BIRDS. 187 



nest in his garden, and he is inclined to think they do so 

 occasionally in the cliffs, as he has seen them fly out of the 

 rocks during the nesting season with the Rock Pigeons. 



Mr. Irvine-Fortescue fancies that they first nested at Mud- 

 diesdale somewhere about 1867, and since that date he has 

 seen a bird or two at Swanbister almost every summer. One 

 Sunday morning, about October 1883, he counted one hundred 

 and fifty from his windows. The flock must have numbered 

 about two hundred sitting on the bushes and walls. About 

 11.30 A.M., on opening the front door, the gravel walk was 

 covered with them ; he did not disturb them, but on his 

 return from church they were gone, and he saw no more of 

 them. Dr. Logie told Mr. Irvine-Fortescue he thought a pair 

 nested in 1887 on a steep bank of a burn in Redland. 



Mr. Moodie-Heddle tells us the Wood Pigeon sometimes 

 breeds at Melsetter; they are common in the autumn. We 

 observed only one Wood Pigeon in Orkney in 1888, and that 

 was on the 29th May at Melsetter. In 1882, however, we saw 

 three together in June in the Muddiesdale plantation, but could 

 not find a nest. 



Columba livia, Bonnat. Rock-Dove, 



Common everywhere, breeding in all the cliffs and rocks of the 

 sea-coast. Mr. Moodie-Heddle tells us that their routes of 

 flight by the cliffs, where there is an exposed beach, varies 

 higher or lower with the tide. In windy weather they have 

 to tack to windward, and a person knowing the proper spots 

 may have very fair flight-shooting. 



Varieties of the Rock-Dove are common, and although by some 

 authors these are supposed to be stragglers from dove-cotes, we 

 are inclined to think they are really wild birds ; nor is it in any 

 way surprising that this should be so, when all the wonderful 

 tame varieties are known to have arisen from the present species. 



Columba oenas, L. Stock-Dove, 



Mr. Moodie-Heddle says he finds a note in his copy of 



