NOTES ON BIRDS OBSERVED IN SHETLAND 215 



EIDER, Somatcria inollissima. This fine sea-duck occurred all round 

 the islands, but never in any great abundance at any one haunt. 

 I frequently met with small parties of Eiders on inland lochs. 

 A few nest on the hills at a considerable distance from the sea. 



RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, Mergus serrator. This species, although 

 fairly distributed, occurs in greater abundance in some districts 

 than in others. Sometimes parties are met with even in the 

 height of the breeding season; on i4th June 1895 I counted 

 sixteen birds together at the mouth of the Houllard burn in 

 Aithsting. This is a remarkably silent species, and the only 

 cry which I heard it utter was a low " kruk, kriik " to its 

 young. 



ROCK DOVE, Columba livia. Abundant around the Shetland coast. 



WATER HEN, Gallinula chloropus. I found this species breeding on a 

 marsh in the south-west corner of Unst, and caught a young 

 bird, only a few days old, on i6th July. [In 1895 I saw a 

 Coot's egg, said to have been locally taken, in the possession of 

 a native in Walls.] 



GOLDEN PLOVER, Charadrius pluvialis. Commonly, but not abund- 

 antly, distributed. The first signs of flocking were shown on 

 26th June, when I met with a party of ten on the summit of 

 Rona's Hill ; on 3rd July I saw a flock of thirty at Brebister in 

 North Roe, and on iSth July I observed an immense flock, 

 containing several hundred birds, near Muness Castle in 

 Unst. 



RING PLOVER, sEgialitis hiaticula. Abundant on low fore-shores, 

 and on bare stony regions amongst the hills. 



LAPWING, Vanellus vulgaris. I did not meet with this bird except 

 in Unst, where I found small parties of six and three respec- 

 tively in two localities. But I was given to understand that it 

 was formerly common in a number of localities on the Main- 

 land, in some of which it had occurred sparingly in the earlier 

 part of the present season. My brother John took a nest with 

 four eggs in Walls on ist June, but I found no trace of the 

 bird in that locality when I visited it later on. 



TURNSTONE, Strepsilas interpret. We fell in with a party of eight 

 on the low shingly beach of an island in Yell Sound on 22nd 

 July, and procured a male in brilliant summer plumage. 



OYSTER-CATCHER, Hcsmatopus ostralegus. Very numerous. 



SNIPE, Gallinago calestis. Of universal distribution, but not abun- 

 dant. Thomas Bowie, Esq., of Infield, Mossbank, presented 

 me with a specimen of the variety known as Sabine's Snipe, 

 which he had shot in the parish of Aithsting thirteen years ago. 



