NOTES 21I 



NOTES. 



A bone of Rudolphi's Rorqual from the post-glacial 

 sand of Elgin. This bone was found by James Farquhar when 

 working in the river Lossie, at Old Mills, Elgin. Though imperfect, 

 water-worn, and slightly mineralised, I at once noticed that it was 

 the first cervical vertebra of a Rorqual. On further examination, 

 and with the help of Sir Wm. Turner's books, I identified it as the 

 atlas of Rudolphi's Rorqual (Ba/mwptera borealis). The greatest 

 height of the bone was about 9 inches, and the greatest breadth at 

 the transverse process, about 14 inches. A thin, broken process on 

 the lower edge projected backwards nearly half an inch behind the 

 rim of the bone. This process has been observed by Flower and 

 Turner in the atlas of this species. The transverse process is also 

 turned backward and twisted, as described above by Turner. 



As Elgin is about 5 miles from the sea, and the river Lossie at 

 this point 50 feet above sea-level, the bone must be very old. 

 Probably it was washed out of the post-glacial sand which covers the 

 valley at Old Mills. 



The only species of Rorqual common on our Moray Firth 

 shores at present are the Common Rorqual and the Lesser 

 Rorqual, and, as far as I know, this is the only record connecting 

 Rudolphi's Rorqual with the Moray Firth area. William Taylor, 

 Lhanbryde, 



The Squacco Heron in the Outer Hebrides. A Squacco 

 Heron (Ardea ralloides), evidently a mature male, was seen by me 

 on a loch near Butt of Lewis on 5th June last, where it remained for 

 over a week, In colour creamy-buff, with white wings and under- 

 parts, the bird had a very attractive appearance when in flight, 

 at once arresting the attention of those who were fortunate in seeing 

 it. R. Clyne, Butt of Lewis Lighthouse. 



Scaup-Duck nesting in the Outer Hebrides. You may 

 be interested to know that a Scaup hatched off on one of the Outer 

 Hebrides last June. A friend saw the female with her brood, he 

 also sent me a rotten egg together with the down, and I have 

 no hesitation in saying his identification was correct. The keeper 

 assured him this was by no means the first time a Scaup had hatched 

 on the property. Heatley Noble, Henley-on-Thames. 



An Eider-Duck's unusual nesting-place.-While having 

 a walk along the shore in the beginning of June, at the time the 

 Eider was breeding, I was surprised to see a duck fly out of an old 



