204 STUDIES IN BIRD-MIGRATION 



information which will be duly acknowledged under the 

 species to which it relates. 



When the claims of any bird have been considered 

 open to doubt, the species has been enclosed within 

 square brackets. I wish it to be understood, however, 

 that this merely indicates my personal opinion on its 

 claims to be admitted as a member of the St Kilda 

 avifauna. 



The species marked with an asterisk are new to the 

 avifauna. 



CoRVUS coRAX, Raven, — This species was first alluded 

 to by Macaulay (p. i6o), who visited St Kilda in 1758, and 

 who states that at Hirta alone there were some Ravens 

 of the largest size. In 1840 MacGillivray describes 

 it (p. 160) as found in some numbers, and the same was 

 said of it in 1841 by Wilson. Dixon, in 1885, remarks 

 that Mr Mackenzie, the factor, saw seven pairs there at 

 one time, but these may have included young and old. 



I saw Ravens frequently, sometimes as many as six 

 on the wing simultaneously, but was assured that now 

 only two pairs are natives of the archipelago. 



CoRVUS CORN IX, Grey Crozv. — Martin (p. 46) 

 mentions ''Crows" as seen by him in 1697, and they 

 are alluded to by almost all subsequent writers. Mac- 

 Gillivray (p. 57), in 1840, says that he frequently saw a 

 dozen on the roofs of one of the huts. 



This bird is a resident and far too numerous, as 

 many as forty being seen on the wing at once. It is also 

 audaciously tame. They seemed noisily to resent our 

 presence, and we shot a number of them to oblige the 

 natives, who complained of the damage done to their 

 crops, and destruction to their small stock of poultry. 



CoRVUS FRUGiLEGUS, Rook. — Wilsou (pp. 74 and 81) 



