192 Notes on Morvern, Argyllshire. [Sess. 



one I came across, but no amount of argument would convince 

 them of its harmless nature. As a result of this belief every 

 one is killed when seen, and the frequency with which the 

 mangled corpses of this interesting reptile are to be found 

 lying on the road on a warm day testifies to its abundance. 

 There is a wealth of Amphibian life, but frogs and toads are 

 held in the greatest abhorrence by the Highlanders. The 

 palmated newt was the only species of its kind I met with. 



The golden eagle is seen as an occasional visitant, and more 

 rarely the white-tailed eagle. Along the cliffs of Loch Aline 

 the kestrel hawk rears its young unmolested by the game- 

 keepers, who wage a ceaseless war against the other members 

 of the tribe. The common buzzard is met with in diminish- 

 ing numbers, and the war of extermination will be in the end 

 successful. There is a heronry in one of the deep gorges in 

 the margin of Loch Aline, and the bird itself is a familiar 

 figure, standing sentinel along the shores of the loch. The 

 tawny owl and the barn owl are the only species which came 

 under my notice. The raven frequents the more solitary 

 corries, and I have seen four rise croaking from the carcass 

 of a sheep. The grey or hooded crow is abundant, and is 

 accounted very destructive to game. 



Among the smaller birds I was surprised to find the bull- 

 finch as common in the woods of Ardtornish as the chaffinch 

 is in the Mid-Lothian covers. This abundance may be due 

 to the large area of suitable feeding-ground that exists, as, in 

 recent years, many hundreds of acres have been planted with 

 young spruce and other fir trees, and with them has increased 

 the wealth of insect and bird life. Another bird which seems 

 to have been attracted to these plantations is the lesser red- 

 poll, which is fairly numerous. The common sparrow is con- 

 spicuous only by its absence, a few at the farm-steading being 

 the only colony in that district. Among aquatic birds I 

 noticed the widgeon, with young a few days old, on Loch 

 Aline. This duck is not previously recorded as breeding in 

 the locality. 



