EAST COAST OF SCOTLAND. 9 



there is ever increasing interest and ability displayed year by 

 year. 



Fidra. — Mr Win. Eoss has taken up the subject earnestly, 

 and sends us three excellent schedules, carefully adhering to 

 the columnar arrangement, which is so important to the Mem- 

 bers of Committee, who have to transcribe into the ledger, 

 and then write its Eeport. Attention to this is of infinite ser- 

 vice and saving of time in getting the Eeports printed. We 

 are much obliged to Mr Eoss for the care taken in this respect. 



Under date of 4th September, Mr W. Eoss writes : " I have to 

 acknowledge receipt of your printed circular, concerning enve- 

 lopes to contain wings of unknown birds, to be forwarded to 

 you for identification, and labels for marking the same." .... 

 " After Sunday, my last schedule, I continued making jottings, 

 and the 24th of March, from 9 p.m. to daylight, was really 

 interesting. The flocks of birds about the lantern were immense, 

 and so numerous, that in striking the glass they broke the out- 

 side glass protector of our thermometer. There has not been 

 anything unusual since that date." [Fidra promises well to be 

 an important observatory, under certain conditions of wind and 

 weather. — J. A. H.-B.] 



Later, under date of 18th September 1886, Mr W. Eoss says : 

 "Had I known Moths would have been of any use to you, I believe 

 I could have given you a varied, rare, and enormous parcel. Last 

 month it was Moths everywhere, after darkness set in. I had 

 to sweep them down with a towel, some very large and beau- 

 tiful. Mr Anderson (of Messrs A. & F., Edinr., Advocates ?) 

 seems a keen entomologist, and I was describing some of these 

 to him (on the occasion of a visit he paid to Fidra on the 6th 

 September). One beautiful specimen — not a moth, I think — 

 of a size between a daddy-long-legs and dragon-fly, and much 

 the same shape; enormous bronze wings, beautiful vermilion 

 body, black head, with a red (or yellow ?) streak (or spot ?), and 

 antennas more like a young lobster than anything else. 



"Eider Ducks, I understand, used to breed on all the islands 

 about here. But this year a man got a dozen small boats, and 

 hired them out at N. Berwick; the consequence is that the 

 Ducks have entirely left the Craig and Lamb Islands owing to 

 their nests having been plundered. We on Fidra consequently 

 have had a greater number of birds breeding, and found many 



