436 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



carols sounding all the sweeter when heard amidst these 

 island solitudes. 



29. Emheriza miliaria (Corn Bunting). — Every little patch 

 of crofter's corn or hay grass had its pair or more perched on 

 the rude wall or other slightly elevated site, lazily repeating 

 their monotonous notes. The corn bunting is one of the 

 most abundant and familiar birds throughout the Hebrides, 

 reaching even to the remotest islands. I remember Mr 

 Harvie-Brown telling me when I was about to start in June 

 1882 for St Kilda (where we found it impossible, however, to 

 set foot owing to the storm encountered), that when he 

 landed there a year or two before, almost the first bird he 

 noticed was the bunting, sitting beside the plots of corn, 

 apparently quite at home. 



30. Emheriza schoeniclus (Eeed Bunting). — Seen in two 

 localities among tall heather and willows in boggy spots near 

 the main road across the island. One pair had a brood newly 

 out of the nest, and unable to fly. 



31. Emheriza citrinella (Yellow Hammer). — Common. I 

 found a nest containing two newly laid eggs ; it was built 

 among heather. Yellow yites never failed to make their 

 appearance when the innkeeper's poultry were being fed. 



32 Fringilla ccelehs (Chaffinch). — Not uncommon. Several, 

 both old and young, made their appearance when the poultry 

 were fed. A young bird, strong on the wing, was observed 

 by the Eev. Mr Macpherson on 19th May 1882. 



33. Passer montanits (Tree Sparrow). — On the 19th of June, 

 I discovered a small colony ^ (about half a dozen pairs, as far 

 as I could make out) of this interesting bird inhabiting holes 

 in the ruins of St Donan's Chapel, or, as the islanders call it, 

 Kildonan. I visited the colony two or three times, and 

 climbed to one of the nesting holes, but did not ascertain 

 what it contained. To have done so it would have been 

 necessary to extract the nest — part of which was distinctly 

 visible — piece-meal, a course I hesitated to adopt. 



In the Society's Proceedings for Session 1881-82 there is 

 an interesting and instructive paper by Mr Dalgleish on the 

 distribution and habits of the Tree Sparrow, in which he 



^ Seen again, by the Rev. H. A. Macpherson, in June 188.5, — Ed. 



