104 Wild Life around Edinburgh. [Sess. 



appeared so strong that, no matter what the weather was, they 

 seemed bound by some strange impulse to make their nightly 

 journey to their island home. I have watched them battling 

 against an easterly gale when they had to fly so low as almost 

 to touch the waves, and some of the weaker birds had to turn 

 back to the shore. If the weather was fine they sometimes 

 flew at an immense height, but seldom so high that the beat 

 of their wings could not be heard. One would naturally 

 suppose that during the breeding-season this colony would 

 entirely disperse, but this was not so, and quite a large flock 

 continued to roost on the island. In talking to Mr Wm. 

 Evans regarding this, he said the general estimate of non- 

 breeding birds was ten per cent, but the proportion which 

 travelled daily to and from the island seemed to exceed that 

 number. The starlings did not nest on the island. During 

 the day it was quite deserted, and if a starling remained on it, 

 it seemed to be a weakling, or perhaps a wounded bird, for 

 some amateur sportsmen were not above shooting at these 

 harmless birds. I never was able to trace how far inland 

 the starlings travelled, but I know that they passed over- 

 head at Kirkliston, and travelled as far west as Hopetoun. 

 I am of opinion, however, that each flock had its own 

 particular feeding-ground, which it preserved for its own use. 

 What led me to form that opinion was the fact that every 

 morning I watched the starlings passing over Longgreen, 

 about a dozen birds regularly detached themselves from the 

 flock and settled on an ivy-clad tree close by. It was 

 most interesting to watch for this little group of birds, 

 — whether of course they were the identical birds that came 

 every morning I cannot tell, but it afforded a striking 

 example of the orderly manner in which the whole move- 

 ments of the birds were regulated. From May 1900 to 

 November 1901 I kept practically a daily record of their 

 migrations, which, however useful for comparison, would 

 form somewhat dry reading, as nearly all statistics do. 

 The earliest time I have a note of their leaving the island 

 was at 3.20 on the morning of the 29th of May 1900, 

 seen by the late Mr Hogg, not by me. I have a note of 

 them crossing to their roosting- place at 9.15 P.M., which 



