,5o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



the tnachair here every day. During the last two years they have 

 only settled here a few times. I am of the opinion that the Bernicle 

 are going to the islands in the Sound of Harris. Then to turn to 

 the waders. Before the war Curlew flighting was quite a successful 

 sport ; one gun might get as many as fourteen birds in one evening. 

 The Curlew now go in large packs or bunches, and we only get the 

 one shot. Another wader, which is of course not a sporting bird, 

 is the Dunlin {Tringa alpind). These were quite numerous here 

 in former years, now one scarcely ever sees a single bird. The 

 Golden Plover {Charadrhis pbivialis) is not nearly so common as 

 it was, and it has forsaken its old haunts. One finds it in quite - 



different places to those which it used to frequent. The Common I 



Snipe {Galli/iago gallinago) too is on the decrease, but the Jack \ 



Snipe {Gallinago gallinuld) was more plentiful last year than I have 

 known it. The Woodcock {Scolopax n/sticola) too was numerous 

 this last season. Wheatears {Saxicola cenanthe), Redwings {Turdus 

 iliacus), and Fieldfares {Turdus pilaris) are all becoming less 

 numerous. The one bird which is increasing, and at a terrible 

 rate, is the Starling {Sturnus vulgaris). I can remember when 

 there were very few of them here. The other night I saw thousands 

 of Starlings coming in to roost in a large cave which was devoted 

 to the Rock Pigeon {Columba livia). The Starlings have almost 

 entirely ousted the poor Rock Dove. George Beveridge, Vallay, 

 North Uist. 



Ringed Plover breeding inland in Midlothian. For the 



past two years a pair of these birds have successfully reared their 

 young in a field adjoining Harperrig Reservoir. In 1919 the field 

 was under potatoes. This year it was under turnips, and the eggs 

 had to be removed from their original situation a proceeding 

 necessitated by the process of cultivation but the birds accepted 

 the change and the eggs hatched in due course. I saw both the 

 young birds and their parents in June. Wm. Eagle Clarke. 



