82 The Birds of Bute and Arran. [Sess. ; 
although another species was seen, but at such a great distance 
over the water that it could not be accurately identified with 
the naked eye. Corncrakes or landrails made their presence 
known in all suitable quarters by their most grating and 
unmelodious cry. This sound, as is matter of notoriety, is 
very puzzling at times to locate, as at one moment it seems to 
be quite close at hand and the next to be some distance off, — 
giving rise to the idea that the bird is a ventriloquist. This - 
theory is, however, not accepted by most of our well-known 
ornithological authors, who account for this peculiarity by the — 
swiftness with which the bird moves about from place to place. 
I have myself seen it hastening rapidly amidst the short | 
herbage, not yet long enough to hide it completely, and noticed 
its head and neck were quite erect while the harsh sound was 
being emitted. There is one thing, however, that I do not feel 
competent to decide upon, and that is—if the disagreeable note 
is sounded while the bird is running, or if it always stops still 
while calling, or if it is made under both conditions. 
That parasitical species the cuckoo was abundant in Bute, 
and, for the matter of that, in Arran as well. The fact of this 
bird making no nest of its own, but utilising that of other 
species in which to deposit its egg, is so well known as to 
necessitate no further remark. It certainly is a most curious — 
and instructive sight to watch the foster-parents feeding the — 
young cuckoo. The latter is usually four or five times larger | 
than the others, and when it opens its big gape to receive the 
food, one would think it had serious intentions of swallowing 
the smaller creature iz toto. In muirland districts the titlark, 
or moss-cheeper to give it its Scottish cognomen, seems to be 
the bird that, in the majority of cases, has given to it the task 
of rearing this intruder. In passing, the existence of the wood- 
‘ pigeon may be mentioned, as also that of the coot and water- 
hen—the two latter chiefly in Bute, as the scarcity of sheets 
of water in Arran prevents them frequenting the island in any © 
great numbers. 
I have now to call your attention, and that shortly, to the 
smaller fauna. The swallow, house and sand martins, as well — 
as the swift, were common in Bute, but not so numerous in 
the other island. The night-jar is not included in the list, as 
it was not observed, from the fact that I never happened to — 
