﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  169 
  

  

  Edward 
  seemed 
  to 
  consider 
  it 
  as 
  only 
  an 
  'occasional 
  visitant.' 
  

   Certainly 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  so 
  universally 
  distributed 
  as 
  the 
  Moorhen. 
  Dr. 
  

   J. 
  0. 
  Wilson 
  says 
  it 
  is 
  never 
  seen 
  near 
  Huntly, 
  but 
  abounds 
  on 
  

   Loch 
  Park 
  (Drummuir) 
  near 
  Keith. 
  He 
  very 
  neatly 
  describes 
  

   these 
  three 
  birds 
  thus 
  ; 
  — 
  1 
  The 
  Coot 
  is 
  a 
  loch-bird 
  ; 
  the 
  Moorhen 
  

   is 
  a 
  small 
  river 
  or 
  back-water 
  bird; 
  the 
  Water-rail 
  is 
  a 
  ditch 
  

   or 
  very 
  small 
  burn 
  bird.' 
  Hinxman 
  found 
  it 
  breeding 
  plentifully 
  

   on 
  the 
  lochs 
  and 
  lochans 
  of 
  the 
  Abernethy 
  forests, 
  and 
  it 
  occurs 
  

   plentifully 
  at 
  Loch 
  Spynie 
  and 
  at 
  Loch 
  Moy. 
  At 
  sea 
  it 
  is 
  shot 
  

   at 
  times 
  near 
  Covesea 
  and 
  elsewhere. 
  One 
  shot 
  at 
  Covesea 
  is 
  in 
  

   the 
  Elgin 
  Museum. 
  It 
  occurs, 
  indeed, 
  on 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  fresh-water 
  

   lochs 
  of 
  Spey 
  and 
  surrounding 
  districts, 
  which 
  contain 
  suitable 
  

   harbourage. 
  We 
  could 
  not, 
  however, 
  detect 
  any 
  upon 
  Lochandorb 
  

   — 
  a 
  loch 
  singularly 
  devoid 
  of 
  feeding 
  for 
  aquatic 
  birds, 
  nor, 
  as 
  

   might 
  be 
  expected, 
  do 
  the 
  high 
  Highland 
  lochs, 
  such 
  as 
  Loch 
  

   Errochd, 
  provide 
  shelter 
  for 
  them. 
  

  

  A 
  pure 
  white 
  Coot 
  was 
  shot 
  at 
  Kilravock, 
  on 
  May 
  8th, 
  1884. 
  

  

  [Obs. 
  — 
  Porphyrio 
  ccervleus 
  (Vand.). 
  Purple 
  Gallinule. 
  — 
  There 
  

   is 
  at 
  present 
  a 
  specimen 
  in 
  the 
  Forres 
  Museum, 
  which 
  was 
  brought 
  

   to 
  Brown 
  of 
  Forres 
  in 
  an 
  undomesticated 
  state 
  some 
  years 
  ago. 
  

   Professor 
  Newton 
  refused 
  to 
  accept 
  of 
  it 
  as 
  otherwise 
  than 
  an 
  

   escape, 
  though 
  Dr. 
  Gordon, 
  who 
  asked 
  him, 
  entertained 
  a 
  different 
  

   opinion. 
  It 
  was 
  obtained 
  near 
  Forres. 
  1 
  We 
  must 
  also, 
  however, 
  

   include 
  it 
  only 
  in 
  brackets.] 
  

  

  Family 
  GRUIDjE. 
  

  

  Grus 
  communis, 
  Bechst. 
  Common 
  Crane. 
  

  

  On 
  November 
  6th, 
  1875, 
  four 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  were 
  seen 
  at 
  Inverernie, 
  

   on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Nairn, 
  and 
  two 
  were 
  shot 
  on 
  the 
  8th 
  of 
  that 
  

   month. 
  The 
  others 
  remained 
  until 
  the 
  11th, 
  when 
  they 
  left 
  

   apparently 
  for 
  the 
  west 
  (K. 
  S. 
  Hills, 
  in 
  Field, 
  4/xii 
  75). 
  We 
  saw 
  

  

  1 
  We 
  think 
  it 
  a 
  pity 
  that 
  lairds 
  ami 
  others, 
  who 
  introduce 
  ami 
  acclimatise 
  

   foreign 
  ornamental 
  waterfowl, 
  do 
  not 
  make 
  public, 
  in 
  the 
  interests 
  of 
  naturalists, 
  the 
  

   numbers 
  and 
  species 
  so 
  introduced, 
  and 
  give 
  notice 
  of 
  escapes. 
  If 
  such 
  a 
  plan 
  were 
  

   universally 
  adopted 
  much 
  confusion 
  would 
  be 
  avoided, 
  and 
  the 
  labours 
  of 
  the 
  record- 
  

   ing 
  naturalists 
  be 
  lightened, 
  and 
  such 
  a 
  system 
  could 
  scarcely 
  fail 
  to 
  recommend 
  

   itself 
  also 
  to 
  the 
  owners 
  of 
  natural 
  or 
  artificial 
  duck 
  -lochs 
  or 
  ponds. 
  

  

  