﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  145 
  

  

  true 
  explanation 
  of 
  their 
  appearance 
  at 
  Darnaway 
  and 
  Clunas 
  — 
  an 
  

   adjoining 
  property 
  — 
  as 
  already 
  related. 
  

  

  But 
  Mr. 
  Brown 
  of 
  Earlsmill 
  informs 
  us 
  (in 
  lit. 
  2nd 
  November 
  

   1894) 
  : 
  — 
  1 
  No 
  Capercaillies 
  have 
  been 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  Darnaway 
  forest 
  

   for 
  nine 
  months.' 
  A 
  keeper 
  told 
  him 
  he 
  knew 
  of 
  1 
  nine 
  nests 
  in 
  

   1892, 
  with 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  about 
  eight 
  eggs 
  in 
  each.' 
  Mr. 
  Brown 
  

   adds 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  authentic 
  information 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  having 
  spread 
  

   beyond 
  the 
  boundaries 
  of 
  Darnaway 
  forest.' 
  

  

  Edward 
  Collie 
  1 
  and 
  Carr, 
  keepers 
  in 
  Rothiemurchus, 
  told 
  us 
  in 
  

   1891 
  that 
  five 
  were 
  shot 
  by 
  the 
  Earl 
  of 
  Winchester 
  1 
  much 
  lower 
  

   down 
  the 
  valley 
  ' 
  than 
  Lynwilg 
  (probably 
  escapes 
  or 
  vagrants 
  from 
  

   Cawdor, 
  Journals, 
  1891, 
  p. 
  564, 
  q.v.). 
  

  

  The 
  Rev. 
  D. 
  MacDougall 
  of 
  Rothiemurchus 
  Manse 
  says 
  (in 
  

   lit. 
  2nd 
  November 
  1894), 
  in 
  reply 
  to 
  our 
  inquiry 
  in 
  reference 
  

   to 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  paragraph 
  : 
  — 
  1 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  keepers 
  

   told 
  me 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  seen 
  in 
  Rothiemurchus 
  in 
  a 
  year 
  subse- 
  

   quent 
  to 
  their 
  first 
  appearance, 
  but 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  recollect 
  whether 
  

   there 
  was 
  a 
  male 
  bird 
  among 
  them, 
  or 
  how 
  many 
  were 
  seen. 
  It 
  

   will,' 
  he 
  continues, 
  1 
  be 
  within 
  your 
  knowledge 
  that 
  the 
  male 
  

   which, 
  accompanying 
  the 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  hen 
  birds 
  which 
  first 
  made 
  

   their 
  appearance, 
  happened 
  to 
  be 
  shot, 
  and 
  I 
  suspect 
  this 
  was 
  

   the 
  only 
  cock 
  Capercaillie 
  which 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  district, 
  otherwise 
  

   I 
  do 
  not 
  doubt 
  that 
  we 
  should 
  have 
  heard 
  of 
  young 
  having 
  

   been 
  hatched.' 
  We 
  are 
  obliged 
  to 
  the 
  Rev. 
  Mr. 
  MacDougall 
  for 
  

   this 
  interesting 
  note. 
  

  

  Another 
  introduction 
  took 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1886 
  at 
  

   Alltmore, 
  on 
  the 
  Duke 
  of 
  Richmond's 
  property. 
  Mr. 
  Cuthbard, 
  

   the 
  keeper, 
  put 
  some 
  eggs 
  obtained 
  from 
  Perthshire 
  into 
  a 
  Grey- 
  

   hen's 
  nest 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  that 
  year. 
  The 
  following 
  year 
  some 
  

   boys 
  destroyed 
  a 
  nest 
  of 
  a 
  Capercaillie, 
  and 
  no 
  others 
  had 
  since 
  

   been 
  heard 
  of 
  in 
  the 
  district, 
  unless 
  the 
  one 
  female 
  shot 
  at 
  Glen- 
  

   barry 
  (supra), 
  by 
  Mr. 
  William 
  Brown, 
  keeper 
  at 
  Rothiemay, 
  

   may 
  have 
  been 
  one 
  of 
  those 
  hatched 
  out 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Cuthbard 
  s 
  

   setting 
  of 
  eggs 
  — 
  the 
  localities 
  not 
  being 
  far 
  distant 
  from 
  one 
  

   another. 
  

  

  We 
  are 
  informed 
  by 
  Brown 
  of 
  Forres 
  that 
  an 
  adult 
  male, 
  a 
  

   cross 
  between 
  the 
  Capercaillie 
  and 
  black 
  game, 
  was 
  found 
  dead 
  

   near 
  Forres 
  on 
  February 
  15, 
  1886. 
  In 
  a 
  letter 
  accompanying 
  the 
  

   1 
  Since 
  deceased 
  : 
  May 
  1S95. 
  

   VOL. 
  II. 
  K 
  

  

  