228 BRITISH BIRDS. 



narrative of the death of a boy, who was after a Starling's 

 nest, at the castle on the island in Loch Doon in 1813. 



The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker's inclusion, it is fair to the 

 author to say, rests on Mr. Service's assurances, but as there 

 is no conclusive fresh evidence, the misgivings which have 

 hitherto obtained will not be removed. 



The Red-breasted Merganser does not only breed " in 

 Ireland and north-west Scotland," but is a common nesting- 

 species in " Clyde." The nest is found on the shores of the 

 sea-lochs in " Clyde," on its islands and many rocky islets, so 

 that the statement about it being found " seldom at any great 

 distance from fresh water " is quite erroneous, and is the 

 more conspicuous from the rarity of such lapses. 



The status of the Ruff in " Clyde," at any rate in the Glasgow 

 district where observation is keen, is very much what it 

 was stated by Sir Wm. Jardine to be in Solway, in the first 

 half of last century. That being so, one would infer that the 

 conclusion that it now only occurs " at fairly long intervals " 

 is not justified. It is not a conspicuous species, and its 

 occurrence is sometimes only revealed by its being shot with 

 Golden Plover. The case of the Spotted Redshank is, perhaps, 

 somewhat parallel. As Macpherson met with it on the 

 English side of Solway " nearly every autumn," and it has 

 occurred in the last two autumns, and in two consecutive 

 autumns ten years ago in East Renfrew, it is probably an 

 occasional, if not regular, visitor to the Solway, overlooked 

 because it is unknown. 



The occurrence of the Kittiwake twelve miles inland should 

 hardly be described as " remarkable." I have seen it several 

 times east of Glasgow^ in winter and at the spring-passage. 



The appearance of three Guillemots inland need not be 

 attributed in all cases to " stormy weather." In the present 

 autumn, in an unprecedented spell of halcyon weather, 

 three have occurred inland in Renfrewshire, where they are 

 quite unknown, and one was observed at the same season in 

 Glasgow Harbour. John Paterson. 



The Home-Life of the Spoonbill, the Stork and some Herons. 

 By Bentley Beetham, F.Z.S. Pp. 47, and 32 mounted 

 plates. Witherby & Co. 5s. net. 



The present artistically-produced volume forms a companion 

 to The Home-Life of a Golden Eagle, which we had the 

 pleasure of reviewing some months ago, and these two, we 

 venture to hope, are only the first ones of a series which will 

 deal in turn with the most interesting of our British birds. 

 Tlie present volume deals with the Spoonbill, Wliite Stork, 



