270 



BIRDS. 



once in 1870, and again a few years later. One was shot at 

 Meddat, Eoss-shire, in December 1861. Another was obtained at 

 Morvich, Sutherland, by Mr. Murray, on January 6th, 1893. A 

 bird of this species was shot at Glenmoriston, on Loch Ness, in 

 November 1843 by Mr. Birkenshaw, gamekeeper to Sir H. Meux, 

 Bart. {aud. W. Snowie, Inverness, Fauna of Moray). St. John met 

 with the bird only once, and that as long ago as 1845.^ Two were 

 sent in from Craigellachie to Inverness for preservation, the first 

 in January 1857, the second in 1862. 



South of Inverness the earliest record we can find is one by 

 Mr. Hoy in his MS. notes, viz., ' one shot by Sir Eobert Sinclair 

 at Gordon Castle, December 30th, 1793; and another was shot 

 by P. Collie (head keeper) at Gordon Castle, March 19th, 1825.' 

 One, now in the Elgin Museum, was presented by the Rev. 0. W. 

 Barclay of Easter Calcots, where it was killed in 1836. 



Mr. George Sim has obtained the Great Grey Shrike from the 

 very edge of our district ; and Dr. J. 0. Wilson says : — * I saw a 

 bird in the upper bog of Buchan, which, I am inclined to believe, 

 was a Great Grey Shrike.' ^ 



Two of these birds were seen, and one killed, on the south 

 side of the town of Forres on January 2, 1860, and sent to Dr. 

 Gordon by Mr. Innes, who says : — ' In the hedge from which they 

 rose was found a Robin, stuck on a thorn, with its head ofi".' 

 Another was killed at Braemorriston, near Elgin, February 1866. 



There would almost seem to be a regular (or irregular) fly-line 

 of this species into the Moray Firth, touching land about the 

 Laigh of Moray. Thus in 1889-90 Butcher-birds were common — 

 ' plentiful ' — about Forres. One was shot at Burgie, near Forres, 

 25th November 1889, and also one at Cullen ; another on 10th 

 November 1889 — an adult male — and yet another on 1st February 

 1889, both near Forres, and both males. In 1892 one was handed 

 to Mr. R. Thomson,^ Ferness, for identification, by Mr. Sexton, on 



1 Wild Sports of the Highlands, p. 73. 



2 Some naturalists consider this is not the place to discuss the occurrences of rare 

 species close to, but not in, our area, but we are not, we believe, singular in our be- 

 lief that they are of unusual importance in connection with the principal aim of these 

 volumes, viz., to get at the minute distribution, movements, and accredited *fly. 

 lines ' of migrants ; and even with regard to the commoner species, to shortly indi- 

 cate the distribution upon the extreme borders of our areas. 



^ Mr. R. Thomson, schoolmaster at Ferness, on the Findhorn, in the parish of 



