Transactions. 127 



pecuniary legacy shall be made over or paid to the Town Council condi- 

 tionally on their undertaking in such manner as my trustees may con- 

 sider satisfactory ; that the said specimens and othei's sliall be prominently 

 exhibited in said Libraiy, if and when founded ; and that such Library 

 shall be conveniently situated in the town of Dumfries, without prejudice 

 to the To\vn Council allowing said specimens and others to be removed 

 therefrom for short periods from time to time for the before-mentioned 

 purposes of a Geological and Natural Historj' Society, and in the event 

 of said undertaking not being granted as aforesaid, the said specimens 

 and others shall be made over by my trustees to such society, museum, 

 or jjublic institution in the town of Dumfries, as they may deem proper, 

 and the said Fifty Pounds sterling Legacy shall fall into and form part 

 of the residue of my means and estate, to be dealt with accordingly. 



The Council requested Mr James Davidson to go to Glasgow 

 and make the necessary inspection. 



Isi February, 1889. 



Major BOWDEN, V.-P., in the Chair. 



Donations. — Ten numbers of the Journal of the Linnean 



Society, presented by Mr Robinson Douglas ; the Journal of the 



Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, 1888. Part II.; and the 



Zoological Record for 1887, presented by Mr David Sharp, F.R.S, 



Communications. 



I. OrnHholngical Notes for i888. By Mr Wm. Hastings. 



The most notevsrorthy of the birds sent to me is Paleas Sand 

 Grouse, which is of very rare occurrence in this country. It is de- 

 scribed as being met witli in large flocks in some parts of Asia 

 Minor, feeding upon the seeds of a species of an astragulus, a small 

 pea-bearing plant, the seeds of which it seems to be fond of. The 

 birds are well adapted for long and very rapid flight, the wings 

 being long and very sharp-pointed, the first feather in the wing 

 an inch longer than the second, and the feet very small and so 

 much covered with short hairy feathers that the toes are almost 

 hidden from view. There was a variety of different kinds of seeds 

 found in the body of those that were sent to me, the most common 

 being clover seeds and the common wild mustards. Some of them 

 had their crops full of a very small black seed, but I could not say 

 what it was. The birds have sometimes very long flights to take 

 before they reach their feeding ground, and have equally long dis- 



