288 Transactions of the [Sess. 



v.— THE RARER BIRDS OF STOBO. 



By Mk JOHN THOMSON, Stobo. 



{Communicated hy The Secbetaky, Dec. 18, 1885.) 



In passing through the country, an observer of birds, as he 

 reaches a district well watered by streams, and largely inter- 

 spersed with trees, sheltered by surrounding hills which form a 

 pleasing contrast to the portions of land under cultivation, — as 

 he descries a " pleasant valley " like this, discovers, in addition 

 to the natural beauty of the landscape, a favourite haunt of his 

 feathered friends. If, on closer inspection, the locality boasts of 

 a great diversity of trees, in various stages of growth, from the 

 tender sapling to those of maturer age, the situation is on that 

 account all the more attractive as a bird resort. Such charac- 

 teristics as the foregoing are at the present time exhibited by 

 the parish of Stobo, and they do not fail to attract a correspond- 

 ingly large number and variety of the feathered fauna. The 

 parish lies 3| miles west from the town of Peebles, in the 

 county of same name, and includes an area of 10,373 acres. 

 The banks of the river Tweed which runs through the valley, 

 and is fed in its course by many tributary burns, attain to an 

 elevation of nearly 600 feet above sea-level ; whilst the neigh- 

 bouring hills, which in a measure surround the finer and conse- 

 quently more fertile portions of land pertaining to it, attain to 

 heights varying from 1500 to 2347 feet. The name of the 

 parish was written in remote times " Stobhow," '' Stubbehok," 

 &c,, which signifies " the hollow of stumps," and thus indicates 

 that in those days, or at an earlier period, the district was 

 covered with wood. When the name was originally created, 

 however, it was perhaps intended to have a wider significance, and 

 to be descriptive of the main natural features of the neighbour- 

 hood, in which case the interpretation would be '' a hollow covered 

 with wood." With this slight introduction I will now proceed to 

 the matter in point. 



During a period of sixteen years, in which I have given a good 

 deal of attention to the ornithology of Stobo, I have noted upwards 

 of ninety different species of birds within its bounds. I am well 

 aware, however, that this number is capable of being considerably 

 supplemented, and that various species, particularly migrants, 

 though hitherto undetected, may yet be discovered, as visitants to 

 this part in small numbers year by year. Indeed, judging from 

 past experience in adding new names to the list, and considering 

 how numerous the possibilities are of the presence of many being 



