THE BIRDS OF FAIR ISLE 73 



171. BARRED WARBLER, Sy/riu nisoria. Several birds of this 



species occurred in the autumn, and were for the first time 

 identified beyond a doubt. I had seen the species during 

 a previous visit, and though pretty certain of the accuracy of 

 the observation I refrained from placing it on record. 



172. EVERSMANN'S WARBLER, Phylloscopus borealis, - - This new 



species to the British avifauna was chronicled in the last 

 number of the " Annals." Though first recorded from Fair 

 Isle it will be ascertained, by reference to p. 114 of the 

 current number, that this species had previously occurred 

 elsewhere in the Scottish Isles, but, alas, has hitherto passed 

 under name of P. irridanus. 



i 73. ICTERINE WARBLER, Hypolais hypolais. Although this species 

 is a summer visitor to Scandinavia, it is only occasionally 

 detected on the British shores during the period of its 

 passages between its summer and its winter haunts. It has 

 not been previously recorded from any part of Scotland. 



174. SAVI'S WARBLER, Locustella lusdnioides. The appearance of 



this species at Fair Isle during the spring must be regarded 

 as one of the most interesting events in British ornithology 

 for many years. This bird was formerly a summer visitor 

 to the fens of East Anglia, but ceased to be a native bird 

 over fifty years ago, and is not known to have visited us 

 since. That it should have reappeared in Britain at a locality 

 so far removed from its ancient English haunts is, indeed, 

 most remarkable. Even Heligoland, with its unrivalled 

 record for feathered rarities, cannot boast of having Savi's 

 Warbler amongst its distinguished visitors. Needless to say, 

 this bird has not hitherto been known to visit Scotland. 



175. ALPINE ACCENTOR, Accentor collaris. I saw a bird of this 



species, at close quarters, resting on the face of one of the 

 great cliffs on the west side of the island. I might have 

 shot it with ease, but had no desire to drop it into the 

 Atlantic surf several hundreds of feet below. It flew off 

 to another part of the cliff and was lost amid fastnesses 

 so vast and unapproachable as to render observation 

 quite impossible. Thousands of migrants, unfortunately, 

 resort to this great range of precipices, and entirely baffle 

 the efforts of the observer. This bird is new to the 

 Scottish fauna. 



176. COOT, Fidica atra. Single birds appeared on several occa- 



sions during the spring and autumn. This species nests in 

 the southern part of Shetland, and these visitors may have 

 been wanderers from this colony, or migrants passing to and 

 from it. 



