394 Fauna of Ticizell 



vations and experiments I have made, this wary bird appears to 

 rely much more on its acute vision than its sense of smell, to de- 

 tect approaching danger and avoid surprise, and I am certainly not 

 among those who believe in its nice discrimination of the fatal ef- 

 fects of gunpowder, the scent of which it is supposed to perceive at 

 many gunshots distance. The beautiful and active jay is rare, and 

 it is only now and then that its harsh and grating scream is heard 

 in the plantations. The great spotted woodpecker (P. major) is 

 the only species I have hitherto observed, and most of the instances 

 have been in autumn, during the period of the equatorial migration. 

 The common creeper (Certhia familiaris) is seen in all the planta- 

 tions. A pair of these interesting birds bred for some years in a hole in 

 the wooden back of a summer-house, where the female, when sitting, 

 almost allowed herself to be handled without quitting her charge. 



Of the fissirostral tribe, the kingsfisher is a rare visitant, and it is 

 only at distant intervals that it enriches the margin of the burn 

 with its brilliant plumage. The chimney swallow (Hir. rustica) 

 is the only species that breeds with us in any number, for though 

 the martlet (Hir. urbica) used formerly to infest the corners of al- 

 most every window, and had besides a long row of nests under the 

 eaves of the stables, they have for some years past entirely deserted 

 the place, and it is only in autumn, when congregating previous to 

 migration, that they are seen. I attribute this desertion in part to 

 the growth and great extent of the plantations, for the natural si- 

 tuation or habitat of the species appears to be a naked open country ; 

 thus they are found breeding in vast numbers in many of the rocky 

 cliffs upon the sea coast, and under the eaves of houses upon extensive 

 moors ; and in Sutherland we found the face of the marble cliffs 

 near Inch-an-DamfF, thickly beset with their clay built receptacles. 

 The night-jar (Cap. Europseus,) though never numerous, is far 

 from being rare ; several pairs breed annually within our precincts. 

 Its peculiar humming note, the invitation of the male, is seldom 

 heard before the latter end of May or beginning of June. This late 

 arrival of the species is in beautiful accordance with the appearance 

 of those hosts of insects, which furnish it an abundant supply of 

 food, viz. the nocturnal Lepidoptera, and some of the large night- 

 flying Coleoptera. When perched, the night-jar always sits length- 

 ways upon the branch, with its head low, and from its assimilating 

 colours, is with difficulty detected in that situation. 



The ring pigeon or cushat (Colum. palumbus) is the only species 

 we cfin boast of, but of it the number is very great, and seems annual- 



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