleish Point,
Kyles of Bute (one about 28th). January opened with
another record from "Clyde" (one seen between Fairlie and
the Greater Cumbrae on the 4th), and a few more derelicts
in " Forth" (Largo Bay and Dunbar coast, 3rd to 13th).
As stated above, the gale of the middle of January was
the prelude to a great increase of records, mainly of course
from localities along the east coast, where, during the ensuing
fortnight, Little Auks were very much in evidence, at first
mostly alive, then chiefly lying dead on the beach ; but not
a few of the records are from inland localities, some of them
far to the west and south-west, the birds in these instances
having been carried by the wind virtually across Scotland
before falling exhausted. From Shetland, Orkney, Golspie
(E. Sutherland), Aberdeenshire and Kincardine coast,
Montrose, St Andrews district, Firth of Forth and coast south
to Berwickshire, came the same tale of disaster. At the Bell
Rock, three or four hundred arrived on 19th January; "they
seemed too tired," the lighthouse-keeper writes, " to rise out
of the way of the heavy seas that were breaking, and were
being tossed about in all fashions." In greatly diminished
numbers they stayed till the end of the month. Many found
their way into the Firth of Forth, to which a large proportion,
indeed the great majority of the records, pertain. On the 1 8th
— the last day of the gale — hundreds were seen about the
May, and around the Bass diving close alongside the Rock ;
and during the next two or three days their presence was
noted at various points along both sides of the Firth, particu-
larly the south, as far west as Oueensferry, beyond the Forth
Bridge. Exhausted and dead examples immediately began
to be washed ashore, each succeeding tide bringing in fresh
victims, till on certain portions of the shore — notably the
beach from North Berwick to Dirleton (where on the 26th
the present writer counted forty-one all quite recently dead),
the Longniddry section, Joppa to Leith, Granton to
Cramond, and Dalmeny beach — they could be reckoned in
8o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
dozens. Passing over occurrences within a mile or two of
the east coast, which were numerous, the following inland
records (of single birds) due to the gale may be mentioned —
they are, it will be observed, largely in the line of the Forth
and Clyde connection; — Dalmuir, Dumbartonshire (17th
January); Haddington, Ratho, and Kirkliston (18th); Hawick,
Roxburghshire (18th); Johnstone, Renfrewshire (20th, on
which day one was seen on the sea near Port William, Luce
Bay, VVigtonshire) ; parish of Banchory, Kincardineshire (20th) ;
River Leven, Dumbartonshire (about 21st); Dunipace and
Milngavie, Stirlingshire (22nd); Mount Teviot, Roxburgh-
shire (about 22nd); Murthly, Pitlochrie, and Blair Athol,
Perthshire (all about 23rd) ; Dunfermline, W. Fife (24th) ;
Lasswade, Midlothian (25th) ; Whauphill, Wigtownshire
(27th) ; Loch Lomond (about same date) ; Motherwell,
Lanarkshire {Glas. Nat.t iv., 63) ; and railway line between
Edinburgh and Glasgow.
By February, which began it will be remembered during
a short but severe spell of frost and snow, the majority of
the birds had disappeared. Numbers, however, wrere flying
about the Isle of May on the 2nd, and two days later many
were seen in Largo Bay, while at Auskerry, Orkney, some
were still passing on the 15th. Few recently dead birds
were now met with, one of the latest being found on the 25th,
on the shore west of Dysart, Fife. Three, nevertheless, were
recorded from the West — from Muirkirk, Ayrshire, and
Inversnaid, Loch Lomond (6th) ; and Cathcart, near Glasgow
(8th), respectively.
The present visitation, though a notable one, does not
appear to have been on quite so large a scale as that of
1894-95. Fewer records have come from the districts north
of Forth and Clyde, south of which, however, they have
extended further south-west in the direction of the Solway.
As usual, all the birds examined, with the exception of one or
two procured in December, were in a very emaciated con-
dition, and in no case is food reported to have been found in
the stomach. As regards plumage, there was little individual
variation, but some birds, probably old males, had noticeably
heavier bills than others.
THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER 81
England, of course, also shared in the visitation, records
already published (British Birds for March) extending south
from Northumberland to Kent and Sussex, and overland
to Cheshire, Shropshire, Gloucester, and other western
counties.
The storm told with disastrous effect on other sea-birds
besides the Little Auks. Hundreds of Razorbills and
Guillemots also lay scattered along the beaches, while
numbers of Shags and Gulls (several species), some Puffins,
and an occasional Diver (Red-, and Black-throated), Black
Guillemot (Edenmouth), Oyster-catcher, etc., were in
evidence.
SOME TREES IN WHICH THE GREAT SPOTTED
WOODPECKER {DENDROCOPUS MAJOR,
LINN.) HAS BORED OR NESTED ' IN
SCOTLAND.
By the Rev. H. N. Bonar, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.
DURING the last ten years I have had a good many oppor-
tunities of observing the nesting of the Great Spotted Wood-
pecker in Scotland, England, and Holland. In every case
I have taken particular care to note the species of tree
selected for boring into. I append a few notes concerning
the trees in which I have either found the birds actually
nesting, or have found borings which I had good reason to
believe had been occupied in previous years. I count as
" nests " those borings which the Woodpeckers have made
and from which they have been ejected by Starlings. In
seven or eight cases I have found newly finished borings
occupied by Starlings. In one case I found four eggs of
the Great Spotted Woodpecker lying broken at the foot of
the tree, in the newly drilled boring of which was a Starling's
nest. At present in Scotland this shameless bird is the
great enemy of the Woodpecker.
4 " L
82 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
In no case in this country have I ever found a nesting-
boring in any but a dead tree or branch of a tree. But
I suppose this must be accidental — for both in England and
in Holland I have found nests in live trees. I have only
twice in this country found a boring attempted in a growing
tree, and in both cases (very curiously) the tree was an Oak
where a fair-sized branch had been torn from the trunk by
the wind, leaving a spot bare of bark — but in neither of
these cases did the boring go any depth, though it was
characteristically rounded in both cases. I therefore omit
the Oak from my list of trees.
SYCAMORE {Acer psendo-platanus). — I have only twice
seen this tree used, but have heard of another one being
found in my neighbourhood when this tree was felled.
Gean [Prunus avium). — As this is not a very common
woodland tree, it is not to be wondered at that I have only
seen it once used.
ASH (Fraxinus excelsior). — This tree is pretty often
bored, but not very often nested in. Ash wood when it
rots goes so quickly to dust, that one can easily understand
the birds desisting from boring when they find the walls
crumbling away rapidly.
Elm (Ulmus montana, perhaps also Ulmiis campestris). —
Not very often used — perhaps its dead wood crumbles too
much when bored — but I have only twice found nesting-
holes in this species, which seems to be quite a suitable tree
for the bird's requirements.
BlRCH {Betula alba). — A favourite tree. Its wood (in
the year or two which elapse between its becoming dead
and rotten) is easily bored and does not fly into dust, while
the strong tough bark binds the whole stem together (even
if it be inclined to crack) as hoops bind barrel-staves and
keep them in their places. The Woodpecker seems some-
times to bore into this tree in the winter months just for the
sheer joy of boring, as I once found two or three new " bores "
close beside each other in February.
Alder (A Inns glutinosa). — The first nesting-hole I ever
found was in this species, but it is not a great favourite with
the bird — probably because the Alder does not generally
THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER 83
grow where other trees are thick enough to give it
cover.
Hazel {Cory his avellana). — Very seldom does this tree
grow a stem of a diameter sufficient to contain a bore. I
only once found it used by Woodpeckers. They excavated
a very symmetrical boring in a broken stump six or seven
feet from the ground, but were evicted from their home by
Starlings before they could breed.
Beech (Fagits sylvaticd). — This tree is a decided favourite
with the bird. But as dead branches of the Beech qenerally
occur at a considerable height from the ground, the nest
often escapes notice till the young birds attract attention
by their ceaseless calling.
Silver Fir {Abies pectinatd). — Not commonly used. I
have not seen more than two instances myself, though
I have heard of others.
Scots Pine {Pinus syhestiis). — In my experience the
commonest tree for this bird to bore and nest in. In this
tree, the dead wood suitable for boring in is generally even
higher up than in the case of the Beech, and so it is Very
difficult to get a sight of the nest. I do not assert that this
tree is the Woodpecker's favourite, but as there are so many
more Scotch Firs in the south of Scotland than any other
tree, there are far more nesting-sites offered by this species.
Let me add in conclusion, that I have only known two
instances of this Woodpecker going back to the exact same
nesting-hole the next year, though it will return to the same
tree again and again, provided it can get wood enough in
a condition fit for boring.
In the above, I have only drawn from my own experience
in Scotland. I could have added other trees had I quoted
what others have told me — and had I given my own
experience outside Scotland.
84 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
THE SANDWICH TERN {STERNA CANTIACA)
IN "DEE": GENERAL STATUS AND FIRST
NESTING RECORD.
By A Landsborough Thomson, M.A., M.B.O.U.
While publishing what appears to be the first record of the
breeding of the Sandwich Tern {Sterna cantiaca) within the
faunal area of " Dee," I take the opportunity of discussing
the question of the general status of the species in the district,
apart from this single isolated event. This is the more
necessary owing to the incompleteness of the only published
information on the subject. In his Vertebrate Fauna of
"Dee" (1903, p. 180), the late Mr George Sim described the
Sandwich Tern as " an irregular visitor " : he records that
" In 1864, numbers appeared in the end of July and beginning
of August about the mouth of the Don, when 12 specimens
were obtained, mostly young birds. Again, in 1866, from the
15th July onwards, for about ten days, a number appeared
about the same place." Between 1866 and 1903 he had "not
seen or heard of any others " ! The only other local records
I know of are Thomas Edward's statement, " observed a pair
this summer, 1854," and a note by the Rev. William Serle in
the Annals of Scottish Natural History (1906, p. 239), to the
effect that he had a single record for the neighbourhood of
Peterhead (no date), and that on 27th July 1906 he saw
" quite a fair-sized flock " at the Loch of Strathbeg (which is
close to the sea, near Rattray Head), which he suspected to
have bred in the vicinity.
But during the past few years we have come to know the
Sandwich Tern as a regular spring and autumn visitor in
small numbers to the coast near Aberdeen. We have even
a number of summer records, culminating in the finding of a
nest and egg at a local colony of Common Terns and Black-
headed Gulls on nth June 1910. The following is a
summary of our records of the species since we first
identified it in the autumn of 1907. Most of the observa-
tions were made by my friend Mr Lewis N. G. Ramsay, M.A.,
THE SANDWICH TERN IN " DEE 85
to whom I am therefore much indebted, or jointly by him
and Mr Arthur G. Davidson or myself.
In the autumn of 1907, small parties or single birds were
observed from 14th September to 5th October; in 1908, from
20th August to 27th September; and in 1910, from 31st
August to 3rd September. In the spring of 1908, similar
records relate to observations on 3rd and 13th May, and an
adult was seen on 7th July; in 1909, on 29th May and 6th
June; in 1910, on 5th and 14th May, and an egg found on
nth June; in 191 1, one bird on 5th May.
These data will serve to show that the status of the
Sandwich Tern in the " Dee " area is considerably different
from what seems indicated by the few previously published
notes on the subject already referred to.
With regard to the nest and egg found on the Sands of
Forvie on 1 ith June 1910, some further details may be given.
It was in the midst of a large nesting-colony of Common
Terns and Black-headed Gulls, and on the date mentioned
I came on the nest by chance. I showed it to Mr Davidson
later in the day, and we of course left it undisturbed,
contenting ourselves with a careful examination. But when
Mr Davidson visited the place some days later the egg had
gone, and no more evidence was obtained that summer. We
left the record unpublished, in the hope that we should learn
more in 191 1. But in that year also no further sign of birds
or nests was discovered at Forvie.
The birds, if not in very close attendance, might well have
eluded observation among the screaming cloud of other species
overhead, but in any case too much importance need not be
attached to their absence when incubation had not begun.
The record rests entirely on the identity of the egg, but of
this I think there can be no doubt.
This nest, if such it could be called, consisted merely of a
very few pieces of plant stems, and was on the bare sand in
a hollow between two hummocks, agreeing entirely with the
habits of Sterna cantiaca. The egg appeared to me to be a
characteristic specimen of the creamy type, and it approxi-
mated to the average dimensions.
86 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
SOME RECORDS OF COLEOPTERA FROM
NORTHERN SCOTLAND.
By D. Sharp, M.A., F.R.S.
DURING his stay in the North of Scotland in the year 191 1,
Colonel Yerbury collected some species of Coleoptera. His
attention was chiefly devoted to the Diptera, so that the
beetles he met with do not give anything like an idea of the
extent of the Coleopterous fauna of the spots he collected at.
Yet as records from the North of Scotland are very scanty
as regards Coleoptera, I think it is worth while publishing a
complete list of those he sent to me.
The localities are Dingwall in May, Inchnadamph in June,
Lochinver in July, and Nethy Bridge in September. The two
localities in West Sutherland (Inchnadamph and Lochinver)
are the most important, because knowledge of the entomology
of that region is very limited. Nethy Bridge is better known ;
still even there Colonel Yerbury met with two species of great
interest, viz., Amphicyllis globus, which is a very unexpected
addition to the Scottish fauna, and Leptura sanguinolenla,
which appears in Britain to occur only in Moray, where it is
extremely rare.
Notiophilus pains tris and N. biguttatus, Inchnadamph ;
Carabus glabratus, Nethy Bridge and Lochinver; C. catenu-
latus, Nethy Bridge ; Leistus rufescens, Nebria brevicollis and
gyllenhali, Inchnadamph; Calathus cisteloides and melano-
cephalus, Nethy Bridge; Pterostichus niger, Inchnadamph
and Nethv Bridge; P. nigrita, Inchnadamph; Amara aulica,
Inchnadamph and Nethy Bridge; Harpalus latus, Patrobus
clavipes, and Trechus obtusus, Inchnadamph ; Bembidium
paludosum and littorale, Nethy Bridge ; B. guttula, Dingwall.
Colymbetes fuscus, Nethy Bridge; Anaccena globulus, Inch-
nadamph ; Limnebius truncatellus, Dingwall ; Sphceridium
scarabccoidcs, Inchnadamph; Cercyon luemorrhoidale and
laterale, Nethy Bridge.
Aleochara lanuginosa, Homalota fungi, Bolitobius atrica-
pillus, and Tachyporus hypnorum, Dingwall ; Tachinus
proximus and pallipes, Nethy Bridge ; T. rufipes, Dingwall
SOME RECORDS OF COLEOPTERA FROM N. SCOTLAND 87
and Inchnadamph ; T. laticollis and marginellus, Inchna-
damph ; Quedionuchus Icevigatus, Nethy Bridge ; Quedius
fuliginosus, Staphylinus erythropterus^ Philonthus intermedins
and jiwetarius, Inchnadamph; P. varians, Nethy Bridge;
Othius fulvipennis, Inchnadamph ; Stenus oculatus, Nethy
Bridge ; Oxytelus sculpturatus and Lesteva bicolor, Inchna-
damph ; Omalium rivulare, Dingwall ; AntJwbium minutum,
Inchnadamph, and A. torquatum, Dingwall.
Amphicyllis globus, Nethy Bridge ; Choleva tristis, Necro-
phorus humator, Inchnadamph, and N. niortuorum, Nethy
Bridge ; SilpJia atrata, rugosa, nigrita, and thoracica, Nethy
Bridge ; Hister succicola, Nethy Bridge ; Omosita discoidea,
Dingwall ; O. depressa, Nethy Bridge ; BracJiypterus urtica?,
Inchnadamph ; MeligetJies ameus and picipes, Dingwall, and
M. viridescens, Inchnadamph ; Elmis ceneus, Inchnadamph.
Aphodius fimetarius, ate?', lapponum, rufipcs, depressus var.
niger, all from Inchnadamph.
Elater nigrinus, Nethy Bridge ; Cryptohypnus riparius,
Inchnadamph ; Melanotus rufipes, Nethy Bridge ; Athous
niger, Inchnadamph; A. h<zmorrhoidalisi Dingwall; Corym-
bites pectinicornis, cupreus, tessellatus, and qucrcus, all from
Inchnadamph ; Dolopius margiuatus, Inchnadamph and
Nethy Bridge.
Helodes minuta, Dingwall ; H. marginata, Dingwall and
Nethy Bridge ; Cyphon variabilis, Inchnadamph; Telephones
paludosus and pallidas, Inchnadamph ; T. limbatus, Inchna-
damph and Dingwall; MaltJwdes rnarginatus, Inchnadamph;
Clerus formicarius, Nethy Bridge ; Otiorrhynchus niaurus,
Nethy Bridge; O. pieipes, Inchnadamph; Phyllobius argen-
tatus, var., Inchnadamph ; Barynotus scJiocnhcrri, Polydrusus
cervinus, Pissodes pini and Hylobius abietis, all from Nethy
Bridge ; Orchestes fagi, var. ?, Dingwall (this is a very
strange example, but I can refer it to no other species) ;
Ceuthorrhynchus contractus and troglodytes, Dingwall ; C.
ericce, Inchnadamph and Nethy Bridge ; Cceliodes quadri-
maculatus, Dingwall ; Apion spencei, Nethy Bridge ; A. ervi>
Dingwall ; A. flavipes, Dingwall and Nethy Bridge ; Pityo-
phthorus bidens, Dingwall ; MyelopJiilus piuipcrda, Nethy
Bridge.
88 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Asemum striatum, Leptura sanguinolenta, Aca?tthocinus
cedilis, Nethy Bridge ; Donacia obscura, Lochinver ; D. sericea,
Inchnadamph; D. comari, Inchnadamph and Lochinver;
Gonioctena litura, Nethy Bridge ; Gastrophysa raphani and
Phyllodecta vittellince, Inchnadamph ; Calvia I ^-guttata and
Coccinella 10-punctata, Nethy Bridge.
In addition to the above, Colonel Yerbury sent from Nethy
Bridge a single specimen of a species of Galerucella. This
marks a considerable extension to the north of the range of
this genus in Scotland. The specimen is so peculiar that I
must reserve notice of it till a more favourable opportunity.
NOTES.
Otters in Wigtownshire. — On the afternoon of the 26th
January last, while watching Wildfowl along the shores of the Castle
Loch, lying hid among thick heather, I noticed something diving near
the other side. Turning my binoculars in the direction indicated, I
saw to my surprise a family party of Otters, seemingly composed of
two adults and four half-grown young. They were proceeding down
the loch in single file ; first one would come to the surface, then dive,
its long tail waving as it went down, and each would go through the
same manoeuvre, close on the heels of the one in front, till they
looked more like a sea-serpent than anything else. Now and again
all would come to the surface together, performing many gambols.
Thus they proceeded down the loch, till they were lost to view
behind an island. — J. G. Gordon, Corsemalzie.
Rooks and Lapwings. — During spring and summer cycling
trips on Aberdeenshire roads, I have observed that Rooks and
Lapwings are seldom to be seen together on the same field. If
one sees a field, however large, with Rooks on it, one need not
look for Lapwings there. I have also frequently seen a Rook attacked
by Lapwings, while flying over the field appropriated by the latter.
Until last summer I believed that this antipathy of Lapwings to
Rooks had to do with the protection of their eggs and food supply-
only ; that it is of a more intense and intimate nature may be
inferred from the following incident: — On 1st July 191 1, I was
cycling into Aberdeen from Newburgh, and had reached a turn
NOTES 89
of the road 4 J miles from the city, at 8.30 a.m., when suddenly
I came upon a Rook flying low across the road with a struggling
object in its claws. It was being vehemently attacked by two
Lapwings, whose onslaught combined with my sudden appearance
caused the Rook to drop the object on the road just in front of my
wheel. I quickly dismounted, and found the creature to be a
young Lapwing (quills fully half-grown), which was somewhat dazed,
but was able to run to the side of the road after regaining its legs.
I caught the little bird, which soon recovered from its fright, and
applied an Aberdeen University migration ring to one of its legs.
As five or six Rooks were seated on a paling on the distant side of
the field from which the young bird had been lifted, I carried
it some distance along the road before liberating it in an adjoining
field, the parent Lapwings meantime being interested observers, and
evidently approving of the sudden and interesting turn of events. —
A. Rudolf Galloway.
Migration of Fieldfares. — Living as I do in Dumfriesshire, it
is but seldom that I am witness of a marked migration of birds.
On 7th November 191 1, while standing near some thorn-bushes,
continuous flocks of Fieldfares (Tardus pilaris) came from the
south-east, perched on the bushes for a few seconds, and then went
off again to the north-west and out of my sight. This went on for
close on two hours, and I could not estimate the number of birds.
It should also be remembered that flocks may have been coming
and going before two o'clock, when I arrived at my point of vantage,
and after four o'clock, when I left it. — Hugh S. Gladstone,
Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.
'Rock-pipit on the Clyde Estuary. — During visits to
Cardross in November last, and in February of the present year, I
noticed Rock-pipits (Anthus obscurus) present on the shore in fair
numbers. Though the species is mentioned in the Fauna of Clyde
as common on the shores of the area, the fact of its being present
in numbers as far up the Clyde estuary is, perhaps, worthy of
mention. — George Stout, Glasgow.
White "Wagtails on Migration in East Ross. — Last autumn
numerous Pied Wagtails, adults and young, frequented the shore
and low-lying lands of the peninsula on the point of which stands
Tarbatness Lighthouse. I shot some of the young Wagtails, as
I rather hoped to procure Motacilla alba alba on migration, and
some of the birds seemed distinctly lighter on the back than the
others. Two such were obtained on the coast to the south of the
lighthouse on 16th September 191 1, but not from the parties of
4 M
go
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Pieds already mentioned. They have been identified as true
Motacilla alba alba. — Annie C. Jackson, Swordale.
Tengmalm's Owl in Shetland. — I had brought to me a
Tengmalm's Owl (Nyctala tengmalmi), on the 23rd of January,
which had been captured alive in a barn at the north end of the
island of Unst. It had been injured, but I managed to keep it
alive until the 1 9th of February. This is the third example of this
visitor from the forests of Northern Europe that I have examined
since coming here thirteen years ago. I have presented the
specimen to the Royal Scottish Museum. — T. Edmonston Saxby,
Balta Sound, Unst, Shetland.
A note on the Gannet. — On 13th August 191 1, while watch-
ing Gannets (Snla bassana) diving in Largo Bay, I twice saw one of
these birds come to the surface with a large fish held crosswise in
its beak. It had quite a struggle before it succeeded in gulping
down its prey. The second time, my stepmother, Mrs Baxter, also
saw the occurrence; it was the same bird both times. I have
watched many hundreds of Gannets diving, but never before saw
one bring a fish to the surface afte'r the dive. — Evelyn V. Baxter,
Largo.
Solamosse Geese. — Under this heading, on pp. 76, 77, of the
Annals of Scottish Natural History, 191 1, Mr J. H. Gurney
speculates as to the species of birds sent by Lord Crainston (or
Cranston) to Lord William Howard, of Naworth Castle, in 1623 and
1633. I hazard the guess that these birds were Solan Geese (i.e.
Gannets) ; and my guess is arrived at for the following reasons : —
Although there is no evidence to prove that John, second Lord
Cranstoun, who lived within the periods named (1623-1633) possessed
any landed property outside the counties of Roxburgh and Berwick,
and although he is not known to have been any connection of the
families to whom the Bass Rock then belonged, it is quite probable
that his lordship was aware of the gastronomic value of young
Gannets. May we suppose that, having purchased some of these
tasty morsels in the Edinburgh market, or, having himself been
given some by an acquaintance, my Lord Cranstoun, with commend-
able generosity, sent them to his English friend Lord William
Howard, of Naworth Castle in Cumberland ? On their arrival there,
they would duly be entered in the Household Book ; where
probably a slip of some clerk's pen described them as " Solamosse
geese," or "Sollemgeese." The slip would be rendered the more
likely, if the penman who made the entry was familiar with the
name Solway Moss but not with the words Solan Geese. Hearing
NOTES 91
the Gannets called Solan Geese by. the man or " boyes " who
brought them from Lord Cranstoun, the clerk, at least so I suppose,
entered them under the name which to his ear nearest approached
the term Solan Geese. Indeed, the clerk seems to have made a
better shot at the words in 1633 than in 1623 — if it was the same
clerk. It must be noted that both presents of birds (whatever they
were) arrived in August. This, as Mr J. H. Gurney points out,
"would be about the time for taking them [Gannets] at the Bass
Rock." It is, I think, very unlikely that Lord Cranstoun would
take the trouble to send Lord William Howard domestic geese;
and, as Mr Gurney again states, "wild geese would hardly have
been obtainable so early in the autumn as August"
I am now able to give references for the spellings of the word
Solway quoted by Mr Gurney. These in no case refer to the
Solway Firth, but to Solway Moss, the field of the historic battle
of 1543. Sollan Mosse and Solanmoss both appear thus spelt, with
the arm of the sea spelt Solway Fyrth, in the map entitled "The
Stewartrie of Annandail," in Blaeu's Atlas, 1654 (Amsterdam).
Solway Moss is described as " originally Solom Moss," in the
prospectus of the sale (1910) of portion of the Netherby estate in
Cumberland. Whence this spelling was obtained by the compilers
of the prospectus I do not know. — Hugh S. Gladstone, Capenoch,
Thornhill.
Occurrences of Smews in the Forth and Moray Areas
and in Shetland. — (1) On 27th January I obtained a female of
this uncommon species at Aberlady Bay. It was diving in the
estuary, and its gullet contained six small specimens of a Goby
(Gob/us minutus). No other birds of this species were noticed. On
measurement it was found to be rather smaller than the size given
by Howard Saunders for the female, viz., length, 15 inches ; wing, 7 \
inches. The toes were pale greenish grey; webs blackish, with a
tinge of olive ; bill lead colour, with terminal portion much lighter. —
Kenneth C. Crosbie, Edinburgh.
(2) During the last week of January Mr Mackintosh, game-
keeper on the Dunearn estate at Dava, shot a female Smew. — Alex.
Mackenzie, Inverness.
(3) A female Smew (Mergus albellus) was shot at Bressay,
Shetland, on 31st January. — George W. Russell, Lerwick.
Smews and Red-necked Grebes in the Firth of Forth. —
In 1895, when the Little Auks visited the Firth of Forth in consider-
able numbers, there was also an influx of Smews {Mergus albelhis)
and of Red-necked Grebes (Podicipes griseigend). Very few of
either of these birds have been observed since; but with the
92 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
appearance in the estuary of Little Auks during this winter, both
these species have again been observed. Five Smews have to my
knowledge been seen or obtained in January and February, and one
Red-necked Grebe in February. I have no doubt others were
present. — Wm. Eagle Clarke.
Movements of Ringed Woodcocks. — A Woodcock, ringed
"B.Q. 1911," near Langholm, Dumfriesshire, in the spring of 1911, is
recorded in the Field of 24th February 191 2, as shot near Berehaven,
Co. Cork, Ireland. That is nearly four hundred miles south-west of
place of ringing. In the same periodical of 10th February 1912, a
Woodcock, ringed "B.2. 1911," is reported as shot near Instow, X.
Devon. The letter Q. bears, in some type, a resemblance to the
numeral 2, so that this bird was probably another of those marked
near Langholm. If so, this would be about three hundred miles
south-south-west of place of ringing. I am informed that over fifty
Woodcocks were thus ringed last spring in the above-mentioned
locality, and that not one so marked was shot there in the following
shooting-season, when a bag of nearly two hundred Woodcock was
obtained. — Hugh S. Gladstone, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.
Black-tailed Godwits in Moray. — By the Cromarty Firth, on
13th September 19 n, I had an excellent view of two Black-tailed
Godwits (Limosa belgica), birds of the year. They stood dozing at
the end of a long promontory, apparently awaiting the turn of the
tide and the uncovering of the mud flats.
On 30th September I was again by the shore, and came
upon a bird of the same species feeding with one or two Red-
shanks by a brackish pool near the shore. — Annie C. Jackson,
Swordale.
Early appearance of the Common Tern on the Clyde. —
Whilst on a short visit to Cardross with my friend D. W. Wother-
spoon, on 24th February, I was surprised to see three Common
Terns (Sterna fluviati lis). Believing that their appearance was very
unusual so early in the season, I informed Mr Eagle Clarke, who
tells me that, so far as he is aware, this is the earliest recorded date
for the spring arrival of this species in the British Isles. — George
Stout, Glasgow.
Small Tortoise-shell Butterfly hibernating in Shetland.
— A specimen of the Small Tortoise-shell Butterfly ( Vanessa nrticce,
L.) was caught in the lobby window of my house here this morning,
8th January. The weather in Shetland for some weeks past has been
extremely mild, and I have pulled Auricula and other spring flowers
in fairly good flower, but I did not think Butterflies would venture
out quite so early. — R. B. Kennar, Lerwick.
NOTES
93
[The occurrence of this species of Butterfly in Shetland is
interesting, as it has not to our knowledge hitherto been recorded
from these islands. We have seen the specimen, and are responsible
for the identification. — Eds.]
Hemiptera-Heteroptera from St Kilda. — Among some
moss, kindly collected for me by Mr Eagle Clarke at St Kilda last
September, I found the following Heteroptera (one example of each),
namely : Orthostira parvula, Fall, (brachypterous form), and Salda
saltatoria, Linn. So far as I am aware, the only Heteropteron
hitherto recorded from St Kilda is the common "water-clearer,"
Velia currens (Waterston, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1906, p. 152).
In the moss there were also several specimens of the curious
Orthezia cataphracta (one of the Coccidcz, a family belonging to
another division of the Hemiptera) ; but this has already been
recorded more than once from St Kilda. — William Evans.
The Thorny Lobster, Palinurus vulgaris, in the Outer
Hebrides.— Common on the south-west of England, the Thorny
Lobster rapidly decreases in numbers northwards, until it all but dies
out on the north of Scotland. The scarcity of this striking creature
towards the northern limit of its range on the west of Scotland is well
shown by the fact that observers so skilled as Prof. W. C. M 'In tosh
and Dr Thomas Scott failed to find any trace of it during their stay
on the Outer Hebrides, and that the only specimen previously known
to me from these islands is a small male in the collections of the
Royal Scottish Museum, captured in North Uist about 1888. Since
this record was published in 1910 in my account of the distribution
of the Thorny Lobster in British Waters {Proc. Roy. Pliys. Soc,
vol. xviii., pp. 68-71), three additional examples from the Outer
Hebrides have come to my notice. The first of these is a fine,
large specimen in the possession of Mr Harvie-Brown, obtained
several years ago at Shillay— the lighthouse island of the Monach
Isles, west of North Uist. This is the most westerly Scottish
locality at which the species has been found. The second specimen,
examined by me in the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory, is now
in the Museum of St Benedict's Abbey, Fort Augustus. It had
been received by Rev. Odo Blundell from Barra, about 8th June
191 1. The third specimen, a female, was forwarded to the Royal
Scottish Museum on 1st February 1912, having been taken by Mr
Angus Ross outside Finsbay Loch, on the east of South Harris. The
rarity of the Thorny Lobster in this area is once more emphasised
by the fact that the fisherman who found and forwarded the specimen
" had never seen one of the kind before." — James Ritchie, Royal
Scottish Museum.
94 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
BOOK NOTICES.
The Migration of Birds, by T. A. Coward. Cambridge University
Press (The Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature).
Price is.
This is another of the useful little Manuals of Science and
Literature which are being issued by the Cambridge University Press.
Mr Coward has had to condense a great deal into a very small
space, and we congratulate him on the success which has crowned
his efforts. The book bears evidence of much knowledge of the
literature dealing with the most engrossing subject of Bird-migration,
and the author has presented this knowledge to the general reader
in a manner which is calculated to afford him the maximum of
instruction in the minimum of space. The student of migration
could not do better than begin his studies by the perusal of this
book.— E. V. B. and L. J. R.
The Open Book of Nature, by Rev. Charles A. Dall. London:
Adam & Charles Black. Price 3s. 6d. net.
This well-written, clearly printed, and beautifully illustrated
volume is intended to stimulate the study of Nature in young people,
and with this aim in view should prove a success. It consists of a
series of eleven chapters, treating of elementary geology, fossils, and
field flowers, for the most part interestingly treated. Animal life,
however, receives but scant attention, while some of the pages
devoted to botany may, we fear, prove somewhat uninviting to the
young reader. The four chapters dealing with "A Ramble in May "
are the most attractive, and might with advantage have been placed
earlier in the book. Since the volume is adorned with no fewer
than sixty-two pages of illustrations, all of much merit, and sixteen
being in colour, it forms an attractive gift-book, and can be
recommended. We have noticed only one misprint, viz., "Cordata"
for "Chordata," on p. 79.
gleanings.
The New (Bell-Pettigrew) Natural History Museum of the
University of St Andrews. — In connection with the remarks made in the
February issue of the Scottish Naturalist, it may be mentioned that the late Mr Robert
Walker, librarian and quaestor, was appointed Curator of the Museum in 1879,
and filled the office till he died in 1881. Thereafter the late Prof. Pettigrew
held the post till the session 1883-4, when the present director was appointed.
GLEANINGS 95
In The Field for 10th February 1912 (p. 251), H. W. Robinson records an
Otter weighing 32 lbs. The animal was shot by Don. Maclean at Coulin,
Kinlochewe, and recorded by him in the Scotsman dated 31st January.
In the Manchester Memoirs (vol. 56, 1 91 2), Lionel W. Adams brings forward
additional evidence to show that the parent generation of the Common and the
Lesser Shrew suffers annual extinction. The chart of head and body measurements
is especially interesting, as it clearly indicates that individuals reach their full size
in the summer, and then altogether disappear. Observations on habits prove
how insatiable is the appetite of the Shrew, for of all the creatures offered as food,
a Wasp was the only living thing absolutely rejected.
From British Birds (March 1912), we note the following : — A Ferruginous
Duck (Fuligula nyroca), female, was procured off Tacket Wood, on the Kings-
bridge estuary, South Devon, on 27th January 1912 (E. A. S. Elliot, p. 280). On
p. 281 J. H. Gurney records a Little Bustard {Otis tetrax) shot at Strumshaw,
near Norwich, on 4th January, three days after the Kincardineshire one {Scot. Nat.,
191 2, p. 44).
Richard Elmhirst publishes, in the January number of the Zoologist (pp. 1 5-20),
some "Notes from the Millport Marine Biological Station." The article, which
bears the sub-title "Observations on the Behaviour of Fish," deals with the
shyness of recently captured specimens of various species, the presence in the
Millport district of large shoals of young Herrings during the autumn months,
and the changes of colour in fishes generally under the influence of various
conditions.
H. St J. K. Donisthorpe, in the Entomologist 's Record for February (pp. 34-40),
continues his interesting " Myrmecophilous Notes for 191 1." Many observations,
too numerous to be detailed here, were made in Scotland.
In the Ent. Mo. Mag. for March (pp. 56-59), is published a further instalment
of the valuable paper by the late G. H. Verrall, on " Another Hundred New
British Species of Diptera." The following Scottish records are of interest :
Gymnopternns brevicornis, Staeg., Nethy Bridge ; Chrysotus varians, Kow.,
Rannoch ; Porphyrons fracta, Lw., Nethy Bridge and Brodie ; and Thrypticus
divisus, Strobl, Nairn.
Syntemna alpicola, Strobl, a new British fly of the Family Mycetophilidi?, is
recorded by F. Jenkinson from near Forres QEnt. Mo. Mag., March 1912, p. 67.)
The genus Hybos (Diptera — Family Empidoe) has hitherto been only imperfectly
understood by British workers. A short but useful paper is given by A. E. J. Carter
in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for March (pp. 59-60), with a table pointing out the
differences between our three recorded species, viz., femoraius, Mull., culiciformis,
Fab., and grossipes, L. The last mentioned appears to be the rarest of the three,
but is recorded from Perthshire and (in a footnote by J. E. Collin) Lochinver,
Nethy Bridge, and Spey Bridge.
A new British flea, Palceopsylla kohanti, Dampf, is interesting from the fact that
it " has so far been regarded as an Eastern insect, the most western point at which
it had been previously secured being Wels in Lower Austria." The three
96 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
specimens recorded by N. Charles Rothschild in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for March
(p. 67), were taken at Ballindalloch from a Mole.
James J. F. X. King, in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for March (p. 66), contributes a
note on Agrion has tula turn, Charp., at Aviemore. Many specimens of both sexes
were captured last July, thus showing that this recent addition to the British
list of Dragon-flies is well established in Scotland.
The Rev. James Waterston continues his interesting work on parasitic Insects,
and records {Ent. Mo. Mag., March 1912, pp. 61-63) two Mallophaga taken from
the Snipe at Northmavine, Shetland. Their names are Nirmus inincatus and
Docophorus nirmoides, var. major. The same author recoids {torn, tit., p. 64)
Hamatopinus vituli, L., on a white cilf in the same locality.
The possibilities of detailed marine zoological investigation on the west coast
of Scotland are indicated in an interesting paper by Prof. J. Graham Kerr
on "Loch Sween," in the February number of the Glasgow Naturalist '(vol. iv.,
No. 2, pp. 33-48, pis. iii. and iv.). During several summers observations have
been made on the organic life of the loch, with the result that general impressions
have been gained of the bottom-fauna, and especially of the plankton. The
paper is accompanied by excellent figures of larval forms of Brittle-stars, a
Holothurian, and Molluscs, which, since some are unidentified, emphasise the
need for further study of life-histories in suitable laboratories. The paper
as a whole furnishes a strong appeal for the intensive study of marine life on
our west coast.
B. Lindsay, in the Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist, for March 191 2 (pp. 369-374),
contributes a paper "On the Boring Mollusca of St Andrews," accompanied
by a plate. The main object of the article is to settle the question as to the
means by which boring Molluscs perform their work, i.e., whether by the aid of an
acid secretion or by purely mechanical means. Three types of Mollusca were
investigated, viz., Zirphaa {Photos') crispata, Saxicara rugosa, and Tapes pullastra.
The last-mentioned species is stated to be incapable of boring or even of enlarging
an existing burrow. Zirplnva, on the other hand, is regarded as the most highly
specialised of the Pholadid borers, and its method of working is described in
detail and humorously referred to as " a combination of a nutmeg-grater and a
vacuum-cleaner."
In the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society for February 19 1 2 appears
(pp. 9-27) an important paper by the Rev. Hilderic Friend, on "British
Enchytreeids." All the species of the principal genus Fridericia known to inhabit
the British Isles are described, and records given of the localities in which they
have been found. The following six species are noted for Scotland : lobifera,
striata, magna, bretscheri, michaelseni, and glandulosa.
RY 3
The Scottish Naturalist
No. 5.] 1912 [May
THE FULMAR: ITS PAST AND PRESENT DIS-
TRIBUTION AS A BREEDING SPECIES IN
THE BRITISH ISLES.1
By J. A. Harvie-Brown, LL.D., F.R.S.E.
Plate IV.
In the following account of the now numerous British
colonies of the Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), we begin with
those in Shetland, follow the geographical sequence south to
the north coast of the mainland of Scotland, then west to
the Outer Hebrides, and end with the recently established
colony on the coast of Ireland. But before proceeding to
the details of the survey, we desire to recall two important
facts in the history of this arctic and sub-arctic bird : first,
that the nearest breeding-haunts north of Shetland are in
the Faroes, where the species established itself so compara-
tively recently as about 1839; and secondly, that the St
Kilda colony, which dates back at least to the times of our
earliest writers some two hundred and fifty years ago, was
for long an isolated southern outpost, and the only one
within the British area. In our series of Vertebrate Faunas
of Scotland the status of the Fulmar in the several areas was
fully treated of down to 1904, the date of the volume on
North-west Highlands and Skye, and to that point our present
notes cannot avoid being largely a repetition of what we
1 This paper forms part of an account of the past and present status
of the Fulmar throughout its entire range, which we have recently drawn
up. The introduction and the extra-British portion will, it is hoped,
be published shortly through another channel.— J. A. H.-B.
5 N
98 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
have before published. But in a comprehensive treatment
of the subject this is perhaps excusable.
Shetland.
Records regarding the Fulmar in Shetland are negative
as to the nesting of the species previous to 1878. But it is
true that writers down to Saxby's time (he died in 1871)
spoke of it as occurring at a distance from land of some ten
to twenty or twenty-five miles, during about one month in
summer — say from the end of May till the end of June or
beginning of July. Birds were seen usually west and north
of Shetland, and they generally approached the fishing-boats
from the north or north-east, and retired towards the same
direction. Further, adults were spoken of as scarce up to
about the year 1871.1
They, however, established their first colony in Foula at
a date comparatively early (as comparing with the dates at
other Scottish localities), viz., in or prior to 1878 — auct. J. T.
Garriock, who first recorded their establishment, by about
a dozen pairs, in June of that year (Zoo/., 1879, P- 380).
The following year about twenty pairs took up stations.
A stranded whale which the first comers followed up, is said
to have been the immediate attraction to them ; but the same
story has been told of birds at other places. In any case,
such advents can hardly be considered as primary or sole
causes of their taking up quarters, but that they are very
likely auxiliary causes there cannot be much doubt, and we
consider that they may in many instances be accepted as
such.
Foula, it may here be mentioned, is distant from Suderoe,
Faroes, about one hundred and fifty-four miles, and from
St Kilda, two hundred and forty-four.
In 1887 A. H. Evans and Powys found no more than
eight pairs on the lower cliffs of East Haevdi (in Foula), and
as many more on the 800-feet precipices to the westward,
" and this after they examined them all with the greatest
care, both from above and below." All of these sites " were
1 By adults, Saxby understood birds " with the pure white head and
under parts."
THE FULMAR 99
quite at the top of the cliffs and protected by the over-
hanging summit" — (see also later on under Handa). The
first occupants almost invariably select the most inaccessible
places. Hence very likely later arrivals, or younger birds
bred there, are driven off by the older or parent birds to
search for similar safe sites elsewhere — a wise provision of
Nature to provide for the establishment of the race " over-
seas," as in the case of even human emigrants, who leave
Britain to take up homes in foreign lands or establish new
dominions.
A second colony, with little doubt an overflow from
Foula, about 1891 reached and possessed the Horn of Papa,
off Papa Stour, opposite to Foula. Here the nests were
again selected under overhanging cliff-tops, and in the most
secure situations. But little increase took place by 1895,
when A. H. Evans visited the place. It seems possible that
some accounts become exaggerated in passing from one
observer to another, but we believe the truer explanation of
such differences may lie in the simple fact — as already
stated — that newer arrivals, or younger birds, get driven off
because the safer sites are all or nearly all already taken up.
In due course other colonisations took place at Calder's
Geo, Eshaness (Mainland), in 1896, where a pair was seen
in 1895 — auct. Thomas Thomason, crofter at Priesthoulland ;
and at Hermaness (Unst), by 1897 — auct. O. A. J. Lee, who
that year counted about eleven pairs at Humla Stack, twenty-
eight on Flouravoug, five on Neap, and thirteen on Tonga.
In 1897 R. Godfrey saw Fulmars on the following three
localities at Saxavord (Unst) — namely, Leerawick, the north
face, and Ruska Kame. They were also reported on the
Ramna Stacks, at the extreme north of Mainland ; and at
Noup of Noss, on the east, near Lerwick, they were found
breeding in June 1898 (R. Godfrey, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.,
l899> P- 53)- At Fitful Head, in the south of Mainland, a
pair or two were first seen in 1900, and in 1905 there were
about thirty pairs nesting (N. B. Kinnear, ibid., 1905, p. 246).
On Whalsey and Yell they were breeding in 1906 (J. S.
Tulloch, ibid.) 1906, p. 240). To Isle of Uyea, north-west
point of Mainland, they are reported to have come in 1902
ioo THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
from Foula, then to the Point of Fethaland, and then to
the Isle of Gruney (R. C. Haldane). In British Birds for
December last, Thos. Ground states that he saw six or eight
pairs on Noup o' Norby, Sandness, west coast of Shetland,
in June 1901.
Fair Isle.
In sequence of geographical position towards the south
we must now say a few words regarding Fair Isle, our
" Scottish Heligoland," as regards migrants.
The exact date when the first Fulmars visited and took
up home in Fair Isle is, so far as I am aware, uncertain.
However, that accomplished fact only dates back some three
or four years from 1905, say to 1901 or 1902, in the latter of
which a few of the birds, but no nests, were observed. In
1903 about a dozen pairs were nesting at the north-west end
of the island, and some probably also at the Sheep Craig.
Since then other suitable places have been occupied (Eagle
Clarke, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1906, p. 79) ; and in 1907
birds were noted to have appeared at the stations there even
as early in the season as 17th January {ibid., 1907, p. 80).
Orkney.
So long ago as 1837, Robert Dunn gave a clear account of
the status of the Fulmar in Shetland and Orkney. He tells
us that the Fulmar was an occasional visitor to the Shetland
Isles " during the winter in stormy weather," and he was
" not aware of its having been seen in Orkney."1
Now, about this time, as has been mentioned above,
Fulmars had made first colonisation of Faroe, but Shetland
(Foula) was not tenanted until 1878, or after forty years had
elapsed. It may be useful to remember this, and so compare
the more rapid advances which have succeeded in Britain,
especially if we still consider that St Kilda has exercised any
influence at all upon their extension. I mention it here to
keep further argument, either way, before our readers.
1 The Ornithologists' Guide to the Islands of Orkney and Shetland, by
Robert Dunn, Animal Preserver, Hull (London : Richard Taylor, etc.,
1837), P. U5-
Nat., iqi2. Plate
l#
0RTH
MAP ©F SCO J
DR J A. HARVIE- BROWNS
PAPER ON THE
Distribution & Dispersal '
or
The 'Fulmar Petrel
)
THE FULMAR ioi
The earliest positive record of Fulmars breeding in
Orkney appears to be that of the late James Tomison, who
observed them nesting at Hoy Head in 1900, in 1901 about
thirty to forty nests, and in 1902 over fifty (Ann. Scot. Nat.
Hist.y 1904, p. 94). But there is some evidence that they
were there a few years earlier, for Mr Ground tells us {British
Birds, 191 1, p. 198) that in May 1896 he found a dead
Fulmar at Stromness containing " a fully-shelled egg ready
for extrusion," and was informed at the time that a few pairs
had established themselves on Hoy.1 According to E. B.
Dunlop {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 191 1, p. 246) there were
hundreds of pairs breeding last year between Kame and the
Old Man of Hoy ; they have also greatly increased further
south on the west coast of the island, and have now put in
an appearance (three pairs) at the south end. Strangely
enough, A. H. Evans when visiting the Hoy cliffs the same
season in a motor-launch did not see a trace of the birds
there from below.
On 8th June 1901, a number of Fulmars were seen build-
ing nests in Westray {Ann. Scot. Nat Hist., 1902, p. 199),
and during the summer of 1907 several pairs were observed
frequenting the cliffs between Stromness and Bay of Skaill
(J. Walpole-Bond, Country Life, ;th December 1907). Lastly,
there is the statement over the initials " M. S. " in the
Scotsman of 22nd July 191 1, that six or eight pairs were
nesting that summer on the cliffs of Deerness (east side of
Mainland), and also on Copinshay.
As regards Stack and Skerry - there is not much to relate.
In July 1889, Harvie-Brown saw one solitary Fulmar circling
round the Stack — the Orkney home of the Gannet — evidently
taking a careful survey of its position and " bold-to " aspect,
with perhaps a view to future occupancy. This bird had the
usual grey mantle, but with slightly darker markings on the
back — probably indicating youth.
During the spring of 1901, and again in 1902, one or two
1 The year 1891 has been several times cited in error as the date of
their first nesting in Hoy (cf. British Birds, March 1912, p. 287).
2 Frequently, but as we have elsewhere shown, erroneously called
Sule Skerry.— J. A. H.-B.
102 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
birds at a time were frequently seen about Skerry, on which
the lighthouse stands (Tomison, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1904,
p. 94), and on 2nd February 1909 one was killed at the
lantern {ibid., 1910, p. 211).
(To be continued?)
NOTES ON THE PLUMAGE OF THE FULMAR
PETREL.
By Wm. Eagle Clarke.
Though the Fulmar Petrel (Fultnarus glacialis) has been
known as a native of the British Isles for over two hundred
years, yet there seems to be a singular dearth of information
regarding its first plumage. This, strange to say, is not
described in most of the numerous histories of British birds,
nor in the monograph of the Tubinares of Salvin (British
Museum Catalogue of Birds, vol. xxv.), nor the recent great
work by Godman, and only inadequately in one or two
works.
During my visits to St Kilda in the autumns of 1910 and
191 1, I was able to secure several specimens which were just
able to fly, some of them with a small amount of nestling
down still adhering to the lower part of the abdomen.
In these young birds the grey upper plumage is decidedly
paler and more uniform in tint than that of the adults, while
their heads, necks, and under surface are pure white, and silky
in appearance — in the older birds these white parts have a
yellowish hue.
The young birds have the mantle, scapulars, and wings
(except the primaries and secondaries) of a delicate silvery
grey, each feather having a whitish margin. The lower back
and tail are paler grey, the feathers of the latter having
white tips. The outer webs of the primaries and secondaries
are dark slate-grey. The feet are livid white, and the bill is
rather paler in its varied colours than in the adult. Both
young and old have a dusk)' patch of hair-like feathers in
NOTES ON PLUMAGE OF FULMAR 103
front of the eye. This description also applies to specimens
captured off Fitful Head, Shetland, in May.
In the adults some of the feathers of the mantle and scap-
ulars are edged with ashy brown, as are also some of the
outer webs of the wing coverts — a feature seldom mentioned
in descriptions. These brown markings are, however, some-
what irregularly distributed, and impart a mottled appearance
to the upper plumage. The white portions of the plumage
are not pure white, as is generally stated, but have a yellow
cast, as already mentioned. The following is a detailed
description of the complicated coloration of the bill taken a
few moments after death. Upper mandible. — Nasal tubes
light bluish grey with black freckles, orifice black ; culmen
plate greenish brown, brownish horn - colour at its apical
hook ; upper maxillary plate light bluish grey ; lower maxil-
lary plate pale horn-colour. Under mandible. — Ventral plate
pale greenish horn-colour ; dorsal plate pinkish olive at base,
passing to slate colour at apex ; terminal plate horn-colour.
Feet pale greenish grey, the webs lighter. Irides dark
hazel. This description of the adult plumage is taken from
specimens procured at St Kilda in September, and at Fair
Isle in April and May.
The Fulmar is either a dimorphic species, or there are
two races of it, a pale and a dark form. The dark bird is
said to predominate on the north coast of Iceland and in
Greenland, and to breed there in incredible numbers. The
Duchess of Bedford, however, informs me that none of these
dark birds were observed among the great numbers of
Fulmars which came under her notice at Grimsey, an island
off the north coast of Iceland, in July 1910. This form has
been detected in small numbers among the vast throng of
Fulmars which are such a marked feature in the bird-life of St
Kilda, and several have been snared on the breeding-ledges at
different times in recent years ; — one was observed among
the nesting Fulmars at Soay in the summer of 191 1. It is
well known to the St Kildans, who designate it the " Blue
Fulmar," on account of its being " blue all over," including
the bill. These dark Fulmars have been erroneously regarded
by some authors as immature birds.
104
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Entirely white birds also occur, but these may be cases of
albinism. I got one pure white young bird, which had been
captured at St Kilda in August 1910, but I was unable to
ascertain whether the eyes of this example were those char-
acteristic of an albino, or of the normal type. The feet of
this specimen were pale pink.
At St Kilda the birds begin to leave soon after the
young are able to fly. They are to be seen in thousands
sailing along the faces of the cliffs, and alighting on their
ledges, down to the middle of September. After this their
numbers fall off, and practically all have moved out to sea by
the end of the month. They return, however, after four or five
weeks' absence, and are present all the winter. The object in
seeking the main is, in my opinion, to go through the
process of moulting there. None of the examples secured
by me in September show signs of moulting, but a bird
obtained in the first week of November exhibits unmistakable
traces of having just passed through its change of plumage.
A LIST OF THE ANTS {HETEROGYNA OR
FORMICIDAl) OF THE FORTH AREA.
By William Evans, F.R.S.E.
THERE is a growing tendency among those who work at the
British Fauna from the distributional standpoint to adopt the
Watsonian system of counties and vice- counties so long
employed by the botanists. The section of our fauna that
has been most thoroughly worked on these lines is the Land
and Freshwater Mollusca ; and, as regards Scotland, there
are Mr Balfour Brown's recent papers on the Water-beetles,
and my list of the Dragon-flies. Now there is promised
shortly the distribution of the British Ants on the same
lines, by Mr Horace Donisthorpe, and it is in connection
with his work that the following records for the counties
falling within the Forth drainage area have been put
together. They are for the most part based on specimens
collected by me ten to fifteen years ago, and form part of the
LIST OF ANTS OF THE FORTH AREA 105
data for a comprehensive account of the Aculeate Hymenop-
tera of the district which I have for some time had in hand.
In general, localised records will not, I understand from Mr
Donisthorpe, be given in his paper, but only a list of
the counties and vice-counties in which each species is known
to have occurred. Unfortunately it not infrequently happens
that a county is partly in one drainage area and partly in
another. Thus, while the corner of Berwickshire north of
St Abb's Head lighthouse is in " Forth," all the rest of the
county is in " Tweed." Similarly, fractions of Peeblesshire at
Portmore Loch and Carlops are in " Forth." On the other
hand, a corner of Midlothian (Edinburgh) has to be conceded
by " Forth " to " Tweed." Then, Stirlingshire falls to be
divided between " Forth " and " Clyde," and Fife between
" Forth " and <l Tay." In the following list the Watsonian
numbers therefore signify in these instances only the portions
of the counties lying within the boundary-line of" Forth."
Reckoning as species — which some authorities consider
they are — the five forms covered by the old name Myrtnica
rubra (L.), it will be seen that we have eleven species of
Ants in the Forth area. The " hill " Ant {Formica rufd)
occurs only in the western or Perthshire, that is to say, the
Highland section of the valley, and one or two others appear
to be very local. The rest are all common and widely
distributed, Formica fusca and Myrtnica ruginodis having been
taken in each of the eight comital divisions. Lasius umbratus
race mixtus is as yet somewhat of a puzzle to me ; I have so far
met with it only in company with, or in the neighbourhood of
L.flavus, a fact which seems to stand in need of explanation.
As an introduced species Monomorium pJiaraouis (L.) has
on several occasions made its appearance in Edinburgh
hotels, and a number of other foreign Ants occur in hot-
houses, but these form no part of our fauna.
List of Species, with Localities.
Note. — 81 = Berwickshire, 82 = Haddington, 83 = Edinburgh, 84 -L:nlithgow,
85 = Fife and Kinross, 86 = Stirling, 87 = S.W. Perth and Chckmannan,78 = Peebles.
Formica rufa, Linn.
87. Aberfoyle and Loch Ard side, Pass of Leny, Trossachs, and
5 o
106 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Brig o' Turk. I have a specimen from Cambusmore, on the east
side of Callander, but have not seen a nest there.
Formica fusca, Latr.
8 1. Pease Dean and St Abb's Head.
82. Longniddry, North Berwick, Dunbar, Lammermuirs above
Garvald, Kidlaw, Fidra Island, etc.
%$' Salisbury Crags and Arthur Seat, Blackford Hill, Comiston,
Polton, Inveresk, Pathhead, Gorebridge, Bonaly Hill and Glencorse
Reservoir (Pentlands), Newpark, etc.
84. South Queensferry, Binny Craig, Bo'ness, Craigiehall, etc.
85. North Queensferry and Inverkeithing, Oakley and Saline,
Aberdour, Kinghorn, Thornton, Kilconquhar, Markinch, Mawcarse,
Blair Adam, etc.
86. Denny Hills, Manuel, Avonbridge.
87. Culross, Dollar, Ochils above Menstrie, Aberfoyle, Callander,
and Ben Ledi, etc.
78. Near Carlops, Peeblesshire.
Lasius umbratus, Nyl.
82. Luffness Links, $, Sept. 1893 (W. Evans, Ent. Mo. Mag.,
1900, p. 265).
S3. Race mixtns, Nyl. : banks of South Esk, Dalkeith Park, 2
$ ? taken along with several of the next species, 23rd Sept. 1903,
from a big swarm.
85. Same race: Isle of May, <j? , Sept. 1888 (confirmed by E.
Saunders), $ $ and $ 9 (two nests of latter), 19 10 and 191 1.
Recorded from the May by P. H. Grimshaw (Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.,
1908, p. 90). Cf. also note by Donisthorpe — who has kindly identified
some of my specimens — in Ent. Rec, 1911.
Lasius flavus, De G.
81. Cockburnspath (J. Hardy), St Abb's Head.
82. Railway bank at Dunbar, Gullane, Fidra Island.
83. Arthur Seat and Salisbury Crags, banks of the South Esk
in Dalkeith Park, Glencorse Reservoir and Torduff (Pentlands).
Dalmahoy Hills.
84. South Queensferry, Dalmeny Park.
85. North Queensferry, Inverkeithing, St Davids, Aberdour,
Burntisland, Kinghorn, Elie, Isle of May (Sept. 1888 onwards).
87. Ochils above Castle Campbell and Menstrie, Aberfoyle,
Balquhidder, Abbey Craig.
78. Portmore Loch.
LIST OF ANTS OF THE FORTH AREA 107
Lasius niger, Linn.
81. Cockburnspath.
82. Longniddry, Luffness, Gullane and Dirleton Links, Tyning-
hame, Dunbar.
83. Morningside, Craigentinny Meadows, Musselburgh Links and
Levenhall Quarry, Dalhousie.
84. Kirkliston (S. E. Brock), Craigiehall.
85. Pettycur, Kinross, Isle of May.
87. Bridge of Allan, Pass of Leny.
Leptothorax aceryorum, Fab.
82. Saltoun.
Z$. Salisbury Crags, Polton, Ravensnook near Penicuik, Bavelaw,
Ravelrig-toll Moss, Kirknewton, Newpark, Torduff (Pentlands).
84. Rocks at foot of Binny Craig.
85. Thornton, Blair Adam.
86. Near Falkirk.
87. Roman Camp, etc., near Callander; Kelty Glen, Aberfoyle.
78. Macbiehill, Peeblesshire; but this is in "Tweed."
The following are by some looked upon as "races" of a single
species, Myrmica rubrat (Linn.) : —
Myrmica sulcinodis, Nyl.
83. Bavelaw Moss near Balerno, ?, June 1899.
Myrmica l/evinodis, Nyl.
82. Dunbar, several $ <j? , July 1900.
85. Isle of May, $ $ from nest, July 1897.
Myrmica ruginodis, Nyl.
81. St Abb's Head.
82. Ormiston, Luffness, Dunbar, Castle Moffat, Lammerlaw, etc.
83. Salisbury Crags, Braid Hills, Pathhead near Dalkeith, Tyne-
head, Gorebridge, Gladhouse, Glencorse and summit of Caerketton
(Pentlands), Bonaly, Bavelaw, Dalmahoy Hills, Selms Moor, New-
park, etc.
84. Ecclesmachan, Bo'ness, Torphichen Hills.
85. North Queensferry, Aberdour, Kinghom, Thornton, West
Wemyss, Largo, Crail, Isle of May, Markinch, Lomond Hills,
Leslie, Blair Adam, Cleish Hills, Saline, Oakley, Charlestown.
86. Denny, Manuel, Avonbridge.
108 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
87. Culross, Forest Mill, Dollar, Menstrie Glen, Aberfoyle,
Callander, Ben Ledi, Balquhidder.
78. Portmore Loch and Carlops.
Myrmica scabrinodis, JVyL
82. Luffness Links, £ £ , Aug. 1896.
83. Dalmahoy Hills, $ $ and $ ? in nest, April 1899.
84. Dalmeny Park.
85. St Davids, June, 1900; North Queensferry, several nests,
April 1905 ; West Wemyss, nests common under stones, April 1906 ;
Isle of May, igioand 191 1.
86. Near Manuel, two nests, March 19 12.
87. Castle Campbell near Dollar, <j> 9> Jub' 1902; Aberfoyle,
S, Sept. 1907.
Myrmica lobicornis, NyL
82. North Berwick, <j> $, Aug. 1897.
83. Near Inveresk, nest, May 1900.
85. Kinghorn, ? ?, May 1900.
87. Callander, 9, April 1900.
FURTHER CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR KNOW-
LEDGE OF THE RHIZOPODA AND HELIOZOA
OF SCOTLAND.
By James Meikle Brown, B.Sc, F.L.S.
Plate V.
SINCE my previous communication dealing with the
Rhizopoda and Heliozoa {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., October
191 1), I have had the opportunity of examining a large
quantity of material very kindly supplied to me by Mr Wm.
Evans, to whom I wish to express my indebtedness and
thanks for his generosity. The material consisted of bundles
of ground moss, some very wet, collected by Mr Evans him-
self in the Isle of May and on the Bass Rock, on the east
coast of Scotland ; and some further similar material gathered
by Mr Eagle Clarke in St Kilda, off the west coast.
No sphagnum was included in any of the samples
Scot. Nat., 191 2.
Plate V.
9
■
10
13
11
i-:-
15
SCOTTISH RHIZOPODA AND HELIOZOA
RHIZOPODA AND HELIOZOA OF SCOTLAND 109
submitted; and seeing, as I learn from Mr Evans, this does
not occur at all on either the Isle of May or on the Bass,
their Rhizopod fauna should prove particularly interesting,
as we shall be dealing with moss-dwellers as distinct from
sphagnum-dwellers. Sphagnum does, however, occur in St
Kilda, but was absent from the material examined, and
several typical sphagnum types of Rhizopod were present
in small numbers (e.g.yNede/a tubiilata, Sphcnoderiafissirostris,
Placocysta jurassica). As previously pointed out, it is now
well known, thanks especially to the work of Greeff and of
Dr Penard, that certain species of Rhizopod occur in the drier
mosses, and not elsewhere ; and that these species are gener-
ally somewhat peculiar in structure in adaptation to their
comparatively dry habitat. Many of the species found in
these situations, however, also occur elsewhere, but they
frequently exhibit a less robust build and show more irregu-
larity of form in the drier habitat (see PI. V., Figs. 9 and 15) ;
while others again seem to reach their maximum develop-
ment in the ground mosses. This I believe to be true for
Spheuoderia dentata and Trinema enchelys. There always
occur in material of this type numbers of obscure and small
forms of Rhizopod life which are determined with great
difficulty, and as special attention does not seem to have
been given to them in this country, it is not surprising that
undescribed species should be found on careful search ; but
in the absence of a knowledge of their life-history, one feels
some doubts as to the advisability of adding new species to
the already lengthening list. It is only after continued
observation on large numbers of individuals obtained from
widely separated localities, that two new species are here
described.
CORYCIA radiata, n. sp. (PI. V., Figs. 1-4).— This species
has the general characters of the genus, the protoplasmic
body being enclosed in a sac-like envelope or test, provided
with a widely open ventral aperture. It differs from C.
flava, apart from its small size, especially in the characters
of the dorsal region of the envelope. As in that species, the
test may be supposed to consist of two regions, an upper
or dorsal (posterior) portion, rigid, of fixed outline, formed
no THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
of a transparent and colourless chitinoid membrane, passing
gradually into a lower ventral (anterior) portion, consisting
of a much more delicate, thin, transparent pellicle, very
deformable, always exhibiting foldings and wrinklings ; it
may be widely open below, and again may completely close
the " mouth " of the test by infolding, while sometimes it
seems to be partially introverted. Seen from above, the
test is circular in outline. The dorsal (posterior) face is
margined by two concentric circular ridges, appearing as
circles (PI. V., Figs. 1-4); and from its central point, seven
(sometimes eight) ridges (lines) radiate towards the margin.
Side view shows that the dorsal region or fundus instead of
having the form of a rounded dome (as in C.flavd) is much
flattened, and only slightly raised towards the centre, gener-
ally giving it a low conical form, from the apex of which the
seven or eight radial ridges originate. The circular and
radial ridges are produced by a slight thickening and eleva-
tion of the substance of the test, and may be compared with
the rampart of C.penardi and the horns of C. coronata, and
their presence naturally adds rigidity to this part of the
envelope. They are invariably present, and give a very
distinctive appearance even to the empty envelope (PI. V.,
Fig- 3)-
From the outer and more ventral transverse ridge the
lateral margins of the envelope descend in a more or less
regular curve, bulging slightly at first, then narrowing, and
pass gradually into the ventral wrinkled region.
No foreign matter occurs on any part of the test.
The protoplasmic body does not nearly fill the envelope,
and no epipodes were observed. In the resting state, it has
the form of a rounded or oval mass of greyish protoplasm,
containing numerous granules and small food-bodies, and
enclosing one or more vacuoles. The nucleus is small and
not always conspicuous. Sometimes the body extends and
protrudes partially through the aperture of the test as an
irregular mass, but no pseudopodia were seen. The inner
body of such extended individuals was highly vacuolated.
Movement is very sluggish.
Size. — Small ; varying from 24-30 /ul in diameter,
RHIZOPODA AND HELIOZOA OF SCOTLAND in
Locality. — Ground moss. Ecclesall (Sheffield), 1910 ; Bass
Rock and Isle of May, 191 1 ; St Kilda, 191 1 ; Dore (Derby-
shire), Surrey, 191 1.
EUGLYPHA DENTICULATA, n. sp. (PL V., Figs. 5-1 1). —
In broad view the test is ovoid (oviform), bluntly rounded
posteriorly, broadest about one-third the length from
the posterior end, from which point the lateral margins
descend, narrowing very slightly at first, then more abruptly,
to the borders of the much-contracted mouth. The test is
compressed laterally to about one-half the width, giving
an elliptical outline to both dorsal and narrow side views.
No spines are present, and the test is transparent and
colourless.
The surface appearance is very characteristic. The
plates, which are small and numerous, are elongated with
obtusely rounded ends, and arranged in regular rows alter-
nately placed, and so disposed that considerable overlapping
is produced from end to end, and only very slight from side
to side (PL V., Fig. 11). The imbricated end-portions stand
out very prominently, while the lateral margins are in-
distinctly seen, and this gives on superficial examination
a scalariform appearance to the surface of the test (PL V.,
Figs. 6 and 7).
The mouth is elliptical, obscure, and much contracted,
and the outline of the end-plates not easily seen. Towards
the mouth the arrangement of the plates becomes less regular,
and the aperture itself is bordered by several (eight or nine)
rather irregularly arranged pointed plates, not always of equal
size, producing an unevenly denticulate appearance.
The protoplasm is normal, and practically fills the test.
The posterior portion is clear, containing the distinctly seen
nucleus. The middle portion contains granules and food
bodies, while the anterior region is hyaline, and in the active
animal projects through the mouth aperture as a clear mass,
from which arise numerous delicate elongate pseudopodia.
Size. — Length, from 43 to 48 fx ; breadth, from 23 to
28 i*. The proportions are slightly variable, and irregularly
formed specimens (Fig. 9) are occasionally seen.
Locality. — Ground moss. Aberfoyle, 1910; Duddon
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
(Lancashire), 1910; Isle of May, 191 r ; St Kilda, 1911;
Surrey, 191 1.
The species is readily recognised by its compressed oval
outline, contracted denticulate mouth, and surface appear-
ance. It is difficult to say to what species it is most closely
related.
Table of Species found.
1. Rhizopoda.
List of Species.
Bass
Rock.
Isle of
May.
St. Kilda.
Amoeba proteus, Pallas
X
limax, Dujardin .
X
X
verrucosa, Ehrenb.
X
X
striata, Penard .
X
Dactylosphaerium radiosum [Ehrenb?), But
schli ,
X
Corycia radiata, n. sp.
X
X
X
Pseudochlamys patella, Clap. et. Lack.
X
Arcella arenaria, Greeff
X
Centropyxis aculeata (Ehrenb.), Stein
X
Difflugia globulus, Ehrenb.
X
X
constricta (Ehrenb?), Leidy .
X
X
X
lucida, Penard
X
Cryptodifflugia oviformis, Penaul
X
X
Nebela collaris (Ehrenb.), Leidy
X
X
tincta (Leidy), Awerintz
X
X
lageniformis, Penard
X
X
X
militaris, Penard .
X
tubulata, Brown
X
bigibbosa, Penard .
X
dentistoma, Penard
x
X
Quadrula symmetrica (Wallich), Schulze
X
X
irregularis, Archer
X
Heleopera sylvatica, P'enard
X
petricola, Leidy .
X
rosea, Penard .
X
Capsellina timida, Brown .
X
Euglypha ciliata (Ehrenb.'), Leidy
X
X
strigosa (Ehrenb.) Leidy .
X
X
compressa, Carter
X
X
X
filifera, Penard .
X
X
bryophila, Brown
X
laevis, Perty
X
X
denticulata, n. sp.
X
X
Placocysta jurassica, Penard
X
Assulina muscorum, Greeff
X
X
X
Cyphoderia ampulla (Ehrenb.), Leidy
X
Sphenoderia fissirostris, Penard .
X
dentata, Penard
X
X
X
Trinema enchelys (Ehrenb.), Leidy .
X
X
X
var. galeata, Penard
X
X
lineare, Penard .
X
X
X
complanatum, Penard .
X
X
Corythion dubium, Taranih
X
X
X
pulchellum, Penard .
X
X
X
RHIZOPODA AND HELIOZOA OF SCOTLAND 113
2. HELIOZOA.
Heliozoa are never abundant in the drier moss collections,
but in some of the wetter tufts (probably originally sub-
merged) from the Isle of May, the following were
identified : —
Actinophrys sol, Ehrenb.
Acanthocystis erinaceus, Penard, with rather longer spines
than Dr Penard's figure shows.1
A cantJwcystis pertyana, A rcher.
PompholyxopJirys ovuligera, Penard.
GENERAL REMARKS. — Numerous small Amcebce or
amcebulae occurred, but without showing characters suffi-
ciently distinctive to refer them to particular species.
A noticeable feature was the almost complete absence
of Difflugiae, no species being at all common, and most of
those one expects in moss being quite absent." Similarly
the only Nebela at all plentiful was X. tincta. In the St
Kilda material, a few empty tests of N. militaris and N.
tubulata were found, and these were probably stray specimens
from sphagnum.
The abundance of Sphenoderia dentata in an active
condition in the Isle of May and St Kilda material
was noticeable. It was present under two forms — the
ordinary elliptical type (Fig. 12), and a second smaller
(33 m) more rounded variety (Fig. 13), with plates much
more distinctly imbricated (Fig. 14), and generally heavier
looking. Many individuals were charged with discs, pre-
paratory to reproduction (as in the specimen shown in
Fig- 13).
Capsellina timidal previously described from Sheffield and
Cumberland, was present in the St Kilda moss in numbers,
and was quite typical. The animals also contained com-
paratively large food-bodies, confirming my previous observa-
tions on this point.3
Heleopei'a sylvatica, a rather uncommon species, occurred
in the Isle of May in very small numbers, and showed the
1 Les Heliozoaires deau douce, p. 268.
2 One individual only of D. lucida was observed.
:J Jour?i. Linnean Soc. Z00L, xxxii., p. 80.
5 p
U4 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
characteristic colourless test, covered with almost circular
discs, and without foreign matter.
Individuals of species of Trinema were very common
and of large size. The variety T. encJielys var. galeata, noted
by Dr Penard as occurring in moss, was plentiful.
DESCRIPTION OF PLATE V.
FlGS. 1-4.. Corycia radiata, n. sp.
Fig. 1. Side view of an active individual, x 740, St Kilda. Fig. 2. Do., x 740,
Isle of May. Fig. 3. Empty test, x 740, Isle of May. Fig. 4. Dorsal view of
empty test, x 740, St Kilda.
FlGS. 5-1 1. Euglypha denticulately n. sp.
Fig. 5. Active individual, x 740, St Kilda. Fig. 6. Do., x 330. Figs. 7 and 8.
Empty test in broad and narrow view, x 540, Isle of May. Fig. 9. Individual
with irregular test, x 540, Isle of May. Fig. 10. Mouth scales, x 980.
Fig. II. Body scales, x 980.
FlGS. 12-14. Sphenoderia dentata, Penard.
Fig. 12. Typical form, x 360, Isle of May. Fig. 13. Rounder variety, x 360, Isle
of May. Fig. 14. Body scales of previous individual, highly mag.
Fig. 15. Trinema enchelys (Ehrenb.), Leidy, irregular test, Isle of May.
NOTES.
Report on Scottish Ornithology and Bird-Migration
for 191 1, by Misses Rintoul and Baxter.
Owing to the voluminous nature of the data acquired for the
preparation of this Report, and the general interest taken in the
subject, the Editors beg to intimate that it has been decided to issue
the Report as a separate publication at an early date. Particulars
will be given in the June number of The Scottish Naturalist.
The Killer, or Grampus, in the Solway. — On 6th February
1 91 2. a Killer (Orcinus orca, Fabricius) was stranded on the Blackshaw
Bank, Caerlaverock, Dumfriesshire. When found the animal was
already dead. The contents of its stomach included many Golden
Plovers and a few Lapwings, Mallards, and Gulls. I had great difficulty
in deciding as to the species to which this Cetacean belonged, as it
NOTES 115
had been disposed of as soon as possible to the Dundas Chemical
Company, who immediately cut it up and boiled it down. Though
recorded in the Dumfries and Galloway Standard of 17th February
1 91 2, as a " Pilot Whale," I managed to obtain a description of it,
and also a tooth, which enabled my friend, Mr R. Lydekker, to
confirm my opinion that it was a Killer. Such conflicting evidence
was forthcoming as regards its measurements that I should be sorry
to say more than that the specimen must certainly have been a very
large one. — Hugh S. Gladstone.
The Greater Wheatear in Midlothian. — On 9th May
191 1, my daughter and I watched for some time a beautiful male
of the large race of Wheatear {Saxicola cenanthe leucorrhoa) at the
cairn on the summit of South Black Hill, Pentlands. There was no
mistaking it, its large size, and altogether more " distinguished "
appearance as compared with the other Wheatears we saw in the
course of our walk across the hills, being very striking. On the
morning of the same day Greater Wheatears were observed on
migration at the Isle of May, by Misses Baxter and Rintoul {ante,
p. 54). I have recorded this race from East Lothian in autumn
(Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1910, p. 55), but the present record is the
first for Midlothian. — William Evans.
Barn Owls in Berwickshire. — The Barn Owl (Strixjlammea),
which is now a scarce bird in Scotland generally, is an increasing-
species in the Merse of Berwickshire. About twenty years ago its
numbers were reduced to a low ebb, but of late years it has become
fairly plentiful in suitable districts. The local bird-stuffers unfortun-
ately get a good many to preserve during the season, and about the
beginning of this year one of the craft in Duns had seven or eight
on hand at one time. Most of the birds, however, had been picked
up dead, or in a moribund state, and were in an emaciated
condition. They were all light-coloured, white-breasted birds. —
T. G. Laidlaw, Duns.
[A similar increase has been observed in Haddingtonshire. — Eds.]
Brent Goose in Peeblesshire. — As it is quite exceptional to
find the Brent Goose (Branta bernida) away from the sea, or the
saltings on the coast, it may be of interest to record the occurrence
of a specimen in Peeblesshire, about twenty miles inland, in
February last. The bird, when first seen, was frequenting some
grass fields on a farm near West Linton, but on an attempt being
made to stalk it, it proved to be very wary, and left the neighbourhood.
A day or two later it was shot on the meadows at Drochil, about
four miles from the place where it was first observed.
n6 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
The bird was a <$ , in very good condition and plumage. —
T. G. Laidlaw, Duns.
The "Display" of the Goosander. — A number of Goos-
anders (Mergits merganser) winter regularly in Linlithgow Loch,
seldom arriving before early November, and departing for the most
part in March and April, by which time all, or nearly all, are paired
off. As in some other ducks, the so-called " nuptial performance " in
the present species is apparent long previous to the breeding-season,
commencing in November immediately after the arrival of the birds,
although more frequent and fully developed in later weeks. Of the
various attitudes and actions shown by the drakes under the
influence of sexual emotion, the following are the most striking : —
(i) Whilst swimming rapidly in company with one or more females,
the male with great suddenness and rapidity stretches his head and
neck perpendicularly upwards to their fullest extent, the bill gaping ;
and thence with equal abruptness assuming his ordinary demeanour.
(2) The second performance bears considerable resemblance to one
of the Mallard's, the bird raising the fore part of the body in the
water, and simultaneously curving the neck so that the bill is
directed in towards the breast. (3) At intervals, while swimming,
the drake executes a spasmodic movement with the feet, a jet of
water being thrown upwards — the action having the effect of
propelling him forward a foot or two with a sudden jerk. These
three performances are gone through in no fixed order, and all are
not always to be seen on the same occasion. The only audible
vocal accompaniment consists of a low, soft, croaking note, con-
tinuously emitted. Elevation of the head-feathers in the form of a
crest, slight bowings and head-tossings, are amongst the other
actions shown during "display." Initiation by one particular bird
is frequently the signal for other drakes to hurry to the spot, the
more distant ones rising on the wing in their haste to participate,
until a little band is collected, the individuals swimming to and fro
in close company. Rivalry is not greatly in evidence, but
occasionally a bird will lunge out with his powerful bill at a
neighbour, or even pursue him over the surface of the water for
a short distance ; the females sometimes repel the unwelcome
advances of a male in a similar way. While more distinctive of the
drake, " display " in the Goosander, as in the case of the Mallard, is not
peculiar to that sex, but it appears to be infrequent in the female ;
I have only observed actions 2 and 3 in the latter. — S. E. Brock,
Kirkliston.
Smew in Elginshire. — It may interest the readers of the
NOTES 117
Scottish Naturalist to know that a brown-headed Smew was shot
on Loch-an-dorb, near Dava, by Mr Mackintosh, gamekeeper to
Capt. Ewen I. Brodie of Lethen, proprietor of Duncarn Shootings,
Nairnshire, on the 7th February last. I saw the bird in this town
after being stuffed, and think, from its being of a larger size than
the immature male I have in my collection, it was an adult female. —
Richard H. W. Leach, Inverness.
Early Appearance of the Common Tern on the
Clyde. — I read with interest Mr George Stout's note on this
subject in the April number of the Scottish Naturalist. I may
add that on 1st February my wife, my niece, and myself saw two
or three Terns on the wing in Kildalloig Bay, between Davaar
Island and Davaar Point, where a considerable stretch of sand is
exposed at low water. Again on the 4th we saw a small flock of ten
or eleven. I have no doubt of their being Terns, as we were well
acquainted with them at Pentland Skerries. — J. R. Laurence,
Davaar Lighthouse.
Additional records of Scottish Stratiomyidae, etc. — In
a paper by the Rev. James Waterston and the present writer {Ann.
Scot. Nat. Hist., 1909, p. 91) forty species of Diptera belonging to
the families Stratiomyidre and Asilidre were recorded from various
localities in Scotland. I have now some additional records to make
from the Blairgowrie district of Perthshire. Two species of special
interest have to be mentioned: (1) Stratiomys furcata, Fab., ^,
2nd June 191 1. This is the only occasion on which I have seen
a Stratiomys alive, and I have no note of any Scottish record for
this species beyond the old one (1837) cited by Mr Grimshaw
under the name of S. riparia, Mg. {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1903,
p. 160). According to Verrall {British Flies, vol. v.), S. riparia,
Mg., is now considered a variety of furcata. (2) Bombylius canescens,
Mik. I have a good series taken in June and July during the last
three years. This interesting fly is fond of hovering over sandy
places on the hottest days of summer.
Blairgowrie is an additional locality for the following species : —
Sargus flavipes, Mg., 9> 23rd August 1910; Chloromyia formosa,
Scop., <$, 1 6th June 1911; Microchrysa flavicornis, Mg., $, nth
June 191 1 ; Beris geniculata, Curt., $ , 16th June 191 1 ; Hcematopota
crassicornis, Whlbg., 2 £ <£, 21st July 1909; Tabanus sudeticus,
Zlr., $, nth July 1910; Thereva nobilitata, Fab., 6* ?> 1 6th June
1910; Dysmachus trigonus, Mg., £ $, not rare, June 1910-n,
taken with a large ? Spilogaster as prey ; Dioctria rufipes, De
several taken 2nd and 4th June 1911.
L I B R A R v
n8 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
In view of the comparative scarcity of these Uiptera, it is
interesting to note that, with the exception of S. flavipes and
H. crassicorniS) they all occurred on quite a small piece of rough
ground lying just outside the town. — A. E. J. Carter, Blairgowrie.
Marionina sphagnetorum (Vejd.), from St Kilda.— In
some ground moss, collected by Mr Eagle Clarke at St Kilda last
September, I found an example of this small Oligochaete, an
addition to the recorded fauna of the island. Lumbricus rabeliiis
also occurred in the moss, but this earthworm has already been
recorded from St Kilda {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1906, p. 84). —
William Evans.
BOOK NOTICES.
Distribution and Origin of Life in America, by Robert
Francis ScharrT, Ph.D., B.Sc, pp. xvi + 497, 21 Maps.
London: Constable & Co., 1911. Price 10s. 6d. net.
This volume is an important contribution to the science of
Zoogeography. It is founded upon the " Swiney Lectures on
Geology" delivered by the author in 1908, but in issuing them in
book form, Dr Scharff has taken the opportunity to rewrite and
considerably extend his studies. The very full bibliography given
at the end of the book proves the author to be thoroughly
acquainted with the literature of this fascinating subject, and the
views propounded, though far from orthodox, bear evidence of
extensive reading and much careful thought. One of the main
points insisted on in the series of fifteen chapters, each of which
treats of a distinct portion of the New World, is the former
existence of land connections between America and Europe, by
way of the present Atlantic Ocean. One of these joined Scotland
and Labrador by way of Greenland and Iceland, while another
connected the Mediterranean Region directly with the West Indies.
A great variety of evidence is brought forward in support of the
author's contentions, and it is interesting to note his argument that
the importance of " accidental " dispersal has been much overrated
in the past. The conditions which led to and prevailed in the so-
called "Ice Age" or "Glacial Epoch" are also discussed in an
interesting and convincing manner. The volume is worthy of
careful study by all who are interested in the problems with which
it deals, while its exceedingly moderate price, clearly printed text,
GLEANINGS 119
and wealth of illustrative maps, render it accessible and attractive to
all classes of readers.
Earthworms and their Allies, by Frank E. Beddard, pp. vi +
150. Cambridge : .at the University Press, 1912. Price is.
Earthworms, owing to their terrestrial habit and comparatively
limited powers of locomotion, are peculiarly fitted for throwing light
on the problems of geographical distribution, and this addition to
the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature views them from
this standpoint. The early portion of the volume describes in
detail a representative primitive species, and from this are deduced
those families and genera which are supposed to have succeeded it
in time. But the major portion is devoted to the distribution of
earthworms, their frequency, their occurrence in continental areas
and oceanic islands, and to those facts which bear directly
thereupon, their habits, their power of movement and migration,
and the natural obstacles which may check their dispersal. These
themes are treated in an original and suggestive manner. On
p. 5, line 14, read is for "are"; p. 13, line 18, sperms for
" sperm " ; in fig. 4, the ventralmost pair of setre described as
absent are clearly shown ; in the index it is absurd to add after
11 Structure," " {sec Anatomy)," when there is only a single reference —
to p. 1.— J. R.
GLEANINGS.
Professor C. J. Patten, in an interesting paper in the Irish Naturalist (March
1912, pp. 49-51), records the addition of three birds to the Irish list. While at
the Tuskar Rock Lighthouse, he procured two Reed Warblers {Acrocephalus
streperus), from a party of five on 19th September. On 1 2th September he
obtained a Wagtail, which he believes to be MotaeiUa flava /lava, and on the 5th
October a Skylark, which he is of opinion is Alauda arvensis canlarella.
Further reports of the occurrence of Little Auks in various parts of England
and Ireland are published in the April number of British Birds (p. 309). In
the same magazine (p. 312) there is an interesting list of marked birds that have
recently been "recovered" ; among them there are several Scottish records, includ-
ing a Blackbird, a Starling, and a Lapwing ringed in the West of Scotland and
recovered in Ireland, a Greenfinch ringed near Glasgow and recovered near Aber-
deen, and a Lapwing ringed in Peeblesshire and recovered at St Hilaire de Riez,
France.
In the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (1912, Part I., pp. 8-22)
appear two interesting papers, by Bruce F. Cummings and G. A. Boulenger
respectively. The first is entitled "Distant Orientation in Amphibia" ; and the
I20 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
second, " Some Remarks on the Habits of British Frogs and Toads." Mr
Cummings' observations and experiments were made with the Crested and
Palmated Newts. The paper deals with the " homing faculty " of these lowly
Vertebrates, and the conclusions arrived at are that the instinct is poorly
developed, and that they are aided in their search for water (for breeding
purposes) by their decided propensity to walk downhill. Mr Boulenger's
contribution deals with the migrations during the breeding season of the Common
Frog, Natterjack Toad, and Common Toad, and strongly recommends the last-
mentioned as the most suitable Batrachian upon which to found future
investigations.
In a note by G. C. Champion (Ent. Mo. Mag., April 1912, p. 89) we learn that
Carabus hooker 7, a beetle described by Nodier in 182 1, from specimens obtained in
the neighbourhood of Ben Lomond, has been ascertained by P. Lesne to be
undoubtedly C. nitens, Linn.
In the continuation of J. R. le B. Tomlin and W. E. Sharpe's paper, " Notes on
the British Species of Longitarsus (a genus of Coleoptera)," which appears in the
April number of the Entomologist 's Monthly Magazine (pp. 73-76), a black variety of
L. suturellus, Duft, is recorded from Coatbridge (G. Brown), and L. senecionis,
Bris., is stated to have been taken as far north as Forres.
In the Entomolgisi 's Record for March (p. 71), H. St J. K. Donisthorpe records
Catops montivagas, Heer, as a new British beetle. A single specimen was taken by
him at Nethy Bridge on 27th June last.
At a meeting of the Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Society held on
20th November, 191 1 (vide Entomologist's Record, March 1912, p. 80), R. Tait
exhibited a fine series of Lepidoptera taken by him at Braemar, and including
Plusia interrogationis, Dasydia obfuscaria, Cienonympha tiphon, Anthrocera exulans,
Nemeophila plantaginis (with var. hospita)% Cidaria populata, C. immanata, Coremia
miaiitala, Larentia cccsiata, and Halia brnnneata.
W. J. Lucas contributes to the April number of the Entomologist (pp. 1 14-1 17)
a paper on "British Orthoptera in 1911." Many Scottish records (too numerous
to quote) are given, while an interesting plate, showing the Mole Cricket
(Gryllotalpa gryllotalpd), with wings spread and closed, and the Grasshopper
Meconema thalassinum in the act of ovipositing.
At a meeting of the Linnean Society of London, held on 21st March, Dr John
Mastin sent for exhibition under the microscope two slides of Polycistina, prepared
from a patch or these organisms found floating off the coast of Whitby, Yorkshire,
in September last. The interest of the exhibition was enhanced by the fact that
the forms were identical with those usually found off the West Indies and
neighbouring coasts, and do not appear to have been previously observed in
British waters. A stormy sea and heavy wind had prevailed a few da)'S before
this remarkable discovery.
The Scottish Natural
No. 6.] 1912 [June
THE FULMAR: ITS PAST AND PRESENT DIS-
TRIBUTION AS A BREEDING SPECIES IN
THE BRITISH ISLES.
By J. A. Harvie-Brown, LL.D., F.R.S.E.
TO OUR READERS
A Revised Version of the Map illustrating
Dr Harvie-Brown'S paper on "The Fulmar,"
and forming Plate IV., is issued in the present
number.
The Map published in the May number
should be cancelled.
Also, in July 1902, Mr Thos. Tait of Inverurie saw about
a dozen pairs in all flying close about the high cliffs of
Clomore, and reported the same to Harvie-Brown. This
was noted at the time in the Ann. Scot. Nat Hist, 1902,
p. 253, and again referred to in the Fauna of the North-west
Highlands and Skye, 1904, p. 360.
In 1 90 1 and 1902, however, Harvie-Brown failed to see
or hear of any Fulmars at Cape Wrath, and was assured
that there were none there by the lightkeeper ; but in 1904,
1 Vide Vertebrate Fauna of Sutherland, &C, 1887, p. 169.
6 Q
I20 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
second, " Some Remarks on the Habits of British Frogs and Toads." Mr
Cummings' observations and experiments were made with the Crested and
Palmated Newts. The paper deals with the " homing faculty " of these lowly
Vertebrates, and the conclusions arrived at are that the instinct is poorly
developed, and that they are aided in their search for water (for breeding
purposes) by their decided propensity to walk downhill. Mr Boulenger's
contribution deals with the migrations during the breeding season of the Common
Frog, Natterjack Toad, and Common Toad, and strongly recommends the last-
mentioned as the most suitable Batrachian upon which to found future
investigations.
In a note by G. C. Champion (Eni. Mo. Mag., April 1912, p. 89) we learn that
Carabus hookeri, a beetle described by Nodier in 182 1, from specimens obtained in
the neighbourhood of Ben Lomond, has been ascertained by P. Lesne to be
undoubtedly C. nitens, Linn.
In the continuation of J. R. le B. Tomlin and W. E. Sharpe's paper, " Notes on
the British Species of Longitarsus (a genus of Coleoptera)," which appears in the
April number of the Entomologist 's Monthly Magazine (pp. 73-76), a black variety of
Z. suturellus, Duft, is recorded from Coatbridge (G. Brown), and Z. senecionis,
from a patch 0*" these organisms found floating oil the coast ot wmtDy, V orksnire,
in September last. The interest of the exhibition was enhanced by the fact that
the forms were identical with those usually found off the West Indies and
neighbouring coasts, and do not appear to have been previously observed in
British waters. A stormy sea and heavy wind had prevailed a few days before
this remarkable discovery.
i
c
LIBRARY
The Scottish Naturali
No. 6.] 1912 [June
THE FULMAR: ITS PAST AND PRESENT DIS-
TRIBUTION AS A BREEDING SPECIES IN
THE BRITISH ISLES.
By J. A. Harvie-Brown, LL.D., F.R.S.E.
( Concluded front p. 102.)
North Coast of the Mainland of Scotland.
Still following the geographical sequence from north to
south, we now take up the occupation of the north coast of
Scotland.
On 19th and 30th June 1897, Mr W. Eagle Clarke, when
on board the lighthouse s.s. Pharos, saw several Fulmars
flying in company with other rock-birds to the east of Cape
Wrath, as recorded by him in Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist, for that
year, p. 254. This refers with little doubt to the 600-feet
cliffs of Clomore, which extend for a stretch of some three
miles between Cearvaig Bay and Garbh Island — the former
eyrie-holding site of the White-tailed Eagles, of which one
of the old birds of the pair was shot by John Colquhoun.1
Also, in July 1902, Mr Thos. Tait of Inverurie saw about
a dozen pairs in all flying close about the high cliffs of
Clomore, and reported the same to Harvie-Brown. This
was noted at the time in the Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1902,
p. 253, and again referred to in the Fauna of the North-west
Highlands and Skye, 1904, p. 360.
In 1901 and 1902, however, Harvie-Brown failed to see
or hear of any Fulmars at Cape Wrath, and was assured
that there were none there by the lightkeeper ; but in 1904,
1 Vide Vertebrate Fauna of Sutherland, &>c., 1887, p. 169.
6 Q
122
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
when rowing round the bases of the great Clomore Cliffs,
several birds were seen by him to be occupying the grassy
ledges high up in the precipices between Cearvaig Bay and
-^—^ . -
^!j2i<^
~
"i ////))N
- v%^ — - S^gpvyS
Clomore — GarM Island in the distance.
Garbh Island. We give two views here of this part of the
coast, to distinguish it from Cape Wrath, which is three miles
further to the west of Cearvaig Bay.
THE FULMAR
123
Harking back a little in time; on the 10th of July 1900,1
Howard Saunders and Mr Henry Evans, when on board the
s.y. Aster, saw Fulmars go up to the grassy slopes of
"Cape Wrath" (recte = Clomore), vide Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.,
1 90 1, p. 50. Though actual proof is wanting, it may be safely
considered that occupation of Clomore Cliffs took place
about 1897, or even earlier.
The next fixed record for the north coast of Scotland is
to the eastward, at Dunnet Head, in Caithness. Dunnet
Stack Clo-Kearvaig) Clomore.
Head was colonised by the Fulmars as follows : — The first
seen were three birds frequenting the cliffs below the light-
house in 1900, in the month of May, and in February 1901
ten birds were counted. Every year since they have in-
creased in numbers. They were seen nowhere but at these
cliff-faces below the lighthouse till 1904. In that year there
1 Not in 1898, as, by a slip, was entered in Harvie-Brown's Fauna of
the North-west Highlands and Skye, p. 356 — although in that year also
(1898) Howard Saunders was on board Mr H. Evans' yacht at the same
time that Prof. Newton was, and visited Handa.
124
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
were some about half a mile to the east of the Head ; and
one pair certainly nested about three miles to the west, on
the Thurso side of the Head, in 1906. By that time there
were as nearly as could be made out fifteen pairs below the
lighthouse (nine pairs on the east side, and six pairs on
the west side), evidently nesting. On 1st June 1905 a pair
was seen hovering about Holborn Head, on the west side of
Thurso Bay (J. A. H.-B., Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 190;, p. 118).1
Holborn Head.
The diagram in the text showing the dip of the Caithness
pavement to the west of Scrabster (Thurso) Bay — at Hol-
born Head and the Clett Rock — does not represent the
strata of the cliffs of Dunnet Head to the east of Scrabster
Bay, because at the latter higher cliffs there is a cap of much
more friable " Hoy " sandstone (Heddle), which, running in
horizontal ledges near the cliff- summit and disintegrating
there, affords ample foothold, nesthold, and a luxuriant
vegetable growth, affording excellent nesting-ground for the
Fulmars, as they also do — or did ? — for Cormorants.
1 In the Annals for 1906, p. 204, it is stated that on 3rd June 1905
there were twenty-two pairs breeding at Dunnet.
the fulmar 125
East Caithness.
In 191 1 we learn of their first advent or first occupancy
of Berriedale Head, on the east coast of Caithness, where
thirty to forty birds were observed nesting on 30th May
(A. H. Meiklejohn, British Birds, v., 56). at the same time as
they reached the east side of the Orkney Isles {ante, p. 10 1).
The date is later than that of their arrival at Dunnet Head,
and this makes it a little difficult to decide what was the
direction of the advance. We leave the question open for
the present. It remains for future observers to record any
further advances southward should such occur.
Handa, West Coast of Sutherland.
We only summarise the account of this occupancy, which
has been fully treated of in our volume upon the North-west
Highlands and Skye. In that volume also is given a plate,
showing the position of the first colony on the island. At first
when the birds " came up from the sea " in 1902 there would be
about one hundred — according to my informants, — but the
numbers dwindled to about eleven pairs by the time of nest-
ing.1 This is the first reliable notice of their arrival at Handa.2
In 1903 Harvie-Brown steamed round Handa, close in, within
say half a mile of the cliffs; and a party from the yacht
landed on the island and went all along the cliff top, and
Mr Norrie took a series of fine photographs at most of the
salient points. The same year one egg was procured for
Harvie-Brown by the Mathesons and the keeper on the
Scourie shootings, from the only ledge accessible at that
time. Another was obtained from the same place for the
late Prof. A. Newton, which is now in the collection at
Cambridge. Yet another single egg was secured by a
gentleman who had motored all the way from Liverpool,
1 This appears frequently to occur ; as is natural, the first pioneers
are mostly composed of immature birds, and in greater numbers than
those that finally take possession.
2 In regard to W. Dunbar's statement, quoted in our Vertebrate
Fauna of Sutherland, etc. (1887), from his MS. list of 1844, it is significant
that he does not appear to have included the Fulmar in the list of
Sutherland breeding-birds supplied to A. G. More (see Ibis, 1865).
126 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
and had with him a man from Stirlingshire, who was
accustomed to rope-work.
The inaccessibility of the positions taken up by the earlier
colonists is admirably represented by these Handa birds.
Later, as we have before shown, more accessible places are
of necessity occupied.
Hebrides.
Rona AND SULISGEIR.1 — In 1 886 Mr R. M. Barrington
saw one Fulmar at North Rona. Harvie-Brown was there in
1885, when on a cruise in the yawl Crusader \ and did not see
one ; but in 1887, when on a visit in his own yacht Shiantelle,
he found quite a number frequenting the high cliff of the
western Horn, and saw one sitting on a ledge; and in the
same summer these birds were quite abundant around the
isolated stack of Sulisgeir, or — as it is also named — North
Barra. They were flying close round the stack, and very
nearly alighting, though Harvie-Brown cannot remember
seeing one actually do so. He shot one bird, and could
easily have shot many.
The next account we have of the North Rona Fulmars is
given by Her Grace the Duchess of Bedford, who paid two
visits to the island, on 19th July and 25th August 1910. She
described the sights she witnessed that year as in such
extraordinary contrast to what Harvie-Brown had seen
in 1887, that we believe it best to give both accounts for
comparison.
We quote the following from our Fauna of the Outer
Hebrides : — " On this occasion, being anxious to complete
my previous survey of 1885, which was a very hurried and
unsatisfactory one, I turned my back upon the Fork-tailed
Petrels' end of the island, and struck away across the rich
carpet of sea-pink and short sweet grass of the lower northern
peninsula. The sea-pink, which grows in continuous profusion
over the whole surface, filled the air with delicious fragrance,
faint but sweet. The rich but short pasturage is strewn with
scattered boulders, and in places these have been piled
1 North Rona, lat. 590 05' 54", long. 50 52' 04". Sulisgeir or North
Barra, lat. 590 04' 26", long. 6° 14' 34".
THE FULMAR 127
together, no doubt by many previous generations of
shepherds and crofters, and formed into many rough sheep-
folds and shelters. . . . On the face of the north-west precipice
or Horn of Ronay, where there is a considerable broken
surface suitable for such birds nesting, I saw six or eight
Fulmar Petrels skimming, as is their wont, close to and fro
past the cliff-face and top. I saw one alight twice at the
same place, about fifty yards west of the granite cliff before
mentioned. On returning to this place in the afternoon
. . . I saw them again, and several flew very close past
where I was sitting . . . but they rarely flew over the land,
almost always over the sea. It seemed quite evident that
this part of the cliff is the only bit frequented by these birds."
. . . Later, " my delight was great when I saw one Fulmar
sitting, apparently on its nest." After dislodging her by
throwing down a pebble or two, " my disappointment was as
great as my previous delight, when I saw an empty nest," etc.
( Vertebrate Fauna of the Outer Hebrides, 1888, p. xlvi.)
In striking contrast to these experiences are those of "Her
Grace when she visited the island in 19 10. Referring to the
above account, she writes, after quoting the sentence regarding
the sweet scent of the sea-pinks, as follows : — " The sea-pink
was in bloom at the time of my visit, but by no stretch of the
imagination could I have detected its fragrance amidst the
all-pervading stench of the nesting place of hundreds of
Fulmars, Great and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring
Gulls, and his [H.-B.'s] remark probably bears eloquent
testimony to the great increase in these birds since that
time, an increase which may possibly be due to the island
being now entirely uninhabited. The Fulmars occupy not
only the cliffs, but all the old ruins and even the sloping
ledges of rock." {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1910, p. 212.)
This shows indeed a great change both as regards the
population of birds and the disregard of choice in their
nesting places.
Flannan Isles. — The next locality in our geographical
sequence is the Flannan Isles, which lie to the westward of
the Lews.
In June 1881, several were seen by us close to these
128 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
islands, and they were certainly nesting there by 1902, when
Mr Herbert Langton obtained two eggs and reported the
fact to Harvie- Brown. Mr Eagle Clarke, when on Eilean Mor
of that group for the purpose of studying migration in 1904,
was informed that a few pairs of Fulmars had bred on the
outer islands for several years ; and there were two nests (the
first) on Eilean Mor itself that year {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.,
1905, p. 86). The birds were reported as plentiful at the
Flannans in April 1901 and 1902 {ibid., 1902, p. 138, and
1903, p. 210).
Shiant ISLES.— By 1910 the Fulmar had reached the
Shiant Isles, as observed by Misses Baxter and Rintoul on
8th June from the deck of a yacht. They saw several pairs
" fly up again and again to the ledges on the cliff (facing the
north ?), but it could not be ascertained if they were nesting,"
though doubtless they were {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 191 1,
p. 144). In 1903, when Harvie-Brown, while on a cruise on
the yacht Amaranth, was at the north side of these islands,
lie saw not one, though he kept a special eye open for the vision.
St Kilda. — We need not refer to the history and status
of the Fulmars on the St Kilda group of islands, except to
say that the chronological accounts of their presence and
abundance there take us back some two hundred and fifty
years. Nor does it seem necessary to do more than mention
the long isolation of this — the only — original British colony,
from the greater populations of arctic and sub-arctic lands,
though ample opportunity is thereby given for speculations
of not uninteresting nature.
Of their decided and very marked increase at St Kilda,
however, we wish just to say, that the fact seems perfectly
established by the evidence of eye-witnesses, amongst whom
particularly may be mentioned Mr Mackenzie of Dunvegan,
Skye, who, in his capacity of factor to The MacLeod, has long
been an annual visitor to the group. He speaks to the
evident and considerable increase of the birds since the
natives have in great measure ceased to utilise such large
numbers for food, i.e., since the place has been more regularly
visited by the s.s. Dnnara Castle, and other vessels of the
west coast service, and by the trawlers and Norwegian
Son. Nai , I'H.
SBfiS-iSST*'
#
MAP DI SCOTMNB
DR J. A. HARVIE- BROWN'S
PAPER ON THE
Distribution & Dispersal
OF
The Fulmar Petrel
-
M
THE FULMAR 129
whalers that use St Kilda Bay as a harbour of refuge, etc.
The visits of the Dunara Castle date back to the year
1877. In I%79> when Harvie-Brown first visited St Kilda,
and for years thereafter, a few Fulmars used to follow the
Dunara Castle close up to the west entrance of the Sound
of Harris till within view of the Island of Pabbay, when
the birds seemed to shy the land, and sheered off and re-
traced their flight towards St Kilda.
Barra Head, South Isles of Barra. — With reference
to the remarks in our Supplement to the " Fauna of the Outer
Hebrides" (Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1903, p. 18) concerning R.
Gray's statement that the Fulmar " formerly bred in the south
isles of Barra, but has now entirely abandoned that locality,
none having been seen there in the breeding season since
1844" {Birds of IV. Scotland, 1871), we are now cognisant of
what was doubtless his authority for the first part of the
statement, viz., the old record of G. C. Atkinson, who was
"informed" that a few bred on these islands {Trans. Nat.
Hist. Soc, Northumberland, etc., 1832, p. 222).1 J. Wolley's
suggestion, in his paper on the Birds of the Faroe Islands
{Contributions to Ornithology, 1850, p. 115), that perhaps
11 Bara and Rona, two rocks far to the north of Cape
Wrath and the Lewes," were meant, does not seem to help
matters.2 As regards the authority for the latter part of
Gray's statement, we are still in ignorance. On a review of
the evidence, we see no reason to alter our opinion that the
whole statement is open to doubt, and should be placed in
square brackets.
Be the above as it may, there is now a colony of Fulmars
established at Barra Head. The first pair was seen by the
lighthouse-keeper in 1899, but it was not till 1902 that he
actually saw eggs, though nesting may have taken place
before that year without his knowing. There were from
eight to twelve pairs breeding in 1906 (N. B. Kinnear, Ann.
Scot. Nat. Hist., 1907, p. 85).
1 Cf. also the first editions of Hewitson and Yarrell.
2 In justice, however, to Wolley, reference should be made to Prof.
Newton's remarks when reprinting" Wolley's account in the Ootheca
Wolleyana.
6 R
130 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
With the fine cliffs of the south isles of Barra (Barra Head,
Mingulay, etc.), in full view of St Kilda, it is the more
remarkable that the birds should not have come to nest
there until in quite recent years. It would appear, however,
that formerly they seldom extended their flight far in this
direction. In 1884 Mr W. Donald, of the s.s. Dunara Castle,
for the first time in his experience saw one bird at the
11 Hawes Bank," which lies to the south, or a point or two
west of south, of Tiree, and in the fairway of the steamer
route to Castlebay, Barra ; but from that year forward he has
reported seeing others over this same bank. It was here
also that Mr R. Godfrey, when returning from St Kilda on
the Dunara Castle via Barra Head in midsummer 1905, saw
nine Fulmars. Records of summer occurrences inside the
Outer Hebrides, once also so very unusual, are becoming
more frequent, and as we have seen, some pairs have quite
recently arrived at the Shiant Isles ; but whether these
pioneering birds came from the north by way of the Minch,
or from the west and south via Barra Head, it is difficult to
decide. On 25th July 1906 Mr J. Pedder saw one as far in
as the Sound of Sleat, near Isle Ornsay, between Skye and
the mainland (Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1906, p. 240).
Ireland.
The fact — a most interesting one — of the extension of
the breeding-range of the Fulmar southwards to Ireland was
chronicled by Mr R. J. Ussher, in the Irish Naturalist for last
year (p. 149). On nth July 191 1 he counted eighteen
sitting birds on the ledges of a great sea-cliff on the northern
coast of Mayo, and from a boatman he ascertained that they
had come there some four years before, and were increasing.
Later, he learned that a colony of about twenty birds had
been seen on an Ulster cliff in May 191 1. They were said
to have first appeared at this second locality in 1910.
This completes our survey down to and including 191 1.
The data, though no doubt incomplete at many points, bear
striking testimony to the rapid progress and widespread
nature of the recent colonising effort of the Fulmar in
THE FULMAR 131
these islands. The probable cause or causes of the
phenomenon, and whether the new settlers came from St
Kilda or some station in the northern regions, or from
both, are highly interesting questions which may be left for
future discussion. Neither is it our intention to treat in this
article of the autumn and winter range of the species.
Allusion may, however, be made to abnormal visitations to,
for instance, the North Sea. Whilst annually a certain
number attend the fishing-fleets at the Dogger Banks and
the North Sea generally, and come at times to within even
ten or fifteen miles of the land, the years 1875 and 1879
witnessed their appearance in unusual numbers on our coast,
or close to it, along with many Little Gulls, and off Heligoland
along with Pomatorhine Skuas.
Appendix.
Since the paper left my hands, the following further
information has reached me : —
SHETLAND. — Mr Herbert W. Richmond informs me
that in 1908, besides seeing Fulmars on Noss, where
they were very much in evidence, and Unst, he saw
them also on Bressay and Hascosay. In the last named
they flew to and fro by a stack which stands near the low
cliffs, 30 to 40 feet high. The island contains no cliffs but
these low ones, and even these are of small extent. He
" failed to see a nesting bird, but the seaward face was out
of sight."
Orkney. — In the last (May) number of British Birds,
Mr W. J. Balfour Kirke states that he heard of Fulmars on
the west coast of Mainland, Orkney, in 1908, and found a
small colony to the north of Marwick Head in 1910.
When writing of the Orkney colonies (ante, p. 10 1) we
should have mentioned that "scores" of birds were seen
about the Black Craig, near Stromness, on 5th March 1904,
by Mr H. W. Robinson {ibid., January 191 2). This is no
proof, however, that they nested there that year.
HEBRIDES. — From the Barra Head lighthouse-keeper, my
friend Dr J. MacRury has ascertained that although only three
eggs were got there last summer, twenty to thirty birds were
132 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
seen flying about the rocks, and it is probable the majority
of these nested. None has yet been seen about the Mingulay
cliffs. Mr W. Donald writes me (in lit., 8th February 191 2),
that three years ago he saw one bird between the " Dutch-
man's Cap" and Bunessen, near StafTa.
ON SOME SCOTTISH SPECIES OF MYMARIDjE.
By P. Cameron.
The species of Mymaridce are the pygmies of the order
Hymenoptera. They are exceedingly minute, and are thus
difficult to collect unless one paid special attention to them.
All are parasites in the eggs of other insects, and are conse-
quently of economic importance, as, in many cases, they
are very useful in keeping down the numbers of injurious
caterpillars. Probably no order of insects is free from
their attacks. One species, Caraphractus ductus, Hal.
(Polynema nutans), enters the water, using its wings as
swimming organs, and oviposits in the eggs of a dragon-fly,
Calopteryx virgo.
The systematic position of the group is a debatable one.
The Rev. T. A. Marshall, in his Entomological Society's
Catalogue, places them at the end of the Proctotrypidce as
the Mymaridce, and enumerates twelve genera and thirty-six
British species, a number that has been considerably added
to since its publication. Other writers exclude them from
the Proctotrypidce, and treat them as a tribe or subfamily of
the ChalcididcB, or as a separate Family. Ashmead, in his
great work on the genera of the Chalcididce, regards them
as a Family of his Super-family CJialcidoidca, and splits
them up into two subfamilies, as I have indicated in my
list.
Not having paid much attention to these atoms, my list
of the Scotch species I have collected is a short one.
Nevertheless it includes four species new to the British
Fauna.
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 133
MYMARIN^.
Mymarini.
1. Polynema ovidorum, L. Loch Libo, Clober, Bishopton, Manuel.
2. P. albitarse, Kieffer. Mugdock. Mr H. St J. Donisthorpe informs
me that he has this species from Rannoch, where it was
found in the nests of Formica rufa, the nests of which are
such conspicuous objects in the Black Wood of Rannoch.
Lagynodes pallidas, Boh., is another species of Proctotry-
pidce, which is a parasite, or, at least, a resident in the nests
of our big Red Ant.
3. P. ruficolle, Kief. Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.
4. P. longicauda. Kief. Ballantrae, Ayrshire.
GONATOCERIN^.
OOCTONINI.
i. Ooctonus atroelavatuS) Kief. Clober.
THE BRITISH SPECIES OF THE DIPTEROUS
GENUS FANNIA, Rob. Dsv.
By J. R. Malloch.
The want of reliable descriptions of species in English in
many families of insects is one of the principal reasons why
there are so few students of these families ; and even when
one understands German and French, it is not always easy to
obtain the books upon the group one is interested in. I
therefore purpose in the following pages to give a description
of the species in the genus Fanm'a, R. D., which is better
known as Homalomyia, Bouche. The generic name Fannia
has precedence over Homalomyia by four years, and is
adopted in the Katalog der Paldarktisclicn Dipteren, 1907.
However much one regrets a change of this nature, the rule
of priority must be regarded, and unless good and sufficient
I34 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
grounds existed I have no doubt such a change would not be
adopted. The most exhaustive and reliable work on the
family is that of Herr Stein in Berlin. Ent. Zeit., 1895. The
only work of late years in English is that in Meade's
Anthomyidce, 1897, but the descriptions are very short and
sometimes confusing, while one or two species may be met
with which are not included in that paper. The generic
characters may be briefly tabulated as follows : —
Head in <$ , owing to the unprojecting frons and epistome,
and the large size of the eyes, which occupy almost the whole
side of the head, almost hemispherical ; in the ? this is not
so noticeable, but the species of the genus may be recognised
by the peculiar bristling of the frons, the crossed frontal
bristles are absent, and there are in addition to the usual
fronto-orbital row of bristles, two upper and outer fronto-
orbital bristles, one almost in line with the front ocellus, in
the middle of the orbit pointing backward, and one nearly
half-way down towards the antennae, pointing outwards over
the eye ; antennae of moderate length ; arista pubescent or bare.
The abdomen in the $ is nearly always flattened elongate-
elliptical in shape, and somewhat rounded at the apex,
consists of five segments, of which the first is the shortest,
the second generally shorter than the third, which is equal
to the fourth, and the fifth somewhat longer than the fourth ;
in the 9 the abdomen is not so noticeably flattened, and is
much more pointed at the apex. The neuration of the wings
is peculiar in having the sixth vein shortened, and the seventh
sharply bent up round the end of the sixth. Calyptra equal,
or slightly unequal. Mid tibiae in the <$ of nearly all the
species thickened on the apical half on the ventral side, and
clothed on at least the thickened part with distinct pubes-
cence. The leg-bristles present on practically all the species
of both sexes are confined, with the exception of the long
hair-like bristle at the base of the mid femora on the ventral
surface, to the tibia, as follows : fore tibia with a preapical
bristle, mid tibia with one antero-dorsal and one postero-
dorsal bristle, situated generally at about one-third from the
tip, and one dorsal (preapical) bristle nearer the tip ; hind
tibia with two dorsal bristles, a large one near the middle
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 135
and the preapical one, smaller, near the tip, one antero-
dorsal bristle about the middle, and one antero-ventral
bristle. The expressions used to designate the surfaces of
the leg areas were introduced by Mr P. H. Grimshaw, and
are arrived at by considering the leg as placed at right angles
to the body. It will be unnecessary to mention the bristles
enumerated above in the description of every species, but
when their position or number departs from the usual rule,
note is made of this fact. The wings of the $ are not so
pointed as in the £ , the third and fourth veins are not so
distinctly convergent, and although the wings may be
browned in the £ , they are nearly always clear in the ? .
In most cases the descriptions in this paper have been taken
from British specimens, but I have been unable to obtain
examples of Kowarzii, Verr., umbrosa, Stn., glaucescens, Ztt.,
parva, Stn., and the doubtful vesparia, Mde.
I have to thank Mr A. E. J. Carter for the loan of a
number of specimens of the genus to assist me in drawing
up descriptions, and Messrs J. J. F. X. King and A. Ross for
much assistance in various ways.
I have not adopted the character used by Stein to
separate the groups in his table by means of the size of the
calyptra, because I find that with set specimens it is
impossible for a beginner in the study of the group to say
with certainty to which section a specimen belongs. In fact,
I find that when the calyptra are said to be equal in size, the
under scale is generally the smaller. I have therefore
adopted a new system, which may or may not have other
advantages, but I hope that in keeping clear of what I
consider a disadvantage I have not added others.
In this group, as in others, one finds occasionally
specimens that refuse to work out by the tables given for
the known species. This is more often the case with females
where the bristling of the legs, etc., is taken as the guide.
There are several specimens of this kind before me just now
which illustrate this fact. It is quite possible, nay probable,
that they belong to undescribed species. I prefer, however,
to allow them to remain in their present condition of
uncertainty, to making a new species from a female that
136 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
may belong either to a known species described from the
male, or be only a peculiarly bristled specimen of a known
species.
Table of Species (Males).
i (8). Legs with at least the hind tibia translucent yellow,,
(Sometimes indistinct.)
2 (5). Mid coxa with a strong, downward directed thorn.
3 (4). Mid and hind femora and tibioe pale. 1 hamata, Macq.
4 (3). Mid and hind femora black. 2 fuscula, Fin.
5 (2). Mid coxa without a thorn.
6 (7). Abdomen partly translucent yellow. 3 pretiosa, Schin.
7 (6). Abdomen black. 4 pallitibia, Rnd.
8 (1). Legs all black, or at most the knees yellow.
9 (14). Mid coxa with a strong thorn.
10 (13). Fore tibia with a prominent tuft of hairs at the apex.
n (12). Mid tibia with a distinct tubercle, fore tarsi normal.
5 mcmicata, Mg.
12 (11). Mid tibia only gradually thickened, fore tarsi dilated.
6 ?no?iilis, Hal.
13 (10). Fore tibia without a tuft of bristles, mid tibia with a
tubercle.
13a (13b). Mid tibia tuberculate, hind tibia not remarkably haired.
7 sea/art's, Fab.
13b (13a). Mid tibia without a distinct tubercle, hind tibia ciliated
with long hairs. 7a ciliata, Stn.
14 (9). Mid coxa without a thorn.
15 (iS). Abdomen partly translucent yellow at the base, sometimes
indistinct in canicularis.
16 (17). Thorax grey - brown, mid tibia with extremely short
pubescence. 8 canicularis ^ L.
17 (16). Thorax black-brown, mid tibia with longer pubescence.
9 difficilis, Stn.
18 (15). Abdomen black, without yellow markings.
19 (20). Hind femora bent, swollen before the tip, and long haired
ventrally. 10 carteri, n. n.1 (=femorata, Mall.)
20 (19). Hind femora not remarkably bent or swollen, or bare on
one side.
1 Since the publication of the description of F. pernor ata {Ent. Mo. Mag., 1909),
I find that the name is preoccupied in the genus by a species described by Loew
in 1 861 belonging to the North American fauna, and alter that of my species
to carteri in honour of Mr A. K. J. Carter, the discoverer of the insect.
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 137
21 (26). Mid metatarsus with a thorn on the ventral surface near
the base.
22 (23). Whole ventral surface of hind tibia with long hairs.
11 armata, Mg.
23 (22). Hind tibia not remarkably haired.
24 (25). Squamae and halteres black; small species, 3 to 4 mm.
12 cerea, Ztt.
25 (24). Squamae and halteres almost brownish; larger species, 4J
to 5 mm. 13 umbrosa, Stn.
26 (21). Mid metatarsus without a thorn.
27 (30). Mid tibia ventral surface with a tubercle.
28 (29). Mid femora bare at base on ventral surface.
14 vesparia, Mde.
29 (28). Mid femora on ventral surface bristled to the base.
15 coracina, Lw.
30 (27). Mid tibia without a tubercle, almost the apical half
thickened.
31 (32). Hind femora with a fasciculus of hairs on the postero-ventral
surface near the tip. 16 kowarzii, Verr.
32 (31). Hind femora without a fasciculus at this part, either bare,
or with a few bristles.
^t, (34). Apical third of mid tibia distinctly but not greatly
thickened ventrally. 1 7 verrallii, Stn.
34 (2,3)- Mid tibia either quite straight or with more than apical
third thickened.
35 (40). Mid tibia with more than one antero-dorsal bristle.
36 (37)- Calyptra black, halteres yellow; dull black species.
18 nigra, Mall.
37 (36)- Calyptra pale yellowish.
38 (39). Shining blue-black species ; hind femora with postero-
ventral surface bare. 19 carbon aria, Mg.
39 (38). Black species ; basal one-third of hind femora, postero-
ventral surface, bristled. 20 poly duet a, Stn.
40 (35)- Mid tibia with only one antero-dorsal bristle.1
41 (42). Hind tibia without the preapical bristle, mid femora with
three strong bristles on the antero-ventral surface besides
the ordinary bristles. 2 1 sociella, Ztt.
42 (41). Preapical bristle present on hind tibia.
43 (44). Genitalia remarkably large and strong.
22 glancescens, Ztt.
44 (43)- Genitalia not exceptionally large.
1 Sociella, Ztt., has several bristles near the apex on this side, but these may
be considered as apical.
6 s
i38 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
45 (48). Hind tibia with rows of hairs.
46 (47). Larger, grey-brown species; pubescence on mid tibia
very short. 23 incisurata, Ztt.
47 (46). Smaller, black species ; pubescence looser, becoming longer
towards the tip. 24 mutica, Ztt.
48 (45). Hind tibia not remarkably haired.
49 (5°)- Small matt-black species ; last abdominal segment with two
small shining knobs on the ventral surface.
25 parva, Stn.
50 (49). Rather larger, somewhat shining species; last abdominal
segment normal.
51 (54). Calyptra pale, not brownish or black.
52 (53). Knees broadly yellow; fore tibia with an extra bristle.
26 genitalis, Stn.
53 (52). Knees not conspicuously yellow; fore tibia normal.
27 similis, Stn.
54 (51). Calyptra dark brownish.1
55 (56). Hind femora with a row of bristles increasing in length
from middle to tip. 28 postica, Stn.
56 (55). Hind femora with about three long bristles at the tip.
29 serena, Fin.
Table of Females.
1 (8). Legs with at least the hind tibia translucent yellow.
2 (5). Femora and tibia almost entirely yellow.
3 (4). Scutellum partly yellow ; small species, 4 to 5 mm.
3 pretiosa, Schin.
4 (3). Scutellum unicolorous grey; large species, 8 to 10 mm.
1 hamata, Macq.
5 (2). Femora black or brown.
6 (7). Hind tibia with three or four antero-ventral bristles.
2 fuscula, Fin.
7 (6). Hind tibia with one antero-ventral bristle.
4 p alii tibia, Rnd.
8 (1). Legs with at most the knees yellow.
9 (16). Mid tibia with a ventral bristle.
10 (11). Orbits shining black, entirely undusted.
19 carbonaria, Mg.
11 (10). Orbits always with distinct dusting.
12 (13). Mid tibia with three antero-dorsal, one antero-ventral, and
one postero-ventral bristle. 20 polychceta, Stn.
1 Postica, Stn., has sometimes the calyptra yellow, but the armature of hind
femora is distinct.
I3 (12
14 (15
15 (14
16
(^
17
(20;
18
(19:
!9
(is;
20
(17:
21
(24
22
(23
23
(22
NOTES 139
. Mid tibia with one antero-dorsal bristle.
. Legs all black, hind tibia with an antero-dorsal row of
short bristles. 15 coracina, Lw.
. Legs with the knees distinctly yellow; fore tibia two-
bristled. 26 genitalis, Stn.
. Mid tibia without a ventral bristle.
. Base of abdomen translucent yellow, or thorax distinctly
three-striped.
. Thorax three-striped, fore knees yellow, hind tibia with two
antero-ventral bristles. 8 canicularis, L.
. Thorax uniform black-grey; fore knees black, hind tibia
with one antero-ventral bristle. 9 diffieilis, Stn.
Abdomen never translucent yellow at base, dorsum never
three-striped.
Fore tibia with a small bristle in addition to the preapical
one.
Mid femora with the basal, long, ventral bristle present.
7 sea /art's, F.
Mid femora without the ventral bristle.
23 incisurata, Ztt.
(To be continued)
NOTES.
Supposed Blue-headed Wagtail in " Dee." — It seems
advisable to publish a contradiction of an inaccurate record which
was unfortunately printed in the Aberdeen Daily Journal for 23rd
April 1 91 2, in case the inaccuracy should find its way into scientific
writings. The note in question states that a pair of Blue-headed
Wagtails (Motacilla flava) had been observed at Durris, Kincardine-
shire, on the evening of 19th April, and further that the male had
been shot and sent to Marischal College, University of Aberdeen,
for identification. The specimen had indeed been sent to me, but
proved to be an adult male Wheatear {Saxicola cenanthe) ! It was
unfortunate that a correspondent had already communicated the
supposed record to the paper in question. The mistake apparently
arose from the correspondent's attempt to determine the species
from an inaccurate verbal description of the specimen. — A. Lands-
borough Thomson, Aberdeen.
Early Occurrence of the Swallow in Delting, Shetland.
— On 30th March I received from Miss L. Moodie, Brae, a
Mo THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
specimen of the Common Swallow (Hirundo ntstica, Linn.), so
recently dead that a Liotheid parasite was still to be found moving
over the skin of the lower neck. Miss Moodie in lit. remarked :
" We caught this little bird the other day and put it in a cage, but it
soon died." The actual date of capture was 27th March. This
must surely be an early date for Shetland. The bird in question
appeared to be not quite moulted. One or two pale feathers
amongst the warm chestnut throat plumage came off with little
handling. — James Waterston, The Manse, Ollaberry, Shetland.
Size of Immature Smew Drake. — Concerning the note of
the occurrence of a Smew in Elginshire, I think from the fact that
the specimen was larger than an immature male in your corre-
spondent's collection points to its also being an "immature male,
rather than an adult female, the immature males in the Mergansers
and Diving Ducks proper always being larger than the adult females,
and not smaller, as your correspondent states. Comparisons
between stuffed specimens are, of course, no guide. — H. W.
Robinson, Lancaster.
[The indication of size certainly points, as Mr Robinson says, to
the specimen being a male. — Eds.]
Smew in Wigtownshire. — The Smew has been but seldom
noticed in our county, but on the 12th April I watched an
immature specimen for some time on the Castle Loch (Mochrum),
a loch situated amid the moors some two miles from Luce Bay.
Several times the Smew tried to join a party of seventeen Golden-
eyes feeding near, but each time one of the latter rushed out and
put it to flight. Two adult Drakes among them took no part in the
affray. — J. G. Gordon, Corsemalzie.
Smew on Duddingston Loch. — An adult $ example of the
Smew (Mergus albellus) was observed on Duddingston Loch by Mr
John Currie on nth February last. The loch was frozen over at
the time, and the Smew was feeding in a hole in the ice along with
Tufted Duck, Mallard, Moorhen, and Coot. Mr Currie watched
the bird through his glasses for some considerable time, and
observed that in diving it kept under water much longer than the
Tufted Duck, one of the most expert of our diving ducks.
Most of the Smews recorded in the last issue of The Scottish
Naturalist were females, and were either seen or obtained on the
coast, so that it is interesting to be able to record the occurrence of
a male bird away from the shore, and in the immediate vicinity
of Edinburgh. — Hugh Mackay, Edinburgh.
NOTES 141
Little Auk : a Correction. — Mr J. G. Gordon, of Corsemalzie,
Whauphill, informs us that the Little Auk recorded in the April
number of the magazine (p. 80) as from Whauphill, Wigtownshire,
was sent to him from North Berwick. — Eds.
Three Hemiptera-Heteroptera new to the Scottish list,
from the Forth Area. — Since the publication of a number of
my records of Hemiptera (Plant-bugs) in the Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.
for 1900 and 1901, I have taken in the Forth Area the following
species, which so far as I am aware have not been recorded from
Scotland : —
Ischnorhynchus geminatus, Fieb. — Abundant on bell-heather
(Erica cinerea) in an open space in Boltonmoor Wood, Hadding-
tonshire, 30th July 1904.
Coranus subapterus (De G.). — Two taken on a bare spot on the
edge of a heathy wood between Thornton and West Wemyss, Fife,
1 2th July 1 90 1. No locality north of Norfolk is given for this
species in Saunders' Heteroptera of the British Isles. Mr Saunders
was shown one of my specimens.
Allodapus rufescens (Burm.). — On 23rd August 1902, I found a
brachypterous example of this rare species in a nest of Formica fusca,
at Balquhidder, south-west Perthshire. Saunders gives no locality
for it north of Yorkshire, and from Mr E. A. Butler I learn that,
though its association with Ants has been recorded on the Continent,
it does not seem to have been previously taken in their company in
this country. — William Evans.
Freshwater Rhizopoda from the Hebrides, etc. — In the
notes on this subject published in the number for March this year,
I overlooked an important contribution by Prof. G. S. West, F.Z.S., to
the Journal of the Linnean Society (Zoology), vol. xxix., 1905, entitled
"Observations on Freshwater Rhizopoda, with some Remarks on
their Classification," in which is given a list of thirty-one species
from various localities in the Hebrides. For the benefit of those
unable to refer to the original, appended is a list of the fifteen
species found by Prof. West which are not included in my records
from those islands : — Nuclearia conspicua, G. S. West ; Vampyrella
lateritia, Amoeba proteus, A. verrucosa, Pelomyxa palustris, Dactylo-
sphozrinm radiosum, Cochliopodium bilimbosum, Cyphoderia ampulla,
Difflugia corona, D. Solowetzkii, Euglypha ciliata, E. cristata
(length, 65 to 104 fj) ; Hyalosphenia p/aty stoma,
Nebela colhu-is, N. flabclluhnn. This makes the number of
LIBRAR
i42 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
recorded from the Hebrides eighty in all.— G. H. Wailes, New
York.
[Other eleven species will be found in Mr J. M. Brown's St
Kilda list, published in the May number of this magazine.— Eds.]
Xantho hydrophilus, a rare Scottish Crab, in the Outer
Hebrides. — A fine male specimen of Xantho hydrophilus (Herbst)
(X rivulosus, auct.) has been forwarded for identification by John
Anderson, Esq., M.A., of Stornoway. It was "found alive on the
beach at Stornoway during the summer of 1909." The carapace is
normal in colour — a rich yellow tinged with burnt sienna and red, in a
tortoise-shell pattern — but the pincers, which are usually "brown,
sometimes but little darker than the rest of the shell," are bluish
black, exactly like those of Xantho incisus, a near relative. Xantho
hydrophilus frequents rocky shores, where it is to be found under
stones, or crouching in rocky clefts between tidemarks. It is a
southern form, commonest in British waters on the borders of the
English Channel, but exceedingly rare in Scotland. A solitary
example was captured at the mouth of the Clyde estuary in 1899,
by the Fishery Board's cruiser Garland (Scott, Brit. Ass. Hand-
book, Glasgow, 1 901, p. 328) ; and one young specimen was dredged
in 1867, near the Island of Balta in the Shetlands (Norman, Brit.
Ass. Reports, Norwich, 1869, p. 263). Carrington and Lovett, in
their "Notes and Observations on British Stalk-eyed Crustacea,"
say, indefinitely, that this species "has been recorded from the
Shetlands and Hebrides" {Zoologist, 1881, p. 457), but I have
been unable to trace any definite record from the latter islands. —
James Ritchie, Royal Scottish Museum.
BOOK NOTICE.
Sea Fisheries: Their Treasures and Toilers, by Marcel A.
Herubel. Translated by Bernard Miall. Pp. 366. London ;
T. Fisher Unwin. Price 10s. 6d. net.
No nation has wider interests at stake in sea fisheries than has
the people of Britain, with its 100,000 sea-going fishermen, and its
enormous sea-harvest, averaging 958,000 tons, worth ^£10,120,000 a
season. Yet we must go to France for an up-to-date and compre-
hensive account of sea fisheries in their modern developments.
Professor Herubel naturally lays emphasis on the French aspect
of the subject, but his study is so wide that it becomes invaluable
GLEANINGS 143
to the general inquirer after fishery information. The fish them-
selves are viewed in the light of their own habits, as creatures
aggregated on definite fishing-grounds determined by definite
physical conditions. Inquiry is made as to the impoverishment of
the North Sea through natural and human agencies, and special
condemnation is levelled at the inshore fisher and shrimper, " who
devastates the breeding and spawning grounds, kills the fry and the
young fish, and makes a desert everywhere." But, on the other
hand, some satisfaction is to be found in the success of such
experiments as those of transplanting fish from one ground to
another more productive, and of " herding " them in artificial fish-
ponds, for thus the natural yield is greatly increased. The second
part of the volume contains the author's opinions on fishing in its
human aspect : as the determinant of coast population, and as a mere
trade with wide and complicated economic relations. Here the
wages of the fishermen are discussed, as well as markets, modes of
selling, and profits.
Valuable information is to be gathered from every page, and
author and translator have combined to make a subject of great
difficulty and complexity, clear and attractive. This English
translation is to be welcomed, not only for its own sake, but in the
hope that it may stimulate some expert on this side of the Channel
to discuss sea fisheries after a similar fashion, but from a British
point of view. — J. R.
GLEANINGS.
A fine example of the Wild Cat was obtained on the Applecross estate, Ross-
shire, in April last. From the record in the Field of 13th April (p. 744) we learn
that the animal, the sex of which is not stated, weighed over 15 lb., measured 40 \
inches in length and 14 inches in height.
In the Field of 13th April 1912 (p. 744) appears a paragraph by "A. R.,"
which states that the Capercaillie is greatly on the increase in the Beauly district
of Inverness-shire and the neighbouring part of Ross-shire. The birds were
introduced at Guisachan, and are now fairly plentiful over a large area.
W. J. Balfour Kirke contributes a note to the May number of British Birds
(P- 338) on "Fulmars breeding in Orkney." A few birds were reported at
Stromness in 1908, and a colony at Costa Head. In 1910 a small colony was
found on the cliffs to the north of Marwick Head, which showed an increase in
1911.
More familiar names must be discarded ! In the Entomologist for May (pp.
151-152) Herbert Campion points out that the Dragon-fly hitherto known as
144 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Sympetrum scoticum, Donovan, must in future bear the name of Sympetrum dancz,
Sulzer. It appears that a meagre description, accompanied by a recognisable
coloured figure, was given by Sulzer in his Geschichie der Insecten in 1 77^,
thirty-five years prior to the publication of Donovan's figure in his British Insects.
We have now, alas, no Dragon-fly with a name of Scottish extraction.
Then Prof. T. Hudson Beare draws attention (Ent. Mo. Mag., May 1912, pp.
IOI-102) to certain changes which have been made in the latest Catalogue of the
Cerambycida (sub-family Cerambycimt), drawn up by Dr Chas. Aurivillius, and
issued as Part 39 of the Coleopterorum Catalogus, published by W. Junk,
Berlin. The Scottish species concerned in these changes are : Callidiutn variabile,
L., which becomes Phymatodes testaceum, L. ; Rhagium inquisitor, F., and R.
indagator, Gyll., which are now called R. mordax, De G., and R. inquisitor, L.
respectively ; Pachyta cerambyaformis, Schrk., and P. sexmaculata, L., which are
referred to the genus Judolia, Muls. ; Strangalia armata, Herbst, which becomes
S. maculata, Poda ; and Gratnmoptera tabacicolor, De G., which is placed in the
genus Alosterna, Muls.
Prof. T. Hudson Beare contributes to the Ent. Record for May (pp. 114-117)
the first portion of his " Retrospect of a Coleopterist for 191 1." This useful paper
shows us that no fewer than twenty-five species in this Order of insects were added
to the British list during the past year. Several of these were discovered in
Scottish localities.
In the Zoologist for May 1912 (pp. 190-192) Richard Elmhirst publishes " Some
Observations on the Glow-worm (Lampyris noctihica, L.)." These observations were
made in a marshy field near the Millport Marine Biological Station, and led the
author to conclude that the females of this interesting beetle often take up and occupy
a permanent position, that their mates may appear in swarms of several hundreds,
and that the latter show a decided preference for red light, which is contrary to
what we should expect.
In the Ent. Mo. Mag. for May (pp. 106-108) J. E. Collin describes three new
species of the Dipterous genus Heteroneura. One of them (H. caledonicd) is
described from specimens taken by Col. Yerbury and C. G. Lamb at Nethy
Bridge and Golspie, while a second (A. verticalis) has occurred at Nairn.
Dr John H. Wood continues (Ent. Mo. Mag., May 1912, pp. 97-99) his "Notes
on British Phora," and mentions P. rufa and P. cubita/is as Scottish species, both
being found by J. R. Malloch, late of Bonhill.
The Rev. J. Waterston records (Ent. Mo. Mag., May 1912, p. 116) the occurrence
of the Pediculid parasite Huinatopinus ventricosus, Denny, in Shetland. It is
reported by the author as a very torpid creature, occurring on the rabbit, both on
Mainland and on the islands in Yell Sound.
In the May number of the Entomologist, W. J. Lucas publishes (pp. 141-144)
the first instalment of a paper entitled "British Odonata in 1911," in which is a
useful summary of the records and occurrences of Dragon-flies in Britain during
the past year. It is interesting to note that Sympetrumfonscolombii, the new Scottish
species recorded by W. Evans (Scot. Nat., 191 2, pp. 12-14), has also been taken in
the New Forest, in West Suffolk, and in Merionethshire.
The Scottish Natural
No. 7.] 1912 [Ju
LV
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION
INQUIRY: FIRST INTERIM REPORT (1909-12).
By A. Landsborough Thomson, M.A., M.B.O.U.
I. General and Introductory.
The Aberdeen University Bird-Migration Inquiry was
founded early in 1909, for the purpose of prosecuting study
by means of the " marking method," which had proved so
successful on the Continent, but was at that time unknown
in the British Isles except on a very restricted scale. I
have carried on the inquiry as a piece of research from the
Natural History Department of the University, under the
supervision of Professor J. Arthur Thomson, and with a
grant from the Carnegie Trustees to cover the working
expenses. My friends Mr James Ewing, M.A., B.Sc, and
Mr Lewis N. G. Ramsay, M.A., have rendered invaluable
assistance in the "headquarters" work of the Inquiry. We
are also indebted to over two hundred ladies and gentlemen
who have taken part in the actual " marking " of birds, as
well as to the many correspondents who have kindly informed
us of "reappearances." I should also like to express my
thanks to Dr J. Thienemann, of the German Ornithological
Society's observation-station at Rossitten, where I first learnt
the details of the method in 1908, paying a second visit in
1910.
This First Interim Report includes details of all the
records obtained by our Inquiry up to the time of writing,
prefaced by an outline of our methods. A few of our earlier
7 T
146 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
records have already been published,1 but all are repeated
here. We make no attempt, at this early stage of the work,
at drawing conclusions from the facts collected. We have
also thought it would be premature to give statistics of the
numbers of birds marked, or of the percentages of " re-
appearances," as no such figures could be final.
II. Methods.
Rings. — In its essentials the method consists in marking
a large number of birds in some way or other for the sake
of the data afforded by the subsequent reappearance of
a small proportion of these. The mark employed in our
Inquiry is a small aluminium ring which fastens round the
bird's foot, but is too light and neat to inconvenience it
in any way. Each ring bears the address " Aberdeen
University" (contracted to "Aberdeen Univ." on the
smallest size), which ensures that anyone finding the bird
will communicate with us. Each ring also bears an identifi-
cation number, different, of course, in each case. A plain
number (sometimes written in two lines) is used where
possible, but on the smallest size the small space has
necessitated the use of such numbers as "0798," and letter
combinations like " 299A." After a good deal of experiment-
ing we have settled on the following seven sizes (named
according to their approximate internal diameter measured
in fractions of an inch), the first four for ordinary use, and
the three largest for those markers who have special
facilities for ringing sea-fowl, etc. The first three sizes are
1 In a general paper on "The Possibilities of Bird-Marking," in the
Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, vol. xviii., pp.
204-218, 191 1 (reprinted in the Aberdeen University Studies), I included
a brief account of our Inquiry and its methods, and a selection of our
earlier results. A similar selection of results has also appeared in the
magazine British Birds, vol. hi., p. 220 ; vol. v., pp. 98-102, 129. Some
records have also been included in notes which I have contributed to
The British Bird Book, edited by F. B. Kirkman, 1910-1912. Two
records were mentioned by Mr Francis Gunnis, one of our co-operators,
in the Annals of Scottish Natural History, 191 1, p. 118. In addition to
this, many records have reached us through the daily press or have
received notice therein.
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 147
of the claspless pattern — simply bands folded into a circle,
the edges being merely pressed together. The other rings
are provided with clasps such as are used at Rossitten — two
unequal ends are left to project outwards side by side where
the circle meets, and the one can be folded down over the
other ; the edges of these rings are also turned outwards
as flanges. Some of our earlier rings do not conform to
the above descriptions. The following is a list of the sizes
with some of the kinds of birds for which they can be
used : —
\ — Finches, Swallows, Tits, Robin, Lark, Sandpipers,
Lesser Tern, etc.
y\ — Thrushes, Starling, Lapwing, Snipe, etc.
I — Woodcock, Jackdaw, Black-headed Gull, Kestrel, Teal,
Stock-dove, etc.
T56 — Rook, Crows, Owls, Wood-pigeon, Guillemot, Wigeon,
etc.
f — Herring-gull, Mallard, etc.
^ — Gannet, etc.
I — Heron, etc.
(All our rings are made by Mr Samuel Drake, Halifax.)
Scope. — Up to the present time our Inquiry has not been
limited to any particular species, but has extended to all
British wild birds, whether supposed to be migratory or not.
But it is probable that at an early date we shall concentrate
our efforts on some of the more repaying species. A few
of our rings have been used for birds liberated from captivity,
hand-reared wild-duck, imported game-birds, and the like,
but records obtained for such birds are kept apart from the
general data of our Inquiry. The actual work of marking
is undertaken by ladies and gentlemen scattered all over the
British Isles, but living mainly in Scotland and notably
in Aberdeenshire. Most of them rely chiefly on young
birds found when still unable to fly, varied by occasional
chance captures of adult birds. A few, however, engage
systematically in bird-catching during the winter months :
the chief means employed are simple clap-nets, automatic
cage-traps, or other harmless appliances ; or catching roosting
148 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
birds at night with the aid of bright lamps, or as migrants
at the lighthouse lanterns.
Routine. — Early in the year each of our co-operators in
the work of marking fills up and sends us an estimate of the
additional quantities of rings of various sizes he expects to
be able to use during the season. Rings are sent out by us
accordingly, or at any other time that they are specially
asked for. The numbers, sizes, and destinations of all rings
issued are carefully noted by us, and all reappearances of
marked birds are checked by these notes. Along with the
rings we send out schedules on which the data about all
birds marked are filled in. The following information is asked
for, each item in a separate column: (i) Number on ring;
(2) Species of bird ; (3) Date of marking and release ; (4)
Locality of same ; (5) How obtained (" as young," etc.); (6)
Sex and age so far as certain ; and any other remarks,
including bracketing together members of the same brood,
etc., with word to that effect. The marker's name is filled
in at the top, and we give each schedule a reference number
as it comes in.
Each schedule holds the data of seven or more marked
birds, and is sent in as soon as it is complete, or when any
record in it is a month old, whichever happens first. The
data are transcribed into large ledgers, in which the entries
are arranged according to the ring numbers. These ledgers
are provided with five columns corresponding to those of the
data schedules, with additional columns for the marker's
name, the schedule's reference number, and also for the size
of the ring. A final column is left blank for the purpose of
entering a reference to the page in the separate book in
which reappearance records are entered, each on a page of
its own, as they come in.
Reappearances. — When one of our marked birds is reported
to us as killed, or recaptured, the number on the ring is what
we chiefly desire, along with a note of the locality and
approximate date of the occurrence. When possible we get
the ring, or ring and foot, sent to us that we may verify the
number for ourselves. The identification of the species,
when possible, is an additional check on the accuracy of
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 149
the number — a wrong number is fairly certain to be revealed
by some inconsistency between the data of marking and of
reappearance. If it is said that errors must occasionally
escape detection, we may point out that in the long run no
undue importance will ever be placed on a single exceptional
record : our precautions, however, are redoubled in the case
of records from abroad, or of any others which are of con-
siderable individual interest. Incomplete or inaccurate records
are excluded from our reports.
A large number of birds are naturally recorded from the
places of their marking, and the interest of such records
depends on the lapse of time and on the other circumstances
of the case. All such records are, however, included in this
report, with the exception of records of birds obtained at the
locality of marking on the same day (or within the flightless
period, in the case of young birds) under circumstances of no
particular interest. Such records may, however, be noted
among the data of marking (under "remarks") in case. the
bird reappears later : but if the bird is killed, or deprived of
its ring, at this early stage, it is usually cancelled as if it had
not been marked at all, although the ring, for fear of con-
fusion, is not used again. In the case of ordinary "re-
appearances " also, the ring is not used again, but it is of
course left on a bird which is captured and then liberated,
for peculiar interest attaches to the second or third re-
appearance of a single bird, and we have indeed cases of a
bird reappearing half a dozen times or more.
III. Details of Results.
As already stated, we give below details of all the " re-
appearances " notified to us up to the time of writing. These
reappearances are classified under the headings of species,
except that records dealing with hand-reared or imported
birds and the like are kept apart (" Appendix ").
Each record, or set of records about one bird, is headed
by the number of the "case" (this being the number of the
page in the " reappearance " record book already mentioned),
the sex if known, and the number on the ring. Then under
1 5o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
the date of marking are given the locality and the other
essential facts of the marking, followed by the marker's name
in brackets. Under the date of subsequent reappearance are
given the locality and the other essential facts of that event,
followed by the informant's name ; and further records, if
any, are similarly set forth under their respective dates. If
the ring was returned for verification the fact is noted after
the informant's name, and other remarks are added in a
few cases.
We begin with the non-passerine species, which give us
fewer records, but most of them of considerable individual
interest. The passerine birds afford many records which are
of slight individual importance, but which will undoubtedly
prove of value when the time comes to collect and correlate
them.
Guillemot (Uria troille, L.).
Case hi, ring A. U. 11230: —
11th July 1910: marked as a newly hatched chick on the
Dunbuy Rock, near Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
(Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
29//Z Nov. 1910: shot in the harbour of Marstrand, about
twelve miles north of Gothenburg, Sweden. (Dr L. A.
Jagerskiold : specimen preserved in Gothenburg Museum.)
Herring-gull (Zarus arge/itatus, Pontopp.).
Case 89, ring A.U. 10963 : —
2nd July 1 9 10: marked as a nestling on Hummel Craig, near
Collieston, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Mr L. N. G.
Ramsay.)
St/i Sept. 1 9 10: shot at Saltfleet, near Mablethorpe, Lincoln-
shire, England. (Mr G. W. Hollis.)
Case 92, ring A.U. 10952 : —
27id July 1 9 10: marked as a nestling on Hummel Craig, near
Collieston, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Mr L. N. G.
Ramsay.)
3rd Oct. 1910: shot on the beach near Hunstanton, Norfolk,
England. (Mr R. W. Dodman : ring returned.)
Case 93, ring A.U. 10624: —
\\th July 1910: marked as a young bird nearly able to fly
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 151
on the Dunbuy Rock, near Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire.
(Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
13/^ Sept. 1 9 10 : found with broken wing in the Albert Basin,
Aberdeen harbour. (Mr G. Allan : ring returned.)
Case 94, ring A.U. 10555 :~
nth July 1 9 10 : marked as a young bird nearly able to fly on
the Dunbuy Rock, near Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire,
Scotland. (Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
1st Oct. 1910: shot on the Humber Bank, Grimsby, Lincoln-
shire, England. (Mr G. Dales : ring returned.)
Case 97, ring A.U. 108 15 : —
2nd July 1910: marked as a nestling on Hummel Craig,
Collieston, Aberdeenshire. (Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
\2tJ1 Oct. 1 9 10 (about) : shot in the estuary of the river Eden,
Fifeshire (newspaper cutting of date 15th Oct.).
Case i 01, ring A.U. 10650: —
nth July 1 9 10 : marked as a young bird a few days old on the
Dunbuy Rock, near Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire. (Mr L.
N. G. Ramsay.)
\th Oct. 1 9 10 (about): found dead on the beach at Tayport,
Fifeshire. (Mr J. Aimer: ring returned.)
Case 104, ring A.U. 15901 : —
ph Oct. 1910: caught at night as an immature bird on the
shore a few miles north of Aberdeen, marked, and
liberated. (Messrs L. N. G. Ramsay and A. G.
Davidson.)
15//* Nov. 1910: found injured at the shipbuilding yards,
Aberdeen. (Mr G. Duffus.)
Case 112, ring A.U. 12 140: —
phjune 1 9 10: marked as a nestling a few days old at Loch
an Eilein, the Lewis, Outer Hebrides. (Mr A. Harley.)
$th Dec. 1910 (about): found dead (shot) at Stornoway, the
Lewis. (Mr T. A. Lowe.)
Case 121, ring A.U. 15937: —
6th July 1 910: marked as a newly hatched chick on the
Dunbuy Rock, near Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
(Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
loth Jan. 1911 (about): caught at Andenshaw, Manchester,
England: released with ring on 7th March 191 1, "in first-
class condition." (Mr W. Yates.)
152 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 153, ring A.U. 16055 :—
6th July 1 9 10: marked as a nestling a few days old on the
Dunbuy Rock, near Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
(Mr L. N. G. Ramsay).
Sept. 1910: shot at Ryhope Beach, near Sunderland, Co.
Durham, England. (Mr J. Cope.)
Case 205, ring A.U. 16075 : —
yd Oct. 1910 : caught at night as a bird in first year's plumage
on the shore a few miles north of Aberdeen, marked, and
released. (Messrs L. N. G. Ramsay and A. G. Davidson.)
20th May 191 1 : caught in a field at Nap, Burray, Orkney
Islands, and released immediately. (Mr W. J. Harcus.
The bird was caught at Nap by Mr David Sinclair, who
was working in the field, and suddenly turned round on
the bird following him !)
Case 217, ring A.U. 10506: —
yd Oct. 1 9 10 : caught at night on the shore a few miles north
of Aberdeen, marked, and released. (Messrs L. N. G.
Ramsay and A. G. Davidson.)
26th June 191 1 : struck a telegraph wire in Union Street,
Aberdeen, receiving fatal injuries. (Aberdeen City
Police.)
Case 232, ring A.U. 17720:- —
2yd June 191 1: marked as a nestling a few days old at the
Brander, near Fast Castle, Berwickshire. (Mr J. F.
Cormack.)
yd Aug. 191 1 : found dead near place of marking. (Mr D. P.
Irvine.)
Case 254, ring A.U. 17793=—
16th July 191 1 : marked as a half-fledged nestling on a cliff
near the Hummel Craig, Collieston, Aberdeenshire,
Scotland. (Miss D. H. Begg.)
1th Sept. 191 1 : shot at Kilnsea, near Hull, Yorkshire, England.
(Mr S. Robinson : ring returned.)
Case 277, ring A.U. 10847:—
2nd July 1910: marked as a nestling on the Hummel Craig,
Collieston, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Mr L. N. G.
Ramsay.)
26th Nov. 191 1 : found wounded in a ditch near Hartlepool,
Co. Durham, England. (Mr J. M. Shingles.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 153
Case 333, ring A.U. 16017 : —
3rd Oct. 1 9 10 : caught at night as a bird in first year's plumage
on the shore a few miles north of Aberdeen, marked, and
released. (Messrs L. N. G. Ramsay and A. G. Davidson.)
fth March 1912 : found dead ("considerably decayed") at
Lochside, Skene, Aberdeenshire. (Mr J. Fraser, through
the Rev. W. Innes.)
Case 334, ring A.U. 10589: —
jth Sept. 19 10: caught at night as an immature bird on the
shore near Aberdeen, Scotland, marked, and released.
(Messrs L. N. G. Ramsay and A. G. Davidson.)
6th May 191 2 : shot at Asaa, east coast of Jutland, Denmark.
(Mr A. Christensen.)
Common Gull (Larus can us, L.).
Case 253, ring A.U. 15370:—
iph July 191 1 : marked as a nestling at Inishail, Loch Awe,
Argyllshire. (Mr A. Campbell.)
wth Sept. 191 1 : found dead "on the moors," near Helens-
burgh, Dumbartonshire. (Mr S. Forsett.)
Case 276, ring A.U. 15356 : —
13M July 1911 : marked as a nestling at Inishail, Loch Awe,
Argyllshire. (Mr A. Campbell.)
30th Dec. 1911: found dead on the shore at Cardross, Dum-
bartonshire. (Mr T. Taylor : ring returned.)
Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus, L.).
Case 61, ring A.U. 12496 : —
4th June 1910: marked as a nestling on Skipwith Common,
ic miles S.W. of York, England. (Mr H. R. Davidson.)
30th July 1 910: found shot at Hedon, near Hull, Yorkshire.
(Mr J. Holden : ring returned.)
Case 67, ring A.U. 12409 : —
wth June 1910: marked as a nestling on the Sands of Forvie,
Aberdeenshire. (Mr A. L. Thomson.)
$th Aug. 1 9 10: picked up exhausted on the beach at Aber-
deen; released in good health, 8th Aug. 191 1. (Brought
to Marischal College by a small boy.)
(To be continued.)
7 U
154 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
THE BRITISH SPECIES OF THE DIPTEROUS
GENUS FANNIA, Rob. Dsv.
By J. R. Malloch.
{Continued from page 139.)
Table of Females — Continued.
24 (21). Fore tibia with only the preapical bristle.
25 (28). Mid tibia with at least two antero-dorsal bristles.
26 (27). Mid tibia with two antero-dorsal, hind tibia with one
antero-ventral bristle. 16 kowarzii, Verr.1
27 (26). Mid tibia with three antero-dorsal, and hind tibia with
three or four antero-ventral bristles. 1 1 armata, Mg.
28 (25). Mid tibia with only one antero-dorsal bristle.
29 (32). Hind tibia with three to four antero-ventral bristles.
30 (31). Fore tibia broadly yellow at the base.
5 manicata, Mg., or 6 moni/is, Hal.
31 (30). Fore tibia inconspicuously, if at all, yellow at base.
24 mutiea, Ztt.
32 (29). Hind tibia with only one antero-ventral bristle.
33 (34). Metallic, shining, brassy-green species; frons narrowed
behind. 22 g/aucescens, Ztt.
34 (^t,). Black or brownish species ; frons parallel-sided.
35 (38). Legs with the knee-joints conspicuously yellow.
36 (37). Mid tibia with two antero-dorsal bristles.1
16 kowarzii, Verr.
37 (36). Mid tibia with one antero-dorsal bristle.1
21 soa'e//a, Ztt., or 27 simi/is, Stn.
38 (35). Legs with only the fore knees inconspicuously yellow.
39 (40). Orbits dusted in front, but perceptibly shining behind.
29 serena, Fin.
40 (39). Orbits nowhere perceptibly shining.
41 (44). Middle stripe of frons conspicuously pale grey dusted.
42 (43). Basal ventral bristle on mid femora strong. 12 acrea} Ztt.
43 (42). Basal ventral bristle absent from mid femora.
17 verrallii, Stn.
44 (41). Middle stripe always distinguishable from orbits by its
darker colour.
45 (46). Ventral basal bristle on mid femora strong. 28 postiea, Stn.
46 (45). Ventral basal bristle weak, or absent. 25 parva, Stn.
1 See remarks under descriptions of these species.
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 155
The females of carteri, Mall., nigra, Mall., and umbrosa, Stn.,
are undescribed, and the same sexes of manicata, Mg., and moid lis,
Hal, and sociella, Ztt, and simiiis, Stn., are hardly, if at all,
distinguishable.
Species with at least the Hind Tibia translucent Yellow.
1. haiiiata, Macq., $. Brownish black, thickly dusted with grey;
eyes separated by a narrow stripe, orbits distinctly silvered;
frons, epistome, and jowls projecting more than in the generality
of the species beyond the eyes ; antennae shorter than the face,
brownish black, arista bare; thorax thickly dusted with grey,
side margins rather whitish, dorsum with four rather indistinct
stripes ; on the underside of the pleurae between the fore and
mid coxae are two strong downward-directed thorns ; abdomen
thickly grey dusted, dorsum with a dark dorsal stripe rather
narrowly triangularly dilated at the apex of each segment ; anal
organ small, coloured as the abdomen; legs yellow; fore femora
except the under surface, fore tibia except the base, and the
whole of the tarsi, black-brown ; mid coxa with a strong down-
ward-directed, backward curved thorn ; mid femora rather
strong, distinctly contracted at the tip ; postero-ventral surface
with a row of bristles, which at the base are longer, but gradually
decrease in size as they advance, until beyond the middle they
form a rather thick series of about three parallel rows, occupy-
ing the entire apical half except the contracted portion, which
carries a clump of very short closely placed bristles; antero-
ventral surface with a row of about nine strong bristles on the
basal two-thirds, the other bristling normal ; mid tibia thickened
on the apical half, ventral side, and with rather long pubescence
on the thickened portion ; antero-dorsal surface with two bristles
on the apical half, the upper the weaker, the other bristling
normal ; the hind femora are not remarkably bristled, but the
hind tibiae have the whole of the ventral surfaces, except the
extreme base, clothed with very long curved bristle-like hairs,
those on the antero-ventral surface being stronger than those on
the postero-ventral surface ; besides the usual dorsal bristles,
and the one on the antero-dorsal surface, there are generally
three weaker bristles above the latter ; wings clear, yellow at the
base, third and fourth veins convergent, outer cross-vein nearly
straight ; calyptra unequal in size, yellow ; halteres yellow.
$ . In colour much the same as the $ ; eyes more widely
separated, at the widest part above the antennae, by about
one third the breadth of the head, at the ocelli by about
156 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
one-fifth; middle stripe black or brownish, orbits silvered,
middle stripe above the antennae twice the breadth of the
orbits ; abdomen more pointed, less flattened, and without the
dorsal stripe ; fore legs not so much blackened as in the <$ ;
the hind tibia carry on the antero-ventral surface an alternately
arranged row of about seven bristles, those on the uppermost
row stronger than the under, the other bristling as usual;
wings more rounded than in the £ . 8 to 10 mm.
This is the largest species of the genus. It is generally
distributed, and not uncommon. I have seen it at Bonhill
in hundreds, hovering much as the Syrphida, in the shade
of the trees in a beech wood, May to June. (The abdomen is
sometimes testaceous.)
2. fuscula, Fin., £ . Black; frons, epistome, and jowls hardly pro-
jecting; frontal stripe rather broad for a $ of this genus,
middle stripe matt black, orbits silvered; antennae shorter
than the face, arista slightly pubescent ; thorax black, shining,
sides whitish grey dusted ; dorsum viewed from behind with
generally two rather indistinct stripes on the fore part, pleurae
armed as in hamata ; abdomen nearly parallel-sided, distinctly
grey dusted, the dorsal stripe interrupted at the hind margin
of the segments and not with marked triangular dilatations;
anal organ moderately large ; legs black, the hind tibia, the mid
tibia except the base, and the fore tibia yellowish or brownish ;
mid coxa armed as in hamata ; mid femora bristled much as in
hamata; mid tibia hardly thickened on the apical half,
pubescence on the ventral surface very short on the basal
portion, but longer on the tip half, not so erect as in hamata
and much more indistinct, the usual bristles present ; bristling
of hind femora not remarkable ; hind tibia bent, fringed with
hairs as in hamata, but much shorter in comparison, and the
antero-ventral row more bristle-like; the usual two dorsal
bristles present; the antero-dorsal surface carries five or six
bristles, the lower one the strongest ; wings greyish, third and
fourth veins convergent, outer cross-vein bent, last portion of
the fourth vein about one and a half times the penultimate ;
calyptra unequal in size, yellowish ; halteres yellow.
? . Similar in colour and general appearance to the £ ; eyes
separated by about one-third the breadth of the head at the
antennae and by one-fourth at the ocelli ; middle stripe matt
black, at its broadest part about three times the breadth of the
orbits at that part ; orbits silvered, narrowed in front ; abdomen
not so distinctly dusted as in the £ , more pointed, and with
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 157
but rarely faint indications of a dorsal stripe ; legs coloured as
in the <$ , but, except in the case of the hind tibia, with only
the ordinary bristles ; the hind tibia carries on the antero-ventral
surface a row of about five equally long bristles, the usual
dorsal bristles, and the same antero-dorsal bristles as the £ ;
the wings are clearer than in the <$ . 6 to 7 mm.
Not uncommon at Bonhill (Dumbartonshire) in July and
August. I have also seen it from Nethy Bridge (King).
pretiosa, Schin., £ . Black ; frons not projecting, epistome and
jowls hardly projecting; frontal stripe very narrow; antennae
rather long, brownish, third joint three times as long as the
second; arista pubescent, pale at the base; palpi brownish;
thorax black, shining, sides distinctly grey dusted, dorsum
with four indistinct stripes ; scutellum with the hind margin
yellowish; abdomen translucent yellow on the basal four seg-
ments, the first segment entirely, the second with the exception
of an orange triangular dorsal mark, the third except a brown
dorsal mark of similar nature, and the fourth except a dark
brown hind marginal band extended on the dorsum and the
sides forward, yellow, the apex, including the anal organ, black
brown ; legs yellow, hind femora at the tip, and hind tibia more
or less brown, tarsi black ; mid femora with an antero-ventral
row of about seven long bristles on the basal two-thirds, the
basal four rather widely placed and of about equal length,
the other three closer and shorter, from this part to the tip a
row of somewhat weaker, shorter, close placed bristles on the
contracted portion, a postero-ventral row of long and fine
bristles, beginning with the very long basal one, decreasing
towards the tip in length, and a posterior row of long hairs
which begins at about one-third from the base and ends in
longer and stronger bristles at the tip, the other bristling
normal ; mid tibia with the apical half distinctly thickened on
the ventral side, and on this side covered with pubescence,
which is very short and indistinct on the basal half, but longer
and thicker on the swollen portion, the usual bristles present ;
hind femora with an antero-ventral row of very short but strong
bristles of equal length except the tip three which are longer,
postero-ventral surface with a row of hair-like bristles increasing
in size to the tip; hind tibia with only the usual bristles; wings
darkened especially at the tip, third and fourth veins nearly
parallel, outer cross-vein nearly straight, last portion of the
fourth vein about two and a quarter times the penultimate;
calyptra unequal in size, whitish ; halteres yellow,
158 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
9 . Somewhat similar in appearance to the $ ; the frontal stripe
about one-third the breadth of the head, nearly parallel-sided,
middle stripe black-brown, reddish in front, orbits grey dusted,
at their broadest part not half so broad as the middle stripe ;
thorax as in the £ , but the shoulder-points yellow and the
scutellum almost entirely yellow ; abdomen fulvous, sometimes
darkened at the. apex, which is rather pointed; legs coloured as
in the £ , but with only the usual bristles; wings clearer and
not so pointed as in the £ . 5 mm.
Rare in Scotland. I have only met with one $ at Bonhill,
8th August 1908. My series was sent me by Mr F. C. Adams,
from New Forest, and are dated 15th August 1906.
4. pallitibia, Rnd., £ . Black ; eyes separated by a narrow line,
very large, in profile occupying almost the entire side of the
head ; antennas rather short and broad, third joint barely twice
as long as the second ; arista slightly pubescent ; thorax shining
black, almost without dusting except on the sides, and without
stripes ; abdomen with slight dusting, distinctly shining, dorsal
line distinctly triangularly dilated on each segment, anal organ
of moderate size ; legs brownish yellow, the femora darker, tarsi
black ; mid femora not very distinctly contracted at the tip, the
antero-ventral surface with about five or six bristles from the
base to the middle, and from there to the tip the bristles are
shorter and closer together, postero-ventral row beginning with
the usual long hair-like bristle, decreasing in size towards the
tip (this row begins on the ventral surface at the long bristle,
and finishes on the postero-ventral surface, so that I have had
some difficulty in assigning a definite name to it), the other
bristling on the posterior surface, rather long and hair-like,
ending in three or four strong bristles at the tip ; mid tibia not
much thickened on the apical half, clothed with pubescence on
the ventral surface, which is distinct, but not long, on the basal
half, and long, somewhat erect, and rather loose on the apical
half, the usual bristles present; hind femora with an antero-
ventral row of short bristles which ends in two longer and
stronger bristles at the tip, and a somewhat similar row on the
postero-ventral surface which ceases about one-third from the
tip; hind tibia with the usual four bristles; wings browned,
third and fourth veins almost parallel, outer cross-vein almost
straight, last portion of fourth vein about two and a half times
the penultimate; calyptra equal in size, brownish; halteres
brown.
9 . Frontal stripe almost one-third the breadth of the head ;
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 159
middle stripe reddish, orbits grey dusted, narrow in front but
widening behind, at the broadest part about three-fourths as
broad as the middle stripe at that part ; arista more distinctly
pubescent than in the £ ; thorax grey dusted but shining ;
abdomen shining, grey dusted, dorsal stripe absent; legs
coloured as in the £ , but with only the usual bristles ; wings
slightly darkened and less pointed than in <$ ; calyptra and
halteres pale yellowish. 4I to 5 mm.
Common at Bonhill in August and September.
Species with only the Knee-joints or Base of Fore
Tibia Yellow.
manicata, Mg., £ . Black ; eyes distinctly but not widely
separated by a black frontal stripe; frons, epistome, and jowls'
slightly projecting; third joint of antennae rather more than
twice as long as the second ; arista almost bare ; thorax shining
black, sides and dorsum behind brown-grey dusted ; abdomen
pale grey dusted, the dorsal stripe rather widely triangularly
dilated on each segment; anal organ small; legs black, with
the exception of the tip of the fore femora on the anterior
side and the basal two-thirds of the fore tibia, which are
yellowish ; fore tibia with a tuft of bristly hairs at the tip on the
postero-ventral surface ; the fore coxa has a thorn behind, near
the tip, which is only visible when the coxa is in a favourable
position ; mid coxa with a strong downward and backward-
directed thorn with a curved point; mid femora swollen to
about one-third from the tip, thickest near the end of the
swelling, the antero-ventral surface with a row of long bristles,
about ten in number, the last three or four close together on
the thick part of the femora, apical third bare except for a few
very short bristles at the tip; a somewhat similarly disposed
row of softer, hair-like bristles on the postero-ventral surface,
which forms a denser clump of bristles on the thickened
portion ; the other bristling normal ; mid tibia with the ventral
surface on the apical two-fifths swollen, raised about the middle
of the swelling into a tubercle, the pubescence extremely short
on the basal portion, but erect and long on the swollen part ;
the bristling as usual; hind femora with a regular row of
bristles on the antero-ventral surface ; hind tibia with the usual
dorsal bristles, a row of bristles also on each of the postero-
ventral, antero-dorsal, and antero-ventral surfaces ; wings greyish,
third and fourth veins convergent, outer cross-vein nearly
160 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
straight ; outer portion of fourth vein about two and a half times
the penultimate ; calyptra unequal, whitish ; halteres yellow.
? . Entirely shining black, only the fore tibia on the basal half
yellow ; frons rather more than one-third the breadth of the
head, middle stripe matt black, about one and a half times as
broad as the orbits above the antennae, but about equal at the
broadest part of the orbits ; orbits grey dusted ; thorax grey-
brown dusted, shining ; abdomen shining black, with but little
dusting ; fore and mid tibia with the usual bristles ; hind tibia
with a row of about four bristles on the antero-ventral surface.
(The fore tibiae are said by Stein to have sometimes an extra
bristle, in which case the specimen would hardly be separable
from scalaris.) 6 to 7 mm.
Not rare at Bonhill. May to August; Musselburgh and
Blairgowrie (A. E. J. Carter).
6. mom/is, Hal., <* . Very similar in appearance to the foregoing,
but smaller ; the fore tibia has the hair tuft, and is coloured as
in manicata; the fore tarsi have the last four joints dilated
and the metatarsi normal ; the thorn on the fore coxa is
weaker; the thorn on the mid coxa is rather weaker than in
manicata) but is more distinctly bent backward for a greater
length; mid femora bristled much as in manicata; mid tibia
not tuberculate, but only slightly and gradually thickened on
the ventral surface on the apical half; pubescence rather short,
longer towards the apex ; the hind femora have on their antero-
ventral surface a row of short bristles from base to tip, the last
three being rather longer, and on the postero-ventral surface
a few hair-like bristles on the basal half; the hind tibia has on
the antero-ventral surface a row of equally long bristles, on the
antero-dorsal surface a row of long hair-like bristles, and on the
postero-ventral surface a few weak bristles on the middle;
calyptra unequal, darkened; halteres yellow; wings darkened,
third and fourth veins convergent, outer cross-vein nearly
straight.
$ . I have not met with the $ , but Stein says that it is very
similar to manicata, but has the thorax more brownish and the
abdomen more pointed, besides being smaller. 4^ to 5^ mm.
I have met with two males at Bonhill, 4th May 1907 and
30th May 1907. Bred from fungi, Musselburgh, May 1905
(A. E. J. Carter).
7. scalaris, Fab., $. Eyes narrowly separated, frons slightly
projecting, jowls descending slightly below the eyes ; antennae
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 161
of moderate length; arista nearly bare; thorax grey-black
dusted, with the dorsum indistinctly two-striped; abdomen
thickly grey dusted, dorsal line dilated triangularly on each
segment, anal organ small ; legs black, base of fore tibia, tip of
fore femora anterior surface, and knee-joints yellow ; fore coxae
with a thorn on their inner sides; fore tibia with a weaker
bristle above the preapical one ; mid coxa armed as in manicata
and monilis ; mid femora much dilated, strongest at a little
beyond the middle, the bristling much as in the foregoing but
rather more conspicuous ; mid tibia of nearly equal thickness
to beyond the middle, then on the ventral surface a distinct
thickening, produced into a somewhat pointed tubercle, the
hind angle very long compared with the fore one ; pubescence
on the basal half of the ventral surface very inconspicuous, on
the apical side of the tubercle rather longer, and very long at
the apex beyond the tubercle; hind femora with a row of
very short bristles on their antero-ventral surface, which increase
in length as they approach the apex ; hind tibia with a row of
about four or five bristles on the antero-ventral surface, a row of
rather small even bristles on the basal two-thirds of the antefo-
dorsal surface, the usual lower one the strongest, the usual
dorsal bristles and two or three weak bristles on the postero-
ventral surface; wings nearly clear, third and fourth veins
convergent, outer cross-vein bent ; calyptra unequal, yellowish ;
halteres yellowish.
9 • Very similar to the ? of manicata, but greyer in colour,
the most reliable distinguishing point between the two being
that in scalaris there is present, as in the <$ , a rather weak
bristle on the apical third of the antero-dorsal surface of the
fore tibia. The long hair-like bristle at the base of the mid
femora, on the ventral surface, is very conspicuous in this
species, while in matiicata it is not at all noticeable from the
other bristles ; the hind knees are generally distinctly yellow in
scalaris, while they are black, or nearly so, in manicata.
6 to 7 mm.
One of the very commonest species. I take it abundantly
at Bonhill, and have seen it from various localities. May to
October.
7A. ciliata, Stn., £ . Black ; eyes nearly confluent ; frons slightly,
jowls hardly, projecting; antennae of moderate length, third joint
about two and a quarter times the second ; arista nearly bare,
gradually thickened on the basal third; thorax deep black,
hardly shining, slightly grey dusted; abdomen shaped as in
7 x
162 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
serena, dorsal line distinct, fore margins of segments distinctly
pale grey dusted, hypopygium inconspicuous ; legs black, fore
knees and base of tibiae yellowish ; fore coxae as in monilis,
mid coxae with a strong, downward-directed, backward-turned
thorn ; mid femora constricted at apex, antero-ventral surface
with a row of bristles about eleven in number, the first five
weaker and rather widely placed, the others closer placed and
much stronger, the constricted part bare, and about eight small
comb-like bristles at the tip; the postero-dorsal bristles more
numerous, much as in monilis ; mid tibiae ventrally with a
slight swelling before the middle and the apical two-fifths
distinctly but not greatly swollen, the pubescence on the
ventral surface close, and thick, not very long, but only slightly
longer on the tip portion j the bristling peculiar in having the
antero-dorsal one very long and near the tip, and the postero-
dorsal one small and in the usual position j hind femora nearly
bare, two or three long bristles on the antero-ventral surface at
the tip ; hind tibia with the antero-dorsal surface clothed with
long bristle-like hairs, the dorsal bristles very long, and the
antero-ventral surface with a row of long bristle-like hairs of
somewhat similar nature ; hind tarsi, especially the last joints,
with longer hairs than in any of the other Fa?inia species ;
wings dark coloured, third and fourth long veins convergent,
last portion of fourth vein about two and a quarter times the
penultimate ; calyptra unequal, blackish ; halteres yellow.
One c£, Forres, 23rd July 1904 (J. J. F. X. King).
(To be continued.}
NOTES.
Lesser Shrew and Badger near Glasgow. — It may be of
interest to record in the Scottish Naturalist, that on the 5th
February last I caught a Lesser Shrew (Sorex mi nut us) here.
On the 21st April I saw fresh tracks of an animal which I believe
to be a Badger (Meles me/es), and have seen the animal twice since
then running about in a field in the late evening when it was too
dark to see it clearly even with field-glasses. I have never heard of
a Badger in this district before. — James Bartholomew, Torrance,
near Glasgow.
Badgers in Kirkcudbrightshire. — A Badger (Me/es meles)
NOTES 163
was killed at Menquhill, near Dairy, at the end of March last ; while
another was caught on 14th May, by a gamekeeper, on Newton
Hill, near Gatehouse. The latter was recorded in the Dumfries-
shire and Galloway Standard of 18th May. — Hugh S. Gladstone,
Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.
Continental Song-Thrush in the Moray and Solway
Areas. — On the night of 3oth-3ist March 191 1, one Continental
Song-Thrush (Turdus philomelos philomelos) and eight Skylarks
struck the lantern at Tarbatness Lighthouse. Weather conditions
at the time were : wind east, light ; some haze. On the same night, at
Mull of Galloway Lighthouse, the following birds were killed : two
Continental Song-Thrushes, one Blackbird, one House-Sparrow, ten
Starlings, and five Skylarks. This is the most western record of the
occurrence of Turdus philo?nelos philomelos for the British Isles, as
this subspecies has not yet been reported from Ireland. To Mr H.
F. Witherby my thanks are due for the identification of this racial
form. — Annie C. Jackson, Swordale.
Northern Form of Willow- Wren in Solway. — I have to
report that a Willow-Wren, which was obtained at Mull of Galloway
Lighthouse on i6th-iyth May 191 1, is of the Northern form
(Phylloscopus trochilus eversmanni). This, I believe, constitutes the
only western record of this subspecies for the British Isles. To Dr
C. B. Ticehurst I am indebted for the identification. — Annie C.
Jackson, Swordale.
Fatality amongst Rooks. — The almost complete absence of
Rooks this spring and summer is the cause of my troubling the
Editors of the Scottish Naturalist with the following notes. We had
quite the usual congregation busy repairing old tabernacles, and
"building new ones," and quite the usual bowing and scraping, and
"how-d'ye-do's," while consultations progressed. Then came the
calm of contentment, and the brooding half of the population settled
down to their ordinary quiet life. Then, alas ! for their peace and
future welfare — the heavens opened and the winds blew, and soon it
was observed what a scarcity of the black-coated gentry was to be
seen around their parochial homes. Many trees were blown down
in that severe gale in early April, and it was forced upon our observa-
tion that there had also been a catastrophe amongst the inhabitants
of our "Craw-hill." When the season approached for shooting the
birds, almost none was to be had, and few even of the old birds were
to be seen. They had emigrated — at all events they had quitted
this part of the country.
The fact is— to cut a longer story short — it was with the utmost
164 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
difficulty a very few young Rooks — branchers — were obtained,
perhaps three dozen in all; whereas, in other years, many scores
— even hundreds — have been shot, and the village supplied with the
annual " Craw-tairts." I learned later that a similar fatality must
have occurred in another township at a large rookery at Cowie, and
where "Crow-pie" has been a most unwonted dainty in 1 912. I
have not made inquiries further afield ; but if someone else has had
similar experiences, the unusual "shortage" of the seasonal food-
supply in this direction might be worth while recording. It may
prove, too, of interest in the near future to note what effects remain
in the welfare of these birds, as affected by the storms of 191 2.
I venture, therefore, to communicate my most pitiful tale relating
to " Rookdom," believing it to be worthy of record : whether it
should prove of only local significance, or may be extended over a
much larger area, it may prove a sign-post by the way. — J. A.
Harvie-Brown, Dunipace, Larbert.
The Snowy Owl. — During the strong northerly winds prevail-
ing at the end of last March, a Snowy Owl {Nyctea nyctea) was
caught on the moorland in the north of the Lewis. The wholly
white plumage of the specimen was only relieved by a few dark-
brown specklings on the wings, indicating that the bird was
probably a male. There are several records of these Northern
Owls being got in the district previously, but none for many
years. — R. Clyne, Butt of Lewis.
Greenland Falcon at Barra, Outer Hebrides. — On the
2nd of April 1912, an adult male specimen of the Greenland Falcon
{Falco candicans) was obtained at Barra, and has been presented to
the fine collection of Scotch birds in the Royal Scottish Museum. —
Wm. L. Macgillivray, Eoligary, Barra.
Some Habits of the Gannet.— With reference to the remarks
in the Scottish Naturalist of April last regarding the very rare
occasions on which Gannets (Sula bass ana) bring their prey to the
surface, and are seen to swallow it, I have to state that at the Bell
Rock, where occasionally the Gannets go under with a slanting
dive in shallow water among the shoals of Saith, on one occasion I
saw one bring up a large Saith quite close to the lighthouse, carry-
ing it on the wing for about thirty yards before settling down to
engulf it. No doubt the proximity to the building and shallow
water, the size of the fish, the necessity of the case, and reluctance
to let go a good thing, severally contributed to bring about this
infrequent occurrence. — R. Clyne, Butt of Lewis.
NOTES 165
Smew at Melrose. — In reference to your note in the April
number of the Scottish Naturalist concerning the occurrences of
Smews (Mergus albelhts) in the Firth of Forth last January, it may
be of interest to record the fact that one frequented the Tweed at
Melrose on 10th and nth February 1912, after severe frost. I
watched it diving and swimming about for a long time ; the water-
bailies also noticed it, and called it a Black-and-white Sea-duck. I
had no means of determining the sex. Shoveler Ducks and Golden-
eyes were seen at the same time. — Gilbert D. Davidson, Melrose.
Early Breeding of Ringed Plover in Ayrshire.— It may
be of interest to record that I found the nest of a Ringed Plover
(/Egialitis hiaticola), containing two eggs, on 9th March, at Lendal-
foot. This is the earliest date on record here. — G. Graham, Girvan.
Black Tern in Wigtownshire. — On Sunday afternoon, the
2nd June, while walking with the Rev. T. Ackman Paton, I noticed
a single Black Tern {Hydrochelidon nigra) hawking flies in company
with one or two Common Terns, on Soulseat Loch (Inch). We
watched the bird from 4 p.m. till 7.30, with a short interval, and
during that time it was only seen to alight once for a few seconds ;
the next day it had disappeared. This is the fourth occurrence I
know of in the county. — J. G. Gordon, Corsemalzie.
Pishes taken off the Wigtownshire Coast. — Mr Adam
Birrell kindly sent me a Black Sea-Bream (Can t/i arus /ineatus),
15 ins. long, and weighing 2 lbs., taken on the 15th May, also a
Goldsinny (Ldbrus rupestris), 4 ins. long, taken on the 25th
May, both in Wigtown Bay. At Port Logan, on the 31st May,
1 examined the fishermen's catch, finding several Ballan Wrasse
(Labrns bergylta), the largest nearly 3 lbs. ; a single Cuckoo
Ray (Raia falsavela), 13J, ins. across, and showing the two beauty
spots on the back very clearly ; several smallish Spotted Rays (Raia
metadata) ; a Rough Hound [Scylliorhinus canicula\ measuring 2 ft.
10 ins. ; and eleven Piked Dogfish (Squalns acanthias\ the largest
2 ft. 7 ins.
At Innerwell fishery, an Allis Shad (Clupea alosa) of 2 lbs., and
a Garpike {Rhamphistoma be/one), 2 6 J- ins. long, were taken on
the 3rd June, and kindly sent me.— J. G. Gordon, Corsemalzie.
Death's-Head Moth in the Outer Hebrides. A letter
recently received from Mr John Anderson, M.A., B.Sc, mentions
the presence of a Death's-Head Moth (Manduca airopos, L.) in the
school museum of the Nicholson Institute, Stornoway. The
individual was "found on a rhone in Lewis Street, Stornoway, and
166 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
was brought' alive to the school. When irritated it uttered a weird
kind of sound, something between the squeak of a mouse and the
plaintive cry of a wounded rabbit." This appears to be the first
specimen recorded from the Outer Hebrides, for no mention of that
area is made in Tutt's account of the distribution of the species in
Britain (1904), nor have I been able to trace a record since that
date. — James Ritchie, Edinburgh.
Tetracanthella wahlgreni, Axels., in Scotland. — In a
paper on Collembola from the Forth Area, published in Proc. Roy.
Phys. Soc. Edin. for 1908 (vol. xvii., No. 5, p. 198), I mentioned
that in September 1906 I had found several examples of a
Tetracanthella — a genus new to the British fauna — in sphagnum on
Ben Ledi and Stuc-a-Chroin, Perthshire, but was uncertain as to the
species. Having since obtained further specimens among moss
brought to me from St Kilda in September last by Mr Eagle Clarke,
I have been led to look into the matter again, and have come to the
conclusion that these Scottish Tetracanthella are referable to the
species which Axelson in his " Apterygotenfauna Finlands " has
named T. ivahlgreni ; they have not the clavate hairs of T pilosa,
Schott, and have a much shorter spring. Mr R. S. Bagnall tells me
he has recently taken T wahlgreni in the north of England. —
William Evans.
The Thorny Lobster in Lewis. — Mr John Anderson, M.A.,
B.Sc, Stornoway, sends an additional record of Palinurus vulgaris^
L., from the Outer Hebrides. The specimen, now in the museum
of the Nicholson Institute, was found by a fisherman, crawling on
a rock near Stornoway. This is the first example recorded from
Lewis. — James Ritchie, Edinburgh.
book notices.
The British Warblers: A History, with Problems of their
Lives, by H. Elliot Howard, Part VI., with Coloured and
Photogravure Plates. R- H. Porter. 21s. net per Part.
With this part Mr Howard's excellent history of our Warblers
enters upon its second volume. The species treated of are the
Willow Warbler, Savi's Warbler, and the Rufous Warbler. To the
illustration of these species three coloured and five photogravure
plates are devoted. We have already expressed our very high
opinion on the all-round excellence of this work — the beauty of the
plates and the originality of the letterpress. The latter is exception-
GLEANINGS 167
ally valuable, for no one has hitherto possessed such a masterly
knowledge of the habits of these delightful little birds during their
residence in our midst during the most engrossing period of their
lives. Mr Howard not only relates what he has observed, but he dis-
cusses the problems presented in a sound, philosophic manner, and his
conclusions are worthy of the respect due to a recognised authority.
Spiders, by C. Warburton (Cambridge Manuals of Science and
Literature). Cambridge University Press, 191 2. Price is.
This is a capital little book, and one of the best volumes of this
useful series yet published. Written in a simple and entertaining
style, it provides just the kind of information desired by the amateur
naturalist, and will doubtless induce many of its readers to take up
the study of these fascinating creatures more seriously. An interest-
ing account of the construction of the various forms of snare is given
in the early chapters, followed by a useful sketch of the principal
families, their characteristics, and their habits. The book is beauti-
fully printed, and its thirteen text figures are clear and instructive.
A photograph of the huge " Banana Spider " forms an appropriate
frontispiece.
GLEANINGS.
The following notes from British Birds may interest our ornithological readers : —
The third British example of the Isabelline When. tear (Saxico/a isabellina) is
recorded by Mr Ford-Lindsay (vol. v., p. 328). It was secured in Rye Harbour
on 28th March 191 2. In the same volume are a few more records of Little Auks
occurring in various parts of England during January and February. In an
interesting paper in the June number, Dr Lowe announces the discovery of two
distinct races of the Lesser Black-backed Gull in Europe : "(1) A Scandinavian or
more eastern form, the dark-backed Larus fuscus fuscus ; and (2) a more western or
light-backed race, represented by L. fuscus britannicus." These races are fully
described, and an illustration and measurements showing wherein they differ are
also given. A Tengmalm's Owl, captured in Northumberland on nth December
191 1, and its behaviour in captivity, is the subject of a paper in the same
magazine. This bird is the sixth of the species recorded for Northumberland.
There are also one or two interesting records of " Ringed Birds " given. A
Starling maiked in Beikshiie in January 1912 was found dead in Finland in April
191 2, while others were recovered close to where they were ringed (vol. vi., pp. 2,
8, and 13).
J. T. Marshall {Journal of Conchology, April 1912, pp. 294-306) continues his
useful paper entitled " Additions to ' British Conchology.' " The following
species are recorded from Scottish waters : Columbella haliceeti, Jeff. (Shetland) ;
Clathurella anceps, Eichw. (Aberdeenshire, Loch Fyne, and off Barra) ; C. anceps,
n. var. solutay Marsh. (Aberdeenshire, Loch Fyne, West Orkneys) ; C. leufi
Mich. (Lamlash, Dornoch and Pentland Firths, and off Barra) ; C. leufi
L I 8 R A R Y
168 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
carnosula, Jeff. (W. Orkneys) ; C. linearis, Mont., var. alba, Marsh. (Aberdeen-
shire, Loch Boisdale) ; C. reticulata, Brocc. (several localities off the West Coast,
Pentland Firth); C. reticulata, var. asperrima, F. and H. (Lamlash and Loch
Boisdale); C. purpurea, Mont. (Aberdeenshire); C. purpurea^ var. minor, Monts.
(Sutherlandshire, North Rona) ; C. formosa, Jeff. (Shetlands, Butt of Lewis) ;
Pleurotoma nana, Lov. (Aberdeenshire, Orkneys, Shetlands) ; P. brachystoma,
Phil. (Sound of Sleat) ; P. brachystoma, n. var. alba, Marsh. (Mull of Cantire) ;
P. nebula, Mont. (Loch Inver, Sound of Sleat, Aberdeenshire) ; P. nebula, var.
elongata, Jeff, (several localities) ; P. nebula, var. fusiformis, Marsh. (Minch,
Shetlands) ; P. nivalis, Lov. (Shetlands and N. of Hebrides) ; P. carinata, Biv.
(off Butt of Lewis, etc.) ; P. rufa, Mont., var. lactea, Jeff. (Aberdeen, Iona, Firth
of Lome) ; and P. rufa, var. ulideana, Thomps. (fona).
In the " Recorder's Report " published in the Proceedings of the Conchological
Society {Journal of Conchology, April 1912, p. 317), many new county records are
given, the only Scottish one being Clausilia bidentata, taken in Orkney in 1907.
A note is published by K. H. Jones in the April number of the Journal of
Conchology (p. 293) on the occurrence of Pisidium lilljeborgi, Clessin, in the island
of Arran. Numerous specimens, some of which were of an unusually large size,
were taken in September 191 1.
In a further short instalment of the late G. H. Verrall's paper on "Another
Hundred New British Species of Diptera," published in the June number of the
Ent. Mo. Mag. (p. 144), Thrypticus polhnosus is described as a new species, and
recorded from Aviemore and Nairn, T. fellus is noted as occurring as far north as
Nethy Bridge, and Medeterus infumalus, Lw., is mentioned as having been taken
by Col. Yerbury in the same locality.
A. E. J. Carter, in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for June (p. 139), records the occurrence
of the Tipulid fly Triogma trisulcata, Schum., in Perthshire. Five specimens were
taken on the 8th May, on marshy ground near Blairgowrie. The species was only
added to the British list in April, on the evidence of an English specimen. Its
occurrence in Scotland is therefore of interest.
In the conclusion of his paper on " British Odonata in 191 1 " {Entomologist,
June 1912, pp. 171-173) W. J. Lucas records several interesting captures made by
Col. Yerbury in the north of Scotland. In all some ten species were obtained, the
most important being a new race, or perhaps species, of Sympetrum, which is
described under the name of nigrescens. A pair were taken at Lochinver in June
and July 1911, and it is stated that they exactly resemble two females taken at
Stornoway by H. S. Tremlin in 1899.
Dr Sig Thor (Norway) describes at some length, in the Zoologischer Anzeiger
(Bd. xxxix., pp. 529-533, and figs. 95-98), the larva of a Scottish Hydracarid,
Lebertia porosa, Sig Thor. The larva of an Irish species, L.insignis, Neuman, is
also described in detail.
In a letter to Nature of 6th June, Dr Thomas J. Jehu, of The University, St
Andrews, announces the discovery of fossils (after many months' search) in the
Chert and Black Shale Series at Aberfoyle. The specimens have been submitted
to Dr Peach, who has recognised among them the casts of Brachiopods apparently
belonging to the genera Lingulella and Obolus, also the jaw of an annelid. ,l The
evidence, so far as it goes, which is afforded by these fossils, as to the age of the
Boundary Fault Series, tends to confirm the view that it is Upper Cambrian, or at
any rate Lower Palaeozoic."
The Scottish Natura
No. 8.] 1912 [August
{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION
INQUIRY: FIRST INTERIM REPORT (1909-12).
By A. Landsborough Thomson, M.A., M.B.O.U.
( Continued from page 153.)
Black-headed Gull {continued).
Case 98, ring A.U. 13050: —
gt/i June 19 10 : marked as a nestling a few days old at Flanders
Moss, Stirlingshire. (Messrs J. C. Adam, R. M. Adam,
and S. E. Brock.)
22nd Oct. 1910: shot near Renfrew. (Mr J. L. Main: ring
returned.)
Case 103, ring A.U. 12471 : —
^th June 1 9 10: marked as a nestling on Skipwith Common,
10 miles S.W. of York, England. (Mr H. R. Davidson.)
\oth Nov. 1910 (about): found dead at Bothal, near Morpeth,
Northumberland. (Through Mr E. L. Gill, M.Sc.)
Case 116, ring A.U. 13179:—
12th July 1910: marked as a half fledged nestling on the
Sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Mr L. N.
G. Ramsay.)
16th Jan. 191 1 : killed on the Gironde, France, near Bayon,
about 18 miles from Bordeaux and 32 miles from the sea.
(Mayor of Bayon and Mr C. Ludovic.)
Case 155, ring A.U. 12487: —
4H1 June 1910: marked as a nestling on Skipwith Common,
10 miles S.W. of York, England. (Mr H. R. Davidson.)
27^ Aug. 1910: shot on Marfleet Creek, in the borough of
Hull, Yorkshire. (Dr M. Winzar Compton : ring returned.)
8 Y
170 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 229, ring A.U. 12324: —
$rd Oct. 1 9 10: caught at night on the shore 8 miles north
of Aberdeen. (Messrs L. N. G. Ramsay and A. G.
Davidson.)
20th July 191 1 : found dead on the shore at the mouth
of the Don, near Aberdeen. (Miss Robertson : ring
returned.)
Case 252, ring A.U. 635 : —
26th June 1 910: marked as a nestling a few days old on the
Sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire. (Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
2?id Sept. 191 1 : shot between Stonehaven and Muchalls,
Kincardineshire. (Mr A. Malcolm : ring returned.)
Case 256, ring A.U. 19073 : —
1st Ju?ie 191 1 : marked as a nestling a few days old on Skip-
with Common, 10 miles S.W. of York, England. (Mr
V. G. F. Zimmermann.)
1st Sept. 191 1 : shot near Greatham Creek, north side of river
Tees, Co. Durham. (Mr J. Postgate.)
Case 335, female, ring A.U. 639 : —
26th June 1 9 10: marked as a half-fledged young bird on the
Sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire. (Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
iSt/z June 1912 : shot on Scotston Moor, near Aberdeen.
(Mr J. Mutch : ring returned. Sex ascertained on
dissection by Miss L. Florence, M.A., B.Sc.)
[Le Saint Hubert Illustre for February 1912 reports that a gull was killed
at Grandchamp les Bains, Calvados, Normandy, bearing ring "A.U. 17545":
information through the editor of The Field. Unfortunately the number reported
is incorrect (the ring in question being in fact still in our hands unused), and
we have not as yet succeeded in getting a more accurate report.]
Common Tern {Sterna hirundo, L.).
Case 2, ring A.U. 4689 : —
1th July 1909 : marked as a young bird in down on Dumbarnie
Links, Fifeshire. (Miss E. V. Baxter and Miss L. J.
Rintoul.)
iSt/i July 1909: found with fatal injuries on the shore of
Largo Bay, Fifeshire. (Fifeshire Police and Aberdeen
City Police : ring recovered later.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 171
Case 57, ring A.U. 8581 : — ■
nth July 1910: marked as a young bird on Skate Island,
Loch Fyne, Argyllshire. (Mr A. Campbell.)
iSthJuly 1910: found dead on the Yellow Isle, Loch Fyne.
(Mr J. D. Mackay : ring returned.)
Case 82, ring A.U. 957 E: —
i$th July 1910 : marked as a young bird at Dunvurich, Tay-
valich, Loch Sweyn, Argyllshire. (Mr A. Campbell.)
*jth Aug. 1910: found dead on an island in Loch Sweyn.
(Mr W. G. Cruickshank.)
Case 84, ring A.U. 614 A : —
iGthJuly 1910: marked as a young bird on Balmedie Links,
Aberdeenshire. (Miss D. Hamilton.)
2ij-/ Aug. 1910 : found dead ("dead some time") on the shore
a few miles south of place of marking. (Mr L. N. G.
Ramsay : ring returned.)
Lapwing (Vauellus vancllus, L.).
Case i, ring A.U. 32 : —
8th May 1909: marked as a chick about a week old on the
sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire. (Messrs L. N. G.
Ramsay, A. G. Davidson, and A. L. Thomson.)
\$th June 1909 : caught within a few yards of place of marking,
and released immediately : although six weeks old and
well able to fly, as it showed when released, it allowed
itself to be caught while crouching. (Mr G. Duffus.)
Case 60, ring A.U. 13487: —
227id May 1910: marked as a chick a few days old near
Stonehaven, Kincardineshire. (Lt.-Col. A. V. Anderson.)
15th July 1910: remains found in a wood near Dunnottar
House, Stonehaven. (Captain W. H. Ritchie.)
Case 71, ring A.U. 13273: —
Summer 19 10: marked as a young bird near Aboyne,
Aberdeenshire. (Mr J. Mutch : failed to note exact
date.)
6th Aug. 1910: shot at Balfour, Aboyne. (Mr J. P. Stainton :
ring returned.)
i72 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 105, ring A.U. 12730: —
2\st Jirne 1910: marked as a young bird near Kintore,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Mr W. W. Nicol.)
i<)th Nov. 1 9 10 (about): shot at Roskeen, Thurles, Co.
Tipperary, Ireland. (Mr J. Ryan.)
Case 106, ring A.U. 8545 : —
14//Z May 1 9 10: marked as a chick a few days old on the
Sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Mr L. N. G.
Ramsay.)
227i d Nov. 1910 (about): shot at Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon,
Ireland. (Mr S. Harris.)
Case 113, ring A.U. 12 731 : —
2yd June 1910: marked as a young bird near Kintore,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Mr W. W. Nicol.)
29M Dec. 1910: killed at Elvas, Alemtejo, Portugal. (Mr J.
F. da Silva Miranda.)
Case 145, ring A.U. 14370: —
28M May 1910: marked as a young bird at Dunnottar,
Kincardineshire, Scotland. (Capt. W. H. Ritchie.)
$th Feb. 191 1 (about): shot near Sunnyside, Mitchelstown,
Co. Cork, Ireland. (Mr J. A. Fraser.)
Case 154, ring A.U. 14699: —
2dth May 19 10 : marked as a chick a few days old near Stone-
haven, Kincardineshire, Scotland. (Lt.-Col. A. V.
Anderson.)
13th Feb. 191 1 : shot at the Clonshire Mills, Croagh, Co.
Limerick, Ireland. (Mr G. Sherwood : ring returned.)
Case 156, ring A.U. 14077 : —
4th May 19 10: marked as a chick a few days old near Stone-
haven, Kincardineshire, Scotland. (Lt.-Col. A. V.
Anderson.)
Oct. (?) 1 9 10: shot in the parish of Barqueros, near
Barcellos, Minho, about twenty miles north of Oporto,
Portugal. (Mr W. C. Tait, Oporto : as Mr Tait did not
hear of the occurrence until several months later, his
informant's date — October, which seems early — may be
regarded as rather doubtful. British bird-markers are
much indebted to Mr Tait for making the object of their
work widely known in Portugal.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 173
Case 271, ring A.U. 20074 : —
\oth June 191 1: marked as a young bird almost able to fly,
in a field near the Echt road, 10 miles west of Aberdeen,
Scotland. (Dr A. R. Galloway.)
I'jtA Oct. 191 1 : caught at Straboe, Queen's County, Ireland.
(Mr P. Brien.)
Case 274, ring A.U. 13398 :—
2%th May 1910: marked as an almost full-grown chick near
Myres Castle, Auchtermuchty, Fifeshire, Scotland. (Mr
R. Fairlie.)
30th Dec. 191 1 : caught at Coosan, Athlone, Co. West Neath,
Ireland : released a few days later. (Mr T. Mulvehill.)
Case 283, ring A.U. 122 14: —
\th June 1910: marked as a chick at Westhall, Oyne, Aber-
deenshire, Scotland. (Mr AY. S. Meston.)
\st Jan. 19 12 (about): caught at Grangemore, Co. Ros-
common, Ireland. (Mr J. Kennedy, in the Daily Mirror,
3rd Jan. 1912.)
Case 336, ring A.U. 16828: —
3 1 st May 191 1 : marked as a young bird near Inverurie,
Aberdeenshire. (Mr W. W. Nicol.)
7M Nov. 191 1 : killed at Old Cottage of Seaton, Glenlivet,
Banffshire, Scotland. (Mr C. Stuart, through Mr W. S.
Meston.)
Golden Plover (Charadrius apricarius, L.).
Case 263, ring A.U. 17071 : —
2\st May 191 1 : marked as a chick at Dunachton, Inverness-
shire, Scotland. (Mr W. Berry.)
13/// Oct. 191 1 (about): shot at Blacksod, Co. Mayo, Ireland.
(Mr P. M. Henaghan.)
Woodcock (Scolopax rustico/a, L.).
Case 85, ring A.U. 12577 : —
nth June 1910 : marked as a young bird about four weeks old
at Yester, Haddingtonshire. (Mr P. M. Campbell.)
22?id Aug. 1910: shot at Hopes, Yester, Haddingtonshire.
(Mr R. L. Hunter.)
174 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 108, ring A.U. 12393: —
June 1 9 10: marked as a young bird on the island of Inish-
mealy, Lower Lough Erne, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland.
(Mr H. B. Rathborne.)
2\st Nov. 1910: shot on the shore of Lower Lough Erne.
(Reported in The Field for 26th Nov. 19 10 (number mis-
printed 12392) by Captain W. F. Cowan, who shot the
bird, and who also communicated with us through Ur
R. Stephens. Independently reported by Major H.
Trevelyan, through Mr H. F. Witherby.)
Case 284, ring A.U. 13629: —
4th June 1 9 10: marked as a chick in Glashie Wood, Mony-
musk, Aberdeenshire. (Mr Robertson.)
26th Dec. 191 1 (about): "got" at Keithhall, Inverurie, Aber-
deenshire. (Mr W. S. Meston : on this occasion the
unringed foot was missing, the wound being completely
healed.)
Case 292, ring A.U. 13475 : —
13th June 191 1 : marked as a young bird at Wetherley, Stone-
haven, Kincardineshire, Scotland. (Capt. W. H. Ritchie.)
4th Jan. 191 2 : killed about six miles from Gijon, Asturias,
Spain. (Mr Macario Menendez, whose communication
was addressed to the " Senor Alcalde d'Alberdeen," and
reached us through the municipal authorities.)
Case 300, ring A.U. 8751 : —
gf/i June 191 1 : marked as a young bird already able to fly a
little, at Achnacloich, Argyllshire. (Mr A. Stewart.)
28/// Sept. 191 1 : shot at Ardchattan, Taynuilt, Argyllshire.
(Mr R. C. C. Preston.)
{To be continued.)
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 175
THE BRITISH SPECIES OF THE DIPTEROUS
GENUS FANNIA, Rob. Dsv.
By J. R. Malloch.
(Continued from page 162.)
8. canicularis, L., <J . The common small house-fly which occurs
throughout the year. Very variable in colour, sometimes the
thorax is nearly unicolorous grey, while often there are only
signs of the centre stripe of the three that are generally
present; the abdomen has generally the sides of the second and
third segments translucent yellow, this even when it is not
noticeable from a direct examination from above is always
evident when held up to the light; legs with the knees,
especially the fore pair, distinctly yellow, fore pair with the
usual bristles ; mid femora with a row of widely placed, not
very strong bristles on the basal half, about five in number,
and a row of about twelve very short closely-placed bristles- on
the apical half of the antero-ventral surface; postero-ventral
surface with a row of about ten long bristles on the basal two-
thirds and about six small bristles on the apical third ; mid
tibia with the usual bristles, hardly or not at all dilated on
apical half; ventral surface with remarkably close, short,
pubescence ; hind femora with a row of rather short bristles,
increasing in length at the tip, on the antero-ventral surface;
postero-ventral row reaching only to about the middle; hind
tibia with the usual dorsal bristles, a row of rather uneven
small bristles, besides the usual strong one, on the antero-
dorsal surface and two antero-ventral bristles ; calyptra whitish,
unequal ; halteres yellow ; wings greyish, fourth and fifth veins
convergent ; outer cross-vein bent, last portion of fourth vein
twice the penultimate.
9 . Diners from the o* in the absence of the yellow colour on
the abdomen in all the specimens I have seen ; the thorax is
generally three-striped; the legs are distinctly yellow on the
knees, and, with the exception of the femoral bristling and the
pubescence on the mid tibia, are similar to those of the 3 .
5 to 7 mm.
Abundant everywhere.
9. difficilis, Stein, <£ . Very similar to canicularis, but much
darker in colour, the thorax being quite black, the abdomen
176 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
black-brown, and the yellow colour much more prominent ; the
frons projects much less than in canicularis ; the legs are almost
entirely black, the yellow at the base of the fore tibia being
very indistinct; the mid femora bear on the antero-ventral
surface about nine long bristles, instead of five as in canicularis,
and the same short apical row ; the posterior bristling is also
more numerous ; the mid tibia similar in shape and bristling
to canicularis, but the pubescence much longer, being about
as long as the thickness of the tibia ; there is a tendency to
more numerous bristling on the hind femora; the hind tibice do
not possess the uneven bristles on the antero-dorsal surface, and
there is only one strong bristle present on the antero-venlral
surface ; wings darkened ; calyptra pale.
9 . I have not seen this sex, but Stein says that it is darker than
canicularis, the yellow on the abdomen is much more pro-
nounced, and the antero-ventral surface of the hind tibia has
only a single bristle. 5 to 6 mm.
I have taken two £ £ at Bonhill, the date on the one I
still have being 14th September 1907 ; Mr Collin has the other
one. I saw a third <$ here in June.
10. carteri, nom. nov. ( = femorala, Mall.), 3 . Dull black; eyes
large, frons, epistome, and jowls but little projecting; third
joint of antennae about two and a quarter times the second,
arista pubescent ; palpi normal, thorax dull black, dusted only
on the dorsum behind ; abdomen dull black, segments dusted
at bases, with dilated dorsal line and black lateral reflections ;
anal organ not prominent, but with two small black, pointed,
backward-directed appendages; legs black, fore-knees hardly
paler ; mid femora not greatly thickened, antero-ventral row of
long bristles beginning near the base, decreasing in length,
but becoming closer till about two-fifths from the tip they form
a comb-like row on the constricted portion of the femur; a
somewhat similar row of longer but weaker bristles on the
postero-ventral surface; ventral bristle long and strong; mid
tibia with the apical two-fifths distinctly but not greatly thickened,
much as in verrallii, Stn., pubescence on ventral surface very
indistinct on the unthickened portion, but long and erect on
apical two-fifths; two antero-dorsal and two postero-dorsal
bristles, the upper ones very weak ; hind femora bent and
dilated, thickest beyond the middle, antero-ventral surface
with a row of hair-like bristles which increase in length from
the base to the thickest part of the femora and then decrease to
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 177
the tip ; a row of about six long hair-like bristles on the basal
two-fifths, and a group of about nine very long curled hair-like
bristles on the thickened portion beyond the middle of the
postero-ventral surface, a few very short hairs on the tip fifth ;
hind tibia with the usual dorsal bristles, two antero-ventral
bristles, and no bristle on the antero-dorsal surface; calyptra
blackish, the under scale projecting; halteres yellow; wings
darkened along the fore half, third and fourth veins nearly
parallel, outer cross-vein nearly straight, last portion of fourth
vein about three times the penultimate. ? unknown. 4 mm.
One $ at Aberfoyle, 30th June 1904 (A. E. J. Carter).
11. armata^ Mg., <J . Black; eyes large, frons slightly projecting,
seen from in front with centre stripe grey dusted ; thorax black,
brown-grey dusted; abdomen dull black, rather broad and
short ; legs black, fore-knees with a small yellowish mark ;
fore tibia with a few long hairs at the tip on the postero-
ventral surface; mid femora swollen for over two-thirds from
the base, thickest at the end of the swelling; antero-ventral
surface with a row of about nine rather long bristles which
decrease in length towards the swollen part, which bears a row
of about the same number of very short and strong bristles,
the apical unthickened portion of femora bare; postero-ventral
surface with longer, more numerous and weaker bristles, three
or four on the constricted portion ; mid tibia distinctly thickened
from before the middle on the ventral surface, the pubescence,
which is very long and erect confined to the thickened portion ;
antero-dorsal bristles three in number, postero-dorsal two
weaker ; mid metatarsi with a blunt thorn-like fasciculus of four
very short thick-set bristles, at the base of the ventral surface ;
hind femora long and rather bent ; antero-dorsal surface with a
row of about ten bristles on the apical half, the last six being
very much stronger than the first four ; hind tibia with a row
of very long hairs, from near the base to the tip, on the antero-
ventral surface, a row on the postero-ventral surface of some-
what similar hairs, beginning later, of which the apical two or
three are longer; dorsal bristles very long, the others indis-
tinguishable ; wings darkened, third and fourth veins hardly
convergent, outer cross-vein nearly straight; calyptra whitish,
unequal; halteres yellow.
9 • Grey-black ; frons about one-third the breadth of head,
parallel-sided, orbits grey dusted, at their broadest part as broad
as the black middle stripe ; lower fronto-orbital bristle nearer
8 z
178 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
the middle stripe than to the eye margin ; thorax and abdomen
thickly grey dusted, somewhat shining ; legs black, fore knees
yellowish ; ventral bristle on mid femora large ; mid tibia with
three antero-dorsal and two postero-dorsal bristles; hind tibia
with besides the usual bristles three or four additional antero-
ventral bristles. 4 to 5 mm.
Very common at Bonhill. I have also seen this from
Polton (Carter) ; Oxford (Hamra) ; May to August.
12. a'erea, Ztt., 6* • L)ull black ; eyes very large, frons not projecting,
jowls descending very narrowly below the eyes; antennae
moderately long, arista bare ; thorax dull black, slightly shining
when viewed from behind ; abdomen dull black, with traces of
dusting on the fore margins of the segments, especially the
fourth ; anal organ rather large ; legs black, fore and mid knees
only inconspicuously brownish yellow ; mid femora constricted
at the tip ; antero-ventral surface with a row of about fifteen
bristles, the first six being long, strong, and widely placed, the
remainder being shorter and closely situated, the row ends at
the narrowed part of the femora and that part is bare except
for three very short bristles at the tip; postero-ventral row
begins at the base with the ventral long bristle, is somewhat
more regular in length and more numerous, but more hair-like ;
mid tibia thin at the base, very slightly swollen before the
middle, then thinner, and the tip half distinctly thickened, the
pubescence on the ventral surface distinct and erect only on
the tip half; bristling normal; mid metatarsi with a thorn at
the base as in armata, but rather weaker ; hind femora with a
row of hairs, more bristle-like at the end, on the basal three-
fourths of the postero-ventral surface; antero-ventral surface
bare ; hind tibia with only the usual bristles ; wings darkened,
outer cross-vein almost straight, last portion of fourth vein about
three times the penultimate; calyptra black, equal in size;
halteres black.
9 . Dull black, thickly brown-grey dusted ; frons rather more
than one-third the breadth of the head, middle stripe broad,
viewed from in front pale grey dusted and rather conspicuous ;
antennae broader than in the £ ; thorax slightly shining ;
abdomen nearly entirely dull; legs black-grey, fore knees in-
distinctly yellow; ventral bristle on mid femora long; hind
tibia with the usual bristles ; wings clear ; calyptra and halteres
yellow. 3 to 4 mm.
A very common species at Bonhill. The pale grey frontal
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 179
stripe of the ? distinguishes it at once from any other species.
I have also seen this from New Forest (Adams) ; Polton,
Aberfoyle, and Comrie (A. E. J. Carter) ; Oxford (Hamm). I
have a single $ standing under the MS. name crassipes which
I am doubtful about, but I consider it advisable to give a short
description of it, so that should it prove to be other than an
abnormal specimen of aerea it may be recognised. It agrees in
every particular with the foregoing, but the mid metatarsus is
barely equal in length to the next two joints, whereas in aerea
it is equal to the next three. The hind tarsus in aerea is longer
than the tibia ; in crassipes it is shorter and very considerably
thickened, in contrast with the normal tarsus of the former.
It is possible that this is a malformation, but I consider it at
least advisable to mention its occurrence. One <$, Bonhill,
25 th May 1908.
13. umbrosa, Stn., $ . Black; eyes very large, and close together;
thorax deep black, with little dusting ; abdomen black, brown-
grey dusted ; legs black, the thorn at the base of the mid
metatarsus inconspicuous ; the bristling of the hind femora
separates this species from all its allies, there being about ten
equally long, prominent bristles from the middle to the tip on
the postero-ventral surface ; the usual bristles present on the
tibiae ; wings yellowish, third and fourth veins convergent ;
calyptra unequal in size, brownish ; haltercs brownish. 9
undescribed. 4 to 4J mm.
The foregoing abridged description is taken from
Stein's monograph.
14. vesparia, Mde. This species was described by Meade in the
Entomologist's Monthly Magazine in 1891, and though its
author afterwards wrote a paper on the Anthomyidce (1897) he
made no reference to the species. Verrall gives it in italics in
his 1 90 1 list of British species, but Stein makes no mention of
it in his monograph on the family, 1895. It *s given in the
Catalogue of Pahcarctic Diptera, 1 907. Possibly an examination
of the type, if it is in existence, will settle whether or not it
ought to rank as a species. The chief character which distin-
guishes it from coracina, if not the only one, is that given in
the table of species in this paper. The flies were bred from
pupae found in a wasp's nest. I am inclined to consider it
merely as a synonym of coracina.
15. coracina, Lw., $. Deep black, slightly shining; frons,
epistome, and jowls projecting a little more than in most
180 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
species ; eyes narrowly, but distinctly, separated ; thorax not
very distinctly brown-grey dusted ; abdomen distinctly blue-
grey dusted, dorsal stripe distinct, anal organ small ; legs black,
the fore knees but little paler; mid femora with the basal
two-thirds swollen, the tip third not greatly constricted ;
antero-ventral surface with a row of about twelve bristles on
the basal two-thirds, the last five or six being the strongest,
this row finishes at the thickest part of the femora and is
followed by a bare space, the constricted portion of the femora
having its apical half with a row of short closely-placed bristles ;
postero-ventral surface with a somewhat similar row of longer,
hair-like, and more numerous bristles; mid tibia almost
identical with that of scalaris ; its bristling normal; hind
femora with a rather widely placed row of short bristles, the
last four or five much the longest, on the antero-ventral surface,
and a row of hair-like bristles of almost equal length on the
postero-ventral surface; hind tibiae with a somewhat regular
row of short bristles, the longest being the one usually present,
on the antero-dorsal surface, a row of long hairs, becoming
more bristle-like towards the tip, on the apical two-thirds of
the antero-ventral surface, and a somewhat similar row of
softer and shorter hairs on the postero-ventral surface; wings
brownish, third and fourth veins convergent ; outer cross-vein
bent, last portion of fourth vein about two and a quarter
times the penultimate ; calyptra unequal, yellowish ; halteres
yellowish.
9 . Black-grey ; frons about one-third the breadth of the head,
parallel - sided ; middle stripe sometimes brownish, at its
narrowest part broader than the orbits at that part ; orbits
grey dusted, somewhat shining behind; thorax grey dusted,
somewhat shining ; abdomen coloured as the thorax ; legs
entirely black; mid tibia with a ventral bristle; hind tibia
with a regular row of equally long, little bristles on the antero-
dorsal surface, the bristle usually present being the longest at
about one-third from the tip; antero-ventral surface with two
bristles. 4 to 6J mm.
A very common species at Bonhill. It occurs along with
mittica, from which Stein does not separate the $ .
1 6. kowarzii, Verr., £. Grey; frons, epistome, and jowls some-
what projecting, orbits silvered ; eyes narrowly separated ;
antennne of moderate length ; arista bare ; thorax grey ;
abdomen grey, dorsal line indistinct, anal organ of moderate
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNTA 181
size, with small projecting lamellae; legs grey-black, knees
yellow; mid tibia gradually thickened towards the apex, the
pubescence very short at the base but longer towards the tip,
two dorsal and two postero-dorsal bristles ; hind femora with
one long bristle near the tip on the antero-ventral surface, and
a fasciculus of fine, long, hair-like bristles near the tip on the
postero-ventral surface ; hind tibia with two antero-ventral and
four or five equally long postero-ventral bristles, as well as the
usual dorsal and antero-dorsal bristles ; wings yellowish, third
and fourth veins hardly convergent; outer cross-vein nearly
straight, last portion of fourth vein about one and a half times
the penultimate ; calyptra yellowish, unequal ; halteres yellow.
9 . Stein describes the °. of this species ; besides the characters
in the frons, he gives the following : the antennae are strong and
long, the arista hair-like, slightly pubescent, the second joint
prolonged and moderately thickened; colour of thorax and
abdomen as in the $ , but somewhat shining ; colour of the
legs as in the 3 ; mid tibia with two antero-dorsal bristles ;
hind femora with three or four long bristles at the tip of the
antero-ventral surface ; hind tibia with two dorsal, two antero-
dorsal, and one antero-ventral bristle. 4! mm.
I have taken about thirty ? ? that would answer to this
description, but am of the opinion that they are sociella, Ztt.
My reason for this is that I have only a very few females of the
ordinary form of sociella, and have not met with a $ of
kowarzii. I took every specimen of the genus that I met with
during 1909, and cannot understand how I could have over-
looked the $ if it had occurred. The 9 ? occurred with
sociella $ £ .
17. vcrrallii, Stn., $ . Black; eyes large, occupying almost the
entire side of the head, very close together; antennne of
moderate length, third joint three times as long as the second ;
arista slightly pubescent; thorax black, shining, with grey-
brown dusting ; abdomen much as in a'crea ; anal organ rather
large, with two small ventral appendages ; legs black, fore knees
pale yellowish ; mid femora moderately thickened on the basal
three-fourths, antero-ventral surface with a row of bristles on
the basal two-thirds which decrease in length but increase in
thickness as they advance, a short comb-like series of six
bristles on the base of the apical third, and three or four weak
hairs before the tip; postero-ventral row weaker, but longer,
the basal ventral bristle long and conspicuous; mid tibia J^S\ C/f^N.
LA I BR AR Y
182 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
equal thickness for the basal two-thirds, the tip third distinctly
thickened, the pubescence very weak except upon the thickened
portion, where it is long and erect, bristling normal, but the
antero-dorsal one situated higher on the tibia than the postero-
dorsal one ; hind femora with the antero-ventral surface with a
row of short, widely placed bristles from base to tip, the last
two or three longest; the basal half of the postero-ventral
surface clothed with long, soft hairs; the other bristling
normal ; wings darkened, third and fourth veins convergent,
last portion of fourth vein three times the penultimate, outer
cross-vein distinctly bent; calyptra blackish, equal in size;
halteres yellow.
9 . Stein describes the 9 as having much the appearance of
a'erea and parva. From a'erea it differs in the yellow colour
of its fore knees, in the absence of the basal ventral bristle on
the mid femora, and though the middle stripe on the frons is
grey dusted it is not so much so in acrea. From parva it
differs in the dusting of the middle stripe, in its black-grey body
colour, and in the form of the frons in profile. 3 \ to 4 mm.
One <£, Bonhill, 13th June 1908; one £, Cardross, 24th
July 1908. I have not recognised the '9 .
(To be continued?)
ODONATA OF THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND, 191 1.
By W. J. Lucas, B.A., F.E.S.
DURING his visit to the north of Scotland in the summer of
191 1, Col. J. W. Yerbury collected for me a considerable
number of Dragon-flies of nine or ten species. Many of
them were obtained from poorly worked localities, and
were therefore of more than ordinary interest.
First on the list, and probably also first in importance,
was a pair of specimens of a Sympetrum — either a new
species, or a very distinct race of 5. striolatum, which I have
described in the Entomologist, vol. xlv. (191 2), p. 171, as
Sympetrum nigrescens. In size it is intermediate between
S. striolatum and 5. scoticum, and as its coloration is dark,
the impression is given of the latter species. The ptero-
ODONATA OF THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND 183
stigma is, however, like that of S. striolatum, and the
genitalia are not far different from those of that species.
On the other hand, the black sides of the thorax, ornamented
with conspicuous yellow spots, closely resemble those parts
of vS. scoticum and are very unlike the corresponding parts of
5. striolatum. Further, the dark line in front of the vertex
tends to continue downwards by the side of the eyes, as in
5. vulgatam ; the legs, too, are almost as dark as those of
S. scoticum. The two specimens are from Lochinver, in
Sutherlandshire — a male, taken 24th June, and a female,
7th July. I had already received the female of exactly the
same form from Stornoway, taken by Mr H. S. Fremlin in
1899. Some doubt was at the time felt about its identity, and
McLachlan, who was then living, came to the unsatisfactory
conclusion that it might be a hybrid between 5. striolatum
and S. scoticum. Details were figured by me in the
Entomologist, vol. xxxiii. (1900), p. 139. Perhaps ento-
mologists who visit the extreme north of Scotland will
look out for the insect during the present season.
Of S. scoticum I received a male, taken at Nethy Bridge
on 7th August, and a female on nth August, as well as a
male from Spey Bridge, taken on the 8th. Libcllula quadri-
maculata was taken at Inchnadamph, Loch Assynt (a male
on 2nd June and a female undated) ; at Loch Assynt (a male)
on 8th June ; and at Nethy Bridge (a male) on 7th August.
From Loch Assynt came a female, Cordulegastcr annulatus,
captured on 6th June, while a male, of date 6th August, came
from Nethy Bridge. In addition, Col. Yerbury sent me a
nymph of this species, apparently immature, picked up on
the shore of Loch Assynt on 13th June; a nymph-skin from
Lochinver, 28th or 29th June, found alongside a freshly
emerged male imago ; and another from Lochinver, found
on 27th June upon the trunk of an alder on the bank of the
Inver. Of sEschua juncea there were two males from Nethy
Bridge on 6th and 7th August, and another male from the
same place on 4th September. A much better capture,
however, was a pair of Aischna ccerulea — a male at Loch
Assynt on 6th June, and a female from the same place on the
3rd. Loch Assynt is a new locality for this scarce species.
184 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Turning to the Agrionid family, we have of Lestes sponsa
a male, 9th July, from Lochinver, and three females from
Aviemore on 10th August. The three specimens from A vie-
more were sent to me in small tubes, apparently starting
alive. They came to Kingston, and then were forwarded to
me in the New Forest. Two were dead when I received
them, but the third, notwithstanding the length of time on
the journey, was quite alive. Several specimens of the
common Pyrrhosoma nymphida were in the collection — two
females, Inchnadamph, 1st June; two males, Loch Assynt,
10th and 12th June; one male, Lochinver, 23rd June; a
male and a female in coitti, Lochinver, 9th July ; and a
female (incomplete), Nethy Bridge, 28th July. Ischnura
elegans was represented by five Lochinver examples — a
male, and a nice female of the var. rufescens, 20th June ; a
male, 1st July; a male (incomplete), 9th July; and a male,
16th July. All the specimens of the remaining species,
Enallagma cyathigerum, also came from Lochinver. They
were — a male, 20th June; three females, 21st June; a male
and a female in coitu, 23rd June; and a female, 24th June.
In addition there was from Lochinver a nymph-skin, found
nth July, from which presumably had emerged a very
teneral female E. cyathigerum, which accompanied it.
Col. Yerbury deserves the thanks of those who are
working at the Odonata, for adding so considerably to our
knowledge of that interesting Order.
NOTES.
Scarcity of Young Rooks. — Regarding Dr Harvie-Brown's
note on p. 163 of the Scottish Naturalist, I may say that I have
never known young Rooks so late of appearing on the branches as
they have been this year. Scarcely any were to be seen here on
the branches during May, but towards the end of the first week and
during the second week of June they were very plentiful. I do not
think the eggs were blown out of the nests, as I was in the wood
during the storm of 8th April and saw no egg-shells on the
ground. — James Bartholomew, Torrance, near Glasgow.
NOTES 185
Great Spotted Woodpecker Breeding on Loch Lomond-
side. — On 29th June, the nest of a stem-boring bird was reported
to me from the side of Loch Lomond, and two days afterwards a
young Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus major) was handed
to me from the same district. It was well feathered, but was found
dead at the base of the tree-stump in which the nest was situated.
As I had not previously known of this bird nesting on Loch
Lomond, I visited the site on 3rd July, but found the young had
flown, although they were still in the nest on 30th June. The nest
was in a silver birch which had been cut, or the upper portion blown
off, leaving a stump 14 ft. high. The nesting hole was quite
circular, cleanly cut, and placed about 8 ins. from the top ; the lower
portion of the stump was living, and there was a considerable
amount of fresh foliage sprouting on one side. The bird had been
boring for insects near the base of the tree, and I also noticed
another root-stump in the vicinity where there had been boring by a
Woodpecker. I was fortunate afterwards in getting a good view
of the adult bird feeding a young one, but distant from the nest
some 250 yards, and following up the young bird, which was strong on
the wing, procured several photographs of it resting on the bole of
an elm. — Charles Kirk, Glasgow.
Herons Nesting near Stornoway. — The recent volumes of
the Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist, contain no mention of Herons (Ardea
altered^ L.) nesting in the Outer Hebrides, except that in Mr
Boyd Watt's list of Scottish Heronries (1908, p. 221), there occur
the names " Lewis, west side," and " North Uist." It will,
therefore, be of interest to record that two pairs nested in 1910, in
the tops of some high fir trees, on a hillock to the south-west of
Stornoway Castle gardens. There were already young birds in the
nests when the latter were found, but they were unfortunately killed
by some boys before they were able to fly. The nests do not appear
to have been tenanted since that time. — Donald Macdonald,
Stornoway.
Remarkable Eggs of Tufted Duck.-— On 8th June I
came on the nest of a Tufted Duck (Fuligula cristata), containing a
somewhat remarkable clutch. The eggs— ten in number— were
mostly milk-white in colour, and the remainder exhibited a very pale
green hue. There was no doubt as to their identity, as I flushed the
bird off the nest and the down was typical. I am quite familiar
with the nests of this species, and up till now have always considered
that the eggs varied little from the ordinary greenish buff type. —
J. Kirke Nash, Edinburgh.
8 2 A
186 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Turtle-dove Nesting near Gretna Green. — Readers of the
Scottish Naturalist will be interested to learn that the Turtle-dove
(Turtur communis) is at present (22nd June) nesting within three
miles of Gretna Green, and a fledged young one is in the nest. —
James B. Cairns, Carlisle.
Green Sandpiper in Tay. — On 28th June, at Morton Loch,
North Fife, we twice flushed a Green Sandpiper (Tringa ocrophns').
The first time it only flew a short distance and alighted again, but
the second time it rose high in the air and went off due north.
There do not seem to be many previous records of the Green
Sandpiper for the Tay Area. — Evelyn V. Baxter and Leonora
Jeffrey Rintoul, Largo.
The Greater Wheatear in Berwickshire. — On nth
May last a male Greater Wheatear (Saxicola osnanthe leucorrhoa)
was killed at the lantern of St Abb's Head Lighthouse, and kindly
forwarded to me by Mr J. Moore, assistant light-keeper. From
Barnsness Lighthouse, a few miles to the north, in Haddingtonshire,
Mr D. Budge sent me one which was obtained there on the night of
20th April. The wing measurement in both cases was over 100
mm. — William Evans, Edinburgh.
The Great Crested Grebe in Peeblesshire, &c. — As the
Great Crested Grebe (Podiciftes cristatus) does not appear to have
been recorded from Peeblesshire, the fact that I saw a pair on
Portmore Loch on 14th April last may be worth mentioning.
They were swimming close together, and from their actions I should
not be surprised if they nested on the loch, though they may only
have been visitors from Gladhouse Reservoir, on the Midlothian side
of the county march, where I have reason to believe a pair bred last
year. I may also mention that a bird with a young brood was seen
on Clearburn Loch, Selkirkshire, in June 1910. — William Evans,
Edinburgh.
Black-necked Grebe in Perthshire. — On 25th April I saw
a Black-necked Grebe (Colymbus nigricollis nigricollis), in full
breeding plumage, on a loch in Perthshire. It appeared to have
arrived with four Great Crested Grebes, with which it was swimming
about, and which were not there earlier, as I had been keeping a
constant look out for them. — M. Bedford, Woburn Abbey.
Scottish Neuroptera. — During the summer of 191 1 Col. J.
W. Yerbury was good enough to take for me a few insects belonging
to this order. Our knowledge of the distribution of members of the
Neuroptera is very limited, and it will only be by the systematic record-
ing of captures — even of common species— that we shall be able to
NOTES 187
increase it. With this object I record Col. Yerbury's useful captures,
which were as follows : — Sialis lutaria. — A male at Lochinver, on
23rd June. Panorpa germanica. — Five examples: (1) a male,
Dingwall, 27th May, practically immaculate; (2, 3) males,
Dingwall, 29th May, almost immaculate; (4) a female, Dingwall,
29th May, sparsely spotted; (5) a female, Lochinver, 12th July, of
a fairly typical form. At Dingwall, on 29th May the species was in
fair numbers. The striking, almost immaculate form is the var.
borealis of Stephens. Though I have several sparsely spotted
specimens from the south of England, I have not one with wings so
clear as in this form from the north of Scotland. For an illustrated
account of the British Panorpas, see Entomologist for 1910, p. 185.
Sisyra fuscata. — One from Lochinver, nth July. Hemerobius
hamuli. — One from Loch Assynt, 2nd June, and three from
Lochinver, 23rd June. These are very dark specimens, one being
particularly so, but the male appendages point to this species.
Hemerobius orotypus. — Two from Spcy Bridge, 31st July, and
another from the same place on 2nd August. Hemerobius nervosus.
— One from Loch Assynt, 9th June ; one from Lochinver, 26th June ;
four from Spey Bridge, 31st July; one from Grantown-on-Spey, 17th
August. — W. J. Lucas, Kingston-on-Thames.
Cyllocoris flavonotatus in Scotland (Forth Area). — Since
writing the note on Scottish Heteroptera which appeared in the
June number of this magazine, I have taken another addition to the
Scottish list, namely, Cyllocoris flavonotatus, Boh., in Forth. The
capture was made on 8th June 191 2, when I beat a specimen off an
oak in Boquhan Glen, Stirlingshire. The localities given in
Saunders' book are in the south of England, Norfolk, and Ireland.
— William Evans, Edinburgh.
Spiders from the North of Scotland. — The following is a
list of spiders from the north of Scotland which have recently been
submitted to me for identification. They were collected at various
times from 1909 to 191 1 by an entomologist, Mr A. W. Beverley,
Earl's Colne, Essex. Though the collection, in which it will be noted
the critical Leptyphantes are well represented, does not add anything
new to the Scottish list, it extends the range of a few species. In
the list which follows, the names of localities are contracted thus :
W. = Wick; N. = Nairn; S.= Shetland; T. =Tain; K. = Keith;
O. = Orkney. Segestria senoculata, 9 , W. T. ; Drassus lafidosus,
W k., ? , N. ; Xysticus pint, H., ? , T. ; Lycosa amentata, Ok., £ $ ,
W. ; Trochosa terricoln, 9 5 K.., Skye ; Textrix denticulate ? , W. ;
Cryphceca sylvicola, °. , W. ; Amaurobi us fenestra lis, Str., <J ? , W. N.
188 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
T. O. ; A. simiiis, 9 , W. ; Meta meriance, $ 9 , T. ; M. segmentata
$ 9 j W. ; Epeira diadewata, Clk., $ , T. ; Steatoda bipunctata, L.
9 , T. ; Robertas lividus, BL, ?, N.j Theridion sisyphium, N.
Centromerus bicolor, BL, ^ , N. ; C silvaticus, BL, 9 > K. ; C.prudens
Cb., (J, K. j Bathyphantes concolor, <$ ? , T. ; Porrhomma pygmaum
BL, <£ , N. ; Leptyphantes minutus, 9 , S. ; Z. leprosus, 9 » W. T.
Z. zi?nmerman?iii, Bertk. ( = blackivallii, Kulcz.), ^ 9 > N. ; Z
te?iebricola, Wid., ^ i W. ; Z. tenuis, BL, ^ 9 » W. ; L. mengii, £ 9 ,
K. S. ; Bolyphantes alticeps, <$ 9 , K. S. W. ; ^. luteolus, $ 9 , N.
Linyphia triangularis, £ <j? , K. ; Mengia scopigera, Grube, 9 i W.
Leptorhoptrum huthwaitii, Cb., ?, N. ; Savignia frontata, BL, 9 >
K. N. ; Cnephalocotes elegans, Cb., 9 > N. — J. E. Hull, Ninebanks
Vicarage, Northumberland.
BOOK NOTICES.
Aristotle's Researches in Natural Science, by Thomas
East Lones, M.A., LL.D., B.Sc. London. West, Newman &
Co., 191 2. 8vo, pp. 274. Price 6s. net.
The author of this interesting work has been at great pains to
gather together in readable form the curious, but often surprisingly
accurate, ideas of the well-known Greek philosopher which are
scattered over his numerous works on various branches of Natural
Science. The result is very satisfactory, for we are furnished with a
concise view such as could only be obtained by the reader with the
expenditure of much laborious research. Aristotle's notions
regarding any particular organism, structure, or phenomenon can
here be readily found, by the help of a good index and innumerable
footnotes. Thus, if the reader desires to know what the philosopher
thought about the Ostrich, we turn up the three references given in
the index, and find at once a brief summary of all that he said
about such a bird, while the footnotes enable one to find readily the
actual passages in the original text. We should recommend the use
of this volume along with one or other of the excellent translations
which have recently been published.
How to Use the Microscope, by Rev. C. A. Hall. London :
A. & C. Black. Pp. viii and 88, with 20 Photographic Plates.
Price is. 6d. net.
There are many cheap books on the Microscope before the
public, but we do not know a better than the one now under
BOOK NOTICES 189
consideration. It is intended for the novice, and hence the style is
simple, and the subject-matter limited to the description of
comparatively cheap apparatus. Many hints, indeed, are given upon
the construction of home-made appliances which, for a time at
least, may serve the amateur of limited means. The photographs
which are reproduced as plates are excellent, and prove the author
to be skilful in the art, and quite competent to instruct his readers.
A Catalogue of the Vertebrate Fauna of Dumfriesshire, by
Hugh S. Gladstone, M.A. Dumfries : J. Maxwell & Son,
1912. 5s. net.
Those who simply wish to know what Vertebrates occur or
have occurred in the county, and their status therein, have their
want reliably supplied by Mr Gladstone's catalogue. The fact that
it has been drawn up by the author of the Birds of Dumfriesshire
is sufficient guarantee for the accuracy of the Bird portion, while
the other sections (Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Marine and
Freshwater Fishes) all bear evidence of similar careful work. The
fairly long list of fishes includes a number of freshwater species —
Lochmaben Vendace, Carp, Chub, Rudd, Gudgeon, Tench, and
Common Bream — but little known in Scotland, and some, if not
all of which were doubtless originally introduced. The catalogue,
which extends to 80 pages, exclusive of a short introduction, is
nicely got up, with a map of the county at the end.
The Birds of Northumberland and the Eastern Borders,
by George Bolam. Alnwick: Henry Hunter Blair, 1912.
Price 15 s.
Although an important volume dealing with the vertebrate
fauna of an almost identical area, that of Tweed, has recently
appeared, yet Mr Bolam's book from its richness in detail and in
original observations is in no way to be regarded as superfluous.
Like all works in which personal experiences bulk large, the book
has a special value of its own. The author lived long in the area
upon whose birds he writes so exhaustively and so well. In addition,
he affords excellent field-notes on the habits of the various feathered
inhabitants of a country which is naturally and historically attractive,
and these render the book eminently readable. If the book has a
fault it is due to the raids made by the author beyond the borders
of his prescribed area, especially his incursions northwards. These
have led him to ascribe to the wrong authority some recent and
interesting discoveries made at the Isle of May, quite unintentionally,
we are sure ; and to resuscitate an erroneous record of the American
igo THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Bittern on the Pentland Hills, and a wrong locality (Dalkeith) for
the East Lothian Purple Heron. The volume runs to over 700
pages, is nicely got up, and is well illustrated. In our opinion it is
one of the best books of its kind which has appeared in recent
years j it is something more than a faunal work.
The Flight of Birds, by F. W. Headley, with sixteen Plates and
many Text-figures. London : Witherby & Co. 5s. net.
Birds are pre-eminently masters of aerial locomotion, yet the
problems associated with their powers of flight are little understood
by the majority of ornithologists. This lack of knowledge is, no
doubt, to be largely attributed to the fact that the subject is
decidedly a technical one and that comparatively few possess the
necessary training to approach it. The object of Mr Headley's
book is to reduce these difficulties to a minimum, and his treatment
of the problems is as simple and as lucid as it is possible to make
it. The author is well known as an authority on the subject,
and this neat and abundantly illustrated little volume is worthy of
the perusal of the very numerous class of naturalists who are
interested in one of the leading attributes of bird-life.
Proceedings of the South London Entomological and
Natural History Society, 1911-1912. Pp. xvi and 104,
four Plates. Price 3s.
This Society still shows evidence of much activity on the part of
its members. The accounts of the Proceedings contain much of
interest, while the articles by Messrs Lucas and Adkin, entitled " The
Bracken Fern " and " Notes on the Season " respectively, are lucidly
written. The Annual Address, by Mr W. J. Kaye, deals with the
chief entomological features of 191 1, and concludes with a few
remarks on " Mimicry."
The British Tunicates ; an unfinished Monograph, by the late
Joshua Alder and the late Albany Hancock, F.L.S. Edited by
John Hopkinson, F.L.S. , &c. Vol. III., Aggregate (Ascidicc
composite). London: Ray Society, 1912. 12s. 6d.net.
The publication of this volume completes the work, of which we
have already — on the occasion of the issue of Vol. II. in 1907 —
expressed our cordial appreciation. In the present part, which is
devoted to the Tribe Aggregate, 53 species comprised in 10 genera
are dealt with ; and practically all are beautifully figured in colours
in the 16 plates. There are also many text-figures, while a portrait
of Canon Norman, who has greatly interested himself in the work,
GLEANINGS 191
forms the frontispiece. A supplement, giving additional references
and localities, and a general index are inserted at the end.
We desire to draw attention to the publication of the Report
on Scottish Ornithology in 191 i, including Migration, by
the Misses Baxter and Rintoul. The voluminous nature of the
information communicated has made it imperative that the Report
should be issued separately, and it forms the first of a series of
"Extra Publications" which we hope to issue in connection with
the Scottish Naturalist. The Report covers 80 pages, and deals,
under a variety of headings, with no less than 192 species. The
price is is. 6d. net.
gleanings.
Prof. M'Intosh publishes in the July number of the Ann. Mag, Nat, Hist. (8th
series, vol. x., pp. 1 17-130), No. xxxiii. of his '' Notes from the Gatty Marine
Laboratory, St Andrews." Half a dozen articles are included in this instalment,
the first of which refers to a white Porpoise recently observed and caught in St
Andrews Bay. It was found to be a young female of a dull yellowish white colour
all over ; the eye was normal as regards pigment and not like that of an albino. The
fifth article is on the British marine worms of the family Capitellidce (Halelminthidoe).
Only three species occur in Britain, but all these are found off the Scottish coast.
On pp. 94-95 of the Glasgow Naturalist, published in May last (vol. iv., No. 3),
is given a list of Diptera and Birds observed during the excursion of the
Andersonian Naturalists' Society on 25th May 1911, to Loch Riddon.
The Irish Naturalist for July contains (pp. 125-130) an interesting paper by
Prof. C. J. Patten on "Wrens on Migration observed at the Tuskar Rock and
Lighthouse." The article is mainly devoted to a criticism of R. M. Barrington's
hypothesis that " the Wren chooses the route between Antrim and the S.W.
of Scotland as the shortest passage from Ireland to Britain — a selection not
unnatural in the case of the shortest winged British Bird." This hypothesis was
founded upon the fact that of the four birds which struck the lanterns on the east
coast of Ireland, three were captured at the Maidens, Co. Antrim. Prof. Patten
regards this evidence as insufficient, and points out that the shortness of the
wing is not necessarily a factor limiting the bird's flight. The power of endurance,
he argues, is of much greater importance, and in this respect he considers the
Wren to be well endowed.
Readers who are interested in the movements of birds may consult with advantage
a paper by John Paterson in the Glasgow Naturalist for May (vol. iv., No. 3, pp.
66-70), entitled "The Return of Summer-Birds to the 'Clyde' Area in 1912."
Notes are given on twenty-seven species.
Prof. T. Hudson Beare, in the Entomologist's Record for June (pp. 138-145)'
concludes his useful " Retrospect of a Coleopterist for 191 1." This portion of
the paper is devoted to a review of the principal Articles and Notes published
during the year, as distinguished from the records of localities to which we
alluded in our June number. Naturally the present instalment deals principally
with questions of classification, synonymy, habits, life-histories, and the like.
192 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Anderson Fergusson, in the Glasgow Naturalist (vol. iv., No. 3, pp. 70-81),
publishes a second paper on " Additions to the List of Clyde Coleoptera." No
fewer than 155 species are recorded in the list as new to the area under con-
sideration, making a total of 1 200 now on record.
After a somewhat long interval the Rev. F. D. Morice resumes, in the Ent. Mo.
Mag. for July (pp. 153-159), his exceedingly useful "Help-Notes towards the
Determination of British Tenthredinida?, etc." In this, the twenty-ninth instalment,
the genera Allantus, Jurine, and Tenthredo, L., are dealt with, and a synoptic table
is given for the determination of the twenty-three species which have any claim to
rank as British. T. relox, F., is recorded from Rannoch (Donisthorpe).
In a short instalment of the late G. H. Verrall's paper on "Another Hundred
new British Species of Diptera," published in the July number of the Ent. Mo.
Mag. (pp. 145-147), Medeterus excellens, Frey, is recorded from Nethy Bridge
(C. G. Lamb). The female is described for the first time, by J. E. Collin, from
specimens taken by Col. Yerbury in the same locality.
F. W. Edwards publishes, in the Entomologist for July (pp. 191-195), the first
instalment of a valuable paper entitled "Notes on the British Mosquitos
(Culicinoe)." At the outset an artificial key is given which will be useful for the
novice, while the more advanced student is furnished with a table of Genera,
including both males and females. We notice that most of the British species
formerly placed in the genus Culex are now called Ochlerotatus, differing from true
members of the restricted genus Culex in having the claws toothed.
In a note entitled "Land Shells from Largs," published in the Journal of
Conchology (vol. xiii., No. n, July 1912, p. 320), J. R. le B. Tomlin records
thirteen species, one of which {Hyalinia lucidd) is a new county record for Ayrshire.
In the continuation of his paper on "Additions to 'British Conchology"'
{Journal of Conchology, I.e., pp. 324-338) the following species are recorded from
Scottish waters : — Pleuroloma turricula, Mont., var. rosea, M. Sars ; P. trevelyana,
Turt. • Cypraa europcea, Mont., var. minor, Marsh. ; Cylichna acuminata, Brugin ;
C. umbilicata, Mont. ; C. umbilicata, var. strigella, Lov. ; C. ovata, Jeff. ; C. alia,
Brown ; C. alba, var. corticata, Beck. ; Utriculus mammillatus, Phil. ; U. truncatulus,
Brugin, var. pellucida, Brown ; U. oblusus, Mont., var. lajonkaireana, Bast. ; U.
ventrosus, Jeff. ; U. expansus, Jeff. ; U. hyalinus, Turt. ; U. globosus, Lov. ; Actceon
tornatilis, L., and vars. subulala, S. Wood, and tenella, Lov. ; Bulla utriculus,
Br oca, and var. oblonga, Jeff. ; Scaphander lignarius, L., var. curta, Jeff. ; S.
puncto-striatus, Migh. ; Philine scabra, Mull., and var. circa, Marsh. ; P. catena,
Mont., and var. zona, Jeff.
Charles Oldham records in the same journal (p. 340) the occurrence of
Limax cinereo-niger in Westerness. Half-grown examples were taken in
September 1 91 1, on fungi, in the birch forest at Fort Augustus. The Hon.
Recorder records (p. 342) Clausilia bidentata in abundance at Yair — an addition to
the Selkirkshire county list. Among the " Census Authentication?," given on p.
349, we note Arum intermedius, A. circumscriptus, and A. subfuscus, var.
aurantiaca, taken at Creetown in Kirkcudbrightshire, by E. Collier.
"Some Echinorhynchs from the Clyde Area," is the title of a paper in the
last published number of the Glasgow Naturalist (vol. iv., No. 3, pp. 88-90). The
author, Richard Elmhirst, records seven species of these Round-Worms, taken
variously from the Cod, Lythe, Saith, among fishes ; the Common Frog ; and
the Blackbird, Starling, Shag, Cormorant, Lapwing, and Common Gull.
{Authors are responsible for no?nenclature used.) Z^p/O <\<P*>
LIBRA RYjso!
5
The Scottish Naturalist
No. 9.] 1912 [September
THE NEW NOMENCLATURE OF BRITISH BIRDS.1
ALTHOUGH not mentioned on the title-page of the Hand-
List, yet its chief feature is the changes of nomenclature it
introduces and invites naturalists, on the plea of uniformity,
to accept in place of current names, many of which are
time-honoured in the history of British and European
ornithology.
Feeling regarding these changes runs high in this country,
and naturally so, since British zoologists were the first to
advocate uniformity in the nomenclature of their science,
though one would imagine from the appeal and statements
made that this important desideratum had received little
or no consideration in this country.
Seventy years ago the British Association appointed a
committee " to consider of the rules by which the nomenclature
of zoology may be established on a uniform and permanent basis."
This committee consisted of Charles Darwin, Prof. Henslow,
Rev. L. Jenyns, John Phillips, Sir John Richardson,
W. Ogilby, Prof. J. O. Westwood, W. Yarrell, Sir Richard
Owen, J. W. Broderip, W. E. Shuckard, G. R. Waterhouse,
and H. E. Strickland (secretary), and presented its report
1 A Ha?id- List of British Birds, with an Account of the Distribution
of each Species in the British Isles and Abroad, by Ernst Hartert,
F. C. R. Jourdain, N. F. Ticehurst, and H. F. Witherby. London :
Witherby & Co. 7s. 6d. net.
9 2 B
194 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
and rules to the 1842 meeting of the Association {Brit. Assn.
Report, 1842, pp. 1 05-121).
These rules became the recognised authority on the
subject. They were submitted in Italian by Prince C. L.
Bonaparte, to the Science Congress at Padua in 1843, and
were generally approved of; and a French translation of
them appeared in L'lnstitute, in which much stress was
laid on their importance.
In 1863 the Association considered it desirable that this
important subject should be further considered, and appointed
a committee to report " on the changes which they may
consider it desirable to make, if any, in the rules of nomen-
clature drawn up at the instance of the British Association
in 1842." Its members were Sir Wm. Jardine, Dr P. L.
Sclater, H. T. Stainton, Alfred Russel Wallace, Spence Bate,
Gwyn Jeffreys, Dr J. E. Gray, Dr P. H. Carpenter, Prof.
Newton, Prof. Babington, Dr J. D. Hooker, Prof. Huxley,
Dr Francis, Prof. Balfour, Prof. Allman, A. H. Haliday,
T. V. Wollaston, and G. Bentham. This committee presented
its report in 1865 {Brit. Assn. Report, 1865, pp. 25-42).
Both these committees recommended that the twelfth
edition of Linnaeus' Sy sterna Nature? — the finished work of the
great naturalist — should be the foundation upon which zoo-
logical nomenclature should be based. The 1865 report con-
tained many sound recommendations, one of them being, that
it was exceedingly injudicious to accept a specific name for
a genus ; and that where such had been done it is the
generic name that should be thrown aside, and not the old
specific name.
In 1878 the Association requested Dr P. L. Sclater to
re-edit the rules.
With these well-known facts on record, one reads with
amazement the statement on page vi of the introduction
of the Hand-List that " we have neglected for more than
150 years one of the requisites of greatest importance — that
our labels should everywhere be the same for the same bird."
That the leading principles so carefully propounded by
men so pre-eminently distinguished in all branches of
zoology should have been set aside after long years of usage,
THE NEW NOMENCLATURE OF BRITISH BIRDS 195
during which a very considerable measure of uniformity had
been attained, is a mystery. It is a mere matter of opinion
as to whether the twelfth (1766) or the tenth (1758) edition of
Linnaeus should be the starting-point, and the twelfth had
the advantage of sixty-three years' start in usage.
We are now asked to be obedient unto the law. We
ask, Which law ? The laws of priority in this matter are the
laws of the British Association.
British zoologists have, so to speak, a vested interest in
matter of priority in the nomenclature of their science, and
many of them consider that the claims of their long established
codes have not received at the hands of later committees
on the subject the consideration they justly deserved.
It is well to remember that our older and middle-
aged naturalists, recognising the excellent work of their
distinguished predecessors in this cause, will not conform
readily to the finding of any commission, international or
otherwise. As the situation now stands, the attainment of
uniformity must lie along the path of mutual concession.,
otherwise it will certainly not be reached for many years
to come.
The more one studies the march of nomenclatural events
in recent years the more one is impressed with the wisdom
of the findings of the British Association's committees. The
departure from its main decision as to the starting-point
has opened the door for endless changes, and has resulted in
a state of chaos prevailing in zoological nomenclature — the
greatest that it has ever known.
It is not in accordance with the facts to suppose that
there were no binomial names prior to the tenth edition
of the Systema Natures ; and it is possible that a new genera-
tion of zoologists may arise and say, we must have strict
priority. A number of such names date back to Gesner
0555) J and not a few will be found in the classical work of
our countryman, Willughby, which was published in the
year 1676.
We have alluded to the numerous changes in nomen-
clature entailed by the adoption of the names given in
this Hand-List. These we do not hesitate to describe
196 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
as appalling. On instituting a comparison between the
nomenclature here used and that of the last edition of
Saunders' List (1907), we find that out of the 417 species
there recognised as members of the British avifauna no
less than 226 have to be changed : in other words, over 54
per cent, of the current names should no longer stand.
The nomenclature of the Hand-List is in accordance
with the rules of the International Committee framed
in 1905. Many of the changes are made on trivial grounds,
while others show a total disregard for the serious confusion
their acceptance would entail. We give the following instances
as examples : —
In the tenth edition of his Systenia, Linnaeus described
on page 125 a duck under the name of Anas platyrliynclws,
which is considered by Lonnberg to be the female of
the Wild Duck, and is accepted by the authors of the
Hand-List. On page 127 Linnaeus described the male
Wild Duck as Anas boschas. The International rules
demand that the name platyrJiyncha must be adopted.
Why? — because this name appears two pages earlier in
the volume than boschas! This is not priority, for both
names were published simultaneously. To dismiss the latter
name, which has been all but exclusively in use for over
150 years, on such flimsy and arbitrary grounds, is in
our opinion opposed to common sense. On the other hand,
the name platyrliynclia has never hitherto been associated
with the Wild Duck. But this is not all : Linnaeus in
his twelfth edition tells us that his Anas platyrliynclios is the
female of the Shoveler. He was mistaken in describing the
speculum as purple, but his description applies to both sexes.
Several names after long years of association with certain
species have been transferred to others. The name
7/iusicus, after being in use since 1766, and applied thousands
of times to the Song Thrush in the ornithological literature
of all countries, is transferred to the Redwing {Turdus iliacus),
because Linnaeus in inadvertence used this name for the latter
bird in 1758. Yet Turdus iliacus was used for the Redwing
by Willughby in 1676, Ray in 1694, and Brisson in 1760.
What a satire on the so-called system of priority !
THE NEW NOMENCLATURE OF BRITISH BIRDS 197
Fortunately British birds are well known by their
vernacular names, otherwise we fear our ornithologists
would not recognise a considerable number of their familiar
friends under their new, or, more correctly, obsolete
scientific titles, many of which have no place in the
synonomy given in modern literature of the subject.
These changes as regards British birds are a mere
drop in the bucket when these new rules are applied
to ornithology generally. What becomes of the nomen-
clature in that magnificent array of volumes, the British
Museum Catalogue of Birds, and of the recently published
Hand -List of them? The nomenclature of this great
and only history of the birds of the world is based
upon the twelfth edition of Linnaeus' Systcma, and the
nomenclature of the tenth edition is not quoted in the
synonomy of the vast majority of the species. What of
the changes entailed in the nomenclature of the Animal
Kingdom as a whole ?
The British Ornithologists' Union has appointed a
committee to prepare a new edition of its List of British
Birds. This committee has held numerous meetings, and
it is expected that the result of its labours will soon be
published. We look forward to its pronouncements with
interest, and with confidence in the judicial spirit in which
it has approached the important subject of nomenclature.
For ourselves, though our sympathies are strongly in
favour of the British Association's rules, yet we are willing
to view the present situation in a liberal spirit. There
must, however, be concessions, and we regard it as
essential that a number of time-honoured names must be
conserved.
We have felt compelled to discuss this subject of nomen-
clature, because so little seems to be known in some quarters
regarding the past great efforts in the cause of uniformity.
Apart from its great changes in nomenclature, the book
is a welcome and useful volume. It affords an up-to-date list
of British species and racial forms, with a concise and, on the
whole, accurate account of their distribution both at home
and abroad.
198 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
As Scottish naturalists we demur to the statement
that the Continental Goldcrest is possibly not of annual
occurrence on our shores. We should like to know
on what grounds the Long-tailed Titmouse and Blue
Titmouse which have occurred in Shetland should be
considered to belong to the British race ; so far as we
know, their racial identity is " not proven." The only
Shetland Long-tailed Tits occurred in Unst, the north-
most of the British Isles, and were more likely to have
been visitors from the Continent than vagrant British native
birds. The Gannet has only a single breeding-place in
Orkney ; we are not aware that the Common and Great
Black-backed Gulls nest as far south in east Scotland as the
Forth ; and in our experience the Shag far outnumbers the
Cormorant as a Scottish bird. As regards the winter quarters
of the Yellow Wagtail, we may remark that they extend as
far south in Africa as the Transvaal and Natal. There are
other mistakes of a minor nature, but these are few
considering the amount of information afforded.
We notice that in a great number of instances the
journal " British Birds " is quoted as if it were the original
source of publication of interesting records, which is not the
case.
ON A CASE OF HYBRIDISM BETWEEN AN
EIDER AND A WILD DUCK
By William Eagle Clarke
Plate V.
One of the most remarkable cases of hybridism ever
known to have occurred between birds in a wild state is
furnished by the example now under consideration, whose
parents were an Eider and a Wild Duck. This unique speci-
men— no other example so far as I am aware is known 1 — is a
drake, and was shot early this year on the island of Auskerry,
one of the Orkney group, where it had for two years paired
with a female Eider, but whether broods resulted is, unfor-
tunately, not known.
1 Suchetet in Des Hybrides a VEtat Sanvage has no such cross.
HYBRIDISM BETWEEN AN EIDER AND A WILD DUCK 199
Mr Laidlaw, of Auskerry, who shot the bird, says it was
a surface feeder. He never saw it dive, although he watched
it for hours. He sent it to Mr Charles Kirk, of Glasgow, for
preservation, and it was submitted to me for my opinion on
its suggested parentage, which 1 am able to confirm.
Knowing that my friend Mr Bonhote had made a special
study of hybrid ducks, I sent him this remarkable cross for
inspection, and he has favoured me with some very interesting
remarks on its peculiarities, which I have reproduced below.
The following tabulation affords a comparison between
the characters and plumages of a male Eider, a male
Mallard, and the Hybrid, and also a description of the
latter :—
■51 mollissima.
A . boscas.
Hybrid.
Generic Characters.
Bill
Swollen, extend-
Elevated at the base,
Intermediate. Nail much larger
ing to forehead,
etc. Under man-
than Mallard, and having
divided by angu-
dible smaller than
nail (swelling> on under
lar point of
upper.
mandible — an Eider feature
feathers.
absent in Mallard.
Wings .
1st and 2nd quills
2nd quill longest.
2nd quill longest. Moderate.
sub-equal. Mod-
Large.
erate in length.
Tail
14 feathers.
16 feathers.
18 feathers.
Hind Toe .
Lobated.
Simple.
Lobated.
Markings.
Head .
White crown, V-
Uniform metallic.
Metallic, with V-shaped nar-
shaped black
row white line extending
marking from
backwards to the occiput
culmen through
above the eye, ear cwerts
eyes.
white, and irregular white
lines about i| in. long on
either side at the hinder
base of the neck. Lores
and cheeks mottled greyish
white.
Base of Neck
No ring.
White ring.
Broad white ring.
Mantle
No markings.
Irregularly vermicu-
lated.
No markings.
Irregularly vermiculated.
Back and Rump .
No markings.
No markings.
Breast .
A few dark edg-
None (sometimes
Dark edgings to most of the
ings.
a sub-terminal spot
or vermiculated).
feathers.
Underparts
None.
Vermiculated.
Vermiculated.
Wings .
Uniform. No
Uniform. Purple
Uniform. Dark green specu-
speculum.
speculum.
lum.
Inner Secondaries
Curved.
Straight.
Intermediate.
200
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
S. mollissima.
A. boscas.
Hybrid.
Colour.
Head .
White, with black
Uniform metallic
Dark metallic green, with
and green mark-
green.
white markings (as above).
ings.
(Jpperparts .
White, brownish
Brownish grey, more
Dark brownish black, with fine
black in eclipse,
or less vermicu-
brown vermiculations.
and young.
lated.
Rump and Upper
Black.
Black.
Black (no recurved feathers).
Tail Coverts
Breast .
Creamy buff, with
Chestnut (plain,
Brownish chestnut, with black
black edgings.
spots, or vermicu-
lated).
edgings.
Underparts
Black.
Vermiculated grey.
Greyish brown (darker on the
flanks), vermiculated with
black.
Sides of Rump .
White.
As underparts.
Pale rufous brown.
Wing Coverts .
White.
Grey.
Greyish brown.
Inner Secondaries
White.
Greyish, with brown
Hoary grey, with narrow
edgings.
black edgings.
Legs and Toes .
Greenish.
Orange.
Orange.
Mr Bonhote, who is the main contributor to the above
tabulation, remarks that one can draw from it some interest-
ing" generalities. Some of the characters are intermediate ;
others are entirely those of one parent ; and we have also
some new characters. As regards the latter, the markings
on the head are, perhaps, the most curious. He suggests
that the V-snaPed white mark is the Eider black V ', only
narrower, and therefore not passing through the eye ; one
may note, however, the reversing of the colour. The whitish
lores and cheeks are probably due to the Eider's white face.
The white ear covert is one of the pcecilomeres (cf. Proc.
Linn. Soc.} xxix. 185), or spots whence variation in colour
generally commences. The two other white stripes are quite
new, and remind one of the Pintail. The markings on the
breast are undoubtedly pure Eider, as he has never seen or
heard of a similar variety in the Mallard ; it is noticeable,
however, that they are much more uniform and numerous
than in the case of pure-bred Eiders. The increase in the
number of the tail feathers is another most interesting point :
can they by any chance represent the two long, stiffened and
recurved tail coverts of the Mallard ? The light patch
Scot. Nat., 1912.
Plate V.
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 201
on the side of the rump is, of course, an unmistakable Eider
feature. Generally speaking, the colour (with the exception
of the speculum) is intermediate between an adult Mallard
and a young Eider. The white edgings to some of the
under tail coverts is a Mallard feature. The bird is quite the
most interesting he has seen.
A remarkable circumstance remains to be related. When
residing on the Pentland Skerries in May last, I saw what I
have little doubt was a brother of this bird. It flew past me
over the sea at fairly close range, and I had an excellent
view of it through my binoculars. I was unable, however,
to come to any conclusion as to its identification — it was a
complete puzzle. Dr C. B. Ticehurst saw this bird on the
same occasion, but quite independently. He, too, has seen
the Auskerry specimen, and agrees that the two are precisely
similar. Thus another bird of this singular family probably
survives. Auskerry lies 25 miles north-east of the Pentland
Skerries.
I am much obliged to Mr Laidlaw, and to Mr Kirk, for
allowing me to examine and describe this extraordinary bird.
THE BRITISH SPECIES OF THE DIPTEROUS
GENUS FANNIA, Rob. Dsv.
By J. R. Malloch.
( Continued from page 182.)
8. nigra, Mall, <£ . Deep black, hardly shining; eyes very
narrowly separated by a black stripe; frons and epistome
hardly projecting, jowls descending but little below the eyes ;
face silvered ; third joint of antennae about two and a half
times as long as the second; arista slightly pubescent; palpi
normal ; thorax dull black, unstriped ; abdomen with distinct
grey dusting, the dorsal stripe broadly triangularly dilated on
each segment ; anal organ small and inconspicuous ; legs
9 2 C
202 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
black ; mid femora hardly contracted at the tip, with an antero-
ventral row of about eight strong bristles on the basal two-
thirds, and a row of very short but strong bristles on the
apical third, postero-ventral surface with a somewhat similar
row of rather weaker bristles ; posterior surface with a row of
long, soft, curved hairs, a few strong bristles at the tip of the
postero-dorsal surface and a few weaker bristles at the tip of
the antero-dorsal surface ; mid tibia with the apical half slightly
thickened, ventral surface clothed with rather short but distinct
pubescence which lengthens as it nears the apex j two antero-
dorsal and two postero-dorsal bristles present, the upper much
the weaker; bristling of hind femora not remarkable; hind
tibia with generally two bristles on the antero-ventral surface,
and about three above the usual one present on the antero-
dorsal surface; calyptra black, under scale much protruding;
halteres yellow ; wings infuscated, outer cross-vein waved, last
portion of fourth vein rather more than twice the penultimate ;
third and fourth veins slightly convergent.
? . Unknown. 4 to 5 mm.
Only the £ of this has been taken so far, and the four
specimens I have were taken at Bonhill and Cardross ; June
to August.
19. carbo?iariai Mg. ( = ccrvina, Verr.), £ . Shining blue-black;
frons in profile showing in a continuous silvered line which is
unbroken on the sides of the face, epistome and jowls pro-
jecting somewhat ; third joint of antennae about twice the
length of the second, arista bare; thorax blue-black, slightly
dusted; abdomen blue-black, pale grey dusted, the dorsal line
distinctly triangularly dilated, anal organ small ; legs blue-black ;
mid femora not much constricted at tip ; antero-ventral surface
with about eighteen bristles on the basal three-fourths, the row
decreasing in size as it advances until the last nine or ten form
a comb-like row on the beginning of the apical third, three or
four weak bristles near the tip ; postero-ventral row longer but
weaker; mid tibia gradually thickened towards the tip,
pubescence very short at the base, but longer, thicker, and
somewhat irregular on the thicker portion, generally three
antero-dorsal and two postero-dorsal bristles present; hind
femora with four or five long bristles at the tip on the antero-
ventral surface ; hind tibia with two dorsal, two antero-dorsal,
and two or three antero-ventral bristles ; wings grey, yellow at
the base, fourth and fifth veins almost parallel, outer cross-vein
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 203
almost straight, last portion of fourth vein two and a quarter
times the penultimate; calyptra whitish; halteres yellow.
9 . Shining blue-black ; recognisable at once by the brilliantly
shining black orbits, which are twice as wide as the matt-brown
middle stripe ; mid tibia with one antero-ventral and one postero-
ventral bristle; in other respects much as in the &. The
yellowish wings and shining blue colour gives the $ much the
appearance of a Lonchcea.
I have taken two $ $ and two ? 9 at Bonhill, and
one ? at Cardross ; June to July.
20. polychceta, Stn., $ . Black, shining ; eyes very large and close
together, unprojecting in profile, jowls descending a little below
the eyes ; antennae rather short ; arista nearly bare ; thorax
black with a greenish tinge, very slightly dusted; abdomen
coloured as the thorax, distinctly pale grey dusted, rather hairy,
dorsal line distinct, anal organ small ; legs black, the fore
knees distinctly, the others indistinctly yellowish ; mid femora
with a row of eight or nine long bristles on the basal two-
thirds, decreasing in size towards the end, a row of ten to
eleven equally long little comb-like bristles on the base of the
slightly constricted apical third, then a small bare portion and
four to five very short bristles at the tip on the antero-ventral
surface; bristles on the postero-ventral surface longer and
rather weaker than on the antero-ventral ; ventral bristle con-
spicuous ; mid tibia with very little apical thickening, pubescence
short at the base, but becoming long towards the apex, at its
longest part about equal to the breadth of the tibia, antero-
dorsal surface with three bristles, the upper near the middle the
weakest, the middle one very long and strong, postero-dorsal
also with, generally, three somewhat similarly placed bristles ;
hind femora with a row of rather short bristles from base to tip
on the antero-ventral surface, the last two longer than the
others, and a row of weaker bristles on the basal two-thirds of
the postero-ventral surface of almost equal length; hind tibia
with two dorsal, three antero-dorsal (the middle one the longest),
and two or three antero-ventral bristles ; wings darkened, third
and fourth veins slightly convergent, outer cross-vein nearly
straight, last portion of fourth vein two and a half times the
penultimate ; calyptra unequal, whitish ; halteres yellowish.
9 . Frons hardly one-third the breadth of the head, parallel-
sided, thickly grey dusted ; middle stripe from in front by its
dusting hardly distinguishable from the orbits; orbits dull, at
204 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
their broadest part nearly as broad as the middle stripe at that
part ; thorax and abdomen more distinctly dusted than in the
$ ; legs as with the £ in colour and bristling, except that the
bristles are stronger, and the mid tibiae possess one antero- and
one postero-ventral bristle beyond the middle. 4 h to 5 J mm.
Common at Bonhill ; June to September. I have also seen
this from New Forest (Adams).
21. sociella, Ztt, <£. Black; eyes large, frons and jowls somewhat
projecting ; eyes narrowly separated ; antennae moderately long j
arista nearly bare ; thorax grey dusted, generally with signs of
two black stripes on the fore part; sides distinctly pale grey
dusted; abdomen distinctly pale grey dusted, dorsal line
distinct, anal organ small; legs brownish black, all knees,
especially the fore part, distinctly pale yellowish ; mid femora
slightly thickened on the basal two-thirds and constricted at the
tip, antero-ventral surface with about six weak hair-like bristles
to near the middle, at the middle three strong thorn-like bristles,
then after a short break a comb-like row of about eight short
bristles, the constricted part is bare and at the tip there are
about four weak bristles ; postero-ventral surface with nine to
ten equally long bristles to beyond the middle, then a break
and, as on the other side, about seven longer bristles, and the
bare part followed by the three or four tip bristles ; mid tibia
irregularly thickened, at a little before the middle slightly
thickened, thinning at the middle and then thickened near the
tip, pubescence short at the base, but becoming longer at the
first swelling and very conspicuous on the remainder of the
tibia; antero-dorsal surface with two or three bristles near
the apex, the small upper one being the one usually present in
other species, the other bristling normal ; hind femora with a
row of weak bristles from base to tip, the last two to three
stronger on the antero-ventral surface, postero-ventral surface
bare ; hind tibia with one dorsal and three fine antero-dorsal
bristles, the preapical and antero-ventral bristles absent ; wings
greyish, third and fourth veins slightly convergent, outer cross-
vein nearly straight, last part of fourth vein two to two and
a half times the penultimate ; calyptra pale yellowish, equal ;
halteres yellow.
? . Black-grey ; frons hardly one-third of the breadth of the
head, parallel-sided ; orbits grey dusted, dull ; middle stripe
sometimes red-brown ; thorax and abdomen grey dusted ; legs
with all knee-joints distinctly yellow ; mid tibia with generally
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANN1A 205
only one antero-dorsal bristle, hind tibia with the preapical
bristle present. Stein gives the bristling as the foregoing, but
I have a series, mentioned under kowarzii, in which I find the
bristling varies considerably. The mid tibia has sometimes
two antero-dorsal bristles, and the hind tibia has often two
antero-dorsal and one to two antero-ventral bristles. I have
never taken this species in cop., so cannot say definitely whether
I am correct in calling this female sociella, but the abundance
of these variations leads me to infer that this is so. 5 to 5 J mm.
Abundant in woods at Bonhill ; May to July ; Blairgowrie
(Carter).
22. glaucescens, Ztt., £. Shining black with a greenish tone;
frons somewhat, jowls but little, projecting; eyes distinctly
separated by a black stripe ; orbits silvered, narrower than the
middle stripe ; antennae shorter than the face, third joint twice
as long as the second; arista bare; thorax shining black,
dusted distinctly behind, a faint indication of two dorsal
stripes on the front ; abdomen shining, dark olive-green, dusted
on the fore margins of the segments, dorsal line present,
almost naked, last segment with a row of long bristles on -the
hind margin, anal organ very large and strong; legs black,
indistinctly paler at the knees ; mid femora with a continuous
row of bristles from base to tip on the antero-ventral surface,
which increase in size to the middle and decrease in size but
become closer to the tip; ventral bristle distinct; postero-
ventral bristles weaker, but more numerous, and at the con-
stricted portion of the femora a break in the row, a weak
bristle near the tip; mid tibia slightly thickened, the
pubescence very short and thick, hardly increasing in length
towards the tip, the usual bristles present; hind femora with
an antero-ventral row of short bristles, increasing in size at the
tip, postero-ventral surface with a few bristles on the basal
two-third ; hind tibia with the usual bristles ; wings yellowish,
veins brown, third and fourth veins slightly convergent, the
outer cross-vein bent, last portion of fourth vein two and three-
quarters the penultimate ; calyptra yellowish, unequal ; halteres
yellow.
9 . Dark brassy-green, shining ; frons more projecting than
with the $ , narrowed behind ; orbits grey dusted ; from base
of antennas to ocelli of equal breadth, about three-quarters as
broad as the middle stripe at its narrowest part ; thorax grey
dusted, more so at the sides ; abdomen shining brassy-green ;
2o6 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
hind femora with two long antero-ventral bristles near the tip ;
the other bristling as in the $ ; wings yellower than in
the £ . 4 to 5 mm.
I have never met with this species.
23. incisurata, Ztt, £ . Very similar in size and appearance to
sca/aris, the eyes are more widely separated and the dusting
more conspicuous, the abdomen presenting a rather banded
appearance; legs black, all knees, especially the fore pair,
yellow ; a small bristle besides the preapical one sometimes
present on the fore tibia ; mid femora with a row of moderately
long bristles (five to six) on the basal half and a regular row of
short bristles on the tip half of the antero-ventral surface;
postero-ventral row very long and strong at the base but rapidly
decreasing in size beyond the middle, and forming a continuous
row of short bristles on the tip fifth ; mid tibia very little
thickened, the pubescence very short and thick, of almost
equal length on the whole tibia, the bristling normal; hind
femora with an antero-ventral row of bristles, the last three the
longest, postero-ventral row somewhat similar but weaker ;
hind tibia with rows of short bristles on the antero-dorsal,
antero-ventral, and postero-ventral surfaces, much as in sca/aris ;
wings, etc., as in scalaris.
$ . Stein describes the 9 as similar to that of sca/aris,
and gives as distinctions, the absence of the basal ventral
bristle from the mid femora, and the possession of a postero-
ventral row of weak bristles on the hind femora. I have taken
several ? $ along with $ <$ , but am unable to find any
without the mid femoral bristle.
Bonhill, not uncommon ; May to August ; Musselburgh
(Carter).
24. mutica, Ztt. $ . Deep black ; eyes large, narrowly separated ;
frons in profile narrowly projecting, jowls hardly descending
below the eyes ; antennne of moderate length, third joint rather
more than twice the length of the second ; arista bare ; thorax
deep black, only distinctly dusted on the sides and behind;
abdomen with distinct pale grey dusting, rather short and
broad, the dorsal line distinctly triangularly dilated, anal organ
small ; legs black ; mid femora with an antero-ventral row of
about nine bristles which decrease in length, but increase in
strength to the end of the basal two-thirds, followed by a small
break and a short row of eleven to twelve fine bristles on the con-
stricted part of the femora; postero-ventral bristles long and
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANNIA 207
hair-like; mid tibia slightly thickened on the apical half,
ventral side, the pubescence very short on the basal portion,
but longer on the tip half, the bristling normal; hind femora
with an antero-ventral row of short bristles, the last two at the
tip stronger; postero-ventral surface bare; hind tibia with a
row of equally long hair-like bristles on the antero-dorsal
surface, a somewhat similar, but shorter, row on the postero-
ventral surface, and two bristles on the antero-ventral surface,
the usual dorsal bristle present; wings brownish, third and
fourth veins convergent, outer cross-vein slightly bent, last
portion of fourth vein about two and a half times the penul-
timate ; calyptra whitish, unequal ; halteres yellow.
? . Stein gives the ? of this as identical with cor a ana. I have,
however, a $ without the ventral bristle on the mid tibia which
agrees with one bred from fungi with $ <$ of this species by
Mr Carter. With the exception of this difference the insects
are very similar. The hind femora have only two preapical
bristles on the antero-ventral surface in roraci?ia, but three or
four in matica.
Common at Bonhill and Cardross; May to September.
Bred from fungi, Musselburgh (Carter).
25. parva, Stn., $ . Black; eyes large, nearly confluent; frons
unprojecting, jowls descending but little below the eyes;
antennae of moderate length; arista pubescent; thorax black,
or black-brown, slightly shining, slightly brownish dusted on
the sides and behind; abdomen black-brown, brown-grey
dusted, paler grey dusted on the base of each segment, dorsal
line distinct; anal organ not very large, but on the ventral
surface two small shining black knobs present; legs black-
brown, mid femora hardly constricted at the apex ; antero-ventral
surface with a row of seven bristles of moderate length to rather
over the middle, a further series of seven finer, shorter, and
closer placed bristles to near the apex, and, following a short
break, two or three short bristles at the tip; postero-ventral
surface with the basal two-thirds armed with a somewhat similar
row, then a short break, and followed by the usual shorter
bristles, the basal ventral bristle absent ; mid tibia with the
apical half slightly thickened, the pubescence very short at
the base, becoming longer towards the apex, bristling normal :
hind femora on the antero-ventral surface with a row of short
bristles, the last two or three near the tip only rather longer ;
postero-ventral surface bare; hind tibia as in a'erea ; wings
208 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
blackish brown, third and fourth veins convergent, outer cross-
vein straight, last portion of fourth vein about three times the
penultimate ; calyptra brownish, equal ; halteres yellowish.
9 . Close to a'erea in appearance, but more brownish grey in
colour, the middle stripe is more easily separated in outline
from the orbits than in a'erea, and at its broadest part is only a
little broader than the orbits ; the lower fronto-orbital bristle
stands close to the eye-margin, whereas in a'erea it is at the
middle of the orbit; the basal ventral mid femoral bristle is
absent or indistinct ; otherwise much as a'erea. 3 \ to 4 mm.
I have never met with this species.
26. genitalis, Stn., £ . Black grey; eyes moderately separated;
frons in profile narrowly projecting, epistome and jowls distinct;
antennae shorter than the face, third joint about twice as long
as second ; arista bare ; thorax black-grey, shining, distinctly
grey dusted behind and at the sides; abdomen blue-grey
dusted, dorsal line distinct, anal organ inconspicuous; legs
black, all knees, especially the fore knees, distinctly yellow;
base of fore tibia broadly yellow ; a fine bristle in addition to
the preapical one on the apical half of the antero-dorsal surface ;
mid femora with a row of ten long bristles to beyond the
middle which decrease in size as they advance, the apical
portion with a row of twelve much weaker bristles which form
an almost continuous row to the tip ; basal ventral bristle very
long ; postero-ventral row much longer and doubled on the
mid-third, the shorter bristles longer than on the other surface ;
mid tibia very slightly thickened apically ; the pubescence very
short on the basal portion, but becoming longer and looser
towards the apex, bristling normal ; hind femora with a row of
bristles on the antero-ventral surface, the tip two or three the
longest, postero-ventral surface with the basal two-thirds armed
with a row of fine hair-like bristles ; wings greyish, third and
fourth veins nearly parallel, outer cross-vein nearly straight,
last portion of fourth vein two and a half times the penultimate ;
calyptra yellowish, unequal ; halteres yellow.
$ . Pale grey, not shining ; frons very slightly convergent
behind, middle stripe thickly dusted, hardly separable in colour
from the orbits, orbits nearly parallel-sided and as broad as the
middle stripe ; thorax and abdomen pale grey dusted, without
a distinct gloss ; legs black-grey, dusted, coloured as in the £ ;
the extra bristle present on the fore tibia ; mid femoral basal
bristle strong; mid tibia with a ventral bristle beyond the
NOTES 209
middle ; the tarsi slightly thickened on all legs ; all otherwise
as the (J . 5 mm.
A very common species at Bonhill and on Loch Lomond
side. I have taken it from the beginning of July to end of
September. Mr A. E. J. Carter reports it from Blairgowrie,
9th July 1909.
( To be continued?)
NOTES.
Hedgehog in Argyll. — I have to give what— so far as I know —
is the first record of the occurrence of the Hedgehog, a little to the
north of the peninsula of Ardnamurchan. Mr J. C. Stewart, who
gives me the record, saw one at Kinloch Moidart last week,
adding: "the first I have seen since I came." Continuing, he
says: — "On making enquiries, I find that two were seen last
summer (191 1), between Shiel Bridge and Dorlin; but that, I
believe, is the very first authenticated appearance in Moidart. ..."
This, of course, refers to the Shiel Bridge which spans the Shiel
River below Loch Shiel ; and thus the route by which the Hedgehog
seen at Kinloch Moidart arrived is pretty safely indicated. As
Mr Stewart says: — "These particular animals must be far travelled.
They can only have come via Lochaber, unless they were imported
in bales of young trees, which is possible but very unlikely." We
have previously recorded the earlier appearance of the Hedgehog,
on the authority of Mr E. D. Uoncaster, and of Mr Macpherson
of Corpach, and its presence along the shore of Lochiel, Argyllshire
{Fauna of N.-W. Highlands, 1894, p. 2), and in the same revision
of the fauna of that area, we give evidence of isolated occurrences
in the west of Scotland, at Braemore or Inverbroom in 1900
{auct Sir Arthur Fowler), and at Attadale in 1894 {auct. L. Hinxman).
The dates of these records, stretching between 1894 and 191 1,
may point to a series of accidental introductions — as suggested by
Mr Stewart — or "in bales of hay," as believed possible by Sir
Arthur Fowler ; as also may a still earlier occurrence at Balmacarra
House in 1902 {auct. Godfrey), loc. cit., fide Mr Aird White. —
J. A. Harvie-Brown.
9 2D
210 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Female Greenland Wheatear in Male Plumage. — On the
13th of May I shot what I believed to be a fine specimen of a male
Greenland Wheatear (CEna?ithe leucorrhod), on the Island of Barra.
I was much surprised to hear from Mr Charles Kirk of Glasgow, to
whom I sent it to be mounted, that the bird was a female. I have
since had an opportunity of comparing it with other specimens of
male Greenland Wheatears obtained early in May in the British
Islands. The wing-feathers are blacker than in any of these birds ;
in fact, the outer webs of the feathers, with the exception of the
tips of some of the wing-coverts and secondaries, are quite black.
Crown of head, nape and back are pale grey, showing only very
slight traces of the sandy plumage of winter. Forehead, superciliary
line, and upper tail-coverts, white. Line from lores to the ear-
coverts, black. Underparts washed with buff, darker on the throat.
Central feathers and upper third of tail, black, with the exception
of white tips to the feathers on one side, which are somewhat
abraided. The wing measures 106 mm. — M. Bedford, Woburn.
Lesser Whitethroat in Dumfriesshire. — During a visit to
Lockerbie on 31st July, I saw a Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca,
near Lockerbie House. It allowed a close approach, and kept
going to and from a wall thickly covered with ivy. Had it been
a commoner species I should have suspected it of nesting; indeed,
the date indicates that in all probability it had nested in the
neighbourhood. I watched it for a considerable time, and was
much interested to see it, as it was a very familiar Fair Isle
friend. — George Stout, Glasgow.
Hawfinch at Pidra, Pirth of Forth. — I am sending you a
young Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes), which I found in
a dying state at the lantern of Fidra Lighthouse, on the night of
7th July. — G. Millar, Fidra Lighthouse.
[This species has become established as a native bird in south-
east Scotland, and the bird recorded probably came from one of its
neighbouring haunts. — Eds.]
Quails nesting in Peeblesshire. — For some time about the
beginning of June, Quails (Cot ur nix cotumix) were heard calling
in a field of hay on the farm of Halmyre, West Linton j and when
the hay was being cut, towards the end of the month, a pair of
old birds and five or six young ones were put out. The young
birds were about the size of sparrows, and could run very swiftly.
NOTES 211
A Quail was seen near the same place about fifteen years ago. —
T. G. Laidlaw, Duns.
Pheasants in Shetland. — While I was travelling through the
valley of Weisdale lately, I was surprised to observe a pair of
Pheasants (Phasianus colchiais)—* male and a female — arise
from a heathery moor and fly into a young plantation. Although
I have been residing in Shetland for several years, this is the first
time I have seen this species of bird in any of the Shetland
IsleSt — Peter Jopp, Gonfirth, Delting, Shetland.
Herons nesting in the Lewis. — On page 185 of this volume,
I gave some particulars of the nesting of two pairs of Herons
(Ardea cinerea, L.) near Stornoway in 19 10. This was apparently
the only notice of the nesting of the species on the east side of
the Lewis, but I have since been informed that a nest was found
this season (19 12) on the branches of a tall larch tree growing
in a gully in the grounds of Stornoway Castle ; also that a nest was
found in the same place five years ago. This year three young
birds were successfully reared, two of the five eggs having been
taken. Since writing the previous note, I have also gathered some
information about the heronry on the west side mentioned in
Mr Boyd Watt's list {Ami. Scott. Nat. Hist., 1908, p. 221). It
appears that in 1902, Kenneth Macdonald, gamekeeper at Kinresort,
found a nest with young in it on a ledge of the Tarsnig Rock at
the western end of the Lewis-Harris border; this appears to be
the first record of Herons breeding in the island. More birds
returned in the following season, and the heronry increased to a
fair size during the next few years. In 1910, however, some Ravens
took possession of the rock and devoured the Herons' eggs.
Since then, there have been no Herons on the Tarsnig, but the
birds still nest on other rocks near the Lewis-Harris border. As
regards these west-side Herons, my informant is a gamekeeper
at Loch Resort, but I am unaware to what extent the facts are
already known. It is hardly necessary to say that Herons may be
seen in dozens on the shores of the Lewis, but we have hitherto
supposed them to nest only on the mainland. — Donald Macdonald,
Stornoway.
Green Sandpiper in Wigtownshire. — About 4 p.m. on the
afternoon of 5th August, on Soulseat Loch (Inch), I was lucky
enough to flush a pair of Green Sandpipers (THnga ocrophus) at
close quarters on the shore of the loch ; they flew due south towards
212 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Luce Bay, uttering their shrill cry, their white upper tail-coverts
being very conspicuous. This is the first time I have come across
the species in Wigtownshire, though it has been seen in Wigtown
Bay. — J. G. Gordon, Corsemalzie.
Broad-billed Sandpiper in Fifeshire. — I have again to
record a rare Sandpiper from the Morton Lochs, near Tentsmuir,
Fifeshire, where on ist August last year we obtained a specimen of
the Wood Sandpiper (Annals, 191 1, p. 248).
Very early in August last year these lochs became dry, and no
more waders were to be seen about them ; but this year they appear
to be almost specially attractive, for the season has been wet, with,
however, only a moderate rainfall, and there is consequently a
considerable extent of shallow water or mud where usually the
water is fairly deep. In particular, I have noticed several Green-
shanks, and at least three Green Sandpipers. The latter always
seem to rise silently (my Wood Sandpiper of last year called loudly
as it rose), but they have a curious and distinctive note, which may
be heard when they are flying round overhead.
So far, no strange Sandpipers have come within reach of me —
except at times when I have been waiting for Ducks or Teal to be
driven off one of the lochs. On such occasions I have several
times seen Green Sandpipers fairly close, as well as others which it
was impossible to identify; but my duties as host have always
debarred me from taking advantage of the opportunity of adding to
the collections in the Royal Scottish Museum, by prematurely firing
my gun at what my friends might consider somewhat ignoble
"game."
On Monday, 12th August, however, after one of these little
drives, a few Sandpipers flew past my place of concealment, two of
which I shot — at very long range. The first proved to be merely
a Dunlin, but the second was a bird entirely new to me, and
without waiting to identify it myself, I sent it off by post at once to
Mr Eagle Clarke, who informs me that it is a Broad-billed Sand-
piper (Li mi cola platyrhyncha), the first record of the bird for
Scotland, and the sixteenth detected occurrence of this species in
the British Isles.
About the bird itself or its behaviour I can say little. It flew
very rapidly past the little nook amongst high bracken in which I
was concealed, and the distance was such that there was no time
for making observations of any kind, if the bird was to be secured
at all. I can only say that there was another bird of the same
appearance along with it.
NOTES 213
I think, but cannot of course be certain, that I saw one of the
same birds on 1st August. It rose quite near me, and was entirely
strange to me. I noticed particularly the dark back and the paler
band across the wings formed by the light-coloured tips of the
greater coverts, but it flew almost directly towards another member
of my party (who did not in fact see it), and I had no opportunity
of endeavouring to secure it until it was far out of range.
The Broad-billed Sandpiper has been presented to the Royal
Scottish Museum. — William Berry, Tayfield, Newport, Fife.
Cream-coloured Whimbrel at Barra. — On 18th May I
observed a Cream-coloured Whimbrel (Numenius phceopus) on the
Island of Barra. The legs, feet, and bill were the normal colour.
The bird arrived with several other Whimbrel, and remained for two
days on the sandhills. It stayed behind when the other birds left,
and was noticed to be very thin and the plumage considerably
worn. — M. Bedford, Woburn.
Little Tern on the Ayrshire Coast. — On 8th August, on
the coast of Ayrshire, about five miles north of Ballantrae, I saw
four Lesser Terns {Sterna minutd). There were two parent birds
and two young (well able to fly), the former feeding the latter with
small fish as they sat on the sand. I understand that these birds
are not common on this coast. I shot one of the young, and am
having it prepared as a museum specimen. I have never seen this
bird here before, and from what I can gather from other naturalists,
it has not been seen recently. On the following day I saw the
parent birds and remaining young one, but I have not seen them
since. In view of the increased interest now being taken in the
migration of birds, I thought it might be of interest to publish this
note in your pages. — Melvin H. Rattray, Lendalfoot, Girvan.
Immature Eared Grebe in Sol way. — A specimen of the
Eared Grebe (Podicipes nigricollis) was obtained near Skinburness
on 29th July last, and forwarded to me for identification. On
dissection it was found to be a male. Further examination proved
it to be a bird of the year, the sides of the head and neck
showing very evident traces of immaturity. The occurrence of
a young bird in this locality at this season of the year is excep-
tionally interesting, as it may be reasonably inferred that the
specimen in question was bred somewhere within the S
area. — Hugh Mackay, Edinburgh. jt^fi.
2i4 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Fulmar Petrels nesting at Stronsay, Orkney. — Having
read the account in the Scottish Naturalist of the spread of the
Fulmar Petrel, I have been on the lookout for them this spring, and
about two months ago saw about a dozen of these birds circling
about Burghead, a point not indicated in the map issued along
with the account. On Tith July I succeeded in obtaining one of
their eggs — proof positive that they are nesting here. I don't think
they have ever nested here before, as none of the local men knew
the egg ; but some of them, who had been fishermen about twenty
years ago, said that they had often seen the bird, which they call
the Mollymawk, when out fishing to the eastward, but never on the
land; which seems to indicate that a new colony is being started
here. — T. Sinclair, Whitehall, Stronsay.
Herons nesting in Orkney. — In Mr Boyd Watt's list of
Scottish Heronries and notes of others by various correspondents,
no mention is made of the Herons which nest regularly on the cliffs
of Orkney and have been evidently long established there. — H. W.
Robinson, Lancaster.
book notice.
Science of the Sea : Prepared by the Challenger Society ; Edited
by G. Herbert Fowler, B.A., Ph.D., F.L.S., etc., with Illus-
trations and Charts. London : John Murray. Price 6s. net.
This exceedingly interesting volume is compiled for the use of
yachtsmen, officers of the Royal Navy and Merchant Service, and
others, who, finding time heavy on their hands, are desirous of
some useful and interesting occupation, and who yet, through lack
of scientific training, hesitate to take observations or make collections
which might prove of value. Written in the main by specialists
who are members of the Society, the various chapters can hardly
fail in their object, while to the naturalist who has no opportunity
of indulging in a sea voyage they furnish exceedingly interesting
reading. The first two chapters are on "The Air" and "The
Water" respectively; then follow others on the Shore, the Plants,
Floating Animals, the Sea Floor and Animals of the Sea Floor.
Practical directions on Yacht Equipment, Dredging and Trawling,
GLEANINGS 215
Fishes and Fishing, and the Preservation of Marine Organisms
follow in succession, while a chapter is also furnished on "Whales,
Seals, and Sea-Serpents. " A final chapter on " Logs, Notes, and
Labels, etc.," and various useful concluding sections terminate the
volume, which altogether forms one of the most useful elementary
treatises on Marine Science that has ever been published. The
charts, eight in number, are excellent, the illustrations clear, and
the general get-up of the book all that could be desired.
GLEANINGS.
In the Naturalist for August (pp. 229-234) we note an interesting article by
T. Sheppard, F.G.S., on "Early Microscopes." The instruments described date
from about the year 1725 onwards, and the illustrations accompanying the article
give the reader a good idea of these quaint old appliances.
In the Field of 22nd June (p. 1233) A. Ross expresses the opinion that the
Roe Deer is much scarcer in the Northern Highlands than it was a few years'ago.
He attributes this to the increase of afforestation, pointing out that as the animal
is very destructive to growing plantations it is shot down on certain estates in
large numbers. On the higher ground, and particularly in the birch-woods, it is
less disturbed, and is consequently there at its best.
On p. 1218 of the Field (15th June 1912) it is recorded that an Inverness
taxidermist has recently mounted four Wild Cats of unusual size. They are all
Ross-shire specimens, having been secured at Applecross, Braemore, Achnashellach,
and Edderton respectively.
In British Birds for August (pp. 74-78) appears a paper entitled " The Terek
Sandpiper in Kent." This is a new British Bird, and to the note recording its
occurrence (by Thomas Parkin) are added a description by H. F. Witherby and
an account of its distribution by F. C. R. Jourdain. Its scientific name is Terekia
cinerea. Two specimens (a male and a female) were obtained on 23rd May last,
at Brookland, Romney Mar?h. On the 24th another male and on the 25th another
female were obtained at the same place.
We can cordially recommend to the notice of our readers Professor D Arcy W.
Thompson's discourse on (l The North Sea and its Fisheries." It was delivered at
the Royal Institution on 22nd March, and is reprinted in Nature of 8th August
(pp, 593-598). Written in the Professor's well-known picturesque and lucid style,
it is well worthy of perusal by anyone interested in the history of our fisheries, the
methods of fishing (on either a large or small scale), and the welfare of our fisher-
men. In this fascinating discourse the necessary statistics are made to tell their
story in a vivid fashion. Thus it is stated that Great Britain and the other five
2i6 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
North Sea Powers land two million tons of fish a year ; of this grand total Britain
contributes more than 60 per cent. ; while of the total British catch 84 per cent, is
landed on the East Coast of England and Scotland. Again, when speaking of the
drift-net used for herring-fishing, it is stated that in our Scotch fisheiy no less than
two hundred million square yards of netting are used. The net "is only a narrow
strip, but make it into a single square, and it would more than cover London."
But to be fully appreciated the address must be read in toto.
At a meeting of the South London Entomological and Natural History Society
held on 14th March last, Mr Blenkarn exhibited the recently described Beetle,
Haliplas nontax, from Coatbridge (vide Entomologist 's Record, July to August 1 9 12,
p. 200 ; and Entomologist, August 191 2, p. 232).
James E. Black publishes (Ent. Mo. Mag., August 1912, pp. 185-186) a short
"Note on a Peculiar Form of Noiiophilus." Three specimens are referred to, two
of which were taken by the author at Peebles and the third by Col. Yerbury in
Sutherlandshire. Herr Reitter pronounces the Beetle to be bigeminus, Th.=
pusillus, Wat., var.
Richard S. Bagnall, in the Entomologist' s Record (July to August 1912, p. 191)
records the capture of sixteen specimens of Hylecatus dermestoides, L., in a log of
Scotch fir on the side of Loch Lomond. Five of the Beetles were females, while
the males represented the two varieties marci, L., and morio, Fab.
In the Ent. Mo. Mag. for August (pp. 181-18$) appears the first instalment of
a paper by D. Sharp, entitled "Notes on the British Species of Op/ionus"
[Coleoptera]. 0. brevicollis is recorded from Dumfriesshire.
The concluding portion of the late G. H. Verrall's paper on " Another
Hundred New British Species of Diptera" appears in the August numl er of the
Ent. Mo. Mag. (pp. 190-197). The Scottish records are numerous.
In the August number of the Entomologist (pp. 217-220) F. W. Edwards
continues his valuable " Notes on the British Mosquitoes (Culicinae)." In this
instalment, Ochlerotalus nemorosus, Mg., is recorded from Torphins (Aberdeen),
North Sutor (Cromarty), and Nethy Bridge (Inverness).
On pp. 221-223 of the Entomologist (August 1912) W. J. Lucas gives a
summary of the British Neuroptera examined by him and captured by himself and
others during the year 191 1. This paper includes the Scottish records published
by the same author in our last issue (pp. 186-187).
Richard S. Bagnall, F.L.S., contributes a paper on new British Myriapods to
the Zoologist for July (pp. 264-266). In it the following Scottish records are given :
Lithobius borealis, Mein., Ben Ledi (Evans) and Ben Vorlich.
The Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, for August contains (pp. 165-185) an important
paper by William Small, M.A., B.Sc, entitled " Report on the Annelida Polychaeta
collected in the North Sea and adjacent parts by the Scotch Fishery Board Vessel
Goldseeker. — Part I. Amphinomidse to Sigalionidoe." The paper is accompanied
by a plate, and contains records of twenty-seven species. The descriptive and
critical notes given under each form render the paper indispensable to students of
British Annelids.
{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.) Ljj LIBRARY-
The Scottish Naturalist
No. io.] 1912 [October
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION
INQUIRY: FIRST INTERIM REPORT (1909-12).
By A. Landsborough Thomson, M.A., M.B.O.U.
{Continued from page 174.)
Corncrake or Land-rail {Crex crex, L.).
Case 249, ring A.U. 14297 : —
$rd Sept. 1910: caught, marked, and released as an adult
bird in a harvest field on Crichie Farm, Inverurie, Aber-
deenshire, Scotland. (Mr T. Tait.)
Sept. 191 1 : "killed by a sportsman" at Naillat, Canton de
Dun-le-Palleteau, Creuse, France. (Mr De Forger in
Le Saint-Hubert Illustrc for 1st Oct. 191 1 — no more
exact date than " recently " given ; also the Bulletin
Mensuel de la Societc Ccntrale des Chasseurs for 15th
Oct. 191 1. English newspaper translations of these notices
gave the number wrongly as 14327 and 1432 F, but the
originals had it correctly.)
Coot (Fulica atra, L.).
Case 309, ring A.U. 17462 :—
1th May 191 1: caught, marked, and released on a pond on
Skipwith Common, near York, England. (Mr V. G. F.
Zimmermann.)
gth Feb. 1912 : found dead at Coneysthorpe, Malton, York-
shire. (Mr W. L. Jefferson : bird's foot reported injured.)
Partridge (Perdix perdix, L.).
[For records of imported birds, see "Appendix."]
IO 2 E
218 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Pheasant (Phasianus cotc/iicus, L.).
[See "Appendix."]
Red Grouse {Lagopus lagopus scoticus, Lath.).
Case 262, ring A.U. 559 : —
24M June 191 1 : marked as a young bird at Mannoch,
Knockando, Moray, Scotland. (Mr D. MacQueen.)
\2th Sept. 191 1 : shot on Easter Elchies Moor (near Craigel-
lachie), Moray. (Lord Cheylesmore.)
[See also "Appendix."]
Wood-pigeon or Ring-dove (Columba palumbus, L.).
Case 79, ring A.U. 11643 : —
3rd June 19 10 : marked as a nestling at Burgie, Forres, Moray,
Scotland. (Mr A. Davidson.)
27th June 1910: shot near place of marking. (Marker.)
Case 83, ring A.U. 11711 : —
iSt/i July 1 910 : marked as a nestling in the grounds of Skene
House, Dunecht, Aberdeenshire. (Miss D. Hamilton.)
20th Aug. 1 9 10 : shot near place of marking. (Marker.)
Mallard or Common Wild Duck (Anas platyryncha, L.).
Case 250, ring A.U. 18427 : —
21st June 191 1 : marked as a young bird just able to fly, on
a marsh near the river Garry, Invergarry, Inverness-shire,
Scotland. (Captain E. C. Ellice.)
$th Sept. 191 1 : shot in a cornfield on the shores of Loch
Oich, Inverness-shire. (Mr W. F. Robertson : ring returned.)
Case 272, ring A.U. 15730 : —
\2tJ1 June 191 1 : caught while in moult, marked, and
released at Monymusk, Aberdeenshire. (Captain A.
Grant, D.S.O.)
St/i Dec. 191 1 (about): shot near the river Urie, near
Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. (Mr W. Williamson.)
Case 339, ring A.U. 13127 :—
30th May 191 1 : marked as a wild duckling at Thirlestane
Castle, Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland. (Mr A. Cossar.)
Dec. 191 1 : shot near Lauder. (Marker.)
[For numerous records of hand-reared Mallard, see "Appendix."]
Wigeon (Anas pene/ope, L.).
Case 4, ring A.U. 2052 : —
igt/i June 1909: marked as a duckling (one of a brood of
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 219
five, including also Case 118 below) at the head of Loch
Brora, Sutherland, Scotland. (Mr F. Gunnis.)
^rd Sept. 1909 : caught in a duck-decoy at Westpolder, Ulrum,
Groningen, Holland. (Mr H. J. Louwes.)
Case 118, ring A.U. 2050 : —
l^th June 1909: marked as a duckling (one of a brood of
five, including also Case 4 above) at the head of Loch
Brora, Sutherland, Scotland. (Mr F. Gunnis.)
2nd Jan. 191 1 (about): shot on the river Trent, Nottingham-
shire side, about four miles above Gainsborough, Lincoln-
shire, England. (Mr J. Allison.)
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus, L.).
Case 235, ring A.U. 10356 : —
10th May 191 1 : marked as a nestling about three weeks old
at Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, Scotland. (Mr A. M.
Anderson.)
gt/i Aug. 191 1 : shot on Alva Estate, Clackmannan, Scotland.
(Mr W. Mackintosh, in Aberdeen Free Press, 15th Aug.
1911.)
Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus, L.).
Case 251, ring A.U. 18307 : —
^oth June 191 1 : marked as a nestling which had been reared
by a pair of Linnets (Carduet/s cannabina, L.) at
Coddington Hall, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England.
(Mr H. Mackender.)
2nd Sept. 191 1 : shot on the Sea Bank at Fishloft, Boston,
Lincolnshire, England. (Mr E. Hibbins.)
Jackdaw {Coeleus monedula, Vieill.).
Case 87, ring A.U. 13202 : —
17 'tfi June 1 9 10 : marked as a nestling at the Manse, Kingussie,
Inverness-shire, Scotland. (Mr A. Campbell.)
22nd Aug. 1910 : captured with left wing injured at Carnchuine,
Kingussie; released after recovering from injuries,
18th Sept. 1910. (Mrs E. H. Whitehead.)
Case 207, ring A.U. 5355 :—
21st May 1910 : marked as a nestling about a week old among
the Dunragit sandhills, Wigtownshire, Scotland. (Mr J. N.
Kennedy.)
220 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
14th June 191 1 (about): shot near Stranraer, Wigtownshire.
{Glasgow Herald, 17th June 1910.)
Case 214, ring A.U. 13201 : —
11th June 1910- caught in clap-net, marked, and released
at Newtonmore, Inverness-shire, Scotland. (Mr A.
Campbell.)
20th June 191 1 : shot at Banchor, Newtonmore. (Mr C. Dods :
ring returned.)
Starling {Slurnus vulgaris, L.).
Case 29, ring A.U. 8204: —
15M March 1910: caught in net (along with Case 55 below),
marked, and released at East Warriston House, Edinburgh.
(Mr A. Campbell.)
20/^ April 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 55, ring A.U. 8205 : —
i$th March 1910: caught in net (along with Case 29 above),
marked, and released at East Warriston House, Edinburgh.
(Mr A. Campbell.)
i2>th March 19 10 : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 56, ring A.U. 8207 : —
16th March 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
20th June 1 9 10 : found dead (slightly decomposed) in Warriston
Cemetery, Edinburgh. (Mr Wilkie, through Mr J. Home.)
Case 133, ring A.U. 8242 : —
nth April 1 9 10: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
2nd Feb. 191 1 : recaught in net at same place. (Marker.)
Case 170, ring A.U. 14878: —
i$th Jan. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
20th Feb. 1 911: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 171, ring A.U. 14864: —
2<)tk Nov. 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
2 1st Feb. 191 1 : recaught at same place, and released. (Marker.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 221
Case 185, ring A.U. 365A: —
2nd Feb. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
15M March 191 1: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 196, ring A.U. 6623 : —
nth Feb. 1910 : caught in net, marked, and released at
11 College Bounds, Old Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire.
(Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
i$th April 191 1 : found dead (having come down the chimney
of the meeting house of the " Society of Friends ") at
Kinmuich, near Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. (Mr J. Ritchie :
ring returned.)
Case 197, ring A.U. 8247 : —
20th April 1 9 10: caught in net, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
26th April 191 1 : killed by a cat at The Hawthorns, Bonning-
ton, Edinburgh. (Miss A. Ramage : ring returned.)
Case 200, ring A.U. 6571 : —
13M Jan. 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at 11
College Bounds, Old Aberdeen. (Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
1th May 191 1 : found dead (slightly decomposed) at Pittodrie
Park, Aberdeen. (Bird and ring brought to Marischal
College.)
Case 202, ring A.U. 16316: —
wth Feb. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at 46
Don Street, Old Aberdeen. (Mr A. G. Davidson.)
25//Z May 191 1 (about): found dead in a loft in Don Street,
Old Aberdeen. (Mr D. Thomson, through Mr J. Clarke,
M.A.)
Case 206, ring A.U. 8602 : —
2/^th April 191 1 : caught, marked, and released at Golspie,
Sutherland, Scotland. (Mr E. W. Read.)
8th June 191 1 : found in a dying condition at Golspie gas-
works. (Mr D. Macdonald.)
Case 208, ring A.U. 171B : —
26/h Dec. 1 9 10: caught in net, marked, and released at Seton
Lodge, North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. (Mr
A. Campbell.)
10th June 191 1 : recaught at North Berwick. (Mr W. Elliot.)
222 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 218, ring A.U. 16480 : —
20th March 1911: caught in net, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh, Scotland. (Mr A.
Campbell.)
20th April 191 1 : killed by cat on the farm Drage, Saltdalen,
Norway (above the Arctic Circle). (Mr A. Flemsaeter :
number first given as 16486, but correct figures and the
ring itself sent later ; number also wrong in a newspaper
cutting sent by Dr T. Heiberg to the editor of The
Field and forwarded through Mr H. F. Witherby.)
Case 237, ring A.U. 20223 : —
\2th June 191 1 : marked as a fully grown nestling (same brood
as Case 238 below) at Curtlemead, Beaulieu, Hampshire,
England. (Dr P. Gosse.)
July 1 911: found dead near same place. (Ring brought to
marker.)
Case 238, ring A.U. 20229 : —
12th June 191 1 : marked as a fully grown nestling (same
brood as Case 237 above) at Curtlemead, Beaulieu, Hamp-
shire, England. (Dr P. Gosse.)
July 191 1 : found dead near same place. (Ring brought
to marker.)
Case 240, ring A.U. 14883 :—
28M Jan. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
1st July 191 1 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 242, ring A.U. 15238:—
2$th May 191 1: marked as a nestling in the Beechwalk,
Skene House, Dunecht, Aberdeenshire. (Miss D.
Hamilton.)
12th July 1911: found dead (decomposed) in an outbuilding
at Skene House. (Marker.)
Case 246, ring A.U. 8536 :—
20/// Jan. 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at
11 College Bounds, Old Aberdeen, Scotland. (Mr L.
N. G. Ramsay.)
20th Aug. 191 1 (about): remains found (bird killed by a bird
of prey) near Kvarv i Salten, Norway (above the Arctic
Circle). (Mr Nils Lie, to whom the ring was brought
by a scholar.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 223
Case 273, ring A.U. 163 17 : —
nth Feb. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at 46
Don Street, Old Aberdeen. (Mr A. G. Davidson.)
nth Dec. 191 1 : found dead in Great Northern Road, Aber-
deen. (Mrs Roy.)
Case 290, ring A.U. 6619 : — -
10th Feb. 1 9 10: caught in net, marked, and released at 11
College Bounds, Old Aberdeen. (Mr L. N. G. Ramsay.)
4th Dec. 191 1 : caught in net at 46 Don Street, Old Aberdeen,
and released. (Mr A. G. Davidson.)
Case 308, ring A.U. 167B : —
24/^ Dec. 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at Seton
Lodge, North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. (Mr A.
Campbell.)
6th Feb. 1912 : caught at 67 Angus Street, West Hartlepool,
Co. Durham, England, and released. (Mr C. Wright.)
Case 310, ring A.U. 15347 :—
1st July 1910: marked as a nestling at Balbithan House,
Kintore, Aberdeenshire. (Mr W. S. Meston.)
12th Feb. 191 2 : found at Kintore. (Mr A. Reid.)
Case 314, ring A.U. 18897 : —
4th Feb. 191 2 : caught in trap, marked, and released at
Beaulieu, Hampshire, England. (Dr P. (iosse.)
20th Feb. 1912 (about): shot on the outskirts of Portsmouth,
Hampshire. (Cutting from Portsmouth Evening News
sent by Mr J. G. Bryson.)
Case 339, ring A.U. 16930 :—
3rd April 19 12 : caught in net, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
6th April 1912 : recaught in net at same place. (Marker.)
Case 340, ring A.U. 16931 : —
3rd April 191 2 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
17th April 1912 : recaught in net at same place. (Marker.)
Swallow (CheUdon rustica, L.).
Case 15, ring A.U. 4498 : —
2 9^ June 1909 : caught, marked, and released as an adult bird
at Harwarden Farm, Rusthall, Kent, England. (Mr E. C.
B. Parsons.)
14th June 1 910: recaught at the same farm, and released.
(Marker.)
224 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 201, 1 ring A.U. 7024: —
21st Aug. 1910 : marked as a nestling about eleven days old at
Durris, Kincardineshire, Scotland. (Mr A, G. Davidson.)
22 nd May 191 1 : found with a broken wing in a byre at Darn-
ford, Durris. (Mr Duguid, through Mr A. Macdonald.)
Case 257, male, ring A.U. 67 iM : —
i$thjuly 191 1 : marked as a nestling at Wyllieholes, Cornhill,
Banffshire, Scotland. (Mr J. Simpson.)
2>rd Sept. 191 1 : found dead in the yard of Scott's Mill, Portsoy,
Banffshire. (Mr J. Watt : sex of bird ascertained by
dissection.)'2
Meadow Pipit (An thus pratensis, L.).
Case 275, ring A.U. 985B : —
20th Sept. 191 1 : caught, marked, and released near Bromford,
Warwickshire, England. (Mr T. Malpas : the bird was
a young male of the year, according to the marker, who has
had thirty years' experience of bird-catching and is confi-
dent of being able to judge this from outward appearance.)
jt/i Dec. 191 1 (about): shot near Lisbon, Portugal. (Mr J. da
Silva Santos : no exact date, but the leg and ring were brought
on 9th December to the office of the newspaper Seculo, a
cutting from which was sent to us by Mr W. C. Tait.)
Yellowhammer (Emberiza citri?iellai L.).
Case 216, female, ring A.U. 58H : —
2$th July 1910: caught in a trap, marked, and released at
Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. (Mr W. W. Nicol.)
^rd July 191 1 : killed by a cat at the same place. (Marker.)
[See also "Appendix" for records of an escaped cage-bird of
this species.]
1 This Case has been inadvertently quoted under STARLING by the authors of
the Report on Scottish Ornithology in 1911, p. 26.
2 [It seems advisable to make a second exception to our rule of not including
imperfect records, inasmuch as the following case has already received considerable
publicity. In The Spectator for 15th June 1912, Mr W. D. Knight reported that
at Slinford, Horsham, Sussex, England, he caught, and subsequently released, a
swallow bearing a ring inscribed "Aberdeen U.N.M. 759." The three letters
were doubtless merely a misreading of the word " Univ," and there was no " M "
on the ring at all— certainly it was not ring "A.V. 759 M," nor was it "759"
alone, so a figure must have been overlooked. Probably it was either "7596"
or "7597," which were swallows marked as nestlings at Slinford on 29th June
191 1 ; but the case cannot be regarded as scientifically established.]
(To be continued.)
ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE LITTLE OWL IN FIFE 225
ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE LITTLE
OWL IN FIFE.
By Robert Somerville, B.Sc.
A FEW years ago the Dunfermline Naturalists' Society
instituted a Natural History Museum, which has so far been
run on unpretentious lines. But while the limited resources
of the Society have prevented it from launching out on any
ambitious scheme, the advantages enjoyed by Dunfermline
may make it possible for the town to be in possession in the
near future, it is hoped, of a museum in which the Natural
History of the Forth basin will be represented much in the
same way as that of the Tay Valley in the Perth Museum.
A fair collection has been brought together in these few years,
and there is a goodly number of local birds and Lepidoptera,
thanks to the enthusiasm of the curator.
What is regarded as the gem of the collection is a specimen
of the Little Owl {Athene noetua, Scopoli), which is believed
to be the first admissible record of this bird in Scotland. It
was captured by some gentlemen who were out rabbit-
shooting at East Grange, a place about six miles to the west
of Dunfermline, on 9th November 1910. The bird was first
observed clinging to the bark of a tree, and on taking flight
it was shot without any of the party knowing what it really
was. As a matter of fact it was by the merest chance that
the specimen found its way to the Museum, one of the gentle-
men who takes an interest in the institution thinking to
present another donation in the shape of a "young owl."
The wily curator agreed that it was a fine young owl, and
promptly forwarded it to Small & Son, Edinburgh, who had
it nicely stuffed and mounted. The bird is a male, and in size
and markings agrees very closely with the description given
in Howard Saunders' Manual of British Birds, to which those
specially interested are referred. For the information of the
general reader it may be of interest to state that the specimen
is 9 ins. long, with a wing 6 ins. in length. The Little Owl is
IO 2 F
226 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
distinguished from other owls by the fact that the toes are
covered with hairy bristles and not with feathers. The bird is
to be seen flying about during the day, mobbed as a rule by
small birds (not so with the Dunfermline specimen), and for
this reason is used as a decoy by continental bird-catchers.
The Little Owl is not a native of Britain. Large numbers
of the bird have been introduced from the Continent and from
time to time liberated in several English counties. They are
known to breed there freely, so that it is impossible to say
whether any of those found have been really wild. It appears
that one was got near Aberdeen some years ago, but it was
supposed to have been an " escape." 1 The difficulties
indicated make it impossible to assert with confidence that
the Dunfermline specimen was a genuine visitor ; at the same
time there is no information that would lead one to believe
that the bird had been introduced. In any event, the capture
is worth recording in the pages of the Scottish Naturalist.
A LIST OF THE DIPTERA MET WITH IN
WESTER ROSS, WITH NOTES ON OTHER
SPECIES KNOWN TO OCCUR IN THE
NEIGHBOURING AREAS.
By Colonel J. W. Yerbury, R.A., F.Z.S.
I AM not clear as to the southern boundary of this
division, but I have assumed the district to be the whole
of the watershed draining to the westward from the Kyles
of Loch Alsh on the south to Cape Wrath on the north ; few
people have collected Diptera in it, the only collectors I have
been able to trace being the late Mr G. H. Verrall, who
worked Inchnadamph, Loch Maree, and Gairloch, and Mr
Ogilvie Grant, who collected at Kinlochewe and Gairloch,
and whose captures have been presented to the Natural
History Museum at South Kensington. Mr Verrall, in
1 Cf. Sim's Vert Fau?ia of Dee ', 1903, pp. 122 and 295.
A LIST OF THE DIPTERA MET WITH IN WESTER ROSS 227
various papers on Diptera, records many species from
Inchnadamph, Loch Maree, etc., though generally his
localities are vague, such as " Land's End to Sutherland,"
etc. Luckily some of these localities can be definitely run
down, as many of the specimens are to be found in the
British Collection at the Natural History Museum.
My own collecting in the district was confined to two
localities — Lochinver and Inchnadamph, and at these two
places I collected steadily during the months of June and
July 191 1. The idea of making out a list of my captures
only came as an afterthought, so many more or less common
species were allowed to slip through my hands unrecorded.
Wester Ross is not a rich district, and its comparative
poverty may be traced to various causes, the most important
being probably the want of woods, accompanied as that is
by a lack of variety in the local timber, consequently many
groups of species are badly represented, e.g., the frequenters
of felled logs and broad-leaved trees. The absence of sand-
dunes may account for the absence of many species- of
Therevidae, Anthomyidae, and Pipunculidae ; while the local
bogs do not appear to be of the attractive character of those
of Strathspey, Nairn, and Rannoch. Sutherland, however,
offers an interesting peculiarity in its dipterous fauna, and
that is the apparent isolation at Lochinver and Golspie of
colonies of southern species — species which as a rule had
been left behind far to the southward, and of which the
following may be cited as examples : —
LOCHINVER: — i. Chrysops relictus (Nairn); ii. Isopogon
brevirostris ( Rannoch ) ; iii. Helophilus lunulatiis ( New
Forest) ; iv. Phortica alboguttata (New Forest).
GOLSPIE : — i. Brachyopa bicolor ( Herefordshire ) ; ii.
Chrysochlamys cuprea (Nairn); iii. Rhingia camp est vis,
etc., etc.
I am indebted to the following gentlemen for much kind
assistance in the working out of this collection, viz. — to Mr
Austen, for aid in the Muscidae and Tachinidae ; to Mr
Edwards, in the Nematocera ; and above all to Mr Collin,
who has checked my identifications, and in many» cases
228 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
compared my specimens with those in the collection of the
late Mr G. H. Verrall.
ORTHORRAPHA NEMATOCERA.
Cecidomyid^e.
i. Hormomyia sp., Loch Assynt, 26th July 191 1.
Mycetophilid^e.
2. Sciara sp., Loch Assynt, 5th June 191 1.
3. S. sp., Loch Assynt, 24th July 191 1.
4. Mycetophila lineola, Mg., Loch Assynt, 3rd and 17th June 191 1.
5. M. margi?iata, Winn., Lochinver, 22nd June 191 1.
6. Trichonota sp., Lochinver, nth July 191 1.
7. Exechia spinigera, Winn., Loch Assynt, 10th June 191 1.
8. E. sp. inc., Loch Assynt, 17th June 191 1.
9. Allodia ornaticollis, Mg., Loch Assynt, 7th and 17th June 191 1.
10. A. crassicomis, Stan., Lochinver, 8th July 191 1.
11. Rhymosia cristata, Staeg., Inveran, 14th July 1886 (Verrall).
12. Brachycampta sp. inc., Lochinver, 19th July 191 1.
13. Phronia tenuis, Winn., Loch Assynt, 17th June 191 1.
14. P. sign a fa, Winn., Inveran (Verrall).
15. P. sp. inc., Loch Assynt, 18th June 191 1.
16. P. sp. inc., Loch Assynt, 17th June 191 1; Lochinver, 8th
July 1911.
17. P. forcipula, Winn., Inveran (Verrall).
18. Acnemia 7iitidicollis, Mg., Lochinver, 7th July 191 1.
19. Anaclinia nenioralis, Mg., Loch Assynt, 8th June 191 1.
20. Boletina trivittata, Mg., Lochinver, 23rd June 191 1, 30th June
191 1 ; Loch Maree (Verrall); Tongue (Verrall).
21. B. sciarina, Staeg., Loch Assynt, 3rd June 191 1; Lochinver,
7th July 191 1.
22. B. humeralis, Walk.?, Loch Assynt, 3rd June 191 1.
23. B. analis, Mg. ?, Lochinver, 9th and 13th July 191 1.
24. Polylepta undulata, Winn., Loch Assynt, 19th July 191 1;
Lochinver, 26th June 191 1.
25. Lasiosoma sp. inc. (near robust a), Lochinver, 29th June 191 1.
26. Sciophila sp. inc., Lochinver, 25th and 27th June 191 1.
27. S. sp. inc., Lochinver, 23rd June 1911; Loch Assynt, 5th
June 1911.
28. .S. lucorum, Winn.?, Lochinver, 30th June 191 1.
A LIST OF THE DIPTERA MET WITH IN WESTER ROSS 229
29. Macrocera lutea, Mg., var. ?, Loch Assynt, 17th June 191 1 ;
Lochinver, 24th June and nth July 191 1.
30. M. pusilla, Mg., Loch Assynt, 3rd, 5th, and 17th June 1911.
31. M. vittata, Mg., Lochinver, 23rd June 191 1.
32. M. centralis, Mg., Lochinver, 27th June and 5th July 191 1.
33. M. stigma, Curt., Lochinver, 23rd June 191 1.
Bibionid^e.
34. Scatopse inermis, Ruthe, Lochinver, 27th June 1911; Gairloch
(Verrall).
35. Dilophus albipennis, Mg., Loch Assynt, nth June 191 1.
36. Bibio pomonce, F., Loch Assynt, 20th July T911; Kylesku,
5th July 1911.
SlMULIID/E.
37. Simulium ornatum, Mg., Loch Assynt, nth June and 20th and
24th July 191 1.
38. S. reptans, L., Lochinver, 30th June 191 1 (troublesome; biting
forehead); Lochinver, 7th July 191 1, flying in company with
a flock of Hydrotcea irritans ; Loch Assynt, 23rd July
191 1, swept from flowers of yellow saxifrage?.
39. S. /atipes, Mg., Loch Assynt, 2nd June to 1 8th July 1911;
swept in numbers, 17th June 191 1.
40. S. sp. inc. (femora yellowish), Loch Assynt, 5th June 191 1.
Chironomid.v.
41. Cricotopus tremalus, L., Loch Assynt, 10th June and 21st July
191 1 ; Inchnadamph (Verrall).
42. Tanypus lentiginosus, Fries, Inveran (Verrall).
43. Ce?'atopogo?i (Pa/pomyia) flavipes, Mg., Lochinver, 7th July
191 1.
44. C. (Pa/pomyia) lineata, Mg., Lochinver, 27th June 191 1.
45. C. (Palpomyid) sp. inc. (scutellum yellow, legs yellowish,
femora black-tipped), Lochinver, 20th June 191 1.
46. C. (Serro7iiyid) femorata, Mg., Loch Assynt, 1st, 2nd, and 18th
June 191 1.
47. C. {Johannseuielhi) sp. inc. (scutellum yellow, fore and hind legs
ochreous) — may be flaviscutellata, Zett. — Loch Assynt,
19th July 191 1.
48. C. (Culicoides) obso fetus, Mg., Loch Assynt, 5th June i&*j£7i?"y>
ys. VJ
Ui-L I 8 R A R Y so.
230 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Lochinver, 20th June 191 1, caught "red handed." These
specimens agree with the identification of C. obsoletus, at the
British Museum, but are not the same as C. arcuatum, Winn.,
this synonymy therefore seems to require revising.
49. C. (Culicoides) varius, Winn., Loch Assynt, 2nd June 191 t,
caught "red handed."
50. C. (Culicoides) pit Hearts, L., Loch Assynt, 5 th June 191 1, "red
handed."
It is interesting to note that all the specimens of
Ceratopogon caught "red handed" belong to the sub-
genus Culicmdes.
ORPHNEPHILIDiE.
51. Orphnephila testacea, Ruthe, Loch Assynt, 7th, 18th, and 21st
June 1911.
PSYCHODIDjE.
52. Perieoma mutua, Eat., Loch Assynt, 6th June 191 1 — the only
specimen of the family brought away, though many specimens
were seen.
CULICID/E.
Although no specimen of this family was met with, still the
inhabitants were full of tales of a "musquito" said to have been
recently introduced. The species, however, is probably some old,
well-known, and widely distributed one.
Tipulid.e.
53. Dixa maculata, Mg., Loch Assynt, nth June and 19th
July 191 1.
54. Ptychoptera scutellaris, Mg., Loch Assynt, nth, 18th, and
20th June 191 1, 20th and 26th July 191 1 ; very common.
55. Lim?iobia quadrinotata, Mg., The Mound, 16th August
1900 (B.M.).
56. L.flavipes, F., Inveran (Verrall).
57. Dicranomyia aquosa, Verr., Inveran (Verrall).
58. D. mitis, Mg., Loch Assynt, 1st and 17th June 1911;
common.
59. D. chorea, Mg., Inchnadamph, 1st June 1911.
60. D. stigmatica, Mg., Kinlochewe, 22nd and 23rd June 1892
(Grant), B.M. ; Tongue (Verrall).
A LIST OF THE DIPTERA MET WITH IN WESTER ROSS 231
61. D. didyma, Mg., Sutherland (Verrall).
62. D. dumetorum, Mg., Golspie, 5th and 7th August 1900.
63. D. morio, F., Loch Assynt, 1st, 10th, and nth June 191 1.
64. Orimarga virgo, Zett, Loch Assynt, nth June 191 1. Mr
Verrall found this species in numbers on a damp spot on
the banks of the river Tarrigall ; I believe I found the exact
locality, but the above was the only specimen met with,
though the place was carefully worked both by sweeping and
searching. It was here too that Mr Verrall took Oxycera
nigripes, a species that was also absent, though it occurred
in abundance on the burn running down from Ardumore,
barely two miles off.
65. Antocha opalizans, O. Sack., Inveran (Verrall) ; Tongue, June
1884 (Verrall).
66. Goniomyia tenella, Mg., Loch Assynt, 1st and nth June
1911.
67. Molophilus appendiculatus, Staeg., Sutherland (Verrall).
68. M. propi>iquus, Egg., Loch Assynt, 3rd June 191 1; Lochinver,
2 1 st June 191 1 ; Loch Maree (Verrall).
69. M. bifilatus, Verr., Loch Maree (Verrall).
70. M. obscurus, Mg., Lochinver, 29th June 191 1 (only specimen);
Inchnadamph, 20th July 1886 (Verrall).
71. M. murinns, Mg., Loch Assynt, 1st June 191 1; part of flock
hovering in shade of a mountain ash.
72. Rhypholophus nodulosus, Macq., Loch Assynt, 2nd June and 19th
July 191 1.
73. R. simi/is, Staeg., Inveran (Verrall).
74. Erioptera tcenionota, Mg., Loch Assynt, 1st June 1911; also
recorded by Verrall.
75. E. fuscipenniS) Mg., Loch Assynt, 1st, nth, and 18th June 191 1,
and 24th July 191 1 ; recorded by Verrall from Tongue.
76. E, trivia/is, Mg., Inchnadamph, 20th July 1884 (Verrall).
77. E. flavescens, Mg., Inveran (Verrall).
78. Lipsothrix errans, Walk., Inveran (Verrall).
79. Ephelia apicata, Lw., Inveran (Verrall).
80. E. submarmorata, Verr., Loch Maree (Verrall).
81. E. marmorata, Mg., Loch Assynt, 3rd and 7th June 191 1, and
26th July 1911.
82. E. miliaria, Egg., recorded by Verrall from Inchnadamph.
8^. Dactylolabis frauenfeldi, Egg., Loch Assynt, 1st June 191 1
(only specimen).
84. Epiphragma picta, R, Loch Assynt, 6th June 191 1; only
specimen.
232 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
85. Limnophila itieigenii, Verr., Loch Assynt, 1st June 1911; also
recorded by Verrall from Inchnadamph.
86. Z. ferruginea, Mg., Loch Assynt, nth and 12th June 1911;
Sutherland (Verrall).
87. Z. lineolella, Verr., Inveran (Verrall).
88. Z. aperta, Verr., Sutherland (Verrall).
89. Z. bicolor, Mg., Sutherland (Verrall).
90. Z. ochracea, Mg., Inveran (Verrall).
91. Z. discico/tis, Mg., Inchnadamph (Verrall).
92. Z. ftlata, Walk., Loch Assynt, nth June 191 1 ; Loch Maree
(Verrall).
93. Amalopis littoralis, Mg., Inveran (Verrall).
94. A. immaculata, Mg., Loch Assynt, 2nd June 191 1.
95. Pedicia rivosa, Loch Assynt, 26th July 191 1 ; rare.
96. Dolichopeza sylvicola, Curt., Tongue (Verrall).
97. Pachyrrhina histrio, F., Golspie.
98. P. annulicorniS) Mg., Loch Assynt, 2nd and 5th June 191 ij
Inveran (Verrall).
99. Tipula obsoleta, Mg., Kinlochewe, 23rd June 1892 (Grant),
B.M.
100. T. rufina, Mg., Loch Assynt, 1st June 191 1; Kinlochewe,
23rd June 1892 (Grant), B.M. ; Inveran (Verrall).
101. T. sp. inc., near scripta, Mg., Loch Assynt, 17th June 191 1.
Typical T. scripta is recorded by Verrall from Sutherland.
102. 71 pruinosa, Wied., Kinlochewe, 23rd June 1892 (Grant),
B.M.
103. T. melanoceras, Schum., Inveran (Verrall).
104. T. variipenm's, Mg., Tongue (Verrall).
105. T. lutescens, F., Lochinver, 23rd June 191 1.
{To be continued.)
BRITISH SPECIES OF DIPTEROUS GENUS FANN1A 233
THE BRITISH SPECIES OF THE DIPTEROUS
GENUS FANNIA, Rob. Dsv.
By J. R. Malloch.
( Concluded from page 209.)
27. similis, Stn., £ . Black-grey; eyes nearly confluent, irons and
jowls hardly projecting ; antennae shorter than face, third joint
hardly twice the second ; arista bare • thorax somewhat shining,
sides and dorsum behind more distinctly dusted; abdomen
broader, and behind less pointed than in soa'e//a, dorsal line
narrow, not dilated on the segments ; anal organ small ; legs
black, knees and base of fore tibiae more or less yellow ; mid
femora as in sociella but not so distinctly thickened, the antero-
ventral surface with a row of nine bristles to beyond the middle,
the first three weak, the next four longer and stronger, the last
three short but strong, followed by a row of about twelve short,
nearly equal bristles close together without a break to the tip ;
the postero-ventral row longer and more equal in size to the
constricted portion of the femora, a shorter row on that part ;
mid tibice gradually thickened, pubescence fairly long at the
base, and increasing in length to the middle, of equal length
from middle to tip, bristling normal ; hind femora as in sociella,
tibiae with the usual four bristles ; in other respects as
sociel/a, but the last portion of the fourth vein about three
times the penultimate.
$ . Stein says that the $ is similar to that of sociella, except
that the middle stripe is about twice as broad as the
orbits at its narrowest part, and the lower fronto-orbital bristle
is nearer to the eye-margin than to the middle stripe. 5 mm.
I have received this from Mr A. E. J. Carter, Musselburgh,
29th June 1905. May be separated from serena by the larger
size, broader shape, greyer colour, and stronger antero-ventral
bristles on mid femora.
28. postica, Stn., &. Black, shining; eyes narrowly separated;
frons and jowls hardly projecting ; antennas of moderate
IO 2 G
234 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
length, arista bare; thorax black, rather shining, slightly
dusted with grey ; abdomen distinctly pale grey dusted, dorsal
line distinct, dilated on each segment, anal organ moderately
large j legs black, fore knees hardly paler j mid femora with a
row of about ten bristles on the basal two-thirds, the last three
closer and shorter but stronger, a row of about eight short
bristles on the base of the apical third, and near the tip three
or four weaker bristles ; postero-ventral row somewhat similar
but longer j mid tibia thickened on the apical half, pubescence
increasing in length from near the base to tip, bristling normal ;
hind femora with a row of bristles, about nine, from before
the middle to the tip increasing greatly in size as they advance,
a somewhat similar row of rather finer bristles on the postero-
ventral surface ; hind tibia with the usual four bristles ; wings
brownish, last portion of fourth vein about two and three-
fourths the penultimate ; calyptra brownish or yellowish, equal ;
halteres yellow.
$ . Very close in general appearance to the $ of serena and
parva. From the former it differs in having the orbits
entirely pale grey dusted and without any perceptible gloss
behind ; from a'erea it differs in having the middle stripe much
less distinctly dusted when seen from in front, the basal ventral
mid femoral bristle is present ; the thorax is black-grey ; the
acrostichal bristles are two-rowed ; the lower fronto-orbital
bristle is nearer the eye-margin than it is to the middle stripe ;
and the orbits are at least as broad as the middle stripe at its
narrowest part ; otherwise as the S > except that there are only
two long bristles at the tip of the hind femora, antero-ventral
side. (Stein does not describe the ? , but his ? of parva is
very close to this. I have not been able to obtain this species
for comparison.) 3 to 4 mm.
A very common species at Bonhill and Cardross; May
to August. The ? described was one of two pairs taken in
cop. I have also seen this species from Aberlady (Carter),
New Forest (Adams), and Oxford (Hamm.).
29. serena, Fin., <£ . Very similar to the foregoing, differing
principally in the bristling of the mid and hind femora; the
antero-ventral row on the former has at most five or six long
widely placed rather weak bristles on the basal half and a
continuous row of about twelve on the apical, of much weaker,
shorter bristles, those on the constricted part of the femora
being; the shortest j the mid tibia is much as in postica, but
NOTES 235
rather less thickened apically; the hind femora have on the
antero-ventral surface a row of short bristles, the last three
being the strongest; the postero-ventral surface is bare; all
otherwise as postica, but rather larger.
? . Easily separated from postica and the other equal-sized
species by the orbits being perceptibly shining on the upper
half; entirely shining black, slightly dusted; legs black, knees
slightly yellowish ; bristling normal. 3 J to 4 mm.
Quite the commonest outdoor species in the group,
occurring everywhere.
NOTES.
Hedgehog in Argyll. — I am not well versed in the Mammalia
of Argyll, but I take it from the note in the September Scottish
Naturalist (p. 209) that the Hedgehog is considered rare in that
county. I may mention that while camping at Portavadie, Loch
Fyne, in August 1906, we caught a Hedgehog which made its way
into our marquee in search of eatables. — Charles A. Hall,
Meikleriggs, Paisley.
Cuckoo reared by Rock-Pipits at Ailsa Craig. — Ascending
Ailsa Craig by the Castle road and traversing the flat on which this
ruin stands, the road (or more truly goat-track) leads over a series
of ledges that seem cut in turf and solid rock, and bear the name
of Mochrum's Steps ; on scaling these there is another flat in the
heart of which is a delightful little ravine where brackens and
bladder-campion grow luxuriantly. Resting here 500 feet above sea-
level (on the 14th of July last), I was attracted by a bird sitting on
the cliff edge, on a rock that is usually occupied by Puffins — on
looking through my field-glasses I saw it was a young Cuckoo
(Cuculus can or it s). It was only able to make short and somewhat
unsteady flights, and later I saw the foster-parents, viz., Rock-
Pipits (Anthus ooscurus), sufficient proof that it was reared on the
rock. Mr Thomson, principal light-keeper, tells me he hears the
Cuckoo's note annually on Ailsa Craig in spring, but I do not
know of any previous records of its having bred there. — Charles
Kirk, Glasgow.
236 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Lapland Form of Bluethroat on the Isle of May. — In
view of the fact that in the. Hand-list of British Birds published this
year the Bluethroats occurring in Britain are referred to the sub-
species which breeds in Norway (Luscinia suecica gaetkei), it is
interesting to note that the Bluethroat procured by us on the Isle
of May on 14th September 1909 (see Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1910,
p. 4) has proved to belong to the form breeding in Lapland, etc.,
namely, Luscinia suecica suecica. When examining our Bluethroat
skins we were struck by its shorter and less pointed wing and
lighter upper parts, and believing it to belong to the more eastern
form, sent it to Dr Hartert for confirmation of our identification. He
writes that after careful comparison he quite believes it to be an
example of Luscinia suecica suecica. We are much indebted to him
for his kindness in helping us. — Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and
Evelyn V. Baxter, Largo.
The Tree-Sparrow Breeding in Midlothian. — Though
there are several winter records of the Tree-Sparrow {Passer tnontanus)
in Midlothian, there appears to be none hitherto of its breeding in
the county. It was, therefore, no little satisfaction to me to discover,
on 24th May this year, a colony nesting in holes in the walls of a
ruin at Craiglockhart, near Edinburgh. I made out no less than ten
pairs feeding young in the nests, from one of which I obtained an
addled egg. During the last few years I have noticed Tree-Sparrows
about Craiglockhart in winter on more than one occasion, so that it
is quite likely they have been established there for some time. —
William Evans.
Variety of Heron in Wigtownshire. — On the 14th
September, on a moor in Wigtownshire, I had an opportunity of
observing at very close quarters a Heron (Ardea ciuerea) which when
at rest appeared almost wholly white. There were, however, some
very pale buff markings, which were probably centres to some of the
feathers. In flight the whole of the primaries, secondaries, and the
tail were seen to be a dull chocolate brown, quite evenly marked.
Legs and bill were yellow. — M. Bedford, Cairnsmore, Palmure.
Marked Grouse — Identification wanted. — I have heard
from Lord Henry Scott that on Friday, 30th August, at the County
March, Roxburghshire and Dumfriesshire, by Tinnis Hill, a Grouse
was shot marked L H S — 191 1 — 91. I shall be much obliged if
you can arrange for the insertion of a paragraph to the above effect
NOTES 237
in the Scottish Naturalist, in case we may thereby be able to
identify the bird. —A. S. Leslie, Edinburgh.
Black-tailed Godwit in the Outer Hebrides. — A specimen
of the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa, L.) was killed on the
31st August 191 2, by a young shore-shooter, on Broadbay, near
Stornoway. — D. Mackenzie, Stornoway.
[The specimen has been kindly presented by Mr Mackenzie to
the Royal Scottish Museum. — Eds.]
Sabine's Gull in the Firth of Forth. — When returning from
the Isle of May on 13th September (191 2), I had the pleasure of
watching for some minutes a young Sabine's Gull (Xema sabini),
flying close to the steamer just outside Leith Harbour. We were
about a quarter of a mile off the entrance to the harbour when I first
noticed the bird; it was then not more than 50 to 60 yards from the
ship, and maintained much the same position for some time as we
proceeded to Granton Harbour, thus affording me an excellent
view of it through binoculars. On our turning into Granton, it
continued its course towards the Forth Bridge. There was no
mistaking the bird, the characteristics of which — forked tail, dark ashy-
brown back, black outer edge of the wings, and tern-like flight — I
pointed out to Mr Kelsey, of the North Carr Lightship, who was
standing beside me. This is the third occasion on which I
have had the good fortune to see this rare gull in the Firth of
Forth, the present being, however, a long way farther up the
estuary than the previous records.— W11.1.1 am Evans.
Fulmars Breeding at Reawick, Shetland.— When in
Shetland this June, I found a small colony of Fulmars breeding on
the Noup of Reawick, on the mainland of Shetland. As this
locality is not included in Mr Harvie-Brown's interesting paper on
the Fulmar, recently published in the Scottish Naturalist^ I thought
it might be worth recording. I saw eight nests, but I rather suspect
there were more, which I could not see, owing to the formation of
the rock.— Alastair D. Carmichael, Dundee.
Tunny in Shetland.— On Saturday last (31st August) a huge
Tunny {Thunnus thynnus), somewhere about 8 ft. long, was shot by
some fishermen in the north Harbour of Lerwick. It must have
weighed several cwts., and had evidently lost its reckoning. A
specimen has been caught in Shetland before, but how long ago I
am unable to say. The fish was sent to Aberdeen on Saturday
night. — John S. Tulloch, Lerwick.
238 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Large Sunfish in the Forth. — It will probably interest your
readers to hear that a Sunfish {Mo la mo/a, L.) of unusually large
size, came ashore at Kincraig, a few miles west of Elie, during the
heavy weather at the beginning of September. Its principal
measurements were : from nose to tail, 5 ft. 7 ins. ; from tip to
insertion of each fin, 2 ft. ; between tips of fins, 6 ft. 6 ins. ; greatest
girth, 7 ft. 6 ins. Its weight was estimated at from 4 to 5 cwts.
A striking feature of the Sunfish is its extremely small mouth. This
specimen had a mouth not more than 3 h ins. across. — Alex. B.
Wallace, Edinburgh.
Unusual numbers of the " Painted Lady " Butterfly in
Fife. — We have noticed of late an unusual number of Painted
Lady Butterflies (Vanessa cardui) in East Fife. The first day on
which we saw them in any quantity was 6th August, when they
were plentiful on the shore and links east of Largo, and also occurred
some way inland. Since then we have seen them almost every day,
but in smaller numbers, in various localities from Boarhills to Largo.
Those seen were very fine specimens, with the exception of one or
two which were faded and ragged. — Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul
and Evelyn V. Baxter, Largo.
Death's Head Moth in Forth. — It may be of interest to note
that a Death's Head Moth (Acherontia at?-opos) was found in a
grocer's shop in Upper Largo, about 20th July. The specimen was
kept and given to us, and is the first we have had from the
district. — Evelyn V. Baxter and Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul,
Largo.
Ixodes putus, Cambr., in Shetland. — On an emaciated
Puffin (Fratercula arcHcd) secured in Ollaberry Bay, N. Mavine,
June T912, the writer observed a large number of ticks. Some sixty
specimens (representing larva, nymph, and adult 9 ) were taken.
About one-third were fully grown, but of course no males were seen.
The identification is due to Dr J. H. Ashworth, to whom a number
of the ticks were submitted. — James Waterston, Manse, Ollaberry,
Shetland.
Recurrence of the Cotton-Spinner off Mallaig. — An
excellent specimen, 8J ins. long, of this rare Sea-Cucumber —
Holothuria for s kali, Delle Chiaje — was obtained by Mr A. Johnston
off Mallaig, in the beginning of September. This — the second
example from Scottish waters — together with the earlier record from
Mallaig (Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 19 10, p. it) would indicate that
in this locality the Cotton-Spinner is well established. —
James Ritchie.
GLEANINGS 239
GLEANINGS.
In British Birds for September appears (pp. 107-117) an article by Abel
Chapman, entitled "Spring-Notes on the Borders (1911-12)." The following
birds are noted as breeding in Scottish counties : the Great Crested Grebe,
Wigeon, and Pochard, in Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire, and the Little Grebe
in the latter. Full details are given, with the number of known stations.
An article signed " F. N. S.," on the " Winter Birds of Oronsay," is published in
the Field of 31st August. The paper deals with the bird-life observed during a
five months' stay on the island, October 1902 to March 1903. It is stated that
69 species were noted, but no list is given.
The Zoologist for August contains (pp. 281-292) an article by Fredk. J. Stubbs,
bearing for its title "Notes on the Habits and the Coloration of the Common
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)."
In the Field of 24th August (p. 441) appears an interesting article by Seton
Gordon, on " The Snow-Bunting." The author states that in the central highlands
of Scotland the birds are never, so far as his experience goes, found below an
elevation of 3000 ft. lie found the nest most commonly at an elevation of
3600 ft. Full particulars are given of the song of this interesting bird, and
the article is illustrated by two photographs, showing respectively the young
bird resting on the rocks surrounding the nest, and a scree where the- Snow-
Bunting breeds.
Ornithologists will be inteiested in an article by Professor C. J. Patten, on
" Rock-Pipits on Migration," observed at the Tuskar Rock. It is published in
the Irish Naturalist for September (pp. 164-170).
In the Proceedings of' the Zoological Society of London, 1912, Part III., published
in September, appears an interesting paper by Julian S. Huxley, entitled "A
First Account of the Courtship of the Redshank {Totanus calidns, L.)." The
scope of the paper may be gathered from the titles of the various sections : 1.
Introduction ; 2. Locality ; 3. The Courtship proper ; 4. Other Habits of the
Pairing-Season — (a) the Love-flight, (//) the Combats of the Males, (c) Calling
from a conspicuous perch ; (5) Discussion. The observations were made in North
Wales.
M. Portal, in British Birds (September 1912, p. 121), records the occurrence of
an adult male Red-backed Shrike (Lanius c. collurio) near Portpatrick, Wigtown-
shire, on the 14th August. In the same journal (p. 123) F. W. Smalley mentions
having received in the flesh an adult female Sooty Shearwater from the island of
Graemsay, Orkney, on the 18th October 191 1.
The first nesting of the Common Eider in Ireland is recorded by H. W.
Robinson in the same journal (p. 106). Two nests were found on a small island
off the coast of Donegal on 2nd June. \_Arol County Down as printed— -fide H. W.
Robinson, in litt.~\
Two interesting notes on "The Fulmar in Ireland," by C. V. Stoney and R. J.
Ussher, are printed in the Irish Naturalist for September (pp. 180-181). Mr
Stoney's contribution refers to a breeding-place on an exposed headland on the
240 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
west coast of Donegal, while Mr Ussher draws attention to the fact that this
locality is the same as that recorded last year by Messrs Malcolmson and Green.
The latter also refers to the absence of the bird from the cliffs of Achill and Clare
Island, although such places are eminently suitable for it. He states that as yet
there are only two breeding-places for the species in Ireland — one in Co. Mayo
and that in Donegal referred to above.
An article of unusual interest is printed in the issue of Nature, dated 22nd
August 1912. It is by Dr Johs. Schmidt, and is entitled " The Reproduction and
Spawning-Places of the Fresh- Water Eel " QAnguilla vulgaris'). As the result of
prolonged investigations several important conclusions seem justified. For
examples, it appears probable that "all the eels which occur in the North
European countries must come from the Atlantic," that "the eel does not spawn
in the Mediterranean at all," that "large quantities of eel larvae are carried by
currents into the Mediterranean from the Atlantic," and that "the spawning-
places must lie in the Atlantic beyoLd the Continental Slope, and that they must
be in the Northern Atlantic."
The Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society has
just issued vol. xxiv. (New Series) of its Transactions and Journal of Proceedings.
It forms a volume of 344 pages, and contains a series of papers of much interest,
both locally and generally. Thirteen full-page plates are also given. Among the
papers two are of interest to Scottish naturalists, viz., one on the "Destructive
Forest Insects of Dumfriesshire," by W. H. Whellens, and the first instalment of a
useful paper by Bertram M Gowan, entitled " A List of the Coleoptera of the
Solway District." In this section of the paper the Carnivorous Ground-Beetles of
the tribe Geodephaga are dealt with, and of these 159 species are recorded. It
would have added to the interest and usefulness of the list if the new records had
been marked with an asterisk or otherwise specially indicated.
In the September number of the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine (pp. 2 1 2-2 1 3)
Prof. T. Hudson Beare publishes a note on the i: Recapture of Bembidium virens,
Gyll., at Loch Maree, Ross-shire." Ten specimens were taken on the 1st and 2nd
August last. A list of other interesting beetles taken or seen on the loch side is
also given.
Gervase F. Mathew records {Entomologist, September 1912, p. 278) the capture
of a ^ example of the Hawk-Moth, Deileplula galii, at Spean Bridge, Inverness-
shire, on the 24th July.
Rev. Arthur S. Hoole, in the same journal (p. 279) states that Metrocampa
margariiaria has been exceedingly plentiful this year at Kyleakin, Isle of Skye.
At the same place he also took three specimens of Thyatira batis [Lepidoptera],
In the Entomologist for September (pp. 260-264) F. W. Edwards concludes his
useful "Notes on the British Mosquitoes (Culicinae)." The genera Aedes
Taniorhynchus, T/ieobaldia, and Culex, are dealt with, and the paper concludes with
a list of reputed British species and a key to the known larvae of the whole group.
We note the following Scottish records: Aedes cinereus, Mg., Edinburgh; and
Theobaldia theobaldi, Meij., Dingwall.
In Nature of 12th September is published the Opening Address to Section C.
(Geology), by its President, Dr B. N. Peach, F.R.S. It is entitled " The Relation
between the Cambrian Faunas of Scotland and North America," and occupies
about seven closely printed pages of the journal.
{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.) fc£VrpyJ*' **$\*]
*LlgRARYi;
The Scottish Naturalist
No. n.] 1912 [November
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION
INQUIRY: FIRST INTERIM REPORT (1909-12).
By A. Landsborough Thomson, M.A., M.B.O.U.
( Continued from page 224.)
Greenfinch {Chloris chloris, L.).
Case 14, ring A.U. 9358: —
24.//Z May 1910: marked as a nestling near Skene House,
Aberdeenshire. (Miss D. Hamilton.)
Zth June 1910: found dead (head injured) near the same
place. (Marker.)
Case 20, female, ring A.U. 7688 : —
24M March 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
26th March 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 21, male, ring A.U. 7142 : —
8/// March 1910: caught in trap, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
2 2nd March 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
27M March 19 10 : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 22, ring A.U. 7147 : —
2$th Feb. 1910: caught in trap, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
5M April 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
gth April 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
II 2 H
242 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 25, male, ring A.U. 7602 : —
gth March 19 10: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
15//Z April 1 910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 26, female, ring A.U. 7143: —
8th March 1910: caught in trap, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
1 \th March 19 10 : recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
\2th March 1910 : recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
15//Z March 19 jo : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
i$th April 1 910 : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 27, male, ring A.U. 7122 : —
3rd March 1910: caught in trap, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
18th April 19 10 : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 45, ring A.U. 7187:—
24//Z Feb. 1910: caught in trap, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
25M Feb. 1910: recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
4th March 1910: recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 46, ring A.U. 7183 : —
2377/ Feb. 1 910: caught in trap, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
4I/1 March 1910: recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
12//Z March 1910 : recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 47, male, ring A.U. 7145 : —
gth March 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
12th March 1910 : recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 243
Case 48, male, ring A.U. 7612 : —
\2th March 19 10: caught in trap, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
13M March 1910 : recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 52, male, ring A.U. 7607 : —
wth March 1910: caught in trap, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
15//Z March 1910 : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
22;^ March 1910: recaught in trap at same place, and
released. (Marker.)
\st Dec. 1910: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 54, male, ring A.U. 7164: —
\\th March 19 10: caught in net, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
15M March 19 10 : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case iio, female, ring A.U. 9717: —
4/// May 1 910: caught in trap, marked, and released as an
adult bird at Ascog, Rothesay, Bute, Scotland. (Mr J.
Clarke.)
5/// Dec. 1910: recaught in trap at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 114, female, ring A.U. 7638: —
gf/i April 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
\oth Jan. 191 1 (about): caught in trap beside the Water of
Leith, at Bonnington, Edinburgh. (Mr G. N. Barclay ;
ring returned.)
Case 128, ring A.U. 7185 : —
2377/ Feb. 1910: caught in trap, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
$oth Jan. 191 1 ; recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 129, ring A.U. 091 1 : —
22nd Jan. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
loth Jan. 1911: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
244 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 130, ring A.U. 819H : —
28th Jan. 1911: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
30M Ja?i. 1 911: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
tfh Feb. 191 1 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 131, male, ring 81 7H : —
28th Jan. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
$rd Feb. 191 1: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
gth Feb. 1911: caught in Wilkie Place, North Leith, near
Edinburgh. (Mr H. Craft; ring returned.)
Case 132, female, ring A.U. 7174: —
19th March 19 10: caught in trap, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
10th Jan. 191 1 : caught in Wilkie Place, North Leith, near
Edinburgh. (Mr H. Craft : ring returned.)
Case 144, female, ring A.U. 815H: —
28th Jan. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
. yd Feb. 1911: caught in Leith, near Edinburgh. (Mr J.
Colbron : ring returned.)
Case 165, female, ring A.U. 0907 : —
2\st Jan. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
14th Feb. 191 1 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 167, female, ring A.U. 7676: —
20th March 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at
East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
17M Feb. 1 911: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 169, ring A.U. 826H : —
2,0th Jan. 1 911: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
2377/ Feb. 191 1 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 245
Case 172, ring A.U. 438H : —
igth Feb. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
27/^ Feb. 191 1 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 181, ring A.U. 458H :—
6th March 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
1th March 191 1: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 183, ring A.U. 267H : —
1th Feb. 1 911: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
nth March 1911: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 184, ring A.U. 445H : —
23rd Feb. 1911: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
13th March 1911: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 186, ring A.U. 464H : —
jth March 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
i*jth March 1911: recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 239, rings A.U. 929H and 433M : —
4th July 191 1 : caught in net, marked (929H), and released
as a young bird at East Warriston House, Edinburgh.
(Mr A. Campbell.)
to/// July 191 1 : caught, re-marked (ring 433M substituted
for original through some mistaken notion), and released
at Wilkie Place, North Leith, near Edinburgh. (Mr
H. Craft.)
i$th Aug. 191 1 : recaught at East Warriston House, Edinburgh,
and released. (Original marker.)
Case 301, male, ring A.U. 65F: —
22nd Dec. 19 r 1 : caught in trap, marked, and released at
Inveresk, near Musselburgh, Midlothian, Scotland.
(Mr R. Tomlinson.)
^th Jan. 1912: caught near Musselburgh. (Mr T. Archibald.)
246 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Case 305, male, ring A.U. 7633 :—
2nd April 1 910: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
2 St/i Jan. 1 91 2 : found in a dying condition in West Norton
Place, Edinburgh. (Mr T. Elder.)
Case 307, ring A.U. 9690: —
10th Aug. 1 911: marked as a nestling at Stow, Midlothian,
Scotland. (Mr R. G. Thin.)
^th Feb. 1 91 2: killed with a stone (by a boy) at North
Middleton. (Mr J. M'K. M'Kinley.)
Case 311, ring xA.U. 7 99 A : —
2377/ Aug. 1910: caught, marked, and released in the garden
at Crichie Bank, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. (Mr J. L.
Tait.)
12//? Feb. 1912 (about): caught at Balligite, Melvich, Suther-
land, Scotland : died after a fortnight's captivity. (Mr
I). Sutherland : ring returned.)
Case 320, ring A.U. 444H : —
2377/ Feb. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
31J/ Jan. 191 2 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
\oth Feb. 19 1 2 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 2,23, ring A.U. 440H : —
2of/i Feb. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
jt/i Feb. 191 2 : recaught at same place, and released. (Marker.)
Case 324, ring A.U. 320H : —
yd Aug. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
10M Feb. 1912 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 343, ring A.U, 9460 :—
24th May 191 o: marked as a nestling in the Rosary, Skene
House, Dunecht, Aberdeenshire. (Miss 1). Hamilton.)
^th May 1912 : found in the gardens of Castle Fraser, Aber-
deenshire. (Kemnay correspondent of Aberdeen Evening
Express, 9th May 191 2.)
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY BIRD-MIGRATION INQUIRY 247
Case 352, ring A.U. 357H :—
10th Aug. 191 1 : caught in net, marked, and released, as a
young bird, at East Warriston House, Edinburgh. (Mr
A. Campbell.)
nj/h March 1912 : recaught at same place, and released
(Marker.)
Chaffinch {Fringilla ca'lebs, L.).
Case 195, ring A.U. 712H : —
6th March 191 1: caught in net, marked, and released at
46 Don Street, Old Aberdeen. (Mr A. G. Davidson.)
22/^ April 191 1 : found dead in premises in Princes Street,
Aberdeen. (Mr A. Taylor : ring returned.)
Case 226, ring A.U. 806K : —
2%th May 191 1 : marked as nestling at Stonehaven, Kincardine-
shire, Scotland. (Lt.-Col. A. V. Anderson.)
7 th July 191 1 : caught in the garden of Moraybank, Stone-
haven, and released. (The tenant of Moraybank.)
House Sparrow {Passer domes ticusz L.).
Case 23, ring A.U. 7190: —
25th Feb. 1910: caught in trap, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
yt/i April 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 28, male, ring A.U. 7512 : —
14th Feb. 1 9 10: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
njt/i April 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
22;^ April 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
30M April 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker)
Case 30, male, ring A.U. 7662 : —
19th April 1910: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
20/^ April 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
30th April 1 910 : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
248 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
6th April 191 2 : recaught at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 32, male, ring A.U. 7526 : —
\6th Feb. 1910 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
22;/^/ April 1 9 10 : recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 34, female, ring A.U. 7529: —
1 6th Feb. 1 9 1 o : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
30I/1 April 1 910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
2nd May 19 10: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 35, male, ring A.U. 7666 : —
19th April 1 9 10: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
30//J April 1 9 10: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 37, female, ring A.U. 7517 : —
14th Feb. 1 9 10 : caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
yd May 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 38, female, ring A.U. 7522 : —
\6th Feb. 19 10: caught in net, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
2nd May 1 9 10: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
Case 39, female, ring A.U. 7672 : —
30th April 1910: caught in nut, marked, and released at East
Warriston, Edinburgh. (Mr A. Campbell.)
2nd May 1910: recaught in net at same place, and released.
(Marker.)
(To be continued.)
NOTE ON THE FOOD OF THE COMMON PHEASANT 249
NOTE ON THE FOOD OF THE COMMON
PHEASANT.
By Percy H. Grimshaw, F.R.S.E., F.E.S., Royal Scottish Museum.
As a contribution to our knowledge of the dietary of the
Common Pheasant {Phasianus colchicus\ it may be of interest
to place on record the results of a detailed examination of
the contents of a crop kindly sent to me by Mr A. S. Leslie,
of the Grouse Disease Inquiry. He had received it from
Mr H. L. Macdonald, of Dunach, accompanied by a letter to
the following effect : " I send you herewith the crop of a
young pheasant cock shot on the hill here, and crammed with
the heather beetle. Although the grouse enquiry is closed,
I thought the fact that pheasants eat the beetle was of so
much interest, if not already known, that you would be kind
enough to send the crop on to the proper quarter for
examination. The bird was killed about 800 ft. above
sea-level and far from all crops, and there are a number of
pheasants on the hill. This year the beetle has done very
considerable damage to the heather on this estate. As I am
only a visitor here staying with the shooting tenant, I should
prefer that the name of the estate should not be published." l
Upon examining the crop I noticed at once that the bird
had indeed fed largely upon the heather beetle ; but there
was also present such a large mass of small diptera, that
I considered it advisable actually to count the number of
specimens rather than trust to a mere estimate. I therefore
give below a fairly complete statement of the contents of the
crop, and I believe that the number of specimens devoured
by this bird at a single meal will cause some astonishment.
General statements regarding the food of this species
have been made in several works. For example, in Yarrell's
History of British Birds, 4th edition, vol. ill., p. 99, it is
stated that the Pheasant eats grain, seeds, and leaves of
various kinds, the root of the Bulbous Crowfoot (Ranunculus
bulbosus), the tubers of the Lesser Celandine {Ranunculus
1 I am permitted to state that the bird was shot in the "Mid-Argyll
district of Argyllshire."
II 2 1
250 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
ficaria), and even acorns. The bird is also credited with
the destruction of enormous numbers of wireworms and
craneflies, 1200 of the former having been on one occasion
taken out of a single crop. Again, in a valuable paper
on the food of birds published by Miss Laura Florence in
the Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of
Scotland (5th series, vol xxiv., 1912, p. 210), analyses of the
contents of four stomachs are given. These contained corn
grains, grass, Indian corn, seeds of Birch or Alder, seeds of
Hawthorn, and roots and tubers of the Lesser Celandine.
There is no mention of any insect remains, so that the
analysis given below shows a considerable contrast.
It should be noted that in enumerating the specimens
I have not included mere fragments, such as wings, legs, or
detached heads. In the case of the Bibio, I have only
counted fairly complete specimens, while the Beetles
enumerated had at least the thorax with the elytra attached.
To the following numbers, therefore, it would be quite
reasonable to add a small percentage : —
Analysis of Contents-.
Insects — Diptera : Bibio lepidus,\j\x. . . 2,286 specimens.
Pollen i a rudis. Fab. . 1 ,,
Coleoptera : Lochmaea suturalis.
Thorns. (Heather Beetle) . 508 ,,
Hymenoptera : Myrmica rubra, L.
(Ant) .... 2
Orthoptera : Stenobothrus sp. (Grass-
hopper) . . . . 1 ,,
Mollusca — Phvwrbis sp. 2 ,,
Total . . 2,800
Vegetable remains. — Numerous tubers of Lesser Celandine
{Ranunculus ficaria), one seed-capsule of Mouse-Ear
Chickweed (Cerasfiunt), fragments of mosses and grasses,
small stem with leaves of Heath Bed-straw {Galium
saxafile), tiny shoot of Heather {Calluna vulgaris), many
fragments of leaves of the Bulbous Crowfoot {Ranunculus
bulbosus), and a few leaflets of the Cuckoo-flower (Car-
damiuc pratensis).
ON MACKAYIA DIMORPHA 251
On the evidence of the above figures I think we may
fairly claim that the Pheasant is likely to be of use in the
checking of the ravages caused by the Heather Beetle, and
may be classed with the Blackcock as a beneficial visitor to
our grouse moors.
ON MACKAYIA DIMORPHA, A NEW GENUS
AND SPECIES OF MALLOPHAGA FROM THE
MANX SHEARWATER.
By James Waterston, B.D., B.Sc.
{Read at the International Congress of Entomology, Oxford,
7th August 19 1 2.)
Tin. Mattophaga found on the various species of Tubinares — a
group of birds including the Petrels, Fulmars, Albatrosses, Shear-
waters, etc.— have furnished some of the most noteworthy ectopar-
asites hitherto investigated. Besides more ordinary forms, such as
Docopliorus, Lipcurus, and Menopon^ there have been described
from the hosts referred to, the peculiar genera Giebelia? Philoceanus%
Ancistrona, etc., which are not only morphologically very distinct,
but of importance, alike for the phytogeny and for the distribution
of the order. It was therefore with great interest that the writer,
some two years ago, received from a correspondent a consignment of
Philopterida? taken on Puljinus anglorum. In this material two
species were represented, viz., a single <$ Docophorus, sensu stricto,
and eight specimens of a form to which neither specific nor generic
place could then be assigned. With two of the Philopterids
hitherto reported from species of Puyinus, viz., Giebelia mi raid lis,
Kellogg, and Docopliorus coronatus, Giebel,2 comparison appeared
to be necessary. Thanks to Professor V. L. Kellogg"s excellent
account of Giebelia, it was possible to decide at once that the
insect now under discussion, though a close ally, could not
be referred to that genus. Giebel's description of his parasite,
as reported by Piaget,3 is vague and insufficient. It is unac-
1 Giebelia, Kellogg, New Mallophaga, pt. 1, p. 187(1896) (Type:
G. mirabilis).
2 D. coronatus, Giebel, Insect. Epiz., p. 116 (1874), from Pujfinu,
fuliginosus.
3 Les Pcdiculines, p. 121 (1881).
J.X Mm A. f*V /
252 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
companied by any figure. The host also is different. As was
noted above, true Docophorus does occur on Puffinus, and this may
be Giebel's insect. Failing that, if one wished to establish any
connection between D. coronatus and the present parasite, one
would have to suppose that characters obviously of generic value had
been overlooked by Giebel in his diagnosis assigning the species
coronatus to the genus Docophorus. This may be the case, as
Giebel's species is founded on a single female, in which sex, of
course, the antennae are simple. Only the name coronatus makes
one pause. It certainly suggests such projecting labral lobes as are
found in Giebetia, Phi/ocea/ius, and the present insect. The point
could be settled only by reference to Giebel's type. On the whole,
however, it seems best to assume that we are here dealing with a
new form. In any case, whatever a future comparison of types may
reveal, a new genus is required for the reception of this remarkable
insect.
MACKAYIA, gen. nov.
General characters those of Docophorus, with a broad
transparent membranous collar or flap across the under
surface of the forehead. In both sexes this flap projects
clearly on either side of the head. The sexes are
heterocerous, and the anterior angles of the temple are
rather more rounded than in Giebelia, to which, except
in the antennae, this genus closely approaches.
Mackayia dimorpJia, spec. nov.
J. Head. — Clypeus straight or slightly rounded. Bands
a little curved, with one short hair anteriorly and one or two
minute hairs below. Of the latter, one projects underneath
the edge. Above, between the bands and the edge of the
signature, one longish hair on each side just before the suture.
The signature advances beyond the clypeal suture to above
the mandibles. Its clypeal portion bears one hair on each
side. The termination of the signature is somewhat
indistinct, as it nearly merges into a remarkable transverse
internal band which stretches between and connects the
antennals. On either side of the apex of the signature and
in front of the internal band, is a short, heavy, peg-like spine
directed backwards. The antennal bands, which are well
developed, curve inwards both anteriorly and posteriorly.
ON MACKAYIA DIMORPHA 253
At their posterior limit each bears a heavy spine like those
near the apex of the signature. The square formed by the
four spines is a conspicuous feature of the mid-region of the
head. There is a dark, clearly limited spot before the eye,
but inwards the ocular band is ill-defined. Occipital bands
somewhat widely apart at base, where there is an intensely
dark spot on each. These bands slant up to the oculars,
which they do not quite reach, becoming indistinct in that
neighbourhood. Before they become indistinct the occipital
bands send off a short faint branch on the inner side.
Antennae : first joint, which bears one long hair on its
upper surface, deeply inset in the head, long, though not
equal to the other joints together ; third joint transverse,
with triangular appendage. Trabecular long, reaching to
beyond the middle of the first joint. Eyes prominent,
with one very short bristle. Across the posterior region
of the head runs a row of four hairs, and there are two
additional hairs near the occipital edge. Behind the eye the
temples bear two spines followed by two very long hairs.
Occipital edge nearly straight, with two short hairs on" each
side, placed outside the occiput proper. On the ventral
surface of the head, at about the level of the clypea] suture,
is an entire transverse membranous flap which is folded on
itself at the sides, making there knobbed triangular projec-
tions. These projections, plainly seen from above, are
characteristic of the genus.
Thorax. — The prot hoi-ax bears on the dorsum two minute
hairs anteriorly. There is a short bristle at the angle and
one hair at each side on the posterior edge. The metatJiorax
bears two minute bristles anteriorly. The long bristles at
the angle and posterior edge, which are about five to six in
number, are placed in a row on each side with a clear space
at and near the apex. On the sternum the chitinous bands
between the posterior coxae are specially well marked, four
hairs on sternum, two between mid coxae and two between
hind coxae. In colour the thorax is clear brown with darker
margins. In the prothorax there are (according to the age
of the individual) more or less indications of a clear median
space in the dorsal spot. The thorax in both sexes is
rounded over the abdomen.
2 54
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
ON MAC KAY I A DIMORPHA 255
Abdomen. — The bands on segments 1,2, and 8 are wide,
but narrowed on segments 3-7. There are two median hairs
on segments 1-8. In colour these bands, which are entire,
are of a clear brown. The stigmata are large and prominent.
On each band behind and inside the stigma, segments 2-6
show one fine hair and two or three stouter hairs near or at
the angle. These hairs are longer on the hinder segments.
Segment 7 has one or two extra hairs on the edge of the
band and shows an almost complete transverse row save in
the middle. Segment 9 has on the upper surface two patches
of short hairs, five in each, symmetrically placed about the
middle line. There are one or two terminal hairs and some
at the sides. The lateral band of the segments is -\ shaped
and there is only a slightly entrant appendix. The genitalia
are figured. The development of the paramera is relatively
great transversely. The penis is stout, with blunt apex. On
the under surface the segmental bands are sharply limited and
do not join the lateral bands. Each transverse band bears
a row of about six hairs (3, 3). The genital mark results
from a broad median connection of bands on segments 6, 7,
8. The lateral bands here bear one to two long hairs not
visible from above. The colour of the abdomen is clear dark
brown, on which the stigmata stand out distinctly. The
lateral bands are much darker than the ground colour of the
segments, being almost black.
Legs. — These arc short, moderately stout, and docophoroid.
9 . Head. — The clypeal outline varies and may be even
distinctly concave, as in the example figured. In general
chsetotaxy the sexes are alike. They differ, however, in the
relation of the bands to one another. In the $ , as already
noted, the occipital band runs directly to the ocular spot,
becoming indistinct there. Before it reaches this point it
sends off an internal branch, which fades away in the direction
of the hindmost heavy spine described. There is a distinct
gap between the occipital band and its connections on the
one hand and the antennal band on the other. In the
female the occipital band does not join the ocular spot
directly. It runs evenly to the base of the antennal and
there fuses with [a) the ocular band (which is more than a
spot in this sex), and (/>) the heavy internal transverse ba
256
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
and (c) the hindmost part of the antennal band proper, which
as in the male bears a heavy peg-like spine. This portion of
the band is in the 9 exceedingly short, with the result that
the heavy spine is placed above the insertion of the antenna ;
so that the figure formed by the spines is not, as in the £ , a
square, but rather trapezoidal.
The internal transverse bands do not meet in the ? , so
that the rounded apex of the signature is distinctly seen.
First antennal joint rather shorter than the trabecula, and
equal to the second ; third and fourth short, fifth longer (see
comparative lengths in table).
Abdomen. — The 1st segment much narrower than the
others, with rounded angles. The following segments (2-7)
strongly angulated. The 9th segment is fringed with hairs.
The genital mark covers segments 7 and 8. On the 7th
it is entire while on the 8th it is tripartite, the median portion
being joined on to the band on segment 7. The two lateral
spots have a dark external margin, which seems to cover
some internal chitinous structure.
Legs. — Femora short and broad. Tibiae longer than
femora.
Measurements of Mackayia dimorpha.
6.
?•
Length.
Breadth.
Length.
Breadth.
Mm.
Mm.
Mm.
Mm.
Head ....
•500
•478
•528
•542
Prothorax
•128
•335
•142
•357
Metathorax
•171
•457
•171
•471
Abdomen ....
•757
•971
1st segment .
•428
•457
4th ,,
Total
•607
•678
1*55
•6
1-81
•67
Antennal joints —
1
•1
•04»;
•05
•05
2
•05
•03
•05
•023
3
•023
•05
•023
•023
4
•02:;
•03
•023
•023
5
Length of antenna .
•043
•020
•046
•023
•24
...
•19
...
ON MACKAYIA DIMORPHA 257
The types of M. dimorpha are a pair in the writer's
collection. Two $ $ and six $ 2 were taken by Mr Hugh
Mackay on a specimen of the Manx Shearwater (Ptiffijtus
anglorum), from the island of Eigg (Scotland). The host
was sent to Mr Mackay by the Rev. J. M'William, on
30th May 1910.
Key to the genera Giebelia, Mackayia,
Philoceanus.
Gen. characters. — Philopteridae with broad transverse
laterally projecting membranous flap on under side of
forehead.
A. Antennae differing in the sexes. A.A.
Antennae simple in both sexes. Giebelia.
A.A. Form slender, nirmoid ; metathorax with distinct back-
ward-projecting postero-lateral angles.
Philoceanus.
Form stout, Giebelia-likc ; metathorax continuously
rounded behind. Mackayia.
It remains to note some points raised by this and the allied
species.
1. Mackayia, Giebelia, and Philoceanus agree in having a well-
marked labral collar or transverse lobe. The function of this
laterally folded outgrowth of the under side of the clypeus
may be to hold the food in position during detrition. This
peculiar structure is possibly not strictly comparable with the
similar outgrowth in the Liotheid Physostomum.
2. Systematically Mackayia falls between Giebelia and
Philoceanus. With the former it agrees in general
fades, structure, genus of host, but the antenna: connect
it with Philoceanus. We have here, then, a true link
between two somewhat isolated forms, which is precisely
what one would expect in view of the marked tendency which
the genera of this order (Mallophaga) show to run into one
another.
3. Giebelia, up to the present, is a New World form oiPuffinus-
parasite. The range of the genus may be wider, but if not,
Mackayia may be the Old World representative. The Shear-
waters, however, are notorious wanderers, and without further
evidence it would be rash to venture an opinion.
II 2 K
258 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
4. Most interesting of all is the question suggested as to the
phylogenetic position of these three genera. Mackayia,
Giebelia, and Philocea?ius are complicated forms in a group
where the general note is one of severe simplicity. Their
respective hosts belong to an ancient stirps of the Bird
Kingdom. The life conditions of these parasites must have
been long unchanged, to a degree remarkable even in an
order noted for the constancy of the environment of its
members. Giebelia, Mackayia, and Philoceanus must
therefore be first beginnings or amongst the last expressions
of Philopterid evolution. According to Professor Kellogg's
interpretation of the developmental history of the order, the
latter alternative must be accepted.
Explanation of Figures.
1. Head of £ . 4. Genital mark, g .
2. Sternal marks of £ . 5. Head of <j? .
3. Terminal segments, ^. 6. Genital mark, $ .
A NEW SPECIES OF MACK A YIA
{M. HETERACANTHUS).
By James Waterston, B.D., B.Sc.
While the foregoing article was in the press, the writer
had submitted to him, by Dr Peringuez, director, Cape
Town Museum, a still more remarkable form of the same
genus. The types of this new species will be fully described
later. Meanwhile, for the benefit of students of the group,
the following notes may be given : —
a. Third joint of £ antenna with appendage. Head in both
sexes bearing four short, heavy, peg-like spines. Host,
Puffinus anglorum. M. dimorpha, Waterst.
a. a. First and third joints of & antenna with appendages. Head
in both sexes bearing two bristles and two heavy spines,
arranged as in dimorplia, the bristles being in the place
of the anterior pair of spines. A slightly larger form
than the preceding. Host, Procellaria gigantea.
M. heteracanthus, sp. no v.
NOTES a$9
NOTES.
The Hedgehog in Arran. — Whilst reading the accounts given
in the September and October numbers of the Scottish Naturalist
of the rarity of the Hedgehog in Argyllshire, I thought it might
prove interesting to mention an occurrence which shows the rarity
of this animal in the island of Arran. I was sitting one evening
in front of the house, when a workman approached and showed
me a fairly large specimen of the common Hedgehog. On asking
him, I found that it had been discovered on the west side of the
island, at Shiskine; and was such a rare find that many of the
men, including the one who unearthed it, did not know what it
was. Several elderly people came to me that evening to see the
animal, not having seen one before. It afforded an object of great
interest to the school children next day. I found out later from an
old man that the Hedgehog has been seen once or twice before —
always in the same district, although most of the people here
believed them to be non-existent in Arran. — William 1). Concalton,
Brodick.
Bird Notes from the Solway. — A specimen of the Green
Sandpiper, Totanus ocrophus, was obtained at Skinburness on
30th August. This year appears to have been a remarkable one
for this species, judging by the number of records from various
Scottish districts. Mr Nichol, to whom I am indebted for these
notes, informs me that he saw a Spotted Redshank, Totanus fuscus,
near his house at Skinburness recently. A Peregrine attempted to
capture it, but did not succeed. One Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa
belgica, was seen, the only one to come under his observation this
autumn. Commenting on the early arrival of "Geese" in the
Solway, he states that, in all his experience he has never known
these birds to arrive so early as they did this year — quite a fortnight
before their usual time. — Hugh Mackav, Edinburgh.
Female Greenland Wheatear assuming Male Plumage. —
With reference to the Duchess of Bedford's interesting note on this
subject in the September number of the Scottish Naturalist, we
think it worth recording that we have a similar specimen. This
female Greenland Wheatear was killed at the lantern of the Isle
26o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
of May on the night of 27th May 191 1. It is in much the same
plumage as that described by Her Grace, except that the wing
feathers are rather browner than in the full-plumaged male, and
the secondaries, wing-coverts, and outer-webs of the inner primaries
have brownish edgings. The tail feathers of the left side only
have white tips; the wing measures 101 mm. — Evelyn V. Baxter
and Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul, Largo.
Late Stay of Swifts about Edinburgh. — From my house,
Swifts (Cypselus apus) were observed flying over Morningside Park,
Edinburgh, every evening right through August and up till the nth
of September, when the last (two) were seen. Up till 1st September
the usual number was eight or nine, but on one or two occasions I
counted as many as twenty-five to thirty in sight at one time. After
1 st September only two or three continued to put in an appearance.
On 8th September I also saw two at Liberton, hawking for flies in
company with Swallows and Martins. — William Evans, Edinburgh.
Notes on the Fulmar Petrel. — Whilst in Orkney and Shetland
these past three months (July, August, and September) I have been
on the look-out for any fresh nesting-places of the Fulmar. Whilst
in Orkney, we visited the Calf of Eday, an islet which lies to the
east of Eday, and there, on the Grey Head cliffs, we found two eggs
and two young birds of the Fulmar Petrel (15th July). There
appeared to be about ten adult birds on the wing, but as the nests
were for the most part situated at the top of these cliffs, and also
were overhung, it was impossible to tell how many "sitting" birds
there were exactly. That there were nests one felt certain by the
behaviour of the birds on the wing — a bird being noticed to stop
and hover at one particular spot on the cliff every now and then —
a rather characteristic habit of the Fulmar when there is a "sitting
bird" about. On the two occasions on which the Red Head,
Eday, was visited a single Fulmar was seen flying close to the cliffs,
but no nest was actually found (July 191 2). The natives told me
that this was the first year the bird had been known to nest on the
Grey Head. It was known to them at the sea-fishing as the
Mollymawk. On the neighbouring island of Westray, where Ur J. A.
Harvie-Brown records them as nesting in 1901, at the Noup Head,
we found them in great numbers (July 1912). They have now
extended their nesting throughout the whole of the cliffs which
stretch along the west side of the island from Noup Head; little
isolated colonies of from three to ten pairs being found every
hundred yards or so. This year, for the first time, these birds
have begun to nest on the low-lying cliffs extending from the Noup
NOTES 261
Head on the east side of the island, where we found two nests and
about half a dozen pairs of birds. One of the Noup lighthouse-
keepers told me that he thought there were nearly double the
amount of Fulmars at the Noup this year (191 2) as compared with
last year. He also thinks that the Fulmars are driving away the
Herring-Gulls from their former nesting-ledges on the cliffs.
When in Shetland I visited a small island (Uyea) which lies to
the south-east of Unst. Here the shepherd told me that he had
seen five or six Fulmars " hanging around " the low-lying cliffs of the
island, and had actually seen an egg of this bird on a ledge (June
1 91 2). The bird had never been seen by him near the island
before, although there are great numbers at the north of Unst.
However, when I visited these cliffs on 3rd September this year I
saw neither signs of old nests nor birds. I was informed, however,
that two or three birds were nesting on the cliffs which lie to the
north of Uyeasound, about one mile distant, and they may have
gone there from Uyea. Certainly I saw a Fulmar flying close to
the Uyeasound cliffs as I passed in the steamer (2nd September),
but I never had an opportunity of searching these cliffs thoroughly.
The natives told me that this was the first time that these, cliffs
had been visited by Fulmars within their memory. — G. D. Ferguson,
Edinburgh.
Micariosoma festiva, C. L. Koch, in Linlithgowshire. —
While collecting insects on Drumshoreland Moor, on 7th July 19 12,
I picked up a specimen of this curious Spider, which appears to be
of very local distribution in "Forth." When captured it was
running actively in sunshine on a grassy bank, in close proximity
to one or two colonies of the Ant Formica fusca, to which the
Spider bears considerable superficial resemblance.— S. E. Brock,
Kirkliston.
The Painted-Lady Butterfly at the Isle of May, etc. —
On the afternoon of 16th August last, I saw nine Painted-Lady
Butterflies [Vanessa carduf), two of which I captured, on the Isle of
May. Some of them were flitting about the lighthouse gardens;
while others were in the enclosure where the ruins of the old
chapel stand, and about the little harbour on the east side of the
island. They had not — so I was informed — been noticed previous
to the morning of that day, and, except one, four days later, were
not again observed. That they were immigrants from abroad,
I have no doubt; and it is interesting to note that on 18th August,
about a dozen were seen by Mr D. Bruce on the coast at Skateraw,
a few miles south of Dunbar. The first I myself observed was on
262 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
the sea braes west of Elie, Fife, on ioth August, but my son saw
one on the sandhills behind Gullane, on 29th July, and others, I
understand, were seen about the same date on that part of the
Haddingtonshire coast. — -William Evans, Edinburgh.
Some Lepidoptera and other Insects from St Kilda. —
In a miscellaneous collection of terrestrial invertebrates, made by
Mr Eagle Clarke at St Kilda in the autumns of 1910 and 191 1, I
find the following Lepidoptera represented, each by one example : —
Agrotis lucernea, L., September 191 1.
Triphcena pronabct) L., „ 19 10.
Apamea genii n a, Hub. , , , 1 9 1 1 .
Hydrcecia micacea, Esp., ,, 19 10.
Coremia didymata, L., ,, 191 1.
None of these moths would appear to have been previously recorded
from St Kilda.
There is also a specimen (male), taken in September 19 10, of
the Trichopteron Stenophylax permistus, M'Lach. {concentricus, M'L.
nee Zett), a Caddis-fly not previously on the St Kilda list. Mr K.
J. Morton, to whom I have shown this specimen, has confirmed
my identification.
The collection contains a number of examples of the small
brown Ant, My r mica rubra, race ruginodis, and of the common
Earwig, Forficula auricularia, both of which have, however, been
already recorded from the island. For previous lists of insects from
St Kilda, the Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist, for 1906- 1908 should be
consulted. — William Evans, Edinburgh.
Docophorus melanocephalus, N., a straggler on the Knot
in Shetland. — During the last half of August (191 2), a great flock
of Knots (Tringa canutus) made their appearance near Sullom,
N. Mavine, and a number passed through the writer's hands for
examination. From these birds over 500 Mallophaga, representing
4 genera and 7 species, were taken. One of them, D. melanocephalus
(1 $ and 2 ? $ ), is interesting from the fact that its usual hosts are
members of the genus Sterna (Terns). In Shetland the Docophorus
occurs sparingly on S. fluviatilis and S. macrura, but it seems
unlikely that the transference from one host to the other was effected
here. More probably this took place in the Knots' summer quarters,
where they may have been breeding in company with Terns.
The original host was probably S, macrura. — James Waterston,
Ollaberry, Shetland.
GLEANINGS
GLEANINGS.
The vexed question of Zoological Nomenclature is at present receiving much
attention from British workers. Thus, in recently published literature mary
articles and reports are noticeable. In the first place, one observes in the Report
of the British Association Committee on " Zoology Organisation " an allusion to
a circular prepared and circulated among British zoologists with a view to
obtaining a census of opinion on the question of the strict application of the law of
priority, or otherwise. Of one hundred and eight slips returned to the Committee
twenty-six were in favour of strict priority, and eighty-two against it. Again, at
the second International Congress of Entomology held recently at Oxford
considerable time was devoted to the question of nomenclature, and at the closing
meeting an important suggestion forwarded to them by the Entomological
Society of London was for all practical purposes adopted. This suggestion was
to the effect that a permanent International Committee be established to deal
with questions of nomenclature as affecting entomology, to consider modifications
in the International Code, and to confer on various points with the International
Commission. This is fully reported in our three British entomological journals.
Lastly, we note a paper in the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine for October (pp.
225-227) on "Some Arbitrarily Formed Scientific Names," by August Busck, and
one on " Aberrational Names" in the Entomologist's Record lor October (pp. 229-
2 3°). by the Rev. George Wheeler. It is devoutly to be wished that such
increased attention to the use of valid names and proper methods of naming may
result in some degree of uniformity being soon established. But there is still a
great deal of disagreement, and the whole question threatens to become a serious
hindrance to the prosecution of good scientific work.
Several papers likely to be of interest to our readers were read during the
recent meeting of Section D of the British Association at Dundee. An account
was submitted by W. J. Dakin and M. Latarche of a prolonged study of the
plankton of Lough Neagh, Ireland. The investigation was a quantitative one,
extending over a year, and is described as the first of its kind to be made in the
British Islands. A paper was also submitted by J. F. Gemmell, entitled " A
Preliminary Account of the Development of the Starfish Aster ias ricbens (L.),"
based on researches made at the Millport Marine Biological Station. Other papers
of interest are, " Some Observations on Boring Mollusca," by Miss B. Lindsay ;
" On the Cestode Parasites of Trout, with special reference to the Plei ocercoid
Disease of Trout from Loch Morar," by J. W. Chaloner ; "Notes on the Skull of
a Grampus," by Professor R. J. Anderson ; "On the Distribution of Saccammina
sph&rica (M. Sars) and Psammosphaera fusca (Schulze) in the North Sea," by
E. Heron-Allen and A. Garland ; and lastly, an important Report by the
Committee appointed to investigate the Biological Problems incidental to the
Belmullet Whaling Station.
264 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Our ornithological readers will be interested in an account of the Fulmar
which appears in the October number of the Zoologist (pp. 381-388), from the pen
of Dr J. A. Harvie-Brown. This paper is an extension of that which recently
appeared in our pages, and is devoted mainly to the past and present status of
the species beyond the Scottish area. The present instalment is entirely devoted
to " Introductory Remarks," but we notice that the statements refer entirely to
Scottish localities.
In British Birds for October (pp. 154-155) appears a note by C. E. Stracey
Clitherow on the " Probable Nesting of the Pied Flycatcher in Moray." A nest
was found in a hole of an old birch tree on the bank of the Moriston River,
Inverness, on 17th August. It is described as a typical Tied Flycatcher's, made
of moss and strips of honeysuckle bark, was situated about three and a half feet
from the ground, and contained a single egg which had evidently been laid for
some considerable time. The nest was submitted to Mr F. C. R. Jourdain, whose
opinion concurs with that of the author.
In the Field for 2 1st September (p. 629) Peter McRae records the shooting
of a Turtle Dove at Dundonnell, Ross-shire. In the succeeding number of the
same journal (p. 669) Major Haines records the occurrence of a specimen about
four years ago, at Achnahaird, in the same county. Again, in the issue of 5th
October, A. H. Mackenzie-Cotton (p. 720) records the shooting of an example in
a turnip-field at Gairloch in 1880.
We note in the Zoologist for October (pp. 361-380) an interesting paper,
entitled "On Scottish Marine Fishes, 1898-1912," by Prof. Mcintosh, St Andrews.
This paper was communicated to the meeting of the British Association in Dundee,
on the 6th September. After giving careful summaries of the yearly captures by
trawlers and liners for the period concerned, some general remarks are made
bearing on the question whether the large amount of fishing prosecuted off our
coasts is likely to result in a serious depletion of the food-supply. The author
considers that the gloomy ideas which have become prevalent in certain quarters
are hardly justified, and taking the Plaice as an example, he shows that at present
there seems to be no gre^t danger of its serious diminution. He questions, too,
the benefit of maintaining marine fish-hatcheries for the open sea.
At a meeting of the South London Entomological and Natural History
Society, held on 22nd August (vide Entomologist's Monthly Magazine for October,
p. 245), Mr Newman exhibited a long series of Pachnobia hyperborea from
Rannoch showing much variation, a short uniform scries of the same moth from
Shetland, and a few Cry modes exu'.is also from Shetland [Lepidoptera].
In the Entomologist 's Monthly Magazine for October (p. 239) N. Charles
Rothschild publishes two notes of interest to students of Lepidoptera. The first,
on the food-plant of Erebta blandina, records the deposition of eggs of this species
on the grass Molinia ccerulea, ihis being the first notice of the food-plant in a wild
state. The plant, with ova attached, was sent to the author by L. G. Ess on from
a locality in Scotland where the insect was common. In the second note, which
deals with the food-plant of Erebia epiphron^ it is definitely shown that the larvae
feed upon the grass JVardus stricta, plants having been carefully marked by H. A.
Beadle, of Keswick, and when in flower forwarded to Mr Rothschild.
{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.)
The Scottish Naturalist
No. 12.] 1912 [Decembe
THE TUFTED-DUCK (FULIGULA CRISTATA
IN THE NESTING SEASON.
By s. E. Brock.
'V**AS*
The notes, of which the following is a summary, have been made
chiefly at certain small pieces of water situated in the eastern district
of Linlithgowshire, the convenient accessibility of the locality having
allowed of systematic observations on the birds frequenting it. Here
the Tufted-duck might almost be described as summer-visitors,
arriving in pairs from mid- .March onward, and taking ■ their
departure almost immediately after the young broods have attained
independence. Winter occurrences are quite irregular, and each of
brief duration. On other waters of larger dimensions in the county
these ducks are regular winterers, in small parties ; and the total
numbers resident at that season are approximately equal to the
breeding-stocks of the district generally. They are most numerous
during the autumn months, when flocks of unusual dimensions are
sometimes to be met with.
Adult drakes commence to assume the full plumage early in
September, and by the beginning of the following month the earlier
birds have nearly completed the moult ; but many individuals, some
of them perhaps birds of the preceding season, remain in imperfect
feather much later, often well into the new year. There is some
reason to believe that drakes are numerically superior to the other
sex. In a summary of a considerable number of notes on com-
parative numbers of the sexes, made during the last few years,
the males outnumber the females on a considerable majority of
occasions, the balance in their favour on all records amounting to
some 9 per cent.
Although odd pairs may be found consorting together as early as
late January, it is not before the latter part of the following month
that sexual influences begin to show appreciable outward effect on
12 2 L
266 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
the birds. In display Tufted-duck are rather quieter and less
excitable than some other species, and the attitudes adopted are
seldom salient. The earliest evidences are vague and uncertain
in character. In the intervals between sleeping and feeding, the
drakes evince some unusual restlessness, swimming to and fro with
rapidity either towards the ducks or towards each other. The head
is held erect and the long crest becomes more than ordinarily
prominent. At frequent intervals the beautiful note (confined to
the drakes) — a soft, liquid, several-syllabled utterance rarely penetrat-
ing to any distance— is uttered, commonly in chorus by several birds
together. A slight upward toss of head and bill is occasionally
shown, but this is perhaps more characteristic of the duck, expressive
in the latter of varying mental conditions of excitement, both
sexual and otherwise. At irregular intervals the drake throws the
head sharply backwards so as to touch, or almost touch, the dorsal
feathers — an action much resembling a similar one of the Goldeneye,
but less forcible and spasmodic, and without vocal accompaniment.
An action not frequently displayed is one wherein the drake (and
more exceptionally the duck) raises the fore part of the body in the
water in a somewhat slow and deliberate manner, as though about
to flap the wings, the head and neck being simultaneously extended
almost perpendicularly upward. This movement may be easily
mistaken for a mere stretching motion, but close observation, with
comparison of occasions of occurrence, seems to show that it is a
veritable aspect of display. The backward throw of the head in the
drake, and the bill-tossing action of both sexes, continue to be
shown after the pairing-season. The ducks take a less active share
in courtship, but may be occasionally seen to approach the drakes
with neck extended and the head-tossing motion. At such times the
drakes appear to take up a more constrained attitude than usual,
floating on the water with the head and neck closely drawn into the
body. Mutual jealousy or rivalry in the drakes is curiously little in
evidence, and such, when it occurs, is confined to slight threatening
gestures, or short pursuits over the water. I have not witnessed
anything in the nature of a fight.
As the days pass, these displays become more frequent and
definite in character, and the flocks begin to show a tendency to
split up into pairs. This is a gradual process, the mutual attachment
of the sexes being at first easily affected by weather-conditions
or other influences, but becoming more absolute with the advance
of the season.
When the pairs have settled down in their nesting-quarters, and
from that period until well through the nesting season, a prominent
THE TUFTED-DUCK IN THE NESTING SEASON 267
feature of incessant occurrence is the pursuit of the females by males
of other pairs. The intruding drake, on such occasions, displays his
hostility by a characteristic pose, the head being laid back on the
shoulders and the tip of the bill slightly raised — an expressive
gesture at once recognised by the female, which immediately moves
aside. The aggressor then splashes over the surface in pursuit, and
the female may seek escape by means of diving, or it may rise on
the wing, when the two birds circle rapidly over the water for some
short distance before the drake desists from the chase. The mate
of the attacked bird makes usually only a half-hearted effort to assist
his partner, merely following closely in the rear of the others. The
pursuit is seldom continued on the wing to any great distance, and
thus is not so obvious a feature as in the case of the Mallard, with
which such affairs, originating under similar conditions, may be very
prolonged, the birds (most frequently in trios) careering high in air
for long distances together. The significance of the trait is not clear,
since the drakes of neither species appear to treat their own mates in
like manner.
Like other duck, Tufted-duck pass much of their leisure time in
preening the plumage, but there is an aspect of the habit during the
few weeks previous to nesting which suggests some particular
meaning of its own ; and this is especially the case in the female.
When preening in the water under ordinary circumstances, the bird
gives a large proportion of attention to the wing-feathers, some of
which are passed through the bill, and the bases nibbled and other-
wise manipulated. The rump and breast are also attended to, and
while working at the latter, the bird tips itself over on its side, and,
splashing in the water with one foot, rotates itself with a slow and
irregular motion. At intervals the body is raised in the water, and
the wings are vigorously flapped, lashing the water into spray. This
last action frequently leads on to that form of play most characteristic
of the species. The bird shows unusual animation, swimming to and
fro in erratic fashion with nodding head, and finally diving
excitedly and rapidly, the wings held half-open at the moment of
submergence. Such play, which is readily to be distinguished from
the more deliberate and systematic diving for food, is thus very
similar to the diving of the Mallard in like conditions, but is perhaps
less common of occurrence and performed with less abandon than
in the latter species. The features of preening which seem to be
more typical of the nesting season, are best seen in a duck ashore,
as is so often the case at that time of year. Standing in a semi-erect
attitude, the bird confines its attention largely to the upper part of
the breast, nibbling and pulling at the bases of the feathers, and
268 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
intermittently using the bill as a comb, running it through the
feathers with unusual persistency and force. The duration of the
preening seems likewise to be unusually prolonged, and it is a common
sight to see birds surrounded by a considerable quantity of down
and contour-feathers dislodged during the process. The general
aspect of the proceedings is, in fact, strongly suggestive of some
irritating factor at work, inducing the birds to preen with greater
frequency and with more than customary vigour. Such an irritating
factor, if it exists, is of obvious interest in its possible bearing on the
well-known habits of the species in connection with the nest. This
tendency to emphasised preening extends to the male — although in
his case any dislodgment of feathers is much less in evidence — and
that such is the case might appear to be an objection to the view
suggested ; but there is, it appears, sufficient independent evidence
to show that the nesting-instincts of the race are not confined to the
female sex.
Apart from the nesting season Tufted-ducks are to be seen
ashore only on infrequent occasions, but in this respect their habits
undergo a notable alteration subsequent to the settling down in the
breeding-quarters, when much time is passed ashore. Some of
their activities on land are suggestive. Perhaps in this connection I
may be permitted to give from my notes one or two representative
extracts : —
" 22nd April . . . . — A drake in the water swam up to a pair of
birds sitting side by side on the grass by the edge of the pond. As
he approached he adopted the typical attitude of hostility, the head
laid back on the shoulders and the tip of the bill raised. He
jumped ashore and drove off the female, and settled down in the
vacated place, but almost immediately took to the water again.
The drake on shore thereupon went into the same spot (a shallow
hollow in the grass) and squatted in it. After a short period of
inactivity he began to pluck with his bill at the surrounding vegeta-
tion, and later took a few steps forward to the water's edge and
plucked at pieces of grass or other substance, returning afterwards to
the same hollow. A Coot now came on shore and commenced
grazing, and on passing near the drake made a threatening motion,
whereupon the latter bird moved hastily aside a few feet. On the
disappearance of the Coot, the female Tufted-duck went in turn to
the hollow, and settling down in it, began pulling at the surrounding
grass in the manner previously shown by the male, also reaching out
to the water's edge and attempting to pluck some long vegetation
growing there. I could not, however, actually discern anything in
her bill. A Waterhen next proved a fresh source of disturbance,
THE TUFTED-DUCK IN THE NESTING SEASON 269
and the duck withdrew somewhat from the hollow. Here she
continued to pick at the vegetation, and her mate, sitting alongside
her (also out of the hollow), behaved in a similar way, going through
the pantomime of pulling up grass and dropping it beside him, or
even throwing it over his back. As before, I failed to detect
anything held in the bill."
"23rd April, 7.55 a.m. — Three pairs of birds sitting on grassy
bank close to the water's edge, each couple a little apart. One pair
at same spot as yesterday. 8.5 — Male of this pair settles in hollow
used yesterday, and pulls a little at surrounding vegetation, later
dozing ; female of second pair plucking slightly and vaguely at grass
beside her. All six birds doze intermittently, but frequently rising
to preen. 8.15 — Male of first pair, after a spell of preening, plucks
at grass ; nearly all now preening . . . the females more persistently
than the males. 8.25 — Male of first pair (still in the hollow) plucks
at grass, wheels round in his place and settles down again, renewing
his plucking actions a little later. 8.40 — Male of third pair goes
through similar antics, and now, for the first time, strands of grass
are clearly visible in the bill ; they are pulled up and dropped by
the bird's side. Later he goes to sleep, his head nodding forward.
8.50 — Male of first pair plucks a little and goes through the action
of swallowing.''
" 2Q)t1i April, 10.20 A.M. — Five pairs on bank of pond, all
walking to and fro rapidly and restlessly, pecking as they go amongst
the grass as if feeding. 10.29— Some begin to settle down, preening
themselves, one female 'combing.' 10.35 — A female makes
repeated efforts to pluck the blossom of a Narcissus, which rises a
little above her head. . . . 11.9 — Female of a pair on the water
swims into a rush-clump growing at the edge of the pond, her mate
following ; both disappear from sight. Two minutes later the male
reappears on bank behind rush-clump ; he plucks a little in usual
manner, later preening, n. 14 — His mate appears on bank beside
him; both now plucking a little, vaguely. . . . 12.5 — Male of pair
close to shore swims to a rush-clump, into which he vanishes. His
mate follows him, pausing a little at the edge of the clump to pull
at the rushes, before disappearing. Both soon come out again, the
female now leading and going into another clump a few yards further
along the shore ; the drake follows. Three minutes later the duck
emerges, proceeding straightway to a third Juncus-clump, into which
she disappears as usual. The male awaits her at the edge.
Later both set out for the island, the female in the van ; and the
latter, after one or two abortive efforts, succeeds in springing up its
somewhat steep banks. Making her way into a bed of Epilobium, she
270 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
appears to pull at the last-year's dry steins, but my view is obscured,
and her exact movements are not seen. In a few minutes she
comes out to the edge of the island, using her bill amongst the grass,
but almost immediately returns to the willow-herb clump.1 Mean-
while her mate remains in the water close to the island, awaiting his
partner's return. Soon he is approached and attacked by another
drake, and is pursued to some distance, where he is later joined by
his mate from the island. The mate of the newly arrived drake
cruises to and fro by the island, with an evident half-formed intention
of going ashore ; but she does not do so, eventually commencing to
dive for food."
Such behaviour as this is to be witnessed daily from mid- April
onward, and is shared in equally for several weeks by the two sexes j
but a rapid waning is to be noted in the drake about the period of
egg-laying. The described grass-plucking habit is often curiously
vague and uncertain in character, and is obviously at least semi-
unconscious on the part of the birds. It is difficult to doubt its
(indirect) connection with the instinct of nest-construction. If this
be so, the drake's participation has a peculiar interest.
Egg-deposition takes place at an early hour of the day. When
the female goes to the nest to lay, the drake commonly accompanies
her, and remains a while in close proximity. His attitude is one of
expectancy, and a feature is the repeated opening and closing of the
mandibles, suggesting the regular utterance of a note, which must,
however, be very low in tone, since it has never been audible to me.
It is, perhaps, the common liquid note of other occasions. Under
such circumstances the drake acts as a guard of the nesting-site,
and displays great jealousy of the approach of other individuals,
male or female, driving them off with determination. Females
likewise show jealousy in the neighbourhood of their chosen nesting-
site, and may occasionally be witnessed repulsing others of the same
sex. Nevertheless it is evident that interlopers may make use of the
same nest : and this is no doubt more commonly the case where
suitable nesting-sites are limited in comparison with the number of
birds.
The young dive freely for food when still only a few hours old.
The instinct is no doubt congenital ; but there are indications that
it is not perfectly so. Young broods newly on the water may some-
times be watched for hours without being seen to dive, feeding
entirely on surface-insects and vegetable matter. When they do
commence to go under, some little awkwardness and uncertainty is
1 Which contained a nest later in the same season.
A LIST OF THE DIPTERA MET WITH IN WESTER ROSS 271
apparent, though such disappears within a very short period. At this
early age they spend from five to eight seconds submerged, which
period increases to ten to fifteen seconds at ten days, and in propor-
tion at other ages ; but the depth of water has a modifying influence.
They are nearly full-grown when five weeks old, and are able to fly
at six weeks.
A LIST OF THE DIPTERA MET WITH IN
WESTER ROSS, WITH NOTES ON OTHER
SPECIES KNOWN TO OCCUR IN THE
NEIGHBOURING AREAS.
By Colonel J. W. Yerbury, R.A., F.Z.S.
{Continued from fage 232.)
ORTHORRAPHA BRACHYCERA.
Si ratiomyid 1 .
106. Oxycera nigripes^ Inchnadamph, June and |uly 191 1: in
numbers (Verrall). Mr Venal] found this species common
in a wet spot on the banks of the river Tarragill, near Inchna-
damph. Although I believe I found this exact spot in 191 1,
the species was quite absent j it occurred, however, in
abundance on the banks of the burn running down from
Ardmore. It seems to be doubtfully distinct from O.
pygmcea.
107. Sargus fiavipesi Mg., Golspie, 13th August 1900.
108. S. ruffes, Wahlb., The Mound (Verrall).
109. S. iridatus, Scop., Golspie, 29th and 31st July 1900.
no. Chloromyia formosa, Scop., Golspie, nth and 29th June 1904.
in. Microchrysa folita, L., Golspie, 31st July 1900.
112. M. flavicoruis, Mg., Golspie (Verrall).
113. M. cyaneiventris, Zett, Golspie, 13th June 1904.
114. Berts clavifes, L., Tongue (Verrall).
115. B. Valletta, Forst., Golspie (Verrall).
116. B. chalybeata, Forst., Golspie (Verrall).
117. B. geniculate Curt., Golspie (Verrall).
118. B. morrisii, Dale, Golspie (Verrall).
272 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Leptid^e.
119. Xylophagus ater, F., The Mound (Verrall).
120. Leptis scolopacea, L., Loch Assynt, 17th June 1911; Golspie,
19th August 1904; and Tongue (Verrall).
121. L. notata, Mg., Syre, 28th May 1896.
122. L. tringaria, L., Golspie, 13th and 31st July 1900.
123. L. lineola, F., Golspie, 13th June 1904.
124. Symphoromyia crassicornis, Panz., Loch Assynt, 26th July 191 1
(only specimen); Golspie, 22nd August 1900; Tongue
(Verrall).
125. Chrysopilus cri status, F., Loch Assynt, 9th June 1911; The
Mound, 20th June 1904; Tongue (Verrall).
126. C. aureus, Mg., Inchnadamph (Verrall).
127. Ptiolina atra, Staeg., Loch Assynt, 3rd June 191 1 (the only
specimen).
128. Spania nigra, Mg., Loch Assynt, 10th June 191 1; The
Mound, 20th to 28th June 1904; Tongue (Verrall); Gairloch
(Verrall).
TABANID/E.
129. Hccmatopota pluvialis, L., Inchnadamph (Verrall) — not met
with by me ; Invershin, 13th August 1900.
130. H. crassicornis, Wahlb., Lochinver, 8th July 191 1; Loch
Assynt, 8th June and 19th July 191 1; Inchnadamph
(Verrall). This species was flying round me in countless
numbers during the few hot days of early July, and was a
terrible pest ; the following occasions may be particularly
cited, viz. — Kirkaig Valley, 12th July 191 1; shores of
Glencanisp Loch, nth and 13th July 191 1.
131. Tabanus {Therioplectes) montanus, Mg., Lochinver, 1st to
16th July 191 1, in great numbers; Kylesku, 5th July 191 1;
Loch Assynt, 19th July 191 1; Invershin, 19th July 191 1.
Verrall records it from Invershin and Sheil House, Ross.
This species was unpleasantly in evidence during early July
in the valley of the Inver ; it was comparatively rare at
Inchnadamph. The variation in the marking on the eyes of
this species is worthy of note. Some have three distinct
bands, others have either the upper or the lower band, or
both bands faint and indistinct, and sometimes quite absent.
132. T. (Therioplectes) tropicus, Mg., The Mound (Verrall).
133. T. {Therioplectes) luridus, Fallen., Golspie, 9th June 1904.
134. T. (Therioplectes) distinguendus, Yerr., The Mound (Verrall).
A LIST OF THE DIITERA MET WITH IN WESTER ROSS 273
135. T. cordiger, Wied., Lochinver, 24th June to 13th July 191 1 ;
common. The first Tabanus to put in an appearance in the
valley of the Inver.
136. T. sudeticus, Zeller., Lochinver, 7th to 12th July 191 1; common.
Occurs in some numbers along the road to the Kirkaig River,
but is not numerous elsewhere.
137. Chrysops relicta, Mg., Lochinver, 20th June to 10th July 191 1,
common ; Loch Assynt (Verrall). To me it seems probable
that the dark Chrysops referred to by Verrall {British Flies,
p. 428) is the male of this species, and not C. sepulch rails,
as suggested. I saw no ground round Lochinver at all like
the places frequented by C. sepulchralis on Studland and
other Dorset heaths. Pleske {Ann. Mus. Zoo/. S. and P.,
xv. (19 10), p. 436) has apparently overlooked Yerrall's
remarks regarding C. sepulchralis and C. maurus, and the
probability of these two names being synonyms for one
species. Previous to the above record, I had not met with
any species of Chrysops to the north of Nairn.
THEREVIDiE.
138. Thercva arcuala, Lw., Golspie (Verrall).
139. T. nobilitata, F., Golspie (Verrall).
140. T. plebeia, L., Golspie (Verrall).
141. T. bipunctata, Mg., Golspie (Verrall).
142. T. atinulata, F., Sutherland (Verrall).
Though Thereva is a common genus at Golspie, it seems
to be quite absent from the neighbourhoods of Lochinver and
Inchnadamph ; this may be due to the paucity of broad-
leaved trees, and in the case of T. annulata and bipunctata,
to the absence of murrain grass and sand-dunes.
Asilid.k.
143. Isopogon brevirostris, Mg., Lochinver, 24th June 191 1, in fair
numbers, sitting on stones in an inclosure marked on the
Ordnance Survey map as " Market Site " ; Loch Maree
(Verrall). Lochinver on the west coast, and Golspie on the
east, seem to be the northern limit of what may perhaps be
called the southern fauna; this species and the next reach
their northernmost boundary at these two places, and many
other conspicuous southern insects seem to do the same, e.g.,
Brachyopa bicolor, Leucozona lucorum, Chrysops relictus,
12 2 M
274 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Chrysochlamys cuprea, etc. Many indeed seem to be isolated
at these places, their nearest congeners being far away.
144. Leptogaster guttiventris, Zett., Golspie, 13th and 18th August
1900.
Empid.e.
145. Hybos femoratus, Mull., Lochinver, 27th and 29th June and
7th July 191 1 ; Loch Assynt, 12th June 1911; Tongue,
18th June 1884 (Verrall).
146. H.grossipes,L., £ , Lochinver, 22nd June 191 1. This specimen
agrees with Lundbeck's identification of this species, but its
correctness is by no means established.
147. H. culiciformis, F., Lochinver, 1st July 191 1; Golspie, 28th
July 1900.
148. Cyrtoma spuria, Fall. ( = ? pi/osa, Lundb.), Loch Assynt, 18th
June 191 1.
149. C. nigra, Mg., £, Lochinver, 27th June 191 1; ?, Loch
Assynt, 8th June 191 1.
150. C. sp. inc., Golspie, 25th August 1900.
151. Rhamphomyia anomalipennis, Zett., ? , Loch Assynt, 5th June
1911.
152. R. stigmosa, Macq., Loch Assynt, 2nd and 6th June 191 1.
Apparently the R. albosegmentata of Verrall's list.
153. R. sulcata, Fall, Loch Assynt, 2nd, 7th, 10th, and 21st June
1911; Golspie, 9th June 1904.
154. R. nigripes, F., Loch Assynt, 1st, 7th, and 16th June, 1911.
155. R. tarsata, Mg., Lochinver, 23rd June 1911.
156. R. sp. inc. {nitidula, Zett.?), ?, Loch Assynt, 3rd June 191 1.
157. R. sp. inc., <£, Lochinver, 24th June 191 1.
158. R. dentipes, Zett., <$ , Lochinver, 21st June 191 1 (the only
specimen).
159. R. geniculate*, Mg., Loch Assynt, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th June.
1911J Lochinver, 20th, 21st, and 23rd June, and 7th and
13th July, 191 1.
160. R. hybotina, Zett., Loch Assynt, 9th June 191 1.
161. R.flava, Fall., Golspie, 16th June 1904.
162. R. spirsirostris, Fall., recorded by Verrall from Tongue, 18th
June 1884; but Mr Collin informs me that these specimens
are apparently R. dissimilis, Zett.
163. Empis stercorea, L., Loch Assynt, 2nd June 191 1; Golspie
13th June 1904.
164. E. tessellata, F., Loch Assynt, 5th June 1911.
165. E. sp. nov. ? Loch Assynt, 1st June 191 1. This species stands
A LIST OF THE DIPTERA MET WITH IN WESTER ROSS 275
in Mr Verrall's collection under the MS. name of Empis
snowdoniana.
166. E. trigranuna, Mg., Loch Assynt, 1st, 7th, and 12th June
191 1 : Golspie, 14th Tune 1904; Tongue, 18th June 1884
(Verrall).
167. E. vernalise Mg., Loch Assynt, 8th, 16th, and 18th June 191 1 ;
Lochinver, 24th and 30th June and 1st July 191 1.
168. E. borealtSj L., Loch Assynt, 1st June 191 1 ; Kinlochewe,
23rd May 1892 (Grant).
169. E. lucida, Zett, Loch Assynt, 5th June 1911.
170. E. opaca, F., Tongue, 18th June 1884 (Verrall).
1 7 t. Hilara matrona, Hal. (nee Strobl) — spini/nana, var. spinigcra,
Strobl — Lochinver, 30th June, and 1st, 7th, 8th, nth July,
191 1 ; Loch Assynt, 20th July 191 1 ; very common.
172. H. maura^ F., Loch Assynt, 1st, 2nd, 7th, 10th, and 17th June
1911; Lochinver, 23rd June 1911.
173. H. interstincta, Fall., Lochinver, 23rd, 24th, and 30th June, and
TSt and nth July, 191 1.
174. H. ehoricd) Fall., Lochinver, iSth June and 1st and 7th July
191 1 ; Loch Assynt, 8th and nth June, and 19th, 20th, and
23rd July, 191 1.
175. H. pnbipes, L., A and 9, Lochinver, nth and 13th July
1911.
176. H. flavipes, Mg., Lochinver, 22nd June and 8th and 13th
July 191 1.
177. H. litorea, Fall., 0% Lochinver, nth July 1911.
178. H. canescais, Zett., $ and 9, Lochinver, 1st July 1911.
179. Ragas unica, Wlk., ?, Loch Assynt, 7th June 191 1.
180. Trichina clavipes, Mg., Loch Assynt, 17th June 1911: Loch-
inver, 7th July 191 1 ; The Mound, 16th June 1904.
t8i. Ocydromia glabricula, Fall., Loch Assynt, 6th June 191 1:
Golspie, 14th June 1904.
182. CHnocera (Kowarzid) hi punctata, Hal., Loch Maree, 7th June
1884 (Verrall).
183. CI. nigra, Mg., Loch Assynt, 20th July 191 1.
184. CI. (ffeleodromvia) stagna/is, Hal., Loch Assynt, 9th June
191 1 ; Golspie, 18th June 1904.
(To be continued.)
276 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
OBITUARY.
RAMSAY HEATLEY TRAQUAIR, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.
We regret to announce the death, on the 22nd November, of
Dr Ramsay Heatley Traquair, the distinguished palaeontologist and
authority on fossil fishes. For some months past an increasing
weakness had been noticed by those who were associated with him,
but he continued to work bravely on up to within a few weeks of his
decease. Among the latest tasks accomplished by him may be
mentioned a "Catalogue of the Type and Figured Specimens of
Fossil Fishes in the Royal Scottish Museum."
We hope to publish in an early issue a more extended notice of
the life and labours of our late distinguished colleague, who con-
tributed on several occasions to the pages of the Annals of Scottish
Natural History.
NOTES.
Great Grey Seal and Coal-fish Incident. — During a
residence on the main island of the Pentland Skerries in May last
I was the witness of an incident that may interest some of our
readers. On the evening of the 9th I observed a fine Great Grey
Seal (yHalichvrus grypus) behaving in a somewhat unusual manner,
and on watching it I found that it had captured a Coal-fish (Gadus
7'i'rens), about 4 ft. in length. The fish had been purposely only
partially paralysed by its captor, inasmuch as it was unable to
maintain its usual position in the water, but swam somewhat
vigorously at the surface on its back. The Seal was playing with
it as a cat plays with a mouse. It allowed its victim to swim away
some little distance, recaptured it, took it in its mouth, dived with
it, rolled over it, and struck it with its hind flippers. After these
proceedings had been repeated several times, the Seal, having to
all appearance thoroughly enjoyed the fun, thought it was time to
proceed to business — to wit, to make a meal of its capture. It
seized the fish by the stomach and tore out the entrails, which it
swallowed at a single gulp. It then very dexterously stripped off
the skin from head to tail, commencing on the head and using its
fore flippers to hold its prey, accomplishing the operation in a
manner that no fishmonger could excel. The skin formed the
second mouthful. The naked carcase was then disposed of piece-
meal in chunks of lanje size, until all was finished, the Seal diving
NOTES 277
with the remains between each mouthful, and cutting off another
steak on his appearance on the surface. During these operations
the animal stood, as it were, in the water in a perpendicular
position. It was by no means shy, for I was seated in an
exposed position not more than 25 yards away and saw all
the proceedings most clearly through my binoculars. I blew a
loud blast on a shrill whistle after the acts just described had
closed, but the Seal was in no way perturbed by the unusual
sound. — Wm. Eagle Clarke.
Jays in Dumfriesshire. — The Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
being a local resident in this county, confined more or less to the
littoral parishes, it is interesting to know that a bird of this species
was seen near Dardarroch (Glencairn) from 1st to 7th October, and
that three were seen near Capenoch (Keir) on 26th October, 191 2.
No specimens having been handled, it is impossible to say whether
these individuals indicate a local movement, or are from continental
Europe. — Hugh S. Gladstone, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.
The Winter Quarters of the Yellow Wagtail.— In an
article on "The New Nomenclature of British Birds," in the Scottish
Naturalist for September 191 2, p. 198, it is stated that the" winter
quarters of the Yellow Wagtail extend as far south in Africa as the
Transvaal and Natal. In the Handlist of British Birds, p. 39, on
the other hand, it is stated that the British Yellow Wagtail migrates
through West Europe to West Africa. This is mentioned by your
reviewer as a mistake on the part of the writers of the Handlist, but
I venture to say that the statement in the Handlist will be found
to be absolutely correct. Yellow Wagtails undoubtedly migrate
south to the Transvaal, Natal, and exceptionally even Cape Colony,
but these birds are not the British race, M.flava ravi, but the very
similar M. flava campcstris, which breeds in the Kirghis Steppes and
migrates through East Africa. The British race, on the other hand,
passes through the Iberian peninsula and Western Africa south to
the Congo, but most birds appear to winter between Senegambia
and the Benue (see Hartert, Vogel, Pal. Fauna, i., pp. 294-5).
Seebohm regarded the two forms as identical, and they are certainly
closely allied, but it is now generally admitted that they are
distinguishable. — F. C. R. Jourdaix, Ashbourne.
[We are quite aware of all that Mr Jourdain sets forth in the
above note. Stark, in his standard work on the Birds of South
Africa (1900), treats the two forms as identical, and we have yet to
learn that it is possible to distinguish between the two races in their
winter plumage. — Eds.]
278 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Red-breasted Flycatcher at the Pentland Skerries.—
On 30th September there were a number of migratory birds on the
island, and among them I detected what I felt sure was a Red-
breasted Flycatcher (Muscicapa parva) from the white on its tail,
which it spread out as it flitted about on the rocks. It was a very
brisk little bird, and I had some difficulty in securing it in order to
establish its identity. It proved to be an adult male, and is now
in the collection in the Royal Scottish Museum. — John Bain,
Pentland Skerries.
Reed-warbler in the Orkneys.—^ On the 28th September
I saw a small bird which was unknown to me, on the island
of Auskerry. It was secured and sent to Mr Eagle Clarke for
determination, and proved to be a Reed-warbler (Acrocephalus
streperus). Mr Eagle Clarke informs me that this bird has not
hitherto been obtained in Orkney, and that it is the fourth known
to have occurred in Scotland. — H. Laidlaw, Auskerry.
Late stay of Swifts in Banffshire. — Following upon the
note in the November number of the Scottish Naturalist, on the
late stay of Swifts (Cypse/its apus) in Edinburgh this year, it may
be of interest to state that I saw one Swift here on 29th September,
at 6 p.m., circling round the church steeple, apparently trying to
alight but continually blown aside by the wind, which was strong.
Next day I saw a Swift again, probably the same bird. -—Jane Cowan,
Cullen, Banffshire.
Common Guillemot and Barn Owl near Glasgow. -
On 13th October I saw a Guillemot (Uria troile) which was
found here on that day alive but unable to fly. There had been
no storm previously to drive it so far inland. Four days later
I found a Barn Owl (Strix flammea) sitting in a large yew tree,
and on 21st October I saw a Barn Owl sitting in a thorn hedge
about half a mile from where I saw the Owl on the 17th. Possibly
it was the same bird. I have never seen a Barn Owl here before. —
James Bartholomew, Torrance, near Glasgow.
Quail nesting in Kirkcudbrightshire.— The nest of a
Quail {Cotur/iix cnti/?viix), containing eight or nine eggs, was
discovered this summer, not far from Dairy. The nest was in a
hay-field by the river Ken, and was unfortunately destroyed by the
reaper when cutting hay. — Hugh S. Gladstone, Thornhill,
Dumfriesshire.
Pood of the Common Partridge. — In connection with Mr
Grimshaw's interesting note (p. 249) on the food of the Pheasant,
NOTES 279
the following observation on that of the Partridge {Perdix perdix)
seems worth recording. On 18th October I received from Dr
Harvie-Brown, part — about a third — of the contents of the crop of
a Partridge shot on the 15th, "on rushy, rough, grass-land" on his
Denny Hills shootings, Stirlingshire. The material sent I found
consisted almost entirely of small flies, of which 1373 were counted,
all belonging to one species, namely, Bibio lepidus, Lw. (specimens
have been shown to Mr Grimshaw). The only other things noticed
were a few blades of grass and bits of Galium saxatile, and one or
two seeds of Juncus. If the remainder of the contents of the crop
were similar to the portion sent me — and I have been assured it
was— the total number of flies in the crop must have been about
4000. The crop of another Partridge killed at the same time is
stated to have been filled with the same food-material. Curiously
enough, Bibio lepidus has not previously been recorded from the
Forth Area. In the above material males far outnumbered females,
the ratio being something like twenty to one. — William Evans.
The Little Gull near Dunbar (Forth). — On 2nd October
1912, a Little Gull (Larus minutus) — young male — was shot at the
mouth of the Tyne, near Dunbar, and taken to Mr D. Bruce, who
kindly forwarded it to me. It was evidently a "piner" — very thin,
and infested with Mallophaga. These belonged to four species
representing as many genera, the most abundant being Nirmus
eugrammicus^ Nitzsch, a prettily marked species apparently peculiar
to the Little Gull, and only recently recorded as British (see my
paper on " Forth " Mallophaga in Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc, xviii.,
265). — William Evans.
Tunny stranded at Weisdale, Shetland. — On 26th
September a large fish was found stranded at the head of AYeisdale
Voe, which on examination was found to be a line specimen of the
Tunny {Orcynusihynnus). The fish had every appearance of having
reached the shore quite a short time previous to its being found.
The Tunny measured 8 feet in length, 6 feet in girth, and the tail
was 35 inches from tip to tip. This is the first Tunny found in
Weisdale Voe in living memory. — John S. Tulloch, Lerwick.
Tunny in the Firth of Forth.— On 18th October we found
a Tunny {Orcynus thynnus) stranded in Largo Bay. It was about
8 feet long, but had been considerably mutilated, so that the sex
could not be determined, as we are kindly informed by Professor
MTntosh. The skeleton has been secured for the St Andrews
University Museum. This fish seems worth a record, as few Tunnies
28o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
have previously been reported in the Forth Area. — Leonora
Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V". Banter, Largo.
Monomorium pharaonis, L., in Kincardineshire. —In April
1909, numerous specimens of this species of Ant were given to the
writer by Mr Campbell, Auchinblae, near Fordoun. They had become
a regular plague in his business premises, being specially destructive
to sugar. The identification is due to Mr Donisthorpe, who tells me
that little, unfortunately, can be done to eradicate this pest. — James
Waterston, Ollaberry, Shetland.
Mallophaga from the Ptarmigan. — Through the kindness
of Dr Harvie-Brown I had an opportunity in the end of October
of examining two Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) from Inchnadamph,
Sutherlandshire, and from them obtained a fair number of Mallo-
phaga belonging to two species — a Nirmus (69) and a Goniodes
(39). So far as I am aware, no Mallophagan parasite has
hitherto been recorded from the Ptarmigan in this country. In
his Anoplurorum Britannia (1842), Denny says of Nirmus
cameratus, N., "Common upon the Red Grouse and Black
Grouse, and I suspect also upon the Ptarmigan " ; and of Goniodes
tetraonis, D., " Common upon both the Black and Red Grouse ;
upon the Willow or Hazel Grouse (Tetrao saliceti) I find a similar
but distinct species, rather broader in the abdomen, and of much
darker colour. What infests the Ptarmigan I have never been able
to ascertain." Grube, in Middendorf's Siberian Reise (185 1),
records Nirmus cameratus from Lagopus albus ( = saliceti) and
Z. alpinus at Boganida, and Goniodes tetraonis from Z. albus at
Boganida and Z. alpinus at the Taimyrsee. Z. alpinus (Nils.) is a
synonym of Z. mutus (Montin), but the Ptarmigan met with by
Middendorf in these northern districts of Siberia are more likely to
have been Z. rupestris (the Rock-Ptarmigan) than true Z. mutus.
Compared with specimens of Nirmus cameratus from Red Grouse
— and also from the Black Grouse — my Nirmi from the Ptarmigan
differ so far as I see only in being darker and greyer, with the
marginal lines almost black. As the difference, however, is
probably constant, I venture to designate them N. cameratus,
Nitzsch, var. nigrescens. The Goniodes agree so well with G.
tetraonis, Denny, from Red and Black Grouse, that I unhesitatingly
identify them with that species. In them also the markings are on
the dark side, but not more so than in some examples from the other
birds. Since writing the above I have found similar specimens on
an Inverness-shire Ptarmigan kindly submitted to me by Mr T.
Speedy. — William Evans.
NOTES 281
Two rare Corals, and Polyzoa from Rockall. — Whilst
fishing in deep water off Rockall, between 13th and 19th October
1 91 2, an Aberdeen fishing-boat caught upon its lines two fine
colonies of Coral, which were landed in good condition.
A large creamy-white colony, 21.5 cm. high and 10 cm.
across, represents the rare British Tuft-Coral, Lophohelia prolifera
(Pallas), a representative of the Madrepore or Reef-Corals. The
species has been found in deep water off Skye, and one enormous
example, 6 lbs. in weight, was found between Rum and Eigg, and
perhaps exists, as an unlabelled specimen, in the Natural History
Museum at Marischal College, Aberdeen. The "Porcupine"
obtained examples from the south and south-west of Ireland, and
from the same area many colonies have recently been dredged by
the Irish Fisheries Investigation, at depths from 215 to 800 fathoms.
Besides occurring dispersed over the North Atlantic Ocean, the Tuft-
Coral has been found in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
The second colony is a Hydrozoan Coral belonging to the order
Stylasterina. It is creamy-yellow in colour, with traces of pinkish
patches, and is a complete and well-developed example of Sty/aster
gemmascens, M. Edw. and Haimc. The colony is 10 cm. high and
9.5 cm. broad, with base widespread and massive, supporting a
stem 12 mm. in diameter, which divides into two main branches,
7 mm. in diameter. The polyp systems (cyclostems) are very wide,
sometimes 2 mm. across, and are notched to hold fourteen to
sixteen protective individuals (dactylozooids). Sty/aster gemmascens^
described originally from the Indian Ocean, was found in the North
Atlantic at a depth of 530 fathoms by the "Lightning" and
"Porcupine." It has been recorded from great depths in the
Foldenfjord, Norway, by G. O. Sars (1872), and Prof. Hickson
and Miss England have examined specimens from the Sulu Sea,
East Indies (1905). That it is not uncommon off Rockall is
indicated by the fact that an example from this neighbourhood has
already been recorded, by Prof. J. Arthur Thomson, in Proc. Roy.
P/iys. Soc, vol. xviii., 19 10, p. 61.
In company with the Corals, from the same area, was a colony,
with spread of 10 cm., of the coral-like Polyzoon, Pore I la compress a
(Sowerby), and on it were growing two examples of encrusting
Polyzoa— Membranipora catemilaria (Jameson), and Lichenopora
hispida (Fleming).
The Rockall Corals are now to be seen in the British Hall of
the Royal Scottish Museum. — James Ritchie.
12 2 N
282 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
BOOK NOTICES.
Report on Scottish Ornithology in 191 i, including Migra-
tion, by Evelyn V. Baxter and Leonora J. Rintoul. Edin-
burgh : Oliver & Boyd. London : Gurney & Jackson. Price
is. 6d. net.
We heartily welcome this Report, and congratulate the authors
on the excellence of their work and on the very voluminous and
widespread nature of the data upon which it is based. It embraces
Scotland from Tweed and Solway to Unst (the northernmost of our
Isles), and from lone St Kilda to the entire Scottish littoral of the
North Sea. The Report extends to no less than 80 pages, and its
various aspects are treated of comprehensively under the following
ten sections: — Introductory; Species new to Scotland; Uncommon
Visitors and Birds new to Faunal Areas ; Extension of Breeding
Range ; Summer and Nesting ; Winter Plumage, Food, Habits,
etc. ; Migration-Summary, and Notes on Bird Movements. We
trust that the labours of these indefatigable workers and excellent
original observers will meet with the recognition they so well
deserve. Their generosity, too, is worthy of mention ; for not
only have they borne the whole expense of the publication of the
Report, but they have presented copies of it to all the lightkeepers
and others who have contributed observations. We trust the
Report will have a sale commensurate with its importance, and
encourage its authors to prepare and publish it annually.
The Humble-Bee : Its Life-History, and how to Doiuesticate
it, by F. W. L. Sladen. London: Macmillan & Co., 1912.
Price 1 os. net.
This is a particularly interesting volume, based upon an intimate
personal knowledge on the part of the author, of the genus Bombus
(with its commensal Psithyrus), its various species as found in Britain,
their life-history, nest-building, and habits. It is written in a clear,
readable style, is beautifully illustrated, and tastefully printed. The
descriptions of the various species are well compiled, while the
plates, executed in coloured process, are excellent, representing
nearly all the British forms in natural size and colour. The book
should prove useful to the systematise inspiring to the young
amateur, and of much interest to the general reader.
GLEANINGS 283
Wild Life in the West Highlands, by Charles Henry Alston.
With illustrations by A. Scott Rankine. Glasgow : James
Maclehose cS: Sons, 1912. Price 6s.
The wild life of the Highlands is of especial interest to Scottish
Naturalists, and the writer of this volume has presented some
well-written sketches describing his observations — the result of long
residence in the area — of their furred and feathered inhabitants.
The chapters deal with miscellaneous subjects, such as the extermina-
tion of the last Wolf in Scotland ; the habits of the Badger, Grey
Seal, and Wild Cat. The Beaver, and Scottish tradition regarding
it, also receives notice, while the Stoat and such "smaller deer"
are likewise treated. The reader will probably find the greatest
interest lies in the chapters devoted to bird-life, where the author
has much original observation to record, and all his notes and
suggestions are both fresh and stimulating. " The Birds' Tree
Breakfast-Table " suggests an admirable line for bird watching,
and one particularly appropriate for the winter months. Again,
the chapter on the " Bird-Life of a Highland Parish " shows the
importance and interest of local observation. The remaining
chapters are somewhat miscellaneous, and it is a little surprising
to read of the Elephant and the Kea in a volume entitled Wild Life
in the West Highlands. However, some readers may be glad
to avail themselves of Mr Alston's knowledge of two such different
members among Nature's children, and all will find the illustrations
by Mr Scott Rankine decidedly pleasing : especial merit might
be accorded to "in the sanctuary," also to the Lesser Terns and
Peregrine Falcons. — G. E. G. M.
gleanings.
The latest issue of the Glasgow Naturalist (vol. iv., No. 4), dated September
1912, contains an article by John Craig and Matthew Barr, entitled "The Birds
of the Parish of Beith and Neighbourhood " (pp. 97-114). The abundance of the
Yellow Wagtail, the date of the first appearance of the Starling, and the occurrence
of the Stock-dove, are referred to. The only other major article of a zoological
nature is by Wm. J. M'Leod, and bears the title " Further Notes on the Aquatic
Coleoptera of the Monklands (Lanarkshire)." It occupies pp. 1 15-123, and gives
details of forty-eight species. Several notes are published on pp. 135-138, dealing
with the occurrence in the " Clyde " Area of interesting species of mammals, birds,
and insects.
12 2 N 2
284 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
The last-issued No. of the Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society (Edin-
burgh), viz., No. 4 of vol. xviii., dated October 1912, contains several papers of
interest to Scottish naturalists. The following have an intimate bearing on the
Scottish fauna : " Some Northern Hydroid Zoophytes obtained by Hull
Trawlers," by James Ritchie (pp. 219-230); "On Docophorus dassana, Denny,
and Lipeurus staphylinoides, Denny,"' Ly James Waterston (pp. 248-250) ; and
"Note on Mallophaga from the Little Auk or Rotchie (Alle alle), with list of
species taken on birds and mammals in the Forth Area," by William Evans
(pp. 265-276). We regret that pressure upon our space prevents a more detailed
notice of these communications.
In the November number of British Birds the following occurrences of rare
species are recorded : — On 5th May a male Lesser Grey Shrike QLanius minor')
was shot near St Leonards, Sussex, and a female of the same species two
days later (p. 184); a male Grey-headed Wagtail {Motacilla thunbergi) was
obtained near Rye on 28th April, and two male Western Black-eared Wheatears
{Saxicola hispanica) were shot near Winchelsea on 1 6th and 19th May; a White-
spotted Bluethroat {Cyanecula cyanecuhi) was found dead in a house at St Leonards
on 22nd September (p. 187) ; and on 16th September a Band's Sandpiper (Tringa
bairdii) was obtained at Rye Harbour — being the fourth British example.
In the Irish Naturalist for November we note (pp. 209-214) an interesting
article, entitled " Discovery of the Tree-pipit on the Tuskar Rock, Co.
Wexford," from the pen of Prof. C. J. Patten. The bird is new to the Irish list,
and two examples were obtained on migration at different dates in September.
The paper is illustrated by a photographic plate, which shows some of the differ-
ences between the Tree-pipit and the Meadow-pipit.
Messrs J. R. le B. Tomlin and W. E. Sharp continue, on pp. 249-253 of the
Entomologist's Monthly Magazine (November 191 2), their paper entitled " Notes on
the British Species of Zongitarsus, Latr. (a genus of Coleoptera)." Dark
examples of L. ballotce, Marsh., are noted as occurring at Forres.
Prof. T. Hudson Beare, in the November number of the Entomologist's Monthly
Magazine (pp. 255-257), records the occurrence of a new British Beetle at Nethy
Bridge. The species in question is Thanasimus rufipes, Brahm, of which five
examples were obtained from fir tops between 15th July and 6th August. A
specimen was also taken a year previously, but not recognised at the time.
The same author records (/.c, p. 263) the capture of a series of Lathrobium
dilulnm, Er., in the same locality in July and August. This Beetle was introduced
as British three years ago, on the evidence of specimens taken at Dalwhinnie.
Under the title " Odonata in Perthshire," Kenneth J. Morton publishes a note
in the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine (November 1 91 2, pp. 264-265) on some
Dragon-flies obtained in July at Rannoch and Glen Lochay. The species collected
were sEschna Ji/ncea, /E. dcrulea, Somatochlora a/rtica, Cordulegaster a/ini/lali/s,
Libellula (jitadrimaculata, Pyrrhosoma nymplu/la, and Enallagma cyathigernm.
INDEX
Aberfoyle, fossils in Chert and Black
Shale (Gleaning), 168
Acherontia atropos in Forth, 238. See
also Manduca
Acrocephalus streperus in Orkneys, 278
sEgialitis asiaticus, on Romney Marsh
(Gleaning), 21 ; hiaticola, early
breeding in Ayrshire, 165
Agrion has tula turn [Neuroptera] at
Aviemore (Gleaning), 96
Amphibia, homing faculty and migra-
tions of British (Gleaning), 1 19
Annelida Polychoeta in North Sea, etc.
(Gleaning), 216
Ant hits odscurus, on the Clyde Estuary.
89 ; richardi, at Fair Isle, 15
Ants of the Forth Area, 104
Ardea cinerea, nesting in the Lewis,
211 ; nesting near Stornoway, 185 ;
variety in Wigtownshire, 236
Aristotle's Researches in Natural
Science (Book Notice), 188
Athene noclua in Fife, 225
Atheta lihputana [Coleoptera] in Hants
(Gleaning), 22
Auk, Great, sales of Birds and Eggs
(Gleaning), 20
Auk, Little, correction, 141 (Gleaning).
119 ; visitation of, 1911-12, 77
Badger, in Lanarkshire, 42 ; near Glas-
gow, 162
Badgers in Kirkcudbrightshire, 162
Bain, John, 278
Bartholomew, James, 162, 184, 278
Baxter, Evelyn V., H.M.B.O.U.,
10, 16, 45, 53, 68, 90, 186, 236,
238, 259, 279
Bedford, Her Grace the Duchess
of, H.M.B.O.U., 15, 186,210,213,
236
Bell-Pettigrew Museum, St Andrews
(Gleaning), 46, 94
Bembidium virens [Coleoptera] in Ross-
shire (Gleaning), 240
Berry, William, LL.B., 212
Bird-Migration : Aberdeen University
Inquiry, 145, 169, 217, 241
Bird Notes, from Berwickshire, 42 ;
from the Isle of May in 191 1, 53 ;
from the Solway, 43, 259
Bird record, extraordinary (Gieaning),
19
Birds, Flight of (Book Notice), 190;
New Nomenclature of British
(Review), 193 ; New Scottish and
British, 8
Birds, of Dumfriesshire (Gleaning), 47 ;
of Northumberland and the Eastern
Borders (Book Notice), '189 ; of
Oronsay, winter (Gleaning), 239;
of Parish of Beith (Gleaning), 283
Birds, rare British (Gleanings), 71,
95, 167, 283 ; recovery of ringed
(Gleaning), 119; Scottish records
(Gleaning), 239 ; three new Irish
(Gleaning), 1 19
Bisshopp, Cecil H., 67
Bittern, at Oban, 67 ; in Norfolk
(Gleaning), 21
Bledtus arenariuSy n. var. fergussoni
[Coleoptera] (Gleaning), 72;
secerdendus, sp. n. [Coleoptera] in
Essex, etc. (Gleaning), 21
Bluethroat, Lapland form, on Isle of
May, 236 ; White-spotted, in
Sussex (Gleaning), 21
Bonar, Rev. H.N., F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.,
81
Book Notices, 22, 48, 69, 94, 118,
142, 166, 188, 214, 282
Botaurus stellaris, at Oban, 67 ; in Nor-
folk (Gleaning), 21
Branta bernicla in Peeblesshire, 115
British Association at Dundee (Glean-
ing), 263
Brock, S. E., 15, 17, 116, 261, 265
Brown, James Meikle, B.Sc, F.L.S.,
108
Bunting, Lapland, at Fair Isle, 15 ;
Pine-, at Fair Isle, 8 ; Snow-
(Gleaning), 239
286
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Bustard, Little, in Kincardineshire,
44
Butterflies, new Scottish forms (Glean-
ing), 47
Butterfly, Painted-Lady, at Isle of
May, etc., 261; "Painted-Lady,"
unusual numbers in Fife, 238 ;
Small Tortoise-shell, hibernating
in Shetland, 92
Buzzard, Common, in Wigtownshire,
67 ; Honey-, in Wigtownshire, 15 ;
reported (in error) from Wigtown-
shire, correction, 67
Cairns, James B., 186
Calcarius lapponicus at Fair Isle, 15
Cameron, P., 132
Campbell, Bruce, 43
Capercaillie, increase of (Gleaning), 143
Carabus hookeri [Coleoptera] = C. nitens
(Gleaning), 120
Carcharias glaucus in Forth, 16
Carmichael, Alastair D., 237
Carter, A E. J., 117
Cat, Scottish Wild (Gleaning), 71 ;
Wild, in Ross-shire (Gleanings),
143, 215
Catops montivagus [Coleoptera] at
Nethy Bridge (Gleaning), 120
Cellular ia bassani of Montagu, 68
Cerambycidce [Coleoptera], names of
British (Gleaning), 144
Circus cineraceus in Roxburghshire, 1 5
Clarke, Wm. Eagle, F.R.S.E.,
F.L.S., 8, 91, 102, 198, 276
Clausll/a bidentata [Mollusca] in
Orkney (Gleaning), 168
Clyde Area, notes on (Gleaning), 283
Clyde, return of Summer Birds in
1912 (Gleaning), 191
Clyne, R., 164
Coal-fish and Great Grey Seal
incident, 276
Coccothraustes coccothraustes, at Fidra,
Firth of Forth, 210; in West
Lothian, 43 ; (vulgaris), in Berwick-
shire, 42
Coleoptera, Aquatic, of Monklands
(Gleaning), 283 ; Clyde, additions
to List (Gleaning), 192 ; from
Isle of Eigg (Gleaning), 72 ; from
Northern Scotland, some records
of, 86
Coleopterist, retrospect of (Gleanings),
144, I9i
Colymbus nigricollis nigri colli s in Perth-
shire, t86
Conchology, additions to British
(Gleanings). 167, 192
CONGALTON, WILLIAM D., M.A.,
259
Cook, Charles, W.S., 44
Corals, two rare, from Rockall, 281
Cormorant rookery in Wigtownshire
(Gleaning), 47
Corvus monedula nesting in Squirrel's
drey, 15
Coturnix coturmx (communis'), in Ber-
wickshire, 43 ; nesting in Kirk-
cudbrightshire, 278 ; nesting in
Peebleshire, 210
Crab, rare Scottish, in Outer Hebrides,
142 ; rare, in Scottish waters, 17
Crake, Little, in Argyll (Gleaning),
20
Crepidula fornicata [Mollusca] in
British waters (Gleaning), 22
Crosbie, Kenneth C, 91
Crow, Hooded, in Solway Area, 43
Crustacea, The Life of (Book Notice),
Crymodes exuhs [Lepidoptera] in
Shetland (Gleaning), 264
Cuckoo reared by Rock-pipits at Ailsa
Craig, 235
Cuculus canorus reared by Rock-pipits
on Ailsa Craig, 235
Curlew, Slender-billed, in Kent (Glean-
ing), 20
Cyanecula cyanecula in Sussex (Glean-
ing), 21. See also Luscinia
Cyllocoris flavonotatus [Hemiptera-
Heteroptera] in Forth Area, 187
Cypselus apus, late stay about Edin-
burgh, 260 ; late stay in Banff-
shire, 278
Davidson, Gilbert D., 165
Deer, Roe, in Northern Highlands
(Gleaning), 215
Deihphila galii [Lepidoptera] in
Inverness-shire (Gleaning), 240
Dendrocopus major, breeding on Loch
Lomond, 185 ; trees in which it
has nested in Scotland, 81
Dermaptera (Earwigs), British (Glean-
ing), 22
Diptera, new British species (Glean-
ings), 47, 95, 168, 192, 216; of
Wester Ross, 226, 271
Distribution and Origin of Life in
America (Book Notice), 118
Docophorus melanocephalus [Mallo-
phaga] on the Knot in Shetland,
262
Dove, Turtle, in Ross-shire (Gleaning).
264 ; nesting near Gretna Green,
186
Dragon-flies in Perthshire (Gleaning),
284 ; of North of Scotland,
182
Dragon-fly, change of name (Glean-
ing), 143 ; new to Scottish List, in
Forth Area, 12
INDEX
287
Dumfriesshire, Catalogue of Vertebrate
Fauna of (Book Notice), 189 ;
destructive Insects and Coleoptera
(Gleaning), 240
Duck, Long-tailed, in Orkney (Glean-
ing), 20 ; Tufted-, in nesting season,
265 ; remarkable eggs of, 185 ;
Wild and Eider, hybridism between,
198
Earthworms and their Allies (Book
Notice), 119
Echinorhynchs from Clyde (Gleaning),
192
Echiurus pallasii on the coast of
Aberdeenshire, G9
Edwards, A. J. H., 65
Eel, Fresh-water, reproduction, etc.
(Gleaning), 240
Eider and Will Duck, hybridism
between, 198
Eider nesting in Ireland (Gleaning),
239
Elwes, H. J., F.R.S., 1, 25, 49
Emberiza leucocephala at Fair Isle, 8
Enchytraeids, British [Vermes] (Glean-
ing), 96
Erebia blandina and epiphron [Lep:dop-
tera], food-plants of (Gleaning),
264
Erit/iacus rubecula rubecula in East
Ross, 67
Evans, William, F.R.S.E., 12, 16, 17,
43, 45, 66, 68, 93, 104, US- n8,
141, 166, 186, 187, 236, 237, 260,
261, 262, 278, 279, 280
Evolution (Book Notice), 48
Falco candicans at Barra, 164
Falcon, Greenland, at Barra, 164
Fannia, British species of, 133, 154,
175, 201, 233
Ferguson, G. D., 260
Fieldfares, migration of, 89
Finch, Serin, in Midlothian, 1 1
Fish, behaviour of (Gleaning), 95
Fishes, Scottish Marine (Gleaning),
264 ; taken off the Wigtownshire
coast, 165
Flycatcher, Pied, probable nesting in
Moray (Gleaning), 264 ; Red-
breasted, at Pentland Skerries, 278
Formicidae (Ants) of Forth Area,
104
Fuligula cnstata, in nesting season,
265 ; remarkable eggs of, 185
Fulmar, account of (Gleaning), 264 ;
in Ireland (Gleanings), 21, 239;
past and present distribution as a
breeding species, 97, 121
Fulmar Petrel, notes on, 260 ; notes
on plumage, 102
Fulmar Petrels nesting at Stronsay,
Orkney, 214
Fulmars, breeding at Reawick, Shet-
land, 237 ; breeding in Orkney
(Gleaning), 143
Fnlmarus glacialis. See Fulmar, and
Fulmar Petrel
Gadus vireus, 276
Galloway, A. Rcdolf, 88
Gannet, note on, 90 ; some habits of,
164
Garrnlus glandariits in Dumfriesshire,
277
Gatty Marine Laboratory, St Andrews,
notes from (Gleaning), 191
Gecinus viridism Berwickshire, 43
Geese, Solamosse, 90
Gladstone, Hugh S., M.A., F.R.S.E.,
F.Z.S., 42, 43, 89, 90, 92, 114, 162,
277, 278
Gleanings, 19, 46, 71, 94, 119, 143,
167, 191, 215, 239, 263, 283
Glow-worm, observations on (Glean-
ing), 144
Godwit, Black-tailed, in Outer Hebrides,
237
Godwits, Black-tailed, in Moray, 92 ;
Black-tailed, in Solway, 4£
Goosander, "display" of, 116
Goose, Brent, in Peeblesshire, 115
Gordon, J. G., 88, 140, 165, 211
Gowan, Jane, 278
Graham, Gib., 16, 165
Grampus in Solway, 114
Grebe, Blac'<-necked, in Perthshire, 186;
Black-necked, on the Cromarty
Firth, 67 ; immature Eared, in
Solway, 213; Great Crested, in
Peeblesshire, etc., 186
Grebes, Red-necked, in Firth of Forth,
91
Grimshaw, Percy H., F.R.S.E.,
F.E.S., 249
Grouse, in Health and in Disease
(Review), 33 ; marked, identifica-
tion wanted, 236
Guillemot, Common, near Glasgow, 278
Gull, The, Life of the Common (Book
Notice), 23 ; Little, near Dunbar,
279 ; Sabine's, in Firth of Forth,
237
Hcematopinus ventricosus [Hemiptera],
in Shetland (Gleaning), 144
Halichcprus giypus, 276
Haliplus nontax [Coleoptera] from
Coatbridge (Gleaning), 216
Hall, Rev. Charles A., F.R.M.S.,
235
Harelda glacialis in Orkney (Gl
20
a a r Yi
[^ « , •»*.
288
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Harrier, Montagu's, in Roxburghshire,
15
Harvie-Brown,J.A.,LL.D.,F.R.S.E.,
97, 121, 163, 209
Hawfinch, at Fidra, Firth of Forth, 210 ;
in Berwickshire, 42 ; in West
Lothian, 43
Hedgehog, in Argyll, 209, 233 ; in
Arran, 259
Heliozoa of Scotland, 108
Helodromas ochropus in Solway, 45.
See also Totanus and Tringa
Hemiptera-Heteroptera, from St Kilda,
93 ; three new to Scottish List,
from Forth, 141
Herons, nesting in the Lewis, 211 ;
nesting in Orkney, 214; nesting
in Stornoway, 185 ; variety, in
Wigtownshire, 236
Heterogyna (Ants) of Forth Area,
104
Heteroneura [Diptera], three new
species (Gleaning), 144
Heteroptera, Linlithgowshire, 17. See
also Hemiptera-Heteroptera
Hirundo rusiica, early occurrence in
Delting, Shetland, 139
Holothuria forskali off Mallaig, 238
Home-Life of the Osprey (Book
Notice), 70
Hoopoe in Solway Area, 43
Hull, Rev. J. E., M.A., 40, 187
Humble- Bee : Its Life-History, and how
to Domesticate it (Book Notice),
282
Hyalosphenia ovalis, sp. nov. [Rhizo-
poda], 64
Hybos [Diptera], British species of
(Gleaning), 95
Hydracarina, notes on, 18
Hydvochelidon nigra, in East Lothian,
45 ; in Wigtownshire, 165
Hydroid Zoophytes, Northern (Glean-
ing), 284
Hylecatus dermestoides [Coleoptera] on
Loch Lomond (Gleaning), 216
Immigration of Summer Residents,
Report on (Book Notice), 48
Ixodes putus, Cambr., in Shetland,
238
Jackdaw nesting in Squirrel's drey, 15
Jackson, Annie C, 67, 89, 92, 163
Jays in Dumfriesshire, 277
Iopp, Pet. r, 211
JOURDAIN, Rev. F. C. R., M.B.O.U.,
277
Kennar, R. B., 92
Killer in Solway, 114
Kirk, Charles, 185, 235
Laidlaw, H., 278
Laidlaw, T.G.,M.B.O.U.,42,ii5,2io
Lanius senator senator, at Winchester
(Gleaning), 21 ; in Forth Area, 10
Lapwings, Rooks and, 88
Largs, Land Shells from (Gleaning),
192
Lark, Shore-, and other Birds on
Haddingtonshire coast, 66
Larus fuscus britannicus, new race
(Gleaning), 167
Larus minutus near Dunbar, 279
Lathrobium dilaium [Coleoptera] at
Nethy Bridge (Gleaning), 284
Laurence, J. R., 117
Leach, Richard H. W\, 116
Lebertia porosa [Hydracarida], larva of
(Gleaning), 168
Lepidoptera and other Insects from
St Kilda, 262
Lepidoptera from Braemar (Gleaning),
120
Leptocheirus [Crustacea], account of
species (Gleaning), 72
Leptyphantes tnoratus, 2l new Spider, 40
Leslie, A. S., W.S., 236
Lesteva luctuosa [Coleoptera] in Isle of
Eigg (Gleaning), 22
Life and Love of the Insect (Book
Notice), 70
Limicola platyrhyncha in Fifeshire, 212
Limnophilus subcentralis [Trichoptera],
Scottish records (Gleaning), 72
Limosa limosa (belgicd), in Moray, 92 ;
limosa, in Outer Hebrides, 237 ;
limosa, in Solway, 45
Lobster, Thorny, in the Outer Hebrides,
93 ; in Lewis, 166
Longitarsus [Coleoptera], British
species (Gleanings), 120, 284
Lucas, W. Jm B.A., F.E.S., 45, 182, 186
Luscinia luscinia, at Fair Isle, 9 ; suecica
suectca, on Isle of May, 236
Macdonald, D., 66
Macdonald, Donald, 185, 211
Macgillivray, Wm. L., 164
M'Intosh, Prof. W. C, F.R.S., 73
Mackay, Hugh, 140, 213, 259
Mackayia dimorpha, n. g. and sp. of
Mallophaga, 251 ; he ter acanthus,
n. sp., 258
Mackenzie, Alex., 91
Mackenzie, D., 237
MallochJ.R., 133, 154, 175, 201,233
Mallophaga. from the Ptarmigan, 280 ;
from Shetland (Gleaning), 96 ;
new genus and species from
Manx Shearwater, 251 ; notes on
(Gleaning), 284
Manduca atropos in Outer Hebrides, 165.
See also Acherontia
INDEX
289
Marionina sphagnetonim [Vermes] from
StKilda, 118
Maxwell, Rt. Hon. Sir Herbert,
Bart., F.R.S., 15,67
May, Bird Notes from the Isle of, in
1911, 53
Meles meles, in Kirkcudbrightshire, 162 ;
in Lanarkshire, 42 ; near Glasgow,
162
Mergus albellus, at Melrose, 165 ; in
Elginshire, 116; in Forth, Moray,
and Shetland, 91 ; in Wigtown-
shire, 140 ; on Duddingston Loch,
140 ; size of immature drake, 140 ;
merganser, "display" of, 1 16
Metoecus paradoxus [Coleoptera], first
stages of (Gleaning), 71
Micariosoma f estiva [Spider] in Linlith-
gowshire, 261
Microscope, How to Use the (Book
Notice), 188
Microscopes, early (Gleaning), 215
Migration of Birds (Book Notice), 94
Millar, G., 210
Mola mola in Forth, 238
Mollusca, Boring, of St Andrews
(Gleaning), 96 ; Scottish records
(Gleaning), 192
Monomorium pharaonis in Kincardine-
shire, 280
Monticola saxaiilis in Sussex (Gleaning),
20
Mosquitoes, notes on British (Glean-
ings), 192, 216, 240
Moiacilla alba alba, on migration in East
Ross, 89; Jlava (supposed), in
"Dee," 139; ray/, winter quarters
of, 277
Moth, Death' s-Head, in Forth, 238;
in Outer Hebrides, 165
Muscicapa parva at Pentland Skerries,
278
Mymaridae, Scottish species of, 132
Myriapods, new British (Gleaning),
216
Myrmecoplnlous notes [Hymenoptera]
(Gleanings), 72, 95
Nash, J. Kirke, L.D.S., 185
Naturalist on Desert Islands (Book
Notice), 69
Neuroptera, British, in 191 1 (Gleaning),
216 ; Scottish, 1 86
Nightingale, Thrush, at Fair Isle, 9
Xirmus uncinosus [Mallophaga] in
Shetland (Gleaning), 22
Nomenclature, zoological (Gleanings),
19, 263
North Sea and its fisheries (Gleaning),
215
Notiophilus bigemmus [Coleoptera] at
Peebles, etc. (Gleaning), 216
Nucifraga caryocatactes macrorhynchus
near Aylesbury (Gleaning), 20
A'umenius phceopus, in December, 45 ;
in " Forth" in winter, 45 ; cream-
coloured, at Barra, 213; tenuirostris,
in Kent (Gleaning), 20
Nutcracker, Slender-billed, near Ayles-
bury (Gleaning), 20
Nyctala tengtnalmi in Shetland, 90
Nyctea nyctea, 164
Odonata, British, in 191 1 (Gleanings),
144, 168 ; in Perthshire (Glean-
ing), 284 ; of the North of Scot-
land, 182
CEnanthe leucorrhoa, female in male
plumage, 210, 259
Olophrum nicholsoni [Coleoptera] in
Inverness-shire (Gleaning), 47
Omalium grandiloqua [Coleoptera] in
Scotland (Gleaning), 72
Open Book of Nature, The (Book
Notice), 94
Ophonus [Coleoptera], British species
(Gleaning), 216
Orcinus orca in Sohvay, 114
Orcynus l/iynnus, in Firth ol Forth, 279 ;
stranded at Weisdale, Shetland,
279. See also Thunnus
Ornithology, Report on Scottish (Book
Notice), 114, 191, 282
Orthoptera, British, in 191 1 (Gleaning),
120 ; from the North of Scotland,
I9ii,45
Otis tetrax in Kincardineshire, 44
Otocorys alpes/ns on Haddingtonshire
coast, 66
Otter, large, at Kinlochewe (Gleaning),
95
Otters in Wigtownshire. 88
Owl, Barn, near Glasgow, 278 ; Little,
occurrence in Fife, 225 ; Snowy,
164 ; Tengmalm's, in Shetland, 90
Owls, Barn, in Berwickshire, 1 1 5
Pacluio'ia hyper borea [Lepidoptera] at
Rannoch (Gleaning), 264
Pahxophonus caledonicus [Fossil Scor-
pion], type of (Gleaning), 47
Palceopsylla kohauti [Aphaniptera] at
Ballindalloch (Gleaning), 95
Palinurus vulgaris, in the Outtr
Hebrides, 93 ; in Lewis, 166
Paromola cuvieri in Scottish waters, 1 7
Partridge, Common, food of, 278
Pants cieruleus iccruhus in Peeblesshire
(Gleaning), 21
Passer monta?ius breeding in Midlothian,
236
Perdixperdix, food of, 278
Periclista pubescens [Hymenoptera] in
Somerset (Gleaning), 22
2 go
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Perms apivora, in Wigtownshire, 15 ;
reported (in error) from Wigtown-
shire, correction, 67
Petrel, Fulmar, notes on, 260 ; notes
on plumage, 102. See also Fulmar
Petrels, Fulmar, nesting at Stronsay,
Orkney, 214
Phalarope, Grey, in Ayrshire, 16; in
Berwickshire, 43
Phalaropus fulicarius, in Ayrshire, 16;
in Berwickshire, 43
Phasianus colchicus, in Shetland, 211 ;
note on food, 249
Pheasant, Common, note on food, 249
Pheasants in Shetland, 21 1
Phora [Diptera], notes on British
(Gleaning), 144
Phylloscopus trochilus eversmanni, in
Haddingtonshire, 43 ; in Solway,
163
Physeter macrocep/ia/us, functional teeth
in upper jaw, 65
Pigeon, Passenger, extinction of (Glean-
ing), 47
Pintail Duck in Solway Area, 43
Pipit, Richard's, at Fair Isle, 15 ;
Rock-, on Clyde Estuary, 89 ;
Tree-, in Ireland (Gleaning),
284
Pipits, Rock-, on migration (Gleaning),
239
Pisidium lilljeborgi [Mollusca], in Arran
(Gleaning), 168 ; in Skye (Glean-
ing), 72
Plankton of Irish Sea and West Coast
of Scotland (Gleaning), 72
Plover, Caspian, on Romney Marsh
(Gleaning), 21 ; Ringed, early
breeding in Ayrshire, 165
Podicipes en status in Peeblesshire, etc.,
186; griseigena, in Firth of Forth,
91 ; nigricolliS) on the Cromarty
Firth, 67 ; in Perthshire, 186;
nigricollis, immature, in Solway,
213
Polycistina [Protozoa] in British waters
(Gleaning), 120
Polyzoa from Rockall, 281
Porzana pa rva in Argyll (Gleaning), 20
Puffinus griseus off west coast of Ireland
(Gleaning), 21
(Juail, in Berwickshire, 43 ; nesting in
Kirkcudbrightshire, 278
Quails nesting in Peeblesshire, 210
Raniceps raninus (Jrifiircatus) in Largo
Bay, 68
Rattray, Melvin H., 213
Redbreast, Continental race of, in East
Ross, 67
Redshank, courtship of (Gleaning), 239
Rhizopoda, Freshwater, from the
Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland
Islands, and Western Scotland, 59,
141 ; of Scotland, 108
Rhyacionia logaa, sp. n. [Microlepid-
optera] at Forres (Gleaning), 21
RhyncJutes Aanvoodt, sp. n. [Coleoptera],
in Berks (Gleaning), 21
Riddon, Loch, Birds and Diptera at
(Gleaning), 191
Rintoul, Leonora Jeffrey,
H.M.B.O.U., 10, 45, 53, 68, 186,
236,238, 259,279
Ritchie, James, M.A., D.Sc, 17, 69,
93, 142, 165, 166, 238, 281
Ritchie, R. Linton, 45
Robinson, H. W., 140, 214
Rooks and Lapwings, 88
Rooks, fatality amongst, 163; scarcity
of young, 184
Russell, George W., 91
Sandpiper, Baird's, at St Kilda, 9 ;
Broad-billed, in Fifeshire, 212 ;
Green, in Solway, 45 ; in Tay,
186; in Wigtownshire, 211 ; Terek,
in Kent (Gleaning), 215 ; Wood-,
in south-east Fife (Forth), 16
Saxbv, Dr T. Edmonston, 90
Saxico/a leucorrhoa, at Barra in
November, 15 ; cenant/ie leticonhoa,
in Argyll, 66 ; in Berwickshire,
186 ; in Midlothian, 115. See also
CEnanthe
Science of the Sea (Book Notice), 214
Scotland and North Ameiica, Cambrian
faunas (Gleaning), 240
Sea-cucumber, rare, off Mallaig, 238
Sea Fisheries : Their Treasures and
Toilers (Book Notice), 142
Sea, Life in the (Book Notice), 23
Seal, Great Grey, and Coal-fish incident,
276
Serinus serinus in Midlothian, 1 1
Shark, Blue, in Forth, 16
Sharp, D., M.A., F.R.S., 86
Shearwater, Sooty, in Orkney (Glean-
ing), 239 ; off west coast of
Ireland (Gleaning), 21
Sheep, primitive breeds in Scotland, I,
25,49
Shrew, Lesser, near Glasgow, 162
Shrews, Common and Lesser, annual
extinction (Gleaning), 95
Shrike, Red-backed, in Wigtownshire
(Gleaning), 239 ; Woodchat, at
Winchelsea (Gleaning), 21 ; in
Forth Area, 10
Sinclair, T., 214
Si tar is mutatis [Coleoptera], first stages
of (Gleaning), 71
Skye, Lepidoptera in (Gleaning), 240
INDEX
291
"Slipper Limpet" in British waters
(Gleaning), 22
Smew, at Melrose, 165 ; in Elginshire,
116; in Wigtownshire, 140; on
Duddingston Loch, 140 ; size of
immature drake, 140
Smews in Forth, Moray, and Shetland,
91
Solamosse Geese, 90
SOMERVILLE, ROBERT, B.Sc, 22$
Sorex miniitus near Glasgow, 162
South London Entomological and
Natural History Society, Proceed-
ings (Book Notice), igo
Sparrow, Tree-, breeding in Midlothian,
236
Specific names, absurd (Gleaning). 71
Spider, a new, 40
Spiders (Book Notice), 167 ; from the
North of Scotland, 187
Stag, large, at Ardnamurchan (Glean-
ing), 46
Starling, habits and coloration (Glean-
ing, 239
Sterna canliaca, in " Dee," general status
and first nesting record, 84 ; fluvia-
tilis, early appearance on Clyde,
92, 117; minutay on Ayrshire coast,
213
Storm of January, 1 91 2, in the Bay of
St Andrews, 73
Stout, George, 89, 92, 210
Stratiomyidae, additional records of
Scottish, 117
Strix flammea in Berwickshire, 1 15;
near Glasgow, 278
Sula bassana, note on, 90 ; some habits
of, 164
Sunfish, large, in Forth, 238
Swallow, early occurrence in Delting,
Shetland, 139
Sween, Loch (Gleaning), 96
Swifts, late stay about Edinburgh, 260 ;
late stay in Banffshire, 278
Sylvia curruca in Dumfriesshire, 210
Sympetrum fonscolombii in Forth Area,
12
Syntemna alpicola [Diptera] near Forres
(Gleaning), 95
Tadpole-fish in Largo Bay, 68
Tenthredinidae [Hymenoptera], help-
notes (Gleaning), 192
Tern, Black, in East Lothian, 45 ; in
Wigtownshire, 165; Common, early
appearance on Clyde, 92, 117 ;
Little, on Ayrshire coast, 213 ;
Sandwich, in " Dee," general status
and first nesting record, 84
Tetracanthella wahlgreni, Axels., in
Scotland, 166
Thanasimas rufipes [Coleoptera] at
Nethy Bridge (Gleaning), 284
Thomson, A. Landsborough, M.A.,
M.B.O.U., 84, 139, 145, 169, 217,
241
Thrush, Continental Song-, in Had-
dingtonshire, 43 ; in Moray and
Solway Areas, 163 ; Rock, in
Sussex (Gleaning), 20
Thunnns thynnus in Shetland, 237. See
also Orcynus
Tit, Continental Blue, in Peeblesshire,
21
Totanus glareola in south-east Fife
(Forth), 16
Traquair, Ramsay Heatley, M.D.,
LL.D., F.R.S. (Obituary), 276
Tringa bairdi, at St Kilda, 9 ; (Totanus)
ocrophus, in Solway, 259 ; in Tay,
186; in Wigtownshire, 211. See
also H elodromas
Triogma trisukata [Diptera] in Perth-
shire (Gleaning), 168
Tulloch, John S., 237, 279
Tunicates, The British (Book Notice),
190
Tunny, in the Firth of Forth, 279 ; in
Shetland, 237 ; stranded at Weis-
dale, Shetland, 279
Turdus philomelos philomelos, in Had-
dingtonshire, 43 ; in Moray and
Solway Areas, 163 ; pilaris, migra-
tion of, 89
Turtle-dove nesting near Gretna Green,
186 ; in Ross-shire (Gleaning), 264
Turiur communis nesting near Gretna
Green, 186 ; in Ross-shire (Glean-
ing), 264
Tweed Area, a Fauna of (Book Notice),
22
Tychus niger, Payk. [Coleoptera], in
East Lothian, 17
Uria troile near Glasgow, 278
Vanessa cardui, at Isle of May, etc., 261 ;
unusual numbers in Fife, 238 ;
urtica, in Shetland, 92 [Lepidop-
tera]
Verrall, G. H., death of (Gleaning), 19
Yespa germanica [Hymenoptera] habits
(Gleaning), 72
Wagtail, supposed Blue-headed, in
"Dee," 139; Yellow, winter
quarters of, 277
Wagtails, White, on migration in East
Ross, 89
Wailes, G. H., F.L.S., 59, 141
Waldron, Major P. L., 15
Wallace, Alex. B., 238
Warbler, Reed-, in Orkneys, 278
292
THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST
Warblers, The British (Book Notice),
166
Waterston, Rev. James, B.D., B.Sc,
139, 238, 251, 262, 280
Whale, Sperm, functional teeth in upper
jaw, 65
Wheatear, Greater (Greenland), at
Barra, in November, 15 ; in Argyll,
66 ; in Berwickshire, 186 ; in Mid-
lothian 115 ; Greenland, female in
male plumage, 210, 259
Whimbrel, in December, 45 ; in
"Forth" in winter, 45; cream-
coloured, at Barra, 213
While throat, Lesser, in Dumfriesshire,
210
Wild, Oliver H., ii
Wild Life in the West Highlands (Book
Notice), 283
Williamson, William, 18
Woodcocks, movements of Ringed, 92
Woodpecker, Great Spotted, breeding
on Loch Lomond, 185 ; trees in
which it has nested in Scotland,
81 ; Green, in Berwickshire, 43
Worm, Common Spoon-, on the coast
of Aberdeenshire, 69
Wren, Northern Willow-, in Hadding-
tonshire, 43 ; in Solway, 163
Wrens on migration at Tuskar Rock
(Gleaning), 191
Xantho hydrophilus (Crab) in Outer
Hebrides, 142
Xema sabini in Firth of Forth, 237
Yerbury, Colonel J. W., R.A., F.Z.S.,
226, 271
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CONTENTS
PAGE
Notes on the Primitive Breeds of Sheep in Scotland —
H. J. Elwes, FR.S. . . . i
Some New Scottish and British Birds. On the Occurrence of
the Pine Bunting, Thrush Nightingale, and Baird's Sand-
piper in Scotland— - JF///. Eagle Clarke, F.R.S.E., F.L.S. ;
On • the Occurrence of the Woodchat Shrike in Forth
Area — Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul, H.M.B.O.U., and Evelyn
V. Baxter, H.M.B.O.U.; Serin finch (Serinus serin us) in
Midlothian— Oliver H. Wild .... 8-
On the Occurrence of Sympetrum fonscolombii (Selys) — a
Dragon-fly new to the Scottish List — in the Forth Area —
William Evans, F.R.S.E. . . . . .12-
Notes . , . . . .15:
Jackdaw nesting in SquirreFs Drey — S. E. Brock j Richard's
Pipit and Lapland Bunting at Fair Isle — Her Grace the
Duchess of Bedford j Greater Wheatear at Barra in Novem-
ber— Her Grace the Duchess of Bedford ; Montagu's Harrier
in Roxburghshire — Major P. L. Waldron; Honey-Buzzard
in Wigtownshire — Rt. Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart.,
F.R.S.j Grey Phalarope in Ayrshire — Gib. Graham; The
Wood - Sandpiper in South-east Fife (Forth) — William
Evans, F.R.S.E.; Blue Shark in Forth — Evely?i V. Baxter,
H.M.B.O.U.j Tychus niger, Payk., in East Lothian —
William Evans, F.R.S.E.; Linlithgowshire Heteroptera —
S. E. Brock; Recurrence of the rare Crab, Paromola
cuvieri, in Scottish Waters — fames Ritchie, M.A., B.Sc;
Notes on Hydraearina — William Williamson.
Gleanings . . . . . . .19^
Book Notices . . . . . . .22
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CONTENTS
Notes on the Primitive Breeds of Sheep in Scotland {continued)-
H. J. Elwes, RR.S. ....
The Grouse in Health and in Disease .
A New Spider (Leptyph antes moratus, n. sp.). — Rev J, E,
Hull, M.A.
Notes . ..
Badger in Lanarkshire — Hugh S. Gladstone, M.A., F.Z.S.
Bird Notes from Berwickshire — T. G. Laidlaw ; Some Bird
Notes from the Solway Area — Hugh S. Gladstone, M.A
F.Z.S. j Hawfinch in West Lothian — Bruce Campbell '; The
Continental Song-Thrush and Northern Willow-Wren in
Haddingtonshire — William Evans, F.R.S.E.; Little Bus-
tard in Kincardineshire — Charles Cook, W.S.; Black-tailed
Godwits and Green Sandpiper in Solway — Leonora Jeffrey
Rintoul, H.M.B.O.U., and Evelyn V. Baxter, H.M.B.O.U.j
Whimbrel in " Forth" in Winter— William Evans, F.R.S.E.;
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East Lothian — R. Linton Ritchie; Orthoptera from the
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Gleanings .......
Book Notices .......
33
40
42
46
48
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Second Edition. Demy 8vo. With 384 Fine Woodcuts and
3 Maps. Price 21s.
AN ILLUSTRATED
Manual of British Birds
By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.
" Perhaps the question most frequently put to a zoologist by a lay friend is,
'What is a really good book on British Birds that is not too expensive ? ' and
the question has been one that has been found extremely difficult to answer.
Mr Saunders deserves our thanks for having taken this difficulty out of our
way." — A thenceum.
" Excellent alike in style and matter, it ought to be in the hands of every
lover of birds." — Annals of Natural History.
" It would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in fewer
lines. " — Zoologist.
"The whole work forms the most concise and at the same time trustworthy
book on birds of a single region that has ever been written." — Science Gossip.
GURNEY & JACKSON
(Successors to Mr Van Voorst)
33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
CONTENTS
PAGE
Notes on the Primitive Breeds of Sheep in Scotland {concluded) —
H. J. E/wes, F.R.S. ..... 49
Bird Notes from the Isle of May in 191 1. — Evelyn V. Baxter,
H.M.B.O. U., and Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul, H.M.B.O. U. . 53
Freshwater Rhizopoda from the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland
Islands, and Western Scotland ; with description of a new
species. — G. H. Wailes, F.L.S. . . . -59
Notes . . . . . . .65
The Presence of Functional Teeth in the Upper Jaw of the
Sperm Whale — A. J. H. Edwards ; Greater Wheatear in
Argyll — D. Macdonald j The Shore-Lark and other Birds
on the Haddingtonshire Coast — William Evajis, F.R.S.E.j
Continental Race of the Redbreast in East Ross — A?mie C.
Jackson j Honey - Buzzard reported from Wigtownshire —
The Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., F.RS.j
Bittern at Oban — Cecil H. Bisshopp j Occurrence of the
Black-necked Grebe on the Cromarty Firth — Annie C.
Jackson; Tadpole-fish in Largo Bay, Firth of Forth —
Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul, H.M.B.O. £/., and Evelyn V. Baxter,
H.M.B.O. U.j What is the Cellularia bassa?ii of Montagu ? —
William Evans, F.R.S.E.; The Common Spoon-Worm,
Echiurus pallasii, on the Coast of* Aberdeenshire — James
Ritchie, M.A., B.Sc.
Book Notices ....... 69
Gleanings . . . . . . .71
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
A few Complete Sets of "The Annals of Scottish
Natural History," from its Commencement in 1892 to
1911, in all Twenty Volumes, handsomely bound in
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Many of the Back Numbers can still be supplied.
I-R1NTED BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH.
No. 4.] 191 2 [April.
The Scottish Naturalist
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
With which is incorporated
"The Annals of Scottish Natural History "Ab%°os *o\-J
^4 ^««*. yv
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.
Keeper^ Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member, of the British Ornithologists' Union
PERCY H. G RIMS H A W, F. R. S. E., F. E. S.
Assistant- Keeper ) Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
ASSISTED BY
J. A. HARV1E-BR0WN, P.R.S.E., F.Z^S. II. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., 1 .R.S.E., F.Z.S.
EVELYN V. BAXTER.. H.M.B.O.U. JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., I3.Sc.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, H.M.B.O.U. A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON. M.A., M.B.O.C.
EDINBURGH: OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 Paternoster Row
Price gd. Annual Subscription, payable in advance, 6s. 6d. post free
The Scottish Naturalist
All Articles and Communications intended for publication, and
all Books, etc., for notice should be sent to Mr Percy H. Grimshaw,
Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.
Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the
Publishers, Messrs Oliver and Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh.
Authors of General Articles will receive 25 Reprints (in covers) of
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the Printers, at the undermentioned rates, provided such orders accompany
the Manuscript.
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WILLIAM BROWN
ANTIQUARIAN AND FINE ART BOOKSELLER AND PUBLISHER
5 CASTLE STREET, EDINBURGH
Telegrams FSTATU TSHFD l877 Telephone
"BIBLIOPOLE," EDINBURGH ^1^^"^ ™77 1237 CENTRAL
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MINERALS, ROCKS, OR FOSSILS
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A Large Stock of Choice Minerals
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RUSSELL & SHAW
11 JOHN STREET, THEOBALD ROAD, LONDON, W.C
Second Edition. Demy 8vo. With 384 Fine Woodcuts and
3 Maps. Price 21s.
0&r
AN ILLUSTRATED
Manual of British Birds
By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.
" Perhaps the question most frequently put to a zoologist by a lay friend is,
'What is a really good book on British Birds that is not too expensive?' and
the question has been one that has been found extremely difficult to answer.
Mr Saunders deserves our thanks for having taken this difficulty out of our
way." — Athentzum.
"Excellent alike in style and matter, it ought to be in the hands of every
lover of birds." — Annals of Natural History.
"It would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in fewer
lines. " — Zoologist.
"The whole work forms the most concise and at the same time trustworthy
book on birds of a single region that has ever been written." — Science Gossip.
GURNEY & JACKSON
(Successors to Mr Van Voorst)
33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
CONTENTS
PAGE
On the Storm of January, 191 2, in the Bay of St Andrews. —
Prof. W. C. M'Intosh, F.R.S. .... 73
The Little Auk Visitation of 1911-1912 . . . 77
Some Trees in which the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Den-
drocopus major, Linn.) has Bored or Nested in Scotland. —
The Rev. H. N. Bonar, F.Z.S., M.B.O. U. . .81
The Sandwich Tern {Sterna cantiacd) in "Dee": General
Status and First Nesting Record. — A. Landsborough
Thomson, M.A., M.B.O. U. . . . ^4
Some Records of Coleoptera from Northern Scotland. — D.
Sharp, M.A., F.R.S. ..... 86
Notes ........ 88
Otters in Wigtownshire — J. G. Gordon; Rooks and Lapwings
— A. Rudolph Galloway j Migration of Fieldfares — Hugh
S. Gladstone, M.A., F.Z.S.j Rock-pipit on the Clyde
Estuary — George Stout; White Wagtails on Migration in
East Ross — A?inie C. Jackson; Tengmalm's Owl in Shet-
land— Dr T. Edmonston Saxby ; A Note on the Gannet —
Evelyn V. Baxter, H.M.B.O.U.; Solamosse Geese — Hugh
S. Gladstone, M.A., F.Z.S.j Occurrences of Smews in the
Forth and Moray Areas and in Shetland — Kenneth C.
Crosbie, Alex. Mackenzie, and George IV. Russell; Smews
and Red-necked Grebes in the Firth of Forth — Win. Eagle
Clarke; Movements of Ringed Woodcocks — Hugh S.
Gladstone, M.A., F.Z.S.; Black-tailed Godwits in Moray
— Annie C. Jackson; Early Appearance of the Common
Tern on the Clyde — George Stout; Small Tortoise-shell
Butterfly Hibernating in Shetland — R. B. Kennar;
Hemiptera-Heteroptera from St Kilda — William Evans;
The Thorny Lobster {Palinurus vulgaris) in the Outer
Hebrides— James Ritchie, M.A., B.Sc.
Book Notices ....... 94
Gleanings ....... 94
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
A few Complete Sets of "The Annals of Scottish
Natural History," from its Commencement in 1892 to
1911, in all Twenty Volumes, handsomely bound in
cloth, gilt top, are still available, at the reduced
price of £4, 4s. net.
Many of the Back Numbers can still be supplied.
I'RINTKD HY OL1YKR AND BOYD, EDIKBl'KCiH.
No. 5.] 191 2 [May.
The Scottish Naturalist
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
With which is incorporated
" The Annals of Scottish Natural History'
EDITED BY
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S
Keeper^ Natural History Department , Royal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member of the British Ornithologists'' Union
PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.
Assistant-Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
ASSISTED BY
J. A. HARVIE-BROWN, LL.D., F.R.S.E.
EVELYN V. BAXTER, H.M.B.O.U.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, H.M.B.O.l".
H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.
JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc.
A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON, M.A., M.B.O.U.
EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 Paternoster Row
Price go7. Annual Subscription^ payable in advance^ 6s. 6d. post free
The Scottish Naturalist
All Articles and Communications intended for publication, and
all Books, etc., for notice should be sent to Mr Percy H. Grimshaw,
Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.
Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the
Publishers, Messrs Oliver and Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh.
Authors of General Articles will receive 25 Reprints (in covers) of
their Contributions gratis. Additional Copies, in covers, may be had from
the Printers, at the undermentioned rates, provided such orders accompany
the Manuscript.
25 Copies 50 Copies 100 Copies
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WILLIAM BROWN
ANTIQUARIAN AND FINE ART BOOKSELLER AND PUBLISHER
5 CASTLE STREET, EDINBURGH
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11 JOHN STREET, THEOBALD ROAD, LONDON, W.C
Second Edition. Demy 8vo. With 384 Fine Woodcuts and
3 Maps. Price 21s.
AN ILLUSTRATED
Manual of British Birds
By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.
"Perhaps the question most frequently put to a zoologist by a lay friend is,
'What is a really good book on British Birds that is not too expensive?' and
the question has been one that has been found extremely difficult to answer.
Mr Saunders deserves our thanks for having taken this difficulty out of our
way." — Athenaum.
"Excellent alike in style and matter, it ought to be in the hands of every
lover of birds." — Annals of Natural History.
"It would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in fewer
lines. " — Zoologist.
"The whole work forms the most concise and at the same time trustworthy
book on birds of a single region that has ever been written." — Science Gossip.
GURNEY & JACKSON
(Successors to Mr Van Voorst)
33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Fulmar : its Past and Present Distribution as a Breeding
Species in the British Isles (Plate IV.).— -J% A. Harvie-
Broivn, LL.D., F.R.S.E. ..... 97
Notes on the Plumage of the Fulmar Petrel. — Wm. Eagle
Clarke, F.R.S.E., F.L.S., ..... 102
A List of the Ants (Heterogyna or Formicidce) of the Forth
Area. — William Evans, F.R.S.E. . . . .104
Further Contributions to our Knowledge of the Rhizopoda and
Heliozoa of Scotland (Plate V.).— James Meikle Brown,
B.Sc, F.L.S. ...... 108
Notes . . . , . . . .114
The Killer, or Grampus, in the Solway — Hugh S. Gladstone,
M.A., F.Z.S.j The Greater Wheatear in Midlothian—
William Evans, F.R.S.E.; Barn Owls in Berwickshire —
T. G. Laidlaw, M.B.O.U.j Brent Goose in Peeblesshire —
T. G. Laidlaw, M.B.O. U.j The " Display " of the Goosander
— S. E. Brock j Smew in Elginshire — Richard H. W. Leach j
Early Appearance of the Common Tern on the Clyde —
/. R. Laurence ; Additional Records of Scottish Stratiomy-
idae, etc. — A. E.J. Carter; Marionina sphagnetorum (Vejd.),
from St Kilda — William Evans, F.R.S.E.
Book Notices . . . . . . .118
Gleanings . . . . . . .119
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
A few Complete Sets of "The Annals of Scottish
Natural History," from its Commencement in 1892 to
ion, in all Twenty Volumes, handsomely bound in
cloth, gilt top, are still available, at the reduced
price of £4, 4s. net.
Many of the Back Numbers can still be supplied.
PRINTED BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH.
No. 6.]
1912
[June.
The Scottish Naturalist
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
With which is incorporated
The Annals of Scottish Natural Hist
EDITED BY
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L
Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member of the British Ornithologists' Union
PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.
Assistant-Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
J. A. HARVIE-BROWN, LL.D., F.R.S.E
EVELYN V. BAXTER, H.M.B.O.U.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, H.M.B.O.U.
ASSISTED BY
H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.
JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc.
A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON, M.A., M.B.O.U.
EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 Paternoster Row
Price gd. Annual Subscription, payable in advance, 6s. 6d. post free
The Scottish Naturalist
All Articles and Communications intended for publication, and
all Books, etc., for notice should be sent to Mr Percy H. Grimshaw,
Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.
Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the
Publishers, Messrs Oliver and Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh.
Authors of General Articles will receive 25 Reprints (in covers) of
their Contributions gratis. Additional Copies, in covers, may be had from
the Printers, at the undermentioned rates, provided such orders accompany
the Manuscript.
25 Copies 50 Copies 100 Copies
4 pages 3/6 4/6 7/-
8 „ 4/6 5/6 8/6
12 „ 6/- . 7/- 11/-
16 „ 7/6 8/6 13/6
WILLIAM BROWN
ANTIQUARIAN AND FINE ART BOOKSELLER AND PUBLISHER
5 CASTLE STREET, EDINBURGH
Telegrams TTQT'A "RT TQT-TFF> i9.T7 Telephone
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A large selection of Natural History books always on hand
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RUSSELL &> SHAW
11 JOHN STREET, THEOBALD ROAD, LONDON, W.C
Second Edition. Demy 8vo. With 384 Fint Woodcuts and
3 Maps. Price 21s.
J v^r
AN ILLUSTRATED
Manual of British Birds
By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.
" Perhaps the question most frequently put to a zoologist by a lay friend is,
'What is a really good book on British Birds that is not too expensive?' and
the question has been one that has been found extremely difficult to answer.
Mr Saunders deserves our thanks for having taken this difficulty out of our
way." — A thenceum.
" Excellent alike in style and matter, it ought to be in the hands of every
lover of birds." — Annals of Natural History.
" It would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in fewer
lines. " — Zoologist.
"The whole work forms the most concise and at the same time trustworthy
book on birds of a single region that has ever been written." — Science Gossip.
GURNEY & JACKSON
(Successors to Mr Van Voorst)
33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Fulmar : its Past and Present Distribution as a Breeding
Species in the British Isles (Plate IV.) * {concluded).
—J. A. Harvie-Brown, LL.D., F.R.S.E. . . . 121
On Some Scottish Species of Mymaridm. — P. Cameron . .132
The British Species of the Dipterous Genus Fannia, Rob. Dsv.
— /. R. Malloch . . . . . -133
Notes . . . . . . . 139
Supposed Blue-headed Wagtail in "Dee" — A. Landsborough
Thomson, M.A.j M.B.O.U.; Early Occurrence of the Swallow
in Delting, Shetland — Rev. James Waterston, B.D., B.Sc;
Size of Immature Smew Drake — H. W. Robinson; Smew
in Wigtownshire—/. G. Goi'don; Smew on Duddingston
Loch — Hugh Mackay; Little Auk : a Correction — Eds. ;
Three Hemiptera-Heteroptera new to the Scottish List, from
the Forth Area — Willia?n Evans, F.R.S.E.; Freshwater
Rhizopoda from the Hebrides, etc.— G. H. Wailes; XantJw
hydrophilus, a rare Scottish Crab, in the Outer Hebrides —
James Ritchie, M.A., D.Sc.
Book Notice ....... 142
Gleanings . . . . . . .143
* A Revised Version of the Map illustrating Dr Harvie-Brown's paper on " The
Fulmar," and forming Plate IV., is issued in the present number. The Map
published in the May number should be cancelled.
npHE "REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1911,"
by the Misses Baxter and Rintoul, is in the printers' hands,
and will be issued shortly as a separate publication. Price, is. 6d.
Apply to the Publishers.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
A few Complete Sets of "The Annals of Scottish
Natural History," from its Commencement in 1892 to
1911, in all Twenty Volumes, handsomely bound in
cloth, gilt top, are still available, at the reduced
price of £4, 4s. net.
Many of the Back Numbers can still be supplied.
PRINTED BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH.
No. 7.]
1912
[July.
The Scottish Naturalist
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
With which is incorporated
The Annals of Scottish Natural Hist
EDITED BY
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S
Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member of t lie British Ornithologists' Union
PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.
Assistant-Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
J. A. HARVIE BROWN, LL.D., P.R.S.E.
EVELYN V BAXTER, H.M.B.O.U.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL H.M.B.O.U.
ASSISTED BY
H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.
JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc.
A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON, M.A., M.B.O.U.
EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 Paternoster Row
Price gd. Annual Subscription, payable in advance, 6s. 6d. post free
The Scottish Naturalist
All Articles and Communications intended for publication, and
all Books, etc., for notice should be sent to Mr Percy H. Grimshaw,
Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.
Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the
Publishers, Messrs Oliver and Boyd, Tvveeddale Court, Edinburgh.
Authors of General Articles will receive 25 Reprints (in covers) of
their Contributions gratis. Additional Copies, in covers, may be had from
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the Manuscript.
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AN ILLUSTRATED
Manual of British Birds
By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &£
"Perhaps the question most frequently put to a zoologist by a lay friendjis,
'What is a really good book on British Birds that is not too expensive?' and
the question has been one that has been found extremely difficult to answer.
Mr Saunders deserves our thanks for having taken this difficulty out of our
way." — AthencBitm. ' ■
" Excellent alike in style and matter, it ought to be in the hands of every
lover of birds." — Annals of Natural History.
" It would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in fewer
lines. " — Zoologist.
"The whole work forms the most concise and at the same time trustworthy
book on birds of a single region that has ever been written." — Science Gossip.
GURNEY & JACKSON
(Successors to Mr Van Voorst)
33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
CONTENTS
PAGE
Aberdeen University Bird-Migration Inquiry : First Interim
Report (1909-12). — A. Landsborongh Thomson, M.A.,
M.B.O.U. 145
The British Species of the Dipterous Genus Fannia, Rob. Dsv.
{continued)— J. R. Malloch . . . . 154
Notes ........ 162
Lesser Shrew and Badger near Glasgow— James Bartholomew ;
Badgers in Kirkcudbrightshire— Hugh S. Gladstone, M.A.,
F.Z.S.j Continental Song-Thrush in the Moray and Solway
Areas— Annie C.Jackson ; Northern Form of Willow-Wren
in Solway — Annie C. Jackson; Fatality amongst Rooks —
/. A. Harvie- Brown, LL.D., F.R.S.E.j The Snowy Owl—
R. Clyne ; Greenland Falcon at Barra, Outer Hebrides —
Wm. L. Macgillivray ; Some Habits of the Gannet— R.
Clyne; Smew at Melrose— Gilbert D. Davidson; Early
Breeding of Ringed Plover in Ayrshire— G. Graham; Black
Tern in Wigtownshire—/. G. Gordon; Fishes taken off the
Wigtownshire Coast—/. G. Gordon; Death's-Head Moth
in the Outer Hebrides — James Ritchie, M.A., D.Sc;
Tetracanthella wahlgreni, Axels., in Scotland — William,
Evans, F.R.S.E.; TTie Thorny Lobster in Lewis— James
Ritchie, M.A., D.Sc.
Book Notices . . . . . . .166
Gleanings ....... 167
'"THE "REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1911,"
by the Misses Baxter and Rintoul, is in the printers' hands,
and will be issued shortly as a separate publication. Price, is. 6d.
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Many of the Back Numbers can still be supplied.
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No. 8.]
1912
[August.
The Scottish Naturalist
With which is incorporated
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
" The Annals of Scottish Natural History] 3 1 « » a R "Y
EDITED BY ><£/> **A8** '
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.
Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member of the British Ornithologists'1 Union
PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.
Assistant-Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum •
J. A. HARVIE-BROWN, I.L.D., F.R.S.E
EVELYN V. BAXTER, H.M.B.O.U.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, H.M.B.O.U.
ASSISTED BY
H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.
JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc.
A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON, M.A., M.B.O.U.
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AN ILLUSTRATED
Manual of British Birds
By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.
" Perhaps the question most frequently put to a zoologist by a lay friend is,
'What is a really good book on British Birds that is not too expensive ?'" and
the question has been one that has been found extremely difficult to answer.
Mr Saunders deserves our thanks for having taken this difficulty out of our
way." — A thencBum.
" Excellent alike in style and matter, it ought to be in the hands of every
lover of birds." — Annals of Natural History.
"It would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in fewer
lines." — Zoologist.
"The whole work forms the most concise and at the same time trustworthy
book on birds of a single region that has ever been written." — Science Gossip.
GURNEY & JACKSON
(Successors to Mr Van Voorst)
3 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
CONTENTS
PAGE
Aberdeen University Bird-Migration Inquiry : First Interim
Report (1909-12) {continued), — A. La?idsborough Thomson :,
M.A., M.B.O.U. . . . . . .169
The British Species of the Dipterous Genus Fannia, Rob. Dsv.
(continued). — J. R. Malloch . . . .175
Odonata of the North of Scotland, 191 1. — W.J. Zucas, B.A.,
F.E.S. ....... 182
Notes . . . . . . . .184
Scarcity of Young Rooks— James Bartholomew j Great Spotted
Woodpecker Breeding on Loch Lomond — Charles Kirk;
Herons Nesting near Stornoway — Donald Macdo?iald;
Remarkable Eggs of Tufted Duck—/. Kirke Nash, L.D.S.j
Turtle-dove Nesting near Gretna Green— James B. Cairns;
Green Sandpiper in Tay — Evelyn V. Baxter, H.M.B.O.U.
and Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul, H.M.B.O.U.; The Greater
Wheatear in Berwickshire — William Eva?is, F.R.S.E.; The
Great Crested Grebe in Peeblesshire, etc. — William Evans,
F.R.S.E. ; Black-necked Grebe in Perthshire — Her Grace
the Duchess of Bedford, H.M.B.O. U.; Scottish Neuroptera—
W. J. Lucas, B.A., F.E.S. ; Cyllocoris flavo7iotatus in Scot-
land (Forth Area) — William Evans, F.R.S.E.; Spiders from
the North of Scotland— Rev. J. E. Hull, M.A.
Book Notices . . . . . . .188
Gleanings ....... 191
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
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Many of the Back Numbers can still be supplied.
PRINTED BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH.
No. 9.]
1912
[September.
The Scottish Naturalist
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
With which is incorporated
" The Annals of Scottish Natural History
EDITED BY
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.
Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member of the British Ornithologists'1 Union
PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.
Assistant-Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
J. A. HARVIE-BROWN, LL.D., F.R.S.E
EVELYN V. BAXTER, H.M.B.O.U.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, H.M.B.O.U.
ASSISTED BY
H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.
JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc.
A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON, M.A., M.B.O.U.
EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
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A READY AID TO DISTINGUISH THE COMMONER
WILD BIRDS OF GREAT BRITAIN.
By David T. Price. New and Cheaper Edition. Pocket Size. Limp
cloth. Net is.
THE BIRDS OF IRELAND
By Richard J. Ussher and Robert Warren. With a coloured plate,
maps, and other illustrations. 450 pages. 8vo. Cloth. £i, 10s.
BIRD LIFE OF THE BORDERS
With Faunal Notes extending over Forty Years. By Abel Chapman,
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Medium 8vo. Net 14s.
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/ <$&"
AN ILLUSTRATED
Manual of British Birds
By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.
" Perhaps the question most frequently put to a zoologist by a lay friend is,
'What is a really good book on British Birds that is not too expensive?5 and
the question has been one that has been found extremely difficult to answer.
Mr Saunders deserves our thanks for having taken this difficulty out of our
way." — Athenceum.
" Excellent alike in style and matter, it ought to be in the hands of every
lover of birds." — Annals of Natural History.
" It would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in fewer
lines. " — Zoologist.
"The whole work forms the most concise and at the same time trustworthy
book on birds of a single region that has ever been written." — Scie?ice Gossip.
GURNEY & JACKSON
(Successors to Mr Van Voorst)
33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.G.
CONTENTS
'AGE
The New Nomenclature of British Birds . . .193
On a Case of Hybridism between an Eider and a Wild Duck
(Plate V.) — William Eagle Clarke . . .198
The British Species of the Dipterous Genus Fannia, Rob. Dsv.
{continued). — J. R. Malloch . . . .201
Notes ........ 209
Hedgehog in Argyll—/. A. Harvie-Brown, LL.D., F.R.S.E.j
Female Greenland Wheatear in Male Plumage— Her Grace
the Duchess of Bedford, H.M.B.O.U.j Lesser Whitethroat in
Dumfriesshire — George Stout; Hawfinch at Fidra, Firth of
Forth — G. Millar ; Quails nesting in Peeblesshire — T. G.
Laidlaw, M.B.O.U.j Pheasants in Shetland— Peter Jopp ;
Herons nesting in the Lewis — Donald Mac donald; Green
Sandpiper in Wigtownshire—/. G. Gordon; Broad-billed
Sandpiper in Fifeshire — William Berry, LL.B.j Cream-
coloured Whimbrel at Barra — Her Grace the Duchess of
Bedford, H.M.B.O.U.j kittle Tern on the Ayrshire Coast—
Melvin H. Rattray ; Immature Eared Grebe in Sol way —
Hugh Mackayj Fulmar Petrels nesting at Stronsay,
Orkney — T. Sinclair; Herons nesting in Orkney—//. W.
Robinson.
Book Notice . . . . . . .214
Gleanings . . . . . . .215
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
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Many of the Back Numbers can still be supplied.
PRINTED BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH.
No. 10.] 1 91 2 [October.
The Scottish Naturalist
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
With which is incorporated
" The Annals of Scottish Natural History
juj t
EDITED BY
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.
Keeper, Natural History Department, Roijal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member of the British Ornithologists' Union
PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.
Assistant-Keeper, Natural His tor ij Dcpar.nnnt, Royal Scottish Musi urn
ASSISTED BY
J. A. HARVIE-BROWN, I.L.D., F.R.S.E.
EVELYN V. BAXTER, H.M.B.O.U.
LEONORA J. KINTOUL, H.M.B.O.U.
H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E , V.Z.S.
JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc.
A. LANUSBOROUGH THOMSON, M.A., M.B.O.U.
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BABINGTON'S BOTANY
NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION
MANUAL OF BRITISH BOTANY containing the flowering plants and
ferns, arranged according to the Natural Orders, by C. C. Babington,
MA., F.R.S., etc. Ninth Edition. Edited by Henry and James
Groves. i2mo Cloth. Net 9s.
«' . . . Great care has been taken by the Kditors, with the assistance of many
Specialists, to bring this edit1 on up to date, and it will be welcomed by all Field
Naturalists." — The Naturalist.
A READY AID TO DISTINGUISH THE COMMONER
WILD BIRDS OF GREAT BRITAIN.
By David T. Price. New and Cheaper Edition. Pocket Size. Limp
cloth. Net is.
THE BIRDS OF IRELAND
By Richard J. Ussher and Robert Warren. With a coloured plate,
maps, and other illustrations. 450 pages. 8vo. Cloth. £\t 10s.
BIRD LIFE OF THE BORDERS
With Faunal Notes extending over Forty Years. By Abel Chapman,
F.Z.S., Joint Author of Wild Spain, etc. New Edition, in great part
re- written, making practically a New Work, with additional Illustrations.
Medium 8vo. Net 14s.
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AN ILLUSTRATED
Manual of British Birds
By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.
" Perhaps the question most frequently put to a zoologist by a lay friend is,
'What is a really good book on British Birds that is not too expensive ?' and
the question has been one that has been found extremely difficult to answer.
Mr Saunders deserves our thanks for having taken this difficulty out of our
way." — AthencBum.
"Excellent alike in style and matter, it ought to be in the hands of every
lover of birds." — Annals of Natural History.
" It would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in fewer
lines. " — Zoologist.
"The whole work forms the most concise and at the same time trustworthy
book on birds of a single region that has ever been written." — Science Gossip.
GURNEY & JACKSON
(Successors to Mr Van Voorst)
33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.G.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Aberdeen University Bird-Migration Inquiry : First Interim
Report (1909-12) {continued). — A. Landsborough Thomson,
M.A., M.B.O.U. ...... 217
On the Occurrence of the Little Owl in Fife. — Robert
Somerville, B.Sc. . . . . .225
A List of the Diptera met with in Wester Ross, with Notes on
Other Species known to occur in the Neighbouring
Areas. — Co/one//. W. Yerbury, R.A., F.Z.S. . . 226
The British Species of the Dipterous Genus Fannia, Rob. Dsv.
{concluded).— J. R. Malloch . . . -233
Notes ........ 235
Hedgehog in Argyll— Rev. Charles A. Hall, F.R.M.S.j Cuckoo
reared by Rock-Pipits at Ailsa Craig— Charles Kirk; Lap-
land Form of Bluethroat on the Isle of May— Leonora
Jeffrey Rintoul, H.MB.O.U, and Evelyn V. Baxter,
H. M.B.O.U. j The Tree-Sparrow Breeding in Midlothian—
Willia?n Evans, F.R.S.E.j Variety of Heron in Wigtown-
shire— Her Grace the Duchess of Bedford, H.M.B.O.U.j
Marked Grouse — Identification Wanted — A. S.Leslie, W.S.j
Black-tailed Godwit in the Outer Hebrides— D. Macke??siej
Sabine's Gull in the Firth of Forth— William Evans,
F.R.S.E.j Fulmars Breeding at Reawick, Shetland —
Alastair D. Carmichael ; Tunny in Shetland — John S.
Tulloch; Large Sunfish in the Forth— Alex. B. Wallace;
Unusual Numbers of the " Painted Lady " Butterfly in Fife
—Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul, H. M.B.O.U., and Evelyn V.
Baxter, H.M.B.O.U.j Death's Head Moth in Forth—
Evelyn V. Baxter, H. M.B.O.U., and Leonora Jeffrey
Rintoul, H.M.B.O.U.j Ixodes putus, Cambr., in Shetland —
Rev. James Waterson, D.D., B.Sc.j Recurrence of the
Cotton- Spinner off Mallaig— James Ritchie, M.A., B.Sc.
Gleanings . . -. . . . .239
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
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Many of the Back Numbers can still be supplied.
PRINTED BY OLIVKK AND BOYD, EDINBURGH.
No. ii.] 191 2 [November.
The Scottish Naturalist
A Monthly Magazine devoted to Zoology
With which is incorporated j\s '"oS^V X^S
The Annals of Scottish Natural History Jt «*-'
LI B A A F
EDITED BY '^*<** ,' '
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.^
Keeper, Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
WILLIAM EVANS, F.R.S.E., Etc.
Member of the British Ornithologists'' Union
PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S.
Assistant-Keeper , Natural History Department, Royal Scottish Museum
ASSISTED BY
J. A. HARVIE.BROWN, LL.D., F.R.S.E. H. S. GLADSTONE, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S.
EVELYN V. BAXTER, H.M.B.O.U. JAMES RITCHIE, M.A., D.Sc.
LEONORA J. RINTOUL, H.M.B.O.U. A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON, M.A., M.B.O.U.
EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BOYD, Tweeddale Court
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Sale of a Fine Collection of Birds' Eggs
ON THURSDAY, 21st NOVEMBER NEXT, will be sold at Stevens*
Auction Rooms, No. 38 King Street, Covent Garden, London,
W.C., the first portion of the Collection of British and Western
Pal/earctic Birds' Eggs formed by Major F. W. Proctor, M.B.O.U. It
contains many rare and interesting eggs, principally in clutches, including
Yellow Shank, Bonaparte's Sandpiper, American Stint, Sabine's Gull, Poma-
torhine Skua, Smew, Steller's and King Eiders, Snow and Brent Geese, White's
Black-throated and Siberian Thrush, Greenish and Pallas' Willow Warblers,
Rustic Bunting, Golden Eagles, Swallow-tailed Kite, Bearded and Black
Vultures, and many other rare eggs.
Catalogues may be had from Mr H. Steuens, at above address.
RECENTLY PUBLISHED. Price Is. 6d. net
"SCOTTISH NATURALIST" EXTRA PUBLICATION
Report on Scottish Ornithology in 1911
INCLUDING MIGRATION
BY
EVELYN V. BAXTER and LEONORA J. RINTOUL
Hon. Members of the British Ornithologists' Union
EDINBURGH: OLIVER AND BOYD, TWEEDDALE COURT
LONDON: GURNEY AND JACKSON, 33 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
Recently Published, Two Volumes, sq. demy 8vo. Price 18s. net
Studies in Bird Migration
BY
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S,
Member of the British. Association Committee on the Migration of Birds as Observed on
the British and Irish Coasts, and Author of it3 Final Reports, 1896-1903, etc.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS, AND WEATHER CHARTS
EXTRACTS FROM A FEW PRESS NOTICES
"There is no other English ornithologist better qualified to write en the migration of
birds than Mr Eagle Clarke, whose name has long been inseparably associated with the
problems of this difficult but fascinating subject. It is certain that to the serious student
of bird migration the volumes are indispensable." — The Athenaum.
"Mr Eagle Clarke's unique experience makes this study of bird migration a very
interesting work. As editor of the records of observations collected from the lights on
the British and Irish coasts by a British Association Committee from 1880. to 1887 he
found, as he tells us, that 'vast though the data were, much desirable information was
still lacking.' In order to fill these gaps he spent a month's holiday in the Eddystone
Lighthouse, another month in even less agreeable quarters on board the Kentish Knock
lightship in the North Sea, and further periods in Fair Isle, the Flannans, St Kilda, and
other outlying islands. His investigations, especially those on Fair Isle, have added
considerably to our knowledge of the occurrence of rare species in Britain; but he has
performed a more important service in reducing the great mass of migration observations
to intelligible order and explaining the singularly complex movements of birds in and
through our islands, where many routes converge." — The Times.
"This book has been long expected, and it is certainly one worth waiting for. The
author remarks ' that no country in the world is more favourably situated than our own
for witnessing the movements of migratory birds ; that there is none in which the many
phases of the phenomenon are of a moie varied nature; and none in which the subject
has received greater attention.' To which we ventuieto add that no one has made so
much use of these opportunities as Mr Eagle Clarke has done, and that no contribution to
the subject compares in importance with the work which is summarised in the book
before us." — Nature.
"Mr Eagle Clarke's long-looked-for work is now before us, and as we should expect
from the pen of so able an authority, we find these two volumes crowded with interesting
and reliable information. These 'Studies,' as the author is careful to point out, do not
comprise the ' last word ' in the fascinating and intricate problems of bird migration, but
deal solely with the author's own experiences, helped by the records accumulated when
he was on the British Association Committee for the Study of Bird Migration, and con-
sequently this work touches only on migrations which affect the British Isles. On this
score we find the work all the more pleasing, as here we have a book which is the result
of years of observation in many remote and eminently suitable 'migration stations,'
written from first-hand knowledge, and free from the mass of wild ^peculations and
theories which so frequently characterise the products of an armchair worker.
"In conclusion, we may say that we have nothing but praise for Mr Clarke's book,
and congratulate him on bringing it to such a successful conclusion. It is eminently the
product of a worker ; to the beginner in the study of migration it will point out the right
lines of investigation ; to the student it gives much interesting matter for consideration,
and it will be read with great pleasure by every ornithologist." — British Birds.
GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Aberdeen University Bird-Migration Inquiry : First Interim
Report (1909-12) {continued). — A. Landsborough Thomson,
M.A., M.B.O.U. ...... 241
Note on the Food of the Common Pheasant. — Percy H.
Grimshaw, F.E.S., F.R.S.E. .... 249
On Mackayia dimorpha, a new Genus and Species of Mallo-
phaga from the Manx Shearwater. — Rev. James Waters ton,
B.D., B.Sc. . . . . . .251
A new Species of Mackayia (M. heteracanthus). — Rev. James
Waterston, B.D., B.Sc. . . . . .258
Notes ........ 259
The Hedgehog in Arran — William D. Congalton, M.A.j Bird
Notes from the Sol way — Hugh Mackay ; Female Greenland
Wheatear assuming Male Plumage — Evelyn V. Baxter,
H M.B.O.U., and Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul, H. M.B.O.U.;
Late Stay of Swifts about Edinburgh — William Evans,
F.R.S.E.; Notes on the Fulmar Petrel — G. D. Ferguson;
Micariosoma festiva, C. L. Koch, in Linlithgowshire — S. E.
Brock; The Painted-Lady Butterfly at the Isle of May, etc. —
William Evans, F.R.S.E.; Some Lepidoptera and other
Insects from St Kilda — William Evans, F.R.S.E.; Doco-
phorus melanocephalus, N., a straggler on the Knot in
Shetland — Rev. James Waterston, B.D., B.Sc.
Gleanings . . . . . . .263
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No. 12.]
1912
[December.
The Scottish Naturalist
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SCOTTISH NATURALIST" EXTRA PUBLICATION
Report on Scottish Ornithology in 1911
INCLUDING MIGRATION
BY
EVELYN V. BAXTER and LEONORA J. RINTOUL
Hon. Members of the British Ornithologists' Union
EDINBURGH: OLIVER AND BOYD, TWEEDDALE COURT
LONDON: GURNEY AND JACKSON, 33 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
PUBLISHERS' NOTICE
The Annual Subscription for 1913, payable in advance,
6s. 6d. post free, should be addressed to the Publishers,
Oliver and Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh.
Covers for Binding "The Scottish Naturalist9
Special Cloth Cases for Binding the 1912 Volume can be
supplied at Is. each (by Post Is. 2d.), by Oliver and Boyd,
Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh.
Recently Published, Two Volumes, sq. demy 8vo. Price 18s. net
Studies in Bird Migration
BY
WILLIAM EAGLE CLARKE, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.
Member of the British Association Committee on the Migration of Birds as Observed on
the British and Irish Coasts, and Author of its Final Reports, 1S96-1903, etc.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS, AND WEATHER CHARTS
EXTRACTS FROM A FEW PRESS NOTICES
11 There is no other English ornithologist better qualified to write on the migration of
birds than Mr Eagle Clarke, whose name has long been inseparably associated with the
problems of this difficult but fascinating subject. It is certain that to the serious student
of bird migration the volumes are indispensable." — The Athemcum.
"Mr Eagle Clarke's unique experience makes this study of bird migration a very
interesting work. As editor of the records of observations collected from the lights on
the British and Irish coasts by a British Association Committee from 1880 to 1887 he
found, as he tells us, that 4 vast though the data were, much desirable information was
still lacking.' In order to fill these gaps he spent a month's holiday in the Eddystone
Lighthouse, another month in even less agreeable quarters on board the Kentish Knock
lightship in the North Sea, and further periods in Fair Isle, the Flannans, St Kilda, and
other outlying islands. His investigations, especially those on Fair Isle, have added
considerably to our knowledge of the occurrence of rare species in Britain ; but he has
performed a more important service in reducing the great mass of migration observations
to intelligible order and explaining the singularly complex movements of birds in and
through our islands, where many routes converge." — The Times.
"This book has been long expected, and it is certainly one worth waiting for. The
author remarks ' that no country in the world is more favourably situated than our own
for witnessing the movements of migratory birds ; that there is none in which the many
phases of the phenomenon are of a more varied nature ; and none in which the subject
has received greater attention.' To which we venture to add that no one has made so
much use of these opportunities as Mr Eagle Clarke has done, and that no contribution to
the subject compares in importance with the work which is summarised in the book
before us." — Nature.
" Mr Eagle Clarke's long-looked-for work is now before us, and as we should expect
from the pen of so able an authority, we find these two volumes crowded with interesting
and reliable information. These ' Studies,' as the author is careful to point out, do not
comprise the 'last word ' in the fascinating and intricate problems of bird migration, but
deal solely with the author's own experiences, helped by the records accumulated when
he was on the British Association Committee for the Study of Bird Migration, and con-
sequently this work touches only on migrations which affect the British Isles. On this
score we find the work all the more pleasing, as here we have a book which is the result
of years of observation in many remote and eminently suitable 'migration stations,'
written from first-hand knowledge, and free from the mass of wild speculations and
theories which so frequently characterise the products of an armchair worker.
" In conclusion, we may say that we have nothing but praise for Mr Clarke's book,
and congratulate him on bringing it to such a successful conclusion. It is eminently the
product of a worker ; to the beginner in the study of migration it will point out the right
lines of investigation ; to the student it gives much interesting matter for consideration,
and it will be read with great pleasure by every ornithologist." — British Birds.
GURNEY & JACKSON, 33 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C.
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Tufted-Duck (Fuligula cristatd) in the Nesting Season. —
S. E. Brock . . . . . .265
A List of the Diptera met with in Wester Ross, with Notes on
other Species known to occur in the neighbouring Areas
{continued). — Colonel/. W. Yerbury, R.A., F.Z.S. . 271
Obituary— Ramsay Heatley Traquair, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. . 276
Notes . . . . . - . . .276
Great Grey Seal and Coal-fish Incident — Wm. Eagle Clarke,
F.R.S. E.; Jays in Dumfriesshire — Hugh S. Gladstone, M.A.,
F.R.S.E.j The Winter Quarters of the Yellow Wagtail—
Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, M.B.O. U. ; Red-breasted Flycatcher
at the Pentland Skerries— John Bain; Reed-warbler in the
Orkneys — H. Laidlaw j Late stay of Swifts in Banffshire —
Jane Gowan; Common Guillemot and Barn Owl near
Glasgow— James Bartholomew j Quail nesting in Kirkcud-
brightshire— Hugh S. Gladstone, M.A., F.R.S.E.j Food of
the Common Partridge — William Evans, F.R.S.E.j The
Little Gull near Dunbar (Forth) — William Evans, F.R.S.E.j
Tunny stranded at Weisdale, Shetland— /<?/*« S. Tullochj
Tunny in the Firth of Forth — Leonora Jeffrey Rinloul,
H. M.B.O. U., and Evelyn V. Baxter, H.M.B.O.U.; Mono-
morium pharaonis, L., in Kincardineshire — Rev. James
Waterston, B.D., B.Sc. ; Mallophaga from the Ptarmigan—
William Evans, F.R.S.E.j Two rare Corals, and Polyzoa
from Rockall— James Ritchie, M.A., D.Sc.
Book Notices . . . . . . 282
Gleanings . . . . . . .283
Index ........ 285
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191 1, in all Twenty Volumes, handsomely bound in
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I'RINTKD BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH.
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