ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 73 



The last occurrence I know of was a pair shot by Mr. Irving Murray 

 at Priestside, in November 1887. Previous to that, many years ago, 

 one was shot on the margin of Lochrutton. ROBERT SERVICE, 

 Maxwelltown. 



The Nesting of the Woodcock (Scolopax rusticula, L.) in North 

 Uist. It may be of interest to record the breeding of the Woodcock 

 in the Outer Hebrides. My gamekeeper reports to me having found 

 two nests in the spring of 1891. I am not aware that such a fact 

 has been previously recorded from the " Long Island," and, from the 

 entire absence of both plantations and natural wood, few would 

 expect such a district to be selected. My keeper sends me the 

 following particulars, which I give as nearly as possible in his own 

 words. He found the nests on the i5th of April. Both were 

 within one hundred yards of each other, and in the centre of the 

 best cock-shooting ground, on the south-east side of Eval. One of the 

 nests was on the side of a small moss knoll, and consisted of moss 

 and dry withered grass and contained four eggs. The second nest 

 was on the bank of a small stream, and was placed among withered 

 ferns close beside a boulder. In this case there was no attempt to 

 make a nest, it was simply a natural hollow in which there were two 

 eggs. When visiting the nests, after the young had been hatched, he 

 could easily make out by the pieces of shell found in this second nest 

 that the bird had only three eggs. There is good feeding ground 

 round about the nests. He then proceeds to say "Although 

 I did not find them, I am of opinion that there were more nests 

 than those, as I saw three other birds on that same date." J. W. P. 

 CAMPBELL-ORDE, Kilmory. 



Ruff ( Machetes piignax, L.) in Orkney. A Reeve was shot by 

 Mr. Watt of Skaill, at Tankerness, Orkney, on yth September 1891. 

 It was one of three observed at same time and place. I have another 

 preserved specimen shot on 2yth August 1890 by Mr. Alfred 

 Cowan of London, at Rennibister, Firth, Orkney. As I have heard 

 of several others having been got here during the fall migrations, the 

 Ruff can hardly be termed a very rare visitant in Orkney. T. S. 

 PEACE, Kirkwall. 



Buffon's Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus, L.) in the Solway 

 District. Following on the remarkable visitation of the Fork-tailed 

 Petrels to the Solway, particulars of which will be found in Mr. Evans's 

 note, there has been a much more remarkable immigration of Buf- 

 fon's Skua. Indeed, more specimens of this handsome species 

 have been seen and shot on both sides of the Sohvay than have been 

 known to visit us during all the years of the past half a century. 

 There is little doubt that, as was clearly the case with the Petrels, 

 this unusual visit is attributable to the boisterous weather of the 

 early part of October. The first one I heard of was got on the 

 2ist of October at Priestside of Cummertrees, and was received by 



