Bll!D NoTKS Fi;nM KsKDAI.K. G'J 



flock left, one pair remained all summer ; but, if they stayed for 

 breeding- purposes, I never could discover their nest. Crossbills 

 were reported as being particularly numerous throughout 

 Scotland and England that season. 



SOLAK GEESE. 



When living at Billholm a message was sent to me asking 

 if I would come to a cottage about a mile away and see a curious 

 bird which had been found in an exhausted condition on the 

 hill by a shepherd. Being interested in everything curious, I 

 promptly answered the call. I was taken to an outhouse, where 

 I saw on the Hoor a solan goose. Beside it were both oats and 

 some trout, evidently put there to see which it liked best. I 

 did not offer it any corn, but picked up a trout by the tail and 

 dropped it into the gaping mouth of the bird, and with one 

 gulp it disappeared down its throat. As the poor creature was 

 apparently starving, I held another trout in my fingers, meaning 

 to drop it where I did the first, but this time the goose 

 anticipated my intention, and springing up in the air it seized 

 both the trout and m}' thumb. The result to me was 

 excruciating agony. The first joint of my thumb was " cut 

 to the bone" by its formidable and razor-edged beak. Cutting 

 to the bone on such a pai-t of the human body does not mean 

 a very ghastly wound, but the pain I suffered for several days 

 was very great. This visitor was an involuntary one, as it had 

 evidently been carried inland the night before by a great storm 

 of wind blowing from the direction of the Solway Firth, which 

 is, as the crow flies, about 25 miles distant. 



Solan geese, after being salted and dried, are used as an 

 article of food in Orkney, and I remember the late Professor 

 Ayton, when Sheriff of that county, sending us one as a present, 

 which tasted very much like ham. Many years ago these dried 

 geese found their way to the lowlands of Scotland, and were 

 used as an '• appetiser." A small portion when eaten before 

 meals was supposed to tickle the appetite. 



GUILEMUTS. 



Another involuntary visitor was a guilemot, which was 

 brought under exactly similar circumstances as the goose. I 

 myself found it flopping along the public road, which runs 



