42 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



The Secretary exhibited a fine specimen of the chough and its 

 egg, Avhich had been forwarded by James Stein, Esq., of Port- 

 Ellen, accompanied by some interesting notes on the habits of the 

 species as observed at Islay, where it is still found in small flocks. 

 In the course of his remarks, Mr Gray mentioned its gradual 

 disappearance from localities in this country where it formerly 

 existed in great numbers. The majestic cliffs of St Abb's Head, 

 and the high precipices of some parts of the Isle of Man, are now 

 untenanted by this beautiful bird; and the abrupt coast of the 

 south of Ayrshire cannot now boast of the flocks it once gave 

 shelter to. Its scarcity, indeed, there and elsewhere, cannot well 

 be accounted for. The inroads of man, which banish many other 

 British birds from their accustomed haunts, can have no share in 

 its extirpation, for it dwells in places too solitary and inaccessible 

 to be aff"ected by such influences. 



Mr Gray likewise exhibited a specimen of the red-necked 

 phalarope (Phalarojms liyperhoreus) in the summer plumage, a 

 bu'd which breeds commonly on shores within the Arctic Circle. 

 It was at one time found on some of the Orkney Islands, nesting 

 on the margins of fresh water lakes there in limited numbers. 

 Of late years, however, it has become so scarce as to be difficult 

 of acquisition — a result owing chiefly to the rapacity of dealers in 

 natural history objects. This specimen was obtained from one of 

 the outer Hebrides — a safe refuge, in the meantime, for refugees 

 of a like rarity. It settles by the side of small inland lochs on 

 the island referred to, and is known among the natives by the 

 name Dearg-an-allt — the red bird haunting the stream. During 

 the breeding time it swims lightly and gracefully on the smooth 

 water, continually dipping its bill, and uttering a clicking note, 

 %vithout betraying any fear on the approach of an intruder. It is, 

 consequently, a well-known favourite among those whose occupa- 

 tion leads them into its haunts, and at once arrests their admira- 

 tion by the beauty of its movements when floating about and 

 calling its diminutive young ones together, gathering them under 

 its wings as a hen does with her chickens. Though but the 

 size of a lark, it is easily observed on these moorland tarns, 

 without a fringe of vegetation for concealment; and, as Mr 

 Gray observed, it would be rash, indeed, to put any idle col- 

 lector in the way of invading the solitude of the asylum it now 

 inhabits. 



