io6 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



Ronaldshay were on the beach under large stones, some 

 of them were fully 3 feet in, and it is suggested that the 

 birds do this to protect their eggs from the Gulls which 

 take them when they are laid in the open. 



Our correspondent at Darvel (Ayrshire) tells us that 

 he found fifty-nine different species nesting within a radius 

 of three miles of Darvel ; these comprised, among others. 

 Merlin, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Snipe, Teal, Black and Red 

 Grouse. 



On 6th February Jackdaws were seen at their nesting 

 holes in the cliffs at Cullen, and on the 13th Rooks at 

 Dundee were " interested in repair work " ; on the 20th 

 a House-sparrow's nest at Cullen " looked complete," while 

 on 23rd a Dipper at Darvel began to build. With March 

 come the usual records of our earlier nesting birds ; Rooks 

 at Dundee began work in earnest on the gth, a number of 

 the nests were later deserted owing to frost and snow, these 

 were pulled to pieces in mid-May ; thereafter we have notes 

 of Ravens, Rooks, Thrush, Blackbird and Tawny Owl, Ring- 

 dove and Lapwing, all with eggs, and a Yellowhammer 

 carrying nesting material in its bill, at Largo, on the 23rd. 

 By 30th March young Starlings had flown at Eyemouth. 

 A Dipper near Dundee, which began building on i8th 

 March, had four eggs on 14th April, April brings increased 

 notes of nesting. A Lapwing's nest with five eggs was 

 found on 6th April at Callander (i. 1918, 139); on the 12th 

 a Tawny Owl had a nest with five eggs in a small hole in 

 a sandy embankment in a small wood at Darvel. As the 

 month advances more species have eggs and young, and 

 the later birds begin to nest. Great Spotted Woodpeckers 

 were found nesting, as usual, in Duns Castle Woods, where, 

 too. Hawfinches were seen. The first Shags' nests are 

 reported from the Isle of May and North Unst, while young 

 Thrushes and Dippers are reported from Eyemouth, and 

 Mallard from the Dundee district. The Black-headed 

 Gulls at Redmyre (Forfar) were building on the 15th, but 

 the nesting season there was a failure, and quite one-third 

 of the Gulls had left by 25th May. From Corsemalzie 

 (Wigtown) come reports of Carrion Crows, Snipe, Grouse, 



