Tue ZooLtocist—Marcnu, 1876. 4821 
was a necessary one, otherwise it would not have been sanctioned 
by Dr. Edmonston, who is too thorough a- naturalist to coun- 
tenance anything like wanton destruction of life, and who, it should 
be borne in mind, has for the last twenty years and upwards been 
very successfully endeavouring to introduce trees and shrubs into 
the island, notwithstanding the ill-natured ridicule with which his 
early attempts were received by certain of the inhabitants who 
ought to have known better. Having thus so far justified myself, 
I will confess that no less than seven birds fell to my gun alone; 
besides this, many others were brought to me from various parts 
of the island; but, strange to say, not one female was to be found 
among them, and, with one single exception, all were first year’s 
birds. The first two presented nothing unusual in their appearance, 
but on taking the third one into my hand J at once remarked the 
worn look of the bill, tail and claws. I immediately suspected that 
this was caused by the scarcity of trees having driven the bird to 
seek its food among stones and rocks, and, upon opening the 
stomach, my suspicions were confirmed by the discovery, among 
other insects, of several small beetles which are found only upon 
the hills. I may mention that these beetles are very abundant in 
Shetland, although I do not remember having seen any of the kind 
in England: they are about the size and shape of one-half of a 
split-pea, black, edged with scarlet.* I afterwards saw spotted 
woodpeckers on various parts of the hills, on walls, and even on 
high sea-cliffs ; I also saw them on roofs of houses and upon dung- 
hills, and although several were killed upon corn-stacks I never 
found any grain in the stomach. They were frequently to be met 
with upon the ground among heather, where at all times they 
were easily approached, but more particularly in rainy or misty 
weather, when, their plumage becoming saturated with moisture 
rendering them too heavy for a long flight, many were stoned to 
death, by boys. 
“Those in the garden fed largely upon seeds of the mountain 
ash, which they broke open to procure the berries, sometimes 
dropping a whole cluster upon the ground and descending to feed, 
but more frequently breaking the berries to pieces as they hung 
upon the trees. But even in the garden they did not confine them- 
selves to the trees: at one time they might be seen busily searching 
among moss and dead leaves; at another in the midst of a tuft of 
* The beetles referred to are Chrysomela sanguinolenta. 
SECOND SERIES—VOL, XI. N 
