56 REPORT ON THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 



am surprised to see that most of the strange birds that I have 

 seen here are single. It must just be occasional stragglers that 

 we get from the flocks that are passing. It is also strange that 

 there are so few birds coming to the lantern, but the tower is 

 very high — 120 feet — and perhaps that is the reason." [Mr E. 

 Agnew is right in believing that stragglers are all that can be 

 expected to appear at Butt of Lewis, though possibly in excep- 

 tional seasons unusual numbers may appear. Birds " catch up " 

 at Cape Wrath and W. C. of Scotland. Bemnants " catch up " 

 again at Butt of Lewis. But in easterly gales the " catch up " 

 of the land is often lost, and hundreds or thousands are carried 

 clear away to the Atlantic. See previous Reports. — J. A. H.-B.] 

 Mr Agnew continues : " I have marked a Hen Harrier, and by 

 the description in the book " [he having received the loan of the 

 book from his father — Mudie's " Birds "], " I think I am right. 

 He remained here for some time, and the poor Bock Pigeons 

 led a poor time of it. I also found a young Gull he had killed 

 and eaten. I was surprised to see it, because I did not think 

 that he would have attacked so large a bird. I measured the 

 wings, and found them to be 4 feet 2 inches from tip to tip." 

 [Mr R. A. sent me the wings, but they did not reach me, and 

 must have miscarried, but no doubt it was one of the common 

 species of Gulls ; from the measurements, probably a Herring 

 Gull ; or possibly — i.e., if the measurements are correctly taken 

 across the back and wings — an Iceland Gull. (See Mac- 

 Gillivray's " Manual," under the said species, vol. ii., p. 247.) — 

 J. A. H.-B.] Mr B. A. says : " I only came here last summer, and 

 did not begin to keep records till near the end of August, but 

 another year I hope to be able to do better." [Meanwhile, we 

 can only thank Mr R. A. for his excellent commencement of 

 the work, which is well done. — J. A. H.-B.] 



Later, in the second schedule, Mr R. A. writes : " There has 

 been nothing to record since the 25th of November." [Last 

 date of schedule. — J. A. H.-B.] " The Snow Buntings have re- 

 mained with us all winter. . All summer we had large flocks of 

 Solan Geese, till the first of October; after that there were a 

 few till the 1st of November; but since then (till February 7, 

 1887) / have not seen one." [These Solan Geese notes are always 

 interesting. Perhaps Mr Agnew will devote a separate schedule 

 to the day-to-day movements of Solan Geese another season. 





