80 The Birds of Bute and Arran. (Sess. | 
somewhat impudent friend the jackdaw winds up the list. 
In some parts great colonies of these last-named noisy birds 
were to be seen, evidently nesting in the rocks above the 
seashore. 
Apropos of crows, as is well known partial albinism is not 
uncommon among the genus, and one of the most curious 
instances of it that ever came under my own observation 
occurred some years ago at Temple, near Gorebridge, when a 
rook with its. wings almost white flew across the road a few 
yards in front of our party. Rooks also with white feathers 
scattered here and there amidst the plumage are by no 
means rare. 
Taking now the species that more or less haunt the sea- 
shore, we find the following. The cormorant is very common, 
and numbers may be noticed off the steamers swimming and 
diving in the Firth of Clyde, and in all the numerous arms of 
the sea that add so much to the beauty of the west coast. 
Favourite resting-places are the tops of those miniature light- 
houses that are dotted up and down the Clyde to warn ship- 
masters to avoid sandbanks, sunken rocks, &c., and they are 
also fond of sitting on the floating buoys. I have not included 
in my list the shag or green cormorant, as I am not absolutely 
certain of its occurrence, although it is more than probable 
that it exists. As is matter of history, cormorants used to be 
trained to catch fish in rivers and ponds, a thong being tied 
round the lower part of the neck to prevent the fish being 
completely swallowed. This practice is not much in vogue 
nowadays, although it was revived several years ago on the 
Eddleston Water near Portmore. Of the Gull tribe only four 
species were noted—viz., the common, black-headed, lesser 
black-backed, and herring gulls, the latter the least plentiful. 
Gannets do not breed on Arran; but these birds are frequently 
seen flying in the vicinity, having wandered north from Ailsa 
Craig. The oyster-catcher was far from uncommon. This bird 
is a great ornament to a sea-beach, its beautifully contrasted 
plumage of pure white and black, along with its orange-red 
mandibles and reddish-purple legs, having a pleasing effect on 
the eye. Where this species frequents one is almost certain 
to find redshanks and ringed plovers. The last mentioned are 
most lively and interesting little creatures, and it is a pretty 
