WATER VOLE 65 



but I believe such an occurrence must be very exceptional. 

 On Luffness marshes, where the animal is very abundant, 

 I have seen a young redshank lying half-eaten at the 

 mouth of one of their burrows, — no proof, however, that the 

 Voles had killed it. My explanation is that, finding the 

 bird dead, they were tempted to eat it, in the same way 

 that Field Voles will devour a dead companion. 



In the spring of 1890 a colony established themselves in 

 a piece of rough, sandy ground by the public road near 

 where a small stream enters the sea at Gosford Bay. For 

 fully a month I passed the spot twice a day, and was much 

 struck with the want of fear which they displayed, several 

 always sitting unconcernedly about the entrances to their 

 burrows while vehicles and pedestrians moved past within 

 a few yards ; indeed, so little notice did they take of people 

 passing by, that Mr Eagle Clarke knocked one over with his 

 walking-stick. 



The black variety — the Arvicola ater of MacGillivray — is 

 not common, but occurs from time to time in every county. 

 I have notes concerning examples taken in Berwickshire, 

 Eoxburghshire, the three Lothians, Stirlingshire, Perthshire, 

 and Fife. The Fife specimens, which as usual were small 

 animals, were captured near Colinsburgh, where the form 

 appears to be not uncommon. In the Highlands it is 

 decidedly more numerous than in the Lowlands. 



FIELD VOLE. 



Arvicola agrestis Be Selys. 



The Field Vole is abundant and generally distributed from 

 the coast-line to the most inland localities, living among 

 rough grass in meadows, young plantations, moors, and hill- 



