40 Proceedings of the Royal Fhysical Society. 



It was this : some five out of six of the dead birds had one, 

 and in some cases both, of their legs mangled, as if crushed 

 or gnawed by some animal. Could it be by small crabs after 

 the birds were dead ? In a week or ten days the great 

 majority of the razor-bills disappeared, though a sprinkling 

 remained in the loch. I may note, while speaking of this 

 description of bird, that in fine seasons I have never seen a 

 single black guillemot (Uria grylle) on i\iQ Atl^iniio, side of 

 the island, yet I found them numerous (in their winter garb) 

 on the other side in Jura Sound, on the 5th of November 

 last. 



Previous to this season I had noted that I had never seen 

 a single skua gull of any species in Islay ; but this year, for a 

 short time, Eichardson's skua {Lestris Bichardsonii) appeared 

 in considerable numbers during very stormy weather in the 

 middle of September. Some of them left the sea and betook 

 themselves to the fresh-water loch already mentioned. They 

 were in the course of their southern migration. 



Of hawks I have little to report. I have seen no osprey, 

 as I did last year, when the strange sight of a hawk plunging 

 into the sea attracted the attention of several persons as well 

 as myself. 



Gamekeepers have exterminated every hawk breeding in 

 the island, except the peregrine, the sparrow-hawk, and the 

 mouse-devouring kestrel. 



Our most common migrants are the merlin and the hen 

 harrier. The males of the latter arrive early in August, and 

 are followed some ten days later by their dark feathered 

 dames. One or other may generally be seen in any country 

 walk. I have often seen two females hunting in couples, but 

 I never saw a male and female, or two males, at one time. I 

 have also to note, that formerly the males seemed to be in 

 the majority. This season the females were, on the contrary, 

 as six to one. But this might, to a great extent, be acciden- 

 tal as regarded my personal observation. In former years 

 both long and short eared owls were occasionally met with. 

 This season I have seen neither. Turning to the largest of 

 our migrants, as I this year left the island at the beginning 

 of November, I saw no swans ; but they are regular visitants, 



