A 



SHORT TOUR n SUTHERLAND. 



FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR CONTINUED. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



OCTOBER.— PART I. 



Migration of Birds — Quails — Arrival ofWild Geese — White- 

 fronted Goose — Arrival of Wild Swans ; decrease of — Feast- 

 ings of our Ancestors — Food of Ducks, &c. — Field-mice — 

 Roe feeding — Hawks — Peregrine and Wild Duck — Train- 

 ing of Hawks — Migration of Eagles. 



October is, in this country, one of the finest months 

 of the whole year. The cold cutting winds of 

 November are frequently preceded by bright, clear, 

 sunshiny weather, most enjoyable and invigorating 

 to all whose avocations and amusements keep them 

 much in the open air. The birds, both migratory 

 and stationary, begin now to establish themselves 

 in their winter quarters ; and scarcely a day passes 

 which is not marked by the arrival or departure, or 

 the winter preparations of some of the feathered 

 races in this country. 



• VOL. II. B 



