Birds. 9313 
and he stooped to avoid the blow; another and another followed up 
the attack so rapidly that the crow, dropping as each one approached, 
gradually descended nearer to the surface of the water without being 
able to rise a single foot. Lower and lower he went, until at last the 
lips of his wings dipped into the water, and then his fate was decided. 
The poor fellow cawed and struggled most desperately, and made 
tremendous exertions to rise, but this only hastened his end; his 
feathers became saturated, and soon his head dropped beneath the 
surface. Seeing him motionless the terns now appeared to be satisfied, 
and, after a few more dashes towards his body and a few more cries of 
anger, they returned peaceably to their nests. Ina late number of 
the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 9164) Mr. Harting inquires whether this species 
“invariably lays upon the ground without any nest.” As no answer 
has yet appeared, I beg to offer what little I know of the matter. In 
these islands the favourite situation for the deposition of eggs is a 
sandy or gravelly beach, or a ledge of a rugged bank which has been 
broken by the winter gales: in such places the eggs are merely laid in 
a hollow scraped out by the bird; but if the soil of the bank happens 
to be wet, a small quantity of gravel is sometimes interposed. Often, 
however, the eggs are laid among the short grass further inland, and 
then the hollow is almost always found to contain a few pieces of dead 
weeds or dry grass by way of lining. Occasionally, as in Hunie, the 
spot selected is the dry gravelly soil among stones and rocks some 
distance from the beach: in such situations I have found hundreds, 
perhaps thousands of eggs, but only in a few instances have I seen 
any attempt at a lining to a nest. These few remarks may not be pre- 
cisely what was required, but still they have this merit, that the arctic 
tern being the sole representative of its genus in Shetland, there cannot 
possibly be any mistake as to species. 
Kestrel.—Several pairs of kestrels have hatched here this season in 
the sea-cliffs. Both old and young birds are now constantly to be 
seen hovering over the fields. I am very much inclined to believe 
that this species only visits us in summer. 
Rednecked Phalarope.—On the 6th of July a lad shot a pair of red- 
necked phalaropes as they rose from a piece of marshy ground near 
the Loch of Belmont, a few hundred yards from the sea. I only saw 
the female; it was in perfect summer plumage, and contained ova 
about the size of No.1 shot. Although the rednecked phalarope 
breeds in Orkney, I am not aware that it has hitherto been recorded, 
even as a visitor, to these islands. 
VOL. XXII. 3M 
