ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 247 



A gardener who had been at work near the last-mentioned nest 

 declared to me that it belonged to a pair of birds of which the 

 male was a pied specimen, as he had several times seen the bird 

 near the nest ; but as the nest w r as deserted when I first saw it, and 

 the eggs were taken two days later, I was unable to make any 

 personal observations on this point. If the gardener's statement 

 could but be satisfactorily proven, it would form a record of unusual 

 interest. WILLIAM BINNIE, Aberdeen. 



Unusual Situation of Willow-Wren's Nest. During the past 

 nesting-season I came across a Willow- Wren's nest in a very unex- 

 pected position, viz. on the extremity of the drooping branch of 

 a spruce, fully nine feet above the ground. The locality in which 

 this nest was found is a rather damp, low-lying patch of woodland ; 

 which fact, in conjunction with the inclemency of the season, may 

 account for the bird's unusual choice of a nesting-place. S. E. 

 BROCK, Kirkliston. 



Redstart in Mull. In regard to the distribution of the Red- 

 start (Ruticilla phxnicitrus] in the Hebrides, it should, in view of 

 doubts to the contrary, be stated that in this portion of the Inner 

 Hebrides the species is a fairly common summer visitor. 

 D. MACDONALD, Tobermory. 



Pied Flycatcher in Ayrshire. I think it may interest you to 

 know that we have had a Pied Flycatcher (Muscicapa atricapilhi) 

 breeding here. The nest was in a small hollow on the bole of an 

 old acacia tree about 4 feet from the ground. The young birds 

 were hatched out all right, and all seemed to be going well, when 

 either the bird itself or another started to build a second nest on 

 the top of them, and they were all smothered a catastrophe I 

 cannot account for. MARY YOUNG, Glendoune. 



Great Spotted Woodpecker nesting in Perthshire. In con- 

 nection with the extension of range of this species as a native bird 

 in Scotland, which is being discussed in the pages of the " Annals," 

 it will be of interest to record that I have received reliable informa- 

 tion of its nesting both at Crieff and Drumtochty in May last. 

 MARY BEDFORD, Meikleour, Perthshire. 



Great Spotted Woodpecker nesting- near Callander, Perth- 

 shire. -This spring my daughter discovered that we had the Great 

 Spotted Woodpecker {Dendrocopus major} in this neighbourhood. 

 In June she watched a pair of these birds carrying lichens in their 

 beaks and depositing them in a small hole in an alder, so that 

 there can be no doubt they are nesting with us. J. B. BAILLIE 

 HAMILTON, Callander. 



Albino Shag in Mull. On i4th and i5th June I visited a bird 

 colony established within recent years at Rhu-na-Caillich, in the 

 extreme N.W. of Mull. While there I was assured by Mr. Alex. 



