THE BIRDS OF FAIR ISLE • 141 



When on passage this is an extremely wild bird, 

 and is not to be seen in the neighbourhood of the 

 houses. It is mostly then to be found away from the 

 crofted portion of the island, and is especially partial to 

 the water-mills, in which the natives grind their corn, 

 which are situated in lonely parts of the isle. Those 

 that remain all winter, however, become more confiding 

 as the season advances, and then approach the houses in 

 their search for food. 



LusciNiA LusciNiA, Thrush Nightingale. — This was 

 one of the rarities which rewarded us during our visit in 

 the spring of 191 1. As a mere waif, it arrived along 

 with a crowd of migrants on the 15th of May — a day 

 on which no less than twenty-four species of birds of 

 passage came under our notice. It was observed 

 creeping about the rocks on the shore at the foot of 

 a cliff behind the south lighthouse, and proved to be 

 a male. 



This species is larger than the Common Nightingale, 

 from which it also differs in having its upper surface 

 darker and more olive-brown in tint, the tail dark brown 

 and only slightly reddish, the chest and sides of the 

 breast darker and having a mottled appearance, the 

 first primary very short and narrow, and the third 

 the longest feather in the wing. 



Its summer range extends from Denmark and south 

 and mid-Sweden to S. W. Siberia, and it winters in East 

 Africa. 



This is the second record, but the first satisfactory 

 instance, of the occurrence of this species in the 

 British Isles. 



Cyanecula suecica, Arctic or Red-spotted Bluethroat. 

 — This species occurs regularly, but in varying numbers, 



