APPENDIX. | Birds. 351 
Corvus Frueitecus [The Rook]. 
Many large rookeries exist in the county. See p. 127. 
Corvus moneputa [ The Jackdaw]. 
Very plentiful. See p. 45. 
Corvus pica [Magpie]. 
One of the most bashful of birds. It is very sparingly distributed, 
and in some places is scarcely known. Our keepers both shoot 
and trap them wherever found. 
Picus masor [ Greater Spotted Woodpecker]. 
Several pairs of this showy bird have been procured within our dis- 
trict. It is also found in the higher parts of the county. A 
specimen was shot near Banff, and when dissected its stomach 
was found crammed with two species of grub, of a creamy or 
grayish color. It contained also several beetles and a small 
spider. 
Picus minor [Lesser Spotted Woodpecker]. 
More rare than the last. One sent to me, fourteen years since, 
from Mayen, where it was shot, and another seen on the Lodge 
hills, are all that Iam aware of. Very probably others have oc- 
curred. 
Younx rorquiya [ Wryneck]. 
The late Professor Macgillivray, of Marischal College, Aberdeen, in- 
formed me that one was taken at or near Portsoy, by a pupil of 
his. One, now in the Banff Museum, was taken six years ago, 
about fourteen miles from the town. 
Cerrata FaMiLiaris [ Creeper]. 
Wherever there are suitable woods, these birds are sure to be 
found. We sometimes read and hear, as extraordinary occur- 
rences, that nests have been found in the hearts of trees that 
have been sawed up. Now, to those acquainted with the facts, 
these occurrences are easily accounted for. I know a tree my- 
self which contains two nests, both with eggs. About seventeen 
years ago there was in the side of this tree a small aperture, 
about six feet from the ground, which led downward to a cavity 
in the centre of the trunk. The opening was so narrow out- 
wardly that it only admitted two of my fingers, but widened as it 
proceeded to the bottom, a distance of about eighteen inches. 
In this hole, at the time referred to, a pair of creepers built their 
nest and laid eggs, after which they disappeared. Next season a 
pair of blue titmice acted in a similar manner; and they also dis- 
appeared, doubtless in consequence of being tormented by boys, 
