152 BIRDS. 



flying low and very quickly over the fields, and just topping the 

 walls, but he never saw one near enough positively to identify 

 it as a Sparrow-hawk. 



Mr. Buchanan tells us he has shot several Sparrow-hawks, 

 and affirms that they bred in the Muddiesdale plantation in 

 1886, from which nest he shot four young and one old bird. 

 He has also shot them elsewhere with the down on. 



Milvus ictinus, Sawgny. Kite. 



" Gleds " are mentioned by Wallace as being common in Orkney, 

 but it is more probable that he meant the Hen Harrier, as 

 no one else seems to have met with this species until 1877. 

 On April 24th of that year Mr. Eeid informs us a Kite was 

 shot at North Wa', Sanday, by J. Wilson, and was preserved 

 by James Sinclair, Taxidermist, High Street, Kirkwall. This 

 specimen passed into Mr. Petrie's collection, and afterwards into 

 the possession of Mr. Whitaker. Neither Mr. Moodie-Heddle 

 nor his father, whose experience extends over more than half a 

 century, ever saw or heard of this species in Orkney. 



Mr. Spence mentions that another Kite was shot in Sanday 

 in 1878. . 



Pernis apivorus (.). Honey-Buzzard. 



Crichton in his Rambles in the Orcades, p. 78, says : "Among other 

 circumstances of the day, I met and obtained a very fine skin of 

 the female Honey-Buzzard (Falco apivorus) shot rather earlier in 

 the season." No locality or date is given, and we have no other 

 mention of the species, which, however, might well occur on 

 migration. 



Falco (sp. 1). Falcon. 



It is impossible now to tell to which species the falcons mentioned 

 by Baikie and Heddle belonged, as in those days Hancock 

 had not pointed out the difference between the Greenland and 

 the Iceland forms. To those mentioned above we have a note 

 that the one kept alive by Mr. Traill of Wood wick was taken 

 about 1831, and was the last seen (J. G. M.-H.). This probably 

 refers to Hoy. 



