TJic Scottish Naturalist. . 289 



or the interests of the farmer more than that of the Wood- 

 Pigeon, as there can be no doubt but what these birds reacli 

 us from the Continent in large hordes every year; otherwise, 

 looking to the great increase in the eastern counties of Scot- 

 land, and the destruction of so many thousands annually tak- 

 ing place there, no such increase, says Mr Gray, can reason- 

 ably be traced to the results of a single breeding season ; and 

 in accordance with this opinion, he instances a wonderful 

 invasion, which he himself witnessed, about three miles east of 

 Dunbar. '' I had gone out," he says, " about daybreak, and 

 was astonished to see a prodigious cloud of pigeons, fully a mile 

 seawards, steering for the nearest land. The entire body of 

 birds alighted on the sandy beach at Catcrag Bay, which they 

 completely covered. I am satisfied there must have been in 

 the flock twenty or thirty thousand pigeons, at the lowest com- 

 putation; and from the fact of their alighting immediately on 

 reaching land, without any preliminary survey of the ground, I 

 concluded they had come in from a long journey." 



The subject under this head {Accessory migratioii) is too ex- 

 tensive to be dealt with here fully. I will, therefore, take up the 

 next head of occasional, accidental, or psezido migrants to Great 

 Britain. The list is large, not only comprising many from the 

 European continent and the more eastern parts of the Old 

 World, but also a large number of pseudo-migrants from the 

 continent of America; and it may be here interesting to record a 

 few from the former, which have been either noticed or obtained 

 round Perth within a radius of ten miles. 



Gj'cat Shrike. — Several instances have occurred, especially of late 



years. 

 Rose-coloii7'ed Pastor. — Two or three in former years in the Carse 



district, at Megginch. 

 Hoopoe. — The same may be said of the Hoopoe ; and one is now 



in the possession of Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, shot by him at 



Craigie. 

 JVaxwing. — No record of this bird, though I believe it to have 



been captured in this vicinity; and a year or two ago a 



specimen was obtained in the neighbouring shire of Fife. 

 Poller. — This bird was seen by me, many years ago, at Megginch, 



remaining for some time in the neighbourhood, and was 



called by the people the German Parrot. 

 Hawfinch. — Two of these birds were shot near Murray's Asylum, 



