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THE BIRDS OF STRATPIBEG AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD, 

 WITH A FEW REMARKS UPON THEIR HABITS, ETC. 



BY MR, THOMAS EDWARD. 

 ( Continued from page 2i7.J 



Such being, ia a great measure, the Birds of the Loch during Summer^ 

 ■with the exceptions already stated, as regards large flocks of Gulls being 

 frequently to be met with, we will now proceed coastwise; but in doing so, 

 we will first note those birds that breed betwixt the Loch and the sea. On 

 the side of the Loch next to the beach, there are ridges composed of rough 

 sand and shingle, beat hard by time, with short grass springing up here and 

 there, and an occasional tuft of bent, called by the people there, "dykes." 

 On these the Ring Dotterel, (Charadrius hiaticula,) breeds; as also the 

 Wheatear, (Saxicola cenanthe.) Intervening, are long low patches of marshy 

 ground, covered with grass; there the Lapwing, the Redshank, the Dunlin, 

 the Snipe, and the Lark, (Alauda arvetisis,) all bring forth. On my first 

 visit the nests here were very numerous, but it is not so now; the place 

 having of late years been converted into sheep pasturage, most of the birds 

 have forsaken the spot. 



Passing on, we encounter large sandy hillocks, clothed with a rich crop of 

 bent. Along the sides of these amongst the bent, nestles the Rock Pipit, 

 (Anthus aqnaticus,) the Meadow Pipit, the Yellow Wagtail, {Motacilla flava,) 

 the Rose Linnet, (Linaria cannahina,) and the Twite, (L. monfana;) on 

 the top, a solitary pair of Redshanks may be occasionally found incubating; 

 I have met with them several times. Young broods of Partridges, [Perdix 

 cinerea,) accompanied by their parents, may also be now and then stumbled 

 upon: I am told too, that the Mallard brings out here, amongst the bent; 

 but I have never yet met with their nests. 



We now arrive at a sandy beach, beyond which and stretching far away 

 in the distance, roll the briny waters of the Moray Frith, or perhaps I should 

 rather say here, the broad waves of the German Ocean; there, amongst the 

 bare sand, the fair and lightsome Little Tern, (Sterna minuta,) and the 

 Common Tern,'' (S. hinmdo,) both lay their eggs and hatch. Although these 

 birds do not incubate during the day, still they ever keep a strict and 

 faithful watch over the spot; and if an enemy, real or supposed, in the 

 shape of man. Gull, or Crow appears, he is instantly assailed; it may be 



* It ■will be remembered by the readers of "The Naturalist," that there appeared a query 

 from me some time ago, concerning the breeding of the Terns in this quarter. To that query 

 I have received several valuable communications from gentlemen in various parts of the country, 

 consisting chiefly, however, of suggestive hints about the species, etc., none stating exactly 

 anything definite. I am now, however, enabled myself, from further information received on 

 the spot, from the careful examination of specimens, in which I was assisted by a friend, from 

 both places; and from further observation on my own part, during the present summer, to say 

 that the birds are the same; that is, that the Tern that builds the nest on the island, and 

 the one that only makes the slight hollow in the sand wherein to deposit her eggs, is the same 

 VOL. IV. . 2 M 



