4218 The Zoologist— November, 1874. 



show that occasionally it is difficult to alarm them ; provolungly so now 

 and then when one wishes to obtain a specimen, and the bird, refusing 

 to rise, stands quietly with its head upon one side, as though it wore 

 highly amused at such an amount of 'clucking' and gesticulation. In 

 fact, the little monkeys sometimes turn the tables upon you altogether, for 

 you can't shoot a bird when it is pleased to see you." — P. 213. 



In this place I must introduce a long extract on the breeding 

 habits of the rednecked phalarope, or dearganallt. Dr. Saxby 

 has enjoyed perhaps better opportunities than any other of our 

 ornithologists for observing the domestic arrangements of this 

 dear little bird, and no one will doubt that of these oppor- 

 tunities he has availed himself to the full. We also find, at 

 p. 329 of Mr. Gray's ' Birds of the West of Scotland,' some notes 

 on the same species of so interesting a character that I need 

 make no apology for introducing them here, although the site of 

 the observations is somewhat diflfcrent. It seems that there are four 

 or live breeding stations of the rednecked phalarope at the Long 

 Island on the Outer Hebrides, the most numerously frequented 

 of which is Benbccula, where from ten to twenty pairs are annually 

 found haunting the little lakes that abound in that island. There 

 are also several stations in the islands of North and South Uist, 

 frequented by at least other twenty pairs, so that the entire dear- 

 ganallt population on these three islands may be reckoned at 

 something less than fifty ])airs. The time of their arrival varies a 

 little according to the season ; generally, however, the stations are 

 occupied by the last week in May, and the nests formed in the first 

 week in June. About the first week in July the families gather 

 together preparatory to their departure, which is also to some 

 extent regulated by the state of the weather ; but as soon as August 

 sets in young and old have entirely disappeared. In connection 

 with this information as regards the rednecked phalarope in the 

 Outer Hebrides, the following respecting the same species in 

 Shetland cannot fail to interest the readers of the ' Zoologist.' 



The scene is laid in a nameless locality in some marshes and 

 low meadows about a quarter of a mile from the sea : the name of 

 the locality is withheld purposely, that it may remain unknown 

 " to the skin-and-egg-shell-fancier," as Dr. Saxby prettily describes 

 those who would be most likely to profit by the information ; but 

 he thinks, and I most cordially concur in the sentiment, that the 

 good ornithologist will scarcely find much lault with his reticence. 



