﻿166 
  

  

  BIRDS. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  J. 
  0. 
  Wilson 
  notes 
  it, 
  and 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  Rare 
  : 
  there 
  is 
  one 
  

   in 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  Col. 
  Simpson 
  (of 
  Huntly). 
  It 
  was 
  killed 
  near 
  

   Cobairdy 
  many 
  years 
  ago. 
  Cobairdy 
  lies 
  at 
  the 
  back 
  of 
  the 
  hill 
  

   above 
  Corniehaugh, 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  or 
  south-east 
  of 
  Corniehaugh, 
  on 
  

   the 
  river 
  Deveron. 
  Sim 
  adds 
  the 
  rider 
  to 
  the 
  above 
  as 
  follows. 
  

   He 
  says: 
  — 
  'Many 
  years 
  ago' 
  (September 
  1875), 
  'the 
  bird 
  was 
  

   sent 
  to 
  me.' 
  

  

  One 
  was 
  killed 
  at 
  the 
  loch 
  of 
  Spynie, 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1843, 
  

   by 
  Alexander 
  Eobertson, 
  Esq. 
  of 
  Woodside. 
  Norman 
  mentions 
  it 
  

   as 
  having 
  bred 
  {Zoologist), 
  but 
  he 
  probably 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  last- 
  

   mentioned 
  item 
  j 
  beyond 
  this, 
  we 
  are 
  not 
  aware 
  of 
  any 
  record 
  of 
  

   its 
  nesting. 
  

  

  Porzana 
  parva 
  (Scop.). 
  Little 
  Crake. 
  

  

  Edward 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  Only 
  one 
  procured. 
  It 
  occurred 
  at 
  a 
  place 
  called 
  

   Thornton, 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Isla.' 
  This 
  bird 
  was 
  bought 
  by 
  

   Professor 
  Newton, 
  for 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  H. 
  Gurney, 
  from 
  Edward, 
  and 
  the 
  

   sternum 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  Cambridge 
  Museum 
  (A. 
  N., 
  in 
  lit. 
  25/ii/92). 
  

  

  Professor 
  Newton 
  has 
  kindly 
  placed 
  at 
  our 
  disposal 
  the 
  original 
  

   record 
  of 
  this 
  rarity 
  by 
  Edward 
  : 
  — 
  1 
  The 
  bird 
  was 
  handed 
  to 
  me 
  

   by 
  Mr. 
  John 
  Murray, 
  Whitehills. 
  It 
  was 
  found 
  dead 
  in 
  a 
  planta- 
  

   tion 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Isla, 
  at 
  Thornton, 
  in 
  the 
  parish 
  of 
  Grange, 
  

   by 
  a 
  young 
  person 
  tending 
  cattle 
  there, 
  on 
  the 
  12th 
  March 
  1852.' 
  

   Edward 
  says 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  first 
  that 
  ever 
  came 
  under 
  his 
  observation. 
  

  

  Rallus 
  aquaticus, 
  L. 
  Water-Rail. 
  

  

  The 
  Water-rail 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  very 
  common 
  species 
  north 
  

   of 
  Inverness, 
  though 
  it 
  is 
  no 
  doubt 
  more 
  abundant 
  than 
  would 
  

   appear 
  at 
  first. 
  At 
  the 
  best 
  of 
  times 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  inconspicu- 
  

   ous 
  bird, 
  and 
  a 
  hasty 
  glance 
  as 
  it 
  moves 
  along 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  a 
  burn 
  

   would 
  lead 
  the 
  ordinary 
  observer 
  to 
  fancy 
  he 
  had 
  just 
  seen 
  a 
  

   water-rat. 
  We 
  have 
  shot 
  it 
  among 
  the 
  grass 
  and 
  hummocks 
  that 
  

   edge 
  the 
  shore 
  of 
  the 
  Beauly 
  Firth, 
  near 
  Lentran, 
  as 
  also 
  in 
  

   Sutherlandshire. 
  

  

  A 
  note 
  was 
  given 
  us 
  of 
  three 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  that 
  arrived 
  on 
  May 
  

   10th 
  at 
  a 
  loch 
  in 
  the 
  Invergarry 
  forest, 
  but 
  they 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  

   Water-hens. 
  The 
  writer 
  notes 
  that 
  they 
  could 
  ' 
  only 
  be 
  seen 
  with 
  

   difficulty. 
  They 
  probably 
  breed 
  here, 
  but 
  spend 
  most 
  of 
  their 
  

  

  