CHAP, xii.] THEIR HABITS AND PLUMAGE. 413 



was at first streaked and clouded with brownish and 

 greyish spots ; but it is now of nearly a uniform bluish 

 white colour above, the belly and tail white, the tail 

 particularly so. It has now been three years at Canon- 

 mills, and seems in its perfect plumage. It is, I believe, 

 the only specimen ever tamed, for Mr. Gould and Sir 

 William Jardine, who lately saw it, were of that 

 opinion. 



"A pair of Skuas (Catarractes) were sent to me by 

 Mr. Laurence Edmonstone of Balta Sound (the brother of 

 Burness). They have become quite tame, approaching 

 and taking a bit of meat or cheese from the hand. They 

 were so bold, and so ready to give battle, that I have 

 been obliged to keep them in a fenced-off place with 

 access to a portion of the pond. 



" Two Herring Gulls (Larm argentatus) I got from 

 Orkney in the state of scories, or young speckled birds. 

 They are quite tame, have been two years at Canon- 

 mills, and have already undergone a considerable change 

 of plumage ; but the final dress has yet to be assumed. 



" Two specimens of the lesser Black-backed Gull (L. 

 fuscus] I procured from Brenay in Shetland. They are 

 equally as tame as the Herring Gulls, and associate 

 with them. They are also undergoing a change of 

 plumage. 



"I ought to mention that above six years ago an 

 abominable railway was forced through my little pro- 

 perty here, and drained off my pond and my spring 

 wells. After a tedious litigation, in which every award 

 was in my favour, the railway company were compelled 

 to form a new pond two feet deep, and to keep it sup- 

 plied with water. Meantime, nearly all my aquatic 

 birds perished, and my present stock are therefore 

 recent acquisitions. 



