76 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



pass in large flocks, and one can hear their chattering overhead 

 when they are quite out of sight. These flocks are followed by 

 Merlins, which seem to have a good time among them, judging by 

 the plucked feathers I see scattered here and there after they have 

 passed. 



Blackbird (Turdus merit la). These birds come a little later 

 than the Song-thrushes and leave a little earlier, and are not nearly 

 so numerous. They are particularly fond of cabbage-plots. I can 

 hear their "chack, chack " every day all winter among my cabbages. 

 They do not flock, but are generally single or in twos or threes. 

 They usually disappear by the beginning of March. 



Wheatear {Saxicola cenanthe). Wheatears arrive pretty regu- 

 larly about the end of March or the beginning of April, and remain 

 to breed. They do not come in flocks, but arrive singly or in 

 parties of two or three and gradually increase, until by the end of 

 April they are all over the island. They breed in stone walls and 

 also in holes in old turf walls, of which there are a great many on 

 the island where old crofts were. They leave rather early. About 

 August they begin to go, and are mostly gone by September. A 

 somewhat larger form of Wheatear (Saxicola oenanthe leucorrhoa) 

 calls here later sometimes as late as October and passes on to 

 the south, occasionally in considerable numbers, but merely when 

 migrating south. 



Whinchat (Pratincola rubetra). It is strange that although I 

 have been keeping a lookout for more than twenty years, I have 

 only seen one Whinchat on the island (cf. Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 

 1898, p. 153). 



Stonechat (Pratincola rubicohi). The Stonechat is fairly 

 common in particular localities on the island. The bird has bred 

 here, as I saw the young newly fledged some years ago. They 

 are, however, mostly winter visitors. When they arrive or depart 

 I do not know, but I see them here from November to the 

 beginning of April, and some odd birds later. 



Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula). This bird is a regular winter 

 visitor, but in small numbers. They are mostly single birds, and 

 frequent stackyards ; but they are very shy, and are not nearly so 

 confiding here as they are on the mainland in winter. 



Golden-crested Wren (Regulus cristatus). I have seen a 

 few on the spring migration of late years, but the)- arc only stragglers 

 to this island and are far from common. 



Willow-wren. (Phylloscopus trochilus). The Willow-wren 



