224 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



which the present Earl informs me that a short time previously a 

 gentleman in that county had turned out several pigeons of this 

 species, so that it is more than likely the specimen in question 

 was one of the birds which had been set at liberty. It is some- 

 what remarkable, however, as Lord Haddington observes, that 

 none of the others were again seen or heard of in the district. 



A most graphic account of the habits of this beautiful pigeon is 

 given by Audubon in the first volume of his " Ornithological 

 Biography," (pages 319 to 326). This author states that in March, 

 1830, he bought about 350 of these birds in the New York market 

 at four cents a piece, and carried the most of them alive to England, 

 where they were distributed amongst several noblemen. Bearing 

 this fact in mind, it is indeed strange that no other so-called 

 British example of the species has come under the notice of 

 ornithologists. 



RA SORES. PHA SI A NID^E. 



THE COMMON PHEASANT. 

 PHASIANUS COLCHICVS. 



Is very commonly distributed throughout the western counties, 

 extending from Sutherland to the shores of Wigtown. I have been 

 informed by Mr Elwes that it is now naturalized in some of the 

 higher grounds of Ross-shire. 



In the neighbourhood of Loch Lomond, it may occasionally be 

 noticed on the mountain sides, at a considerable elevation, some- 

 times as far up as 1200 feet. In Shemore glen, I have seen male 

 birds rise from the heath among the rocks, and wheeling round, 

 direct their flight down the valley with extraordinary speed. 

 Very different indeed is the flight of these strong winged natives 

 of the glen from that of over-fed birds in wooded preserves ; and 

 as one bird after another shoots past high in the air, one can hardly 

 resist the impression that, if left to its own selection, the Pheasant 

 would adapt itself wonderfully to the drawbacks of its adopted 

 country. Mr Elwes informs me that he has frequently seen 

 pheasants in Islay get up in the most unlikely places, such as an 

 open moor, miles away from any covert or corn-field, and sometimes 

 in a wet bog, where one would be more likely to find a snipe. On 

 that island, where it was introduced about thirty years ago by Mr 



