io ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



had completed its first autumn moult, and was very fat- 

 indeed I have seldom seen a bird in better condition, show- 

 ing that it had been for some time either on the Island, or 

 in some other locality well suited for its feeding habits. 

 When on the wing it resembled a diminutive Landrail, with 

 its laboured flight and hanging legs. 



I believe this Crake has not hitherto been recorded for 

 Scotland. As far as I can make out, it has been captured 

 once near Newbury, in Berkshire, in October 1864 [Newton, 

 " P. Z. S.," 1865, p. 196] ; and again at Cardiff in the spring 

 of 1888 (" Birds of Glamorganshire," p. 113). 



[It is not at all improbable that this species has occurred 

 on other occasions in the British Isles, but has hitherto 

 escaped detection. It has a high northern breeding range 

 in North America, moving south in the autumn as far as 

 the West Indies and northern South America. In summer 

 it is most abundant in the eastern portion of its range, 

 and, according to Richardson (" Fauna Boreali Americana," 

 ' Birds,' p. 403), it is common as far north as latitude 

 62. In connection with its occurrence in Britain it is 

 important to know that it has on several occasions been 

 known to visit Greenland. Herr Winge, in his most useful 

 contribution to the " Conspectus Faunae Grcenlandicse " 

 (' Aves,' p. 1 46) records three occurrences two for the autumn 

 and one during summer. It is not necessary, therefore, to 

 conclude that an extraordinary flight has been performed 

 to reach our islands, for the passage to and from Greenland 

 is annually made, probably by way of Iceland, by a consider- 

 able number of migratory species. EDS.] 



ON A SCOTTISH SPECIMEN OF THE BLACK- 

 FISH [CENTROLOPHUS NIGER (GMELIN)]. 



By R. H. TRAQUAIR, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. 

 PLATE I. 



DURING my absence from Edinburgh in August last, a fish, 

 caught on the 2ist of that month in a salmon net at Largo 

 Bay, Firth of Forth, and presented to the Museum by Messrs. 



