182 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



base ; on the under surface the fur is slate or light leaden colour. 

 Two Renfrewshire specimens in the Museum, taken at the harbour 

 on the White Cart, Paisley, are velvet black on their upper parts 

 and light ash below. The hair on both these Rats is very fine, and 

 contrasts with the long, rough appearance of the Orkney " Blue Rat." 

 -J. M. B. TAYLOR, Free Museum, Paisley. 



Remarkable Flocking 1 of Starlings to Cramond Island. For 



several years past, in the autumn and winter months, large flocks of 

 Starlings have been in the habit of roosting in a small plantation of 

 dwarf Scotch firs on Cramond Island. Last year, however, their 

 numbers exceeded anything previously seen, and the coming and 

 going of the Starlings to their island home excited general attention 

 and much interest in the neighbourhood. The birds seemed to 

 have some gathering-place farther inland, and passed overhead at 

 night generally in one large flock, and the noise of their wings was 

 like the first sweeping blast of a storm of wind. No matter what 

 the weather was, they made their nightly trip across the waters of 

 the Firth ; and I have watched them battling against an easterly gale, 

 when they had to fly so low as to nearly touch the water, and some 

 weaker ones were driven back to shore. In the winter mornings 

 they appeared to leave in separate bands, and each to make for 

 different feeding-grounds. On Saturday, the 2yth January, I walked 

 over to the island to watch the arrival of the birds. Mr. Peter 

 Hogg, who resides on the island, accompanied me to the wood, and 

 we got under cover at 4.30 P.M., about the time the first Starlings 

 were due to arrive. The state of the branches of the trees and the 

 droppings of the birds on the ground afforded unmistakable evidence 

 of the immense numbers frequenting the spot. Soon after, the first 

 batch of birds arrived and settled in the far end of the plantation 

 as close as they could perch, and began their peculiar whistling 

 chatter, making a din not easily described. Another large flock then 

 appeared, and with a swoop they settled down near the others, until 

 it seemed as if the trees could not hold any more. Every few minutes 

 there was a succession of smaller flocks that swooped down in a 

 similar manner until the whole plantation was one living mass of birds, 

 some of which perched within touching distance of our hands. The 

 birds all came from the south shore, and the large flocks which I 

 had been in the habit of watching were only part of the colony. 

 After the Starlings had all arrived we emerged into the open. It 

 seemed a pity to disturb them, but a shot fired into the air raised 

 such a cloud of birds that in trying to estimate their number I could 

 not say Mr. Hogg's words seemed an exaggeration when he said 

 there were " millions of them." 



Even more remarkable than the vast numbers of Starlings 

 frequenting the island during the winter months, is the large 

 numbers which have continued to flock there during the breeding 



