262 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



inhabitants of the Forest. This fact clearly indicates that 

 the area is traversed by birds on passage to and from 

 seasonal haunts beyond its limits. The course of these 

 migrants appears in autumn to be between the Spean via 

 the Treig and Ghulbinn and Ossian valleys to probably 

 the upper portions of the Tay and Forth basins, and thence, 

 in part perhaps, towards the east coast. In spring a reverse 

 course is followed. Our knowledge, however, on this in- 

 teresting subject is at present only slight, but a series of 

 observations made during the main periods of the great 

 seasonal movements would, no doubt, yield interesting 

 results. The migrants which have so far come under notice, 

 while traversing the Forest, are the Starling, Skylark, Field- 

 fare, House-Martin, Swallow, Swift, and Oystercatcher, but 

 others whose identity has not been established have been 

 reported. 



The few dates available relating to the arrival and 

 departure of summer birds will be given, under their 

 respective species, in the list which forms the second part 

 of this contribution. 



Casual VISITORS. The Pheasant (one record), Goos- 

 ander, Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring 

 Gull, and Lesser Black-backed Gull appear more or less fre- 

 quently as visitors to the Forest. The Common Gull may breed 

 on the islands in the Blackwater Loch, where its behaviour 

 has led me to suspect that it had young not far off. 



Winter. There still remains for consideration the 

 winter aspects of the animal life of the Forest. At this 

 season the climatic conditions are of a very severe type, 

 and these, coupled with the general dearth that also prevails, 

 naturally exercise a considerable influence on the distribu- 

 tion of life within the Forest's limits, and render the presence 

 of a number of forms impossible. These seasonal changes 

 in the fauna of such an elevated region are of great interest, 

 though little if anything regarding them is on record. In 

 the severe December of 191 5 I spent twelve days at the 

 Lodge (1300 feet) for the purpose of ascertaining what these 

 changes were. The whole area was then under snow and 

 low temperatures usually 25 degrees of frost Fahrenheit 



