i6 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



excellent view of it. It was a very neat little bird, and seemed 

 neither tired nor shy. We then completely lost sight of it, but 

 either it or another appeared next day out of a turnip-patch, 

 took fliglits to the telephone wire, then down to the cabbages, 

 the stem of a dock, and finally to a sow-thistle, where it appeared 

 to be catching insects, and where we luckily secured it. 



WiLLOW-WARFLER, Fkylloscopus trochHus. — One was seen on 12th 

 September and a good many in the gardens on the 13th (W. 

 wind, fresh) ; they, however, did not stay long, as there were 

 none on the 14th. One on the 15th, two on the 20th, a lot 

 on the 2Tst, and several on the 22nd, one appeared on the 

 26th, and another from 29th September to ist October. 

 One got by Mr. Maccuish on the loth October and forwarded 

 to us. 



Sedge- WARBLER, Acrocephahcs schcenobcBnus. — We* put one out of 

 covert in the lighthouse garden on the loth September, and 

 one was found dead on the roof of the Hghthouse on the night 

 of 13th September. 



Pied Wagtail, Motacilla lugubris. — This was the only Wagtail seen 

 on the island ; we saw them constantly from the nth September 

 to the ist October, in both adult and immature plumage. 



Meadow-Pipit, Anthus pratensis. — Seen every day during our stay : 

 in numbers till the 24th September, then a few till the 30th, 

 when they reappeared, remaining numerous till 4th October, 

 thereafter a few each day. On the 25th September they were 

 doing their parachute flight, with an attempt at song. 



Rock-Pipit, Anthus obscurus. — Seen every day in varying numbers ; 

 a lot till 17th September, when great crowds were on the island. 

 The numbers diminished in the afternoon, but a good many 

 remained till the 24th, when only a few were seen. Next day, 

 however, there were more, and they continued plentiful till 5 th 

 October when most of them left. Two were taken at the 

 lantern on the night of 7th October. 



Red-backed Shrike, Lanms collurio. — We procured a young 

 female of this species on the 27th September in a remarkable 

 stage of plumage which does not agree with any of the 

 published descriptions. W^e compared it with the Shrikes .in 

 the Royal Scottish Museum, including young Red-backed 

 Shrikes which had been procured at Fair Isle about the same 

 date, but it differed much in plumage from all of them. It 

 was finally sent to the Tring Museum to be compared with the 

 specimens in Mr. Rothschild's collection, which is so rich in 

 Palsearctic birds, and was pronounced to be an abnormally- 

 coloured young Red-backed Shrike. In this singular specimen 



