yo ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



102. MEALY REDPOLL, Acanthis linaria. A small party appeared 



on the Island in May, one of which, a typical example of 

 this species, was forwarded to me. A few appeared in 

 January of the present year. Several Redpolls were seen by 

 us late in September, but as they were very wild we failed to 

 secure specimens. 



GREATER REDPOLL, Acanthis rostrata. In the " Annals " 

 for 1906 (p. 17) I alluded to the abundance of a form of 

 Redpoll which did not seem to belong to the well-known 

 Mealy species (A. linaria}, and whose particular identity I 

 reserved for further consideration. Since then I have had 

 an opportunity of comparing these specimens with the fine 

 series of Mealy Redpolls in Mr. Rothschild's great collection 

 at Tring, and have satisfied myself that they belong to the 

 form described by Coues as sEgiothus restrains, which is 

 considered by some authorities to be the young of A. horne- 

 manni (several adults of which species were present at the 

 same time), whose young have not, I believe, been described 

 by those who recognise these two forms as distinct. As a 

 visitor to Scotland, A. rostrata has only hitherto been recorded 

 for the Island of Barra, Outer Hebrides, where my friend 

 Mr. W. L. MacGillivray has several times obtained it. 



The Greater Redpoll, as it is termed by the American 

 ornithologists, is a native of Greenland ; but in the winter 

 visits Labrador, and the N.E. of Canada and the United 

 States. 



NORTHERN BULLFINCH, Pyrrhnla major. This is, no doubt, 

 the species or race treated of in my former contribution under 

 the name of P. europea, the common Bullfinch. A few birds 

 of both sexes of this fine northern bird appeared in 

 November, but only remained a few days on the island. 



This Bullfinch was only added to the fauna of Scotland 

 last year on the strength of Shetland and Fair Isle records 

 ("Annals," 1906, p. 115). 



103. SCARLET GROSBEAK, Carpedacus erythrinus. This is new to 



the Scottish fauna. A bird of the year, in its inconspicuous 

 dull green plumage, was shot from a patch of potatoes on 

 3rd October. The nearest native haunts of this rare 

 straggler to Britain are Finland and the eastern countries 

 bordering the Baltic, whence its range extends to Kam- 

 tschatka. Its previous visits to our isles, so far as they have 

 come under observation, are only two in number, both to 

 southern counties in England. 



104. REED BUNTING, Emberiza schceniclus. During the last week 



of May and early days of June several of these birds visited 



