NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 89 



only on two occasions, once at Tongue and once at Bonar. " Mr 

 Dunbar describes it as nesting, only occasionally, in Eoss, Suther- 

 land, and Caithness" (A. G. More in "Ibis," I8G0, p. 25). It is 

 one of those species which, however, will probably extend its 

 northern distribution. 



WILLOW WARBLER 



PHYLLOSCOPUS TROOITILUS {Linnaeus). 



Mr J. Crawford, in describing the habits of this species, writes 

 to me as follows : — " We have the Willow Wren here too, for a 

 short time in summer. They utter a few sweet notes during the 

 very early morning by the brooks and mountain streams. One 

 seldom hears their voice during the day, unless in some very 

 solitary glade, or w^here water-falls exist, the murmuring of which 

 seems to excite their muse. Water-rills through meadows are 

 their favourite resort when frincied with scrub." 



To the above vividly truthful account of this delicate little 

 species, I have nothing to add, save that it is very abundant in 

 every wood : often to be seen too where only a single stunted 

 willow or alder, or birch bush grows on a bare hillside, or by the 

 margin of a mountain torrent. A bit of green, however small, 

 seems necessary to its existence. I once found a nest of this 

 species on an island where there was also a large colony of the 

 Lesser Black-backed Gull {Larus fuscus). This nest was almost 

 entirely composed of the feathers of the latter species. 



GOLDEN-CRESTED REGULUS. 



REGULUS CRIST AT US {Koch). 



This is a well-known species in all parts of the county where 

 fir-wood abounds. An immense flight of these tiny little gold- 

 crowned wanderers was driven on the Caithness coasts by a 

 south-east gale in October, 1868, and one of the number (as 

 Mr Osborne, Jun., informs us in one of his many interesting 

 communications to the "Field") took shelter during the wild 

 weather in a hole in the inside wall of a house near Wick, 

 choosing for itself a warm place near the fire, apparently not 

 being annoyed either by the presence of the inhabitants, or by 

 the "peat-reek." 



