76 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HLSTORY 



Greenfinch, Li^^ur'ums chloris. — Two Greenfinches frequented 

 one of the geos all the summer, and may have nested there. 

 This bird usually arrives late in the autumn, and a few 

 remain to winter on the island ; but it seems to have been 

 absent during the past season. 



Greater Redpoll, AamtJiis rostraia. — A small party of this 

 large Greenland form of the Mealy Redpoll was seen on 

 2 1 St September. This race is characterised by its large 

 size ; the robust form of its bill ; and its sombre-coloured, 

 heavily-striped plumage. None of the Fair Isle birds 

 obtained or seen by me in the autumns of 1905 and 1907 

 showed any signs of pink on the breast. 



Linnet, Acanthis cannabina. — The second known occurrence 

 of this species on the island is recorded for 1 7th August, 

 when a single example w^as observed. Later in the autumn 

 several appeared in October, and the last was seen on the 

 2 1 St of that month. 



145. Black-headed Bunting, Emberiza melaiiocephala. — A female 

 example of this summer visitor to South-Eastern Europe 

 occurred on 21st September. When first observed it was 

 perched on some thistles, to which it returned several times 

 on being disturbed. The contents of its stomach were 

 found to consist, according to Mr. Grimshaw to whom they 

 were submitted, chiefly of fragments of the husks of grass, 

 some seeds (probably of a species of Polygonum)^ fragments 

 of an earwig, an entire phalangid (harvestman), and portions 

 of the larva of a May-fly. 



This species has only been chronicled as a visitor to 

 the British Islands on five previous occasions. One of 

 these, the Scottish record, cannot be regarded as entirely 

 satisfactory, for the bird was discovered in a bird show in 

 London in 1887, ^^d was said to have been captured near 

 Dunfermline in November of the previous year. 



Little Bunting, Emberiza pusilla. — On 14th April, George 

 Stout saw, at the distance of a few feet only, the first Little 

 Bunting that has ever been detected in the British Islands 

 during the spring. He is quite certain as to the identity 

 of the bird, and he speaks with knowledge, for he carefully 

 examined in the flesh the bird which was procured by Mr. 

 Kinnear and myself during the previous autumn. 



In October quite a number of these birds visited the 

 island. They were first noticed on the loth, and were 

 seen until 5th November. No less than nine were observed, 

 but these probably only represented a small proportion of 

 those present, for they are extremely difficult to detect amidst 



