﻿350 
  Mr. 
  E. 
  W. 
  H. 
  Blagg 
  07i 
  the 
  

  

  Oi 
  Astur 
  striatulus, 
  Ridgway 
  [A. 
  henshfnvi, 
  Nelson), 
  the 
  

   Museum 
  has 
  a 
  young 
  male 
  procured 
  from 
  California 
  through 
  

   Mr. 
  Bridges, 
  and 
  another 
  young 
  bird 
  from 
  Sir 
  William 
  

   Jardine\s 
  Collection 
  labelled 
  " 
  Vancouver 
  Island, 
  N.A. 
  

   (Brown). 
  ^' 
  My 
  father 
  was 
  not 
  a 
  believer 
  in 
  A. 
  striatulus, 
  

   audits 
  describer 
  wavered 
  about 
  it 
  (c/. 
  ' 
  Auk,M884, 
  p. 
  252). 
  

   It 
  is 
  a 
  western 
  form 
  of 
  A. 
  atricapillus, 
  from 
  which 
  it 
  differs 
  

   in 
  " 
  having 
  the 
  markings 
  of 
  the 
  underparts 
  so 
  fine 
  as 
  to 
  

   present 
  a 
  nearly 
  uniform 
  bluish 
  ashy 
  nebulation.^' 
  

  

  XXXI. 
  — 
  Notes 
  on 
  the 
  Nesting 
  of 
  some 
  Shetland 
  Birds. 
  

   By 
  Ernest 
  W. 
  H. 
  Blagg, 
  M.B.O.U. 
  

  

  I 
  VENTURE 
  to 
  hope 
  that 
  the 
  following 
  notes, 
  comprising 
  the 
  

   observations 
  made 
  by 
  my 
  friend 
  Dr. 
  Percy 
  Kendall 
  and 
  myself 
  

   during 
  a 
  visit 
  paid 
  to 
  the 
  Shetlands 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1892, 
  

   may 
  not 
  be 
  devoid 
  of 
  interest 
  to 
  readers 
  of 
  "^The 
  Ibis/ 
  

   inasmuch 
  as 
  there 
  is 
  already 
  a 
  considerable 
  difference 
  in 
  

   the 
  Avifauna 
  of 
  the 
  district 
  now 
  as 
  compared 
  with 
  the 
  time 
  

   when 
  Dr. 
  Saxby 
  wTote 
  his 
  "well-known 
  work. 
  We 
  visited 
  

   the 
  Shetlands 
  in 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  the 
  breeding-season, 
  namely, 
  

   the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  May 
  and 
  the 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  June, 
  

   with 
  the 
  especial 
  object 
  of 
  seeing, 
  in 
  their 
  nesting-haunts, 
  

   birds 
  of 
  several 
  species 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  either 
  impossible 
  or 
  

   difficult 
  to 
  meet 
  with 
  further 
  south 
  ; 
  and 
  I 
  may 
  say 
  that 
  on 
  

   the 
  whole 
  we 
  had 
  every 
  reason 
  to 
  be 
  satisfied 
  with 
  our 
  visit. 
  

   Its 
  success 
  was 
  in 
  no 
  small 
  degree 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  kindness 
  of 
  my 
  

   friend 
  Mrs. 
  Cameron, 
  of 
  Garth, 
  who 
  most 
  obligingly 
  furnished 
  

   us 
  with 
  letters 
  of 
  introduction 
  to 
  landowners 
  and 
  other 
  

   persons 
  of 
  influence 
  in 
  the 
  district. 
  To 
  Mr. 
  George 
  Bruce, 
  of 
  

   Sand 
  Lodge, 
  and 
  Captain 
  MacFarlane, 
  of 
  Guendale 
  House, 
  

   we 
  are 
  also 
  especially 
  grateful, 
  for 
  their 
  extreme 
  kindness 
  and 
  

   courtesy 
  in 
  acting, 
  as 
  they 
  did, 
  as 
  our 
  hosts 
  and 
  guides 
  in 
  an 
  

   unknown 
  land. 
  

  

  I 
  shall 
  not 
  waste 
  time 
  in 
  describing 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  

   various 
  islands 
  we 
  visited, 
  and, 
  for 
  reasons 
  which 
  will 
  be 
  

   sufficiently 
  obvious 
  to 
  my 
  readers, 
  I 
  shall 
  not 
  minutely 
  

  

  