184 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



it was rare in his district. Very probably it was a wanderer from 

 the colony in the Pass of Brander, where it has been established 

 from time immemorial, according to the " Fauna of Argyll." JAMES 

 WATERSTON, Edinburgh. 



Harp Seals on the East Coast of Scotland. On yth March a 

 female Harp Seal (Phoca grmilandica) was caught in a salmon net 

 at Stonehaven. It measured 6 feet 6 inches long, and is a very 

 beautiful example. On 3ist March a male, 6 feet 9 inches long, 

 was caught in the same manner at Don Mouth. Both these came 

 into my hands. The back of the male was, however, completely 

 divested of hair, therefore no part of it was of use except the skull. 



Many such animals seem to have visited our coasts of late, speci- 

 mens of which have been obtained in various quarters. GEORGE 

 SIM, Aberdeen. 



It may be of interest to note the abundance of the Harp Seal 

 on our coasts during the past spring. A fine adult male and female 

 were captured about the mouth of the Don, near Aberdeen. The 

 female is being mounted for the University Museum, Aberdeen ; 

 the male was too much injured to be of use for stuffing. A young 

 female was captured about the ist of April in the River Lossie, 

 close to Lossiemouth. It was only 3 feet long, and was of a uniform 

 grey colour above and buff beneath. This specimen was mounted 

 for Capt. Dunbar Brander. There are reports of this species from 

 elsewhere, including the Firth of Forth, and I fear that many of them 

 have been missed. I wonder if they have been observed on the 

 Caithness coast, or in Orkney and Shetland ? WILLIAM TAYLOR, 

 Lhanbryde. 



[The Harp Seal, which has only hitherto been regarded as a rare 

 casual visitor to our shores, is stated to have been very prevalent 

 on the east coast of Scotland during the past spring. The state- 

 ments regarding it which have come under our notice were chiefly 

 contributed to the newspapers, and we should be glad if our readers 

 would send us further particulars regarding these interesting visitors. 

 In the " Scotsman " of i4th March it is stated that a Harp Seal was 

 captured by some workmen employed at Grangemouth new docks 

 on a slag bank in the Firth of Forth below the lighthouse. The 

 Seal was observed leaving the water, and a tarpaulin was thrown 

 over it and the animal secured. It measured over 5 ft. in length, 

 and was presented to the " Zoo," Glasgow. One, described as " the 

 fifth this season," was captured on the Kincardine coast in the middle 

 of May by the Bervie salmon -fishers, according to the "Fishing 

 Gazette," 23rd May. EDS.] 



Hawfinch in North Dumfriesshire. I send you herewith a bird 

 which is unknown to me. It was picked up dead near a shepherd's 

 house among the hills near Kinnelhead on the 6th of April. Un- 



