68 Proceedings of the Boyal Physical Society. 



began I have only seen one woodcock, and when we shot it 

 we immediately remarked, ' How thin I' As to pheasants, 

 the near feeders, which have grain put down for them, have 

 kept their condition well ; but those in outlying coverts have 

 suffered much, and two have been picked up starved. Some 

 ducks and snipes were in poor condition. Eegarding the 

 latter, I may mention that when the rivers were all but 

 frozen up, I went into Ballbardie Park, where there are two 

 warmish streams, one from the distillery, the other from the 

 pits, and in an hour and a half I bagged six couple. Examin- 

 ing their crops or throats, I found they had been living on 

 slugs of a grey colour. Is this usual ? Before the storm there 

 were numbers of wood-pigeons roosting in the Desert and 

 Nethermuir, which tried to subsist for a time on the shawls of 

 the turnips, but a fortnight ago they disappeared. Where have 

 they gone ? Two autumns ago I noticed large flocks of wild 

 pigeons coming in to roost, as well as covering some fields 

 during the day. I shot two and found they w^ere foreigners 

 — smaller than the cushat, of a slaty blue, and without the 

 ring. I never saw fewer berries. Our old hollies last year 

 had a splendid crop. On December 16th I shot a kingfisher 

 — a rare bird here; five years ago a greenshank (Totanus 

 glottis), and in 1870 a quail {Coturnix vulgaris)!' 



Midlothian. — The autumnal supply of bird-supporting 

 berries was much below the average, the fruit in some cases, 

 as in the hawthorn, falling far short of the promise in the 

 form of bloom. When the December storm began to moder- 

 ate, many birds, chiefly blackbirds and common thrushes, 

 were found dead in the gardens and by the highroads in 

 country districts. In one garden at Portobello six thrushes 

 were picked up. By notes in the newspapers, public attention 

 was called to the matter and many instances given. The 

 w^eakness of the birds through cold and hunger was taken 

 advantage of by youngsters to whom the handling of a gun 

 has ever a charm. One could not but sympathise with the 

 vigorous protest of "Avis" in the Scotsman. He says : "Any 

 one may hear all day long, and in all directions, what might 

 almost be termed a 'rattle of musketry,' which is simply 

 nothing else but men shooting at, and I presume killing, 



