11 



where it is left comparatively undisturbed. Till of late years its 

 southern outpost was the mountainous country around Loch 

 Lomond, whence there are specimens in the Glasgow University 

 Museum; but it is now extinct in that neighbourhood (Lamsden, 

 P. N. H. S. Glasgow, in., p. 189), and I believe that none 

 now exist south of the northern districts of Argyll and Perth- 

 shire. There appears to be no evidence that the Wild Cat was 

 ever found in any of the Islands, Pennant's statement that it 

 was a native of Arran being probably erroneous. 



Family: CAN I DAE. 



10. Caxis vulpes, Linnaeus. 



Fox. 



Scot., Tod (Old Islandic, toa, a fox). 



Gael., Sionnach, Balgair, Madadh-ruadh (lit., red hound). 



Universally distributed on the mainland, both in the Lowlands 

 and Highlands, but absent from the Islands, except Skye (Duns). 

 In Mull there is a tradition that Foxes were formerly found, but 

 were exterminated about the middle of the last century. 



Family; MUSTELIDAE. 



11. Martes sylvestris, Nilsson. 



Yellow-breasted Marten. 



Scot., Mertrick (Aug. Sax., inearth, a marten). 



Gael., Taghan (from Gael., taghanach, surly, sulky?). 



Like the Wild Cat, the Marten has been exterminated in most 

 parts of the Lowlands, but a few still linger in some parts of the 

 south-west. Macgillivray mentions a Lanarkshire specimen (Nat. 

 Libr., xxn., p. 168), and one was killed in Ayrshire, near Maybole, 

 in 1876 (Alston, Fauna W. Scott., p. vi.). In the Highlands also it 

 is much reduced in numbers, and in many places is already quite 

 extinct, but still finds a refuge in the wilds of most of the counties 

 north of Perth and Argyll, especially in the deer-forests. It does 

 not appear to be a native of any of the Inner Islands, but, curiously 

 enough, is well known in the Outer Hebrides, where it was noted 

 as far back as 1715 by Martin (West. Isles, p. 36). When Mac- 

 gillivray wrote (1838) it was "abundant" in Harris, but Mr. 

 Harvie-Brown informs me that it is now almost exterminated 

 there. 



