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NOTES ON THE MAMMALS OF ISLAY. 

 By Harold Eussell. 



So little is known about the exact distribution of mammals 

 in the Inner Hebrides that a few notes and observations on the 

 fgrana of Islay may be worth recording. Having visited the 

 island on numerous occasions in the last twelve years, I at- 

 tempted, in August and September, 1909, to trap and identify 

 some of the smaller mammals. A reward offered for any Mice 

 (other than House-Mice) brought to me by school children 

 proved fairly successful. Foxes, Badgers, and Wild Cats are 

 unknown in Islay. I have found no trace of the existence of 

 Hedgehogs, Weasels, or Squirrels. Of all our small mammals, 

 Moles are most easily detected if present, and I am satisfied that 

 there are none in Islay. 



Bats are fairly common, but I did not obtain any specimens, 

 and all that I saw on the wing appeared to belong to the common 

 small species, Vesperugo pipistrellus (Schreb.). 



Common Shrew (Sorex araneus). — I obtained three Shrews, 

 which I suspected belonged to this species, and Mr. Oldfield 

 Thomas, of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, 

 was good enough to examine and name them for me. The 

 measurements of the first one, freshly killed, were as follows : — 

 Head and body = 74 mm. ; tail = 38 mm. ; hind foot = 13 mm. 

 This, so far as I know, is the first time that S. araneus has been 

 identified from Islay. Messrs. J. A. Harvie-Brown and T. E. 

 Buckley ('Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides,' 

 1892, p. 8) state that the Lesser Shrew (S. minutus) is the species 

 "which alone inhabits the Isles." This is certainly incorrect. 

 I did not obtain any Lesser Shrews, but have no reason to 

 believe that the two species do not exist together. 



Stoats (Mustela erminea) appear to be fairly common, in 

 spite of much trapping by keepers. They undergo great variety of 

 seasonal variation. A collection of pure white skins made by 

 Zool. 4th set: vol. XIV- , March, 1910. K 



