﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  very 
  fond 
  of 
  being 
  taken 
  notice 
  of, 
  and 
  had 
  the 
  peculiarity 
  of 
  

   uttering 
  its 
  loud 
  and 
  not 
  inharmonious 
  whistle 
  at 
  all 
  hours, 
  even 
  

   in 
  the 
  night, 
  when 
  it 
  saw 
  a 
  light 
  or 
  hearo^ 
  a 
  person 
  passing 
  by. 
  

   Edward 
  speaks 
  of 
  it 
  as 
  once 
  common 
  around 
  Banff, 
  but 
  rarely 
  seen 
  

   at 
  the 
  time 
  he 
  wrote. 
  ' 
  A 
  splendid 
  specimen 
  was 
  lately 
  shot 
  at 
  

   Eden, 
  about 
  four 
  miles 
  from 
  Banff,' 
  and 
  the 
  one 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  

   Museum 
  (1892) 
  is 
  presumed 
  to 
  be 
  this 
  bird. 
  

  

  Every 
  item 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  former 
  occurrence 
  of 
  the 
  Kite 
  

   in 
  our 
  area, 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  collected 
  and 
  recorded, 
  we 
  consider 
  is 
  

   worthy 
  of 
  a 
  place 
  in 
  a 
  book 
  professing 
  to 
  treat 
  of 
  the 
  past 
  and 
  

   present 
  fauna 
  of 
  Moray. 
  The 
  following 
  narrative 
  we 
  believe 
  may 
  

   prove 
  interesting 
  to 
  naturalists 
  of 
  the 
  present, 
  and 
  may 
  become 
  

   of 
  greater 
  interest 
  to 
  naturalists 
  of 
  the 
  future. 
  We 
  quote 
  

   almost 
  verbatim 
  from 
  a 
  letter 
  before 
  us 
  from 
  Lewis 
  Dunbar, 
  who 
  

   says 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  'In 
  1845, 
  my 
  brother, 
  who 
  was 
  on 
  the 
  excise 
  service, 
  and 
  

   lived 
  at 
  Bonar 
  Bridge, 
  was 
  anxious 
  to 
  have 
  the 
  fork-tailed 
  Kites 
  

   and 
  their 
  eggs, 
  if 
  possible.' 
  Lewis 
  Dunbar 
  was 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  a 
  lad 
  

   of 
  sixteen 
  years 
  of 
  age. 
  He 
  continues 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  I 
  managed 
  to 
  find 
  a 
  nest 
  

   within 
  a 
  mile 
  of 
  Grantown, 
  Strathspey. 
  I 
  shot 
  the 
  hen 
  as 
  she 
  was 
  

   leaving 
  the 
  nest. 
  The 
  nest 
  was 
  placed 
  on 
  the 
  lower, 
  or 
  first, 
  

   branch 
  of 
  a 
  bare-stemmed 
  pine 
  — 
  a 
  long 
  bare 
  stem 
  with 
  a 
  clump 
  of 
  

   foliage 
  on 
  the 
  top. 
  Next 
  day 
  I 
  furnished 
  myself 
  with 
  the 
  stable 
  

   ladder, 
  a 
  few 
  large 
  spikes, 
  and 
  a 
  hammer, 
  and 
  repaired 
  to 
  the 
  tree. 
  

   I 
  mounted 
  the 
  ladder, 
  stuck 
  a 
  spike 
  in 
  the 
  tree, 
  nearly 
  as 
  far 
  up 
  

   as 
  I 
  could 
  reach, 
  drove 
  it 
  well 
  in, 
  got 
  upon 
  the 
  spike 
  ; 
  and 
  did 
  the 
  

   same 
  again 
  until 
  I 
  had 
  five 
  in, 
  which 
  took 
  me 
  to 
  the 
  branch 
  where 
  

   the 
  nest 
  was 
  placed. 
  Whether 
  I 
  was 
  too 
  overjoyed, 
  in 
  succeeding 
  

   so 
  far 
  or 
  not, 
  I 
  cannot 
  say, 
  but 
  having 
  lost 
  presence 
  of 
  mind, 
  the 
  

   first 
  thing 
  1 
  remember 
  was 
  my 
  rebounding 
  off 
  the 
  ground. 
  When 
  

   I 
  tried 
  to 
  get 
  up 
  I 
  thought 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  hole 
  in 
  the 
  ground, 
  so 
  I 
  

   looked 
  towards 
  my 
  left 
  arm, 
  and 
  found 
  the 
  elbow-joint 
  up 
  near 
  the 
  

   shoulder. 
  I 
  placed 
  my 
  thumb 
  inside 
  my 
  arm 
  and 
  pulled 
  the 
  elbow 
  

   back 
  to 
  the 
  socket. 
  The 
  result 
  of 
  this 
  was 
  a 
  month 
  of 
  pain, 
  and 
  

   partial 
  anchylosis, 
  and 
  then 
  a 
  visit 
  to 
  a 
  celebrated 
  bone-setter 
  of 
  

   the 
  district 
  ; 
  and 
  no 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  Kite 
  ! 
  ' 
  

  

  Since 
  then 
  Lewis 
  Dunbar 
  has 
  only 
  seen 
  two 
  other 
  specimens 
  

   of 
  the 
  Kite 
  in 
  the 
  flesh, 
  and 
  they 
  were 
  sent 
  to 
  him 
  at 
  Inver- 
  

   ness, 
  from 
  Balmacaan, 
  Glen 
  Urquhart. 
  Mr. 
  Dunbar 
  thinks 
  it 
  is 
  

  

  