168 THE BIRDS OF IONA AND MULL. 



a letter from Mr Edward Newman asserting the improbability 

 of its being the Harp Seal, and suggesting the possibility of its 

 having been the Grey Seal (Halichairus). After this I made all 

 the inquiries I could upon the subject, and got at least three pretty 

 authentic cases of the capture of a " White Seal of extraordinary 

 size " — the best one being in Loch Scridain, Mull, by Mr 

 M'Kinnon, a farmer whom I am acquainted with. In these 

 inquiries I have ascertained that the Western Islanders are 

 familiar with three species of Seal — viz., Ta-beist, Bon, and Bodach. 

 Ta-beist is the name generally applied by the natives to a large 

 Seal, far bigger than the Common Seal, also breeding at a different 

 season, and varying in many of its habits. This Gaelic word is 

 compounded of the obsolete word ta (water), which still survives 

 in the name of Loch Tay, and perhaps in the Eiver Teign — ta a 'n, 

 and heist (beast) — Water beast. Under this title I suspect they 

 confound the Grey Seal {Halichairus), the Great Bearded Seal 

 (Barhatus), and perhaps the Harp Seal ; in fact, anything which 





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