ro The Scottish Naturalist. 



There is a common belief in Orkney that Corncraiks * sleep ' all winter, 

 and I have been told of cases in support of the belief, but never could 

 ascertain a reliable case of one being found in a state of -hybernation. 

 They are generally heard in Orkney about the middle of May. — James W. 

 H. Trail. 



On the Occun^ence of Picus major Lin. (Greater Spotted, Wood- 

 pecker) in Aberdeenshire, and its habits and food.— About a week 

 ago Mr. ^Ym. Robb shot a female of this species in the woods of 

 Kincorth near Aberdeen, where he had seen it for a week or two before. 

 It was sitting on the stump of a dead branch of a fir tree pecking at a fir 

 cone when shot, and Mr. Robb brought away the branc]i with him as well 

 as some of the cones, of which nearly a bushel were lying on the ground 

 below the branch. The bird had scooped out the centre of the branch 

 into a sort of gutter ; and had contrived to fix the cones firmly at the 

 bottom of the groove so as to keep them steady while it was breaking 

 them up. On examuring some of the cones I found that the seeds were 

 gone, and on examining the stomach of the bird I found it full of portions 

 of fir seeds with a few nearly complete seeds among the fragments, but not 

 a trace of insects or of their larvce. 



Another specimen that Mr. Robb received from Straloch in Aberdeen- 

 shire a day or two afterwards proved to be a young male. In its stomach 

 I found about a score of larvse such as occur in rotten wood, but no trace 

 of seeds. — ^James W. H. Trail, 28th November 1876. 



Migration of the Starhng — Starlings appear here in great force about 

 February, and breed in the thick ivy on the Manse in nearly as close proxi- 

 mity to each other as a nest to each square yard of favourite wall. Having 

 reared one or two broods — perhaps half-a-hundred young altogether, which 

 they chiefly feed on the grub-worm — they depart about midsummer. They 

 then return, or a considerable number of them, about the first of November, 

 stay for a week, and again depart till spring. — W. Herdman, Rattray, 

 Nov., 1876. 



Kites — At Blair Athole, in February last, Mr. Robertson, the factor, 

 pointed out to me a pair of salmon-tailed Kites, (F. Mitvns Temm. ) sailing 

 in the air, near his house, for a long time in tluir very characteristic manner, 

 (something like that of sea-gulls, but smoother). He said that, so far as he 

 knew, there was now only that pair in the locality, inhabiting the wooded 

 crag west of the castle. They used to be abundant, l)ut have been nearly 

 extirpated by the keepers, which seems a pity, especially as their food is 

 believed to be mostly reptiles and mice. — Id. 



Sphinx convolvuU.— I beg to inform you that I captured about ten 

 days ago, two fine specimens of this moth flying about the flowers of 

 lAlmm aiiratutn in my greenhouse. — ALEXANDER Paterson, Fernficid, 

 Bridge of Allan, Oct. 4th, 1876. 



Tenthredinidas in Braemar.— As less than a dozen species of Hymen- 

 optera of all families have been recorded from Braemar, I have thought that 

 the publication of the following list of TcnthrcdinidiC might be of use. For 



