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  BIRDS. 
  

  

  miles' 
  — 
  (he 
  counted) 
  'nearly 
  sixty 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  lying 
  dead.' 
  

   Great 
  numbers 
  were 
  also 
  found 
  dead 
  in 
  the 
  fields 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   country. 
  For 
  heavy 
  records 
  of 
  similar 
  occurrences 
  see 
  also 
  Zoolo- 
  

   gist, 
  1844, 
  1862; 
  and 
  Inverness 
  Courier, 
  December 
  16th, 
  1846. 
  

   Among 
  many 
  localities 
  where 
  these 
  birds 
  were 
  picked 
  up 
  we 
  may 
  

   name 
  Gamrie, 
  Banff, 
  Pitgaveny, 
  Hopeman, 
  Duffus 
  (all 
  in 
  1879); 
  

   and, 
  whether 
  it 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  east 
  or 
  west 
  coast 
  of 
  Scotland, 
  one 
  

   was 
  found 
  by 
  the 
  shore 
  of 
  Loch 
  Laggan, 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  preserved 
  

   by 
  the 
  landlord 
  of 
  Loch 
  Laggan 
  Inn, 
  as 
  he 
  informed 
  Harvie-Brown. 
  

   We 
  only 
  instance 
  the 
  above 
  amongst 
  many 
  records. 
  

  

  These 
  birds 
  do 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  very 
  regular 
  migrants, 
  or, 
  at 
  

   least, 
  few 
  are 
  procured, 
  as 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  figure 
  very 
  largely 
  in 
  

   Macleay's 
  lists. 
  

  

  The 
  heavy 
  gales 
  and 
  severe 
  cold 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1894-5 
  caused 
  

   a 
  regular 
  irruption 
  of 
  Little 
  Auks 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  coasts 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  

   Isles, 
  in 
  which 
  our 
  present 
  area 
  largely 
  participated. 
  We 
  have 
  

   no 
  adequate 
  means 
  of 
  judging 
  of 
  their 
  numbers, 
  as 
  those 
  recorded 
  

   or 
  sent 
  in 
  to 
  local 
  birdstuffers 
  for 
  preservation 
  form 
  a 
  compara- 
  

   tively 
  small 
  item 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  quantities 
  of 
  birds 
  seen 
  either 
  living 
  

   or 
  dead. 
  It 
  is 
  quite 
  reasonable 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  earlier 
  gales 
  

   from 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  north-east 
  first 
  drove 
  these 
  little 
  birds 
  from 
  

   their 
  higher 
  winter 
  quarters 
  to 
  lower 
  latitudes, 
  and 
  once 
  there, 
  the 
  

   furious 
  gale 
  of 
  the 
  6th 
  and 
  7th 
  January 
  forced 
  them 
  nearer 
  inshore, 
  

   those 
  of 
  the 
  12th 
  or 
  thereabouts 
  completing 
  their 
  ruin. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  to 
  be 
  included 
  in 
  the 
  list 
  was 
  from 
  Nairn 
  on 
  January 
  

   12th; 
  then 
  one 
  was 
  sent 
  from 
  Kinbrace 
  on 
  the 
  16th; 
  after 
  that 
  

   Messrs. 
  Macleay 
  and 
  Son, 
  on 
  the 
  19th, 
  received 
  birds 
  from 
  

   Beauly, 
  Nairn, 
  Grantown 
  on 
  Spey, 
  Clachnaharry 
  and 
  Kinmylies 
  

   (Inverness), 
  and 
  Kessock. 
  On 
  the 
  22nd 
  another 
  consignment 
  was 
  

   received 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  firm 
  from 
  Kildonan 
  (Sutherland), 
  and 
  the 
  

   following 
  Eoss-shire 
  localities 
  : 
  — 
  Invercarron, 
  Balnagown, 
  Fearn, 
  

   Alness, 
  and 
  the 
  Black 
  Isle 
  ; 
  others 
  were 
  sent 
  in 
  later, 
  the 
  last 
  

   being 
  one 
  at 
  Inverness 
  on 
  February 
  9th. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Brown, 
  birdstuffer, 
  Forres, 
  received 
  fourteen 
  Little 
  Auks 
  

   that 
  were 
  picked 
  up 
  between 
  Nairn 
  and 
  Burghead, 
  between 
  the 
  

   6th 
  and 
  18th 
  of 
  January 
  ; 
  also 
  two 
  from 
  Sutherland 
  ; 
  but 
  he 
  does 
  

   not 
  mention 
  the 
  locality 
  for 
  these 
  latter. 
  

  

  The 
  last 
  one 
  of 
  which 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  record 
  for 
  our 
  area 
  was 
  picked 
  

   up 
  by 
  W. 
  Houstoun, 
  Esq., 
  amongst 
  some 
  cabbages 
  in 
  the 
  garden 
  

  

  