1890-91.] Birds of the Great Glen. 447 



creeping plants have taken root, and, with their lovely tints, 

 go far to snbdue the cold and stern aspect of the surrounding 

 rock. Here the jackdaw, with his usual " 'cuteness," has 

 elected to fix his abode, and a safer asylum from the inroads 

 of predacious boys, on egg -hunting thoughts intent, could 

 scarcely be found. Few urchins, however bold, could scale 

 this chasm, and even if they could, there is no possibility of 

 reaching the nests, as they are placed in holes under the 

 overhanging shelves, as safe from intrusion as if they were 

 built on the snow-capped summits of the Himalayas. A gun 

 fired into the abyss makes a reverberation almost deafening, 

 and brings out the sable inhabitants en masse, to fill the air 

 with a perfect storm of caws. It is pleasant to sit upon the 

 edge of the gully and watch their habits. For a time there 

 is perfect silence save for the rushing of the burn as it tum- 

 bles over the cliff, or the sighing of the wind among the trees 

 overhead : then one individual contributes a solo, consisting 

 of two or three caws ; another follows suit, then silence pre- 

 vails again, when, without the slightest warning or apparent 

 premeditation, uprise the entire inhabitants, vying with each 

 other who shall make the greatest noise, cawing away as if 

 their very existence depended upon it, to sink as suddenly as 

 they arose, only to repeat the performance at apparently stated 

 intervals. A friend and I went one day to this spot to shoot 

 a jackdaw for the sake of its skin : we might as well have 

 attempted to annihilate an elephant with a pea-shooter ! 



The last of the tribe to be mentioned are the magpie and 

 jay, now both virtually extinct. The last-named beautiful 

 species has not been seen for years, but was resident once, as 

 is evidenced by the stuffed specimens in the mansion-house of 

 Balmacaan. The former yet occurs as a straggler. 



We arrive now at the smaller fauna, and begin with the 

 Paridte or titmice. Having already devoted an entire paper 

 to this interesting family,^ nothing need be added but to 

 mention the names of the species that exist in Glen-Urquliart 

 and other glens of the district. The great, blue, cole, and 

 long-tailed members are all numerous, but the marsh tit 

 (Panes pahistris) is scarce. Personally I never saw it here, 

 although it is quite common in many parts of England ; but it 

 1 See 'Transactions,' vol. ii. pp. 41-51 (Sess. 1SS6-87). 



