﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  time 
  in 
  the 
  woods. 
  Their 
  cry 
  is 
  not 
  as 
  loud 
  as 
  the 
  Landrail's 
  ; 
  they 
  

   always 
  cry 
  when 
  hidden, 
  never 
  in 
  the 
  open.' 
  

  

  At 
  Tain, 
  Mr. 
  Jennings 
  mentions, 
  they 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  winter. 
  

  

  St. 
  John 
  mentions 
  Loch 
  Spynie 
  as 
  the 
  only 
  place 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  

   had 
  found 
  this 
  bird 
  breeding, 
  and 
  no 
  other 
  person 
  has 
  as 
  yet 
  added 
  

   to 
  this 
  locality, 
  to 
  our 
  knowledge, 
  in 
  all 
  our 
  present 
  large 
  area. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Hoy 
  records 
  1 
  one 
  shot 
  at 
  Gordon 
  Castle 
  by 
  the 
  Duke 
  

   on 
  January 
  17th, 
  1814. 
  Another 
  one, 
  which 
  had 
  perched 
  upon 
  

   a 
  tree, 
  was 
  also 
  obtained 
  by 
  the 
  Duke 
  on 
  December 
  22nd, 
  1817.' 
  

  

  Edward 
  considered 
  it 
  1 
  almost 
  a 
  rarity,' 
  and 
  certainly 
  it 
  does 
  

   not 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  frequently 
  observed 
  at 
  the 
  dates 
  of 
  our 
  

   later 
  records. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  J. 
  O. 
  Wilson 
  speaks 
  of 
  it 
  as 
  ' 
  rare.' 
  He 
  caught 
  one 
  1 
  near 
  

   the 
  old 
  mineral 
  well 
  at 
  the 
  old 
  Castle 
  of 
  Huntly, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Gray, 
  

   junior, 
  of 
  Waterton, 
  Drumblade, 
  informed 
  Dr. 
  Wilson 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  

   seen 
  the 
  Water-rail 
  on 
  the 
  burn 
  there 
  4 
  frequently,' 
  but 
  added, 
  

   1 
  they 
  are 
  very 
  shy.' 
  

  

  But 
  Mr. 
  George 
  Sim, 
  Aberdeen, 
  warns 
  us 
  in 
  a 
  way 
  that 
  often 
  

   only 
  a 
  local 
  man 
  can. 
  He 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  1 
  The 
  Water-hen 
  is 
  often 
  called 
  

   the 
  Water-rail, 
  and 
  I 
  suspect 
  the 
  " 
  frequently 
  " 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Gray, 
  junior, 
  

   may 
  refer 
  to 
  Gallinula 
  chloropus. 
  Certainly, 
  even 
  with 
  one 
  having 
  

   a 
  very 
  large 
  experience, 
  few 
  men 
  can 
  say, 
  in 
  this 
  country, 
  that 
  they 
  

   have 
  seen 
  Water-rails 
  (vera) 
  " 
  frequently.'" 
  Yet 
  the 
  Water-rail 
  is 
  

   not 
  a 
  rare 
  bird 
  really, 
  and 
  the 
  rarity 
  of 
  opportunities 
  of 
  seeing 
  and 
  

   catching 
  it 
  are 
  more 
  to 
  be 
  credited 
  to 
  its 
  habits 
  than 
  its 
  scarcity. 
  

   We 
  have 
  ourselves 
  caught, 
  shot, 
  or 
  captured, 
  by 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  a 
  

   Clumber 
  spaniel 
  — 
  trained 
  to 
  snipe 
  — 
  from 
  four 
  to 
  six 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  

   in 
  a 
  season. 
  

  

  We 
  incline 
  to 
  the 
  belief 
  that, 
  as 
  in 
  many 
  other 
  parts 
  of 
  Scotland, 
  

   the 
  Water-rail 
  is 
  really 
  a 
  common 
  bird 
  in 
  our 
  present 
  area, 
  certainly 
  

   during 
  migration 
  ; 
  and 
  far 
  from 
  uncommon 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  breeding 
  

   season. 
  Dr. 
  Gordon 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  Not 
  infrequent 
  along 
  the 
  sides 
  of 
  

   rocks 
  and 
  rivers, 
  but 
  from 
  its 
  shy 
  habits 
  rarely 
  seen 
  (Fauna 
  of 
  

   Moray). 
  Brown 
  of 
  Forres 
  calls 
  it 
  common 
  in 
  his 
  neighbourhood. 
  

   In 
  the 
  Newcastle 
  Museum 
  there 
  are 
  several 
  eggs 
  taken 
  on 
  Loch 
  

   Spynie, 
  between 
  1852 
  and 
  1857 
  (aiict. 
  Richard 
  Howse, 
  Curator, 
  in 
  

   lit. 
  20th 
  May 
  1892), 
  which 
  are 
  referred 
  to 
  in 
  Hancock's 
  notes. 
  

  

  If 
  we 
  look 
  at 
  its 
  retiring 
  habits, 
  its 
  positive 
  breeding 
  records 
  — 
  

   say 
  thirty 
  to 
  forty 
  years 
  ago, 
  — 
  and 
  others 
  of 
  much 
  later 
  date 
  in 
  

  

  