158 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



could hardly fly. A pair of Grey Wagtails were nesting 

 at Braemar on 13th July. Our correspondent writes, "I 

 never saw such a wonderful example of a bird choosing 

 a nesting site of the same colour as itself, for just for a 

 few yards where the nest was, the face of the rock looked 

 as though sulphur had been thrown down and remained 

 on the ledges (really a yellow lichen) ; the face of the 

 rock was grey, with marks of soft brown — all the colours 

 exactly those of the Grey Wagtail." 



By the 30th July many young birds on the Isle of 

 May were on the wing and leaving the cliffs; thereafter 

 there are no further notes referring to this heading, with 

 the exception of reports of Kittiwakes leaving their nesting 

 ledges at the Butt of Lewis and Sule Skerry in August, 

 Lesser Redpolls and Sedge-warblers with young at Darvel 

 in mid-August. A family of newly-hatched Goldcrests was 

 seen near Invergowrie on 6th September, and Wood-pigeons 

 with young a few days old at Darvel. 



Winter. 



The winter of 1914-15 was notable for the fact that for 

 the first time on record Continental Great Tits wintered in 

 Shetland. It is generally supposed that several of the 

 Continental races of our own breeding birds do winter in this 

 country, but definite records are few and valuable. Gannets 

 are recorded more often and in greater numbers this winter 

 than is usual. Whimbrel are reported in January from 

 Galson (O.H.) (shot), Fairlie (Ayr), and Musselburgh, 

 and a Greenshank was seen at the Cromarty Firth. 

 Hawfinches are reported from Lauder all through the 

 winter, as many as ten birds being seen at one time. In the 

 winter of 1914-15 Goldcrests were very numerous at Corse- 

 malzie, Blackbirds wintered at Pentland Skerries, and were 

 very numerous at Holy Island (Arran), where they are said 

 usually to be very scarce in winter. Wrens, too, are 

 described as numerous on the Bass, where about twelve 

 Snow - buntings also spent the winter. Eider were very 

 scarce about the shores of East Fife and the Isle of May in 



