ii6 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



to have escaped detection elsewhere in the British Islands ; for none 

 have been recorded in the pages of the serial literature devoted to 

 natural history subjects. WM. EAGLE CLARKE, Royal Scottish 

 Museum, Edinburgh. 



Peregrine Falcon captured at a Lighthouse. A Falcon was 

 captured at Sanda Lighthouse, south of the Mull of Cantire, under 

 the following circumstances : On 26th December 1905, we were 

 sounding the siren, for the night was thick with haze, when at 1.30 

 A.M., while standing at the engine-house door, the rays from the 

 lantern being very distinct, I saw and heard two Pewits flying around, 

 and what appeared to be a larger bird. I went up to the light-room 

 and then out on to the balcony, where I felt a bird flapping about 

 my feet. I put down my right hand to secure it, but instead of 

 taking hold of it, it took hold of me, gripping me with its claws in 

 a way that I am not likely to forget in a hurry. I then put down 

 my other hand, when it was seized by the bird's beak ; I suffered 

 excruciating pain, and had to call for assistance ere I could shake 

 off mine enemy and secure him. My hand was sore and swollen for 

 several days, as the result of this unexpected encounter. I think the 

 Falcon must have been pursuing the Pewits, and when making a 

 pounce at one of them, had come in contact with the dome of the 

 lighthouse and then fallen, in a stunned condition, on to the balcony. 

 -JOHN MACEWEN, Sanda Lighthouse. 



[An immature female Peregrine Falcon was sent to us for identi- 

 fication. EDS.] 



Capereaillie in Ayrshire. I think it would be of interest to 

 readers of " The Annals " to know that a female Capereaillie 

 (Tetrao urogallus] was killed on i4th December 1905, near 

 Tarbolton Moss in Ayrshire, which is surely very far south for it 

 to have strayed. HUGH S. GLADSTONE, Thornhill, Dumfries. 



[Mr. John Paterson in his useful list of the birds of the Clyde 

 area, tells us that this species was introduced unsuccessfully into 

 Ayrshire. Can some of these have survived ? EDS.] 



King Eider in Orkney. I have to record the occurrence of an 

 adult female King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) which was shot off 

 the Island of Graemsay, Orkney, on Wednesday, 2ist February, by 

 S. Sutherland of that island. The specimen which was sent to 

 me differs much from the Common Eider, chiefly in its plumage 

 being much more rufous, the chin, throat, and cheeks light 

 chestnut, and the chin and upper throat being without any black 

 markings. The upper part of the breast is rufous, and from the 

 centre of the breast to the abdomen sooty black. The crown of 

 the head rufous with narrow streaks of black ; moreover, the head 

 is flatter on the top than in the common Eider. The feathered 

 wedge on the culmen reaches as far as the nostrils, and the bare 



