196 



BIRDS. 



Ill 1883 Mr. John H. Gurney also claims to have seen a Kite in 

 Glen Clova, Forfar {Trans. Norf. and Norw. Nat. Hist. Soc, p. 517). 

 This was on 27th February 1883. 



The mention of Kites by Mr. Horn in 1879 is of too vague a 

 nature to warrant repetition here. 



There is a Kite in the Perth Museum which is (or was) labelled 

 an adult, but the late Rev. H. A. Macpherson saw it, and he pro- 

 nounced it to be a bird in the first year's plumage {in lit., 15th 

 February 1901). 



The true Kite was believed to nest in a locality in the north of 

 the area as late as 1877, and was frequently reported to have done 

 so, and was even stated to have continued to nest there for some 

 little time afterwards. But the factor was only aware of the one 

 pair which were seen by the gentleman who reported it at the time. 

 This was in February 1877. I remonstrated at the time for 

 having disclosed the site, but Avas answered by the person who 

 recorded the fact that he " did not think that there was much chance 

 of outsiders invading the locality," and gives us the information that 

 " keeper " in Latin is custos ! Be that as it may, and I do not question 

 his classical knowledge, the Kites had to all intents become extinct 

 almost immediately after he made his statement. But in the returns 

 sent me by His Grace the Duke of Atholl he never mentions Kites 

 as having been present within his knowledge during the forty years 

 he has had to do directly with the properties, though he does men- 

 tion "all the rarities that he had been aware of" during that time. 

 If returned to the office, they may have been entered simply under 

 " Hawks." And two gentlemen, who are well known as careful 

 recorders, informed me: "We were told in 1902 that the 'Gleds' 

 were extinct there now," the last one having been killed more than 

 a dozen years ago (say, to fix a date, before 1890). Alas for the 

 custody I The same two gentlemen told me also that "three years 

 ago (say 1898) a keeper, whose word we had no reason to doubt, 

 informed me that he had seen a ' Gled ' on his beat near Ballinluig " 

 {in lit., 20th November 1902). 



Now in 1870 my friend Mr. James Lumsden, of Arden, Dum- 

 bartonshire, told me {in lit., 3rd June 1878) that he saw a fine Kite 

 within forty yards when driving through the Pass of Killiecrankie 

 (see also Gray's Birds of the West of Scotland, p. 42, where I find I had 

 noted the fact in my interleaved copy). 



Mr. D. Dewar assured me he " only once got a Kite, and that 

 was about fifty years ago" (say 1853 or thereby). Mr. Dewar adds : 

 " I got it with Capercaillie's eggs as bait." 



