Bat 
Wild Birds Protection Act, 1894.-—The eggs are protected in the following 
Counties :— 
Eneianp: Cornwall; Devonshire; Dorset (specified area). 
ScortanD: Argyll; Dumbarton; Elgin; Kirkeudbright; Wigtown. 
Any owner, occupier, or other person taking or destroying the eggs of the Chough in 
above-named places is liable to a penalty of £1 for each egg. 
Wild Birds Protection Act, 1896.—In addition to any penalty under the Act, 1880, 
the Court may now order any trap, net, snare, etc., used by the offender to be forfeited. 
VII. Remarks. 
We have had personal experiences of the species in its native haunts in Cornwall in 
1863, several of the Inner Hebrides, and Coast of Skye; but we did not see them in the 
Channel Islands. 
Although the Chough has become much scarcer than formerly, it is still known—as we 
have already indicated—to return occasionally to some of its old haunts. It may be desirable 
in this place to mention some of these deserted nesting stations, with the view of inducing 
more efficient protection in the future, and calling in for that purpose the latest “ resources 
of civilization.” With encouragement and careful attention at such places as I will name, 
there seems little doubt they might reasonably be expected to return permanently, and not 
only to visit them but to reoccupy them. Thus I would specially enumerate the old coast 
and inland localities in Ayrshire and Wigtownshire and the south-west generally of Scotland, 
the Berwickshire coast, Inner Hebrides (where proprietors can keep watch and ward), and 
the coasts of Campbelltown and the Mull of Kintyre; and also, of course, all presently occupied 
situations. In this connection, all the particulars so interestingly conveyed by the late 
Mr. Robert Gray in his “ Birds of the West of Scotland,” should have the most careful atten- 
tion bestowed upon them by active members and petitioners of the several County Councils. 
We know where the few remaining sites are rigidly preserved, and also where they are 
neglected. It is here that the County Councils can do a great deal of good. Proprietors in 
some places can and do effectually preserve their Choughs and other rare birds, but the 
assistance of the law has over and over again proved of great value; to witness which state- 
ment we have only of our knowledge to instance the case of the Great Skua in Foula and 
Shetland. 
The Chough ought to receive attention from the County Councils of the following 
counties in Scotland, viz. :—Berwickshire, East Haddington, Stirlingshire, Wigtownshire, 
Kirkcudbright, Renfrew, Ayr, Dumbarton, Argyll, the Inner Hebrides, Skye—wherever these 
County Councils have not already provided for its safety. 
Several reasons for the decrease of their numbers have from time to time been put 
forward, but, as we have already said, it is extremely difficult to decide which factor or factors 
have been most instrumental in causing their disappearance, 
The increase of the Jackdaw cousinship is certainly a marked feature in ornithological 
history, and this, by many people, and by some writers, has been assigned as a primary cause 
at certain localities. But this cannot be applied in connection with the early desertion of the 
Outer Hebrides, where, as we are informed by Macgillivray, it was present m Barra prior to 
1830, because then, and now at the present day, the Jackdaw was and is a rare bird in these 
Outer Islands. The known increase of Jackdaws among the Inner Isles, however—it is 
possible—may present opportunities for observers to compare statistics. In the cathedral of 
