102 Proceedings of the Royal Fhysical Society. 



although one unacquainted with the locality might be 

 almost excused for doubting this statement when he considered 

 that it was nearly 200 miles north of Edinburgh, and 

 completely surrounded by high mountains, whose snowy 

 summits, even in summer, bear evidence to the extreme cold- 

 ness of the atmosphere a few thousand feet above the sea- 

 level, coupled wdth the fact of their receiving a share of 

 almost every blast that passes overhead. Those very hills, 

 however, are probably one of the chief reasons why bird life 

 should be so abundant, as they shield the Glen from the 

 biting easterly and northerly winds, and as a natural conse- 

 quence, when to this advantage is added a fertile soil, w^oods 

 flourish and cultivation progresses in a measure unchecked. 

 The lower parts of the Glen and Strath are laid out in well- 

 tilled farms, broken up by thickets of w^ood, some natural, 

 composed of birch and alder, oak and ash, etc., while others 

 again of firs have been planted. Two fair-sized rivers, called 

 respectively the Enerick and Coiltie, water the glen and 

 strath ; these in turn receiving numerous tributaries, in the 

 shape of small burns which have their origin among the 

 muirs above, and which find their way down every little 

 hollow that furrows the hill-side. 



Many of the mountain slopes are entirely covered with 

 wood, and apart altogether from their natural beauties, which 

 are unsurpassed, give shelter to a great variety of insessorial 

 birds ; while, on the other hand, many of the hill-sides are 

 wholly composed of small farms or crofts, making a breeding 

 ground for others, such as the wheatear, whinchat, skylark, 

 etc., which prefer the open country to the forests. 



Eound the margin of Urquhart Bay, where the two rivers 

 empty their waters into Loch Ness, is a small tract of sw^ampy 

 ground, studded here and there wdth thickets of alder, 

 tenanted by different acquatic species, such as coots, moor- 

 hens, etc., besides various buntings and warblers ; and above 

 the line of cultivation there is a vast expanse of barren moor- 

 land, swelling into rocky heath-covered hills, and dotted with 

 small tarns, a favourite resort of such birds as require ex- 

 treme solitude for the successful rearing of their broods. 



There are few glens in Scotland which combine in them- 



