106 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



years. This was taken by myself at Cumbrae in the dredge and 

 dip net. 



II. — On the Ornithology of the Suburbs of Glasgow. 

 By the Secretary. 



Suburban ornithology, he remarked, was a subject less trivial 

 than some naturalists might suppose, as many suggestive birds 

 were still to be found within the bounds of the city itself; and 

 although their occurrence so near the loud din of machinery, and 

 in the midst of the smoke and bustle of one of the largest towns 

 in this country, may be thought strangely out of place, yet it shows 

 a hardihood among the birds themselves — a refusal, so to speak, to 

 succumb under the inroads of man — which is by no means an 

 insignificant feature in their history. To understand this more 

 clearly, we had but to consider the disappearance of species from 

 many places yet comparatively solitary — the chough being a well- 

 known example. Thirty years ago this bird was abundant on 

 almost all the rocky headlands of Scotland; also on the Isle of 

 Man, and the rugged cliffs on some parts of the Welsh coast; but 

 now it is known that it has entirely disappeared from these localities 

 except a few pairs in the south of Ayrshire and Wigtonshire, and 

 moderate flocks in the islands of Islay and Mull. It can hardly be 

 supposed that the former haunts of this species are less retired at 

 the present time than they were thirty years ago, there being no 

 perceptible change to account for the bird's disappearance. Wliile, 

 therefore, we find rooks, jackdaws, and magpies clinging tenaciously 

 to the town, subjected to the confusion, turmoil, and clamour of 

 a city life, we have to bear in mind that one of their nearest allies— 

 the chough — although not coming within the range of these influ- 

 ences of man's interference, is fast losing ground. In its structure 

 it is even hardier than its congeners, its feet being peculiarly adapted 

 for perching on rough rocks such as form its chosen haunts. Yet 

 these advantages apparently cannot save it from being hustled off" 

 the stage and sharing the fate of the great auk, another bu"d 

 common at one time in Scotland, but not now found in any 

 part of the world, the species being utterly extinct. Mr Gray then 

 enumerated the various genera and species to be yet found in the 

 suburbs — a list which included many interesting birds whose 

 occurrence in and around the city furnished ample illustration of 

 the remarks with which he introduced and concluded the subject. 



