﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  81 
  

  

  Here 
  Dunbar's 
  full 
  notes 
  end. 
  They 
  were 
  received 
  by 
  us 
  15th 
  

   February 
  1892. 
  

  

  Before 
  continuing 
  our 
  chronology, 
  we 
  must 
  now 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  

   other 
  material 
  we 
  have 
  received 
  regarding 
  the 
  Strathspey 
  Ospreys, 
  

   which 
  fixes 
  our 
  dates 
  of 
  Dunbar's 
  narration 
  more 
  definitely 
  than 
  

   his 
  memory 
  permitted 
  of. 
  

  

  By 
  a 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  Ootheca 
  JFolleyana, 
  p. 
  63, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  

   that 
  Wolley 
  received 
  the 
  Ospreys' 
  eggs 
  from 
  Lewis 
  Dunbar 
  on 
  

   May 
  3rd, 
  1851, 
  and 
  April 
  29th 
  is 
  given 
  as 
  the 
  date 
  on 
  which 
  they 
  

   were 
  taken. 
  Of 
  other 
  slight 
  discrepancies 
  that 
  occur, 
  we 
  think 
  

   them 
  only 
  such 
  as 
  might 
  arise 
  naturally 
  from 
  the 
  long 
  interval 
  

   between 
  Dunbar's 
  adventures 
  and 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  his 
  writing 
  them 
  

   down 
  from 
  memory. 
  Such 
  as 
  these 
  are, 
  however, 
  it 
  is 
  well 
  to 
  put 
  

   them 
  in 
  as 
  clear 
  a 
  light 
  as 
  possible. 
  

  

  On 
  application 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Richard 
  Howe 
  (Nat. 
  Hist. 
  Mus., 
  New- 
  

   castle-upon-Tyne), 
  that 
  gentleman 
  obligingly 
  informed 
  us 
  (in 
  lit. 
  

   26th 
  May 
  1892) 
  that 
  — 
  'There 
  are 
  fifteen 
  eggs 
  of 
  Osprey 
  in 
  the 
  

   Hancock 
  Collection. 
  Twelve 
  are 
  from 
  Scotland, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  

   details 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  here 
  given: 
  — 
  Nos. 
  1, 
  2, 
  3 
  were 
  

   taken 
  out 
  of 
  a 
  nest 
  on 
  an 
  island 
  on 
  Loch 
  an 
  Eilean 
  in 
  Rothie- 
  

   murchus 
  — 
  a 
  district 
  of 
  Strathspey, 
  24th 
  May 
  1894. 
  Nos. 
  4, 
  5, 
  6, 
  

   Loch 
  an 
  Eilean, 
  May 
  3rd, 
  1850 
  (signed, 
  "L. 
  Dunbar 
  "on 
  each 
  egg). 
  

   These 
  six 
  eggs 
  are 
  remarkably 
  large 
  and 
  finely 
  blotched. 
  One 
  egg 
  

   out 
  of 
  a 
  nest 
  in 
  a 
  tree 
  by 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  Loch 
  Morlich 
  in 
  Glenmore, 
  

   May 
  23rd, 
  1849 
  (not 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  receipt 
  !).' 
  There 
  were 
  two 
  young 
  

   birds 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  nest 
  (as 
  the 
  last-mentioned 
  single 
  egg) 
  just 
  hatched 
  

   (see 
  letter 
  from 
  Mr. 
  St. 
  John 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Hancock 
  below). 
  It 
  seemed 
  

   the 
  birds 
  removed 
  their 
  young 
  to 
  another 
  place 
  after 
  23rd 
  May, 
  

   probably 
  to 
  the 
  ruins 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  shooting-lodge, 
  at 
  the 
  east 
  end 
  of 
  

   Loch 
  Morlich. 
  In 
  Mr. 
  Howe's 
  transcripts 
  it 
  appears 
  that 
  Hancock 
  

   received 
  this 
  single 
  egg 
  from 
  St. 
  John, 
  along 
  with 
  a 
  letter 
  and 
  a 
  

   rough 
  sketch 
  of 
  the 
  tree, 
  made 
  (from 
  memory) 
  by 
  Lewis 
  Dunbar. 
  

   St. 
  John 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  1 
  1 
  enclose 
  young 
  Dunbar's 
  sketch 
  of 
  the 
  tree 
  and 
  

   Osprey's 
  nest. 
  Your 
  single 
  egg 
  came 
  out 
  of 
  it. 
  [Note 
  ; 
  — 
  This 
  egg 
  

   does 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  now.] 
  He 
  came 
  back 
  the 
  

   next 
  day 
  and 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  old 
  birds 
  had 
  removed 
  the 
  two 
  young 
  

   birds 
  to 
  another 
  nest, 
  where 
  they 
  formerly 
  bred 
  in 
  a 
  ruined 
  castle. 
  

   But 
  on 
  his 
  climbing 
  to 
  this 
  they 
  removed 
  them 
  again, 
  and 
  he 
  had 
  

   not 
  time 
  to 
  find 
  out 
  where. 
  Is 
  not 
  this 
  very 
  interesting 
  ? 
  They 
  

   VOL. 
  II. 
  F 
  

  

  