The Zoologist — August, 1868. 1307 



May 5. Took two small but finely-marked buzzard's eggs, and 

 fired at the female as she flew off the nest. Nest in a very simple 

 place. Took the eggs out by means of a long stick, to the end of 

 which my round hat was attached. Though there were only two eggs 

 in the nest, nevertheless they had been sat upon for some time, and 

 I had to leave them awhile unblown, in order the more easily to get 

 out the contents. This year I knew of some six or seven buzzards' 

 nests : some were inaccessible, others had young. There is no person 

 in the district who is at all expert at rock climbing. 



May 7. Saw both peregrines at the old place. I brought the best 

 cragsman to be found in Assynt and Edderachyllis some twenty miles 

 to try and take out the young falcons, some time after this, but he just 

 looked at the rock and owned he was quite beaten by it: this man is 

 a splendid cragsman, and ou sea-cliffs, where the rock is firm, 1 never 

 saw him surpassed ; but this particular rock is exceedingly friable and 

 dangerous, and besides there is no place above where a rope can be 

 held. The inland cliffs here being for the great part formed of lime- 

 stone are of a similar nature, and quite different from those at the 

 coast or at Handa. Some of the above-mentioned buzzards' nests 

 might have been got at with good ropes and an experienced cragsman, 

 but of four peregrines' eyries which I knew of this year only one 

 inland one could have been reached, and that only with great 

 caution. 



May 8. Shot a fine redthroated diver as a companion to the one 

 I received last season (Zool. S. S. 856) on the 6th of June. 



May 11. Found a blackthroated diver's nest ready for eggs; these, 

 when laid about a week afterwards, were destroyed by those " dread- 

 ful vermin"- the hooded crows; upon these, however, the same 

 day summary vengeance was taken, they having a nest on another 

 island of the same loch. I obtained a good series of hooded crows' 

 eggs this season. 



May 13. Amongst other things got to-day was a diminutive wild 

 duck's egg, not so large as a partridge's : there were seven other eggs 

 in the nest 



May 18. Got a lot of eggs from collectors at Loch ■ , amongst 



which were two blackthroated diver's and some wild geese, snipe, 

 teal, &c. I got a nice series of snipe's eggs this season : no two nests 

 of eggs were alike; also a nice series of golden plover's, of which, 

 however, from their having been kept too long unblown, I only suc- 

 ceeded insaving two complete nesls. 



