THE MARSH TITMOUSE IN STRATHSPEY 209 



farther down the valley, presumably chiefly in the country 

 around Elgin. 



In 1889, I spent about five weeks, beginning 3rd August, 

 at Kincraig, and employed a great part of the time in noting 

 the birds frequenting the valley between Kingussie and 

 Grantown. From the day of my arrival, the Marsh Tits were 

 a constant source of interest, and their abundance a continual 

 subject of remark. Between the points mentioned, a party 

 of Tits and Goldcrests was seldom encountered where birch 

 or a-der was prevalent, in which two or three were not 

 present ; and occasionally as many as six to eight might be 

 counted in one group. Though struck at the time with their 

 abundance, — not having elsewhere in Scotland found them so 

 numerous, — I afterwards thought little of the circumstance on 

 subsequently reading St. John's statement : which, by the way, 

 loses some of its weight, however, when read along with his 

 next statement, namely that the "Cole Titmouse (Parus ater) is 

 more uncommon than the Marsh Titmouse " ; for the Cole 

 Tit is particularly abundant in the pine woods of " Moray," 

 and could hardly have been otherwise when St. John wrote. 



In August 1 89 1, I was again in Strathspey, this time at 

 Cromdale, a few miles below Grantown, and again met with 

 my friends the Tits, but in much smaller numbers than in the 

 Kincraig district. 



My experience was, I understand, of much interest to 

 Air. Harvie-Brown, who has been working at the Ornithology 

 of " Moray " at intervals for a number of years past, inas- 

 much as he had never met with the Marsh Tit there himself, 

 and had practically no information concerning it beyond the 

 statements of St. John and More quoted above. He was 

 therefore inclined to regard the birds seen by me in 1889 

 and 1 89 1 as migrants from Scandinavia, and consequently 

 not likely to be found breeding in Strathspey. Various 

 considerations, which need not be referred to now, led me to 

 hold an opposite opinion ; but as the question could only be 

 adequately settled by the detection of the birds in the breed- 

 ing season and the discovery of a nest, I was not sorry to 

 find myself on the 2nd of May last en route for Aviemore, 

 where, within a couple of hours of alighting at the railway 

 station, I had the satisfaction of seeing a pair of veritable 

 8 C 



