NOTES /•-:■ . 93 



NOTES. 



Linnet in Orkney. — In the new B.O.U. list (19 15) it is 

 stated that the Linnet {Acaiithis caiuiahind) is local or rare in the 

 Highlands and Islands of Scotland. This is not the case in 

 Orkney, where it is fairly plentiful on the Mainland in spring and 

 also in winter, when there is much snow on the ground. During 

 snow they are very tame and may be caught, together with Mealy 

 Redpolls {^A. linarid) under a riddle. One of those so caught was 

 kept in a cage for a fortnight, and on being liberated refused to be 

 driven away, but returned to its cage. — H. W. Robinson, 

 Lancaster. 



[In their " Vertebrate Fauna of the Orkney Islands," Buckley and 

 Harvie-Brown write of the Linnet thus : — " Common and resident 

 even in Low's time, receiving large additions to its numbers in 

 winter : it breeds in many localities on the Mainland, and also in 

 Rousay and Hoy." — Eds.] 



Ta'wny O^wl attacking Sparro'ws. — Next door to the Post 

 Ofifice at Haddington is a house with ivy growing up the gable and 

 round the front of the house to the rone ; there is, moreover, a 

 lamp burning on the adjacent pavement. When on guard at the 

 Post Office on the morning of the loth February, I was surprised 

 to see a Tawny Owl come and hover in front of the house for a 

 second or two, and then with legs stretched out before him make 

 a plunge at the ivy. Immediately there flew out a sparrow into the 

 darkness, but I could not tell whether the owl secured its prey or 

 not. The incident gave me something to think about for the rest 

 of the night. — William M. Ingles, Haddington. 



Uncommon Birds on the Beauly Pirth. — Mr Berry, 

 Lentran, has kindly sent me notes of the following interesting 

 birds seen by him on the Beauly Firth during the year 1914. 

 On 17th July three Ruddy Shelducks {Casarca fem/ginea), very 

 wild, were observed; on 21st September two Ospreys, two Ruffs, 

 and one Black-tailed Godwit were seen, and next day another 

 Black-tailed Godwit; on the 29th a Leach's Forktailed Petrel was 

 secured and a Fulmar picked up. On 3rd October Mr Berry 

 received a Green Sandpiper in the flesh, shot on 26th September 

 on the river Ness. — Annie C. Jackson, Swordale. 



