Birds that are Land and Water Feeders. 143 



and of terns from Loch Crai^mish (an arm of the sea opening- 

 off the Sound of Jura). The tenant of Craignish island had 

 told him that the gulls there fed on mice. He further men- 

 tioned an incident which he had observed in the fields. A 

 flock of peewits were gathering worms. Every one was 

 followed by a gull, and when a peewit caught a worm the 

 gull pounced upon it. They tried it on also with the starlings, 

 but the starlings shewed fight. 



Mr Armistead said the diminution of sea-birds in one 

 particular district could often be explained by the fact that the 

 ground had become fouled by the presence of large numbers 

 for some years, and they moved off to a fresh nesting-place, 

 giving it a few years' rest. Another reason was that the food 

 supply might be diminished. On Colvend shore, he men- 

 tioned, the cormorants had moved off from their old nesting- 

 place, " The Dookers' Bing," and found a new and clean 

 nesting-place at Balcary. In other districts colonies of sea- 

 birds might have to go a long distance to find another suitable 

 nesting-place. That there was a great increase in the number 

 of sea-birds all over was clearly established. 



Mr William Dickie said he had been informed that on 

 some hill farms gulls attacked young lambs, and were now 

 as much disliked by shepherds as the raven formerly was. 



Dr Semple said he had seen them taking the young 

 sheldrake. 



Mr Armistead said these would be the Black-backed Gull. 



Mr A. C. Penman said he had seen thirteen out of a brood 

 of twenty-one young sheldrakes taken by gulls as they were 

 crossing the water near the Scaur. The disappearance of the 

 tern from Craignish he attributed to the murderous shooting 

 of them by members of a yachting party. 



Mr Armistead said at several places in the West High- 

 lands instructions had been given to keepers to destroy these 

 nesting birds on the islands of fresh-water lochs because they 

 were ruining the fishing in the lochs; but the same reason 

 would not apply to sea lochs. 



Mr M. S. M'Kerrow, Burnock, said farmers used to 

 believe that nothing but the carrion crow would eat flesh, but 

 for many years the ordinary crow had become quite fond of 



