1896-97-] Birds of Kintail, Ross-shire. 229 



that these birds may breed here, as they are identified well on 

 into May, but notwithstanding diligent searching, I never could 

 find the nest. A female shot in May 1896, when dissected, 

 had all the appearance of being ready to lay, but on returning 

 next day to see if any signs of nidification were visible, the 

 small flock had departed, and during the remainder of my stay 

 did not return. That summer migrant, the common sandpiper, 

 may also be found everywhere in favourable habitats, and, no 

 doubt, other members of the Scolopacidie, but I have been 

 careful to exclude any species whose existence cannot be veri- 

 fied from my own observation. Strange to say, dunlins do not 

 seem to put in an appearance in Kintail, although the ground 

 looks suitable. The little grebe is a constant resident, and, 

 both on Lochs Alsh and Duich, razorbills and common guille- 

 mots may be observed alternately floating and diving on the 

 water — the vulgar name " dooker " being indiscriminately 

 applied to both species by the natives. Another most in- 

 teresting species is the little auk, not by any means numerous, 

 but identified by me on several occasions. Both cormorants 

 and shags are numerous, the latter being the most familiar, 

 and during this last winter in particular the numbers were 

 quite phenomenal. A favourite resting-place is a small rock 

 in Loch Alsh, and dozens at a time often sit there. Those 

 birds fly a long way inland, and isolated individuals are come 

 across by the burn-sides miles away from the sea. They are 

 rather hard to shoot while swimming, as the bodies are entirely 

 submerged, leaving only the head and a small portion of the 

 neck visible, so that when a lot of them congregate together, 

 they form a striking resemblance to a series of umbrella- 

 handles bobbing up and down in the sea. The moment the 

 gun-flash is observed they give a comical kind of jump and 

 dive below the surface, to reappear at a long distance from the 

 spot where they vanished. If not quite dead when picked up, 

 great caution is required in lifting them, as they are capable 

 of giving a villanous bite. Gulls are represented by the fol- 

 lowing : common gull, black-headed kittiwake, herring gull ; 

 and in stormy weather the lesser black-backed species occurs 

 in limited numbers. Two others may be included in the list 

 — viz., the skua and great black-backed gull, rare visitants, 

 however. When shoals of herring come up Loch Alsh, as 



