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  BIRDS. 
  

  

  above 
  Tomatin, 
  and 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  Speyside 
  forests. 
  By 
  1892 
  (or 
  

   1891) 
  Hinxman 
  speaks 
  of 
  a 
  decided 
  increase 
  in 
  Glen 
  Avon 
  and 
  

   Glen 
  Livet 
  (see 
  Phillips' 
  note, 
  antea), 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  generally 
  spoken 
  of 
  

   as 
  still 
  increasing. 
  

  

  Now, 
  in 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  this 
  century, 
  as 
  Captain 
  Dunbar- 
  

   Brander 
  was 
  assured 
  by 
  his 
  father 
  (Sir 
  A. 
  Dunbar), 
  Wood-pigeons 
  

   were 
  so 
  rare, 
  that 
  if 
  one 
  was 
  heard 
  calling 
  by 
  anybody, 
  they 
  would 
  

   report 
  it 
  when 
  they 
  came 
  in, 
  thus 
  : 
  — 
  1 
  1 
  heard 
  the 
  Wood-pigeon 
  ' 
  

   (Captain 
  Dunbar-Brander, 
  in 
  lit. 
  1st 
  September 
  1891). 
  Absence 
  

   of 
  observers 
  therefore 
  cannot 
  be 
  pleaded 
  as 
  a 
  cause 
  for 
  absence 
  of 
  

   records, 
  which 
  can 
  so 
  often 
  be 
  done 
  with 
  less 
  conspicuous 
  species. 
  

  

  In 
  1893 
  we 
  found 
  Ring 
  Doves 
  extremely 
  abundant 
  on 
  the 
  

   Lower 
  Deveron 
  about 
  Laithers, 
  Drachlaw, 
  and 
  Netherdale, 
  and 
  

   also 
  equally 
  so 
  along 
  all 
  the 
  lower 
  reaches 
  of 
  Spey. 
  On 
  the 
  former 
  

   river 
  nests 
  were 
  abundant 
  in 
  May, 
  and 
  an 
  extraordinary 
  site 
  for 
  

   one 
  of 
  these 
  was 
  chosen 
  ; 
  it 
  was 
  built 
  of 
  the 
  usual 
  beech 
  and 
  birch 
  

   twigs, 
  quite 
  a 
  considerable 
  platform, 
  and 
  was 
  laid 
  upon 
  level 
  sawn 
  

   planks 
  which 
  were 
  placed 
  upon 
  the 
  rafters, 
  under 
  the 
  roof 
  of 
  the 
  

   saw-mill 
  at 
  Drachlaw 
  farm, 
  and 
  contained 
  two 
  eggs. 
  The 
  saw- 
  

   mill 
  is 
  in 
  pretty 
  constant 
  use, 
  and 
  was 
  at 
  work 
  upon 
  the 
  7th 
  May. 
  

   We 
  first 
  saw 
  the 
  nest 
  on 
  the 
  9 
  th. 
  A 
  Pied 
  Wagtail's 
  nest 
  and 
  the 
  

   old 
  nest 
  of 
  a 
  Grey 
  Wagtail 
  were 
  also 
  in 
  chinks 
  of 
  the 
  masonry 
  

   and 
  within 
  a 
  few 
  feet 
  of 
  the 
  saw. 
  The 
  Wood-pigeon 
  deserted, 
  and 
  

   did 
  not 
  take 
  off 
  its 
  young, 
  although 
  the 
  Grey 
  Wagtail 
  did. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  note 
  is 
  interesting 
  as 
  dating 
  1860, 
  showing 
  even 
  

   at 
  that 
  time 
  the 
  enormous 
  increase 
  and 
  vast 
  numbers 
  of 
  the 
  Ring 
  

   Dove 
  which 
  visited 
  Banffshire. 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  winter 
  we 
  can 
  

   remember 
  all 
  around 
  Edinburgh 
  and 
  the 
  Lothians 
  the 
  immense 
  

   flocks 
  that 
  appeared 
  during 
  that 
  exceptionally 
  severe 
  season. 
  It 
  

   appears 
  to 
  be 
  from 
  this 
  date 
  onward 
  that 
  its 
  rapid 
  increase 
  as 
  a 
  

   nesting 
  species 
  in 
  Scotland 
  became 
  evident. 
  

  

  Edward 
  says, 
  writing 
  in 
  1860: 
  — 
  'The 
  " 
  Cushie-doo 
  " 
  bids 
  fair 
  

   to 
  become 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  pests 
  the 
  farmer 
  will 
  have 
  to 
  

   encounter 
  with 
  respect 
  to 
  his 
  crops. 
  These 
  birds 
  have 
  increased 
  

   amazingly 
  within 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years, 
  and 
  the 
  damage 
  they 
  do 
  is 
  

   incalculable.' 
  Again 
  : 
  — 
  'In 
  August 
  1879, 
  at 
  the 
  Central 
  Banffshire 
  

   Farmers' 
  Club, 
  Viscount 
  Reidhaven, 
  after 
  mentioning 
  that 
  a 
  

   suggestion 
  had 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  form 
  an 
  Association 
  for 
  the 
  Destruc- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  Wood-pigeons, 
  read 
  some 
  statistics 
  showing 
  what 
  had 
  been 
  

  

  