BIRD-NOTES FROM SCOTLAND. 425 



road up to the nest is kept damp by the wet breast and feet of 

 the bird as it comes from feeding ; this earthy paste is carried 

 to the egg, which soon gets a warm brown colour. These birds 

 were very tame, and I got within a few feet of them. Two of our 

 party caught one as it came out of its burrow ; they were very 

 sorry afterwards when they found they had caught more than the 

 Puffin. In a small marsh one of the party found the nests of 

 two Eider Ducks (Somateria mollissima). One of the birds flew 

 off on approach. 



We left Oban on the I lth to again sail north. As we were 

 going through the Sound of Mull we lowered the dingy, and 

 pulled over to an island, where we found nests of a large number 

 of Terns (Sterna Jluviatilis), and I think the Arctic Tern (S. ma- 

 crura) was also present. The eggs were very plainly marked, 

 and there was no attempt at building a nest. 



On the 13th we dropped anchor in Knoydart Bay, Loch Nevis, 

 where we found another Sandpiper's nest with four eggs ; a little 

 farther on we came to an old Sandpiper with four young ones, 

 which were very hard to distinguish from the ground, being a 

 warm grey on the back, with black stripes ; they had long legs, 

 and could run fairly fast, although they must only have been a 

 few days old. A winged Sandpiper will dive and swim like a 

 Duck ; so will a wounded Oystercatcher (Hcematopus ostralegus). 

 We saw a Goosander (Mergus merganser) swimming about in the 

 bay ; it was easily recognized with the glasses, as it came close 

 to the shore. 



Balmacarra was our next stopping-place. When passing the 

 keeper's cottage I noticed four large Wild Cats' skins nailed on 

 the kennels, and I immediately went in search of their owner, as I 

 thought there might be a tale connected with them. The keeper 

 told me he trapped seven in 1900, two in 1901, and four this 

 season, but it seems a pity to exterminate such a rare and fast de- 

 creasing mammal. As we were talking a large bird flew over some 

 trees ; he told me it was a Buzzard (Buteo vulgaris), and that these 

 birds breed every year on this estate, along with Merlins (Falco 

 cesalon) and other Hawks ; but I am sorry to say their nests are 

 destroyed every year. At Gairloch, on the 18th, I had a talk 

 with the keeper of the Flowerdale Estate. He told me that they 

 had Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetus), Peregrines (Falco fere- 



