234 A NOR'-WESTER 



eagles, and ptarmigan have been driven from their 

 immemorial home. The eagles lingered longest; the 

 ' black/ that is, the golden eagle, was known to breed 

 on this range as late as 1839 ; and ' the large gray/ or 

 white-tailed eagle, had its last eyrie here about 1862. 

 No bird of ravin larger than the buzzard, or nobler 

 than the peregrine, frequents these heights at this day, 

 but the memorial of the eagles is indelibly written on 

 one peak, called Benyellary that is, in the departed 

 Gaelic tongue beinn iolaire, the eagle's hill. 



LXXXIX 



During four whole days (December 1895) the wind 

 has roared from the north and north-west, most of the 

 A Nor'- time with the force of a heavy gale. This 

 wester j s unusua i constancy for rough weather on 

 the west coast, where the normal wind-shift in areas of 

 depression is generally easy to mark. . The disturbance 

 ended in a snowstorm, and this morning is beautifully 

 bright, with a dead calm. Such a commotion as we 

 have had in the atmosphere always has a marked 

 effect on the local distribution of birds, and there is 

 evidence of this to-day in the population of our lake. 

 Before the gale, there were plenty of mallard, teal, 

 tufted duck, pochards, and widgeon, with a solitary 

 pair of shovellers, which arrived early in the autumn. 

 This morning six more shovellers have arrived, and a 

 dozen goldeneyes, including two male birds in splendid 

 plumage. Of the widgeon only two pairs remain; 

 the rest are probably sunning themselves in the bay. 



