The Zoologist— February, 1868. 1067 



damp, was a very peculiar brown scaly fungus, which may turn out to 

 be Agaricus Bongardii, and if so probably new to our lists. I saw 

 many ring plovers evidently near their nesting-places ; but I failed in 

 finding the nests, from not kuowing the exact localities where to look 

 for them. 



Colony of Terns.— Noticing a great outcry from a vast assembly of 

 terns (Sterna Hi/undo), I directed my steps to a large expanse of 

 stony ground near the sea, evidently a former beach, though now 

 separated from the ocean by a range of high sand-hills. Here the 

 colony of terns were breeding, and I soon found five nests with eggs, 

 the number in each varying from two to four. Watching the birds 

 flying overhead, I noticed several of a much smaller size and uttering 

 quite a different cry from the larger birds: these I fancy were the 

 roseate tern (S. Dougallii), although at the time I did not succeed in 

 shooting one. Some weeks afterwards my friend Captain Ruxton shot 

 an adult specimen, which he described to me as having a rose-coloured 

 breast. I afterwards shot a young bird of this species, so that in all 

 probability it is not uncommon on this coast. 



Kingfisher. — This bird is very scarce here, and has apparently 

 reached its utmost northerly limits. It has, however, been occasion- 

 ally shot on the Findhorn, and I saw a specimen in Mr. M'Leod's 

 museum at Dalvey. 



Fishes. — The River Findhorn is a capital salmon stream, and late 

 on in the season I frequently got a moderate basket of trout, with a 

 few " finnock," the local name for the grilse of the sea trout. In the 

 fish market I saw very few good fish : what one sees exposed for sale 

 are principally small cod, coal-fish, sea-bream, whiting, haddocks, 

 gurnard and herrings. Deep-sea fishing is entirely neglected, nor are 

 the open boats at all adapted for the purpose. I was often struck with 

 the fact of the people sitting the whole morning in the streets selling 

 a few miserable handfuls of small fry, which on the English coast 

 would have been disposed of by the hundredweight or ton in one-tenth 

 of the time. The Scottish people may be very much ahead of the 

 Southerners in many respects, but are certainly far behind us in deep-sea 

 fishing. The dogger bank, that unfailing source of wealth to the 

 deep-sea fisherman, is quite as convenient of approach from the Scotch 

 as from the Yorkshire coast. 



Darnaway Forest. — On the 12th of June I walked over to the 

 magnificent Darnaway Forest, in order to visit a colony of black- 

 headed gulls {Larus ridibundus). We found in various parts of the 



