150 On the Wild Pigeons of the coast of Berwickshire. 



Oldcambua Barony, that once appertained to Coldingham Priory; 

 Redheugh a new place having superseded these. 



Dowlaw, now including Western Lumsdean, Fastcastle, Duddoholm 

 or Cauldside, Auldtouu, Newtoun, and several other ancient holdings, was 

 originally written Dowlaw and Dovelaw (Coldingham Session Records). 

 In a Retour 1633 (Grissel Douglas) it is written Dowlaw (No. 174). In 

 Pont's Map, 1648, it is Doula ; in Retour No. 402, May 19, 1680 it is 

 called Dowhill. In Armstrong's Map, 1771, it is Dowlaws. It first ap- 

 peared as Dulaw in Thomson's Map of Berwickshire, 1821. This was 

 adopted in Carr's Hist, of Coldingham, 1836 ; followed by Dr Johnston 

 in his " Flora," and unfortunately by the Ordnance Survey, whose 

 surveyors were chiefly strangers to the district. In the Farm Maps of 

 1846, it continues to be correctly written Dowlaw. When my father had 

 temporary charge of the place, about 1814, the pigeon-cot was in tbe 

 attics of the farm house, and cats sometimes obtained admission at night, 

 and occasioned a terrible flutter among the poor pigeons, greatly to the 

 alarm of the human inmates, one of whom was my mother. 



On March 10, 1603, William Auchincraw was retoured heir of George 

 Auchincraw, of Netherbyres his father, in 2 bovates of land, commonly 

 " Oxingait of land," lying in Flemingtoun alias Netherbyretoun, Reidhall, 

 Flemington-Flures (i.e. flats) alias Netherbyre with one bovate " lie 

 Langrig ;" and a dove-cot (columbario) , within the barony of Coldinghame.* 

 I shall only mention two others, and these are inland. On Jan. 8, 1633, 

 Lancelot Pringell de Lees held " Dowcat hill " in the Lordship of Cauld- 

 stream.f Dove-cot-mains, between Butterlaw and Hawkslaw in Cold- 

 stream Parish is marked in Thomson's Map, 1821. In 1809 it is advertised 

 as a farm on the estate of Darnchester. 



Rejecting the inland localities, there are here along the coast from 

 Berwickshire to Eyemouth, a sufficient number of centres to stock or re- 

 plenish the caverns of the entire co'ast of Berwickshire. When an old 

 farm place is deserted where pigeons were maintained, they rejoin the 

 wild fraternities ; and occasionally wild birds are likewise induced to join 

 the tame communities from the outside, thereby showing no dislike to 

 each other ; and such stray birds are sometimes shot to preserve a breed 

 uncontaminated. 



I have not a special list of the " Coves " and rocks in which pigeons at 

 present breed, on the Berwickshire coast. The numbers are kept pretty 

 well down by boys and shore-shooters. Their most westerly haunts are 

 in the crevices of some precipitous rocks on Oldcambus West Mains farm } 

 a little to the east of St. Helen's Church ; here there are only a few pairs. 

 In the Swallow Craig Cove, more to the east, there are several nests in 

 the ledges, as well as in the higher rocks ; and then again at Siccar Cove, 

 the interior is not only tenanted, but there is a much safer retreat in the 

 gaps among splintered rocks outside the cavern, on the eastern side of the 

 Cave, which are inaccessible. East from Redheugh, among the clefts of 

 some perpendicular greywacke rocks near Windielaw Cove, the best 

 peopled resort of wild pigeons, and the least disturbed, on this part of the 

 *Retours, Berwickshire, No. 36. fib. No. 187. 



