182 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



Kirkcudbright. A few were seen in Eskdale. Practically they 

 were confined to Annandale and Nithsdale, especially the first 

 named. I have notes and estimates from a good many correspond- 

 ents that make up a total of rather more than 300 Jays seen. 

 Such an immigration is rather a unique event. R. SERVICE, 

 Maxwelltown. 



Wryneck at the Island of Foula, Shetland. On the 3oth of 

 April a Wryneck (lynx torquilla) was captured alive in ->. byre, where 

 it had evidently sought shelter, on this island. It died about an 

 hour afterwards, and I sent the specimen to the Museum of Science 

 and Art, Edinburgh. ADELAIDE L. TRAILL, Island of Foula. 



Hoopoe at the Isle of May. A Hoopoe ( Upicpa epops] was 

 obtained by the lightkeepers at the Isle of May on the 3oth of 

 April last, and was forwarded to me for preservation, and proved to 

 be an adult female. R. SMALL, Edinburgh. 



Great Spotted Woodpecker in Peeblesshire. The game- 

 keeper at Hallmyre informs me that he saw a Great Spotted Wood- 

 pecker (Dendrocopus major] in a wood on that place on the i5th 

 May last. The observer (who knows the species) was directed to the 

 bird by its loud tapping on the dead limb of an old pine, and it 

 allowed him to approach sufficiently close to distinguish the red on 

 the nape of the head. I may mention that two birds of the above 

 species were seen in Castle Craig woods about two years ago. 

 T. G. LAIDLAW, Edinburgh. 



The Marsh Harrier in Dumfriesshire. This very rare species 

 occurred early in May, a fine old male having been shot at a 

 place in Kirkmichael. I had the pleasure of examining the bird 

 while it was still in the flesh. Probably it may have been a com- 

 paratively common bird in this country at one time. If so, the 

 period must have been rather remote. In the present conditions of 

 agriculture and game preservation, such a species as the Marsh 

 Harrier is inevitably doomed. So it is merely a rare straggler now. 

 This individual is the first local specimen that has been obtained 

 within the last thirty years. R. SERVICE, Maxwelltown. 



Iceland Falcon in Shetland. An immature male Iceland Falcon 

 (Falco islandus) was obtained at Ollaberry, near Lerwick, on the 6th 

 of April last, and was sent to Mr. Robert Small, Edinburgh, for 

 preservation. EDS. 



Destruction of Ospreys. " Three weeks ago a pair of these 

 splendid birds came to Lochan Eilean, on the estate of Rothie- 

 murchus, in Strathspey, and took up their abode in the ruined castle 

 in the lake, where for years they have bred in security. A few days 

 after their arrival, they were joined by a third Osprey (probably a 

 male bird). Then began a battle royal. For three days two of 

 them fought, whilst the third perched unmoved on the castle wall. 



