72 



BIRDS. 



The Whitethroat is of common distribution, and fairly abundant 

 in Strathmore and the north-eastern portions of our area. 



The Whitethroat is a common summer visitant in north-east Fife. 



In August 1905 Mr. Evans reports upon one family party in 

 Glen Dochart, the only ones met with during his stay at Killin that 

 season. This was on the 10th of the month, and may prove a useful 

 record as indicating an extension via Glen Ogle, as adumbrated above 

 hy Mr. Godfrey. At all events, it is well worth recording the fact. 



{Sylvia curruca (L.). Lesser Whitethroat. 



Rare, if present at all. We must practically dismiss most, if not all, of the 

 ancient records, unless we are to accept the situation that it was at some 

 previous time more abundant and more widely distributed than it is at 

 present, an alternative which I fancy will not recommend itself to our latter- 

 day ornithologists without nmch better chronology than our records afford. 



A pair were noticed building by Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, Bart., in 1879, but 

 lie "was not certain.'*' 



Horn speaks of it as " rare," but with no definite notes. 



Dr. T. F. Dewar has " no reliable record of it in the Arbroath district." 



Mr. George Bruce speaks of it as " being traced throughout Scotland," 

 which I think it is needless to point out must have been founded on error. 



With all the above indefinite accounts I retain the species in square 

 brackets, though I may live to see them removed. Meantime aU other recent 

 lists are silent as to its occurrence, or otherwise altogether negative.] 



Ruticilla phoenicurus (L.). Redstart. 



Summer visitant ; but nowhere really abundant that I am aware of 

 anywhere in the east, nor indeed in the area, as compared with other 

 localities much further north and west. Appears to be slow of 

 increase in Tay, and still more so in Strathmore, as at the date of 

 1870. At that time Horn spoke of it as common in certain districts 

 of the north-west, frequenting old walls by the sides of plantations as 

 far as Loch Tay, which indeed are their usual chosen situations (Pi'oc. 

 Nat. Hist. Soc. Glas., 1879, p. 56). Mr. Horn refers back also to the 

 authority of Mr. Booth's Catalogue (p. 121 of the 1st edition and 

 p. 10-5 of the 2nd edition) as authority for Glen Lyon. It was 

 said to be rare at Loch Rannoch by Mr. Eedle (Zool, 1871, p. 2656). 



Not even in 1896 does Mr. J. Milne consider it " at all abundant " 

 about Fordoun in the east, but he believed it had bred by that time. 

 And by later observations, even almost up to date, and by all 

 accounts which have reached me, there seems to have been little 

 increase of the species in any of the eastern districts since 1885 or 



