CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 85 



ground, usually under the shelter of a hedgerow or 

 bush, and the small close heap of feathers unmis- 

 takeably mark the place where it has dined." 



I was staying at the Crown Hotel, Oban, kept by 

 Mr. and Mrs. McGillivray, very excellent people, 

 who make their visitors very comfortable, and 

 charge most moderately for everything. I don't 

 know any hotel in Oban where you can get better 

 value for your money than you do at The Crown ; 

 for the bedrooms are nicely furnished, everything in 

 the hotel is scrupulously clean, the table is good, 

 and the landlord and his wife most civil and 

 obliging people. 



I have recommended this hotel to many friends 

 and others ; as in a place like Oban, where most of 

 the hotel charges in the season are exorbitantly 

 high, it is something to know of a place where you 

 will be well treated and not fleeced. 



You must pardon me reader for this dis- 

 gression. 



Well, I had made the Crown Hotel my head- 

 quarters, so to speak, making trips from there to 

 islands on the west coast, and returning again in two 

 or three weeks' time. 



During my stay I made the acquaintance of a 

 head-keeper, who had charge of a large shooting in 

 Argyleshire. When I told him I wanted the 

 Sparrow Hawk, he was only too ready to give me 

 his assistance, as it was a bird he was in the habit 

 of regularly clearing off the property wherever he 

 could find a nest. 



