BIRD 239 



Mr Carmichael translates freely ; he does not inform us how 

 he makes out the "great birds" to be auks. It is possibly 

 meant that the old or great gannets came with the young ones, 

 or the "gugachan." 



"Nether Lochaber," in Scotsman of 31st March 1877, gives a 

 translation of the St Kilda song, as heard by himself twenty-five 

 years previously. In his letter therewith, he says, "The air, as 

 I recollect it, was one of the saddest and eeriest I ever listened 

 to afloat or ashore, the burden or refrain particularly being 

 manifestly an imitation — and a very successful imitation, too — 

 consciously or unconsciously, of the loud, discordant clamour of 

 a flock of sea-fowl over a shoal of fish, which they are in haste 

 to gorge themselves to repletion, as is their habit." 



The bird given as the "goillir or goillire" is described as a 

 Lewis bird, which comes to land only in January, to nest. This 

 is thought to mean the petrel by some. "The desperate battle 

 of the birds," or "cath gailbheach nan eun," is the title of a 

 tune by that famous piper Angus Mackay. 



Another kind of bird not generally known was called the 

 " Togh-mall," or " slow-bird," and is referred to where Cuchullin 

 is said to have slung a stone at Queen Meave, when he missed 

 her, but killed the "togh-mall" which was resting on her 

 shoulder. This " bird," howevir, is a squirrel ! An equally 

 unknown bird, and one which must be referred to as possibly 

 the largest known to our ancestors, is mentioned in Revue Celtique 

 (Srub Brain) as having seven hand-lengths of a bill, and seven 

 royal cubits round the neck, a thick body, and thick feet with 

 which it swam the sea. According to one writer, W. J. Wintle, 

 Great Britain possessed once at least two huge wingless birds, 

 called (classically) the " Dasornis," remains of which have been 

 found in the London Clay, and the " Gastornis," the bones of 

 which were discovered in the neighbourhood of Croydon, England ; 

 these monsters flourished, however, probably even before the 

 advent of the Celt to Great Britain. 



The name or term " fitheach " is given to all wild or untamed 

 birds, while "loin" is translated bird in Campbell's Tales, Vol. 

 III., p. 76, but is more properly "wild swan." It is notable 

 that when a bird dies or is killed, the eyelids close of their own 

 accord. In the Chron. Scot., D. MacFirbis refers to a fearful 

 destruction, in 1107, of nearly all the birds in Ireland by a 

 heavy and prolonged snowstorm ; while we find a note to the 

 Annals of the Four Masters saying that in 1335 the most part 

 of the birds in Ireland died owing to the severity of the weather, 

 heavy snowstorms, etc. Another deadly year to the "eathaide 

 or eachaide" (though rendered generally birds of prey, is made, 

 in the Book of Ballymote, to mean birds in general) was in 1434, 

 owing to a twelve weeks' frost about Christmas. Another song, 

 in addition to the one above referred to, of the St Kildians i^ 



