NATURAL IIISTOllY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 59 



On the higher hills Snow Buntings are got in severe weather 

 during winter ; and Ptarmigan breed on Ben Lomond every year 

 in limited numbers. 



The flat shore at the mouth of the Endrick has proved a rich 

 field for all kinds of waders. Here have been killed the Green- 

 shank, Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint, and the Black-tailed God- 

 wit in breeding plumage. In this "district the Common and Jack 

 Snipe are abundant, and the Freshwater Sandpiper and Dunlin 

 are far from rare. 



In winter the loch is a harbour for many kinds of ducks, and 

 occasionally geese and wild swans. The Shoveller has been 

 obtained, and also the Pin-tail and Long-tailed Duck. The Smew 

 has once or twice been shot, and the Goosander is included in Mr 

 Gray's list of Loch Lomond birds. Bernicle, Brent, Canada, and 

 Egyptian Geese have all been shot on the loch -, and both Bewick's 

 Swan and the Whooper have been obtained in severe winters. 



But there is perhaps no spot in the district so full of interest to 

 the naturalist as Inch Moan, or the Peat Island, which is the 

 breeding place of many gulls, terns, and ducks. The island is a 

 long flat piece of ground, covered in some places with bog myrtle 

 and rank grass mixed with heather. At the west end of the 

 island is a clump of small Scotch fir trees, in the middle of which 

 stands an old cottage, in the ruined chimneys of which Jackdaws 

 breed every year. The nests of the Wild Duck, Teal, and Eed- 

 breasted Merganser, are got amongst the undergrowth and below 

 furze bushes, on the drier parts of the ground. 



Of the Gulls, the Black-headed is the first to arrive and take up 

 its abode in the most marshy places; some of the nests being 

 built on tussocks of grass or rushes, in the midst of pools and bogs. 

 The Lesser Black-backed Gull is the next to come, and along with 

 it a few pairs of the Great Black-backed. The Black-backs choose 

 drier grass than the former species, and place their nests among 

 the heather or other cover, and sometimes among the stones on 

 the shore ; the larger species especially choosing this position, and 

 often building their clumsy nests close to the water's edge. After 

 the gulls are all settled, the terns arrive, and usually breed on a 

 part of the island where the ground is harder and the under 

 growth not so rank. 



I do not know a finer sight than the low island on a summer 

 day. The Great Black-backed Gulls, with their hoarse, loud croak, 



