Report on Scottish ornithology in 19 14 179 



Starlings are recorded from our southern lanterns (Killantringan, 

 Little Ross, Devaar, Isle of May and Bell) between 15th January 

 and I St March, the movement being at its height on 27th and 

 28th February; on this latter date "waves of Starlings were 

 coming in all day" at Galson (O.H.), and that night we get 

 the first records from our northern lanterns in notes of Starlings 

 at Whalsay Skerries and Rattray Head. Throughout March large 

 numbers of Starlings are recorded on the move all over Scotland ; 

 the height of the movement was from 23rd to 30th March during 

 which time they are frequently recorded in large numbers from 

 Little Ross (L.), Killantringan (L.), St Abbs (L.), Isle of May 

 (and L.), Bell (L.), Rattray Head (L.), Tarbatness (L.), Pentland 

 Skerries (and L.), Noup Head (L.), Fair Isle and Butt of Lewis 

 (L.). It will be seen from the above-mentioned list of localities 

 that the movement extended all over Scotland, and it is extremely 

 difficult to discover whether these Starlings were summer visitors 

 returning and winter visitors leaving, or whether they were birds 

 executing passage movements from further south en route for 

 continental breeding places ; possibly all classes were represented. 

 In April three were at the Bell lantern at 2 a.m. on the ist, one 

 at the Killantringan lantern at i a.m. on the 2nd, and a great many 

 at Tarbatness that day, numbers at the Sule Skerry lantern on the 

 14th and at the Muckle Flugga lantern at 10 p.m. on the i6th. 

 On 3rd May one was at the Killantringan lantern at 11 p.m., 

 a flock of three hundred at Corsemalzie on loth June were 

 flying high to the south-east at 9 p.m., and by the end of the 

 month flocking had begun in Lauderdale. 



On 29th and 31st August Starlings are recorded at the 

 Killantringan lantern, while on the latter date numbers were 

 in the rays of the Inchkeith lantern in the early morning and 

 some struck. On 4th September a flock arrived on Sule Skerry 

 and remained till the 12th, while from 25th September to i8th 

 October there are only a few isolated notes of movement from 

 Killantringan (L.), Isle of May, Bell Rock, Little Ross (L.), 

 Galson, the Flannans (L.) and Whalsay Skerries (L.). A stronger 

 movement began on 20th October and lasted till the 26th; it 

 is recorded from stations in the Northern Isles and Outer 

 Hebrides, from Skerryvore (L.), Killantringan (L.), Little Ross 

 (L.) and the Forth stations. On 28th October great flocks of 

 Starlings are reported frorii the hills at Kinnelhead. Our recorder 

 writes: "These have never been so numerous and are feeding 

 away upon the high ground ; could they be feeding upon the 

 Heather Beetle ? " Between 7th and 20th November a recrudescence 



