﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  29 
  

  

  to 
  breed, 
  and 
  never 
  saw 
  a 
  single 
  bird 
  after 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  spring 
  

   of 
  1844. 
  (In 
  this 
  case, 
  then, 
  the 
  mere 
  cutting 
  down 
  of 
  the 
  trees 
  

   did 
  not 
  drive 
  the 
  Woodpeckers 
  away, 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  extinct, 
  or 
  nearly 
  

   so, 
  before 
  then.) 
  As 
  Mr. 
  Robertson 
  and 
  his 
  men 
  were 
  continually 
  

   through 
  the 
  woods 
  1 
  searching 
  every 
  place 
  for 
  vermin 
  and 
  eggs 
  for 
  

   collection,' 
  they 
  could 
  hardly 
  have 
  escaped 
  notice. 
  

  

  An 
  old 
  man, 
  who 
  had 
  worked 
  much 
  in 
  the 
  forests 
  in 
  his 
  youth, 
  

   told 
  the 
  Rev. 
  Dr. 
  Forsyth 
  of 
  Abernethy 
  that 
  he 
  remembers 
  the 
  

   Woodpecker 
  as 
  quite 
  common. 
  He 
  relates 
  also 
  an 
  old 
  supersti- 
  

   tion 
  : 
  — 
  The 
  Highlanders 
  believed 
  that 
  the 
  brain 
  was 
  possessed 
  

   of 
  special 
  virtue 
  for 
  curing 
  epilepsy 
  and 
  mania, 
  and 
  the 
  birds 
  used 
  

   to 
  be 
  killed 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  extracting 
  the 
  brain 
  (Rev. 
  William 
  

   Forsyth, 
  D.D., 
  in 
  lit. 
  2/iii/92). 
  

  

  About 
  the 
  year 
  1847 
  or 
  1848 
  Lewis 
  Dunbar 
  found 
  a 
  nest 
  

   of 
  the 
  Great 
  Spotted 
  Woodpecker 
  in 
  an 
  old 
  fir-tree 
  about 
  two 
  

   miles 
  distant 
  from 
  Carr 
  Bridge, 
  and 
  not 
  very 
  far 
  from 
  the 
  road 
  

   leading 
  to 
  Kingussie. 
  He 
  writes 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  I 
  had 
  to 
  widen 
  the 
  hole 
  

   before 
  I 
  could 
  get 
  in 
  my 
  hand. 
  There 
  were 
  four 
  eggs 
  in 
  it. 
  They 
  

   were 
  pure 
  white, 
  and 
  were 
  laid 
  upon 
  the 
  dust 
  and 
  chips 
  of 
  wood 
  

   about 
  twelve 
  inches 
  below 
  the 
  hole. 
  I 
  gave 
  them 
  to 
  a 
  Quaker 
  of 
  

   the 
  name 
  of 
  Brown, 
  but 
  as 
  to 
  his 
  address 
  I 
  can 
  give 
  you 
  no 
  

   information, 
  as 
  I 
  saw 
  him 
  in 
  Inverness.' 
  1 
  

  

  This 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  only 
  authentic 
  record 
  of 
  a 
  Woodpecker's 
  

   eggs 
  having 
  been 
  taken 
  in 
  the 
  north 
  of 
  Scotland. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  H. 
  Evans 
  kindly 
  wrote 
  Mr. 
  E. 
  Brown 
  on 
  our 
  behalf, 
  and 
  

   in 
  a 
  letter, 
  dated 
  March 
  20th, 
  1892, 
  that 
  gentleman 
  replied: 
  — 
  

   * 
  My 
  father's 
  collection 
  of 
  birds' 
  eggs 
  is 
  in 
  my 
  possession, 
  and 
  it 
  

   contains 
  three 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  Great 
  Spotted 
  Woodpecker, 
  which, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  have 
  no 
  marks 
  that 
  would 
  identify 
  them 
  as 
  being 
  the 
  clutch 
  

   in 
  question. 
  I 
  should 
  doubt 
  if 
  the 
  three 
  were 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  

   nest. 
  The 
  skins 
  were 
  sold 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Walter 
  Lyn 
  (?), 
  and 
  I 
  delayed 
  

   replying 
  to 
  your 
  letter 
  until 
  I 
  had 
  seen 
  this 
  gentleman. 
  He 
  tells 
  

   me 
  that 
  he 
  did 
  not 
  have 
  any 
  eggs 
  from 
  my 
  father, 
  and 
  I 
  do 
  

  

  1 
  Mr. 
  Edwin 
  Brown 
  was 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  gentleman 
  to 
  whom 
  L. 
  Dunbar 
  gave 
  

   the 
  nest 
  of 
  Woodpecker's 
  eggs 
  taken 
  by 
  him 
  near 
  Carr 
  Bridge 
  in 
  (alxmt) 
  1847. 
  Mr. 
  

   Brown 
  was 
  manager 
  of 
  the 
  principal 
  bank 
  in 
  Burton-on-Trent, 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  suc- 
  

   ceeded 
  by 
  his 
  son. 
  Our 
  friend 
  Mr. 
  H. 
  Evans, 
  lessee 
  of 
  .Jura 
  deer-forest, 
  knew 
  him 
  

   very 
  well. 
  He 
  only 
  remembers 
  the 
  entomological 
  part 
  of 
  his 
  (Mr. 
  Brown's) 
  collec- 
  

   tion, 
  which, 
  however, 
  is 
  still 
  in 
  existence. 
  

  

  