1896-97-] Birds of Kititail, Ross-shire. 227 



approach within gunshot, the only chance being to fire off a 

 boat. Not much can be said in favour of this species ; it is 

 undoubtedly destructive to the eggs of grouse and other feath- 

 ered game, as well as to sickly sheep and lambs. It is not 

 ornamental, and not particularly useful, except perhaps in so 

 far as its propensity goes for devouring the carcasses of dead 

 sheep or other carrion. In summer they almost entirely desert 

 the lower regions, having departed to the muirs and hillsides 

 where nesting operations are progressing ; but in autumn, re- 

 inforced by the young birds, they begin to show face in great 

 numbers. Rooks are, as elsewhere, abundant, there being a 

 few rookeries in the district ; and jackdaws are far from scarce, 

 their chief abiding - place being the old castle of the Mac- 

 kenzies, but they also breed among the cliffs. 



In a very old and quaint ornithological work I read lately 

 of a novel plan for catching crows and pigeons, but whether 

 feasible or not is more than I can say. Briefly put, the modus 

 operandi is as follows : Make up several strong brown-paper 

 bags in shape like sugar-loaves, covering the insides with bird- 

 lime, and filling the conical end with corn ; lay these on the 

 ground where the birds are in the habit of feeding on the young 

 grain, and when they attempt to pick out the food, the bags 

 stick to their heads. According to this chronicler, they get so 

 alarmed that they fly to a great height, and, after exhausting 

 their strength, tumble to the ground, when they fall an easy 

 prey to the artful fabricator of the bags. 



Leaving the smaller fauna, such as thrushes, finches, &c, 

 until later on, let us turn for a few minutes to the sea and 

 other shore-haunting species. Just opposite Dornie, at the sea 

 end of a long spit of land called the Aird, is a flat grass-grown 

 piece of ground which at high tide is almost entirely covered 

 with water, but at low ebb is surrounded by a long stretch of 

 tangle-covered beach. This is probably the best place to ob- 

 serve birds, but in order to do so satisfactorily a boat is es- 

 sential — in fact, the latter is a sine qud non if the district is to 

 be properly explored. One of the most familiar objects around 

 this island is the heron. Great numbers of those long-legged 

 birds may be seen standing like mutes at a funeral in the 

 shallow water, waiting with exemplary patience upon the un- 

 wary fish who may approach too near the shore. Unless they 



