i62 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



Corsemalzie, and Whithorn. " An almost pure white Whin- 

 chat " frequented the neighbourhood of Darvel during 

 August, and an all-black specimen of the Black Guillemot 

 was at the Butt of Lewis on 28th June. On nth August 

 a Moorhen was caught at the Cromarty Firth, which "had 

 every one of the remiges in quill." An adult male Black 

 Grouse with white speckled neck and head was shot at 

 Mindock on 28th September, and a male Red Grouse with an 

 almost white wing was seen at Mallochglass, Mochrum, on 

 1 6th September, and on 23rd October two pied male 

 Pheasants were shot at Barnbarroch. 



Golden Plover, Dunlin, Black-headed Gulls, and Guillemots 

 are recorded in spring plumage from various localities 

 in January and February. 



Habits, Food, Etc. 



Under this heading we have a larger series of notes than 

 usual ; these deal with a considerable number of different 

 species. We have also included here notes made on the 

 behaviour of birds in the vicinity of aeroplanes, as well 

 as the observations on oil-clogged birds, along our coasts. 



Twenty-one Redpolls at Corsemalzie determinedly 

 chased a Pied Wagtail over the garden ; there, too, flocks of 

 Greenfinches and Chaffinches were feeding on elm seeds 

 in July, and the last - mentioned species was seen on the 

 Beauly Firth, pecking and eating a kind of glasswort 

 growing on the mud during a spell of frost. Our corres- 

 pondent at Swona (Orkney) says, " In the autumn of 191 5, 

 all the birds I have seen leaving the island— Snow-buntings, 

 Skylarks, Twites, Starlings, and Thrushes — leave from the 

 most northerly point and fly in a north-easterly direction." 

 A partly moulted Meadow-pipit caught at the Butt of Lewis 

 lantern on 4/5th October had three small snails' shells (living) 

 attached to its underparts (i. 191 5, 336). At Corsemalzie, on 

 17th July, a Whitethroat was seen greedily eating fallen red 

 currants, and at the same place on 31st July three Swallows 

 chased a Missel-thrush over the garden, "pecking viciously 

 at it," and hundreds of Blackbirds there were eating goose- 



