70 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



Polecat in one of his weasel traps on the lands of Glenlee. This is 

 the only occurrence on the estate for upwards of 25 years. Formerly 

 Polecats were numerous enough everywhere in this district, and it is 

 very remarkable how quickly they have been exterminated. — Robert 

 Service, Maxwelltown. 



The Blue-throated Warbler (Cyanecula suea'ca, L.) in Orkney. 



— On the 15th August 1891 Mr. Gilmour, of the Pentland Skerries 

 Lighthouse, sent me a schedule with notes taken in May 1890, 

 which he intended sending to me at the time, but had laid it 

 aside, and it was only the other day he found it put away in a 

 drawer, and he remarks : " My object in sending it now is to let you 

 see about a bird we saw here on the 12 th of May (last year, of 

 course), and which you will see fully described in the schedule on 

 that date. There is little doubt but it was as stated, the Blue-throated 

 Warbler. I had many opportunities at the time of seeing it quite 

 near with the glass. I even shot at it but missed, owing, I believe, 

 to the shot being too large for such a small bird. The blue throat 

 and the nice colours on the breast made it very conspicuous. It 

 was, in fact, the prettiest bird I have seen here." Description of the 

 bird as given in the schedule. " It resembles a Redstart on the back 

 and keeps its tail erect somewhat like a Redbreast. The throat is a 

 bright blue, and underneath the blue is a black border on the breast, 

 also a red band with a white stripe. The red and black is more distinct 

 on the breast than the white. Seen it very minutely with spy-glass. 

 This is undoubtedly the Blue-throated Warbler." On referring again 

 to the schedule, we find under date 12th May that the wind was 

 moderate, the weather variable, with fog and haze. A Blackcap 

 and two male Redstarts were also seen, and at midday several 

 Swallows, all these birds being uncommon, the Blackcap especially 

 so, in Orkney. There can be no reasonable doubt that Mr. Gilmour 

 is right in his identification of this bird, and to him we are thus 

 greatly indebted for being enabled to place on record the appear- 

 ance of the Blue-Throated Warbler in Orkney for the first time. — 

 T. E. Buckley, Inverness. 



Jay (Garrulus glandarhts, L.) in the Botanic Gardens, Edin- 

 burgh. — On the nth of October 1889 I was greatly pleased to 

 observe a beautiful Jay in the Botanic Gardens, which was very wary, 

 and I again saw it on the 15th of November in the same year. As 

 this bird has become rare in the south of Scotland, the occurrence 

 of a specimen in the city of Edinburgh is worthy of record. — Wm. 

 Serle, Leith. 



Wrynecks (lynx torquilla, L.) on the East Coast of Scotland. 



— Though there is nothing particularly noteworthy in the occur- 

 rence of the Wryneck on our coasts during spring and autumn, the 

 simultaneous detection of four examples — pointing as it unmistakably 

 does to the passage of a migratory flight — is perhaps not unworthy 



