34 



MAMMALS. 



Tay as far as Errol in large shoals," and in much more recent times 

 this remark may still be borne out, as Dr. Buchanan White informs 

 us in his list, " It has been seen as far up as Perth Bridge." 



[Delphinus delphis, Z. Common Dolphin. 



Although I allude to this under Eisso's Dolphin as only bearing doubtful values 

 of record in Tat, I ought not altogether to refuse the evidence afforded by our 

 older writers. Sibbald, in his History of Fife, and Kinross, distinguished the 

 locally named " Meer-sAvines " from the locally named "Porpess," and spoke 

 of both kinds frequenting Tat and Forth, and gave other evidence which 

 certainly tends to the belief that this species came to be included. (Consult 

 Mr. W. Evans's Mammals of the Edinburgh District, p. 113, where he has 

 already threshed this out as far as seems necessary.) In the meantime it must 

 stand within square brackets, though, as Mr. Evans rightly says, I believe it 

 is only a question of time to have them removed. Don also includes this 

 species in his list of Forfarshire animals (Headrick's Agriculture of Angus, 

 App. p. 39). This is a more positive and dependable record, I think, and 

 might well be omitted from the brackets, but I prefer to place it inside for 

 the present, and await some more recent arrival of the species on our coast 

 before final admission. Mr. Evans's prophecy has indeed come true already 

 as regards Forth, as I have indicated under Risso's Dolphin {ante, p. 32).] 



Delphinus albirostris, G^'^y. White-beaked Dolphin. 



Mr. J. M. Campbell of the Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow, duly records 

 at length the occurrence of this Whale off the Bell Eock on the 7 th 

 September 1880, and the specimen has been presented to that Museum. 

 Mr. Campbell exhibited the specimen, which measured five feet eight 

 inches (5 ft. 8 in.) in length, and he very fully described it at a 

 meeting of the Glasgow Natural History Society, and published the 

 account in the Scot. Nat. of January 1881. As regards occur- 

 rences of marine mammals off the Bell Kock, I think it is safe 

 to give these place in a fauna of Tay ; but, as already remarked, the 

 tendency appears rather to favour the Forth entrance than the Tay 

 estuary. I cannot say whether this may be due to special directions 

 of currents and drift of food-supplies, or to the greater difficulties of 

 getting past Dundee, or indeed what reasons there be, if any, for a 

 preference. It is enough for me here to state the fact that a 

 preference does appear to he Tnade, if we judge of the greater number 

 of records of both numbers and species of marine mammals which do 

 enter the larger firth. 



