BIRDS. 141 



The late Mr. Heddle of Melsetter saw " one bird of this 

 species for three years at Melsetter," but Mr. Moodie-Heddle 

 writes us that he never saw or heard of it in Orkney. He 

 adds : " One (was) said to have been killed by Dr. Logic, 

 another by Dr. Traill in 1866." 



Mr. Watt of Skaill, writing us in Jan. 1888, says that in the 

 early part of the summer of 1865 or 1866 an uncle of his, who 

 knew birds well, when walking in company with Mr. Watt 

 through the township of Yucanabee, saw a Marsh Harrier, and 

 Mr. Watt adds that since then he had been told that it had 

 been known to nest in Orkney, but gives no authority for this 

 statement. Mr. Boyes informs us that when in Orkney in 

 1866, he saw a Marsh Harrier, stuffed, in J. Dunn's possession 

 at Stromness, but got no particulars. 



Mr. Spence writes that a Marsh Harrier was preserved by 

 the late James Sinclair, which had been shot by Mr. Watt of 

 Skaill in December 1875, but that gentleman never mentioned 

 the fact to Buckley, who, when on a visit to him in 1888, made 

 particular inquiries about this species ; we therefore must con- 

 clude Mr. Spence had been wrongly informed. 



We are at length able to add this bird to the Orkney list 

 decisively, through Mr. Millais, who has sent us the following 

 account of his capture of one : 



"I was shooting Eock Pigeons at the eastern end of the 

 cliffs known as the ' White Breast ' (Hoy), and had landed to 

 climb up to the top of the rock where a wounded bird had 

 fallen, and was endeavouring to catch it before it tumbled over 

 the rocks again, when I saw a large Harrier, with a light cream- 

 coloured head, beating along the face in my direction ; where- 

 upon I lay down, and waited till he came to within about 30 

 yards, and then shot him. He proved to be, as I thought, a 

 Marsh Harrier, being a young bird of the year in first plumage. 

 This occurred on November 28th, 1883." 



" On another occasion, when returning with James Suther- 

 land in his boat from Eisa Little, a large Harrier, which I 

 imagined to be of this species, passed quite close across the 

 bows of the boat. My gun was lying a few feet off, and the 

 bird was out of shot before I could reach it, the weather being 

 rough." 



