BIRDS. 



189 



Don spoke of an ancient inland nesting site called " Erneskillies, 

 among the Clova Mountains, where they bred " (?). There is, or was, 

 one bird in the Montrose Museum, but without any authentication 

 whatever. 



In 1864 the Rev. Henry Hussey, The Deanery, Peterborough, 

 recorded their presence on Loch Tummell.i He relates the occurrence 

 of an Eagle " taking a fish of about two pounds weight from the 

 surface of Loch Tummell within 150 yards of the boat from 

 which he was fishing, the tail of the bird appearing white at that 

 distance." But with rare caution, not always exercised in giving such 

 accounts, he admits that at that distance the tail, as seen, may only 

 have been partly white. Personally, I consider that the extreme 

 likelihood was in full favour of the occurrence of the rarer species. 

 I cannot, however, feel so confident as to the Eagle seen on Loch 

 Ericht, to the north-east of Loch Rannoch (not north-west as 

 originally stated) ; and the subsequent remarks must be held as 

 more likely applying to the commoner species. It may be well, 

 however, to note that in all probability the White-tailed Eagle was 

 nesting at that time in one or two localities not far removed from one 

 another in that same neighbourhood. 



Now, when the late Mr. E. R. Alston was residing in Glencoe, in 

 1870, he wrote in his journal — now at Dunipace — as follows : 

 " W.T.E. — The Loch na Baa nest has not been used for several years. 

 The keepers on the other side poisoned one with strychnine. The 

 survivor got another mate, and they poisoned both. The nest was on 

 a low rocky island, and might be said to have been on the ground." 

 Mr. Alston speaks of several other eyries in the neighbourhood, "aZ? 

 ml trees, except the above." 



Following upon this account. Col. Drummond Hay in 1880 relates 

 — on the authority of James Stewart, head keeper for many years on 

 the Earl of Mansfield's shootings in Rannoch — that " some years 

 previously a pair of White-tailed Eagles nested during several 

 years in an old fir-tree in a corner of the Black Wood of Rannoch 

 close by the loch side," and Col. Drummond Hay expresses himself 

 " satisfied that these were no others than the true kSea-Eagle and not 

 the Osprey." He also speaks of a nest in a tree on Loch Luydon, 

 where " a pair of albino Sea-Eagles were in occupancy. The 



^ I think I met the Rev. Mr. Hussey many years ago — about 1869 — in Sutherland- 

 shire. I can remember that he was interested in ornithology at that time, as well as 

 being fond of fishing. I think also he and I spent a night on the heather at the back of 

 Ben More. 



