NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 315 



nearly so many this November in our central Stirlingshire marshes 

 as there were in November, 1878. In Ardnamurchan I found 

 Snipe plentiful at several localities in end of October. They were 

 reported to be in about the usual numbers in S. Uist in December. 

 Entirely disappeared from inland marshes when the frost set in, 

 nor did they reappear in any numbers after the frost and ice dis- 

 appeared at the end of December. Similar reports from Islay. 

 ' ; Plentiful at the beginning of winter, but not so for some time 

 past" [Mr. Chisholm, in lit, 27, i., 80.] Very scarce in Dum- 

 bartonshire all this season [Jas. Lumsden]. 



JACK SNIPE. 



LlMNOCRYPTES GALLINULA ( Litl. ). 



Jack Snipe appear to be a little more plentiful than last year, 

 but still far from as common as usual in Oct., Nov., and Dec. 



GREAT SNIPE. 



Galli^ago major (Gmelin). 

 Several specimens of this rare British bird have been observed 

 or obtained in England this Sept. I have the record of one shot 

 at Darmore Castle, Northumberland, on 21st Sept., and on the 

 27th Sept. I saw two near Dunipace, in Stirlingshire, which I 

 felt convinced were of this species. Being well acquainted with 

 the species, I was not likely to be mistaken in their identification. 

 They were not seen afterwards. 



WOODCOCK. 



SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA, Lill. 



The first seen by me in 1879 was in Ardnamurchan, on the 

 28th Oct, By the 10th Nov. they were well " in " there, though, 

 owing to open weather, much scattered. At Boquhan, Stirling- 

 shire, a good many " cock " were seen on the 15th, after two days' 

 frost. In Tor wood, Stirlingshire, 18 were shot on 22nd Nov. 

 As many as 86 have been killed in 3 days, by one gun, in the 

 Island of Coll [but this was probably last winter]. In certain 

 districts of the west of Scotland there appears to be a great and 

 unusual dearth of Woodcock. Thus, I have the following report 

 from Ardnamurchan : — The keeper, in beginning of Dec, says 

 he " cannot understand where the Woodcocks have all gone to, 

 because the weather is such that they should be abundant; 



