NOTES 15 



NOTES 



Jackdaw nesting in Squirrel's Drey.— Cases of Jackdaws 

 building nests in the branches of trees have been not infrequently 

 recorded; and such instances are of common occurrence in New- 

 liston Woods in this neighbourhood. The sites chosen by the 

 birds are principally the thick intertwining branches of lime-trees, at 

 no great height from the ground. Last summer, however, what 

 appears to be a more remarkable case came under my notice — that 

 of a pair of Jackdaws which had made choice of an old Squirrel's 

 drey in the top branches of a tall, tapering spruce. The drey, when 

 examined, was found to contain two young birds. The old birds 

 obtained entrance through a large hole in the side of the structure, 

 and they had made no addition to the comfortable lining provided 

 by the Squirrels, beyond one or two scraps of paper and wool. — 

 S. E. Brock, Kirkliston. 



Richard's Pipit and Lapland Bunting at Fair Isle. — 



Whilst staying on Fair Isle on 6th October, I shot a male 

 Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus). On the same day I 

 received word that there were two strange Pipits on the grassland 

 above the cliffs. They were so wild that, though I walked after 

 them for over four hours, I was unable to get within shot. The 

 following morning I again went to look for them, and after another 

 hour's walking shot one as it flew over my head. It proved to be a 

 young Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi). The plumage of the upper 

 parts was much darker than that of the adult bird. — M. Bedford, 

 Woburn Abbey. 



Greater Wheatear at Barra in November. — It may, 

 perhaps, be interesting to record that on the 17th November I 

 shot a Greater Wheatear (Saxicola laicorrhod) on the Island of 

 Barra, Outer Hebrides. The wing measured 103 mm. Another 

 was seen on the 20th November, at the same place. The dates 

 are late for this bird's presence on passage in the British Isles. — 

 M. Bedford, Woburn Abbey. 



Montagu's Harrier in Roxburghshire. — An immature male 

 Montagu's Harrier {Circus cineraceus), a species which has rarely 

 been detected as a visitor to Scotland, was shot during the latter part 

 of August, at Newlands, Newcastleton, and has been presented by C. 

 H. B. Caldwell, Esq., of Windlesham, to the British Bird Collection 

 in the Royal Scottish Museum. — P. L. Waldron, North Berwick. 



Honey-Buzzard in Wigtownshire.— A fine female Honey- 



