JEtenfrelsoshire. 571 



RENFREWSHIRE. 



The native Animals^ not Birds, of Renfrew and its Neigh- 

 bourhood. — Wild animals we have as follows : — 



respertilio wurinus, Common bat. ilfus ilfusculus. House mouse. 



-Erinaceus europae^us, Hedgehog. sylvaticus, Wood, field, or gar- 



♦Sorex Jraneus, Common shrew. den mouse. 



jTalpa europae^a, Mole or moudie- decumanus. Brown rat, ground 



wort : sometimes a white one rat 



occurs. iepus timidus, Hare. 



Fulpes vulgaris, Fox. Cuniculus, Rabbit. 



ikfustela vulgaris, Weasel, or whithret. Avicola agrestis. Short-tailed short- 

 putorius. Foumart, or polecat. eared field mouse. 



The Birds of Renfrew and its Neighbourhood, — Sir, In 

 Vol. IV. p. 269. there is a list of the " Birds in the Neigh- 

 bourhood of Renfrew." The list contains the birds only that 

 are seen here from the 1st of November to the 1st of February; 

 and this period of time the Rev. W. T. Bree has taken for 

 the whole round of a year, and has misunderstood my mean- 

 ing. (See his remarks. Vol. IV. p. 464.) As to the Turdus 

 musicus (mavis or throstle), we have them in plenty nine 

 months of the year : in keen frosty weather they go down the 

 country nearer to the sea, where the frost is not so severe. 

 Parus caudatus (long-tailed titmouse) is seen only about the 

 end of November, in flocks of from seven to about twenty, 

 busily employed cleansing our hedges of larvae, and perhaps 

 of benumbed insects. They do not breed in this part of the 

 country. Turdus pilaris (fieldfares) remains with us about 

 five months : they depart in April ; some years not till May. 

 They do not breed here. 



The following list contains the Linnaean names of the birds 

 that breed with us : — 



Tri'nga Vanellus, Lapwing or peesweep. Nest on our poorest pastures, 

 t'orvus glandularius. Jay. Nest on a low tree in a thicket. — C. Coroner 



Carrion crow. Nest on a tree near a river. — C. fi-ugllegus. Rook. 



Nest on tall trees, generally near a mansion. — C. Pica, Magpie. Nest 



on the top of a tree, or in a high hedge, and difficult of access. 

 J'rdea major, Heron. Nest on the top of a stout and tall pine tree. 

 Falco Tinnunculus, Kestrel. Nest in a crow's or in a magpie's old nest. 

 Loxia Chloris, Green linnet. Nest chiefly in a Portugal laurel, or other 



evergreen. 

 Columba Palumbus, Cushat. Nest on trees in our thickest plantations. 

 Certhia familiaris. Tree creeper. Nest in a hole in a tree, on in a wall. 

 Turdus ilferula. Blackbird. Can accommodate its nest to a variety of 



situations ; sometimes to the inside of an outhouse. — T. viscivorus. 



Missel thrush. Nest in the cleft of a tree. — T. musicus, Mavis. Nest 



in a hedge or in a bush. 

 Anorthura communis Eennie, Wren. Nest often under a hanging bank, 



among tangling roots. 

 Accentor modularis, Hedge sparrow. Nest in a low hedge. 

 Afotacilla alba, Water wagtail. Nest in the thatch of a cottage. 



