16 AUTUMNS IN ARGYLESHIRE 



near the deer forests farther north. I do not 

 suppose it nests anywhere nearer than the island 

 of Jura, where that excellent sportsman and natu- 

 ralist, Mr. Henry Evans, forbids their destruction. 

 A pair of ospreys used to build on the old ruined 

 castle of Innischonnell, on Loch Awe, but they 

 were ruthlessly murdered by a tourist who climbed 

 up the old ivied wall, and shot the hen on the 

 nest, and the cock as it returned from a fishing 

 expedition. I have often watched these beautiful 

 birds by another northern loch which shall be 

 nameless, and it is a rare treat to see them soar- 

 ing over the blue water to their home in the 

 inaccessible precipice where they nest. They do 

 little or no harm, as the fish they take do not 

 materially affect the supply as compared with 

 other destructive agencies, and they certainly 

 ought to be protected legally by the local autho- 

 rities, and also by the landowners, who should 

 instruct their keepers and watchers to prevent 

 the depredations of marauding egg and skin 

 collectors. Four years ago, when it was reported 

 that a fine specimen of a sea eagle had been 

 taken at Sonachan with a trap hanging from one 

 of its talons, my brother-in-law, Lord Malcolm of 

 Poltalloch, telegraphed to buy it, fondly hoping 

 that it was really an osprey which had returned 

 to its old haunt. It proved, however, to be a 

 genuine sea eagle, with a fine appetite for rabbits, 

 which had to be supplied in large quantities 



