118 ELGIN. 



1 fired off' near the place at a blnerock-pigepn, the female falcon 

 did not leave her nest; but while I was there a peregrine (a male), 

 which I at once knew to be a stranger, as he was a last year's 

 bird and still quite brown, came in, apparently from Ross-shire. 

 The male peregrine belonging to Covesea immediately appeared 

 and attacked him, and while they were fighting the female came 

 off her nest, and the two Covesea falcons drove the stranger 

 apparently back to Ross-shire, as we saw them going towards 

 that coast till lost in the distance. Presently the two Covesea 

 birds returned alone. 



Snowie sent Mr Hancock the skin of a fresh killed female 

 golden eagle width. 6 ft. 10 in. ; also two eggs of the golden 

 eagle. 



May 18th. I shot an old female badger early in the morning, 

 as she was returning to her hole. She looked as if with young, 

 but on dissecting her we found that she was completely gorged 

 with young rooks, probably picked up under a rookery. 



In Quarry Wood we saw the siskins feeding their young 

 which had already flown. 



May 19 th. Rennie brought home another owl's egg from a 

 rabbit hole in the wood behind Woodside. The last which 

 he brought was on April 2nd. 



May 3 1st. We took the four young peregrines out of 

 the rock at Covesea. They were about the right size for taking. 

 The place was full of the remains of pigeons, peewits, ringed 

 dotterel, and redshanks. 



On a paling near Gordonstown I found a number of chrysalis, 

 about an inch long, enclosed in a kind of transparent yellow 

 case, which were quite new to me. 



June I3th. A woman brought to me yesterday a young 

 live roe. She calls it three weeks old, but it does not appear 

 quite as old as she says. It drinks milk very readily. 



June 15th. I found a woodcock's nest with four eggs. The 

 old bird flew off and fluttered along the ground to take off 

 our attention. The nest was made of moss, small sticks, etc., 

 and placed under some cut branches. 



