
CRUISE IN LOCH FYNE, JUNE, 1899. 367 
proceeded from Craigmore by the Garroch Head to Skipness, 
where we lay for the night. Off the Cock of Arran we noticed, 
in passing, a flock of Gulls with a few rock-birds among them, 
the whole of them apparently greatly excited, the Kittiwakes 
(Rissa tridactyla (Linn.) ), whenever they were a foot or two above 
the surface of the water, folding their wings and plunging 
incontinently back, becoming for a few seconds completely 
immersed, while the larger Gulls contented themselves with 
harassing their more active congeners, and attempting to rob 
them of part of their prey. On arrival at Skipness we went 
ashore, and visited the remains of the Priory there. Within the 
walls of the church, and placed in a crevice, a Mistle-Thrush 
(Turdus viscivorus, Linn.) was sitting upon newly-hatched 
young. She remained sitting in full view of all our party for 
two or three minutes. This is quite a notable site for the 
Mistle-Thrush to occupy. About Skipness Castle we found no 
Swifts, but any deficiency in this respect was compensated for 
by the Starlings (Stwrnus vulgaris, Linn.), of which two or 
three hundred were roosting in a clump of Rhododendrons. Mr. 
Robertson saw a Woodcock (Scolopaa rusticola, Linn.) before 
we left. Next morning we went ashore early to do some 
photographing and explore one of the glens. Leaving the 
photographers about the Castle and Priory, we took a turn 
through the glen at the Castle. Here’ we saw a Roe-deer 
(Capreolus caprea, Bell). Reaching the road where it crosses 
the stream, and following it for a quarter of a mile, we were 
pleased to find, in a wood skirting one side of the road, several 
Tree-Pipits (Anthus trivialis, Linn.) in song, and Lesser Red- 
polls (Linota rufescens (Vieill.) ) passed overhead twice. On the 
moor-ground, just above the cultivated land, we found the 
Whinchat (Pratincola rubetra (Linn.) ), the only time we saw it 
during our trip. Getting aboard and under weigh, we were 
soon at the Skate, or Sgat Mohr, a rocky islet on the east side of 
Loch Fyne. Here we found four nests of the Red-breasted 
Merganser (Mergus serrator, Linn.) placed among rushes and old 
_ clumps of Brake-ferns, containing respectively eight, nine, and, two 
- of them, ten eggs. One of the nests was placed under a clump of 
old brakes that had been blown over by the wind, forming a 
natural cushion, under the shelter of which the nest was placed, 
D 
