1903-1904.] 215 



on the West Coast of Scotland, and had only a few times 

 come under his observation. Mr. Thorn, the owner of the 

 Island of Canna, kept a pair for some time, one of which he 

 observed swallowing three starlings one after the other, and 

 so pugnacious were they that strangers were afraid to cross 

 the field in which they were kept. The starling is a compara- 

 tively new bird in this country, and during the past fifty 

 years has greatly increased in Ireland and Scotland. The 

 warbler family is one of the largest groups of birds, having 

 representatives in all the continents. The bullfinch's nest 

 which he found in the Isle of Mull was placed in a small 

 fir tree, neatly constructed of roots and grass, and con- 

 tained four eggs. The greenfinch is much more common here, 

 and frequently places its loosely made nest in laurels. The 

 eggs are four to six in number. In Algeria he had found a 

 much larger and brighter sub-species, known as Ligurinus 

 aurantuventris. In Ireland the linnet is a common species, 

 and is greatly sought after as a cage bird, being generally 

 known as the " grey." In Ross-shire it is very scarce, and 

 it appears to be local in the Hebrides, though common in the 

 Orkneys. The reed bunting may be seen any spring day in 

 the willow swamps along the banks of the Lagan. Its pretty 

 eggs are purple-grey, boldly streaked with purple-brown. The 

 spotted flycatcher is a well-known bird, and no doubt all have 

 observed it as it sits on a stump or the back of a garden seat 

 flying off every minute to catch some passing insect, which it 

 rarely misses, and returning to the same perch. The nest is 

 composed of grass lined with hair, and the eggs are 

 four to six in number. Pheasants' and partridges' 

 eggs have been found in the same nest, as in the picture 

 shown on the screen. The Norfolk plover is a rare visitor to 

 our shores. According to Mr. XJssher, it has only been re- 

 corded ten times in Ireland, in nearly every instance on the 

 East Coast, but it is much more common in England. The 

 eggs, usually two, are generally laid in a hollow scratched in 

 heath lands. The little grebe or dabchick constructs a float- 

 ing nest, which is moored to reeds or branches. Its eggs are 



