68 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



of feather lining in the full sense. Not a single bird of the Nursery 

 colony remained after loth July, all had gone elsewhere, and none 

 has been seen since. 



WHITE WAGTAIL (Motadlla alba}. A fine $ was seen by me, 

 at a few feet distance, as it was catching flies on the margin of the 

 Horsetrough at Four Mile House, on the Castle Douglas Road 

 from Dumfries. At 7 a.m., morning of gth October, I examined 

 another White Wagtail tripping on one of the putting greens of the 

 golf course here. Although difficult to make out in the autumn 

 plumage, the bird's identity was established by a close scrutiny at a 

 couple of yards distance. 



HEN HARRIER (Circus cyamis]. Mr. John Paterson informs 

 me of a Hen Harrier shot near Tarff, Kirkcudbrightshire, early in 

 November and sent to Glasgow. An old $ was taken in last week 

 of October in Kirkbean. 



ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD (Archibuteo lagopus). Of these fine 

 birds we have also had a small share, one having been shot near 

 Tarff, as Mr. Paterson kindly tells me, early in November, and sent 

 to Glasgow. Mr. Paterson exhibited it along with the Hen Harrier 

 at the December meeting of the " Nat. Hist. Soc. of Glasgow." A 

 second specimen of this Buzzard was shot in our area in November, 

 at Auchencheyne, Glencairn, and sent to some of the Edinburgh 

 taxidermists for preservation. 



SHORT-EARED OWLS (Asio accipitrimis). Since early in October 

 odd specimens of these have been seen in many localities. There 

 is little doubt these are immigrants. 



STOCK DOVES (Columba anas). Although numerous enough 

 now this is the first season in which I have seen these doves on 

 what I should consider migration flight. Watching for migrants I 

 saw at 7 o'clock a.m., i3th October, nine Stock Doves in two separate 

 parties flying very swiftly due south. Again on 3rd December 

 thirty-two of this species flew past in a compact flock, battling with 

 a beam-storm of wind and rain they were proceeding on a west- 

 ward course. 



JAYS (Garnilus glandarijis}. For some years now Jays have 

 been found in Nithsdale and in the Stewartry in odd birds or 

 widely scattered pairs. One pair at least bred at a place a few 

 miles from Dumfries, on the Galloway side of the Nith. Five birds 

 frequented Terregles Park in March, but they disappeared subse- 

 quently without nesting. A single bird was shot in October near 

 Dalbeattie. Probably we may now consider this species as an 

 addition to our resident avifauna. 



RAVENS (Corvus corax). This is far from being a rare bird 

 with us yet, though it goes without saying that this is not on 



