Birds. 9569 



Purple Sandpiper. — Purple sandpipers are still numerous, and, 

 judging from their movements in former seasons, they will yet remain 

 with us many weeks. Specimens shot a few days ago differ but little 

 in appearance from those which were procured in early autumn, 

 except that, after the wear and tear of the winter, the plumage has 

 lost a good deal of its gloss, and the edges of the feathers are rather 

 worn. In Hoonie, where these birds are but little disturbed, they are 

 exceedingly tame. By allowing the boat to drift past the rock upon 

 which they were standing, I have sometimes almost touched them with 

 the rested oar. Sometimes instead of flying off they merely crouch 

 among the sea-weed. 



Hooded Crow. — This hard weather is driving the hooded crows to 

 the sea-shore. Many of them are in couples, but there ai'e still some 

 flocks of considerable size. Macgillivray states that they remain 

 paired throughout the year, and I have been told that these flocks are 

 composed of young birds only. I know one pair well b}' the broken 

 leg of the male, and these two most certainly remain together all the 

 year. The well-known habit of breaking open shells by dropping 

 them from a height upon the rocks may be constantly observed here. 

 Not only shells, but bones also are treated in this manner, the bird 

 rising to the height of about fifty feet, sometimes much less, and then 

 letting them fall, following them very closely in their descent. I have 

 read a most vivid description of the process, concluding with an appro- 

 priate remark upon the wonderful instinct which leads the bird to select 

 a spot suitable for the performance, together with one upon the mar- 

 vellous accuracy of its aim. Perhaps my opportunities have been less 

 favourable than those of other observers, but unfortunately I have 

 repeatedly seen the bone or the moUusk dropped upon soft sandy 

 ground, and even upon short grass. In most cases, however, it has 

 been dropped upon the shore, where a nice aim indeed would be 

 required to avoid the stones. Once I saw a hooded crow drop a piece 

 of bone upon the only patch of sandy ground on a long line of rocky 

 coast, and it was only after frequent and persevering trials that the 

 bone was accidentally broken upon a small rock. Now had that spot 

 been the only rocky one in the neighbourhood, or even had it been 

 occupied at the time by some Shetland iEschylus, 1 should doubtless 

 have lost no time in presenting a full account of the fact to the readers 

 of the ' Zoologist' in illustration of the almost human sagacity displayed 

 by the hooded crow. 



Raven. — Ravens seem fully to appreciate the time-honoured remark 

 as to the propriety of having " two strings to one's bow," — indeed 

 VOL. XXIII. 2 B 



